Brad (Folkbuilder Coordinator for the AFA) and his lady, Gili, have stayed with us the last couple of days as we prepare for the Asatru Folk Assembly's big upcoming event. We knew that yesterday would be a powerful day when we watched an eagle circling over the house. I've never seen an eagle here before. For that matter, I'm not sure I have ever seen an eagle, so encountering one yesterday morning was certainly unusual.
Soon we were in the car and driving up to Lake Tahoe to show Brad and Gili some of local scenery. We had just passed Emerald Bay when an osprey (see my post on July 8th for more on ospreys) flew right in front of the car, carrying a sizeable stick for its nest - another wonderful sight.
Arriving at Taylor Creek, we walked the nature trail through the meadows and marshes. We passed through groves of quaking aspen which strongly reminded us of the birches that play such a powerful role in Northern lore. As we strolled, we examined our mode of awareness - trying to experience natural things as they were, unmediated and without expectation, attempting to sense the divine in the world around us. The aspen themselves had a presence that was almost tangible. I could understand how our ancestors sensed the numinous "Birch Goddess" behind the phenomenon of the birch tree. When we had finished the walk I felt calmed, relaxed, my soul nourished. When we paused for lunch, I jotted notes on how people might replicate our experience at Midsummer.
An hour later we were at Eagle Falls, where we felt the might of the rune Laguz in the roaring waterfall. We were getting in the car to depart when a woman, who had volunteered to take our picture, recognized our hammers. She told us about her friend, a woman of Scandinavian descent, who wore a hammer and was due to have a baby any time. Getting an AFA business card from the car, I wrote the Berkano rune on it and noted that she should invoke Freya and Frigga for a good birth. Nothing may come of it for the AFA, but who knows? Besides, it was the right action in the situation.
Significant birds, new ways of perceiving the holy in nature, another connection for our ancestral way...It had been a day of power, giving us a new awareness of the wonders of this world in which we live.
May we - all of us! - have many more!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Asatru Unlimited - Midsummer in the Sierras!
We're almost ready to kick off another Asatru extravaganza, in the form of the AFA's "Midsummer in the Sierras." The list of presentations is impressive.
I've chosen my own topics to highlight issues that I feel need to be urgently addressed within our community. My first talk, on Friday, will be on "Finding the Gods in Nature." In it, I'll refine and expand on recent blog posts on how we can perceive the numinous qualities - the divinity, if you will - of the natural world surrounding us.
My second presentation asserts that we men and women of European heritage are, in fact, a people (or, if you prefer, a family of closely related peoples) and contends that we need to start thinking of ourselves as such. How should we treat each other? How ought we relate to other peoples around the world? Why is this subject taboo?
On Saturday, I will talk about resilient communities. One of the AFA's goals is to create communities across the country and around the world. These will be made up of AFA members and will seek to implement the AFA's Declaration of Purpose. Community can manifest in many forms, from a simple network of people to much more complex forms. I will propose the building of a "resilient community" in the Northern California area.
Finally, on Sunday, I will lecture on "Runes for Transformation."
Stephen Pollington, our special guest from England, will speak to us on "Hall and Hoard: Display and Status in the Meadhall," "Hall and Harrow: Art and Material Culture, a Glimpse into the Iron Age," and "Runes in the Anglo-Saxon Tradition." Those of you who have seen his presentations will understand our enthusiasm for his material!
David James, Asatru elder, will show us more of his work in the form of a study on "Old Worth and New: The Values of the Northern Folk" and an exposition on "Composing Liturgy and Poetry." David has been with the Asatru revival in North America from its inception.
Glen Holstein will present on "Why We Need Our Reawakened Gods: A Brief History of our Folk." Glen has a way of taking complex scholarly concepts and putting them into terms we can all understand. His talk will provide us with context and perspective as we experience the rest of the gathering.
Jim Erikson will share valuable information on preparedness and urban survival for these "interesting times" in which we find ourselves. Jim's knowledge and his engaging sense of humor are legendary. On a complementary note, Bill Shelbrick will instruct us in basic first aid. Bill's a highly-trained medic and former Air Force parachute jumper who will give us some skills for confronting medical emergencies.
All this, and I haven't even touched on the blots, the sumbel, the magnificent meals and all the rest! Midusmmer in the Sierrras...It's going to be unforgettable.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
I've chosen my own topics to highlight issues that I feel need to be urgently addressed within our community. My first talk, on Friday, will be on "Finding the Gods in Nature." In it, I'll refine and expand on recent blog posts on how we can perceive the numinous qualities - the divinity, if you will - of the natural world surrounding us.
My second presentation asserts that we men and women of European heritage are, in fact, a people (or, if you prefer, a family of closely related peoples) and contends that we need to start thinking of ourselves as such. How should we treat each other? How ought we relate to other peoples around the world? Why is this subject taboo?
On Saturday, I will talk about resilient communities. One of the AFA's goals is to create communities across the country and around the world. These will be made up of AFA members and will seek to implement the AFA's Declaration of Purpose. Community can manifest in many forms, from a simple network of people to much more complex forms. I will propose the building of a "resilient community" in the Northern California area.
Finally, on Sunday, I will lecture on "Runes for Transformation."
Stephen Pollington, our special guest from England, will speak to us on "Hall and Hoard: Display and Status in the Meadhall," "Hall and Harrow: Art and Material Culture, a Glimpse into the Iron Age," and "Runes in the Anglo-Saxon Tradition." Those of you who have seen his presentations will understand our enthusiasm for his material!
David James, Asatru elder, will show us more of his work in the form of a study on "Old Worth and New: The Values of the Northern Folk" and an exposition on "Composing Liturgy and Poetry." David has been with the Asatru revival in North America from its inception.
Glen Holstein will present on "Why We Need Our Reawakened Gods: A Brief History of our Folk." Glen has a way of taking complex scholarly concepts and putting them into terms we can all understand. His talk will provide us with context and perspective as we experience the rest of the gathering.
Jim Erikson will share valuable information on preparedness and urban survival for these "interesting times" in which we find ourselves. Jim's knowledge and his engaging sense of humor are legendary. On a complementary note, Bill Shelbrick will instruct us in basic first aid. Bill's a highly-trained medic and former Air Force parachute jumper who will give us some skills for confronting medical emergencies.
All this, and I haven't even touched on the blots, the sumbel, the magnificent meals and all the rest! Midusmmer in the Sierrras...It's going to be unforgettable.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Monday, July 25, 2011
Asatru, the Arctic, and Our Future
We are Northern people, our bodies and spirits shaped by the ice and snow for forty thousand years. The weak, those who could not cooperate, those who could not plan ahead, perished in the harsh environment. The result is - us. Reduced to our essence, we are strong and stern, able to both compete and cooperate. Our capability for delayed gratification and frugality is well known. We are survivors. While not all of us epitomize all these traits all the time, they are the underlying template of our being.
What a tragedy if the landscape that forged us became only a memory!
In the farthest north, the land where the Pole Star sits atop the World Tree, things are especially bad. The Arctic is heating twice as fast as the rest of the planet. The realm of the Axis Mundi itself is undergoing drastic change. If the Great Ice is gone and only bare ocean takes its place, how will this affect North-folk on a deep psychological level?
Surface temperatures in the Arctic for the last five years have been higher than for any other five-year period since record keeping began in 1880. This comes from a new report from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, an international group within the Arctic Council.
Higher temperatures means less ice. On July 16, Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, noted that the Arctic ocean had been losing as much as 150,000 square kilometres of sea ice per day. He stated,
“The extent [of the ice cover] is going down, but it is also thinning. So a weather pattern that formerly would melt some ice, now gets rid of much more. There will be ups and downs, but we are on track to see an ice-free summer by 2030. It is an overall downward spiral."
Does this mean that we should reconcile ourselves to the disappearance, at least in summer, of the ice at the top of the world? Of course not. We have the power to influence events. Our will matters. As followers of a religion that treasures the experience of the Gods in the natural world, we cannot help but be concerned about that natural world. A world without polar ice - a world without arctic seals and polar bears and the rest of the intricate northern ecological web - is not the world that shaped us. We owe something to nature, and to the numinous presence that hides behind natural phenomena. The world is alive with essence and being. We disregard it at risk to our physical existence - and our spiritual health.
For a link to things you can do to serve life, go to:
http://tinyurl.com/3jzhs8s
For links to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program study, go to these two links:
http://tinyurl.com/3nmf4p2
http://amap.no/swipa/
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
What a tragedy if the landscape that forged us became only a memory!
In the farthest north, the land where the Pole Star sits atop the World Tree, things are especially bad. The Arctic is heating twice as fast as the rest of the planet. The realm of the Axis Mundi itself is undergoing drastic change. If the Great Ice is gone and only bare ocean takes its place, how will this affect North-folk on a deep psychological level?
Surface temperatures in the Arctic for the last five years have been higher than for any other five-year period since record keeping began in 1880. This comes from a new report from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, an international group within the Arctic Council.
Higher temperatures means less ice. On July 16, Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, noted that the Arctic ocean had been losing as much as 150,000 square kilometres of sea ice per day. He stated,
“The extent [of the ice cover] is going down, but it is also thinning. So a weather pattern that formerly would melt some ice, now gets rid of much more. There will be ups and downs, but we are on track to see an ice-free summer by 2030. It is an overall downward spiral."
Does this mean that we should reconcile ourselves to the disappearance, at least in summer, of the ice at the top of the world? Of course not. We have the power to influence events. Our will matters. As followers of a religion that treasures the experience of the Gods in the natural world, we cannot help but be concerned about that natural world. A world without polar ice - a world without arctic seals and polar bears and the rest of the intricate northern ecological web - is not the world that shaped us. We owe something to nature, and to the numinous presence that hides behind natural phenomena. The world is alive with essence and being. We disregard it at risk to our physical existence - and our spiritual health.
For a link to things you can do to serve life, go to:
http://tinyurl.com/3jzhs8s
For links to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program study, go to these two links:
http://tinyurl.com/3nmf4p2
http://amap.no/swipa/
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Sunday, July 24, 2011
New Downloads Area on Runestone.org !
New Downloads Area! Folks, we are testing a new downloads area for people who want to go and register on the AFA site. We will have things like Rune Fonts, Excerpts from Books and lots more in the days to come.
Even non-AFA members are welcome to signup. Just create an account, we'll activate it, then you'll have access to the downloads area. (which will appear as a module on the top right hand side of the page). Of course there will be additional material only for AFA members, but we also want to provide some fun stuff for friends of the AFA. This will also allow us to be able to send you the Bearclaw newsletter - for those who aren't already signed up.
If you have any problems, please e-mail webmaster@runestone.org Have fun!
http://runestone.org/component/users/?view=registration
Even non-AFA members are welcome to signup. Just create an account, we'll activate it, then you'll have access to the downloads area. (which will appear as a module on the top right hand side of the page). Of course there will be additional material only for AFA members, but we also want to provide some fun stuff for friends of the AFA. This will also allow us to be able to send you the Bearclaw newsletter - for those who aren't already signed up.
If you have any problems, please e-mail webmaster@runestone.org Have fun!
http://runestone.org/component/users/?view=registration
Friday, July 22, 2011
Are Genes Telepathic?
Here's another little scientific tidbit that should interest followers of Asatru.
DNA has been found to have a bizarre ability to put itself together, even at a distance, when according to known science it shouldn't be able to. Explanation: None, at least not yet.
Scientists are reporting evidence that, contrary to our current beliefs about what is possible, intact double-stranded DNA has the “amazing” ability to recognize similarities in other DNA strands from a distance. Somehow they are able to identify one another, and the tiny bits of genetic material tend to congregate with similar DNA. The recognition of similar sequences in DNA’s chemical subunits, occurs in a way unrecognized by science.
The phenomenon of "like recognizing like" seems to run the whole range of life. Apparently, DNA molecules recognize each other. Bees recognize their hive-kin. Higher life-forms do the same thing - humans included. It seems to be one of those little-recognized organizing factors in Nature. Kinship is special; it repudiates the Marxists, the materialists, the social engineers.
The more we look at genes, the more enigmatic they are. My personal belief is that genes are the physical platform for an intangible, subtle essence that is spiritual. This would be comparable to the way the physical body is associated with subtle soul components in the lore of Asatru.
http://tinyurl.com/cfoa6c
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
DNA has been found to have a bizarre ability to put itself together, even at a distance, when according to known science it shouldn't be able to. Explanation: None, at least not yet.
Scientists are reporting evidence that, contrary to our current beliefs about what is possible, intact double-stranded DNA has the “amazing” ability to recognize similarities in other DNA strands from a distance. Somehow they are able to identify one another, and the tiny bits of genetic material tend to congregate with similar DNA. The recognition of similar sequences in DNA’s chemical subunits, occurs in a way unrecognized by science.
The phenomenon of "like recognizing like" seems to run the whole range of life. Apparently, DNA molecules recognize each other. Bees recognize their hive-kin. Higher life-forms do the same thing - humans included. It seems to be one of those little-recognized organizing factors in Nature. Kinship is special; it repudiates the Marxists, the materialists, the social engineers.
The more we look at genes, the more enigmatic they are. My personal belief is that genes are the physical platform for an intangible, subtle essence that is spiritual. This would be comparable to the way the physical body is associated with subtle soul components in the lore of Asatru.
http://tinyurl.com/cfoa6c
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Asatru Folk Assembly to Showcase Member Crafts
As the Asatru community across the country develops, we find more ways of helping each other and enriching our evolving culture.
Visitors to the AFA web site at http://runestone.org can now click on the "Online Store" and see not only items offered for sale by the AFA, but also crafts created by AFA members. This benefits the member, who gets exposure for his or her work, and the AFA gains by taking a commission. AFA members who want to participate in this program should contact hugh.long@asgard-studios.com.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Visitors to the AFA web site at http://runestone.org can now click on the "Online Store" and see not only items offered for sale by the AFA, but also crafts created by AFA members. This benefits the member, who gets exposure for his or her work, and the AFA gains by taking a commission. AFA members who want to participate in this program should contact hugh.long@asgard-studios.com.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
An Asatru Viewpoint - No More "Mutts!"
Sheila and I spent as couple of days recently at Lake Tahoe, on the California-Nevada border. It's an inspiring setting, with deep blue water reflecting a deep blue sky - and it's a wonderful place to regain perspective after a rough week at work. Besides the natural beauty - there's Vikingsholm! Yes, even on our down-time Asatru is always on our minds.
Vikingsholm is a modern rendition of an early medieval (1200's or so) Scandinavian building, complete with carved dragons and authentic period architecture. If you come out for the AFA's Midsummer gathering, you ought to take a side trip to visit it. But the real reason I mention Vikingsholm is because of...the tour guide!
Nancy has been a volunteer at Vikingsholm for nine years. She's an older woman, charming, with blue eyes set in a lined face and framed by long reddish-blond hair set off with silver. We got in a discussion of history and, of course, of ancestors. Nancy described herself as Irish, German, and Dutch - in her words, a "mutt." I gently corrected her, saying I preferred to think of myself as an "indigenous European," or an "eclectic Northern European."
I've always resented it when people describe themselves as mutts. I know they don't mean anything negative by it, but it's disrespectful to the ancestors to suggest we are dogs. Besides, it is seldom true. Eighty-five to ninety percent of the European genome is still derived from the first modern humans to move into the continent. The Dutch, Germans, and Irish are very close kin...as much as some of us don't want to admit it! Sure, European cultures are all unique - unique, that is, as variants on the basic European pattern. It wasn't that many millennia ago that the Germans, Celts, and Slavs all split off from the Funnel Beaker Folk. All Eurofolk are kin.
We call ourselves Irish, or German, or Dutch, or European-Americans, and that is true. However, we are fundamentally indigenous Europeans. We may have migrated around the world, but our homeland is Europe. Its rugged environment shaped our bodies, our minds, and our souls; it is a part of us, and we are a part of it, forever. We are just as indigenous as are the Amazonian Indians, the Congolese, and Borneo tribesmen. Once we realize this, our outlook on many things cannot help but change. A sense of continuity is a powerful thing.
Mutts? No. Indigenous Europeans? Yes!
Only when we realize we are a river will we stop drowning in puddles!
(In other words...only when we comprehend that we are a people, transcending time and space, will we no longer be frustrated by the seemingly impossible obstacles in our path.)
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Vikingsholm is a modern rendition of an early medieval (1200's or so) Scandinavian building, complete with carved dragons and authentic period architecture. If you come out for the AFA's Midsummer gathering, you ought to take a side trip to visit it. But the real reason I mention Vikingsholm is because of...the tour guide!
Nancy has been a volunteer at Vikingsholm for nine years. She's an older woman, charming, with blue eyes set in a lined face and framed by long reddish-blond hair set off with silver. We got in a discussion of history and, of course, of ancestors. Nancy described herself as Irish, German, and Dutch - in her words, a "mutt." I gently corrected her, saying I preferred to think of myself as an "indigenous European," or an "eclectic Northern European."
I've always resented it when people describe themselves as mutts. I know they don't mean anything negative by it, but it's disrespectful to the ancestors to suggest we are dogs. Besides, it is seldom true. Eighty-five to ninety percent of the European genome is still derived from the first modern humans to move into the continent. The Dutch, Germans, and Irish are very close kin...as much as some of us don't want to admit it! Sure, European cultures are all unique - unique, that is, as variants on the basic European pattern. It wasn't that many millennia ago that the Germans, Celts, and Slavs all split off from the Funnel Beaker Folk. All Eurofolk are kin.
We call ourselves Irish, or German, or Dutch, or European-Americans, and that is true. However, we are fundamentally indigenous Europeans. We may have migrated around the world, but our homeland is Europe. Its rugged environment shaped our bodies, our minds, and our souls; it is a part of us, and we are a part of it, forever. We are just as indigenous as are the Amazonian Indians, the Congolese, and Borneo tribesmen. Once we realize this, our outlook on many things cannot help but change. A sense of continuity is a powerful thing.
Mutts? No. Indigenous Europeans? Yes!
Only when we realize we are a river will we stop drowning in puddles!
(In other words...only when we comprehend that we are a people, transcending time and space, will we no longer be frustrated by the seemingly impossible obstacles in our path.)
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Links - Self-Sufficiency, Saving $$$ on Energy, Environment
Some useful links going out today -
Pros and Cons of Solar Energy
Part 1 of a five-part series on how to save bucks with solar!
http://tinyurl.com/43ndwnn
Learn How to Cut Your Energy Bill 56% in Three Easy Steps
Get a free booklet by signing in on the right side of the page.
http://www.thediyenergyguy.com/
Earthships
Homes built to live off the grid.
http://earthship.com
Climate Puts Polar Bear Cubs at Risk
Polar bear cubs forced to swim long distances with their mothers as their icy Arctic habitat melts appear to have a higher mortality rate than cubs that didn't have to swim as far, a new study reports.
http://tinyurl.com/3nvcfu7
Here's another good article on this study: http://tinyurl.com/42ceb95
Pros and Cons of Solar Energy
Part 1 of a five-part series on how to save bucks with solar!
http://tinyurl.com/43ndwnn
Learn How to Cut Your Energy Bill 56% in Three Easy Steps
Get a free booklet by signing in on the right side of the page.
http://www.thediyenergyguy.com/
Earthships
Homes built to live off the grid.
http://earthship.com
Climate Puts Polar Bear Cubs at Risk
Polar bear cubs forced to swim long distances with their mothers as their icy Arctic habitat melts appear to have a higher mortality rate than cubs that didn't have to swim as far, a new study reports.
http://tinyurl.com/3nvcfu7
Here's another good article on this study: http://tinyurl.com/42ceb95
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Elder Gods Arrive on My Front Porch!
Sheila and I were working upstairs when the brown UPS truck wound up our hill and deposited two boxes of Stephen Pollington's latest work, The Elder Gods: The Otherworld of Early England. Prying open the cardboard containers, we were excited to see stacks of this 500-page opus, ready to be autographed and sold at the Asatru Folk Assembly's upcoming Midsummer event.
The arrival of these books was indeed special. Their author will be giving three presentations at our gathering - and Stephen had asked his publisher to print up these copies in the United States so he wouldn't have to carry them all the way from England. What's more, they're his latest work. By "latest" I mean they've just been released in England...in fact, I'm not really sure they've been published there yet. These are new!
The Elder Gods is a sign of how far we've come since the rebirth of Asatru. I remember when the only thing we could find on Anglo-Saxon paganism was Brian Branston's Lost Gods of England (I still have my autographed gift copy, circa 1974 or so, from Stubba of the Odinic Rite!). And now we've got this hefty volume from the prolific Mr. Pollington. Wonderful!
We've come a long way, but the best is yet to come! Asatru and other manifestations of native European religion will rise to be a powerful force in the years to come - thanks to the efforts of thousands of people worldwide!
Those of you not able to come to the gathering can see his books at http://www.stevepollington.com/books.html.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
The arrival of these books was indeed special. Their author will be giving three presentations at our gathering - and Stephen had asked his publisher to print up these copies in the United States so he wouldn't have to carry them all the way from England. What's more, they're his latest work. By "latest" I mean they've just been released in England...in fact, I'm not really sure they've been published there yet. These are new!
The Elder Gods is a sign of how far we've come since the rebirth of Asatru. I remember when the only thing we could find on Anglo-Saxon paganism was Brian Branston's Lost Gods of England (I still have my autographed gift copy, circa 1974 or so, from Stubba of the Odinic Rite!). And now we've got this hefty volume from the prolific Mr. Pollington. Wonderful!
We've come a long way, but the best is yet to come! Asatru and other manifestations of native European religion will rise to be a powerful force in the years to come - thanks to the efforts of thousands of people worldwide!
Those of you not able to come to the gathering can see his books at http://www.stevepollington.com/books.html.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Monday, July 18, 2011
David James to Speak at Asatru Folk Assembly's Midsummer Event
David James, a long-time Asatru veteran who performed the Midsummer ritual at the AFA's gathering two years ago, will give a pair of presentations at our July event. One will be "Old Worth and New," which David describes as "the views and values of the Folk of the North." The second will deal with "The Art of Composing Ritual and Poetry."
David was with us at Althing One, the first national Asatru event held in the United States, in 1980. Last year he was beset with health issues, from which he has made excellent recovery. We're proud to have him, hale and whole and vibrant, with us once again!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
David was with us at Althing One, the first national Asatru event held in the United States, in 1980. Last year he was beset with health issues, from which he has made excellent recovery. We're proud to have him, hale and whole and vibrant, with us once again!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Last Day for "Midsummer in the Sierras" Early Bird Rate!
AFA Members and Supporters -
Today's your last chance for "Early Bird" sign-ups for Midsummer! Don't delay - there are some really good air fares right now, but they will start disappearing in the next couple of days as we get closer to the event.
We still have some indoor accommodations available, and plenty of camping!
You won't find rituals like this...talks like this...or people like this!...anywhere else. Make your reservations today!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Today's your last chance for "Early Bird" sign-ups for Midsummer! Don't delay - there are some really good air fares right now, but they will start disappearing in the next couple of days as we get closer to the event.
We still have some indoor accommodations available, and plenty of camping!
You won't find rituals like this...talks like this...or people like this!...anywhere else. Make your reservations today!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Monday, July 11, 2011
Links - Sustainability, Environment, Self-Reliance
Here are some links I am publishing in the latest AFA Update/Bearclaw today:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AFA_Bearclaw/
Federal Solar Tax Credit
Federal residential solar tax credit - applies to new and existing homes. Claim up to 30% of installation costs for a new system.
http://tinyurl.com/6b7wt9c
Chickens in the Energy Descent
Thinking about raising chickens? Here's how.
http://tinyurl.com/44zenet
Farming With Nature: A Case Study of Successful Temperate Permaculture
Lots of information in this 37-minute video. If you're considering producing your own food (good for you and good for the environment!) here's a good place to start!
http://tinyurl.com/3kud682
An Ominous Warning on the Effects of Ocean Acidification
A new study says the ocean is acidifying ten times faster than 55 million years ago, when a mass extinction of marine life occurred. Current changes in ocean chemistry due to the burning of fossil fuels may portend a new wave of die-offs.
Http://tinyurl.com/ygdzv4z
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AFA_Bearclaw/
Federal Solar Tax Credit
Federal residential solar tax credit - applies to new and existing homes. Claim up to 30% of installation costs for a new system.
http://tinyurl.com/6b7wt9c
Chickens in the Energy Descent
Thinking about raising chickens? Here's how.
http://tinyurl.com/44zenet
Farming With Nature: A Case Study of Successful Temperate Permaculture
Lots of information in this 37-minute video. If you're considering producing your own food (good for you and good for the environment!) here's a good place to start!
http://tinyurl.com/3kud682
An Ominous Warning on the Effects of Ocean Acidification
A new study says the ocean is acidifying ten times faster than 55 million years ago, when a mass extinction of marine life occurred. Current changes in ocean chemistry due to the burning of fossil fuels may portend a new wave of die-offs.
Http://tinyurl.com/ygdzv4z
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Edward Abbey Should Have Been Asatru!
Edward Abbey was iconoclastic and passionate; an American original. He was a religious skeptic, but I could easily see him as a man of Asatru.
Here are some of his quotes - not even necessarily my favorites, but some good ones:
"Better a cruel truth than a comfortable delusion."
"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."
"I am not an atheist but an earthiest. Be true to the earth."
"A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled surfaces. We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge even though we may never need to set foot in it. We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalysis."
You can find a lot more of his quotes here: http://tinyurl.com/28pkwxz
Years ago, I met with a conservation group that wanted to protect wildlife in an African country. They needed someone who could set up an anti-poaching unit for protection against marauders coming across the border. These poachers carried machine guns and RPGs, and killed elephants or anything else that moved. (We're not talking about subsistence hunting here.) I proposed to go in with a small team, work with the locals in the context of their indigenous religion, train them, and let them take charge. A man involved with the conservation group was one of four people still living (at that time) who knew where Ed Abbey was buried. I felt his presence spoke well of the organization.
Edward Abbey, may your spirit live on!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Here are some of his quotes - not even necessarily my favorites, but some good ones:
"Better a cruel truth than a comfortable delusion."
"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."
"I am not an atheist but an earthiest. Be true to the earth."
"A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled surfaces. We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge even though we may never need to set foot in it. We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalysis."
You can find a lot more of his quotes here: http://tinyurl.com/28pkwxz
Years ago, I met with a conservation group that wanted to protect wildlife in an African country. They needed someone who could set up an anti-poaching unit for protection against marauders coming across the border. These poachers carried machine guns and RPGs, and killed elephants or anything else that moved. (We're not talking about subsistence hunting here.) I proposed to go in with a small team, work with the locals in the context of their indigenous religion, train them, and let them take charge. A man involved with the conservation group was one of four people still living (at that time) who knew where Ed Abbey was buried. I felt his presence spoke well of the organization.
Edward Abbey, may your spirit live on!
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Asatru, Nature, and Letting the Gods Speak for Themselves!
Yesterday's post - Waterfalls, Runes, and Asatru in Nature - got so many comments that I decided to follow up with a quote by Edward Abbey, from page 6 of his book Desert Solitaire. He captures exactly the concept of letting Nature, and the Gods, speak for themselves.
The personification of the natural is exactly the tendency I wish to suppress in myself, to eliminate for good. I am here not only to evade for a while the clamor and filth and confusion of the cultual apparatus but also to confront, immediately and directly if it's possible, the bare bones of existence, the elemental and fundamental, the bedrock which sustains us. I want to be able to look at and into a juniper tree, a piece of quartz, a vulture, a spider, and see it as it is in itself, devoid of all humanly-ascribed qualities, anti-Kantian, even the categories of scientific descriptions. To meet God or Medusa face to face, even if it means risking everything human in myself. I dream of a hard and brutal mysticism in which the naked self merges with a non-human world and yet somehow survives still intact, individual, separate. Paradox and bedrock.
Abbey was a gun-owning, beer drinking, poker playing defender of wilderness and a man of character. He was not Asatru, but in many respects he would have fit in very well with us. I recommend Desert Solitaire and his other writings. Various Asatru-related archetypes have been found luking, presumably without his conscious intent, in his tales.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
The personification of the natural is exactly the tendency I wish to suppress in myself, to eliminate for good. I am here not only to evade for a while the clamor and filth and confusion of the cultual apparatus but also to confront, immediately and directly if it's possible, the bare bones of existence, the elemental and fundamental, the bedrock which sustains us. I want to be able to look at and into a juniper tree, a piece of quartz, a vulture, a spider, and see it as it is in itself, devoid of all humanly-ascribed qualities, anti-Kantian, even the categories of scientific descriptions. To meet God or Medusa face to face, even if it means risking everything human in myself. I dream of a hard and brutal mysticism in which the naked self merges with a non-human world and yet somehow survives still intact, individual, separate. Paradox and bedrock.
Abbey was a gun-owning, beer drinking, poker playing defender of wilderness and a man of character. He was not Asatru, but in many respects he would have fit in very well with us. I recommend Desert Solitaire and his other writings. Various Asatru-related archetypes have been found luking, presumably without his conscious intent, in his tales.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Friday, July 8, 2011
Waterfalls, Runes, and Asatru in Nature
Hail, all!
Once you take up Asatru, it permeates all your experience. A walk in nature becomes a study in spirituality.
Recently, Sheila and I walked along the shore of Emerald Bay, high in the Sierras, watching the osprey soar overhead as they circled their nests. Their call echoed through the tall trees. The weather was warm and the trail not short - but the waterfall at the head of the bay was truly something to be experienced. The roar made your whole body vibrate. Mist filled the air and dampened your clothes. It was a place of power, not merely the mechanical energy of falling water dashing against stone, but other energies - more subtle, but no less powerful in their realm.
Laguz is the rune of water. Usually this is understood as a body of water, a lake or pond or even the waters that flow to and from life. Laguz is the salty sea of amniotic fluid that brings us to Midgard, and the dark waters that carries the ship of the dead to the Otheworld. But on this occasion, on the shores of Emerald Bay, laguz was the waterfall, roaring with the power of mighty Gods, wakening those parts of us that may have fallen asleep. Look at the stave of the rune itself; you can see it as the falling water.
Experience nature. Experience the Gods. Do not "think about" them or project your own images and definitions onto them. Let them speak for themselves. Get off the road, get out of your car, get away from the clamor of your fellow man! Feel the world. This is the way of Asatru.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Once you take up Asatru, it permeates all your experience. A walk in nature becomes a study in spirituality.
Recently, Sheila and I walked along the shore of Emerald Bay, high in the Sierras, watching the osprey soar overhead as they circled their nests. Their call echoed through the tall trees. The weather was warm and the trail not short - but the waterfall at the head of the bay was truly something to be experienced. The roar made your whole body vibrate. Mist filled the air and dampened your clothes. It was a place of power, not merely the mechanical energy of falling water dashing against stone, but other energies - more subtle, but no less powerful in their realm.
Laguz is the rune of water. Usually this is understood as a body of water, a lake or pond or even the waters that flow to and from life. Laguz is the salty sea of amniotic fluid that brings us to Midgard, and the dark waters that carries the ship of the dead to the Otheworld. But on this occasion, on the shores of Emerald Bay, laguz was the waterfall, roaring with the power of mighty Gods, wakening those parts of us that may have fallen asleep. Look at the stave of the rune itself; you can see it as the falling water.
Experience nature. Experience the Gods. Do not "think about" them or project your own images and definitions onto them. Let them speak for themselves. Get off the road, get out of your car, get away from the clamor of your fellow man! Feel the world. This is the way of Asatru.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Monday, July 4, 2011
AFA Clergy Program Changes Hands
Hail, all!
Stefn Thorsman, who helped create the AFA's Clergy program and who has led it since its inception, has stepped down citing personal obligations and life-priorities. Ed Lebouthillier, long-time AFA and Clergy Board member, will assume the role of acting Clergy coordinator.
In his letter to the AFA Board of Directors, Stefn wrote: "I'm very proud of what's been accomplished so far with the AFA's Clergy program, and I sincerely hope that forward progress continues and that the Clergy program continues to grow and serve the Folk. Having the Folkbuilders work hand in hand with the Clergy members can only benefit the Folk at large and spread AFA inspired Heathenry across the US. I plan to remain an AFA member and a member of the Clergy but will do so in a much less visible capacity." His letter was signed "In kinship, honor, and solidarity!".
Ed Lebouthillier is a highly-qualified successor. Along with Stefn and others, he was one of the creators of the Clergy program and is renowned for his dedication to the AFA mission and for his incisive analytical skills.
The Clergy program has been one of the AFA's great successes. It has created a corps of highly-qualified men and women capable of providing religious services, giving spiritual guidance, and speaking to issues of morals and ethics. Our Clergy have raised the standards of scholarship and dedication for all who seek to serve the Gods and the Folk.
We sincerely thank Stefn for his tireless work and inspiration, and for his vision, which ultimately gave birth to the program he headed for so many years.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
Stefn Thorsman, who helped create the AFA's Clergy program and who has led it since its inception, has stepped down citing personal obligations and life-priorities. Ed Lebouthillier, long-time AFA and Clergy Board member, will assume the role of acting Clergy coordinator.
In his letter to the AFA Board of Directors, Stefn wrote: "I'm very proud of what's been accomplished so far with the AFA's Clergy program, and I sincerely hope that forward progress continues and that the Clergy program continues to grow and serve the Folk. Having the Folkbuilders work hand in hand with the Clergy members can only benefit the Folk at large and spread AFA inspired Heathenry across the US. I plan to remain an AFA member and a member of the Clergy but will do so in a much less visible capacity." His letter was signed "In kinship, honor, and solidarity!".
Ed Lebouthillier is a highly-qualified successor. Along with Stefn and others, he was one of the creators of the Clergy program and is renowned for his dedication to the AFA mission and for his incisive analytical skills.
The Clergy program has been one of the AFA's great successes. It has created a corps of highly-qualified men and women capable of providing religious services, giving spiritual guidance, and speaking to issues of morals and ethics. Our Clergy have raised the standards of scholarship and dedication for all who seek to serve the Gods and the Folk.
We sincerely thank Stefn for his tireless work and inspiration, and for his vision, which ultimately gave birth to the program he headed for so many years.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
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