Heathenry (new religious movement)

"Ásatrú" redirects here. For other uses, see Ásatrú (disambiguation).

A Heathen altar for household worship in Gothenburg, Sweden. The painted tablet on the back depicts Sunna, the two larger wooden idols Odin (left) and Frey (right), in front of them there are the three Norns, and in the front row a red Thor and other idols. In front of the cult images are two ritual hammers.

The hammer Mjöllnir is one of the primary symbols of Germanic Neopaganism. Pendants of the Mjöllnir are commonly worn amongst Germanic Neopagans.

Germanic Neogapanism (widely known as Heathenism, Heathenry, or Germanic Heathenry) is the contemporary revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s. Since its first times Heathenism has developed according to diverse denominations, the most prominent ones amongst all being Ásatrú, Odinism, Forn Siðr and Theodism.

Attitude and focus of adherents may vary considerably, from strictly historical polytheistic reconstructionism to syncretist (eclectic), pragmatic psychologist (Jungian archetypal), occult or mysticist approaches. Germanic Neopagan organizations cover a wide spectrum of belief and ideals. Template:Neopaganism2

Terminology

Different terms exist for the various types of Germanic Neopaganism. Some terms are specific in reference whereas other are blanket terms for a variety of groups. In a 1997 article in Pagan Dawn, the authors list as more or less synonymous the terms Northern Tradition, Norse Tradition, Ásatrú, Odinism, Germanic Paganism, Teutonic Religion, The Elder Troth (as the name of a specific organization and at the same time an attempt to replace trú with an English equivalent) and Heathenry.

Starting in the late 90s, the word Heathenism or Heathenry has gradually been accepted as a blanket term for the all the Germanic Neopagan movements, while other terms have developed into labels for specific cultural branches or denominations within Heathenry. For example Forn Siðr and its equivalents has become a popular self-designation in the Norse Neopagan milieu, while Urglaawe defines the Deitch Heathen movement.

Heathen (Old English hæðen, Old Norse heiðinn, Old High German heidan) was coined as a translation of Latin paganus, in the Christian sense of "non-Abrahamic faith". In the Sagas, the terms heiðni and kristni (Heathenry and Christianity) are used as polar terms to describe the older and newer faiths.

Historically, the term was influenced by the Gothic term *haiþi, appearing as haiþno in the Gothic Bible of Wulfila for translating gunē Hellēnis, "Greek (id est gentile) woman" of Mark 7:26, probably with an original meaning "dwelling on the heath", but it is also likely that it was chosen because of its similarity to Greek ethne "gentile" or that it is not related to "heath" at all, but rather a loan from Armenian hethanos, itself loaned from Greek ethnos.

The White Marsh Theod — an Anglo-Saxon Theodish organisation — and several other groups, narrow the sense of the word to Germanic Neopaganism in particular, and prefer it over "Neopagan" as a self-designation.

Some proponents use Heathenry distinctively for strictly polytheistic reconstructionist approaches, excluding syncretic, occult or mysticist approaches such as Armanism. The term Heathenry is promoted by non-denominational groups or umbrella organisations such as the British Heathen Alliance, the American Heathen Nation, and the Canadian Heathen House.

Denominations

Heathenism, or the whole Germanic Neopagan movement, is sometimes referred to as Greater Heathenry, implying that it comprehends a variety of differing Heathen denominations, movements or branches. These subsets can differ in terms of cultural-ethnic background or organisational and doctrinal bases.

The Irminsul symbol is mostly used by groups focused on Central and Northern German Saxon traditions.

Armanism or Irminism

Main article: Armanism

Armanism or Armanenschaft, "Irminism" or Irminenschaft are terms used to describe various movements which draw from either Ariosophy and esoteric Germanic paganism, for example the Armanen-Orden started by Adolf and Sigrun Schleipfer in 1976, the Heidnische Gemeinschaft of Géza von Neményi, and the Artgemeinschaft; or Continental Germanic paganism particularly in its Saxon varieties, for example the American-based Irminen-Gesellschaft or the German-based Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft and Verein für Germanisches Heidentum.

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Ritual of the Odinist Community of Spain — Ásatrú at the community temple in Albacete, in Castile-La Mancha.

Ásatrú

Ásatrú (pronounced [auːsatruː], in Old Norse [aːsatruː]) is an Old Norse compound derived from Áss, which is the Old Norse singular referring to the Ases or "Anses" (Æsir; one of the two families of gods in Norse mythology, the other being the Vanir), and trú, literally "belief" or "faith". Thus, Ásatrú is the "Belief (or faith) in the Gods". The term is the Old Norse/Icelandic translation of Asetro, a neologism coined in the context of 19th century romantic nationalism, used by Edvard Grieg in his 1870 opera Olaf Trygvason. Ásatrúar, sometimes used as an adjective in English, is properly the genitive of Ásatrú.

Modern Scandinavian forms of the term, Norwegian Åsatru, Swedish Asatro, Danish Asetro, were introduced in Neopaganism in Scandinavia in the 1990s. The corresponding word in German is Asentreue or Asenglaube,, in Old English and Modern English is respectively Ēsatrēoƿþ (Ēsatrēowth) and Ansetroth, while in Faroese is Ásatrúgv.

In Germany, the terms Asatru and Odinism were borrowed from the Anglosphere in the 1990s, with a chapter of Odinic Rite formed in 1995 and the Eldaring as a partner organization of The Troth formed in 2000. The German Eldaring takes Asatru as a synonym of Germanic Neopaganism in general, following usage by The Troth. Eldaring is the only pagan organization at the national level in Germany self-described as Asatru. Other institutions prefer German words such as Alte Sitte ("Old Custom") or Germanisches Heidentum (simply "Germanic Heathenry").

Thus today the term "Ásatrú" can be seen used as both a name for a specific undercurrent within Norse Neopaganism worshiping primarly the Ase gods; as a synonym for "Norse Neopaganism" (especially in the American Asatru movement); or less and less commonly as a synonym for the whole Greater Heathenry. The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið ("Icelandic Asatruar Association") as well as the Odinist Community of Spain — Ásatrú in Spain use "Ásatrú" as the main name of their religion. In Scandinavia it has been associated with the most eclectic and Edda-based currents within Scandinavian Heathenry, and thence rejected by traditionalist groups based on local folklore in favor of Nordisk Sed ("Nordic Custom"), or more generically "Forn Siðr".

Jormungand, Fenrir and Hel, the children of Loki, in an illustration by Hungarian artist Willy Pogany. They and the other Ettins are the primary deities worshipped by Rökkatruars.

The goddess Freya in an illustration by Swedish artist John Bauer. Freya is one of the main Wane gods.

Rökkatrú

Rökkatrú is a denomination of Northern Tradition Paganism falling under the larger auspices of Greater Heathenry in which followers worship predominantly or exclusively the Ettins (or Jotuns; Old Norse Jötunn, plural Jötnar), the gigantic and/or monstruous deities that embody the primordial and elemental forces of chaos, and thus the forces of quenchless world-renewal. Their pantheon includes the Jotuns of fire, water, wind, soil, goddess Hella, Jormungand, Fenrir, Nidhogg, and the god Loki. Rokkatruars follow their own Thirteen Rules. Since many of these Jotuns are seen as being opposite forces to the Ases and Wanes, Rökkatrú is not generally accepted in the larger Heathen community.

Vanatrú

The term Vanatrú is coined after Ásatrú, implying a focus on the Wanes (or Vanir; a second tribe of gods in Germanic paganism) rather than the Anses. It can be considered a branch within Norse Heathenry or Greater Heathenry. Vanatruars are predominantly devoted to the Wane gods or are bound to a Wane as their patron deity. It differs from the religion of Waincraft in that Waincraft followers worship exclusively the Wanes, while Vanatruars may worship the Anses as well.

Swedish Forn Sed Association members holding a blót during their annual meeting on June 4, 2011, in Veberöd, Scania, Sweden. The meeting and the blót were held under a birch, a tree connected to the goddess Frigga. To the left is rådsgydja ("priestess of the council") Birka Skogsberg; to the right, rådsgode ("priest of the council") Martin Domeij. Both gydia and godi are dressed in ceremonial clothes with red clothing over white. At the base of the tree there are cultic images depicting the Norse deities Forseti, Freya, Frey, Frigga, and Thor.

Forn Siðr

Old Norse Forn Siðr or modern Scandinavian Forn Sed, meaning "Old Custom", is used as a term for the restoration of pre-Christian Norse paganism and culture, mostly by groups in Scandinavia. Old Norse forn "old" is cognate to Sanskrit purana, English (be)fore and far. Old Norse siðr "custom", and cognate to Greek ethos, in the sense of traditional law, way of life, proper behaviour. In meaning, the term corresponds closely to Sanskrit Sanātana Dharma, a term coined as a "native" equivalent of Hinduism in Hindu revivalism.

In contradistinction to the modern Ásatrú, inn forni siðr is actually attested in Old Norse, contrasting with inn nýi siðr "the new custom", and similarly Heiðinn siðr ("Heathen custom"), contrasting with Kristinn siðr ("Christian custom"), and í fornum sið "in old (heathen) times". Forn Siðr is also the proper name of the largest Danish Pagan society, the Forn Siðr — Ásatrú and Vanatrú Association in Denmark, which since 2003 is recognized as a religion by the Danish government, meaning they have the right to conduct weddings, funerals and other services.

While the Danish association considers Ásatrú and Vanatrú to be sub-branches of Forn Siðr and thus considers the term to be a generic synonym for "Norse Neopaganism", in Norway and Sweden the term "Forn Siðr" is mostly bound to the, and considered a synonym for the, Nordisk Sed movement, which is in conscious contrast with Scandinavian Ásatrú groups. Scandinavian Heathens regard Nordisk Sed as a more authentic Scandinavian religion, based on Scandinavian local traditions, in contradistinction with the more eclectic Ásatrú, based on the Eddic material, and influenced by 19th century Romantic trends and 20th century New Age ideas. The ideology of the Nordisk Sed or Forn Sed groups is called Þjóðtrú in Icelandic ("Troth of the Folk / of the Theod", and variants Folketro or Folketru in Norwegian and Folktro in Swedish) — actually meaning folk religion —, or less ambiguously "Fundamentalistic Traditionalism".

Aldsido

Aldsido or Frankisk Aldsido (reconstructed Old Frankish for "Old Frankish Custom") is a subset of Heathenism started in Canada which revives the original religion of the Franks for their modern descendants (mostly the French, Dutch, Flemish and Luxembourger ethnicities) and related Germanic peoples (like the Frisians). It reconstructs the traditional folk Frankish werldenskouwunga ("worldview") as opposed to modern Heathen currents such as American Asatru and Odinism.

The generic name for their gods is rachine, stemmed from the Proto-Germanic *rīkijan, meaning "ruler, ruling power". Some of their rachines are Mano, Tiu, Wodan (Weda in Frisian), Donar (Tonger in Frisian), Fria, Ingo, Berte or Berthe, Heva and Nehalennia.

Also groups with a stronger Dutch and Frisian orientation, such as the Netherlands-based Het Rad, might be categorised as Aldsido. In addition to the most popular Germanic deities the Het Rad group also worship specific Dutch and Frisian deities of Celto-Germanic or Romanised origin such as Baduhenna, Burorina, Hludana, Tanfana, Isenbucega, Sandraudiga, Veradecdis or Virodachtis and Vagdavercustis.

Firner Situ

The Old High German word Firner Situ, the Swiss group Firno Situ, and the Thuringian Firne Sitte (all terms cognates of Forn Siðr) represent a Central and Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland-based movement which reconstructs Suebian, Thuringian, Bavarian, Alaman and Alpine paganism for modern-day Alaman subethnicities. Amongst their deities some of the most prominent are Wuotan, Ziu and Zisa or Cyo and Cysa, Voll and Volla and Frija. The major rituals are Pluoz, Sumbal and Chuofa.

Fyrnsidu

Anglo-Saxon Fyrnsidu is the Old English equivalent of Norse Forn Siðr, and it is mainly used as a label for Anglo-Saxon Heathenry (or English Heathenry). In England the most common term used for local Germanic Neopaganism is "Odinism", given the fact that the most widespread Heathen movement there is the Odinic Rite, which is predominantly Norse-oriented.

However groups and kindreds operating outside the Odinic Rite movement and relying more on the Anglo-Saxon ethnic tradition, for example the Wuffacynn, may be classified as Fyrnsidu. The word Fyrnsidu was used at first — and is still mainly used — by the American organisation of Anglo-Saxon Heathenism Geferræden Fyrnsida.

Odinism

The term "Odinism" was coined by Orestes Brownson in his 1848 Letter to Protestants. The term was re-introduced in the late 1930s by Alexander Rud Mills in Australia with his First Anglecyn Church of Odin and his book The Call of Our Ancient Nordic Religion. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Else Christensen's Odinist Study Group and later the Odinist Fellowship brought the term into usage in North America. In Britain, Odinic Rite followers have specifically identified themselves as "Odinists" since the 1970s, and is the longest running group to do so. Hence the word is used for all those movements which have flourished out of the forrow of the Rud Mills-Christensen-Odinic Rite lineage, for example the Northern Italian Odinist Community founded by Paolo Gauna in 1994.

Some Odinists view "Odinism" as a racialistic, ethnocentric and ethnonationalistic religion, near to the Völkisch ideals, addressed only to people with a clear Germanic or European ancestry, as opposed to "Forn Siðr", "Ásatrú" which may or may not refer to racialist or "folkish" ideals. It tends to be a pan-European or pan-White religion. As defined by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke in Black Sun, "Nordic racial paganism" is synonymous with the Odinist movement (including some who identify as Wotanist). He describes it as a "spiritual rediscovery of the Aryan ancestral gods [...] intended to embed the white races in a sacred worldview that supports their tribal feeling", and expressed in "imaginative forms of ritual magic and ceremonial forms of fraternal fellowship". In more recent times, the Odinist community in Australia has endorsed the Melbourne Creed of Odinism, which is a nine-point statement of belief, "An Odinist Creed".

Many Odinists are "hard polytheists", and they believe that the gods and goddesses are real beings with distinct personalities, while other Odinists support monistic theological stances; the view of Odin as the primal godhead of which all other gods are masks is common.

Theodism

Theodism (adjective: Theodish; nouns: Theodsman/woman, Theodsmen/women), or Þéodisc Geléafa, is an American neotribal Heathen movement originally sought to reconstruct the beliefs and practices of the Anglo-Saxon tribes which settled in England. Þéodisc, adapted as "Theodish" in modern English, is the adjective of þéod "people, tribe" (modern English thede), cognate to Deutsch and other words in Germanic languages, and from Common Germanic *þeudō. As it evolved, the Theodish community moved past solely Anglo-Saxon forms and other Germanic tribal groups were also being reconstituted.

Theodism, in this larger sense, encompasses groups practicing tribal beliefs from Scandinavia and the Continent (Norman, Frisian, Angle, Saxon, Jutish, Gothic, Alemannic, Thuringian, Swedish and Danish tribal cultures), following the neotribal ideology set forth by the Anglo-Saxon Theodish groups founded in the 1970s. Theodsmen call the groups of which they are members simply theods, and these theods are organised hierarchically. This relaxing of the original term "Theodism" functionally identifies any Germanic Neopagan who is member of a neotribal group or personally advocates neotribalism.

Urglaawe

The sickle is one of the primary symbols of Urglaawe.

Main article: Urglaawe

Urglaawe ("primal faith" in Deitsch) is a tradition within Heathenry and bears some affinity with other traditions related to historical Continental Germanic paganism. It derives its core from the Deitsch healing practice of Braucherei, from Deitsch folklore and customs, and from other Germanic and Scandinavian sources. Urglaawe uses both the English and Deitsch languages.

As with other Teutonic religious and philosophical traditions, adherents of Urglaawe may have differing beliefs in worldview and theological view. One of the main deities Urglaawers worship is Holle, an ancient Germanic mother goddess passed down in the Deitch folklore.

Vrilology

"Vrilology" or "Balder Rising" is a modern non-reconstructionist, esoteric-oriented school within Germanic Heathenism based on the theosophical concept of Vril, a life force or energy similar to the Odic force or the Hindu Prana, of which everything is made and the gods are expressions. It is institutionalised into a Church of Vrilology founded by Italian American Robert Blumetti.

The Vrilological doctrine has millenarian features, claiming that the world is currently going toward a new Ragnarök after which a golden Age of Gimli will begin. It also claims that reality is sustained by an everlasting balance between the forces of order (the gods) and the forces of chaos (Loki); today the forces of chaos prevail because humanity has detached from the gods. Vrilology proponents retain to teach people how to connect with the Vril and awake the gods within them (and turn men into divine being like Balder).

Waincraft

Waincraft, also called the "Wagon Ways", is a Heathen denomination which worships and works exclusively with the Wane gods of the Germanic culture. The Waincraft movement has sprung out of the Vanatrú movement, and both are part of the larger so called Vanic Paganism. The followers of Waincraft consider the Wanes to be an older race of gods than the Ases, a pre-Indo-European pantheon later mingled with the Indo-European-derived Ase gods.

The name "Wagon Ways" and the "wagon" concept in it, which according to the practitioners of Waincraft is connected to the name of the Wanes themselves, makes reference to the Vanic practice of bringing Wane gods sculptures in procession on wagons or carts.

Wotanism

Main article: Wotanism

The term "Wotanism" distinguishes a form of Heathenry with political overtones. Wotanism is the name of a white supremacist current initiated by David Lane. It is based on the essay entitled Wotan by Carl Jung. Unlike other Heathens, most Wotanists emphasize dualism and view the gods as Jungian archetypes. Wotanists consider the Havamal to be their holiest text.

Theology and cosmology

The Vegvísir, and variants such as the "Helm of Awe" or Ægishjálmur, the Veiðistafur and the Hólastafur, are viewed as a symbols of protection representing the Nine Worlds in the Yggdrasill.

Germanic Neopaganism is often defined as reconstructionist, meaning its adherents try to do the best to revive and preserve an authentic Germanic worldview. Adherents are mostly polytheists, worshiping a plurality of ethnic Germanic gods and goddesses, but in terms of high theology a pantheistic, monistic or "soft polytheistic" outlook is common; the Icelandic Ásatrúarfélagið defines "Ásatrú" as "Nordic pantheism". Odinists are often monist.

All Heathen denominations share a worldview underlain by the concepts of Wyrd, Orlog, Rita and Yggdrasil (or Irminsul). The Wyrd (from Common Germanic *Wurþiz), sometimes described as the "Web of Wyrd", is both the subjacent principle of all things and the ceaseless interweaving of all the processes and events — both physical and metaphysical — which beget reality. It is eternal, but at the same time it is perpetual changing. The Wyrd is the interconnectedness of all events and things, the wholeness of all nature.

The Wyrd is sometimes described somewhat narrowly as "Fate"; it is not fatalistic, since it is being transformed constantly by the ongoing action, but the future is always shaped to a certain degree by wires of the past. The Wyrd is the connexion of forces from the past, the present and the future, mythologically represented by the Norns (or Wyrdae, "Wyrds", the "Wyrd Sisters"), Urd (who is the Old Norse for "Wyrd" itself), Verdandi and Skuld.

The Orlog ("Orlay" or "Urlaw" in English, the "original law") is sometimes considered the same as the Wyrd. Actually it is the "primal Wyrd", the underlying primordial layer of causality which unfolds, in accordance with the Rita (corresponding to the Vedic Ṛta, the "Righteous Order"), as the massive web of interactions, the Wyrd. In other words the Orlog is the undeployed, unexpressed Wyrd, whilst the Wyrd is the "cosmic mind" or the Logos of the Stoics (being the Common Germanic root *Wurþiz cognate of the root of the term "word"); according to author James Coulter is safe for Heathens to say "in the beginning was the Wyrd". In Heathen terminology the word orlog (minuscule) is also used to describe the personal circlet of interactions within the Web of Wyrd in which one man in embedded at birth; this is inherited from the kin and expands and changes as these processes interact with others on the overall Web of Wyrd.

The world tree Yggdrasil and its "Nine Worlds" is the structure of reality that proceeds from the Wyrd and the guidance of the Rita. The term Rita also stems from the same root of the English words "right", "rite" and "art", and then it is the "Art of the Gods" and the world is their "work of art". At the base of the world tree is the Urdarbrunn, the "Well of Wyrd", where the Norns keep the Yggdrasil alive by sprinkling the roots with pure water from the well. The water is a symbol of the Orlog, the first principle. The source of water and the roots of the tree represent also the past, the ethnic memory of a people or a man, roots which must be nurtured to make them flourish and produce a future.

The pantheon of Heathenism comprehends various gods divided traditionally into three "races", the Ases or "Anses", the Wanes and the Ettins or most commonly Jotuns. Every Heathen tradition uses different names for the gods based on the particular ethnic culture they are drawing from. The Ases mostly pertain to the sphere of human society, they govern the arts, force, law, wisdom, et cetera; on the other hand the Wanes embody elements and forces of nature, such as fertility, water, beauty. The Jotuns are the gigantic, elemental, primordial chaotic forces which the gods interact with and sublimate in their creative action of shaping reality. Anyhow the different divine races often overlap in domain and function.

The gods are conceived as the strains of the Orlog who create order out of chaos, who discipline the Jotuns. Their struggle to sustain the order is a perennial creation, the perpetual becoming, and renewal of the Wyrd. Also humans share on their level the struggle of the gods creating and maintaining through sacrifice and commitment the order of their own families and societies, and aligning themselves with the godly powers both without and within through worship.

Within the Heathen communities the way of conceiving the gods has developed in roughly five ways. The first idea of the divine is the belief in the gods as actual entities, distinct intelligences and wits, who were begotten by the unfolding of the cosmos. The second conception is the view of the gods as representations or manifestations of the forces of nature, the myths and lore are allegorical teachings in which the gods are personified into characters; this theory can be monistic further than pantheistic, viewing the gods as facets of one only ultimate reality, which can be the Orlog or Wyrd, or, according to some Odinists, Odin as he became one with the world tree.

The third idea is that of the gods as archetypes, "wells" of conscious and unconscious memory in which new life, enthusiasm, and energy for the soul and willpower of the individual, group, or people can be taken. This third conception is based on Jungianism. The fourth idea is similar to the third and views the gods as models for men, patters which men can emulate to perfect their own self; thus the gods are conscious, subconscious, and unconscious forces projected by the self. The fifth and last theory is that the nature of divinity is multifaceted, and gods can be at the same time conscious beings, embodiments of the rules of nature, archetypes and models of human perfection.

Germanic Neopaganism has a strong leaning towards animism. This is most apparent in the worship of the Elves (Álfar in Old Norse), Wights, various beings of folklore (Kobold, Huldufólk). It is believed that Elves or land-spirits can inhabit natural objects such as trees or stones. These spirits can, and do, take sides in the affairs of the inhabitants of their land. This is in imitation of historical Norse paganism, which had strong animistic tendencies, as reflected in sagas such as that of a wizard who goes to Iceland in whale-shape to see if it can be invaded, who is attacked by land-spirits while going on shore, and is forced to flee.

It is believed by some Heathens that inanimate objects can have a soul of their own, or a fate (since everything is pervaded by the gods and the Wyrd), and therefore should be given a name, the most common cases being the naming of weapons like Gram. The objects are not "charged" before use, but have the fate or innate power within them a priori.

Ethics and soteriology

The ethics of Heathenry are conditioned by both fate and luck. The Germanic Neopagan community is primarily bound together by common symbological and social concepts. The Nine Noble Virtues represent a codified axiom of ethics shared by almost all Heathens; these virtues (or thews, a word with a Germanic etymology) are drawn from the Hávamál, one of the poems of the Poetic Edda. These values are: courage, discipline, fidelity, honour, hospitality, industriousness, perseverance, self-reliance and truth. Truthfulness, self-reliance, and hospitality are important moral distinctions, underpinning an especially cherished notion of honour. Germanic Neopaganism notably lacks any discourse about redemption or salvation from sin.

In addition to the Nine Noble Virtues there are other ethical axioms, such as the Nine Charges recognised mostly by the Odinic Rite members. Specific Heathen denominations may implement also their own sets of values, for example Fyrnsidu has the Twelve Great Thews and the Sidungas, Urglaawe has additional Five Noble Virtues, Rökkatrú has a set of Thirteen Rules.

Although Germanic Neopagans revere the forces of nature, Germanic Neopaganism is not a "nature religion" in the sense of other currents often found in other Neopagan religions, and adherents oppose neither technology nor its material rewards. More mystical currents of Heathenry may be critical of industrialization or modern society, but even such criticism will focus on decadence, lack of virtue or balance, rather than being a radical criticism of technology itself.

Regarding afterlife, the Heathens may hold different views. According to the Heathen lore, the soul is not a single entity, but a composite of parts both physical and metaphysical, a microcosm of the immense macrocosm. The soul is typically thought to have nine to twelve parts, however some Heathens combine some of the soul parts. These beliefs makes sens since according to myths man was created by the gifts of three gods, Odin, Hoenir and Lodur.

The most commonly recognised parts are the Lik or the physical body, the Ond or the divine breath which connects us to the greater web of being, the Hame or imagination which shapes our being, the Mod or the incarnated being which contains the emotions of a life, and the Wod or inspiration. Anyway the definitions can vary greatly from one group to another.

A popular belief among Germanic Neopagans is that of reincarnation; the Heathen view of reincarnation is exposed in the concept of Apterburder contained in the Edda. The Apterburder (roughly "rebirth") is the process whereby the essence of a man is handed down to his generations allowing him to be reborn later in the same kinship; in other words Heathens believe that reincarnation happens within the boundaries of a kinship, a genetic lineage — for example the grandson is the reincarnation of the grandfather or even earlier generations.

An icelandic Heathen community of the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið preparing for a Þingblót at Þingvellir.

Rites and practices

The primary deities of Germanic Neopaganism are those of the Germanic pantheons. Heathenry also has a component of ancestor worship or veneration. In the simplest form of the adherent's personal practices, direct ancestors (sometimes referred to as Dis) are often praised and honoured during the rituals of sumble and blot. Animism or land veneration is most evident in the rituals dedicated to the Elves and Wights (spirits similar to the Shinto lesser Kami).

Sometimes, communal blots may include — or be part of — rites of passage. Examples of these last are the naming of newborn children to whom the parents give names of Germanic origin, a ceremony which takes place nine days after the birth, but also handfastings and funerals.

When the rituals are communal, the officiant is normally a priest. Heathen priests are usually called godi or "godman/men", and priestesses are called gydia or "godwoman/women". The proper plural of godi (or gothi) and gydia (or gythia) is godar (or gothar). Heathen places of worship can be ve, simply "sacred enclosures" which can be woods or natural shrines, and hofs or "hovs", temple buildings which can be constructed within a ve or not. Currently two hofs are planned for construction in Iceland, one in Reykjavík and one in Akranes, the latter designed by Heathen artist Haukur Halldórsson.

In Sweden the Svenska AsaTempel Föreningen plans to build a temple in Gothenburg. In Denmark local blotgroups have similar projects. The Spanish Odinist-Asatruar Community owns a private property in Albacete where a temple is gradually being built.

Further information: Heathen holidays

Rituals can be held at any time during the year, but important rituals and blots are those held during the Heathen holidays. Lesser holidays can vary in name and date according to the calendars adopted by the various denomination, local traditions and specific organisations, however there are a group of holidays which are acknowledged and celebrated by virtually all Germanic Neopagans. These are Yule or Yuleblot (20-26th December), Thurseblot (19th-20th January), Disablot or "Disting" (31st January-1st February), Ostarablot or Sigerblot (21st March), Walpurgisnacht or "Walpurgisnight" (30th April-1st May, overlapping with "May Day"), Midsummerblot or "Midsummer" (21st-26th June), Freyfaxi or Hleifblot, or "Loaffest" (1st August), Haustblot or "Fallfest" (21st-26th September) and "Winternights" or Winternacht (31st October-1st November).

Besides these holidays, American Asatruars observe many "Days of Remembrance" of various Germanic historical figures important for the Heathen religion. There are also days sacred to specific deities (for example "Vali's Blot" on 14th February, "Frigga's Blot" on 20th May), the "Ancestors' Blot" on 11th November, the Winterfinding and Summerfinding, and the "Yggdrasil Day" on 22nd of April. The 23rd of December, along Yuletide, is Mutternacht or "Mothernight", a holiday celebrating the Matres, Germanic deities representing the Norns, although it can be observed also on 19th to 20th December.

Blot

A simple Heathen altar.

Main article: Blót

Blot is the historical Norse term for sacrifice or ritual slaughter. The word blot actually translates to "blood". Historically, the ritual slaughter of a farm animal was central to the rite. Germanic Neopaganism does not usually include this practice. In Heathenism, blots may be celebrated outdoors in nature or at an altar. A blot may be highly formalized, but the underlying intent resembles inviting the gods to take part in it. The purpose of the blot is strengthening the gods showing them gratitude and giving something back, connecting men and gods, but also "folk-binding" or strengthening the bonds of a community.

The Sagas provide the accounts of how the blot was traditionally performed. The basic blot consists in various parts. At first is the hallowing of the space according to the Hammer Rite or the invocation of the power of god Thor calling for protection and banishment of evil; the invocation can be performed also incensing the space or carrying a candle around.

Then the officiant blesses the offerings. These may consist of food and drink, most of which will be consumed by the participants or poured out onto the soil as a libation. Home-brewed mead as the "Germanic" drink par excellence is popular, however also water can be used. Usually the blot participants are aspersed with the fluid by the officiant using a blottein, a ritual twig cut from an evergreen plant.

Later the officiant or the community evoke the gods, sometimes in song or poetry. Usually the blots corresponding to festivities are deity-specific (Odinsblot, Freyasblot), but there is actually no limit to how many deities can be called.

A ritual horn containing a blessed drink (water, mead, or something else) and symbolising the Well of Wyrd is used, the drink celebrating the connection to the source of the gods. If the blot is communal, the horn is passed person to person by the alekeeper, usually a woman of high regard; each person raises it and hails a god or an ancestor or asks something before drinking. This part is known in Anglo-Saxon Fyrnsidu and Theodish groups as husel, and it is the core practice of the grand ritual of sumble, in which it is expanded and far more formulaic.

If the rite includes a feast some of the food and drink is set aside for the gods, the Wights and the ancestors. The offerings are placed in front of the altar or poured into a bowl used only for ritual called blotbolli. The rest is shared among the participants. If there is no feast, the drink of the horn is offered to the gods and spirits.

The blot ritual may vary from a denomination to another or a group to another. It may be based on historical example, scripted for the occasion, or may be spontaneous. Certain Heathen groups, most notably the Theodish, strictly adhere to historical formulaic ritual and involve the animal sacrifice, usually of a swine or a goat.

Usual dress for a blot is whatever suits the seasons — many blóts are outdoors, sometimes at sacred sites. Some Heathen groups wear traditional clothing modeled on those of the Anglo-Saxons or Norsemen during ritual, while others eschew this practice.

Sumble

Main article: Symbel

Sumble (or symbel in Old English and sumbel in Old Norse) is a term for "feast, banquet, (social) gathering", occasionally used to refer to a special type of solemn drinking ritual attested in more or less comparable forms among various Germanic warrior elites. In such instances, symbel involved a formulaic ritual which was more solemn and serious than mere drinking or celebration. The primary elements of symbel are drinking ale or mead from a horn, speech making (which often included formulaic boasting and oaths), and gift giving.

According to the reconstruction by Paul Bauschatz in his work The Well and the Tree (1983), eating and feasting were specifically excluded from sumble, and no alcohol was set aside for the gods or other deities in the form of a sacrifice.

The host of the sumble was called the symbelgifa in Old English, or sumble-giver. One of the officiants of sumble was the thyle (Old Norse þulr), who challenged and questioned those who made boasts (gielp) or oaths (béot, bregofull), if necessary with taunts or mockery (flyting). Oaths said over the sumble-horn were seen as binding and affecting the luck and Wyrd of all in attendance. The alcoholic drink was served by women or alekeepers (ealu bora "ale bearer"), the first round usually poured by the lady of the house.

The bragarfull "promise-cup" or bragafull "best cup" or "chieftain's cup" was in Norse culture a particular drinking from a cup or drinking horn on ceremonial occasions, often involving the swearing of oaths when the cup or horn was drunk by a chieftain or passed around and drunk by those assembled.

In American Asatru as developed by Stephen McNallen and Robert Stine, the sumbel is a drinking-ritual in which a drinking horn full of mead or ale is passed around and a series of toasts are made, first to the gods, then to other divine beings, then to heroes or ancestors, and then to others. Participants may also make boasts of their own deeds, or oaths or promises of future actions. Words spoken during the sumble are considered and consecrated, becoming part of the Wyrd of those assembled. Since the sumble is mainly derived from Anglo-Saxon sources the ritual is not known by this name among Icelandic Nordic Neopagans, who nevertheless practice a similar ritual as part of the blot, corresponding to the Anglo-Saxon husel.

Within Greater Heathenry, but in Theodism and Fyrnsidu in particular, the symbel has a particularly high importance, considered "the highest and most important rite" or "amongst the most holy rites" celebrated. It is considered a fate-weaving ritual, a commitment to future evolution, a ritual conditioning the Wyrd of the community. Each action of which the sumble is composed serves to strengthen the unity and interconnected luck between the participants. In sumble, the Heathens are called to remember those past deeds which strengthened their luck and brought might to the group, and they are called to rise above unshining deeds. The sumble reinforces the cohesiveness of the community setting each person not only in the active flow of Wyrd, but bringing them in alignment with the wisdom of their collective ancestry. It reaffirms the ethnic identity of a group.

Women are considered very important in the sumble ritual, they're usually the alekeepers who pass the ritual horn among participants. Of course more liberal sects give also men the opportunity to perform this task. This is because women are those who traditionally take care of the new generations, setting a future for the ethnicity, and in the myth are the three feminine Norns who nurture the world tree Yggdrasill and have access to the Urdarbrunn, sustaining all creation.

Quoting New York City Council member and Theodsman member of the Normannii Theod Dan Halloran: "Setting at Symbel is an act of setting words into the Well in a metaphysical attempt to affect Wyrd and direct it. It is the feminine aspect that is 'active' in this task and carries the water to the Well, sprinkling the Tree, and forcing the dynamic cycle of Wyrd to flow. It is the Woman who bares the Wyrd back and forth to the Well — which of course is also the metaphysical embodiment of the feminine 'frithy' part to the Tree's 'worthy' masculine part".

Seid

Main article: Seiðr

Seid or Seider (Seiðr in Old Norse) and Spae are forms of "sorcery" or "witchcraft", the latter having aspects of prophecy and shamanism. Seid and spae are not common rituals, and are not engaged in by many adherents of Germanic Neopaganism. Usually seid or spae rituals are modeled after the ritual detailed in the Saga of Eric the Red: a seiðkona dressed in traditional garb will sit on a high-seat or platform and prophesy in a formulaic manner as women sing or chant galder around her.

In the United Kingdom, seid relies less on formal ritual and more informal practices of healing (Blain, Jenny. 2002b), protection, and for developing links with land and ancestors. It may be related — in past and present — to alterations of consciousness and negotiations with otherworldly beings. The berserkergang may be described as a sort of religious ecstasy, associated with Odin, and thus a masculine variant of the 'effeminate' ecstasy of seid.

History

Romanticist Germanic mysticism

Main articles: Germanic mysticism and Viking revival

The first modern attempt of revival of ancient Germanic religion took place in the 19th century during the late Romantic Period amidst a general resurgence of interest in traditional Germanic culture, in particular in connection with romantic nationalism in Scandinavia and the related Viking revival in Victorian era Britain. Germanic mysticism is an occultist current loosely inspired by "Germanic" topics, notably runes. It has its beginnings in the early 20th century (Ariosophy, Guido von List's "Armanism", Karl Maria Wiligut's "Irminism", et cetera).

The last traditional pagan sacrifices in Scandinavia, at Trollkyrka, appear to date to about this time. Organized Germanic Heathen or occult groups such as the Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft emerged in Germany in the early 20th century. The connections of this movement to historical Germanic paganism are tenuous at best, with emphasis lying on the esoteric as taught by the likes of Julius Evola, Guido von List and Karl Maria Wiligut.

In the first two decades of the twentieth century an overtly Heathen movement known as "Heroic Vitalism" became mainstream in Australian art. It had no connection with isolated Continental thinkers like von List. Most leading Australian painters, sculptors and poets of that generation, such as Norman Lindsay, Rayner Hoff and Kenneth Slessor, pioneered this movement. In the 1930s Odinism became an established faith in Australia, led by such people as Rud Mills, Evelyn Price and Annie Lennon.

Nazi period and World War II

Several early members of the Nazi Party were part of the Thule Society, a study group for German antiquity. While it is postulated that occult elements played an important role in the formative phase of Nazism, and of the SS in particular, after his rise to power Adolf Hitler discouraged such pursuits. Point 24 of the National Socialist Program stated that the party endorsed "Positive Christianity".

The eclectic German Faith Movement (Deutsche Glaubensbewegung), founded by the Sanskrit scholar Jakob Wilhelm Hauer, enjoyed a degree of popularity during the Nazi period. Some Germanic mysticists were victimized by the Nazis: Friedrich Bernhard Marby spent 99 months in KZ Dachau, and Siegfried Adolf Kummer's fate is unknown.

Several books published by the Nazi party including Die Gestaltung der Feste im Jahres- und Lebenslauf in der SS-Familie ("The Celebrations in the Life of the SS Family") by Fritz Weitzel, as well as the SS Tante Friede, illustrate how the National Socialists thought traditional Germanic Heathenry was primitive superstition which needed reworking to better serve the state. Celebrating the traditional festivals like Jul and Sommersonnenwende were encouraged and recast into veneration of the Nazi state and Führer.

The appropriation of "Germanic antiquity" by the Nazis was at first regarded with skepticism and sarcasm by British Scandophiles. W. H. Auden in his Letters from Iceland (1936) makes fun of the idea of Iceland as an "Aryan vestige". but with the outbreak of World War II, Nordic romanticism in Britain became too much associated with the enemy's ideology to remain palatable, to the point that J. R. R. Tolkien, an ardent Septentrionalist, in 1941 found himself moved to state that he had a "burning private grudge [...] against that ruddy little ignoramus Adolf Hitler" for "ruining, perverting, misapplying, and making for ever accursed, that noble northern spirit, a supreme contribution to Europe, which I have ever loved, and tried to present in its true light."

Meanwhile, in Australia, several leading Odinists (including Rud Mills and Les Cahill) were sent to concentration camps for advocating that Australian troops should be withdrawn from Europe to Australia to defend that country against Japanese aggression. Their formal religious organisation, the Anglecyn Church of Odin, was dissolved and went underground. In time, older members of the Australian Odinist movement tutored a later generation, which formed the Odinic Rite of Australia in 1994, and in 1995 received official recognition from the Australian Tax Office.

Second revival, 1960s to present

Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson, leader of Ásatrúarfélagið, at a blót in 1991.

Another revival, this time based on folklore and historical research rather than on mysticist speculation, took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In Iceland the Ásatrúarfélagið, led by farmer Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson, was recognized as a religious organization by the Icelandic government in 1973. In the United States, around the same period, Else Christensen began publishing The Odinist newsletter and Stephen McNallen began publishing a newsletter titled The Runestone. McNallen formed an organization called the Asatru Free Assembly, which was later renamed the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA). The AFA fractured in 1987-88, resulting in the creation of the Ásatrú Alliance, headed by Valgard Murray, publisher of the Vor Tru newsletter. Around the same time, the Ring of Troth (now simply The Troth) was founded by other former members of the AFA.

In 1972 the spiritual descendants of Mills' Odinist movement in Australia obtained from the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia a written undertaking that open profession of Odinism in Australia would not be persecuted. The Odinic Rite of Australia subsequently obtained tax deductible status from the Australian Taxation Office. It accepts this as the definition of Odinism: "the continuation of [...] the organic spiritual beliefs and religion of the indigenous peoples of northern Europe as embodied in the Edda and as they have found expression in the wisdom and in the historical experience of these peoples".

In 1976 Garman Lord formed the Witan Theod, the first Theodish group. Shortly thereafter, Ealdoraed Lord founded the Moody Hill Theod in Watertown, New York. The Angelseaxisce Ealdriht formed in 1996 and was founded by Swain Wodening and Winifred Hodge. Theodism now encompasses groups practicing tribal beliefs from Scandinavia and the Continent, in addition to following in the model set forth by the early Anglo Saxon peoples. During the same year Adolf Schleipfer and Sigrun von Schlichting founded the Armanen-Orden.

The Odinic Rite was established in England in 1972, and in the 1990s expanded to include chapters or kindred bodies in Germany (1995), Australia (1995) and North America (1997) and later (2006) to the Netherlands. In 1992, The Odin Brotherhood by Mark Mirabello contained claims of a surviving Odinist "secret society", allegedly founded in 1421 to save the Pagan tradition from Christian persecution, comparable to the Witch-cult hypothesis forwarded by Gerald Gardner (1954). Neopagan groups calling themselves "Odin Brotherhood" based on Mirabello's account have since been listed in The Encyclopedia of American Religions.

In Germany, the Heidnische Gemeinschaft founded by Géza von Neményi in 1985. In 1991 the Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft (GGG), led by von Neményi, split off from the Heidnische Gemeinschaft. In 1997 the Nornirs Ætt was founded as part of the Rabenclan and in 2000 the Eldaring was founded. The Eldaring is affiliated with the United States-based Troth.

Within Scandinavian Heathenism the Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed formed in the early 1990s and the Swedish Forn Sed Assembly (formerly "Swedish Asatru Assembly") formed in 1994, whilst in Norway the Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost formed in 1996 and Foreningen Forn Sed formed in 1999. They have been recognized by the Norwegian government as religious organisations, allowing them to perform "legally binding civil ceremonies" (id est marriages). In Denmark the Forn Siðr — Ásatrú and Vanatrú Association in Denmark also formed in 1999 (and recognized by the state in 2003), while the Asetrosamfundet Danmark formed few years later. In Sweden Nätverket Gimle formed in 2001, as an informal community for individual Heathens; Nätverket Forn Sed formed in 2004, and has a network consisting of local groups from all over the Sweden. The term used for local worship groups in Sweden and Scandinavia, corresponding to "kindred", is blotlag; in Denmark the term blotgruppe ("blotgroup") dominates.

In the United Kingdom, State recognition of Neopaganism occurred as a coincidence of the legal case Royal Mail group PLC versus Donald Holden in 2006. Holden, a member of the Odinist Fellowship, sued his former employer for unfair dismissal.

In 2010, in the United States, the State of Missouri officially recognized the Jotun's Bane Kindred as a church. The Jotun's Bane Kindred is a folkish kindred based in Kansas City and is most notably known for hosting Lightning Across The Plains, an annual Heathen gathering at Camp Gaea in McLouth. It is arguably the largest Heathen gathering in the world.

Distribution of adherents

This map shows the countries in which Heathenism or at least one Heathen organisation has been granted legal recognition.

Demographics

Today, Germanic Neopaganism is practiced throughout the world. Scandinavia, Germany, Britain, North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand all have numerous Germanic Neopagan organizations. Groups and practitioners also exist in other parts of Europe and in Latin America.

The exact number of adherents worldwide is unknown. There are perhaps a few thousand practitioners in North America (10,000 to 20,000 according to McNallen), about 1,700 in Iceland, and many thousands in other nations. These figures, however, do not include the many thousands of Germanic Heathens who are not members of any group, nor do they include the two or three thousand affiliated Odinists in Australia.

North America

Further information: Ásatrú in the United States

According to the findings of the American Religious Identification Survey of 2008 in the United States 340,000 people self-identify as "Pagan" (up from 140,000 in 2001) and 342,000 as "Wiccan" (up from 134,000 in 2001). The total number of Neopagans worldwide has been estimated at roughly between one and three millions. Other than the Ásatrú Alliance and the Asatru Folk Assembly, American Asatru is represented also by many local independent kindreds.

Further information: Heathenry in Canada

In Canada according to the 2001 Census 21,080 people identified as Pagan an 381% increase from 5,530 in 1991. How many of these are Heathen can only be speculated and it is possible that the number may be higher, but out of fear of prejudice they do not disclose. However, Heathenry has grown greatly in Canada since 2001 with the creation of many independent kindreds and some provincial organizations.

Britain

Further information: Neopaganism in the United Kingdom and Odinic Rite

The Odinic Rite (OR) was founded in 1973 under the influence of Else Christensen's Odinist Study Group. In 1988 the Odinic Rite became the first polytheistic religious organisation to be granted "Registered Charity" status in the United Kingdom. In England various independent Anglo-Saxon kindreds exist such as the Wuffacynn of Suffolk and Northern Essex, the Fealu Hlæw Þeod based in Hathersage and Peak District and the Þunorrad Þeod covering the Kingdom of Mercia. British Odinists are very active in the media, they also run the Odinist Press Service.

Scandinavia

Swedish Forn Sed Association members holding a blót near Kåseberga, Österlen, in Scania, Sweden.

Further information: Neopaganism in Scandinavia

The Ásatrúarfélagið was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973, for its first 20 years it was led by farmer and poet Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. As of the first half of 2011, it has 1,700 members, corresponding to 0.6% of the Icelandic population.

In Sweden the Swedish Forn Sed Association formed in 1994, while the Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed was founded in the early 1990s. In Denmark Forn Siðr formed in 1999, and was officially recognized in 2003. The Norwegian Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost formed in 1996; as of 2011, the fellowship has some 300 official members. Foreningen Forn Sed formed in 1999 and has been recognized by the Norwegian government as a religious organization.

Continental Europe

Further information: Neopaganism in Germany and Austria and Neopaganism in Latin Europe

Interest in Heathenism in particular became apparent in Germany in the later 1990s, based on inspiration from the English speaking world rather than historical Deutschgläubig or Arman groups, with the re-activation of the Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft (which has recently opened an international branch) in 1991, followed by the foundation of the Rabenclan in 1994 and of the Verein für Germanisches Heidentum in 1995 as German chapters of the Odinic Rite — they later became independent organisations. The Verein für Germanisches Heidentum has operational chapters such as Asatru Hamburg.

The Nornirs Ætt was founded in 1997, and the Eldaring as a chapter of the American The Troth in 2000. Other groups active in Germany are the Heidnische Gemeinschaft, and the Arman-oriented Armanen-Orden and Artgemeinschaft. In Switzerland a general Ásatrú group, Asatru Schweiz is active. The Swiss Firno Situ and the Thuringian Firne Sitte both focus on Alaman Neopaganism.

The Werkgroep Traditie is a Flemish (Belgian) group founded by Koenraad Logghe in the 1990s; another Belgian group is the Werkgroep Hagal. In the Netherlands, there are the Nederlands Heidendom formed in 2000 and the Het Rad.

In Northern Italy there is also a chapter of Odinic Rite, the Lombard Comunità Odinista. There are Heathen movements found in Spain, including the Gotland Forn Sed and the Odinist Community of Spain — Ásatrú (OCSA). In 2007, it became the fourth Heathen group to gain governmental recognition as a religious organization, and the first outside of Scandinavia.

Approaches to the lore

Solitary practice is common, but a lot of Heathens choose to plant or join local worship groups. These are often called kindreds or hearths, although often they are not formal. Germanic Neopagan organizations have been active since the 1970s, but most of these larger groups are loose federations of local kindreds and do not require committed membership comparable to a church. Consequently, there is no central authority, and associations remain in a state of fluidity as factions form and break up. There are possibilities to analyse Heathenism considering the diverse approaches of groups or individuals to the Germanic cultural heritage.

One common way is the classification by beliefs in ethnicity ("folk"). This may range from ethnic nationalist (Völkisch) attitudes with far right tendencies on one hand (the Nouvelle Droite of Alain de Benoist notably has ties to such currents of Neopaganism) to moderate "tribalist" notions of ethnicity as based in tradition and culture, and to "universalist" approaches which de-emphasize differences between ethnic traditions. The ethnonationalist and folkish approach is particularly represented by the Odinist movement, while the tribalist position is typical of Theodism. Scandinavian Forn Siðr groups and other Heathen religions may or may not be ethnonationalist or tribalist.

Other groups may be categorised according to other patterns; this is the case of the occult groups following Ariosophical doctrines, Vrilology, or Odianism. The Odian movement is an inter-denominational doctrine initiated by Stephen Flowers which advocates esoteric forms of Germanic Heathenry based on runology. It is also known as "Esoteric Runosophy" and is organised into the Rune-Gild. Odians are generally ostracised by other denominations of Heathenry because of Flowers' past involvements in the Temple of Set and other occult groups.

Political ideologies

Despite a common Germanic cosmology and belief system, adherents of Germanic Neopaganism hold a wide spectrum of political beliefs from left to right and green. Mattias Gardell, reader for religious history at the University of Stockholm, categorizes Germanic Neopagan movements into the three strains of "militant racist", "ethnic" and "nonracist" particularly focusing on North America. In the militant racist position, Heathenism is an expression of the "Aryan racial soul". The ethnic position is that of "tribalism", ethnocentric but opposed to the militant racist position. According to Gardell, the militant racist faction has grown significantly in North America during the early 2000s, estimating that, as of 2005, it accounts for 40-50% of North American Heathens with the other two factions at close to 30% each. Beyond such speculation, however, no ample statistics exist on the matter.

Germanic Neopagan groups are generally organized into democratic and republican forms of church government, as inspired by the parliamentary Things of the Viking Era and subsequent parliamentary systems of Britain and the Scandinavian countries. They promote individual rights and freedom of speech reminiscent of the free jarls of the Sagas.

In the United States, early Germanic Neopagan groups such as Else Christensen's Odinist Fellowship held National Socialist philosophies, but later dropped these associations. Currently, the three largest Germanic Neopagan groups in the United States specifically denounce racism and National Socialism. There is an antagonistic relationship between many neo-Nazis and the membership of most Ásatrú organizations in the USA, who view "national socialism as an unwanted totalitarian philosophy incompatible with freedom-loving Norse paganism".

Racism

See also: Neo-völkisch movements

Odalism (a philosophy of Social Darwinism) and Wotanism (a racist and Neo-Nazi position held by David Lane) are two terms primarily focused on politics rather than religion. On his homepage, Varg Vikernes, one proponent of Odalism, explains his understanding of "Paganism" with explicit racist referencing.

Jeffrey Kaplan documents the growth of Odinism in the United States and its link with the American Neo-Nazi scene. He notes that there is a division between Odinists embracing Nazi ideology and others Heathens without racist motivations. The tensions between racist and non-racist Odinists are cast into the "folkish" versus "universalist" debate. Were these tensions that led to the demise of the Ásatrú Free Assembly in 1986 and the emergence of two separate movements, the Ásatrú Alliance and The Troth in the following year.

The Troth and the Ásatrú Alliance, explicitly denounce racism. The homepage of The Troth states that The Troth does not support any misuse of Germanic religion and culture to advance causes of racism, white supremacy, or any other form of discrimination. The Asatru Alliance webpage states that the Asatru Alliance promotes the native culture of the Northern European peoples. However, we do not practice, preach, or promote hatred, bigotry, or racism. In addition, prominent figures in American Asatru today such as Steven McNallen and Freya Aswynn have expressed their distaste for the racist connotations of some of the more radical practitioners of Ásatrú.

When the FBI identified potential threats towards the domestic security of the United States related to the turn of the millennium in 2000, in the Project Megiddo report it was stated that: "Without question, this initiative [id est Project Megiddo itself] has revealed indicators of potential violent activity on the part of extremists in this country. Militias, adherents of racist belief systems such as Christian Identity and Odinism, and other radical domestic extremists are clearly focusing on the millennium as a time of action". The report also states that "the Project Megiddo intelligence initiative has identified very few indications of specific threats to domestic security". This report, published in 1999, describes "threats", however since the turn of the millennium no terrorist activities have been attributed to any Odinist group.

Aesthetics and symbolism

The Algiz rune.

Originally grown out of 19th century Romanticism, the Viking revival had associations with the Gothic novel and Romantic art such as the Pre-Raphaelites or the Art Nouveau. Also of note is the influence of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle. Artistic taste of adherents are often related to the High Fantasy genre based on Germanic mythology. New Age currents are another influence, although not necessarily related. These elements may blend with traditional Germanic folklore.

While generally any symbol deriving from pre-Christian Germanic culture may be used, particularly popular symbols of Germanic Neopaganism are depictions of the Mjolnir, the Irminsul, the Yggdrasil and the Vaulknot amongst others. Depictions of Germanic gods are also common. The runic alphabet is popular, in particular the Odal, Tiwaz and Algiz runes.

The US Anti-Defamation League listed numerous symbols associated with Heathenism as "hate symbols", but following an internet-based campaign by Heathen groups inserted a disclaimer to the effect that the symbols listed "are often used by nonracists today, especially practitioners of modern pagan religions". Additionally, the swastika may be used by some groups such as the Odinic Rite, who seek to "rehabilitate" it, based on some archaeological evidence for the symbol's use in Germanic antiquity. The Armanen runes, created by Guido von List indicate an influence deriving from the work of Listian Germanic mysticism rather than reconstructive forms of Heathenry.

List of organizations

Further information: List of Neopagan movements

• United Kingdom
  • Odinic Rite
  • Odinist Fellowship
  • Heathen Alliance
  • Woden's Folk
  • Wuffacynn
  • Fealu Hlæw Þeod
  • Urd's Well Kindred
• United States
  • Asatru Folk Assembly
  • Ásatrú Alliance
  • The Troth
  • Geferræden Fyrnsida
  • Church of Vrilology
  • Irminen-Gesellschaft
  • Wanderer Kindred
  • Jotun's Bane Kindred
  • Raven Kindred North
  • Fincastali Hearth
  • Wolf Tree Kindred
  • Falcon Kindred
  • Axenthof Thiad — Frisian Theodism
  • White Marsh Theod — Anglo-Saxon Theodism
  • Sweartfenn Theod — Anglo-Saxon Theodism
  • Œðelland — Jutish Theodism
  • Holy Nation of Odin — Odinist group
  • The Einherjar Hearth
• Australia
  • Odinic Rite of Australia
• Canada
  • Heathen Freehold Society of British Columbia
  • Heathen House
  • Maritime Heathens
  • Kenaz Kindred
  • Mapleheim Kindred
  • Millerstead Kindred
  • Odin's Volk Kindred
  • Rúnatýr Kindred
  • Thunder Oak Hearth
  • Wayfarers Kindred
  • Wodan's Kindred

• Scandinavia
  • Ásatrúarfélagið
  • Forn Sed Denmark
  • Asetrosamfundet
  • Foreningen Forn Sed
  • Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost
  • Swedish Forn Sed Assembly
  • Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed
• German-speaking Europe
  • Eldaring
  • Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft - International
  • Heidnische Gemeinschaft
  • Asatru Ring Frankfurt & Midgard
  • Verein für Germanisches Heidentum
  • Nornirs Ætt
  • Asatru Hamburg
  • Asatru Schweiz
  • Firno Situ Schweiz
  • Firne Sitte Thuringen
  • Rabenclan
  • Armanen-Orden
  • Artgemeinschaft
• Netherlands, Flanders
  • Nederlands Heidendom
  • Het Rad
  • Werkgroep Traditie
  • Werkgroep Hagal
• Belgium, France, Switzerland
  • Félag Ásatrú Francophone
• Southern Europe
  • Comunità Odinista
  • Comunidad Odinista de España-Asatru
  • Gotland Forn Sed
• Other countries
  • Costa Rica: Kindred Irminsul
  • Poland: Asatru Poland
  • Slovakia: Asatru Slovensko
  • China: Forn Siðr Blótsfélag Sjánghais

See also

• Germanic paganism
• Norse paganism
• Norse mythology
• Neopaganism
• Polytheistic reconstructionism
• Neopaganism in Scandinavia
• Neopaganism in German-speaking Europe

References

• Blain, Jenny, 2002a. Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic: Ecstasy and neo-Shamanism in North European Paganism. London: Routledge.
• Blain, Jenny, 2002b. 'Magic, healing or death? Issues of seidr, ‘balance” and morality in past and present'. In P. A. Baker and G Carr (eds) Practitioners, Practices and Patients: New Approaches to Medical Archaeology and Anthropology pp 161–171. London: Routledge
• Blain, Jenny, 2006. 'Heathenry, the past, and sacred sites in today’s Britain'. In Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives ed. M. Strmiska. ABC-Clio. Available as e-book from http://ebooks.abc-clio.com .
• Blain, Jenny and Robert J. Wallis, 2002. 'Contemporary Paganism and Archaeology: Irreconcilable?' Paper given at conference on Archaeology in the Public Domain, Sheffield, 9 March 2002. Online: available http://www.sacredsites.org.uk/papers/aypublic.html
• Coulter, Hjuka (2003). Germanic Heathenry. Authorhouse. ISBN 1410765857. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Dubois, T. 1999 Nordic religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812217144
• Gardell, Matthias (2003). Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. pp. 269–283. ISBN 0822330717. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors= and |month= (help)
• Gunndarsson, Kveldulf, Elves, Wights, and Trolls: Studies Towards the Practice of Germanic Heathenry: Vol. I. iUniverse, Inc. 2007. ISBN 0595421652
• Hunt-Anschutz, Arlea, 2002 'Heathenry'. In The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism, Ed. S. Rabinovitch and J. Lewis, p. 126-7. New York: Citadel Press.
• Johnson, Nathan J. and Robert J. Wallis, 2005. Galdrbok: Practical Heathen Runecraft, Shamanism and Magic. Winchester: Wykeham Press. ISBN 0954960904
• Price, Neil. 2002. The Viking Way: Religion and War in Late Iron Age Scandinavia. Uppsala: Uppsala University Press.
• Strmiska, Michael (2006). "Heathenry, the past, and sacred sites in today's Britain by Jenny Blain". Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1851096086. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |origmonth=, |month=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)
• Wodening, Swain (2003). Hammer of the Gods: Anglo-Saxon Paganism in Modern Times. Global Book Publisher. ISBN 159457006X. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

Resources

• Heathenry Wiki, an external wiki
• Heimskringla. Norse source texts in original Old Norse, as well as modern Nordic languages.
• Northvegr Center. Resource for the advancement of knowledge and understanding in areas related to Heathen lore and literature.
• Heathen Gods Temple Library. An extensive on-line collection of Heathen texts, including various translations of the Eddas, Sagas, and other texts.
• Ravencast - The Asatru Podcast. An extensive podcast with interviews of Asatruar of note and 101 topics.
• The Modern Heathen
• Forn Siðr - Reviving the Elder Way

Services

• Odinist Press Service
• The Journal of Contemporary Heathen Thought
• Huginn Journal and Press
• A Heathen's Day
• Heathen Pages. Heathen Networking.

Non-denominational organisations

• Heathen Nation. A non-profit fraternal, educational and charitable organization.
• Heathen Alliance
• Heathen House
• Free Folk Society
• Heathens Against Hate
• Heathens For Progress

Other

• BBC Heathenry Section. Article on heathenry written by members of the Association of Polytheist Traditions.
• Odin Brotherhood
• Germanic Heathenry Forum