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Germanic neopaganism
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Germanic Neopaganism (also known as Heathenism or Heathenry, Ásatrú, Odinism, Forn Siđr, and Theodism) is the modern revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s.
Attitude and focus of adherents may vary considerably, from strictly historical polytheistic reconstructionism to syncretist (eclectic), pragmatic psychologist, occult or mysticist approaches.
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Encyclopedia
Germanic Neopaganism (also known as Heathenism or Heathenry, Ásatrú, Odinism, Forn Siđr, and Theodism) is the modern revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s.
Attitude and focus of adherents may vary considerably, from strictly historical polytheistic reconstructionism to syncretist (eclectic), pragmatic psychologist, occult or mysticist approaches. Germanic Neopagan organizations cover a wide spectrum of belief and ideals.
Terminology
Different terms exist for the various types of Germanic Neopaganism. Some terms are specific in reference whereas other are blanket terms for a variety of groups.
In a 1997 article in Pagan Dawn, the authors list as more or less synonymous the terms Northern Tradition, Norse Tradition, Ásatrú, Odinism, Germanic Paganism, Teutonic Religion, The Elder Troth (as the name of a specific organization and at the same time an attempt to replace trú with an English equivalent) and Heathenry. Forn Siđr and its equivalents has become a popular self-designation in Scandinavian Neopaganism. The terms Odalism and Wotanism designate currents of white supremacism outside of mainstream Germanic Neopaganism.
Ásatrú
Ásatrú (in Old Norse ) is an Old Norse compound derived from Ása, the plural genitive of Áss, which refers to the Ćsir, (one of the two families of gods in Norse mythology, the other being the Vanir), and trú, literally "troth" or "faith". Thus, Ásatrú is the "Ćsir's faith." The term is the Old Norse/Icelandic translation of Asetro, a neologism coined in the context of 19th century romantic nationalism, used by Edvard Grieg in his 1870 opera Olaf Trygvason. Ásatrúar, sometimes used as a plural in English, is properly the genitive of Ásatrú.
Modern Scandinavian forms of the term, Norwegian Ĺsatru, Swedish Asatro, Danish Asetro, were introduced in Neopaganism in Scandinavia in the 1990s.
In Germany, the terms Asatru and Odinism were loaned from the Anglosphere in the 1990s, with a chapter of Odinic Rite formed in 1995 and the Eldaring as a partner organization of The Troth formed in 2000. Eldaring takes Asatru as a synonym of Germanic neopaganism in general, following usage by The Troth. Other organizations avoid Asatru in favour of Germanisches Heidentum ("Germanic Heathenry"). Eldaring is the only pagan organization at national level in Germany self-describing in terms of Asatru, but the internet domain asatru.de has been squatted by German Neo-Nazi Jürgen Rieger's neo-völkisch Artgemeinschaft since 1999.
The term Vanatru is coined after Ásatrú, implying a focus on the Vanir (a second tribe of gods in Germanic paganism) rather than the Ćsir.
Forn Siđr
Old Norse Forn Siđr, Anglo-Saxon Fyrnsidu and its modern Scandinavian analogues Forn Sed, all meaning "Old Custom", is used as a term for pre-Christian Germanic culture in general, and for Germanic Neopaganism in particular, mostly by groups in Scandinavia. Old Norse forn "old" is cognate to Sanskrit purana, English far. Old Norse siđr "custom" (not to be confused with siđr "late"), Anglo-Saxon sidu, seodu "custom", cognate to Greek ethos, in the sense of "traditional law, way of life, proper behaviour". In meaning, the term corresponds exactly to Sanskrit sanatana dharma, the native term for Hinduism. In contradistinction to Ásatrú, inn forni siđr is actually attested in Old Norse, contrasting with inn nýi siđr "the new custom", and similarly Heiđinn siđr, contrasting with Kristinn siđr, and í fornum siđ "in old (heathen) times". In Germany the term "Firne Sitte" is synonymous with Asatru and is used interchangeably.
Forn Siđr is also the name of the largest Danish pagan society, which since 2003 is recognized by the Danish government (meaning they have the right to conduct weddings, etc.)
Heathenry
Heathen (Old English hćđen, Old Norse heiđinn) was coined as a translation of Latin paganus, in the Christian sense of "non-Abrahamic faith".
In the Sagas, the terms heiđni and kristni (Heathenry and Christianity) are used as polar terms to describe the older and newer faiths. Historically, the term was influenced by the Gothic term *haiţi, appearing as haiţno in Ulfilas' bible for translating gune Hellenis, "Greek (i.e. gentile) woman" of Mark 7:26, probably with an original meaning "dwelling on the heath", but it was also suggested that it was chosen because of its similarity to Greek ethne "gentile" or even that it is not related to "heath" at all, but rather a loan from Armenian hethanos, itself loaned from Greek ethnos.
The Miercinga Rice Theod and several other groups, narrow the sense of the word to Germanic Neopaganism in particular, and prefer it over Neopagan as a self-designation.
Heathenry is used for strictly polytheistic reconstructionist approaches, as opposed to syncretic, occult or mysticist approaches. While some practitioners use the term Heathenry as an equivalent to Paganism, others use it much more specifically. It is used by those who are re-creating the old religion and world view from the literary and archaeological sources. They describe themselves as "Heathen" in part to distinguish themselves from other pagans whose rituals come from more modern sources.
Heathenry is now the most widespread term for Germanic Paganism in the UK and is promoted by UK groups such as Heathens For Progress.
Odinism
The term Odinism was coined by Orestes Brownson in his 1848 Letter to Protestants. The term was re-introduced in the late 1930s by Alexander Rud Mills in Australia with his First Anglecyn Church of Odin and his book . In the 1960s and early 1970s, Else Christensen's Odinist Study Group and later the Odinist Fellowship brought the term into usage in North America. In the UK,Odinic Rite has specifically identified themselves as "Odinists" since the 1970s, and is the longest running group to do so.
The term "Odinism" tends to be associated with racist or racialist Nordic ideology, as opposed to "Asatru" which may or may not refer to racialist or "folkish" ideals. As defined by Goodrick-Clarke (2002), Nordic racial paganism is synonymous with the Odinist movement (including some who identify as Wotanist). He describes it as a "spiritual rediscovery of the Aryan ancestral gods...intended to embed the white races in a sacred worldview that supports their tribal feeling", and expressed in "imaginative forms of ritual magic and ceremonial forms of fraternal fellowship".
Theodism
Theodism, or Ţéodisc Geléafa seeks to reconstruct the beliefs and practices of the Anglo-Saxon tribes which settled in England. ţéodisc is the adjective of ţéod "people, tribe", cognate to deutsch. As it evolved, the Theodish community moved past solely Anglo-Saxon forms and other Germanic tribal groups were also being reconstituted; Theodism, in this larger sense, now encompass groups practicing tribal beliefs from Scandinavia and the Continent, following in the model set forth by the Anglo Saxon theods founded in the 1970s. The term Theodism now encompasses Norman, Frisian, Angle, Saxon, Jutish, Gothic, Alemannic, Swedish and Danish tribal cultures. This relaxing of the original term "Theodism" functionally identifies Germanic Neopagans who practice or advocate Neo-Tribalism.
Beliefs
Theism
Heathens are polytheists, believing in a number of gods and goddesses.
Germanic Neopaganism (as opposed to Neopaganism in general) is often defined as reconstructionist. Not all adherents subscribe to the reconstructionist philosophy, but follow more new age and individualistic self-empowering concepts, rather than attempting to restore or reconstruct the ancient beliefs of the original Germanic pagans.
Animism
Germanic Neopaganism has a strong leaning towards animism. This is most apparent in the worship of Alfr (or Elves), land-spirits, the various beings of folklore ( Kobold, Huldufólk ), and the belief that inanimate objects can have a fate of their own.
It is believed that Elves or land-spirits can inhabit natural objects such as trees or stones. These spirits can, and do, take sides in the affairs of the inhabitance of their land.
This is in imitation of historical Norse paganism, which had strong animistic tendencies, as reflected in Sagas such as that of a wizard who goes to Iceland in whale-shape to see if it can be invaded, who is attacked by land-spirits while going on shore, and is forced to flee.
It is believed by some Heathens, that inanimate objects can have a soul of their own, or a fate and therefore should be given a name. The most common cases being the naming of weapons like Gram (mythology). The objects are not “charged” before use, but have the fate or power in them.
Ethics
Ethics in Germanic Neopaganism are guided by an elaborate concept of 'soul' and 'self’, personal řrlög or Wyrd and even luck. The belief in Wyrd - a concept of fatalism or determinism, similar to some Graeco-Roman concepts of destiny is a commonly held belief amongst most Germanic Neopagans. People's personal destinies are shaped in part by what is past, in part by what they and others are now doing, by the vows they take and contracts they enter into.
The Germanic Neopagan community is primarily bound together by common symbological and social concepts. Personal character and virtue is emphasized: truthfulness, self-reliance, and hospitality are important moral distinctions, underpinning an especially cherished notion of honour.
Germanic Neopaganism notably lacks any discussion of redemption, salvation, or perfection, as well as their conceptual precursors.
The Asatru Folk Assembly and the Odinic Rite encourages recognition of an ethical code, the Nine Noble Virtues, which are culled from various sources, including the Hávamál from the Poetic Edda.
Germanic Neopaganism reveres the natural environment in principle; Germanic Neopaganism opposes neither technology nor its material rewards. More mystical currents of Heathenry may be critical of industrialization or modern society, but even such criticism will focus on decadence, lack of virtue or balance, rather than being a radical criticism of technology itself.
Theodish groups operate under specific "thau". Thau is defined as the customs and beliefs of a specific tribe, and each theodish tribe has their own thau which may or may not be mirrored in other theodish (and indeed some non-theodish) circles.
Rites and practices
The primary deities of Germanic Neopaganism are those of Anglo-Saxon religion and of Norse Mythology (see list of Norse gods). Germanic Neopaganism also has a component of ancestor worship or veneration. In the simplest form, the gods are viewed as distant ancestors or progenitors who are honoured and revered, while in the adherent's personal practices, direct ancestors (referred to sometimes as Dis) are often praised and honoured during the rituals of sumbel and blót. Animism or land veneration is most evident in the rituals dedicated to the elves and wights.
Blót
Blót is the historical Norse term for sacrifice or ritual slaughter. In Germanic Neopaganism, blóts are often celebrated outdoors in nature, the celebrants sometimes clad in home-made Medieval Scandinavian attire. A blót may be highly formalized, but the underlying intent resembles inviting and having an honored guest or family member in for dinner. Food and drink may be offered. Most of this will be consumed by the participants, and some of the drink will be poured out onto the soil as a libation. Home-brewed mead as the "Germanic" drink par excellence is popular.
Offerings during a blót usually involve mead or other alcohol, sometimes food, sometimes song or poetry, specially written for the occasion or for a particular deity, is delivered as an offering. The blót ritual may be based on historical example, scripted for the occasion or may be spontaneous. Certain Germanic Neopagan groups, most notably the Theodish, strictly adhere to historical formulaic ritual, while other groups may use modernized variants. Usual dress for a blót is whatever suits the seasons - many blóts are outdoors, sometimes at sacred sites. Some Germanic Neopagans, most notably the Theodish, wear clothing modeled on those of the Anglo-Saxon or Norse 'Viking' during ritual, while others eschew this practice.
Sumbel
Symbel (OE) and sumbel (ON) are terms
for "feast, banquet, (social) gathering", occasionally used to refer to a special type of solemn drinking ritual attested in more or less comparable forms among various Germanic warrior elites. In such instances, symbel involved a formulaic ritual which was more solemn and serious than mere drinking or celebration. The primary elements of symbel are drinking ale or mead from a horn, speech making (which often included formulaic boasting and oaths), and gift giving.
According to the reconstruction by Bauschatz (1983), eating and feasting were specifically excluded from symbel, and no alcohol was set aside for the gods or other deities in the form of a sacrifice.
The host of the symbel was called the symbelgifa. One of the officiants of symbel was the thyle (ON ţulr), who challenged and questioned those who made boasts (gielp) or oaths (béot, bregofull), if necessary with taunts or mockery (flyting). Oaths said over the symbel-horn were seen as binding and affecting the luck and wyrd of all in attendance. The alcoholic drink was served by women or alekeepers (ealu bora "ale bearer"), the first round usually poured by the lady of the house.
The bragarfull "promise-cup" or bragafull"best cup" or "chieftain's cup" was in Norse culture a particular drinking from a cup or drinking horn on ceremonial occasions, often involving the swearing of oaths when the cup or horn was drunk by a chieftain or passed around and drunk by those assembled.
In American Ásatrú as developed by McNallen and Stine, the sumbel is a drinking-ritual in which a drinking horn full of mead or ale is passed around and a series of toasts are made, first to the Aesir, then to other supernatural beings, then to heroes or ancestors, and then to others. Participants make also make boasts of their own deeds, or oaths or promises of future actions. Words spoken during the sumbel are considered and consecrated, becoming part of the destiny of those assembled. The name sumbel (or symbel) is mainly derived from Anglo-Saxon sources. For this reason, the ritual is not know by this name among Icelandic Nordic pagans, who nevertheless practice a similar ritual as part of their blot.
In Theodism or Anglo-Saxon neopaganism in particular, the symbel has a particularly high importance, considered "perhaps the highest rite" or "amongst the most holy rites" celebrated.
Seiđr
Seiđr and Spae are forms of "sorcery" or "witchcraft", the latter having aspects of prophecy and shamanism. Seid and spae are not common rituals, and are not engaged in by many adherents of Germanic Neopaganism. Usually seid or spae rituals are modeled after the ritual detailed in the Saga of Eric the Red: a seiđkona dressed in traditional garb will sit on a high-seat or platform and prophesize in a formulaic manner as women sing or chant galdr around her. In the UK, seidr relies less on formal ritual and more informal practices of healing (Blain, 2002b), protection, and for developing links with land and ancestors. It may be related - in past and present - to alterations of consciousness and negotiations with otherworld beings.
The berserkergangr may be described as a sort of religious ecstasy, associated with Odin, and thus a masculine variant of the 'effeminate' ecstasy of Seid.
History
Romanticist Germanic mysticism
The first modern attempt at revival of ancient Germanic religion took place in the 19th century during the late Romantic Period amidst a general resurgence of interest in traditional Germanic culture, in particular in connection with romantic nationalism in Scandinavia and the related Viking revival in Victorian era Britain. Germanic mysticism is an occultist current loosely inspired by "Germanic" topics, notably runes. It has its beginnings in the early 20th century (Guido von List's "Armanism", Karl Maria Wiligut's "Irminism" etc.)
The last traditional pagan sacrifices in Scandinavia, at Trollkyrka, appear to date to about this time.
Organized Germanic pagan or occult groups such as the Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft emerged in Germany in the early 20th century. The connections of this movement to historical Germanic paganism are tenuous at best, with emphasis lying on the esoteric as taught by the likes of Julius Evola, Guido von List and Karl Maria Wiligut.
Nazi period and World War II
Several early members of the Nazi Party were part of the Thule Society, a study group for German antiquity. While it is postulated that occult elements played an important role in the formative phase of Nazism, and of the SS in particular, after his rise to power, Adolf Hitler discouraged such pursuits. Point 24 of the National Socialist Party program, stated that the party endorsed "Positive Christianity."
The eclectic German Faith Movement (Deutsche Glaubensbewegung), founded by the Sanskrit scholar Jakob Wilhelm Hauer, enjoyed a degree of popularity during the Nazi period..
Some Germanic mysticists were victimized by the Nazis: Friedrich Bernhard Marby spent 99 months in KZ Dachau, and Siegfried Adolf Kummer's fate is unknown.
The founder of the original pre-Nazi Deutsches Ahnerbe, Herman Wirth was exiled and prohibited from writing or lecturing because his views of traditional Germanic religion were perceived as incompatible with the goals of the state. Another pioneer of the revival, Ludwig Fahrenkrog, founder of the Germanic Glaubens-Gemeinschaft was prohibited from public speaking or holding religious rituals because he refused to end his public lectures and personal correspondences with the obligatory "Heil Hitler". Ernst Wachler who built the Harzer Bergtheater specifically for Germanic plays and operas was sent to KZ Auschwitz where he perished (which however might have been due to the fact that he was of Jewish origin.)
Several books published by the Nazi party including Die Gestaltung der Feste im Jahres- und Lebenslauf in der SS-Familie (The Celebrations in the Life of the SS Family) by Fritz Weitzel, as well as the SS Tante Friede illustrate how the National Socialists thought traditional Germanic Heathenry was primitive superstition which needed reworking to better serve the state. Celebrating the traditional festivals like Jul and Sommersonnenwende were encouraged and recast into veneration of the Nazi state and Führer.
The appropriation of "Germanic antiquity" by the Nazis was at first regarded with skepticism and sarcasm by British Scandophiles. W. H. Auden in his Letters from Iceland (1936) makes fun of the idea of Iceland as an "Aryan vestige".
but with the outbreak of World War II, Nordic romanticism in Britain became too much associated with the enemy's ideology to remain palatable, to the point that J. R. R. Tolkien, an ardent Septentrionalist, in 1941 found himself moved to state that he had a "burning private grudge ... against that ruddy little ignoramus Adolf Hitler" for
"Ruining, perverting, misapplying, and making for ever accursed, that noble northern spirit, a supreme contribution to Europe, which I have ever loved, and tried to present in its true light."
After the War, the strong association with Nazi Germany virtually eclipsed interest in Germanic history for two decades. The racialist Artgemeinschaft Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft (AG GGG), founded in 1951, did little to dispel the popular equation of Germanic faiths and Neo-Nazism.
In Australia, led by the Odinist pioneer Alexander Rud Mills and his eventual wife, Evelyn, were Australian Odinists in the 1930s. The couple held regular ceremonies in the Dandenong Ranges, near Melbourne, until Mills himself was arrested and sent to an Australian concentration camp (Loveday, SA) early in World War II.
Second revival, 1960s to present
Another revival, this time based on folklore and historical research rather than on mysticist speculation, took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Ásatrú was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973, largely due to the efforts of Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. In USA, around the same period, Else Christensen began publishing "The Odinist" newsletter and Stephen McNallen began publishing a newsletter titled The Runestone. McNallen formed an organization called the Asatru Free Assembly, which was later renamed the Ásatrú Folk Assembly (AFA) . The AFA fractured in 1987-88, resulting in the creation of the Ásatrú Alliance, headed by Valgard Murray, publisher of the "Vor Tru" newsletter. Around the same time, the Ring of Troth (now simply The Troth) was founded by other former members of the AFA..
In 1972 the spiritual descendants of Mills' Odinist movement in Australia obtained from the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia a written undertaking that open profession of Odinism in Australia would not be persecuted. The Odinic Rite of Australia subsequently obtained tax deductible status from the Australian Tax Office. The ATO accepts this as the definition of Odinism: "the continuation of ... the organic spiritual beliefs and religion of the indigenous peoples of northern Europe as embodied in the Edda and as they have found expression in the wisdom and in the historical experience of these peoples".
In 1976 Garman Lord formed the Witan Theod, the first Theodish group. Shortly thereafter, Ealdoraed Lord founded the Moody Hill Theod in Watertown, New York. The Angelseaxisce Ealdriht formed in 1996 and was founded by Swain and Winifred Hodge. Theodism now encompasses groups practicing tribal beliefs from Scandinavia and the Continent, in addition to following in the model set forth by the early Anglo Saxon peoples.
The Odinic Rite was established in England in 1972, and in the 1990s expanded to include chapters in Germany (1995), Australia (1995) and North American (1997) . A Dutsch section was added in (2006).
In Germany, the Heidnische Gemeinschaft (HG) founded by Géza von Neményi in 1985. In 1991 the Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft (GGG),led by von Neményi, split off from the HG. In 1997 the Nornirs Ćtt was founded as part of the Rabenclan and in 2000 the Eldaring was founded. The Eldaring is affiliated with the US based Troth.
In Scandinavia, the Swedish Asatru Society formed in 1994, and in Norway the Ĺsatrufellesskapet Bifrost formed in 1996 and Foreningen Forn Sed formed in 1999. They have been recognized by the Norwegian government as a religious society, allowing them to perform "legally binding civil ceremonies" (i. e. marriages). In Denmark Forn Siđr also formed in 1999 (and recognized by the state in 2003 and in Sweden Nätverket Gimle formed in 2001, as an informal community for individual heathens. Nätverket Forn Sed formed in 2004, and has a network consisting of local groups (blotlag) from all over the Sweden.
In the UK, state recognition of Neopaganism occurred as a coincidence of the legal case Royal Mail group PLC versus Donald Holden in 2006. Holden, a member of the Odinist Fellowship, sued his former employer for unfair dismissal.
Germanic mysticism was mostly eclipsed by the more reconstructionist Neopagan revival in the 1970s, but there are some contemporary proponents, notably Stephen Flowers advocating "Odianism", an occultist school involving "runosophy". Historical schools of Germanic mysticism became closely linked with Nazi occultism, while contemporary currents have close ties to Alain de Benoist's Nouvelle Droite and neo-fascist schools of thought such as "Integral Traditionalism" based on the writings of Julius Evola and others.
Distribution of adherents
Demographics
Today, Germanic Neopaganism is practiced throughout the world. Scandinavia, Germany, Britain, North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand all have numerous Germanic Neopagan organizations. Groups and practitioners also exist in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Russia, in Central America (Mexico), and in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile).
The exact number of adherents worldwide is unknown, partly because of the lack of a clear definition separating Asatru (or Odinism) from other similar religions. There are perhaps a few thousand practitioners in North America (10,000 to 20,000 according to McNallen), about 1290 in Iceland, a thousand or so in Australia, and 350 in Germany, with smaller groups scattered world wide, adding to a total of around 3-6 thousand. In Denmark, Forn Siđr is a legally recognized faith society (meaning they have rights to conduct weddings etc.), and have about 600 members. Scandinavia (including Iceland and Denmark) has approximately 2290 Organized Asatru
As of 2001, the City University of New York estimated that some 140,000 people in the USA self-identify as "Pagan" (excluding Wiccan (134,000), New Age (68,000), Druid (33,000), Spiritualist (116,000) and aboriginal religions (4,000)). The total number of Neopagans worldwide has been estimated at roughly one million and according to these findings, a third each are located in the UK, the USA, and over the rest of the world.
Structure and subgroupings
Solitary practice, or practice in small circles of friends or family is common. These are often called kindreds or hearths, although often they are not formal.Germanic Neopagan organizations have been active since the 1970s, but most of these larger groups are loose federations and do not require committed membership comparable to a church. Consequently, there is no central authority, and associations remain in a state of fluidity as factions form and break up.
There are several possibilities to analyse Germanic Neopaganism into individual currents or subgroupings.
One common approach is the classification by notions of ethnicity ("folk").
This may range from ethnic nationalist (völkisch) attitudes with far right tendencies on one hand (the Nouvelle Droite of Alain de Benoist notably has ties to such currents of Neopaganism) to moderate "tribalist" notions of ethnicity as based in tradition and culture, and to "universalist" approaches which de-emphasize differences between ethnic traditions (e.g. Seax Wicca).
Another classification is by approach to historicity and historical accuracy. On one hand, there are reconstructionists who aim to understand the pre-Christian Germanic religion based on academic research and implement these reconstructed . Contrasting with this is the "traditionalist" or "folklorist", in Scandinavia known as Folketro or Funtrad (short for Fundamentalistisk Traditionalisme) approach which emphasizes living local tradition as central.
Traditionalists will not reconstruct, but base their rituals on intimate knowledge of regional folklore. Proponents of traditionalism include the Norwegian Foreningen Forn Sed and the Swedish Samfälligheten för Nordisk Sed. Both ethnic religions reject the ideas of Romanticist or New Age currents as reflected in Asatru.
At the other end of this scale are syncretist or eclectic approaches which merge innovation or "personal gnosis" into historical or folkloristic tradition.
Note that this scale is largely independent of the approaches to "ethnicity" outlined above. Both ethnocentric and universalist Neopagans may de-emphasize historical tradition in favour of "personal gnosis", albeit for different reasons. "Folkish" currents may rely on postulated racial memory ("metagenetics") as rendering historical tradition superfluous, while universalists may welcome ahistorical input as ultimately of the same universal validity as historical tradition.
Political ideologies
Despite a common Norse or Germanic cosmology and belief system, adherents of Germanic Neopaganism hold a wide spectrum of political beliefs from left to right and green.
Mattias Gardell, reader for religious history at the University of Stockholm, categorizes Germanic Neopaganism into "militant racist", "ethnic" and "nonracist" particularly in North America. In the militant racist position, Asatru is an expression of the "Aryan racial soul". The ethnic position is that of "tribalism", ethnocentric but opposed to the militant racist position. According to Gardell, the militant racist faction has grown significantly in North America during the early 2000s, estimating that, as of 2005, it accounts for 40-50% of North American Odinists or Asatruar with the other two factions at close to 30% each.
Germanic Neopagan groups are generally organized into democratic and republican forms of church government, as inspired by the parliamentary Things of the Viking era and subsequent parliamentary systems of Britain and the Scandinavian countries. They promote individual rights and freedom of speech reminiscent of the free jarls of Norse saga.
In the USA, early Germanic Neopagan groups such as Else Christensen's Odinist Fellowship held National Socialist philosophies, but later dropped these associations.
Currently, the three largest Germanic Neopagan groups in the USA specifically denounce racism and National Socialism.
There is an antagonistic relationship between many neo-Nazis and the membership of most Ásatrú organizations in the USA, who view "national socialism as an unwanted totalitarian philosophy incompatible with freedom-loving Norse paganism".
Ásatrú and the far right
Kaplan (1996) documents the growth of Odinism in the United States and its link with the American Neo-Nazi scene. He notes that there is a division between Odinists embracing Nazi ideology and others without racist motivations responding to "childhood memories". The tensions between racist and non-racist Odinists are cast into the "folkish" ("traditional Ásatrú") vs. "universalist" ("New Age Ásatrú") debate. It was these tensions that led to the demise of the Ásatrú Free Assembly in 1986 and the emergence of two separate movememnts, the Ásatrú Alliance and The Troth in the following year.
Odalism (a philosophy of Social Darwinism) and Wotanism (a racialist / neo-Nazi position held by e.g. David Lane) are two terms primarily focused on politics rather than religion. On his homepage, Varg Vikernes, one proponent of Odalism, explains his understanding of 'Paganism' with explicit racist referencing.
When the FBI identified threats towards the domestic security of the USA related to the turn of the Millennium in 2000 in the Project Megiddo report, it stated that: "Without question, this initiative [i.e. Project Megiddo itself] has revealed indicators of potential violent activity on the part of extremists in this country. Militias, adherents of racist belief systems such as Christian Identity and Odinism, and other radical domestic extremists are clearly focusing on the millennium as a time of action." [Emphasis added] Among other, the FBI lists Robert Jay Mathews as an Odinist in this report.
Artistic output and influence
Originally grown out of 19th century Romanticism, the Viking revival had associations with the Gothic novel and Romantic art such as the Pre-Raphaelites or the art nouveau. Also of note is the influence of Richard Wagner's "Ring Cycle." Artistic taste of adherents are often related to the High Fantasy genre based on Germanic mythology. New Age currents are another influence, although not necessarily related. These elements may blend with traditional Germanic folklore.
In literature, there have been several novels published by Heathens, notably Kveldulf Gundarsson (under the name Stephen Grundy), drawing on the Volsunga Saga and Nibelungenlied for inspiration. Steven T Abell's collection of contemporary short fiction, Days in Midgard, depends for its effect on the reader's knowledge of heathen history and myth.
Neofolk music counts Germanic paganism as one of its largest and most obvious influences. Many of the instruments used are traditional and the music is largely acoustic.
Various artists within the Black metal, Folk metal and Viking metal genres utilize imagery derived from Germanic paganism, particularly Norse polytheism.
Symbolism
While generally any symbol deriving from Germanic paganism may be used, particularly popular symbols of Germanic Neopaganism are depictions of the Valknut, Mjolnir, the Irminsul, Yggdrasil amongst others. Depictions of Germanic gods are also common. The Runic alphabet is popular, in particular the Odal, Tyr and Algiz runes.
The US Anti-Defamation League listed numerous symbols associated with Germanic Neopaganism as "hate symbols", but following an internet-based campaign by Germanic Neopagan groups inserted a disclaimer to the effect that the symbols listed "are often used by nonracists today, especially practitioners of modern pagan religions." Additionally, the swastika may be used by some groups such as the Odinic Rite, who seek to "rehabilitate" it, based on some archaeological evidence for the symbol's use in Germanic antiquity. The Armanen runes, created by Guido von List indicate an influence deriving from the work of Von Listian Germanic mysticism rather than reconstructive forms of Germanic Neopaganism.
List of organizations
See also
External links
Article on heathenry written by members of the the Northvegr Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation that hosts many texts relevant to Germanic paganism A critical report from Mattias Gardell, in an interview with the Southern Poverty Law Center An extensive on-line collection of heathen texts, including various translations of the Eddas, Sagas, and other texts. An extensive podcast with interviews of Asatruar of note and 101 topics.
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