Calendar

October 8 - Day of Remembrance for Erik the Red. Erik was the stouthearted father of Leif Erikson, and a dedicated follower of Thor. Hot-headed and clever, Erik made his mark on history by organizing the Viking settlement of Greenland. Raise a toast to this rascal, or read from his saga, in honor of his intrepid spirit.

October 9 - Leif Erikson Day. This holiday was first officially proclaimed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. Remind your friends of the Norse colonization of North America more than a thousand years ago!

October 11 - Winter Nights. This is the time we honor the Disir, conceived of as the female ancestors of our family lines. The Disir look on from the Otherworld, with loving concern for us, their descendants. Pour them a libation on the chilling autumn earth, and think on the wise and powerful women whose blood flows in your veins.

October 31 - Samhain, the Celtic New Year. The Celts among us will honor the ancestors on this day and celebrate the unity of the clan, which transcends time and space and mortality.

November 9 - Day of Remembrance for Queen Sigrid of Sweden. Sigrith was offered marriage to Olaf Tryggvason, the Christianizer of Norway. The condition was that she give up the religion of her ancestors. She refused to do this, and Olaf ignobly slapped her across the face. In retribution, she played a key role in his downfall. Meditate on the glory of strong women who will not compromise on matters of honor.

November 11 - Feast of the Einheriar. The chosen heroes who sit in Odin’s hall are called the Einheriar, and we honor them on this day. Lift a toast to those who fell bravely in battle for our Way, our people, and for the noble cause. Think on the sacrifices of our veterans, and visit their graves.

AFA Mission Statement

The mission of the Asatru Folk Assembly is to practice, promote, and further evolve the religion of Asatru, thus forging it into a powerful and effective tool for building a better world.

AFA Vison Statement

The AFA envisions a future in which a substantial percentage of European-descended people worldwide have returned to their ancestral Germanic religion, bound together in an extended community of the Folk serving their spiritual, social, and economic needs - the “Nation of Odin.”

Winter Nights in the Mother Lode, October 24-26

Winter Nights 2008 - three days for AFA members to meet face-to-face, share their victories, and help shape the future of our organization! Friday will feature sightseeing, informal conferencing with individuals and small groups, and an evening reception in Nevada City. The next day, all are invited to the McNallens' home for a lunch of traditional Cornish pasties and homemade soup. In the afternoon, we'll have presentations by Steve and others, a Blot to the Disir, and a series of lively and important presentations. There will be a raffle to help fund future AFA events, a banquet dinner, and live music. Sunday morning, we’ll meet for breakfast, more socializing, and our Wayfarers Blot.

Space is limited, so notify us if you plan to come! Folkbuilders Allen Turnage of Florida, and Leif and Cathy of Australia will be flying in for this AFA event. This is the premier AFA member gathering for 2008!

Donated items for the raffle can be sent to AFA, P.O. Box 445, Nevada City, CA 95959

The AFA's Declaration of Purpose - Point Seven

The seventh point in our Declaration of Purpose is: The use of science and technology for the well-being of our people, while protecting and working in harmony with the natural environment in which we live:

We Eurofolk have always done technology well. We invented wheeled wagons in what is now Ukraine. The Vikings built the world’s best ships. Eurofolk from many nations constructed the framework of modern physics and chemistry, and gave birth to the industrial revolution. German engineers and scientists launched us on our trajectory to the stars.

Technology is part of our intellectual inheritance, and we can use it to make life better for ourselves and for our descendants. However, greater ability demands greater responsibility. In particular, we must protect the Earth which gave us life, and which we share with a multitude of other species. I am confident that we can combine cleverness and wisdom to preserve the natural world while at the same time giving us the advanced technology that will enhance our potential in every way.

Asatru has its roots in the past, but it is not simply a relic of a bygone time. Our faith provides answers for ordinary men and women in the twenty-first century, and it will still be relevant to the needs of our descendants when the twenty-fifth century rolls around. Someday, there will be Asatruar scattered throughout the solar system. It is our destiny to move forward, onward, and upward, fulfilling the Faustian impulse that is so evident in our makeup. Those great-great grandchildren of ours - in Martian colonies or on research stations on Pluto - will have access to technology the likes of which we can only dream. If we teach them well, they will also have the wisdom to use it wisely!

Membership in the AFA

The Asatru Folk Assembly is a membership organization.

Membership in the AFA has several major benefits - our network of Folkbuilders, our Clergy program and a clear vision of what we are trying to accomplish, as well as tangibles like our members-only newsletter, access to our Yahoo group and forum, and more. We seek to build community, while giving members a unique opportunity to help us carry out the high aims of the Declaration of Purpose.

To find out more about AFA membership, go to our web site - http://runestone.org .

Asatru - A Hard-Time Religion, Part Two

In the last issue of AFA Update, I reminded our readers that Asatru is a religion of hard virtues evolved under times of great social stress. Courage, strength, honor…these are not quite the same values you’ll find in mainstream religions, which are more concerned with love and compassion.

It’s not that we don’t believe in love or in compassion. Certainly we do - but we are a little more particular when it comes to the people and the situations where we dispense these feelings. The truth is, sometimes we can afford these softer virtues and sometimes we can’t. I believe in peace and good will to all - so long as it does not compromise the welfare of those in my family, tribe, and nation.

This morning, the stock market took its worst beating since 1937. No one knows where this is going. In six months, all this financial and political turmoil may be ancient history and we all may be living like kings. Or, on the other hand, we may be in the gravest crisis ever to face our country and our civilization. The events of the next several years may determine the destiny of peoples, our own included.

I do not want to come across like the stereotypical survivalist. Rather, compare me to the stereotypical Mormon, who prepares for hard times and is ready to take care of family and co-religionists. You need to start thinking about these things now, today. Do you have enough cash on hand in case the banks close for a week? Do you keep your gas tank topped off? What will you do if the power goes off for three days? Are you tight with the AFAers closest to you? These questions are not alarmist; they are good common sense. If you go to the Homeland Security website you’ll find them advocating exactly these sorts of things.

Courage, strength, honor, kinship, and prudent preparation form the backbone of the Havamal. They are hard time virtues for hard time people practicing a hard time religion.

That’s us!

Our People and Our Culture - Links

We are a people - Germanic people, part of the Greater Family of European peoples, following the ways of our ancestors.

“Only when we realize we are a river will we stop drowning in puddles.”- Unknown

“The existence of my people is not negotiable.” - Steve McNallen

Hollywood Viking epic to be shot in Iceland - A major Hollywood movie, tentatively titled Saga, will be shot in Iceland. Described as a “spaghetti-western-Viking” film, the project will combine themes from the Icelandic sagas. A well-known Icelandic director and screenwriter are collaborating on the endeavor.

http://tinyurl.com/3ednt7

Viking-era church unearthed in Sweden - The remains of a Christian stave church dating from the eleventh century have been uncovered in central Sweden. A woman’s remains were found buried in the structure, which would have been most unusual and might have indicated a woman of unusual social stature. The site is in excellent condition and may shed light on the time when Christianity was intruding on native Swedish religion.

http://tinyurl.com/3g9y6m

Viking metal band “Asmegin” to release new album in late November - Asmegin, a Norwegian metal band whose name means “the might of the Gods” and whose lyrics are often in Old Norse and Old Norwegian, are known for blending hard metallic riffs with haunting folk melodies. Their next release, titled “Arv” (“Heritage”) will be out late next month.

http://tinyurl.com/4sg9jd

The Mummies of Urumchi by Elizabeth Wayland Barber - In this book, one of the world’s leading experts in ancient textiles tells the story of the mysterious blond mummies found on the edge of China. Dating as far back as some four thousand years, they may represent the people who introduced the wheel and other innovations to the Chinese. Ties with central and northern Europe are discussed - shedding light on the incredible accomplishments of our ancestors.

http://tinyurl.com/47o2u2

Freedom and Asatru - Links

Our Western traditions of freedom under law derive overwhelmingly from the culture of Northern Europe. (Both words, "freedom" and "law," have Teutonic roots.) It is our task to maintain this gift from our ancestors. In Asatru, freedom is a religious issue!

UK to monitor ALL emails and telephone calls - According to The Times, an “agreement in principle” has been reached to monitor and store every phone call, every email, as well as the internet browsing records of very person in the UK. A billion pounds has already been granted to start the program; the total bill will be 12 billion pounds. The “reason,” as usual, it to “prevent terrorism and crime.” Alas, that doesn’t help much when the government itself becomes criminal!

http://tinyurl.com/4eexts

US spy satellites now to focus their cameras on Americans - A bill signed into law at the end of September authorized $634 billion to kick off a program under which American surveillance satellites will now spy on the citizens paying the bills. The bill establishes a top secret “National Applications Office” with few or no provisions made for privacy.

http://tinyurl.com/4bbsbo

Army brigade combat team assigned to help deal with “civil unrest” in the United States - For the first time ever, an active duty army unit has been assigned to patrol the streets of America in case of terrorism, “civil unrest,” or other emergencies - thus effectively annihilating the long-standing principle of posse comitatus, which forbids the deployment of regular US military units for law enforcement purposes within the United States.

http://tinyurl.com/4nohun

Centurisoft email encryption software - You can encrypt your email with this program. This company seems to have a pretty good reputation, though your recipient will need a password to decrypt your message.

http://www.centurionsoft.com/

The Environment and Asatru - Links

The Earth is our mother, called variously in our mythic lore Frigga, Nerthus, and Jord. As the most intelligent species on the planet, humans end up making many decisions for all the other forms of life that live here - so let us choose wisely.

Ocean acidity is a growing problem - The ocean absorbs carbon dioxide - up to a point. If this were not the case, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be much greater, thus triggering even more climate change than that observed around the world. Unfortunately, the oceans become more acidic from absorbing the gas and this has other negative effects. Current acidification is progressing “three times greater and has happened 100 times faster than at any other time during the past 20 million years.”

http://tinyurl.com/4benra

It’s not just polar bears - About one fourth of Earth’s mammals are in danger of extinction, according to a report issued by the European-based group, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Primates are in particular danger, because of hunting and the destruction of their habitat. Climate change has put other mammals, such as the aforementioned polar bears, at risk.

http://tinyurl.com/4lbptv

The fish list - From time to time we’ve linked to articles pointing out the sad shape of the Earth’s oceans and the problem of over-fishing. You can make a difference with your eating habits. The Fish List is a concise guide to the best fish to eat, from the standpoint of the environment. They even have a downloadable card you can carry in your wallet, for reference at the restaurant!

http://www.thefishlist.org/

“Mountain top removal” affects a unique European-American culture - The massive destruction of mountain tops to mine coal in Appalachia is an environmental disaster. Water pollution and deforestation are two main results, but the traditional Scots-Irish culture of the region is another victim. For more information, and for a list of things you can do to help stop mountain top removal, go to the link below:

http://www.ilovemountains.org/

Donate to the AFA!

The AFA is an active organization with ambitious plans. We’re also a tax-exempt religious organization, so your donations are deductible! Just click on the "donation" button on our website, or send us a check, or arrange regular contributions to our bank account:

Citizens Bank of Nevada County, 709 Sutton Way, Ste. A, Grass Valley, CA 95945,

Routing number 121142313 Account number: 41025602