Just wanted to empty my head a bit ;-)

Ok, first let me preface this with the disclaimer that I am just jotting down some random thoughts. So I may wander a bit. Didn’t have anything particular I wanted to cover so I thought I would just talk about things that have been going on in the last couple of months. This is my blog on religion so I guess things will have a religious slant to them ;-)

First I’d like to talk about my daughter. She either has a very active imagination or is in possession of a very special gift. She has surprised me at numerous times now with things that could be described as odd at the very least. Once again let me reiterate that although I believe in spirits I don’t believe in ghost as most people believe in them. I feel a person’s spirit moves on in ways we don’t understand but as for a ghost materializing and interacting with someone, I have a hard time believing that. My daughter however seems to have the uncanny ability to know the whereabouts or state of mind of family members even though they are far away. She has told me before where my father was and who he was with. She has predicted when he wasn’t home with almost 100% accuracy, so accurate now it has become spooky. She has told me when members of the family are sad, not feeling well, etc... Some of the spookier things are the stories she tells me. She told me her grandmother (daddy’s mommy) comes to her at night and sings to her. My mother passed over a year ago. I have heard her talking to people in her room, sometimes in whispers. The other night I laid down with her as she was going to sleep. I turned my back to her and started to drift off myself when I was woke up by her having a conversation with someone. It was kind of like listening to half of a phone conversation. When I asked her who she was talking to she seemed to get really embarrassed. She then told me she didn’t know her name she was just an old woman. I little shocked I asked her where this old woman was and she pointed to the foot of her bed and said “she was right there, but she is gone now” I then asked her what they were talking about and she said “I can’t tell you, she said she has a box for me but it’s a surprise” and that was it. I asked her if she knew the old woman’s name and my daughter said no, she didn’t tell her. That is the odd part, my daughter even named her horse on the carousel. She names all of her “pretend” friends and is pretty up front when when I ask her if something is real or pretend. She was pretty firm that this lady didn’t have a name and was getting upset when I pressed her for one. That is what made it feel more real, and thus spooky. Maybe a child’s mind is just more sensitive to these kinds of things, who knows.

I am perfectly willing to believe as we grow older much of the magic is programmed out of us. Would the world be different if we remained open and spiritual? I find my world is much less mechanical and systematic because I am fairly open to the idea that things are not as they seem. Like with the ghost thing, I don’t really believe in it but I won’t say it’s impossible. I will not tell somebody they didn’t see a ghost because of my beliefs. For all I know some people may see them all of the time, I however do not. Maybe it is because I have convinced myself that they don’t exist and am now less sensitive to them.

Religion I feel is much the same way. It’s like chasing ghost. I have a friend who I grew up with that almost died of cancer a few years ago. He found god (of the Christian type) and now credits his faith with his full recovery and general well being now. To him that proved his god was the right choice and is now fully into the Christian faith. I also had a cousin who had a tumor on her thyroid. The doctors had her on her death bed. Her mother, my aunt, became very religious during this ordeal and talked her daughter into praying to god for help. She was baptized and few months later the tumor is gone. These are both 100% true stories and quite inspirational, but did god have anything to do with them? I think this is more of a faith based event, or perhaps just the roll of the dice. My mother was a devote Catholic and went through 20 years of agony before she finally passed, why was she not worthy of being cured? I know she had plenty of faith. Was god teaching her a lesson? I don’t think so, perhaps that is just the way the ball bounces. I think our gods guide us, like a father or mother would do. I’m not sure they can direct the flow of nature however, and that is what things like cancer are, just nature. Maybe the gods were there for my mother giving her the strength to last 20 years past the time she should of passed, in the end nature took it’s course. When I blew my back out this summer every doctor and physical therapist I saw said I was down for the year, they back just won’t heal fast enough. Well now it is August and I’m back to throwing and lifting with my doctor saying she had never seen someone come back from an injury like I had so fast. I could easily say the gods cured me, but I don’t think they did. I just think things healed fast, maybe I won’t heal so fast next time. Who knows, nature is unpredictable.

What the gods did give me was the strength to not get discouraged, the strength to get back at it and not be afraid. If I hurt myself again, no big deal I’ll just need to wait it out again. That is where help from the gods comes from, helping you help yourself.

Be careful in what you attribute to faith. Thinking god magically steps in and heals you is a cop out. The gods are more like parents trying to guide you on the right path. Living through an ordeal like cancer should strengthen you, not cause you to put your faith in the “god fixed me” nonsense. You fixed yourself and if you were spiritual at the time perhaps the gods were there for you to lean on, but in no way do I believe they magically healed you.

I believe our gods have a way about them that builds stronger people. The type of people who would survive adversity and not expect god to send them a life raft. Well, that is todays rant ;-) Life is good, although I am totally bumbed that the Folkfest was canceled this year!!! I was going to take my daughter to it :-(

Not an Atheist or Agnostic!

No I am not an Atheist or Agnostic. Why is it people think if you are not Christian you are Atheist? I thought my blog was rather clear as to my beliefs. Atheism is a lack of belief in ANY god. Agnostic would be believing that there is a greater force that has yet to be proven. I am Odinist/Asatru, I believe in the gods of our ancestors. That is not Atheism or Agnosticism. I will even go as far as to say I believe the Christian/Jewish/Islamic god is a real god. Jesus I’m a little shaky on. I don’t feel he was anything other than a cult leader. I am having a hard time believing that the Old Testament god woke up all of the sudden and said “Hey, I need this dude Jesus to explain how I have changed this last couple of years. I am a nice guy now” Just doesn’t cut it with me. Most churches today, as I see it, no longer worship that original god. They have become Jesus worshipers. They now worship a man who claims to speak for god (or God speaks through him) and basically changes everything that the original god taught. I’m guessing big God #1 lost the ability to communicate his wishes after Jesus was born.

I believe in the gods I do because I feel connected to them. It feels natural, it always has. I believe in the values of my gods. I do not believe in the values of the Christian god, that does not mean I don’t believe in that god. I chose not to follow the Christian god because his teachings are not sound. That’s it, end of story.

Happy Midsummer!

Just got back from my neighbor's house after a pretty good midsummer party! Did the bbq thing and then held a little ritual. Was a great night, at least after it rained. But that was all good. It added a nice clean smell to the air.

What day is it?

Most people are ignorant of just how much our gods have given to their every day life. If you take the time to look, they are all around you and you may not even know it. How strong the beliefs must of been before the forced conversion to Christianity. Until some very basic things change I can point you to many things that keep our gods alive in everyday life. Our beliefs are being reborn and they grow stronger every day. The Christian faith has failed it’s people and after 2000 years they are starting to realize it.

So, where to start? How about the days of the week. All but two are named in honor of our gods, the two being Saturday and Sunday. Those two actually get their names from Roman gods. So like it or not, most Christians honor their God on the day named after the Sun. That should come as no surprise as many believe the whole Jesus myth descended from Sun worshiping. Sunday’s roots can actually be traced back to early Egypt. Sun worshiping is thought to be the earliest form of deification. Saturday comes from the Roman god Saturn. Our Scandinavian ancestors actually called it “Löverdag” which comes from the Icelandic word laugr (Bath). So Saturday was literally “bath-day” and yes, that is exactly what that meant. Hey, at least they took baths. Remember up until the 1800’s many people thought baths spread disease lol!

What about the rest of the week you ask, lets have a look:

Monday - From the Germanic god of the moon “Mani” On a side note, the Quakers seem to be the only Christian cult to recognize the Heathen origins of the days. To them Monday is known as the “second day” You have to give them props for being true to their faith. (My family descends from Quakers, we must be a stubborn bunch)

Tuesday - Named after my patron god Tyr. He is the god of justice and once ruler of Aesir who stepped aside to let Odin lead. Tyr was the feeder of Fenris, no other god was brave enough to feed Loki’s son. The gods soon were afraid of Fenris, a giant wolf, after Odin learned he would be the downfall of the Aesir. To trick Fenris into letting himself be tied up (a test of strength) Tyr offered to put his arm in the wolf’s mouth. After Fenris was tricked he bit off Tyr’s arm. This was Tyr’s sacrifice for the safety of his brothers. Lots of dichotomy here, sacrifice for one yet betrays Fenris. Would Fenris have ever grown so hostile towards the Aesir had this never occurred? In the end Odin’s vision comes true.

Wednesday – Named after the Germanic god Woden, or Odin. Leader of the Aesir. It literally means “Woden’s Day”

Thursday – Named after the Norse god Thor. As above, literally means “Day of Thor”

Friday - Here is one for the ladies! The first day named after a goddess. The goddess Freyja, “Day of Freyja” Freyja is the goddess of beauty, fertility, and war. Gotta love that ;-)

Well that covers the days of the week, in the future I will go over various holidays. You may be surprised at the origins of Easter, May day, or how about why December 25th is so important? I’ll give you a clue, it’s not the day Jesus slides down the chimney and lights the menorah.

Ritual items

Lets see, a walk inside my worship rituals. Well, worship is kind of a misnomer. It’s more like a communion with the gods. My prayer times are not at set times, I just do it when I feel it. Our religion is still pretty wide spread and even when it was well followed tended to be kept within tribal boundaries. Many of us practice alone. I like to share my beliefs with others (notice blog) but am a very private person. I have no problem communing in solitude. Some have gathered into family groups called Hearths or Kindreds but many chose to be alone. So lacking a formal place to hold rituals, or blots as we call them, we make our own place.


Here is just a quick overview of the items I use in ritual. First is the blot bowl. Mine is a hand made copper bowl from the copperguild. I use it for offerings. Pretty much anything that goes into the bowl is meant for the gods or those who have passed on.


Next is my troth ring made for me by a follower who is also a fine blacksmith. It has some runes around it that are personal to me. Troth rings are the objects that modern day wedding rings descend from. They are made to swear oaths on, or make promises between parties. When I see it I am reminded of my oaths.


The alter and horn. The horn represents the well of the norns. It is used for the mead/ale toast and offering. My horn is well loved. Lots of ale has flowed through that thing, it’s a fine horn. The alter is purely optional. It really is the centerpiece of my holy place. It helps me focus and gets me into the right mindset. It has various symbols burned on it that represent various gods. The runes have some inspirational quotes.


Last would be my runes. I made these myself, blessed with my sweat. They were made from a live branch from a tree in my yard and the runes burned on. Sealed with some lemon oil and kept safe in a luxurious Captain Morgan’s private stock bag ;-) I can really feel the strength in these. I don’t use them often, but when I do they never fail.

That’s about it for the set up. Later I will post some of the routines I go through and how all this stuff is used in a ritual.

"Heilir Æsir, heilar Ásynjar
heil sjá hin fjölnyta fold
mál ok manvit gefið okr mærum tveim
ok læknishendr meðan lifum!"

The Lawn Fete incident.

Ok, for those who don't know(I didn't). A Lawn Fete(although it sounds heathen as all get out!) is something some churches do to raise money. It's kind of a small fair. They have games, food, rides for the kids, etc... My wife has some friends at a Catholic church in town and wanted to go because my little girl loves the rides. I went and did the family thing. Even when I went to church I found things like this to be kind of cultish. It's not like a normal fair with everyone just having a good time. Sure a few people are just as clueless as could be, just there because it's something to do on a Friday night. But for most, god is what it's all about. You throw down your quarter to take a chance on the cake wheel only to get the "Haven't seen you in church before" and they are none to pleasant with a "nor will ya" reply. I am on good behavior though, my wife works with some of these people. Most of the ones she knows are aware of my beliefs. In fact one of them got to hear all about them, she runs the shop where I made my plate. She seemed quite into my views after asking about the plate, or she at least faked it very well.

Anyway, there was a prayer jar up by the food for a young boy with cancer. These are things where you write out a little prayer and put it into the jar then it goes to the boy. I read the letters and was saddened by all of the Jesus will fix you, god will fix you, etc.. like the poor little guy was helpless in this. His life hung in the hand of the same guy who gave him the cancer in the first place right? Seems kind of cruel. So I filled out a prayer card "May Thor grant you his strength to battle this illness" then on the back I signed my name and wrote a little rune charm for strength and wholeness.

I hope it will give him the lift he needs to dig down and battle this illness. The gods will help him battle within himself. They can't do it for him, but they will help. That is unless some good doing Christian censors it before he gets a chance to read it. I have faith it will sneak through however.

Hailsa Will, the battle is yours to win!

New toy.

Ok, before I start let me tell you how asinine our society is. I feel it is every mans god/gods given right, no DUTY to defend himself or his family. Our religion in fact states that. We are not a flock of passive sheep, anyone who tells you that will have to ignore all of human history. Now I in no way look like a victim. I am 5'11" - 6' and usually hang around 250 pounds of muscle. I would most likely dwarf my viking ancestors. I took Karate as a youth and later JuJitsu in the military. I'm sure if the government had anything to say about me, It would be against the law to walk out of the house with me. Sound crazy? Well, I have a cool new cane to walk with. I had it custom made by a guy in South Africa.

The thing is, If I carry it in public the government feels it is the same thing as packing a gun in my belt.

I don't feel anyone should be restricted from having an edged weapon in public. For one, hand to hand combat when needed is not the same thing as popping someone with a gun. Any coward can shoot someone. With an edged weapon you actually have to violate someone's personal space. I'm not sure when it became the government's right to tell me what I can and can't use for self defense. It's cowards who wrote these laws. People who couldn't stomach a hand to hand fight so they try to keep anyone from having the ability to inflict lethal force. This is the problem with society today. It has become a "protect me" society when it should be a "protect yourself" society.

Anyway, be careful if you think you can take on a big man because he is limping around on a cane. You could quickly lose your ability to hold your liquor, literally. ;-)

My plate. Finally got a pic!

Ok, maybe not great. But it's my first time I took a crack at this ;-)

Long time no post!

Wow, it’s been a while since I last posted. I have had a rough couple of months. I messed up my back and was bed bound for a week and a half and am just now getting back to normal. Other than that, things are well. I took a swing at ceramics. My little girl wanted to do a pick-n-paint plate for her grandmother and I thought as long as I was there, what the heck I’ll do one too. I did the world tree surrounded by some runes that turned out pretty good! I’ll try to post a pic, but I still look at it and think “did I do that?” As for other happenings, I did get an email from someone who was not happy with my views on Christianity. He was a very nice guy, and I would post the mails but feel I must respect his privacy. Had he wanted his correspondence to be public he would of posted in the comments.

I actually find myself feeling kind of bad. I mean, I guess I say some harsh things at times but I in no way want to hurt anybody. When someone feels compelled to email me because they don’t agree with what I have to say I feel like I have harmed them in some way, and I truly don’t mean to. I started this blog with the hopes of reaching other like minded people. I choose not to follow the Christian god and also personally don’t believe Jesus was anybody other than a cult leader, if he existed at all. Those are my beliefs and I don’t try to force them on anybody else. So people can email me all day long and repeat the same things I have heard a million times before but it won’t change my mind. I have read the bible, as well as many other religious text. Even if I thought it to be true I still am bound by my morals not to follow it. It’s that simple. I have chosen a religion that makes sense to me. To be honest with you, I don’t see what the big deal over religion is anyway. Oh well, I’m not veering over that cliff anymore today ;-)

All I can say is that after years of confusion and feeling guilty I now have peace. After years of nothing I have now had contact with what I believe to be a higher power. For a grounded man of logic a brush with the supernatural can be a powerful thing. I had one of those moments, and it still has not faded. You will never be able to convince me that some man made writings in a book are more reliable that what I have heard from the sources mouth(so to speak).

So hail to those who stumble by this page, may you find your path. Every man parts this earth alone and meets whatever is next on his own terms. Remember that when other men try to tell you what is and what isn’t there. Your heart and mind will guide you truer than any book or spoken word.

The cult of Christianity

I know that Christianity can’t by definition be a cult, although this is what the dictionary has to say about it:

1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.

3. the object of such devotion.

4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.

5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.

6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.

7. the members of such a religion or sect.

8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.

So it does fit pretty well within this definition until you get to #6. It gets a little fuzzy, who is to say what is “unorthodox” or “false” ? Wow, according to the dictionary, there is somebody out there who can tell us which religious groups are “false” I’m guessing because they know the only true way. I know I’m being dramatic here, but everything seems to be twisted to the Christian beliefs. Even something as simple as a dictionary definition. How has this happened? Even our money has “In god we trust” blazon across it. What if I don’t trust that god? Even on the TV show Bones the other night our religion is treated like it’s some kind of joke. Bones is supposed to be Atheist and is confronting a Christian about God being make believe. To bolster her claim she tells him “After all, nobody believes in Odin or Zeus anymore” Gee, don’t think that had anything to do with 1500 years of Christian persecution do ya missy?

My point is, when did Christianity become the gage that all others would be judged by? How is it the accepted norm? Out of the billions of people in the world only a third of them are Christian, a full two thirds are not! Yet, Christianity is the norm. I think it is the most viral of all cults. Someone tell me what makes it not a cult. They start indoctrinating children from childhood and basically preach that it is their duty to show everyone the light. It makes me sick. Their “light” includes tales of child abuse, disregard for life that is not human, degrading women, human sacrifice, genocide, slavery, etc... the list goes on. Yet numerous other peaceful religions are labeled as sinners that must be saved.

I had to think back to my youth, why did I keep going to church and following a religion that in my heart I knew was wrong. Well, it was for the same reason cult followers don’t get out when things don’t feel right. I was afraid. Afraid to stand up to my parents and confront them with my problems with the church, Afraid of being labeled as an evil sinner, afraid of being smited by god. That is what you are taught. If you don’t believe in the biblical teachings you are angering god. The very act of questioning the teachings is a sin. You are set up for failure right from the start. You are in fact born a sinner! How about that. So someone remind me how this isn’t a cult again.

Now, compare my motivations from the past to my motivations now. In the past I was given 10 commandments of “thou shalt not” this and that. You had to plan your life around these, they were god’s will. Of course they didn’t include things like “tho shalt not enslave thy fellow man” but that is another story. I tap danced around these trying not to anger god. Of course there are a few I broke, all of us have. Some like not working on the sabbath seem almost impossible to follow, if you even know what day the sabbath is. My motivation for not breaking them? Why gods wrath of course! Now, compare that to now. My reasons for not breaking the commandments? Ha, trick question, there are no commandments. Instead there are noble virtues that you try to live your life by and then not doing bad things will follow naturally. That is a much more logical system than just giving you a list of things not to do.

Think of raising a child. You could teach you child about the dangers of fire, but also show them why fire is useful. They will learn fire is hot, fire can hurt you. But fire can also cook your food, heat your water, etc... The child will be armed with the knowledge they need to understand why they shouldn’t touch the burner on the stove. Or you could just say “Tho shalt not touch the stove”

So what kind of group expects you to blindly follow without question? Sounds like a cult to me. Christianity is the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. I find cult to be a nasty word anyway. Why must we label peoples beliefs this way. If it works for you, you should be allowed to practice without the moral majority calling your belief system a cult. If we are going to call something a cult though, lets at least try to make sure we don’t fit the description of the label we are using for others.

Dream of a Mead Hall!

Ah my dreams of building a mead hall. Actually, it would be more of a gathering place. A place of worship if you will. I’m not sure how to approach the idea. It could easily be thought of as an modern Asatru community center of sorts. I’m thinking it would be free of all modern conveniences however. No running water, electricity, etc... kind of like an oversize back woods cabin. I first would need to secure the land. I also would like the setting to be as rustic as possible. Something in the woods with enough of a clearing for the hall. We would then need to enlist some help from somebody with skill in log framing. I have diagrams on the construction of viking great halls but to use them we would need someone who knows how to work logs in such a large structure. I think the whole community that would use the site should be involved in it’s construction. It would become a living part of who we are. Can you think of a better place to hold bloats or yearly rituals? Or just to hang out and tap a keg of ale!

I don’t think this sounds like too crazy of an idea. If we wanted to take the religious angle, perhaps it could fall under the definition of a house of worship. Could we start a non-profit entity to raise funds for the land acquisition or building cost? We could also use the grounds and building for festivals, craft shows, just like modern Christian churches do.

This is all just bouncing around ideas. I feel driven to do this one day though. It may have to come out of my own pocket. If you build it they will come ;-)

Just a neat spiritual moment.

This was just something I had to share. As most people who know me know, I'm I pretty grounded realist. I don't buy into magic, miracles, ghost, things I can't feel or touch, etc... I am however spiritual. I just haven't had anything like a god appearing before me ever happen. I have had some strange things happen, but nothing that I'm sure couldn't be explained by something tangible. So it's really cool when something freaky happens to me. Even if this could be explained, it's still a neat happening!

Ok, so yesterday is one of my rest days. I workout every other day so I use my rest days to work around the house, sometimes maybe go for a motorcycle ride. Yesterday however I was feeling a little beat up from work and mentally exhausted. So I chose to meditate and do a little short blot. I have a nice little corner of the house to hide. So I set up my spot, light a candle, get out my blot bowl. All I had to offer was a heather ale, the only one I had. So I sit for a while and tell the gods all I have is that ale, but it is a good ale and hope they like it as much as I do. I fill my horn, take a drink and then pour the rest in the bowl. I then tell them I'm not there to ask for anything, just need to relax. I then find myself just chatting. I bitch about work for a bit and as most people who are realist do I put in the old "I just wish I had a sign that someone is listening" Inside I can feel they are though.

Anyway, I sit there for a little longer and then blow out the candle. I'm sitting on the floor gathering up my things when all of the sudden I just get overwhelmed with this sense of wellbeing. It's kind of hard to explain, I just felt like a million bucks. Then I stood up, and mind you I am in a closed room, and am hit with a light breeze coming from nowhere and it is full of the scent of fresh flowers! It smelled like I was standing in a field full of wildflowers! Oh, and trust me, I looked around the room to see if maybe my wife had hidden a air freshener somewhere. She hadn't. It was gone as fast as it appeared. Talk about getting cold chills.

Needless to say, I'm still pretty high from the whole thing.

Book of Runes - Ralph Blum

This book caught a lot of flak on one of the Asatru list serves I am on. I was so curious about the bashing it was getting I had to run out and buy a copy to read for myself. I'll just repost my reply to the list here.

Ok, I'll throw in my two cents. After hearing all of the bashing of Ralph Blum's book I ran out and bought his book of Runes. I just had to read it and see what all of the fuss is about. I am an educated man and as far as Asatru goes I am quite conservative. I don't believe much in magic or spells although I don't discount the idea of divine influence. So that being said, what did I think of his book?

I can't say I didn't enjoy reading it. Ralph is obviously a very spiritual man who draws from more areas of study than just Norse beliefs. So it is only natural that his views will part from the views of strict followers of Norse teachings. He references the I Ching numerous times, I don't ever recall that being of Norse origin nor does Ralph imply it is. It just shows he draws from a varied belief network. He also references more Christian ideals than I am comfortable with when dealing with subjects such as rune lore. In honesty though, there was a time when the two were surely mixed. The Lord of the Rings quotes that pepper the book also don't help if you are trying to take his book as a true reference. Nothing wrong with it I guess but if I was writing a book of medieval history I doubt I would load it full of Dungeons and Dragons references. Just seems to cheapen it a bit.

The book as a whole was of nice quality and despite the flaws very inspirational I think. Ralph seems like a guy who honestly believes in what he preaches and the actual meat of the book wasn't too terribly off base. If I was to categorize his book I think it would be a book of using the runes as a tool written by someone who is a general spiritualist, not a devote follower of Asatru.

So although I didn't agree with a lot of his views, I did enjoy reading it. I always welcome other's views, even if I don't agree. I do believe that is part of our teachings no?

and that just about wraps that up ;-)

Is God real?

Boy how I love a theological debate. I’ve often wondered if you could prove god(or gods in our case) is real. Most people would say the existence of miracles is proof, but that is really a flimsy thing to rely on. I’m not saying they don’t exist, maybe they do, but to rely on one as proof of something? I’ll give you a couple examples. I have a door at the end of my hallway that will on occasion open by itself. Nice and slow, with nobody near it, while you are watching. My house is big and over 105 years old, it fits the idea of what a “haunted house” should be. I’ve also had bouts of strange knocking on the walls and another door in the hallway. A person who is prone to believe in ghost would have all the ammo they need to “prove” my house is haunted. That is if they didn’t believe in structural engineering. See the door at the end of the hall sticks and doesn’t catch when you shut it. When anyone over 200 pounds walks down the hallway the stress on the floor causes the frame of the door to flex just enough to release the door and because the house is crooked the door swings open. The knocking? A loose window and another sticky door that basically does the same thing the previously mentioned one does. All my ghost have been found out ;-) So my point is, nothing really magical has happened at all. Yet I still have some friends who claim my house is haunted. It’s all in perception.

So, most of the time I think proof of god(s) mostly lies in gut feelings. Anything outside of that is either someone trying to prove god to themselves or convince others. Perhaps it is beyond our understanding to imagine that there is nothing outside of us? When we die, that’s it, game over, there is nothing else. I don’t believe that but it is of course possible. The whole god(s) created everything theory kind of falls apart when you ask one simple question, who created god? Hmmm, the whole chicken or the egg thing. Are we the chicken, or the egg I wonder. Say you buy into the idea of one god over many. Why? Well because he told you so, or at least someone says he told them to tell you. So now you are not even relying on miraculous first hand proof, you are relying on what someone else has passed on to you. In my haunted house situation you are now not even coming over to have a look for yourself but relying on what someone who has been here told you. Worse, someone who ignored the facts and just stuck with a “that dang place is haunted, I seens them!” So you get the point. If we presume god is real, how do we know he is telling us the truth? Perhaps we have all been mislead. In the case of our theology there are many gods, they are a race of their own. Actually, even among the gods there are different races. I believe the bible confirms that more than one god exist. It even states that their god is a jealous god. I don’t want to misquote anything, but you could at least admit the possibility that the god as portrayed in the bible could be misleading all of his followers. I guess what I am saying is to take all of the things people tell you, including me, about religion with a grain of salt.

Everyone believes their god(s) to be real if they in fact follow a god(s). Their reasons for this are their own. They could of had a miracle that provided them all the proof they need. Perhaps their god(s) talked to them. They just may have a gut feeling. Our teachings say the gods would be honored to answer any question asked of them, they actually respect that. Other religions say who are you to question god. Either way, what ever answers you may find are your own. If you are relying on any kind of “proof” , well one persons proof may not be another’s. I will tell you all the proof I need is gut feeling. In the end I feel that is the best proof of all because I don’t need to prove anything. So yes, for me the gods are real.

Runes

What are Runes? Our myths tell us Odin got them while hanging on a branch of Yggdrasil for nine days. They are the root to many of our modern day alphabet(The term AlphaBet actually being of Latin origin, A, B, etc..) Nobody is really sure of when they first came into use, a long time ago is a good guess. Understanding the runes was a sign of great knowledge, it brings us closer to Odin. Odin of course was always on a quest for knowledge. I would like to think he was proud that his children learned to use them and know them as he did.

We feel the runes still hold a certain spiritualness about them. Some Odinist even think that the runes hold magical properties. They use them to construct spells, bless objects, etc.. I however just feel they represent a devotional object, much like the Christians use the crucifix. As other religions have things that are symbolic in their rituals, so do we. The runes I feel are just one of those things for us.

I’ll give you an example. On my fork I use in competition I have the rune “Tiwas” burned into the handle. Tiwas represents the god Tyr. Tyr was once the ruler of the gods but stepped aside when Odin came. Odin was thought to be the wiser ruler I guess. Tyr is known for his sense of justice. He was once the also god of war. He favors warriors who show honor in battle and who fight justly. Warriors would often carve the Tiwas on their swords to honor Tyr and hopefully gain his favor in battle. Tyr loves competition as well. I honor him by burning the Tiwas on my fork, the only implement we really use when we compete. It reminds me to compete justly and treat my competitors with honor. In the past I was afraid to put it on my fork. You are asking Tyr to watch you while you compete and to make sure justice is done. If I was to think ill of my fellow competitors, or to think of them dishonorably because they were doing better than I was, Tyr would find that cowardly and may bring his vengeance against me. I do not like losing, and in the past I have had trouble keeping honorable thoughts in my head.

This year my path is true and my convictions strong, so I feel I am ready to make Tyr proud. I am no longer afraid.

So that is a short description of one of the runes and why I use it. No magic, just a reminder of faith.

Havamal is here!

Just got my new copy of the Havamal in the mail today. Found it on Abebooks for $1 new! What is the Havamal you ask? Well it's just a collection of old Norse sayings. Just words of wisdom, small quotes. It's a great little collection.

The Eddas

Do we have a bible? Well, not really. Our history was passed down verbally over the years. The stories of our gods were captured in many poems and sagas. The closest thing that would pass for a bible is probably the Eddas. These are a collection of stories that were captured and translated in the 13th century, although the actual tales predate Christian record. There are numerous books out there that offer their interpretations of the Eddas, but if you want to read them for yourself and draw your own interpretations you can obtain a copy of both the Poetic(Elder) Eddas and the Prose(Younger) Eddas from Project Gutenberg free of charge:

The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson

If nothing else, they are a fun read from a historical prospective. These however are the tales we pattern our lives after. When you boil it all down, what is the bible anyway? A book of tales containing fantastic unbelievable stories of gods and people. Who is to say what is true? Read the Eddas and look past the stories. In your heart you'll feel the truth. It may be the thing that makes you want to explore our faith a little more in depth. A true Odinist will never ask you to leave a faith you are true to however. We believe the act of believing in something is more important than the actual god(s) you worship. We feel the gods are all the same but appear to different cultures in a way that they best understand. So I can ask you to read the Eddas but I can't force you to believe in them.

This is a choice you must make on your own.

Death of the earth, death of the warrior...

What do I mean by death of the warrior class? Well, I want to step outside of the “survival of the fittest” box in my answer. In the short term one could argue that since we now dominate the planet we obviously must be the fittest. Can we yet control the weather? Can we stop an earthquake, a hurricane, a tornado? How about make the clouds go away so the sun could shine through? Well, I guess we have not dominated everything yet. The type of survival we now enjoy is out of sync with nature. The comforts are mostly artificial, a good flood could take them away in the blink of an eye. If you woke up tomorrow with nothing sitting in the middle of a jungle, would you have what it took to ensure you could mate, continue the family, or even survive for more than a week? Look at the couple who got stranded up in the mountains because they took a wrong turn. The environment they were in would of been nothing special to our ancestors in northern Europe a few thousand years ago. Yet one of them couldn’t make it a week. Mastering the art of driving was a skill that would not be of any use for survival in such an instance. Now say it was a plane on an island with no hope of rescue. The ones who would survive and mate would be the warriors, ones who could face the challenge and live to tell about it.

So what we have now in society is not survival at all. Sure you could say to survive on the streets, or in the board room takes survival skills, but not the kind that would mean anything in a natural setting. Man no longer has the right to challenge a person who they feel is a threat, or who has wronged them in some matter, without getting the courts involved. Some would say this is civilized, but is it really? It counters the laws of nature, perverts it even. In modern society weak traits and genes are allowed to advance through the human race unfettered by natural selection. We are no longer allowed to be warriors, we are no long allowed to coexist with nature which is built on a warrior base. Look at the world around you, are we better off? Maybe for the moment but we are eating up what is left of the earth at an alarming rate. Nobody seems to care. So when the crap hits the fan and our race finds itself stuck back in nature we will be weak, unable to survive. Trust be, it will happen. Nature has a way of righting itself. Would we be in this situation if we had not been corrupted with others values? They called the Vikings barbarians, the American Indians savages, the highlanders an uneducated lawless people. What they were striking out against was a people and a system based on a warrior society which by it’s very nature stayed in tune with the environment. It closely followed the laws of nature, something that has been removed from us in modern society. If everyone lived as these people once did, the population would be in check, the water would be clear, the ice caps would be whole, the sky would be blue, our kids would have a place to live in centuries to come. As it is now, modern civilized man may not have a place to call home in the near future. This will be due to the death of the warrior.

Man will not survive in his current state, he is sliding down hill. If you are a person of faith, I hope you see that this is just one of the benefits of following a teaching that still respects nature and the warrior ways. I fear the damage is done though and when Ragnarök comes, I want to make sure I’m fighting the good fight for a cause I believe in. My faith tells me I will be well prepared for adversity in times yet to come. I feel comfort knowing that I am preparing for life, real life not the kind sold to you on a billboard. Do what you will here on earth, you will be lucky to last 80 years here. Are you willing to sell yourself into a common boring life after death? For what? MTV, a Hummer? Was the death of a planet, your children's future, worth it? When Odin ask why you turned away from the teachings, when he ask why you showed such disrespect for nature, your children, your ancestors. You just go ahead and tell him how nice that Hummer was.

Why Asatru/Odinism?

So why Asatru/Odinism, good question. First you need to know a little about me.

I was brought up in a religious family. We went to church every Sunday, I went to Sunday school, vacation bible study, even taught a class for developmentally disabled children at the church. My father comes from a long line of baptist ministers. His grandfather, ggrandfather, uncle, etc.. all men of the cloth. In fact our family has founded churches from Virgina all the way to Texas and everywhere in between. My mother’s side is devote catholic, Russian/Polish immigrants. So I am pretty well versed in the Christian teachings and I knew from a young age that they didn’t seem quite right to me. I tended to ignore the things that I didn’t agree with, you know what right did I have to question god? I have also had a few spiritual things happen to me that I couldn’t quite explain. One happened to me when I was quite young. I was swimming at a public beach and decided to swim out past the safety markers. I was a good swimmer and was curious like most young boys. I swam way out past everyone, it was kind of cool seeing everyone so far away. Well, I overestimated my energy and soon couldn’t swim. It was at this point I also realized I couldn’t touch the bottom. I had started drowning. Just as I figured it was all over I saw a hand come through the murky water and grab me by the shoulder. It pulled me like I was a water skier just below the surface and then let go. When I righted myself I realized I could touch the bottom with my toes just enough to get my head above water. It was at that point I realized I was within the safety area right next to the rope but hundreds of feet from anybody. The closest people were a bunch of teenagers playing Frisbee. I swam over to them and asked if they had seen who pulled me out of the deep water and they all claimed not to have seen anything. The point of this story, I started believing that there are things at work that we don’t understand. At the time I figured it was Jesus, or maybe god himself. Although I didn’t believe or agree with what I had read in the bible this confirmed to me that some of it must be true.

So for most of my young life I was an absentee Christian, kinda believed in the idea but figured Church was just for show and most of the bible must of been corrupted by men. It wasn’t until I was older that I started questioning the whole philosophy of the bible. If there is only one god, why does the bible imply that there is more than one? It does after all say god is “God of Gods” on top of that we are taught that we are to worship no other god yet we pray to the virgin Mary, St. Micheal, other religious figures. What of Angels? They seem to be on par with god, messengers of god, Satan felt he was equal to god. So Angels, Gods, just semantics? Who knows. My point is that my gut feels there is much more to life that the Christian teachings don’t address. For one, how can they claim good will and peace to all men when they require you to either be with us or against us? Look at the middle east, where the religion was born, peace??? They can’t even agree on the interpretations of the bible. Who is right? The Jews, Muslims, Buddhist, Hindus, etc... After reading about different cultures and religions, something that has occupied a lot of my time spiritually, I find that most of them all have a common thread. A belief in something greater. They all also have similar stories of creation and divinity in general. So true to the Norse teachings, people see the god(s) in a form that best speaks to them. It is my belief that there is no “wrong” religion. All are the same minus the corruptions of man. So everything being equal all a man can do is align himself with the beliefs that best fit his moral character, or the character he aspires to achieve. These are the odinist teachings and the ones I choose to follow. Nothing against the Christians, I just don’t buy into their doctrines. Many people find great comfort in the Christian faith and if that works for you so be it. It does not work for me.

I hope on this blog I can expand on my beliefs. Explain the reasons for my faith in detail. I am very tolerant of other faiths and like open discussion. My whole reason for bloging about this is to help others who may be in the same situation. I wasn’t at peace until I found a faith that fit my beliefs, ones I believe I was born with. One I feel I have always known was the right path for me.

I’ll finish with another possible divine occurrence. My mother passed away last year. My beliefs were a great comfort to me. We believe our ancestors live on within us as well as in nature. The material part of us just cycles back to nature. The spiritual part not only continues on in a way we can not yet understand, part of it is also passed down through your generations. That is one reason family is so important to us. My mother visited me in a lucid dream. I was in a lush green field that was surrounded by mist and clouds. In the center of the field was a large hill with a magnificent tree at the top. It was old and very large. Although the tree looked weathered is was quite beautiful and looked very strong. The limbs reached way into the sky, higher than I could see. They vanished into the clouds in some spots. The leaves glimmered as if they were made of gold. At it’s base was a small bench with a woman sitting on it eating an apple. She was dressed in white linens and appeared to shimmer. As I walked closer I realized it was my mother. She motioned to me to come closer. She seemed to be at perfect peace. She told me that this was all real although she couldn’t explain what was happening to me. She just wanted to let me know everything was all right and she told me this all meant something. She told me the tree was very important, it ties us all together but she couldn’t tell me how. She told me she loved me and I would understand one day. She then said she didn’t have much time, she had to go. She gave me a hug, stood up and vanished into the mist. That was the last time I saw her.

I believe this tree to be the world tree of Norse teachings. Perhaps not a “real” tree, but a symbol of the cord that ties us all together. I feel that our ancestors may have seen this same vision at some point in time, and thus the tree made it into our myths. I feel this is true. Although I don’t completely understand, I think my mom was telling me I was on the right track. It really is much deeper than this, but I don’t know how to put it in words.

So there you have it. A brief overview. I will start focusing on certain aspects of the religion as time allows. I also would like to say I am not bashing Christians, I am fine with them. That is just where I came from so it relates to my change in beliefs. Had I been Buddhist, I would of told you why I left that faith instead. It’s all relative. If all else fails my Mormon cousin tells me he will save me after death ;-) I doubt that will be necessary however, but I appreciate the offer.

1st post

I will start ranting about my beliefs here and why I follow the path I do. I hope it will be of help to some and an eye opener to others.