textfiles/occult/odinism.txt

1. What do you mean by Odinism?

   Odinism is the indigenous religious faith of the 
   Scandinavian, British and other peoples of Northern Europe; 
   it is an amalgam of attitudes, ideas and behavior, both a 
   personal faith and a communal way of life. In its beginings Odinism is 
   probably as old as our race. Historically it may be divided into three 
   periods:

     A.   Before the coming of Christianity
     B.   Its gradual merging with Christianity and the ensuing Period of 
          Dual Faith, and
     C.   Its efforts in the present century to free itself of Christian 
          influences and to reassert its ancient independence.

 2. How have the tenets of Odinism been preserved?  
    Is there an Odinist holy book?

    The ancient oral traditions of Odinism were during the Middle Ages 
    embodied in writings, the Odinist books of wisdom, the principals of which 
    are the Eddas.  The poetic Elder Edda presents the Odinist cosmogony, the 
    mythological lays and the heroic lays, including the story of Sigurd and 
    Brynhild which were in later times moulded into the Lay of the Nibelungs.
    The Younger Edda is a prose synopsis of the Odinist faith.

 3. When did Britain and the rest of Europe cease to be Odinist?

    The first of our Northern countries to succumb to the false promises of 
    the new religion were the Goths, in the fourth century of the Christian 
    era; the Icelanders became Christians by official decree in the year 
    1000 CE, to be followed by the Scandinavian countries over the next two 
    hundred years. England was "converted" between 597 and 686 CE and Scotland 
    somewhat earlier (although some of the people of Ross-shire were still 
    worshipping the old Gods as late as the seventeenth century). Ireland, 
    when Patrick the Proselytizer landed there in the year 432, was decribed 
    as "a heathen land";  Dublin and the other principal Irish towns were 
    actually founded by Odinist Vikings, who dedicated the country to the god 
    Thor.

 4. Well, the people were converted to Christianity.    
    Would you have denied them their freedom of choice? 

They had no choice. Most of those who were "converted" had little  
knowledge of Christian doctrine; the new religion was imposed on them by 
sword and sermon. The Revd S. C. Olland's Dictionary of English Church 
History is explicit:   "The adoption of Christianity generally depended 
upon State action:  the king and his nobles were baptized and the people 
largely followed their example. . . . .The wholesale conversions. . . . .
could not have implied individual conviction."  On one day alone in the 
year 598 more than ten thousand English "converts" were baptized in a mass 
ceremony; it is unlikely that they had received a great deal of instruction
in the Christian faith. Even in the twentieth century the vast majority of 
Christians are still quite ignorant of Christian doctrine. It was always so.


5. Why do you say that Odinism was practiced in the Church 
   during what you have called "the Period of Dual Faith"?

We can see the evidence everywhere, even today. When the foreign 
missionaries subverted Britain, they repressed what they could and what 
they could not they ignored or adopted. The ancient spring renewal festival
of Summer Finding was transformed into the Christian feast of the 
Resurrection; the Mid-winter festival of Yule became Christmas. Not only 
the folk festivals connected with the great changes of season - May Day and
Midsummer and Harvest - but numerous customs associated with life's  
milestones, birth and marriage and death, all showed that the old Gods 
lived on in the life and in the language of the people. Many of the external
signs of the ancient faith were retained: water was consecrated and wood 
was blessed. A Christian writer, Professor P. D. Chantepie de la Saussaye 
DD, has said, "We recognize in this folklore a form of historical 
continuity, the bond of union between the life of the people in pagan and 
in Christian times." Even today when we say, "Touch (or, knock on) wood!"
we are recalling the sacred nature of an important symbol of our ancient 
religion; and how many people are aware that they are paying unconscious 
tribute to the Gods of Odinism when they light their Christmas or Paschal 
candles or their bonfire on the fifth of November? Or that the very 
"Christmas tree" is itself the World Ash of Odinism? Even the sign of the 
cross is really the sign of Thor's hammer!

6.   How lond did the Period of Dual Faith last?

The period during which Odinism was actually practiced within the Church 
extended in Britain from about the seventh century CE right down to the
1930's, when the purity of ancient worship was revived by a number of 
groups working outside the Church for the first time for more than a 
thousand years.   

7.   But the adoption of Christianity, a creed that preaches peace on earth
     and the equality of all men was, surely you must agree, a step forward 
     in the civilizing of our people?
     
     Odinists were happy enough to put up with the new doctrines so long as
     they were allowed to go on practicing their own faith in peace. But 
     the inherent contradiction at the heart of Christianity is that it 
     denies in action the faith that it professes verbally. There is no 
     history of religious warfare in Europe before the coming of 
     Christianity. It is ironic indeed that the message of peace on earth 
     has been propogated with so much bloodshed. As for the equality of all
     men, we just do not believe in it; and even the Christian god has his 
     "chosen people".

8.   Why is it now necessary to reassert what you describe as Odinism's 
     ancient independence? Why can you not, in the present unsettled state
     of society, leave well alone. Surely we should be getting together, 
     not creating more divisions amongst ourselves?

     First of all it is necessary to state that because of its organic 
     origins and development Odinism is a religion of visual truth. 
     Nevertheless, for just so long as Christian and Odinist ethics 
     coincided - even superficially - it was possible for Odinists to 
     worship the Gods under their Christian designations; but only for so 
     long as they remained adequate interpretations of the true divinities 
     of Odinism (the nature of a god being of greater importance than his 
     name).

    The Churches are today opposed to many of the things that Odinists hold
    sacred:  they sin against nation and people by espousing causes whose 
    ultimate aim is the destruction of our personal freedom;. . .  
    they encourage criminal activities by calling for the exemption from 
    punishment, or even prosecution, of whole categories of lawbreakers; 
    they provide financial aid for revolutionary propoganda and even 
    terrorist activities against our own people; they remain totally 
    indifferent to the rape of our countryside in the short-term interests 
    of economic gain and technology; and they have successfully divided the
    people of our own islands against themselves (eg, in Ireland). Life in 
    Northern Europe is today, after fifteen hundred years of Christianity, 
    almost entirely concerned with material wealth and self-indulgence and 
    the Christian clergy have largely forsaken their spiritual vocations in
    order to preach the causes of subversion and revolution.

         The people yearn for spiritual bread but have been offered by the 
    Churches only a political stone. It is no longer possible for anyone 
    who has concern for the future of our nation and race to remain within 
    the Christian Church. This must not, however be taken to imply that 
    Odinists bear hatred towards Christians; we recognize that there are 
    many good and sincere people within the Christian community from whose 
    example Odinists themselves could not fail to profit. But the Church is 
    itself largely responsible for the "present unsettled state of society". 
    Odinists see it as their duty to oppose those who menace the things that 
    they regard as holy. If we cannot in justice always blame the sheep we 
    should and do attack the shepherds.

9.   But surely it would be preferable to have one god for all mankind?

    Why? One god or many gods, it really does not matter. Our true Gods are
    actually worshipped by peoples all over the world, using their own 
    mythologies and adapting their worship to local cultures and conditions.
    We prefer to worship the Gods in our own way with people of our own 
    kind. And we respect the right of others to their own beliefs. It was 
    an Odinist gothi (priest), Sigrith, who told the foreign missionaries, 
    "I must not part from the faith which I have held, and my forefathers 
    before me; on the other hand I shall make no objection to your believing
    in the god that pleases you best."

10.   You have mentioned the "Gods of Nature". Does this mean that Odinists 
      are nature-worshippers?

    Odinists recognize man's spiritual kinship with Nature, that within 
    himself are in essence all that is in the greater world, which perform 
    within him the same functions as in the world. Thus there are in man the 
    four elements, the vegetative life of plants, an ethereal body - the god-
    soul - corresponding to the heavens, the sense of animals, of spiritual 
    things and reason and understanding. Because in this way man comprises 
    all the parts of the world within himself he is thus a true image of the
    Gods.

    Also containing the essence of the universe within themselves, the Gods
    are everywhere and in everything: they show themselves to us as fire, as
    a flower, as a tree. Odinists believe that all life should be lived in 
    communion with Nature and with. . .the Gods. Christianity turned 
    away from Nature and concentrated its adherents' attention on the human
    soul and became obsessed with the fall of man, by which it was implied 
    that man had brought all Nature down into sin with him. Christian 
    teaching encouraged man to see Nature only in her physical form whereas
    Odinists regard Nature as a true manifestation of the divine. "We and 
    the cosmos are one," wrote D. H. Lawrence, "The cosmos is a vast living
    body, of which we are still part. The sun is the great heart whose 
    tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great gleaming 
    nerve-centre from which we quiver forever. . . . Now all this is 
    literally true, as men knew in the great past and as they will know 
    again." Whoever shall properly know himself and all things in himself 
    shall know the Gods. The Odinist, because of his awareness of his 
    relationship with Nature, is able to feel a consanguinous kinship with 
    plants and animals and the land - a complete oneness.

11.   You speak of "the Odinist mythology". Do you really expect anyone to 
      believe in a myth?

     Every religion is mythical in its development. Mythology is the 
     knowledge that the ancients had of the divine; it is religious truth 
     expressing in poetical terms mankind's desire for personal and visible 
     gods.  The mythology of Odinism consists of a group of legends, fables
     and tales relating to The Gods, heroes, demons and other beings whose 
     names have been preserved in popular belief. Our object must be to 
     discover, with the help of our mythology, the Gods who manifest 
     themselves throughout Nature:  in the streets and in the trees and in 
     the rocks, in the running streams and in the heavy ear of grain, in 
     the splendor of the sun by day and in the star-strewn sky at night. 
     But it is not the myth that Odinists believe in but the Gods whom that
     myth helps us to understand.

12.   What, then, is the Odinist mythology?

      Briefly, our mythology unfolds in five acts (which may be compared to
      the evolution of the seasons of the year):

      A.   the Creation (spring)
      B.   the time preceeding the death of Balder (summer)
      C.   the death of Balder (summer's end)
      D.   the time immediately after the death of Balder (autumn)
      E.   Ragnarok, the decline and fall followed by the regeneration of 
           the world (winter and spring)

     The first effort of speculative man has always been to solve the 
     mystery of existence, to ask what was in the beginning. The condition 
     of things before the world's creation is expressed in the Eddas 
     negatively; there was nothing of that which sprang into existence:

Nothing was
                                   Neither land nor sea,
                                   Nor cool waves.
                                   Earth was not ,
                                   Sky was not,
                                   But a gaping void
                                   And no grass.

Ymir was a frost-giant, eg chaotic matter:

                                   From Ymir's flesh
                                   The world was made,
                                   And from his blood the sea.
                                   Mountains from his bones,
                                   Trees from his hair,
                                   And the welkin from his skull.

There were as yet no human beings upon the earth when one day as the Gods 
Odin, Hoener and Loder (the latter two being probably hypostases of Odin) 
were walking along the seashore they saw two trees from which they created 
the first human pair. Odin gave them life and spirit,
Hoener endowed them with reason and the power of motion and Loder gave 
them blood, hearing, and a fair complexion. The man they called Ask (ash)--
and the woman Embla (elm). As their abode the newly-created pair received 
from the Gods Midgarth and from them is descended the whole human race.

Balder is the god of the summer, the favourite god of all Nature and a son 
of Odin; he is one of the wisest and most eloquent of the Gods and his 
dwelling is in a place where nothing impure can enter. The story of Balder,
well-known in the Northern countries, finds explanation in the seasons of 
the year, in the change from light to darkness; he represents the bright 
and clear summer and his death is the impermanent victory of darkness over 
light, of winter over summer, of death over life. When Balder is dead, all 
Nature mourns. His death presages the disaster of Ragnarok, the consummation 
of the world, followed by its cleansing and return to the primal state.

Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods, represents a great conflict between 
. . .lawful and chaotic powers. The idea is already suggested in the 
story of the Creation in which the Gods are represented as proceeding from 
giants, that is from an. . .unconscious and chaotic force. And whatever can 
be born must surely die.  In the seasons and activities of Nature we see a 
constantly recurring picture of the necessity for death and the equal 
certainty of its being over-come. At Ragnarok all the worlds of Nature will 
be destroyed and even the giants must die. But from that catastrophe will 
emerge a renewed world and the Gods themselves will be born again. We see 
this drama enacted every year in minature when autumn heralds the period of 
decline and decay until with the spring we witness the magic of resurrection 
and new life.

This, briefly told, is the myth that explained to our ancestors their 
origin and the origin of the world, the creation of life from chaos and the
emergence of evolution and harmony.

13.  Who is Odin?

Odin is the first and eldest of the Gods, the all-pervading spirit of the 
sun, the moon, the stars, the hills, the plains and of man. With his help 
were made heaven and earth and the first man and woman. All knowledge came 
from him; he is the inventor of poetry and discovered the runes; he governs
all things, protects the social organization, influences the human mind, 
avenges murder and upholds the sanctity of the oath. He is well named 
Allfather. And because he chooses to surround himself with a bodyguard of 
those who have fallen in battle he is also known as Valfather, Father of 
the Slain. 

In the mythology Odin's single eye (the other he sacrificed in exchange for
wisdom) is the sun, his broad-brimmed hat the arched vault of heaven, his 
blue cloak the sky. A conspicuous passage in the Edda is Odin's sacrifice 
of himself to himself:

                                   I know I hung
                                   on the windy tree
                                   nine nights through:
                                   I know I hung
                                   I know I hung
                                   myself to myself,
                                   on the tree
                                   that springs
                                   from roots unknown.

Order is the basis of Odin's government. Nature the garment by which he 
manifests himself. Odinism says:  study the natural laws...

14.   Who are the other Gods of Odinism? What kind of Gods are they?

We have already spoken of Odin and Balder. Of the other Gods the best-known
is Thor, the most famous story concerning whom tells of this Warrior-God 
crushing the powers of chaos. He rules over clouds and rain and makes his 
presence known in the lightning's flash. He is the protector of the farm 
worker, the chief god of agriculture, a helpful deity who makes the crops 
grow and who also blesses the bride with fertility. In the words of 
Professor P. V. Glob, "He wishes all men well and stands by them in face  
of their enemies and against the new God, Christ."  Tyr is the God of 
martial honor, the most daring and intrepid of the Gods. He dispenses 
justice in time of peace and valor in war. He it was who sacrificed a hand 
when overpowering the evil Fenris Wolf, showing us that we ourselves must 
be prepared to make sacrifices in order to protect ourselves and our kin 
from those who seek to cast our society into anarchy and chaos.

Frey is God of the harvest and is therefore also a God of fecundity and 
growth; some authorities believe that he and Christ may have become blended,
in England at least, in the new religion of Christianity. Freya is a 
Goddess of love and the sister and lover of Frey: barren women may invoke 
her and she is also the Goddess of death for all women. Another God, Vali, is 
called the Avenger because when he was yet only one night old he avenged 
Balder's death, thus demonstrating the moral obligation we have of punishing 
society's enemies. Other Gods include Bragi, Heimdal, Vidar, Frigg and Forseti.

The Gods of Odinism are the ordaining powers of Nature clothed in 
personality. They direct the world which they themselves created. They are 
referred to collectively as the Aesir, of whom every living thing forms a 
part (thus not all the Gods are necessarily good ones). Objects and 
phenomena that are regarded as greater or lesser. . .divinities are 
qualities such as thought and memory, and natural things such as the sun, 
rivers, mountains and trees as well as animals and ancestral spirits. There 
are also the guardian Gods of the land, of skills and occupations and the 
spirits of national heroes, the Einherjar and other men and women whose 
outstanding deeds and virtues have contributed to our civilization, culture 
and well-being.

15.   Is there a table of commandments that sets out the rules to be 
      followed by Odinists?

Some guidelines. . .of Odinist conduct are:

1.   To maintain candor and fidelity in love and devotions to the tried 
     friend:  though he strike me I will do him no scathe.
2.   Never to make a wrongsome oath:  for great and grim is the reward for 
     the breaking of plighted troth.
3.   To deal not hardly with the humble and lowly.
4.   To remember the respect that is due great age.
5.   To suffer no evil to go unremedied and to fight against the enemies of
     family, nation, race and faith:  my foes will I fight in the field nor
     be burnt in my house.
6.   To succor the friendless but to put no faith in the pledged word of a 
     stranger people.
7.   If I hear the fool's word of a drunken man I will strive not: for many
     a grief and the very death groweth out of such things.
8.   To give kind heed to dead men:  straw-dead, sea-dead or sword-dead.   
9.   . . .To bear with courage and fortitude the decrees of the Norns.

The Charges are based on the rules of life indicated by the High Song of 
Odin and in the Lay of Sigurd in which the Valkyrie gives counsel to Sigurd.
They may be summarized as demanding in the struggle for life a self-reliance
which should be earned by a love of learning and industry, a prudent 
foresight in word and deed, moderation in the gratification of the senses 
and in the exercise of power, modesty and politeness in intercourse and a 
desire to earn the goodwill of our fellow men.

16.   The first four Charges seem fairly innocuous, but I must say the 
      Fifth Charge sounds rather sinister! Isn't it all very violent and 
      retributive?

"To suffer no evil to go unremedied," does appear to run contrary to the 
trends of modern progressive thinking. And the idea of fighting "against 
the enemies of family, nation, race and faith" would be anathema to many 
people. Unlike the Christian, whose duty it is to "turn the other cheek" 
(advice that is more often observed breached than otherwise) and to be
patient and long-suffering under the most grievous attacks, it is the duty
of the Odinist to punish wrongs and above all those wrongs offered to his 
own family and kin. Society's enemies already know the basic law of life:  
that the race is to the strong and that the meek will inherit the earth only
when the earth inherits them dust to dust. Others should also learn to
recognize this truth.                                            

17.   What do you mean by "kinship loyalty"?

We must of course give loyal service to anyone or any concept to whom or to
which loyalty is due. But we owe our loyalty in the fullest degree to our 
immediate family and to those who are related to us by blood-ties or blood-
brotherhood. A husband owes loyalty to his wife, for instance, and vice 
versa, just as a son owes loyalty to his parents to a greater extent than 
to anyone outside the immediate family circle. . . .

This concern for kin is an essential part of Odinist teaching. More than 
twelve centuries ago the Christian proselytizer, Boniface, wrote of the 
Odinists, "Have pity on them, because even they themselves are accustomed 
to say, "We are of one blood and one bone". Filial love, patriotism and 
kinship loyalty are religious principles still adhered to by Odinists. In 
the words of the Edda:

     We shall help our kinsmen as foot helps foot. . . 
     If one foot stumbles then shall the other restore balance.

18.   You seem to have an exaggerated respect for things like law and order!
      What about unjust laws?

No, not an "exaggerated respect for law and order";  just regard for the 
rules by which civilized man must live. But laws, to be just, must apply 
equally to all citizens and groups without discrimination. Odinists 
certainly have a duty to oppose what they regard as unjust laws but in doing
so they accept the consequences of their oppostion and do not expect to be 
given exemption or favorable treatment.

19.   What view do Odinists take of modern, enlightened substitutes for 
      traditional, repressive forms of punishment? Do you agree that the 
      wrong-doer in our society is more often than not the victim of his 
      environment and that we are thus all guilty?

Odinists refuse to accept responsibility for the actions of others. Just as
it would be wrong to accept credit for another person's merits so it is 
wrong to relieve the wrong-doer of responsibility for his actions. "Crime 
should be blazoned abroad by its retribution," wrote Tacitus. Punishment 
should be an unpleasant and memorable experience. Those in authority who
neglect to punish the criminal adequately place themselves in the position 
of being accessories after the fact. Odinists believe that anyone who 
seriously or continually flouts the law should forfeit for a period of time
his rights to protection under that law; enemies of the community should 
not be permitted to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds!
                                                    
20.   The Sixth Charge speaks about putting no faith in the pledged word of
      a stranger people. What is meant by "a stranger people"?

By "a stranger people" we mean those from different cultures than our own. 
It is a warning that words often mean different things to different peoples,
that their standards are not always the same as our own. It is simply one of
those things in life that ought to be widely known and appreciated but does
not seem to be!

21.   Please explain the Ninth Charge, which speaks of "the decrees of the 
      Norns". Who or where are the Norns?

The Norns are the three Fates of Northern mythology, the Goddesses of time.
They are named Urdhr (the past), Verdandi (the present) and Skuld (the future).
They watch over man; they spin his thread of fate at his birth and mark out
with it the limits of his sphere of action through life; their decrees are 
inviolable destiny, their dispensations inevitable necessity. Urdhr and 
Verdandi, the past and present, may be seen as stretching a web from the 
radiant dawn of life to the glowing sunset, while Skuld, the future tears 
it to pieces!

Man's fate must be met but the way in which it is met rests with the 
individual; and by the way in which he meets his fate man is able to 
demonstrate his free will. This important principle shows a man that it is 
worthwhile fighting life's battles courageously while at the same time 
fate's inexorable nature allows no room for careful weighing of arguments 
for and against or for anxiety about the nature of things that are in any 
case destined to happen.

22.   What other aspects of human behavior are admired by Odinists?

The Noble Virtues are held in high esteem.   They are:

                                   Courage
                                   Truth
                                   Honor
                                   Fidelity
                                   Discipline
                                   Hospitality
                                   Industriousness
                                   Self-reliance
                                   Perseverance

The Odinist must do what lies before him without fear of either foes, 
friends or the Norns. He must hold his own council, speak his mind and seek
fame without respect of persons; be free, independant and daring in his 
actions; act with gentleness and generosity towards friends and kinsmen but 
be stern and grim to his enemies (but even towards the latter to feel bound 
to fulfill necessary duties);  be as forgiving to some as he is unyielding 
and unforgiving to others. He should be neither trucebreaker nor oathbreaker 
and utter nothing against any person that he would not say to his face. 
These are the broad principles of Odinist behavior, features of the spirit 
that made our Northern peoples great.

23.  You call industriousness a Noble Virtue?  What is so spiritual about 
     that?

Industriousness is a virtue which, partly inherited, is nevertheless 
acquired largely through training  and self-dicipline; it is at once 
something we owe to ourselves, to our family and to the community. There is
a time for relaxation as there is a time for most things but it is not, for 
instance, during our working hours; neither should it be at the expense of 
other members of the community by way of the so-called welfare state.

24.   What about material possessions?

A principle of Odinism is the realization of the worthlessness and fleeting
nature of worldly possessions. Enough should be enough. Adam of Bremen, a 
Christian, remarked how Odinists with whom he had come into contact "lack 
nothing of what we revere except our arrogance. They have no aquisitive 
love of gold, silver, splendid chargers, the furs of beaver and marten or 
any of the other possessions we pine for". One thing alone is worth while 
in this life:  the stability of a well-earned reputation. "Goods perish, 
friends perish, a man himself perishes," says the Edda "but fame never dies 
to him that hath won it worthily."

25.   You describe self-reliance as one of the Noble Virtues. Surely even 
      you must admit that none of us is, or can be, self-reliant in these 
      days?

Self reliance does not, as you appear to suggest, imply selfishness or mean
that a man must live in isolation from his fellows. We recognize that man
is dependent upon Nature and on the community of which he forms part; he 
has obligations to that community as well as to his employer or employees.
He receives from society and he owes a debt to society. Odinism teaches 
that people must be encouraged to stand on their own feet and not to ask 
continually, "When is somebody going to do something for me?"

26.   Do Odinists believe in prayer?

Odinism is not a philosophy invented to ease mankind's comfort or to 
assuage his fears; that kind of religion acts against rather than in man's 
interests because it takes from him his independence and self-respect and 
makes of him a humble supplicant by encouraging him to shed his 
responsibilities. The person who prays to a saint or God asking for help or 
guidance is seeking to shift the responsibility from his own shoulders, 
surrendering his own faculties of thought and physical action, unless he 
also does something to help himself. To pray is to beg and plead; it is self-
abasement ("we worms of the earth"). That is not the object of true religion 
which, as Carlyle has told us, is "trancendent wonder":  wonder without 
limit or measure, reverent admiration alike for the immensity of creation, 
the inspiration of the human heart and the capability of the human brain.

Odinists in their inveitan ("praise"; singular, inveita) call upon the Aesir
to approach them in their thoughts as they themselves strive towards the 
Aesir. Through increased understanding is achieved wholeness, a unity with 
the Gods that helps us to think out our problems and how they may be  
overcome. We project the Gods within ourselves and that, externally realized,
speaks to the divine in others. Through their inveitan Odinists express 
gratitude for life and the world they live in and resolve to try to make it
better - not just to leave it to "someone up there" or hope for something 
better in the next world.

27   How do Odinists regard good and evil?

Evil of itself cannot originate in man but must always be regarded as an 
intruder, like an illness or an affliction; as such it must be opposed and 
expelled. Good and evil are relative:  there can be no absolute norm and 
actions must depend upon circumstances and motives as well as time and 
place. The ethical standards relating to custom and tradition are flexible 
and responsive to the specific demands of different ages, so that moral 
judgements of what is right and wrong cannot be placed in a fixed system of
standards but must vary according to time and situation. Just as the
world is constantly changing so are values constantly changing, so that 
nothing can be regarded as unconditionally good or evil in all ages. In 
general, that which disturbs the social order and peaceful evolution and 
causes unhappiness - including such natural disasters as floods and 
earthquakes, disease and pollution - obstructs the natural development of 
the world and must be regarded as evil. As for sin, Odinism knows but two 
major sins -  perjury and murder:  that is sin against the Gods and sin 
against one's fellow man.

28.   Do you believe in Original sin?

Man is inherently good and the world in which he lives is good. There is no
sin in man which has been inherited from his first, or any other, ancestor;
it is enough that he should be held responsible for his own actions. But
although his spirit is good, his flesh and his senses may succumb to evil, 
especially when by neglecting his own spiritual well-being he has left his 
defenses weakened. So it is necessary for him to be able to distinguish 
between what is good and what is evil.


29   What do Odinists believe about marriage - and divorce?

Odinists support the institution of marriage and marital fidelity. But a 
broken marriage is an unhappy marriage and traditional Odinic law allows 
great latitude to separation of husband wife, at the will of both parties,
if a good reason exists for the desired change. It is recognized that the
worst possible service is rendered to those who are forced to live together
against their will; but it must be borne in mind that marriage is basically
a solemn exchange of vows between two people and as such can only be ended 
by agreement between the same two people.

30.   Does Odinism offer salvation to those who believe?

Odinism offers no salvation in the sense in which that term is used by 
Christians. Instead, the Odinist seeks liberation by bringing the Aesir 
into the world of man and into his daily life - whether at home or at work.
. . .It is not, "the kingdom of God which is within you," but the Gods 
themselves which exist within man.

31.   Does man possess an immortal soul? Is there a life after death and 
      will people go to Odin in heaven?

Odinists believe that man consists of body (i.e. matter) and spirit or soul.
Physical man is born, produces young and eventially dies. But the whole of 
Nature shows us that death is not final: the material body decomposes and 
recombines, it is regenerated and lives again. As it was in the beginning 
so it is now; every atom continues to exist and must exist as in the 
beginning. There is nothing new under the sun and what we call death is 
really nothing more than transformation.

Spiritual man is divided into at least two distinct souls: one passive, 
the other active, the divine and the human, which we call God-soul and 
human-soul.  The first is in the fullest sense a divine being, contemplating 
a past eternity and a future immortality, occupying itself in contemplation 
ratherthan in action and to be regarded as a kind of guardian spirit. Although 
the God-soul and the material body are associated in this life, the former
is not bound to man in the way that, say, a limb is (it may indeed absent
itself from his body during sleep or periods of unconsciousness). Without 
the spirit there can be no motivation:  when the physical change 
(i.e. death) takes place the God-soul passes to another living  organism -
a human being, a tree, an animal, perhaps a bird. This is the element that
gives man his mystical attachment to a particular district or country 
(which is what we call patriotism):  because it is where the God-souls of 
countless generations of ancestors dwell. It is because of this that man is
compelled to nurture, love and defend his country, which is, in the purest
sense, a holy land. The philosopher Fichte said, "Death is the ladder by 
which my spiritual vision rises to a new life and a new nature." This is 
also the reason why Odinists regard all life as sacred and unnecessary 
violence as criminal.

The human-soul (or self-soul), is essentially individual to a particular 
person. It may be likened to his personality, his fame or his infamy. 
Because the whole of man's life is a continuing struggle of the good and 
light Gods on the one hand and the offspring of chaotic matter (the giants,
Nature's disturbing forces) on the other, the human-soul is extremely 
active. It is involved in a struggle that extends to man's innermost being:
both the human-soul and the God-soul proceed from the Gods; but the body 
belongs to the world of giants and they struggle for supremacy. If the human-
soul conquers by virtue and courage then it goes after death to Valhalla, 
to fight in concert with the Gods against the evil powers. If on the other 
hand the body conquers and links the spirit to itself by weakness then 
after man's death the human-soul sinks to the world of the giants and
joins itself with the evil powers in their warfare against the Gods. Long 
after his individual identity has been forgotten a man's human-soul, 
absorbed into the corporate spirit of the regiment, college, village, 
nation or other group, continues to demonstrate its immortality by 
inspiring future generations to noble deeds - or to acts of degradation.

32.   If the God-soul migrates to other living things after death, how can 
      you square this with, for example, the need to slaughter livestock in
      order to sustain human life? Isn't it rather like killing a God?

The God-soul must not be confused with the being that it inhabits. Animals,
birds and trees have always been regarded by Odinists with respect; it is 
indeed probable that the domsestication of some sreatures arose from their 
former sacred character. Every living thing is a manifestation of the 
divine and its spirit is immortal:  every time a tree is felled or an 
animal slaughtered it is indeed a kind of sacrifice. But the tree or the 
animal is only a temporary dwelling-place for the immortal God. Everything 
in Nature has a purpose and it is necessary in order that life may be 
sustained in others for such "sacrifices" to be made. Such an attitude 
encourages consideration and reverence for Nature and discourages its 
wanton despoliation. It is the unnecessary, cruel or unnatural killing of 
animals (or of human beings), the unjustifiable destruction of trees or 
landscape and the defiling of natural resources, that is wrong.

33.   You have mantioned "ancestral spirits". Does this mean that Odinists 
      believe in ancestor-worship?

The human-souls of one's own family ancestors provide us with  moral 
strength and inspiration. Just as we received our spirit from Odin, so we 
received our physical being through our parents and our ancestors from time
memorial. Our respect for ancestors maintains the continuity of the family, 
the kin and the race. . . .Life is a continuing process:  
we must try to visualize ourselves as ancestors;
for ancestors and descendants are genealogically one. Edmund Burke once 
remarked that society was a partnership between those who were living, 
those who are dead and those yet to be born; past and present and future 
are seen as a continuing evolvement and must be looked upon as complete 
being.

34.   What kind of status do women have within the Odinist community?

Odinists do not need reminding of women's rights! Our religion anciently 
held women in high honor: not only are Goddesses included in the Odinist 
pantheon, but, when the Odinist priesthood is restored, all offices will be
open to women just as they were before the Christian usurpation relegated 
them to permanent backbenches of religious life.

35.   What are the chief festivals of the Odinic Rite?

In ancient times there were three great festivals: Yule (the Mid-Winter 
Festival), Summer Finding (or spring equinox) and Winter Finding (autumn 
equinox). To these we nowadays add the Midsummer Festival.

Yule, the popular Festival of Mid-Winter (sometimes called the Festival of 
Light), heralds the beginning of the Odinist year. It is the birthday of 
the unconquered sun, which at this time begins to new vigor after its 
autumnal decline when, having descended into darkness, it pauses, kindles 
the fire of germination and ascends renewed with the fruit of hope. The 
Mid-Winter Festival includes the Twelve Nights of Yule, encapsulating the 
twelve months of the year in miniature, and culminates in the celebration 
of Twelfth Night.

Summer Finding, in March, is the Festival of Odin. It celebrates the 
renewal, or resurrection, of Nature after the darkness of winter. It was 
transformed by the Christians into their Easter (named after the Odinist 
Goddess of the Saxons, Ostara), Rogation and Whitsun and was also recalled 
in folk custom by the festivities of May Day. 

The Midsummer Festival, the Feast of Balder, is the great celebration of 
the triumph of light and the sun.

Winter Finding mourns the death of summer and heralds the coming of autumn.
It is dedicated to the god Frey, patron of the harvest, and is also 
sometimes called the Charming of the Fruits of Earth, when we render thanks
for the years supply of life-giving foods.


36.   What other Odinist festivals are there?

Besides the great festivals there are a number of secondary festivals and
also some commemorations of local Gods or various aspects of life. 

The secondary festivals of the Odinic Rite are:
The Charming of the Plough,  January 3
The festival of Vali, Febuary 14, which commemorates the family and is an 
occasion for betrothals, the renewal of marriage vows and vows of kinship
loyalty.

The festival of the Einherjar on November 11, known as Heroes' day, which 
honors the dead.

37.  What is the Odinist Committee?

The committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite (to give its full 
title) was set up on April 23, 1973 with the limited objects of restoring 
Odinist ritual and ceremonies, to define Odinist faith and doctrine and to 
constitute a teaching order of gothar (singular: gothi, meaning priest or 
teacher). When these immediate objects have been achieved the Committee 
will  disband. In the past not a great deal of attentiion was paid to 
systemizing the doctrinal aspects of Odinism and consequently the body of 
writing on the subject has remained limited and uneven. The Odinist 
Committee will place the worship of the Aesir on a more formal and 
permanent basis.

38.   How do I go about becoming an Odinist?

First of all by understanding, then by believing. You do not have to "be 
born again" but you are  expected to live your whole life according to the 
Odinist precepts. There is a ceremony of reception (or initiation) into the
Odinist community for those who wish it. The secretary of the Odinist 
Committe, 10 Trinity Green, London, E1, will be able to tell you whether 
there is an Odinist group in your neighborhood or, if there is not one, how
you may form one.

39.   Can the Odinist Committee supply me with a list of Odinist temples 
      and shall I be permitted to attend some of the inveitan?

There are at present no Odinist hofs (temples) in Great Britain open for 
public worship. Odinism starts with the individual and extends, through the
family, to the communtiy and the world. So with worship, which is at 
present practiced mostly at family level, the festivals of the Odinist year
being celebrated in the home, with friends and other Odinist sometimes 
being invited to participate. But it is expected that various regional 
meeting places will be authorized when eventually the ritual of Odinist 
worship has been fully restored and gothar licensed by the successor body 
to the Odinist committee.


	               These things are thought the best:
                              Fire, the sight of the sun,
                       Good health with the gift to keep it,
                             And a life that avoids vice.

                                           The High Song of Odin *

                                                                                                                    
* The verse from The High Song of Odin is from Paul B. Taylor and W H 
Auden's translation of The Elder Edda and is reproduced by permission of 
Messrs Faber and Faber. Other quotations from the Eddas in the foregoing 
pages are from the translation by Rasmus B. Anderson.



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