Greetings, everyone -
Please take a moment and go to the Asatru Military Family Support Program's web site to sign our petition asking the Department of Veterans Affairs to authorize Thor's Hammer on headstones for veterans of the Asatru faith.
It's easy! Go to http://hammerproject.org ...then click on "Sign Petition" on the navigation bar...then at the bottom of the page that comes up, hit "Sign Petition!"
Feel free to leave (appropriate!) comments, especially if you are a veteran!
Please pass this on to everyone you know - regardless of religion, politics, pro- or anti-war - who might sign it.
Oh - enjoy the rest of the site while you're there, too!
Thank you!
Stephen A. McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
Veteran, United States Army
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thoughts on Ragnar's Death Song
Ragnar Lodbrok was the legendary Norseman celebrated in the classic 1958 movie The Vikings, where he was played by (non-Viking) Ernest Borgnine. More authentically, Ragnar starred in his own saga, Ragnars saga lodbrokar. His life ended when he was thrown into a pit of serpents by King Ella, but he died calmly, singing a song celebrating the feats he had performed in a lifetime of warfare.
I was looking for Ragnar's death song, known as the Krakumal, so I could include at least a few stanzas for the "faith book” the AFA is putting together for Asatru military personnel. I finally found some - not all - of the verses online in English, but it seems both Krakumal and Ragnar’s saga itself have been unavailable for a long time. This is a pity, and I plan on doing something about that, but that’s another story.
It is good to contemplate our deaths, because that in turn forces us to look at our lives - what we have accomplished, and what we have left undone. In Asatru we have a saying that “We are our deeds.” If this is true, reflection on our deeds is a valuable spiritual exercise - and summing up those deeds in the form of a climactic “death song” would be even better.
What would your song tell your children and their descendants about you? That you were true, or a scoundrel? Did you do great things, or was your life spent in front of the television? Did mighty passions move through your soul, or were you just another automaton fulfilling the command to produce, consume, and obey?
Live well, die well, become immortal. Hail Ragnar!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
I was looking for Ragnar's death song, known as the Krakumal, so I could include at least a few stanzas for the "faith book” the AFA is putting together for Asatru military personnel. I finally found some - not all - of the verses online in English, but it seems both Krakumal and Ragnar’s saga itself have been unavailable for a long time. This is a pity, and I plan on doing something about that, but that’s another story.
It is good to contemplate our deaths, because that in turn forces us to look at our lives - what we have accomplished, and what we have left undone. In Asatru we have a saying that “We are our deeds.” If this is true, reflection on our deeds is a valuable spiritual exercise - and summing up those deeds in the form of a climactic “death song” would be even better.
What would your song tell your children and their descendants about you? That you were true, or a scoundrel? Did you do great things, or was your life spent in front of the television? Did mighty passions move through your soul, or were you just another automaton fulfilling the command to produce, consume, and obey?
Live well, die well, become immortal. Hail Ragnar!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Great Time at the Northern Calfornia Asatru Meetup!
Sheila has been driving down to Sacramento for the Asatru Meetup organized some months back by Rob Livingston. While it’s not an AFA-sponsored function, it’s definitely AFA-friendly and lots of us show up there.
Yesterday, I took a day off from work and drove down with Sheila to check out the scene for myself. I’m glad I did!
We met at Diane’s place and, after some initial socializing, gave blot to Ostara. I led into the ritual with a short talk on blot in general, emphasizing the exchange of blessings between humans and the Divine. I also made some general comments on Ostara. After an opening and a calling to Ostara, we passed a horn around the circle so each individual could place a hand on it and infuse the mead with his or her “might, and main, and troth.” This was offered to Ostara. A second horn was raised, and she was asked to pour her blessings into it. We then shared that might-infused mead by taking a drink from the horn, and by sprinkling it on the participants with a redwood sprig from the tree in the back yard.
Then we were off to the annual Bock Bier Fest at the Sacramento Turnverein. What a great time! The crowd was energetic, with lots of young faces that hadn’t been there on our previous visits. It seems the organization is reaching out to the local college students, who show up for cheap beer and - some of them at least - stay hooked by culture and heritage. For many of these young folk, it was probably their first exposure to German traditional dances and costumes.
We drove home and poured ourselves into bed at the stroke of midnight, feeling that our time had been well spent. I’ll definitely be there next year!
And if you live in the area, drop in on the Northern California Asatru Meetup! They get together monthly. Here’s a link. I understand they’re going to visit a meadery in the near future…
http://www.meetup.com/Northern-California-Asatru/
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Yesterday, I took a day off from work and drove down with Sheila to check out the scene for myself. I’m glad I did!
We met at Diane’s place and, after some initial socializing, gave blot to Ostara. I led into the ritual with a short talk on blot in general, emphasizing the exchange of blessings between humans and the Divine. I also made some general comments on Ostara. After an opening and a calling to Ostara, we passed a horn around the circle so each individual could place a hand on it and infuse the mead with his or her “might, and main, and troth.” This was offered to Ostara. A second horn was raised, and she was asked to pour her blessings into it. We then shared that might-infused mead by taking a drink from the horn, and by sprinkling it on the participants with a redwood sprig from the tree in the back yard.
Then we were off to the annual Bock Bier Fest at the Sacramento Turnverein. What a great time! The crowd was energetic, with lots of young faces that hadn’t been there on our previous visits. It seems the organization is reaching out to the local college students, who show up for cheap beer and - some of them at least - stay hooked by culture and heritage. For many of these young folk, it was probably their first exposure to German traditional dances and costumes.
We drove home and poured ourselves into bed at the stroke of midnight, feeling that our time had been well spent. I’ll definitely be there next year!
And if you live in the area, drop in on the Northern California Asatru Meetup! They get together monthly. Here’s a link. I understand they’re going to visit a meadery in the near future…
http://www.meetup.com/Northern-California-Asatru/
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Robert E. Howard Days, June 12-13
When I was in my early teens, I discovered the writings of Robert E. Howard. They had a striking effect on my life.
Howard, for those (many) who don’t know, is the author of the original Conan stories, among other things. His writing is reminiscent of Jack London and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Toss in a bit of H.P. Lovecraft and the Saga of Harald Hardrada, and you’ve got a decent approximation of Howard.
Howard lived and wrote in Cross Plains, Texas. The town hosts the annual “Robert E. Howard Days.” This year, this event is set for June 12-13. If you live within driving distance, you might want to check it out by going to http://www.rehupa.com and scrolling down the page to see just what they’ll be doing.
So what does this have to do with Asatru? Believe it or not, Howard’s Conan sagas were a factor in bringing me to the Gods. These stories hooked me on a fiction genre known as “sword and sorcery,” and it was while looking for such material that I found a novel on the Vikings…and the rest is history. But beyond that, Conan is a politically-incorrect figure with courage, strength, and all-around hardiness that raises him far above the herd.
Philosphically, think of Howard’s stories as a mixture of Nietzsche and Darwin. But Conan, the character, is a man of action rather than a thinker. Read him and you’ll want to go lift weights!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Howard, for those (many) who don’t know, is the author of the original Conan stories, among other things. His writing is reminiscent of Jack London and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Toss in a bit of H.P. Lovecraft and the Saga of Harald Hardrada, and you’ve got a decent approximation of Howard.
Howard lived and wrote in Cross Plains, Texas. The town hosts the annual “Robert E. Howard Days.” This year, this event is set for June 12-13. If you live within driving distance, you might want to check it out by going to http://www.rehupa.com and scrolling down the page to see just what they’ll be doing.
So what does this have to do with Asatru? Believe it or not, Howard’s Conan sagas were a factor in bringing me to the Gods. These stories hooked me on a fiction genre known as “sword and sorcery,” and it was while looking for such material that I found a novel on the Vikings…and the rest is history. But beyond that, Conan is a politically-incorrect figure with courage, strength, and all-around hardiness that raises him far above the herd.
Philosphically, think of Howard’s stories as a mixture of Nietzsche and Darwin. But Conan, the character, is a man of action rather than a thinker. Read him and you’ll want to go lift weights!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
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