82 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
82 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
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SOME THOUGHTS ON A GOOD TIME
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-Waermund Waeda
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Awhile ago, some friends from a fellow Asatru kindred and I spent a few
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days at a Pagan gathering in Michigan. We talked with a number of quite
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interesting people, we saw some fine samples of Pagan hand craft, we admired
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many excellently endowed, scantily clad Pagan ladies, we went through several
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gallons of mead, we made obnoxious remarks to one another about some of the
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more bizarre people and events, we performed a Sumble for the curious and the
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thirsty--in short, we behaved exactly like who we are, and we had a ripping
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good time. When we left, we carried with us two im- portant perceptions. The
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first is that we are indeed quite different, in our practices and in the way we
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see the world, from other Pagans. The second is that, with a minimal effort on
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both sides, our differences prevented neither us nor anyone else there from
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getting along, enjoying one another's company, and having fun.
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Any religion that seriously seeks a future for itself must create a
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"community of the faithful." That is one of the things that separates
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religion from art, psychotherapy or a single-minded devotion to, say, auto
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mechanics. It is also the way in which a religion becomes a metaphor for the
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coherence in the midst of chaotic diversity that men and women have sought to
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realize in their lives for practically as long as there have been men and
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women. To succeed, a religion must be able to create within its confines a
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more manageable, but no less whole and inclusive, replica of the society or
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people from which it grows. It is not surprising that North American Asatru,
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as a very young religion, is not yet accomplishing the task of creating such a
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community. What is truly disturbing, however, is that it doesn't seem even to
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be trying.
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To date, Asatruarfolk in this country have organized themselves in
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accordance with one or another of two basic patterns: the kindred and the
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hierarchical "church." Neither of these, by itself, is well-suited to the
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creation of a true community. The kindred is modeled after the extended family
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or, if it succeeds, the tribe. Its very existence depends on drawing a "magic
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circle," separating itself from the "outside"; there are natural limits to how
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much diversity it may include without losing its essential character. The
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hierarchical organization arrives at the same result through different means;
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it can become infinitely large and in- clusive, but the leaders at the top
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determine what parts of the whole are "significant," and they generally do
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this by promoting within the organization those who have essentially the same
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world-view as themselves. Those excluded from the inner circle, if they have
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any sense and self-esteem, eventually lose interest and leave. Because we
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are a people of free men and women, not followers, we cannot remain satisfied
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with creating a community in the shadow of a hierarchy--the Reformation is an
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excellent historical example of this principle at work.
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That is not to say that kindreds and hierarchies are not useful, and even
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necessary; they are both. Kindreds create a sense of belonging, and hier-
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archies get things done. Neither our kindreds nor our hierarchies are stable,
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however, without reference to a community; by themselves, they are too
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unbalanced. To give perhaps the most obvious example, Asatru has been
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unsuccessful in attracting significant numbers of women, apart from the wives
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and girlfriends of Asatruarmenn. This is perfectly natural: why shouldn't most
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women who are interested in Pagan spirituality be drawn to those traditions
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primarily emphasizing the Goddess? However, if Asatru, consisting mostly of
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men, cuts itself off from the rest of Paganism, then it will remain inherently
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instable. And this is only one of many forms of imbalance that affect Asatru
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in America.
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The point of all this is quite simple: Asatru, as presently constituted,
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cannot create a true community, but Paganism can. Asatru needs a com- munity,
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and one is already out there, in the process of formation, open to our
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participation. All we need do to become a part of it is to acknowledge that we
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are simply one part of a greater whole, and to let the other parts follow their
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different paths without worrying ourselves about what, in any event, is none of
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our business. Given that Asatru has always seemed to make it a point of honor
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that it is not a universal religion, why don't we carry our premise to its
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logical conclusion, and recognize that an in- dividual branch cannot realize
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its destiny in isolation from the tree of which it is a part? Because our
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faith is not universal, we will always need things, both obvious and subtle,
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from others, and to pretend otherwise is psychologically unhealthy. In joining
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with other Pagans, we will not lose our character as a proud and independent
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religion. Rather, we will fully realize our character, and achieve wholeness
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and stability, only by becoming responsible and productive, if somewhat
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outrageous, members of the greater Pagan community. And I expect we will have a
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better time, as well.
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* end *
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---
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