Sheila and I went to the local Fourth of July parade today, and spread the Asatru message to the rural, Main Street USA crowd lining the streets.
No, the AFA didn't have a float. Nor did we meander through the assembled multitudes with Asatru fliers. In fact, we didn't even mention our faith. But I feel we did good things for the Gods and the Folk.
We got involved with the Sons of Norway to support Northern European culture, and to build bridges to the local community. We haven't regretted it for an instant. In our very first meeting, it came out that we were Asatru. A conversation with some of the prominent members resulted...and we have very deliberately never mentioned it again. We weren't there to harangue these people, most of whom are senior citizens and lifelong Christians.
Instead, we just jumped in to be as helpful as we could. That's how Sheila and I ended up in fairly accurate Viking garb, following the (really neat!) Viking longboat constructed by the local chapter and whipping up the crowds.
So there I was, in my Kirby Wise spangenhelm, carrying a bearded axe, and Sheila alongside in Norse dress carrying a horn full of "mead" (water, actually, muchly needed due to the heat)from which I dramatically swilled when thirsty.
What was accomplished? People got to see what real Vikings looked like...and we furthered Northern European culture...and we consolidated our friendships in the SON. Remember, those senior citizens have friends, not to mention sons and daughters our age or younger. These are people who can vouch that we're not crazy, loutish, or evil because they know us.
I've already been asked to give a talk on the Norse roots of American freedom at a future meeting.
Every human being is either a possible AFA member, or a person who can refer someone else to us.
We also met some really nice people and had a lot of fun!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Asatru and Awakening - Part Two
Just as individuals can be asleep, so can entire peoples.
In my previous post, I described how, singly, we become absorbed in daydreams, memories, and thoughts of the future. When this happens, we forget that we exist as distinct selves. Our "I-ness" gets lost in the noise. I stated that our task, spiritually, is to awaken.
But we also fall asleep in another respect. We forget that we belong to organic groups defined by ancestry and tradition. When we do manage to acquire some sputtering, inconsistent sensations of selfhood, we still remain largely absorbed in trivia. Connection of our individual selves with the ancestors, with our Folk, is lost.
Men and women of European descent are asleep. We have forgotten who we are. Just as individuals are dulled into forgetfulness by daydreams, entire peoples are mesmerized by the media and by the messages built into what passes for popular culture. Our ancestors are “dead White males,” our culture one of “oppression." To question these assumptions, to protest that this is unfair, is...racist.
Nonsense. There is nothing racist about acknowledging who we are, and honoring that identity.
Listen to the voices of the ancestors! Listen to those whose latest expressions we are, those without whom we would not be. They whisper to us and tell us: We are a people. Just as there is a spiritual duty to awaken as individuals, so there is also a duty to awaken to an awareness of our personal and collective lineage, our Folk.
When we awaken as individuals, we can see the beauty and wonder that surrounds us - the ongoing panorama of the natural world and our experiences in it. When we awaken to the Folk, we connect with the entire history of our people, all the travail and triumph of tens of thousands of years. We realize that we have been given a priceless gift by those who came before us, a gift which we must transmit to our descendants.
We gain...continuity.
“Only when we realize we are a river will we stop drowning in puddles.”
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
In my previous post, I described how, singly, we become absorbed in daydreams, memories, and thoughts of the future. When this happens, we forget that we exist as distinct selves. Our "I-ness" gets lost in the noise. I stated that our task, spiritually, is to awaken.
But we also fall asleep in another respect. We forget that we belong to organic groups defined by ancestry and tradition. When we do manage to acquire some sputtering, inconsistent sensations of selfhood, we still remain largely absorbed in trivia. Connection of our individual selves with the ancestors, with our Folk, is lost.
Men and women of European descent are asleep. We have forgotten who we are. Just as individuals are dulled into forgetfulness by daydreams, entire peoples are mesmerized by the media and by the messages built into what passes for popular culture. Our ancestors are “dead White males,” our culture one of “oppression." To question these assumptions, to protest that this is unfair, is...racist.
Nonsense. There is nothing racist about acknowledging who we are, and honoring that identity.
Listen to the voices of the ancestors! Listen to those whose latest expressions we are, those without whom we would not be. They whisper to us and tell us: We are a people. Just as there is a spiritual duty to awaken as individuals, so there is also a duty to awaken to an awareness of our personal and collective lineage, our Folk.
When we awaken as individuals, we can see the beauty and wonder that surrounds us - the ongoing panorama of the natural world and our experiences in it. When we awaken to the Folk, we connect with the entire history of our people, all the travail and triumph of tens of thousands of years. We realize that we have been given a priceless gift by those who came before us, a gift which we must transmit to our descendants.
We gain...continuity.
“Only when we realize we are a river will we stop drowning in puddles.”
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Asatru and Awakening - Part One
I went out early in the pre-dawn to take out the garbage. Hardly a spiritual task, you might think. But as I walked out the door, I gazed up at the sky.
A pale, pale blue lit the east. A thin crescent of a moon, and two planets glowing like diamonds, decked the pre-dawn glory. As I watched, a bat made his erratic path across the scene, claiming one last insect before retiring for the day. All was silent.
We are asleep. The world goes on around us, but most of the time we are absorbed in a dull buzz of daydreams and plans, echoes of memories and images arising from phrases off the radio or television in the background. We are not even truly aware of ourselves as living, sovereign beings, much less cognizant of the ever-changing drama in the sky, or around the bird feeder in the garden.
Our sense of personal awareness, our ego, is only rudimentary. I believe it is our task to awaken, to become more aware that we exist, to build a permanent and enduring self that can assert its will in the world and, ultimately, to survive the miniature Ragnarok of the death experience in such a way that we have a high degree of consciousness and volition in the afterlife.
This, of course, it the exact opposite of all those philosophies that urge us to annihilate the self, to get rid of our ego.
Before we can know the Gods, before we can see the glory that surrounds us every moment, before we can even know ourselves, we must Awaken.
(Suggested reading: The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution by P.D. Ouspensky, Lecture One.)
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
A pale, pale blue lit the east. A thin crescent of a moon, and two planets glowing like diamonds, decked the pre-dawn glory. As I watched, a bat made his erratic path across the scene, claiming one last insect before retiring for the day. All was silent.
We are asleep. The world goes on around us, but most of the time we are absorbed in a dull buzz of daydreams and plans, echoes of memories and images arising from phrases off the radio or television in the background. We are not even truly aware of ourselves as living, sovereign beings, much less cognizant of the ever-changing drama in the sky, or around the bird feeder in the garden.
Our sense of personal awareness, our ego, is only rudimentary. I believe it is our task to awaken, to become more aware that we exist, to build a permanent and enduring self that can assert its will in the world and, ultimately, to survive the miniature Ragnarok of the death experience in such a way that we have a high degree of consciousness and volition in the afterlife.
This, of course, it the exact opposite of all those philosophies that urge us to annihilate the self, to get rid of our ego.
Before we can know the Gods, before we can see the glory that surrounds us every moment, before we can even know ourselves, we must Awaken.
(Suggested reading: The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution by P.D. Ouspensky, Lecture One.)
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Germany Does It Again - World's Oldest Musical Instrument!
Late last month I posted news of the world's oldest sculpture, found in a cave in southern Germany.
Now, the same cave has yielded a 35,000 year-old bone flute, which archeologist Nicholas Conrad pronounced “unambiguously the oldest instrument in the world.”
Looks like the people in Germany were pretty innovative, even back then!
You can find an article on the flute at
http://tinyurl.com/molopz
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Now, the same cave has yielded a 35,000 year-old bone flute, which archeologist Nicholas Conrad pronounced “unambiguously the oldest instrument in the world.”
Looks like the people in Germany were pretty innovative, even back then!
You can find an article on the flute at
http://tinyurl.com/molopz
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Asatru Folk Assembly Midsummer, 2009
The AFA's “Midsummer in the Sierras” extended over an incredible four days and left an indelible mark on all who witnessed it.
What follows is only a summary of the gathering's high points. In between the items listed below, there were short workshops and rituals, much laughter, and many spiritual insights!
There were four intense blots, or rituals in honor of the Gods and Goddesses of Asatru. Two were given by students in the AFA Clergy program in fulfillment of their training requirements - one blot to Vidar by Johnny Hulsey, and another to Freya, by his wife Julia. Both were judged outstanding successes.
David James, Asatru elder and special guest, conducted the main Midsummer blot. His rite was the very first live performance of one of his original works. Finally, Steve McNallen, head of the AFA, led the folk in a late-night blot to Odin.
The attendees sat at sumbel twice during the event, passing the mead horn to bring the might of the ancestors into the present so it could be applied to our needs. One sumbel was formal, another was much more casual, but both helped us build deep fellowship, and raised much power from the past.
Birgit and Liz led one of the two principal workshops. Reading through the Eddic poem Voluspa in the Old Norse and in an original English translation, they brought the verses to life and immersed us in the Way of our Folk. A comparable session by David James gave us new thoughts on our identity as a Folk, and on how surrounding ourselves with art - in the broad sense of the term - can affirm and deepen that identification. David, active in the revival of Germanic religion for some forty years or more, was enthusiastically received by all who heard him speak or who talked with him in person.
Rites of passage played a very important role in this Midsummer. Johnny and Julia Hulsey took the AFA Clergy oath and were hailed as Gothi and Gythja respectively. Scott and Cynthia pledged their wedding vows in a ceremony combining the elegance and formality of a mainstream “church wedding” (tuxedos, flowing satin dresses, a cake-and-champagne reception) with the very essence of Asatru (calling on the Gods, a hammer-blessing of the bride, exchange of sword and keys).
Saturday night, The Blarney Band had young and not-so-young alike dancing on the grass. Live music has been an integral part of the AFA's annual gatherings for several years.
Toward the end of our time together, we participated in an intense brainstorming session on new ways to bring the AFA message to a broader audience, especially young people. Detailed notes were taken and exact steps to accomplish our goals were established.
The date for the next “Midsummer in the Sierras” is June 25-27, 2010. All AFA members and friends are invited to begin making preparations now!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
What follows is only a summary of the gathering's high points. In between the items listed below, there were short workshops and rituals, much laughter, and many spiritual insights!
There were four intense blots, or rituals in honor of the Gods and Goddesses of Asatru. Two were given by students in the AFA Clergy program in fulfillment of their training requirements - one blot to Vidar by Johnny Hulsey, and another to Freya, by his wife Julia. Both were judged outstanding successes.
David James, Asatru elder and special guest, conducted the main Midsummer blot. His rite was the very first live performance of one of his original works. Finally, Steve McNallen, head of the AFA, led the folk in a late-night blot to Odin.
The attendees sat at sumbel twice during the event, passing the mead horn to bring the might of the ancestors into the present so it could be applied to our needs. One sumbel was formal, another was much more casual, but both helped us build deep fellowship, and raised much power from the past.
Birgit and Liz led one of the two principal workshops. Reading through the Eddic poem Voluspa in the Old Norse and in an original English translation, they brought the verses to life and immersed us in the Way of our Folk. A comparable session by David James gave us new thoughts on our identity as a Folk, and on how surrounding ourselves with art - in the broad sense of the term - can affirm and deepen that identification. David, active in the revival of Germanic religion for some forty years or more, was enthusiastically received by all who heard him speak or who talked with him in person.
Rites of passage played a very important role in this Midsummer. Johnny and Julia Hulsey took the AFA Clergy oath and were hailed as Gothi and Gythja respectively. Scott and Cynthia pledged their wedding vows in a ceremony combining the elegance and formality of a mainstream “church wedding” (tuxedos, flowing satin dresses, a cake-and-champagne reception) with the very essence of Asatru (calling on the Gods, a hammer-blessing of the bride, exchange of sword and keys).
Saturday night, The Blarney Band had young and not-so-young alike dancing on the grass. Live music has been an integral part of the AFA's annual gatherings for several years.
Toward the end of our time together, we participated in an intense brainstorming session on new ways to bring the AFA message to a broader audience, especially young people. Detailed notes were taken and exact steps to accomplish our goals were established.
The date for the next “Midsummer in the Sierras” is June 25-27, 2010. All AFA members and friends are invited to begin making preparations now!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Monday, June 22, 2009
Back from Midsummer!
Sheila and I, accompanied by Thorgrun and Katie Odden and our guest David James, rolled in from the Asatru Folk Assembly's Midsummer celebration a few hours ago.
The house is a wreck, and there are still more things to unload from the cars. As I write, David is sitting on the deck, refining and adapting the blot he did for us on Saturday.
And what a Midsummer it was! Four major blots, two sumbels. two detailed presentations, numerous shorter agenda items, and two fine AFA members who took the oath of Clergy. During all this we laughed, cried, danced to live music, told our worst and our best jokes, watched the stars come out over the Sierras - and more. Asatru at its best!
Tomorrow you'll get a detailed after-action report. Right now I'm going to go back downstairs, have a glass of wine on the deck, and watch the light change on the Sierras before getting back to work.
We've already set the date for the next Midsummer gathering, and reserved the site.
Will you be with us?
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
The house is a wreck, and there are still more things to unload from the cars. As I write, David is sitting on the deck, refining and adapting the blot he did for us on Saturday.
And what a Midsummer it was! Four major blots, two sumbels. two detailed presentations, numerous shorter agenda items, and two fine AFA members who took the oath of Clergy. During all this we laughed, cried, danced to live music, told our worst and our best jokes, watched the stars come out over the Sierras - and more. Asatru at its best!
Tomorrow you'll get a detailed after-action report. Right now I'm going to go back downstairs, have a glass of wine on the deck, and watch the light change on the Sierras before getting back to work.
We've already set the date for the next Midsummer gathering, and reserved the site.
Will you be with us?
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Friday, June 19, 2009
Midsummer, Here We Come!
Today is the day!
In another eight hours, AFA members will be arriving from across the country to celebrate the rites of Asatru.
David James, our special guest, arrived safely last night and is in good hands.
Sheila was up into the wee hours doing last minute packing.
We've made our lists, and we're checking them twice!
It's going to be frantic, frustrating, fun...fantastic. We will honor the Gods, and build the AFA ever stronger.
Stay tuned for our afer-action report!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
In another eight hours, AFA members will be arriving from across the country to celebrate the rites of Asatru.
David James, our special guest, arrived safely last night and is in good hands.
Sheila was up into the wee hours doing last minute packing.
We've made our lists, and we're checking them twice!
It's going to be frantic, frustrating, fun...fantastic. We will honor the Gods, and build the AFA ever stronger.
Stay tuned for our afer-action report!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
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