Taking the Gods Seriously

This was in the latest Asatru Folk Assembly newsletter. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this issue.

TAKING THE GODS SERIOUSLY

Fundamental to the faith of Asatru is the idea that we are kin and friends to the Holy Powers. We are kin because Heimdal planted the divine seed in the wombs of our foremothers; friends, because we exchange gifts when Gods and humans come together in sacred space at our most fundamental religious rite, that of the blot or blessing.

This attitude contrasts sharply with the relationship found in most other religions, where humans are slaves to God, fit only to obey and to serve their divine master.

Unfortunately, we often assume from this difference that it is okay to be extremely casual during ritual, treating the Holy Powers much like we would treat our buddies down at the local bar. Back in the early 1980's, one manifestation of this attitude was a version of the song "Give Me That Old Time Religion" featuring irreverent verses about an endless series of pagan deities, including Odin, Thor, and Freya, among others. We thought it was really funny, especially after we had had a few beers or passed a few horns of mead around the campfire - but by then, almost anything was funny.

In retrospect, this attitude was shameful, wrong, and immature. I am happy to say that in the Asatru Folk Assembly we have grown beyond this behavior, but as a movement we wasted precious years in such childishness.

I contrast this puerile prankishness with the seriousness with which our ancestors approached the Divine, and I am appalled. The old tribes built a protective network of ritual and custom around interaction with the Holy that encouraged deliberation and an awareness of the sacred.

Yes, we do share the same ultimate nature with the Gods and Goddesses. Odin, Vili, and Ve (or Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur, depending on the version of the lore you choose) gave us this gift by shaping the components of our souls to resemble their own, and thus to share the potential of Godhood. But while we are alike in essence we are overwhelmingly different in magnitude. Our souls are like the ephemeral sparks struck by flint and steel, while the Gods are roaring blast furnaces. Our task is to grow to more resemble our Holy Kin, but we have…well, a long way to go. It does not behoove us to be casual or overly familiar; such behavior can only mislead us into thinking "we are as good as they are" - egalitarianism at its most foolish.

Often I wonder if many of those who pepper their blots with casual reference to their Godly buddies really believe in the Gods at all. To treat Odin with anything other than the deepest awe is to ignore the terrible mystery that cloaks him, but even Thor, friend of man, is not your "bud" like the guy down at the club who buys you a drink. The Goddesses, too, received their somber sacrifices in olden times.

I am not saying we should tremble before the Holy Powers, but even the most approachable of them surpasses us in evolution to a degree we cannot really comprehend. It is wrong to trivialize them or to trifle with them, and we should go before them only with a profound reverence. Those who object that "the Gods want to hear us laugh" need to wake up and realize that there is a time for laughter, joking, and prankishness - but that time is not when one is standing before the Gods and Goddesses of our Folk. Save your laughter for the hearth, and if you would laugh with our Elder Kin let it be at the convivial feast where the Holy Powers sit unseen among us.

No one will take Asatru seriously until we start taking our Gods and Goddesses, our faith, and ourselves seriously. When our lives are imbued with reverence and sincerity toward the powerful, awe-inspiring, transformative beings of Asgard and Vanaheim, then the world will stand up and take notice!

*******
My comments:
The first line of the last paragraph really resonated with me. When I hear of groups doing the Chocolate Ritual, or calling the quarters using Disney music, or other assorted nonsense it just makes me cringe.

In a way this is related to the reasons why I've stopped wearing my Ren Faire garb for ritual. This is just my stuff, and I'm not putting down anyone else's personal choices, but for me wearing play-acting clothes made me feel like I was play-acting a role instead of doing something real.

I expect I'll be doing a lot of cringing on Saturday at Pagan Pride Day. :)

Really, I plan on updating

Of course midnight is the wrong time to go writing my thoughts on spiritual changes in our group. I say it's wrong because I have to be up for work at 6 a.m., and while I hate to admit that mundane can trump the spiritual, religion doesn't pay the mortgage.


Basically, our tribe is becoming three groups. At the core is our intentional family, the true tribe or clan if you will. That doesn't change.

Then there's the tuath. This is the Celtic side of our spirituality, and right now still entirely overlaps the tribe.

And now there's the kindred. This consists of those members of the tribe who want to explore the Norse spiritualty. It may or may not include everyone in the tribe, which is fine. Some folks may not feel inclined towards the Norse pantheon.

Why am I reminded of set problem in math in grade school?

Since noone seems to be doing anything with this Blog, I thought I'd enlighten you all as to an important piece of Celtic tradition that our group has totally neglected...

If I’m going to be CR, how should I wear my hair?

The Path of the Hairdo® is a very important part of Celtic Reconstructionism. You may spike up your hair with Bog Body Hair Gel® (sold on our official website). Alternately, you may wear The Official CR Tonsure™, which involves shaving bits of hair off your head when you are bored or in a deep trance of devotion to your Gods. It is also traditional to cut or shave the hair when in mourning, and this must be done with appropriate wailing, bellowing, and gnashing of teeth.

There is a schism who both tonsure and spike, with lime or Bog Gel®, but that is an inner mystery, not suitable for a public forum. Others firmly believe that no hairdo is an official CR hairdo unless it involves braiding it and then running through the woods while people throw spears at you. Then being buried in the ground up to your waist and fending off more spear attacks. This camp is adamant that, if your hair gets messed up during this challenge, it is not worthy of being considered a Real CR Hairdo®.

Those who have adopted The Official CR Tonsure™ must also tattoo, or daily paint, symbols of their path on the revealed canvas. There is a great deal of controversy in these matters, as those who have chosen to tattoo believe everyone else with The Official CR Tonsure™ must endure the same pain they did. Those who are allergic to tattoo inks must simply find other ways to cause themselves pain. Such as answering endless bizarre questions in online fora when sensible people would be sleeping. Or that’s what I’ve heard. What?

Seriously? Wear your hair any way you want. We’re kidding. Mostly.

from www.paganachd.com

Pentacle added to approved emblems

Even though I'm not a Wiccan myself, I'm still interested in matters such as this as it impacts all minority religions.

Does anyone else find it ironic that atheists had less trouble getting a symbol than Wiccans?

Links aplenty

Liz just sent in a bunch of links for the Cauldron. A few of these I've been to (though most not in quite a while) and the rest are new to me.

That means plenty of surfing time ahead.

Language link and liturgy musings

First, the link, since it will be of more interest to the general reader. This link is to a site that let's you search some online Gaelic dictionaries.

It was some liturgical musings that got me thinking about languages in the first place.


I get inspirations and ideas at the worst times, usually right in the middle of ritual (though I guess that shouldn't be surprising) and while I'm driving. Usually by the time I to where I can actually sit down and try to get my thoughts into font, I've been distracted.

In this case it has to do with my Tribe's liturgy framework. There's been one piece that has felt a little off during the past couple of rituals, and while mulling over a recent conversation with Sherri, the pieces fell into place in my head.

1) Language - I use a Welsh phrase even though our "liturgical markers" are Irish. Originally, it didn't bother me, probably because my patron diety is Welsh. But now when I think about it, it's almost like there's a grating noise. I don't know what changed, but I have the feeling it needs to be fixed.

2) Diety - I call on a diety by name, and it is the only diety referred to by name in the framework. My talk with Sherri got me thinking on ways to be more inclusive regarding our liturgy, and this stuck out like a sore thumb.

3) Passive - I ask the above diety to open the gate for me. I now feel like I should be the one opening the gate rather than being Mr.-Lazy-Druid and asking a god to do it for me. As soon as this occured to me, I started visualizing it in my mind and the notion meshed well with my other ritual visualizations.

I don't know exactly how the new opening of the gates will go yet, but once I do I think that I'll post both versions of the piece so folks can compare.

Heavy sigh

Can we file this under the category of "being so open-minded your brains fell out"?

The following message was posted on IPC&N within the past week. Identifying information has been changed.

Want to talk to an active or participating vampire
Gaia Works attempts to understand all belief paths and toward that endI would like to spend some time talking with an active or participating vampire (or two or three) to help me understand what you beleive and how your practice ... please email me at xxxxx @ xxx . com (removespaces) or call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx to set up a time to chat ... thank youfor furthering religious tolerance and understanding .. Xxxxx Xxxxx

So since when is a sexual fetish considered a religious belief system? Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with consenting adults doing whatever it is they want to do in private, but IMNSHO equating vampirism with paganism brings us all down to the National Enquirerer level. My religion is not a LARP!

Ritual Phrase samples

This is an ADF page with examples of various useful phrases in various Celtic languages.

Unfortunately, for the high quality samples, you need to be a member. But the regular samples are available to anyone.


I have a little trouble with the lower quality clips because of the background noise, and at times the speaker goes a little too fast. Hearing the phrases repeated slowly might be helpful. Then again, it's free. I could always get off my lazy butt and learn a language.

Sacred Text Archive

Exactly what the title says, and there are a lot available besides just Celtic. Take a look here to kill an afternoon.

I like reading the legends and tales for clues to the mindset of the people of the time and how the viewed the world and culture around them.


Speaking of killing an afternoon... still under construction. I've started digging into the horror that is the template under Bloogle.

Under Construction

This is under construction. Check back later.