By now, hopefully, you have taken stock of the year past and thought
about what you want to accomplish in the one to come…and that brings
up the question of oaths, or at least resolutions, for the new year.
I list the two separately because they are very different things.
In ancient times, our people swore oaths on the Yule boar as he was
led around the hall. Today, we may use only a loaf of bread baked in
the shape of a boar, but the oath is no less binding than if a live,
snorting, squealing boar had been brought into your dining room! And
oaths, as you know, must be taken very seriously. I have noted that
in modern times, many swear oaths when they would gain better
reputation by staying silent…
Resolutions are the common fare in American culture, and they are much
less binding than oaths. This does NOT mean that they are to be taken
casually or halfheartedly, but there is relatively little loss of
spiritual might if one fails to attain them. They can be a useful
tool for developing the will and making progress toward the high level
of attainment that should be the long-term goal of all of us.
When you make your choice, you don't want to be lacking in wisdom!
Light a candle for Wisdom as you wrap up this Yule season, and turn
your face toward the new year!
Happy New Year, everyone!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Eleventh Day of Yuletide
When we burn a sunwheel and urge the sun to return at Yule, exactly
what are we doing? Are we trying to lend the sun some of our might so
that it can come back to us, or are we celebrating something that we
know for certain will happen in any case?
We are not childish enough to think that our ritual actions will make
the sun return. The sun presumably turned in the heavens before there
were humans to witness the fact, and should we annihilate ourselves in
a nuclear war tomorrow morning the sun will continue in its course,
unseen by human eyes, through the silent centuries. To think
otherwise would be to deny the very attributes we recognize in the sun
- dependability, predictability, rhythm, the essence of the rune
Raido. This extrapolation from past events demonstrates the
fundamentally scientific instincts of our ancestors.
Notwithstanding, there is another dimension to our actions, and it may
best be summarized as "participation." The logical process described
in the paragraph above applies to the normal world of human
experience, but beyond cause and effect there is a level on which we
participate in, or become one with, the act of the sun's return. We
do not cause the return but we do more than merely observe and
celebrate; we become a part of it. It is in this spirit that we burn
sunwheels, pour libations, and make invocations - that we may
transcend who and what we normally are, and partake of eternity.
So light your candle, and think on Loyalty - including, but not
limited to, our loyalty to ourselves and to the highest, God-like
potential that is within us.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
what are we doing? Are we trying to lend the sun some of our might so
that it can come back to us, or are we celebrating something that we
know for certain will happen in any case?
We are not childish enough to think that our ritual actions will make
the sun return. The sun presumably turned in the heavens before there
were humans to witness the fact, and should we annihilate ourselves in
a nuclear war tomorrow morning the sun will continue in its course,
unseen by human eyes, through the silent centuries. To think
otherwise would be to deny the very attributes we recognize in the sun
- dependability, predictability, rhythm, the essence of the rune
Raido. This extrapolation from past events demonstrates the
fundamentally scientific instincts of our ancestors.
Notwithstanding, there is another dimension to our actions, and it may
best be summarized as "participation." The logical process described
in the paragraph above applies to the normal world of human
experience, but beyond cause and effect there is a level on which we
participate in, or become one with, the act of the sun's return. We
do not cause the return but we do more than merely observe and
celebrate; we become a part of it. It is in this spirit that we burn
sunwheels, pour libations, and make invocations - that we may
transcend who and what we normally are, and partake of eternity.
So light your candle, and think on Loyalty - including, but not
limited to, our loyalty to ourselves and to the highest, God-like
potential that is within us.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The Tenth Day of Yuletide
Steadfastness is not something encouraged in the modern world.
Literally, it means to hold firm in our place - and in a world of
continual mobility and change, steadfastness becomes almost a
liability. Lack of commitment, "hanging loose," flexibility, "not
getting hung up" are sometimes praised to the exclusion of holding
fast. And to be fair, flexibility and motion are desirable. The sun
itself, that great wheel in the sky, moves. But it is nevertheless
faithful, true to its nature as it transits across the extended stead
that is its home.
The sun is, in fact, the epitome of commitment and regularity…of
steadfastness. It does not abandon its mission or deviate from its
course. And neither must we.
Light a candle to Steadfastness, and let it anchor you in the purpose
that defines your life.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Literally, it means to hold firm in our place - and in a world of
continual mobility and change, steadfastness becomes almost a
liability. Lack of commitment, "hanging loose," flexibility, "not
getting hung up" are sometimes praised to the exclusion of holding
fast. And to be fair, flexibility and motion are desirable. The sun
itself, that great wheel in the sky, moves. But it is nevertheless
faithful, true to its nature as it transits across the extended stead
that is its home.
The sun is, in fact, the epitome of commitment and regularity…of
steadfastness. It does not abandon its mission or deviate from its
course. And neither must we.
Light a candle to Steadfastness, and let it anchor you in the purpose
that defines your life.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Monday, December 28, 2009
The Ninth Day of Yuletide
It is significant that truth is so often compared to light. The
analogy is a powerful one. Perhaps it springs from the fact that
light reveals thing as they are, showing that which is hidden, while
darkness obscures. In the light, we see what is, not what may be.
This is not to deny the importance of the darkness. Darkness contains
all potential. It is not merely the absence of light, but something
that is, in its own way, just as vital.
The long nights and short days of winter are pregnant with potential.
A creative chaos, the womb of all that is unmanifest, lurks in the
shadow. But in the fullness of time it must be replaced by rebirth,
by manifestation, by light, by truth rather than ambiguity - and
thus we have the return of Sunna, the Sun.
Light a candle to Truth, and define the world.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
analogy is a powerful one. Perhaps it springs from the fact that
light reveals thing as they are, showing that which is hidden, while
darkness obscures. In the light, we see what is, not what may be.
This is not to deny the importance of the darkness. Darkness contains
all potential. It is not merely the absence of light, but something
that is, in its own way, just as vital.
The long nights and short days of winter are pregnant with potential.
A creative chaos, the womb of all that is unmanifest, lurks in the
shadow. But in the fullness of time it must be replaced by rebirth,
by manifestation, by light, by truth rather than ambiguity - and
thus we have the return of Sunna, the Sun.
Light a candle to Truth, and define the world.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Eighth Day of Yuletide
On the Seventh Day of Yuletide we lit a candle to Community. Today we
light a candle to its apparent opposite, Individuality.
Contradictory? Paradoxical? No, just another fundamental trait of
the Northern European psyche, one illustrating the need for a
consciously-maintained, dynamic balance rather than the will-less
absorption of the self into a featureless consistency.
Historically, the peoples of Europe are comfortable with cooperation
and hierarchy - hence the value of Community. We are also the most
ego-driven, self-assertive, and individualistic primates on the
planet. Both these traits are perfectly capable of existing in the
same human heart at the same moment.
So light that candle for Individuality, hold it high, and defy any
attempt by the group to blow it out!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
light a candle to its apparent opposite, Individuality.
Contradictory? Paradoxical? No, just another fundamental trait of
the Northern European psyche, one illustrating the need for a
consciously-maintained, dynamic balance rather than the will-less
absorption of the self into a featureless consistency.
Historically, the peoples of Europe are comfortable with cooperation
and hierarchy - hence the value of Community. We are also the most
ego-driven, self-assertive, and individualistic primates on the
planet. Both these traits are perfectly capable of existing in the
same human heart at the same moment.
So light that candle for Individuality, hold it high, and defy any
attempt by the group to blow it out!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
The Seventh Day of Yuletide
I sometimes think that the Yule season's time-transcending quality
derives from nothing more than its regularity, and that almost any
other yearly date, if we had strong and pleasant memories to mark it,
would serve the same function. I can remember my early childhood -
how the tree looked, what my brother and sister were doing, the paper
candy cane I gave to the repairman who came to fix our (now)
old-fashioned, cabinet-style radio. I know that those things happened
at just about this point on the Wheel of the Year, and somehow that
gives me comfort. That moment half a century ago is now not so long
ago, or far away; I could turn a corner any moment and find myself
there again. Somehow, it all…touches.
The Wheel is, of course, central to our understanding of Yule. When
Nietzsche conceived the Eternal Return, was he intuitively tapping
into a substratum of ancient lore? Only, we might say that instead of
a wheel returning to the same point, it is actually a spiral,
deviating from its unchanging course by the power of our Will. The
spiral nevertheless connects all times, all events, and gives us a
glimpse of eternity.
Tonight we light a candle for Community, and think on the cohort of
kith and kin that give us love and merriment through the years, as we
journey on our endless gyre.
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
derives from nothing more than its regularity, and that almost any
other yearly date, if we had strong and pleasant memories to mark it,
would serve the same function. I can remember my early childhood -
how the tree looked, what my brother and sister were doing, the paper
candy cane I gave to the repairman who came to fix our (now)
old-fashioned, cabinet-style radio. I know that those things happened
at just about this point on the Wheel of the Year, and somehow that
gives me comfort. That moment half a century ago is now not so long
ago, or far away; I could turn a corner any moment and find myself
there again. Somehow, it all…touches.
The Wheel is, of course, central to our understanding of Yule. When
Nietzsche conceived the Eternal Return, was he intuitively tapping
into a substratum of ancient lore? Only, we might say that instead of
a wheel returning to the same point, it is actually a spiral,
deviating from its unchanging course by the power of our Will. The
spiral nevertheless connects all times, all events, and gives us a
glimpse of eternity.
Tonight we light a candle for Community, and think on the cohort of
kith and kin that give us love and merriment through the years, as we
journey on our endless gyre.
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Friday, December 25, 2009
The Sixth Day of Yuletide
A few days ago, I stood on the scales down at the gym and discovered
that I had gained four pounds over a period of perhaps a week and a
half. Part of the increase resulted from fewer workouts over the
period in question, but most of the extra weight came from too much
eating and drinking - and worst of all, indulging in eating and
drinking just before bedtime!
Clearly, I had not been moderate.
My response was to get on the treadmill and burn off 640 calories,
being sure to get in some intense running to keep my metabolism
elevated over the next few hours. Come to think of it, that wasn't
very moderate of me, either.
The truth is, it's not what we do SOME of the time that makes a
difference - whether it's eating or running - but rather what we
do MOST of the time. Perhaps we have to be moderate even in our
moderation, punctuating our lives with variety in the form of
occasional excess.
Moderation in food and drink is particularly hard this time of year,
but it is, after all, a time for celebration. Exercise some control
as a matter of principle, but have fun, too.
Light a candle for Moderation, and resolve to keep your sense of humor!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
that I had gained four pounds over a period of perhaps a week and a
half. Part of the increase resulted from fewer workouts over the
period in question, but most of the extra weight came from too much
eating and drinking - and worst of all, indulging in eating and
drinking just before bedtime!
Clearly, I had not been moderate.
My response was to get on the treadmill and burn off 640 calories,
being sure to get in some intense running to keep my metabolism
elevated over the next few hours. Come to think of it, that wasn't
very moderate of me, either.
The truth is, it's not what we do SOME of the time that makes a
difference - whether it's eating or running - but rather what we
do MOST of the time. Perhaps we have to be moderate even in our
moderation, punctuating our lives with variety in the form of
occasional excess.
Moderation in food and drink is particularly hard this time of year,
but it is, after all, a time for celebration. Exercise some control
as a matter of principle, but have fun, too.
Light a candle for Moderation, and resolve to keep your sense of humor!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The Fifth Day of Yuletide
Yesterday I mentioned Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. I recently watched an adaptation of this story, in the form of the movie Scrooge, starring Albert Finney in the role of the monumental miser himself. I was struck by the richness, the plenty, associated with the Spirit of Christmas Present. He was a giant figure, masculine, bedecked in holly and wearing a luxurious green robe that barely covered his otherwise bared chest. Indeed, the Spirit was the very figure of wealth. When he informed Scrooge that "I love life…and life loves me," it became plain that - whatever Dickens' intention - we were seeing none other than the God of the Vanir, Frey himself!
The old Gods and Goddesses of our people are alive and well, lurking in the pages of literature produced a thousand years after the official demise of our native faith. They bring a timeless message of life, love, lust, and liberty. With the Yule season upon us, we can do no better than to heed this admonition to happiness and plenty!
Let us light a candle for Hospitality, sharing our prosperity with kin and friends everywhere!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
The old Gods and Goddesses of our people are alive and well, lurking in the pages of literature produced a thousand years after the official demise of our native faith. They bring a timeless message of life, love, lust, and liberty. With the Yule season upon us, we can do no better than to heed this admonition to happiness and plenty!
Let us light a candle for Hospitality, sharing our prosperity with kin and friends everywhere!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The Fourth Day of Yuletide
By whatever name one celebrates the winter holiday in the West, the
giving of gifts is a central part of the season. Sometimes this
descends into rank commercialism, but the idea of gift-giving itself
is a thoroughly spiritual one. The giver and the one given to are
united through the medium of that which is given. We give, and in a
spiritual law as true as Newton's physics, we must then receive -
even if the reward is not a material one.
"The generous and bold have the best lives," the Havamal tells us -
and note that the two traits are listed together. And is not the
power of generosity the whole point of Dickens' marvelous tale, A
Christmas Carol? Look closer at the story, and you will see a lesson
how open-handedness gives a better life…not to mention an exact
parallel between the three Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and To
Come and the Norns that move behind the action in our own sagas and
Eddas. Generosity is one of the tools we use to forge a good orlog,
or "fate" for ourselves.
Light then, a candle for Generosity. Give the brightness of the flame
to the world around you, and watch it reflect back on you as well.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
giving of gifts is a central part of the season. Sometimes this
descends into rank commercialism, but the idea of gift-giving itself
is a thoroughly spiritual one. The giver and the one given to are
united through the medium of that which is given. We give, and in a
spiritual law as true as Newton's physics, we must then receive -
even if the reward is not a material one.
"The generous and bold have the best lives," the Havamal tells us -
and note that the two traits are listed together. And is not the
power of generosity the whole point of Dickens' marvelous tale, A
Christmas Carol? Look closer at the story, and you will see a lesson
how open-handedness gives a better life…not to mention an exact
parallel between the three Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and To
Come and the Norns that move behind the action in our own sagas and
Eddas. Generosity is one of the tools we use to forge a good orlog,
or "fate" for ourselves.
Light then, a candle for Generosity. Give the brightness of the flame
to the world around you, and watch it reflect back on you as well.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The Third Day of Yuletide
The ancestors are always with us, but in some sense their presence is
more immediate during Yule. We feel them in the moments of quiet,
walking under the stars or through the wintry woods. They linger near
the fireplace, too, as the crackling flames cast moving shadows across
the dimmed room. And sometimes, when making grandma's favorite Yule
recipe or just remembering what this season was like for us as
children, the past seems to rub up against the present like a friendly
cat that has stealthily, unnoticed, padded into the room. When we set
a place for the ancestors at the Yuletide table, we know that in some
way we cannot fully fathom, they delight in the attention.
We think on those who have gone before us - their gift of life to
us, and our obligation to burnish the family name with love and leave
it shining all the more brightly for our having been here.
This third day of Yuletide, light a candle for Courage and let it
shine bravely across the years.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
more immediate during Yule. We feel them in the moments of quiet,
walking under the stars or through the wintry woods. They linger near
the fireplace, too, as the crackling flames cast moving shadows across
the dimmed room. And sometimes, when making grandma's favorite Yule
recipe or just remembering what this season was like for us as
children, the past seems to rub up against the present like a friendly
cat that has stealthily, unnoticed, padded into the room. When we set
a place for the ancestors at the Yuletide table, we know that in some
way we cannot fully fathom, they delight in the attention.
We think on those who have gone before us - their gift of life to
us, and our obligation to burnish the family name with love and leave
it shining all the more brightly for our having been here.
This third day of Yuletide, light a candle for Courage and let it
shine bravely across the years.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Second Day of Yuletide, December 21st
Yule is a time of recapitulation, of summary, in which the whole year is
represented in twelve days - one month per day.
What else can you do in the remaining eleven days that has this same
spirit of recapitulation? Read the Voluspa, perhaps the most beautiful
and complete poem in the Elder Edda. In it we find the story of this
present cycle of cosmic time, in its arising…its becoming…its falling
away…to rise again.
Don’t read it all tonight, however. Spin it out slowly over the days.
Finish at Twelfth Night. Read it aloud. Sense it in your body.
Light a candle tonight, for Justice.
And be as just as the driving destiny that shapes the Wyrd of the World.
Or, failing that, be as just as you can.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
represented in twelve days - one month per day.
What else can you do in the remaining eleven days that has this same
spirit of recapitulation? Read the Voluspa, perhaps the most beautiful
and complete poem in the Elder Edda. In it we find the story of this
present cycle of cosmic time, in its arising…its becoming…its falling
away…to rise again.
Don’t read it all tonight, however. Spin it out slowly over the days.
Finish at Twelfth Night. Read it aloud. Sense it in your body.
Light a candle tonight, for Justice.
And be as just as the driving destiny that shapes the Wyrd of the World.
Or, failing that, be as just as you can.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The First Day of Yuletide
The holy season begins. The big challenge is to stop the commercial
feeding frenzy, and to feed our souls instead.
Try to break the cultural (anti-cultural?) trance today. Remember who
you are: a person connected to the ancestors…to kin…to descendants…to
the Holy Powers…to the natural world.
Light a candle tonight, for the practice of Industriousness.
But you've been industrious. Right now, it is time to do something
else, to reap the rewards of your industriousness. Stop the action.
Take a break. Go look at the stars or listen to the rain fall or feel
the warmth of the fire or touch someone.
Thus begins this Yuletide.
Happy Mother's Night!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
feeding frenzy, and to feed our souls instead.
Try to break the cultural (anti-cultural?) trance today. Remember who
you are: a person connected to the ancestors…to kin…to descendants…to
the Holy Powers…to the natural world.
Light a candle tonight, for the practice of Industriousness.
But you've been industrious. Right now, it is time to do something
else, to reap the rewards of your industriousness. Stop the action.
Take a break. Go look at the stars or listen to the rain fall or feel
the warmth of the fire or touch someone.
Thus begins this Yuletide.
Happy Mother's Night!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
This series is sent as a service to the Germanic religious community, and its contents do NOT duplicate those of the AFA’s booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
A Yule Message From Steve McNallen
To my brothers and sisters in the Asatru Folk Assembly, and to all men and women of good will and hearts true to our Gods and Ancestors, I give greeting!
As I write these words, the Sun is starting to drop behind the hill on which my home sits. There is still an hour or more of light and the peaks of the Sierras glisten whitely, but soon the darkness will win the struggle, and another night will be upon us. Yule, the holy season, stands hidden, ready to begin...once again.
I have celebrated many Yules in the past four decades of my life as an Asa-man. Each has had its own flavor, its own travails, its own blessings. This Yule, something is different.
From time beyond memory in the Northlands, Yule has been a time of the victorious Sun. Sunna falls away to her great Downgoing...and emerges again, to a new Arising. But, again,it is different this time. I want to make this Yule season a time of transformation, of a rekindling of power, and honor, and victory. I want this in the cosmos around me. I want this in my own life. And I want this...in the AFA and in the renewal of our Folk-Faith. Not a little incremental gain, another small win here or there - but the beginning of something magnificently greater than we have witnessed in all the years of the Germanic revival!
This will happen only if we deserve it. Do we have the Will? Do we have the Might? Do we have the Courage to dare to break the old bonds, to take charge of our Destiny, and to seize victory? Can we unlearn our old habits, and take on the character of higher beings?
Let us start with ourselves. Yuletide is an opportunity for great magic; even children know that. Let us apply it to ourselves and to the world around us.
Observe the season with faithfulness, with a candle a day. Read the Voluspa over the tide. But faithfulness is not enough! Live the season with intensity. Grasp the season with love and will and glorious intent!
I will to change myself in this holy tide.
I will to change the AFA in these sacred twelve days.
I will to plant the seed of a new world as Sunna is being reborn.
Join me!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
As I write these words, the Sun is starting to drop behind the hill on which my home sits. There is still an hour or more of light and the peaks of the Sierras glisten whitely, but soon the darkness will win the struggle, and another night will be upon us. Yule, the holy season, stands hidden, ready to begin...once again.
I have celebrated many Yules in the past four decades of my life as an Asa-man. Each has had its own flavor, its own travails, its own blessings. This Yule, something is different.
From time beyond memory in the Northlands, Yule has been a time of the victorious Sun. Sunna falls away to her great Downgoing...and emerges again, to a new Arising. But, again,it is different this time. I want to make this Yule season a time of transformation, of a rekindling of power, and honor, and victory. I want this in the cosmos around me. I want this in my own life. And I want this...in the AFA and in the renewal of our Folk-Faith. Not a little incremental gain, another small win here or there - but the beginning of something magnificently greater than we have witnessed in all the years of the Germanic revival!
This will happen only if we deserve it. Do we have the Will? Do we have the Might? Do we have the Courage to dare to break the old bonds, to take charge of our Destiny, and to seize victory? Can we unlearn our old habits, and take on the character of higher beings?
Let us start with ourselves. Yuletide is an opportunity for great magic; even children know that. Let us apply it to ourselves and to the world around us.
Observe the season with faithfulness, with a candle a day. Read the Voluspa over the tide. But faithfulness is not enough! Live the season with intensity. Grasp the season with love and will and glorious intent!
I will to change myself in this holy tide.
I will to change the AFA in these sacred twelve days.
I will to plant the seed of a new world as Sunna is being reborn.
Join me!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
The Twelve Days of Yule Start Tomorrow!
Dear Friends,
The Yule season officially starts tomorrow!
Some of you have written to express your hope that we will post our "Twelve Days of Yule" series, as we have done for the last few years.
We won't let you down!
So, get out your Yule candles and prepare to join with the members of the Asatru Folk Assembly, as well as the many non-AFA members who will be reading this, as we begin the holy season.
Remember, this twelve-part series is parallel to, but different from, the similar material found in the AFA's booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed, available from the AFA online store at http://www.runestone.org/store/index.htm.
Hail the Gods!
Hail the Ancestors!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
The Yule season officially starts tomorrow!
Some of you have written to express your hope that we will post our "Twelve Days of Yule" series, as we have done for the last few years.
We won't let you down!
So, get out your Yule candles and prepare to join with the members of the Asatru Folk Assembly, as well as the many non-AFA members who will be reading this, as we begin the holy season.
Remember, this twelve-part series is parallel to, but different from, the similar material found in the AFA's booklet, The Twelve Days of Yule in Word and Deed, available from the AFA online store at http://www.runestone.org/store/index.htm.
Hail the Gods!
Hail the Ancestors!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
"Participatory Marketing" and the AFA Ritual Book
We don't have the big bucks to promote our ritual book. We don't have access to the reviewers at the major newspapers. We'll never get on Oprah. All we have is an innovative product...and will.
But, if we use it right, that may be enough!
I am asking each of you to promote this book.
Many of you are on assorted Asatru/Heathen Pagan groups and forums. If you like the AFA Book of Blotar and Ritual, or if you like the AFA, Please take the basic information in my last post, put it in your own words, and then let others know! Above all, give them the link for ordering the book.
Obviously, use good judgement. Don't try to post it to lists belonging to other organizations that might rightfully resent it. Don't post in violation of anybody's list policy.
Many of you are members of kindreds. Do your fellow kindred members know about this resource? How about other solitary practitioners you may know?
How about any blogs you publish, or your Facebook or MySpace pages? Twittered anyone about it yet?
Let's list those possibilities again so you can tick down them one at a time...
Other relevant groups and fora...
Fellow kindred members...
Individual practitioners you may know...
Your Meet-Up mates...
Your voice on social media, be it a blog, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or more...
We can stimulate a guerrilla information swarm. Think you yourself as a word warrior, a berserker of the blogosphere!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
But, if we use it right, that may be enough!
I am asking each of you to promote this book.
Many of you are on assorted Asatru/Heathen Pagan groups and forums. If you like the AFA Book of Blotar and Ritual, or if you like the AFA, Please take the basic information in my last post, put it in your own words, and then let others know! Above all, give them the link for ordering the book.
Obviously, use good judgement. Don't try to post it to lists belonging to other organizations that might rightfully resent it. Don't post in violation of anybody's list policy.
Many of you are members of kindreds. Do your fellow kindred members know about this resource? How about other solitary practitioners you may know?
How about any blogs you publish, or your Facebook or MySpace pages? Twittered anyone about it yet?
Let's list those possibilities again so you can tick down them one at a time...
Other relevant groups and fora...
Fellow kindred members...
Individual practitioners you may know...
Your Meet-Up mates...
Your voice on social media, be it a blog, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or more...
We can stimulate a guerrilla information swarm. Think you yourself as a word warrior, a berserker of the blogosphere!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)