January 2017 — The Rational Heathen

Honoring Ancestors: Do I Really Have to Worship Aunt Mabel?

January 31, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

One of the things I like about Heathenry is the concept of honoring our ancestors, or as anthropologists would term, “ancestor worship.” But, honestly, if some of my relatives were a pain in the ass when they were alive, why would I want to draw strength from them when they’re dead? If Aunt Mabel was a bitch, and a fundamentalist Christian who was sure I was going to go to the Christian hell, do I really want to show respect for her?

Well, the answer is yes and no.

First, to Set the Record Straight

I use the term “ancestor worship” loosely to describe the veneration of one’s ancestors. Merriam-Webster defines it as:

Definition of ancestor worship. : the custom of venerating deceased ancestors who are considered still a part of the family and whose spirits are believed to have the power to intervene in the affairs of the living.

Ancestor Worship | Definition of Ancestor Worship by Merriam-Webster

By the Merriam-Webster definition, Heathenry does indeed practice ancestor worship. However, Heathenry beliefs aren’t written in stone, and I’m pretty sure that there are indeed those Heathens who come close to, if not outright, worshiping their ancestors. Far be it from me to tell them to do otherwise. Then there are those who look at the ancestors with profound respect and honor them, but do not worship the ancestors as gods. Then, there are those, for whatever reason, abhor the idea of honoring ancestors, especially close family members. There are also those who do not know their ancestors, due to adoption or other circumstances. All these people have their own valid reasons for what they do.

Now, if I offend you with the term “ancestor worship,” get over it. It’s just terminology that encapsulates the belief of ancestor veneration. Don’t get hung up on it.

Ancestors: Like us, but Not

One of the foundations of Heathenry is respect for our ancestors. After all, they are a part of us, and we would not be here in our current form had we not had those particular ancestors. We have ties to them as kin that we do not have with other people. And we recognize that even if our family members weren’t the best, we still have thousands of generations of ancestors to call upon.

None of our ancestors were perfect; they all had their faults, just like we do. Some were criminals, some were saint-like, some were warriors, and some were just ordinary common folk. The Black Death did a lot to reduce the gene pool in Europe and Asia, so most of us can trace our lineage to nobility in some way, even if we have mostly commoners and slaves in our lineage.

So, when we honor our ancestors, we don’t necessarily honor Aunt Mabel (who isn’t your direct ancestor anyway, but who is closely related to you.) If she was that big of a bitch, you probably don’t want to hear from her anyway, so you can skip honoring her but still offer respect for the line.

It’s DNA and then some

Did you inherit your artist talent from a long-lost relative?

Our ancestors gave us more than their DNA. They gave us their experiences, for good or for ill. One study showed that the brains of mice that experienced electric shocks and the smell of cherry blossoms changed and they showed fear of the cherry blossom odor. Fair enough. Their offspring and grand-offspring showed the same fear of the cherry blossom odor even though they received no shocks. Furthermore, their brains had the same changes that the original mice did.

Granted, it is one study, but there are other scientists who have determined that the methyl group (a type of organic molecule) attaches itself to certain genes, thus expressing that gene’s behavior. Call epigenetics, these attachments and detachments were thought to only occur while in the uterus. We now know that they can attach and detach while we’re adults too, and can pass along the same genetic expressions. So, bad experiences can certain affect not only your life, but lives of your descendants. Likewise, you’re affected by the experiences your ancestors had.

So, what Does this Have to Do with Ancestor Worship?

So, you may be wondering that this has to do with honoring your ancestors. Oddly enough, quite a bit. You see, whether you are adopted or whether you know your line back to the Viking Age, you are the sum of your ancestor’s genes and their experiences. Those experiences have been written and expressed in your genes. Your reactions — and resiliency — comes from those people, like it or not. You can modify your epigenetics in what you do want expressed by your behavior and your own experiences, but you carry the good parts and the baggage from those who came before you.

You can thank — or curse — them for what you are, but be aware that you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.

What if I’ve been Adopted (or Don’t Know My Lineage)?

If you’ve been adopted, or perhaps you don’t know your ancestors, you can still call on them for strength. You may not know them, but they may know you and may be pleased that you remember them in some way. You can also accept your adopted family as your own. Your family has left their marks on your genes in the form of epigenetics that will continue into your children and grandchildren, should you have kids. You may find ancestors along your parents’ side whom you relate to, even if you have no blood ties with them. You might just find an ancestor who will answer back.

What if my Family Sucks?

I’ve stated that I was switched at birth only half-jokingly to my parents (when they were alive) and my siblings. They all seemed to take a dim view of that, but it shows you how different you can be from your family even if you share the same genetics. That being said, I’ve known people whose parents and grandparents were abusive to them and others, who in themselves are good people. Those people have no reason to honor or offer any consideration when it comes to honoring the people who abused them. But the good news is that your ancestors are not just your parents, grandparents, or Aunt Mabel. Your ancestors go back hundreds of thousands of years. Not all of them were evil bastards.

Doing genealogical research can help you identify your past relatives. You may be able to find a few who are worthy of your attention. Don’t discount a spouse’s relatives either. I’ve found relatives in my husband’s past that are worthy of my attention, as much as some of my own ancestors.

Does the Rational Heathen Practice Ancestor Worship?

All this talk about ancestor worship sort of plays against the skeptic in me. Hel, I’d probably still be an agnostic except for the experiences I’ve had with the gods. I’ve had some experience with my ancestors suggesting that they’re still around in some way. My thought is along the lines that it doesn’t hurt to remember those who have gone before us, and who may be helping us from time to time. I think it is a facet of Heathenry that we should all explore in our own ways.

And no, you don’t have to worship Aunt Mabel. Or anyone, for that matter.

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Chicks Dig Warriors: The Viking Lonely Hearts Club

January 23, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

Let me start out this post by saying that I had half a post written that I intended to put up this week. But when faced with more information, that research totally derailed my supposition. Which happens, oddly enough. I am not too proud to say that sometimes I’m wrong. (I can see the recons fainting as we speak.) So, I was left with nothing, but as I was posting a third-party article due to some research into the other area, my warped brain came up with the title: Chicks Dig Warriors: The Viking Lonely Hearts Club. So, I’m going to write about why the Viking Age began and why our ancestors decided to rape, sack, and pillage — as well as extort — most of Europe.

Chicks Dig the Longboat

I ran across this article about why the Vikings raided: a shortage of girls. Now, I get that young men were trying to impress the girls back home in the hopes of wooing them away from being a concubine to a richer and more powerful man, or maybe looking for the Viking equivalent of a mail order bride, (but one you had to go get). That being said, I’m going to put forth some other ideas that will probably suggest that it was a multitude of factors and not just polygyny. So, let’s take a look at what caused our ancestors to terrorize the Christians.

Polygyny, or Something Else?

It’s easy to point out that a dearth of women would have caused a fair amount of unrest. An article by the Telegraph points out that a South American tribe had more aggressive men when polygyny was practiced. They point to the Yanomami tribe and say the Vikings were like that, only the comparison doesn’t fit well. The Yanomami are hunter-gatherers in the Brazilian rainforests. The Norse were primarily farmers in a very difficult place to farm.

Resources are very different between hunter-gatherers and farmers. Hunter-gatherers have few possessions–just what they can carry. Quite often, the possessions are communal. For example, a cooking pot may be shared by the community. Therefore, there is more attention paid to the basic necessities of food, water, shelter, and, of course, reproduction. Since food, water, and shelter are often already covered by the environment (especially in a rainforest), the need to reproduce become paramount when polygyny occurs.

While polygyny could have played a role in the Viking Age, archaeological evidence has shown that women have gone ashore with the men. If the men were really that hard up for dates, all they had to do was look in their own longships. If there were really women joining the men on voyages, then we can only assume that there were other reasons the Norse decided to raid.

It’s All About the Resources

I’m a real fan of Jared Diamond’s book, Guns, Germs, and Steel. In it, Diamond hypothesizes that it is the environment that shapes culture. I really do believe that. The contention for resources drove the Viking Age in ways that historians are still trying to piece together. While mates are indeed a viable resource for discussion, I would add that there was more than simply looking for love. I don’t think that the Viking raids were the Norse version of a lonely hearts club. To come up with that oversimplifies things. I really suspect that it was the lack of resources for survival that spawned the Viking age.

I did some quick research and found that in 1967 (that’s as far back as I could find), the percentage of arable land in Sweden was just shy of 7.6 percent. In Norway, the percentage of arable land was even less at a bit more than 2.7 percent. Now, granted, those are modern day numbers, with modern day populations, but even if we accounted for lower populations and less modernization, I’d bet the percentage of farmland wasn’t that impressive. What that did for freemen was require them to work for someone else’s farm in exchange for food and a place to live. Those who inherited the farm had a way to make enough food for themselves. Those who didn’t were stuck trying to eek out a living.

Land was at a premium in Scandinavia when it came to farming. The Norse considered three slaves were the minimum needed to handle a farm with two horses and a dozen head of cattle. Unless you were an exceedingly wealthy farmer, the cost of running a farm was expensive, just in the cost of purchasing slaves alone. That’s assuming you didn’t go raiding for them, and in that case, you can rest assure that someone had to manage the farm while you were gone. So, in a lot of ways, having more than one wife was probably prohibitive for most of the common folk. Those with the real wealth could probably have several wives, (namely the royalty), but in a place with limited resources, it probably wasn’t too common for everyone else. What was more likely is laxness in relationships. (After all, if Sven is gone for three years, it’s doubtful either Sven or his wife is going to remain celibate.)

So, land was a valuable commodity for the Norse populations. That left a fair number of those in the “Karl” classes looking for work and a way to better their circumstances. Any increase in population would guarantee that there is a surplus of people looking for something to do. That probably includes young men, and women, looking to increase their opportunities.

We’ve Seen this Play Out throughout the Middle Ages

Getting rid of the excess population is nothing new here. Throughout Europe, it was not uncommon for nobles to send their sons and daughters who were unlucky enough to be secondborn or later into the clergy. They did this to ensure their firstborn male heirs would inherit their estate without contention. Girls were used as collateral for forging alliances with influential families. Your family increased in wealth and stature by being associated with families greater than your own. If you had several daughters, you could get in good graces by sending your youngest girls to the Church to become nuns. Or, you could at least get rid of a daughter who for some reason wasn’t marriageable by having her take the vows.

“Have Fun Storming the Castle”

So, let’s say you have a bunch of young warriors (both men and women) who have no prospects in Scandinavia. They can either fight among themselves in various raids on other Norse groups — which, incidentally, they did — or they can go out and seek their fortune preying upon some hapless monks in Lindisfarne and look for some lands they can settle down in and start their own farms. Seems to me the choice is pretty obvious. Why fight against people who you know are as good in fighting as you are? Why not fight someone else who isn’t part of your clan anyway? Makes perfect sense. And yes, while it might be to gain more station and more goods (thereby more chance at finding a mate), the practicality of being well off is far better than working as a farmhand and hoping you’ll have enough wealth to support a family. Having wealth from going Viking meant that you could possibly buy land and property in your own country, thus having a better future.

The Viking Longboat

The one thing that made all this possible was the advent of the seaworthy Viking longboat. Without that key piece of technology, I’m certain that the Norse would have stayed squabbling amongst themselves. Had it not been for such a fast and seaworthy craft, it’s unlikely that we would’ve seen so much movement.

There are possibly other reasons for Viking raids, such as getting back at the Christians for forced baptisms and persecution. Those are certainly reasons worth considering. In a later post I may offer my analysis, but in the meantime, I’d argue that the advent of the longboat combined with the need for Norse free men and women to find a way to improve their fortunes was the real reason for the Viking Age.

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Fiction: Hel Hath No Fury…

January 16, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

You may not know this, but The Rational Heathen is a professional author in real life with a number of novels and nonfiction books to her name. To this end, one thing I’ve decided to give my patrons is some exclusive content. I’ve been meaning to finish up this story for some time, so the Patreon blog gives me enough incentive to get it completed. I’m giving you a taste of my fiction writing, so you might just get hooked and join up. (There are always ulterior motives here.) For a dollar a post (that’s around $4-$5 a month), you can get premium content that isn’t appearing anywhere else. So, if you like what I wrote here, click the sign up button to the right and read more of the story.

Hel Hath No Fury

Tyra Ulfdottir

They called her Helen, but we all knew who she really was.

She wore a mask covering her entire face and the best silk from head to foot. She kept the finest gloves upon her hands. All an elaborate ruse to convince us she was human. She even calls her guard dog, Garmr, a husky. If Garmr is a husky, then I’m Odin. Seriously, the dame was anything but mortal.

I only took the job on the airship of the damned because it paid well.

Okay, maybe “damned” is an exaggeration. Poor Hel—I mean, Helen, gets a lot of bad press. Calling her dish “hunger” and her knife “famine” are the typical aspersions an unpopular goddess has to deal with. All the food here on the airship is topnotch and I’ve never been starving.

Helen’s airship, the Naglfari, gleams black as night. Legends say human nails make up the gondola and the moorings consist of human hair. Utter nonsense. Just like the stories that it is manned by a crew of undead. Look, if the dead left the underworld, do you really think they’d hang around once they were in the land of the living? Sure, Helen and Garmr could grab a few and drag them back to the ship, but realistically enough would get away. That’s why she hires living folk. Unless you’re going out in a blaze of glory or another god has dibs on you, she’s got your number, anyway. So, you might as well make some money off of it.

We just entered the New German Empire’s space when we received a radio transmission from one of Donar’s airships, the Tanngnjóstr. Helen isn’t too keen on Donar, but she does respect him. He throws much more than his weight around, which makes him a formidable opponent. Through the crackling transmission—for some reason, we always get atmospheric interference—I heard two words: “Winfrith” and “oak.” I frowned as I listened to the static and turned to Ulf, my first mate. “What do you make of it?”

Ulf shook his head and scratched his chin, hidden beneath his thick, blond beard. “I don’t know. Maybe the lady would want to hear it?”

I frowned. I really didn’t like getting Helen involved in day-to-day running of ship’s affairs, but somehow she sensed something was up as her shadowy form in gray silk appeared beside me.

“What is it, Aelfrun?” she asked.

I turned to gaze into those impenetrable eyes behind the mask and for an instant, I was caught. I couldn’t lie, even if I wanted to. “It’s the Tanngnjóstr. Something about Winfrith and an oak.”

She stared at me coolly. “Ah, so Donar is having trouble with that rogue again?”

I chewed my lip and waited. “Maybe I can talk to him.”

“Donar? I doubt he would listen.”

“No, to Winfrith,…my lady.” I added her title a little late.

Lady Helen laughed quietly, and the hair on the back of my neck rose. “You think that cur will listen to you?”

“I feel somewhat responsible for him,” I muttered lamely.

Helen laid a hand on mine. Soft with silk but strong as iron shackles, her grip was almost painful. “I know you do, but he is not yours to deal with, but mine.”

I nodded with a feeling of dread as she released me from her icy grip. Winfrith had been my fault. Maybe I could talk some reason into him.

Helen turned to my crew. “Winfrith’s ship will be heading toward Frisa,” she announced to them. “I want you ready to board her when we get there.”

“We’re going after him,” I said. More of a statement than a question. Helen inclined her head once.

I turned to my men. “You heard the lady. Full speed to Frisia.”

To Be Continued…

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Is it Time to Abandon the Irminsul?

January 9, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 10 comments

Oh, boy howdy. I know I’m going to get flack for this post, but the question has been brewing in my mind for some time. Every time I see stylized depictions of the Irminsul, I feel uncomfortable. Not because of the original meaning of the Irminsul, but what it has grown to represent due to the blatant misappropriation by the neo-Nazis and the white supremacists.

So, before I get into the reasoning behind my question — and with all honesty, I do not have an answer to the question — let’s get into the history behind the Irminsul and why it is important to heathen beliefs.

Where the Irminsul Comes from

The Irminsul or Ermensul comes straight from the Saxons. Arguably it’s named after Irmin, a
presumably main Saxon god who is linked either with Tyr or Odin, according to early 20th century historians.This is a largely reconstructed god and may or may not have existed. Many later scholars do not think there was such a god, instead thinking that the Irminsul was more likely a representation of Yggdrasil or the World Tree.

Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfried mentions the destruction of the Irminsul in this post, and also notes that the author who writes about it wrote the account 88 years after the fact. He furthermore adds:

“The Saxon Poet writes that the Irminsul “was fashioned in the form of a huge column and contained a corresponding wealth of adornment,” but his account was written nearly 120 years after the destruction of the site. Such later sources must be treated with caution; sources contemporary with the Saxon war do not clarify whether the Irminsul was a carved column or a natural tree.”

So, not only do we have a questionable god, but also we don’t know if the Irminsul was a post or a tree. And while it had a huge temple surrounding it, we really don’t have any archaeological evidence determining what it was. While we do have one possible image of it, it is a Christian depiction and not pagan art. This piece of art appeared somewhere between the 9th and 12th centuries, most likely by an artist who had never seen an Irminsul.

The Axis Mundi, or Pillar of the World

The Irminsul, and Yggdrasil, for that matter, is a form of the axis mundi, or the pillar of the world. The concept appears time and again throughout most religions. The axis mundi is the link between the heavens and the earth, forming a bridge like the bifrost from the mundane to the supernatural. Too many religions to name have this conduit, and the Irminsul appears to be a representation of the conduit. I agree with later historians, (rightly or wrongly), that it was the Saxons’ form of the World Tree.

Corruption by the Nazis

It didn’t take long for the Nazis to point to Irminism and Wotanism as their own religions due to the evolution of Heathenry in northern Europe. A great deal of emphasis was placed on the site of Externsteine where, I kid you not, a psychic Nazi archaeologist, claimed there was an Irminsul, even though there is no physical proof of one. Look up Karl Maria Wiligut sometime. This guy created the SS logo and was a spiritual counselor for Himmler. Fun times.

The sign of the Irminsul and the meaning had been adopted by men such as Heinrich Himmler, who was big into the occult. During these dark days, heathens saw their images such as teiwaz, othala, algiz, and sowelu become part of the Nazi symbols. The Irminsul was offered as an alternative to the Christian cross.

Neo-Nazi and White Supremacist Symbols

If you check out the JDL’s hate symbol database, you’ll be dismayed to find images such as othala, teiwaz, and other heathen runes to be part of the neo-Nazi symbols. You also may see something that looks like a skinhead crucified on a teiwaz rune.

Oddly enough, it looks like an Irminsul. And I suspect it’s intentional, as is the crucified skinhead looking like a mockery of the White Christ. Although I have no love for Christianity, the blending of the two images from two different beliefs, combined with the overall hate message has left me uneasy. (Yes, I know Odin hung himself on the World Tree for nine days, but that was upside down. I really think this is a Heathen and Christian blending in a perverse way.) This combined with the obvious Nazi history of the Irminsul has corrupted it to the point where I’m not certain we can ever win it back without the soiled context. Look at the swastika and tell me that it is free from the Nazi taint, even though it was an ancient rune and symbol. It’s foolish to think otherwise.

If you don’t think it is still considered by the Nazis as part of the symbolism, I’ll point to the recent vandalism at Externsteine by the neo-Nazis. They consider it part of their beliefs in a big way.

So, Where Does that Leave Us with the Irminsul?

So, where does that leave us with the Irminsul? With all honesty, I haven’t a fucking clue. It’s the World Tree, the axis mundi, and a symbol of the Saxons. But do we use the stylized Christian depiction, or go with something else? Do we even bother with the term Irminsul and call it the World Tree? Given the shaky ground we’re already on historically, do we even bother with it? Or do we take it back somehow? Maybe others will have a better idea which way to go with it, I sure don’t.

My own instinct is to let it die and stick with the World Tree. It may not be the best solution, but it is one I am more comfortable with. Either that or come up with a better depiction of the Irminsul which may be more historically accurate, and less, well…, Nazi.

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New Post Schedule

To ensure my patrons are getting to read this before the rest of the world, I have moved my post publishing schedule to weekly Mondays. My patrons will have exclusive access to the post on the weekends before everyone else. How cool is that?

The Last Breath of the Old Year

January 1, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

Yule feels more powerful up north. I say that from experience. While you could feel the race of the season towards the longest night of the year in lower latitudes, it is definitive the further north you travel. Toward yule, we lose around 4 minutes of sunlight a day, but on the flip side, we start gaining it back at the same rate.

The Entire World Takes a Breath

This time of the year feels as though the entire world has slowed down and is taking a long breath. If that makes any sense, whatsoever. The days are short. The stars are bright in the frosty sky. The quality of light is different too. Animals are working hard to find food; many of them have shown up on my land in the hopes of finding something edible.

This year, I’ve been working hard to get things done before the sun sets in the southwest horizon. Even on the opposite side of the solstice, it feels like the magic of this special time of year is still in effect.

Return of the Light

Even as I say this, on New Year’s Day it feels like the light is finally returning. It’s 12 days after Yule and we’ve gained more than a half hour of light. Still, winter is here and Skadi will be bringing us some of the coldest days we’ve had in awhile.

This year, we’re prepared for the worst of it (we hope) with enough firewood for the winter. Still, it is often a close run thing. But the sun is returning, and every day is growing longer. So, we have the promise of spring during this dark and cold time.

New Year’s Celebrations

I’ve never really been one for New Year’s celebrations. We’ve often avoided “amateur night,” as my husband blithely puts it. The fact that it is simply a man-made date on a calendar has much to do with it. Where you decide to end one year and start the next is largely subjective. Yet, much of the celebrations seem to follow our Yule. New Year’s marks the end of our Yule, and the beginning of our next year in our modern calendar. (I write this as I hear fireworks and gunshots from my neighbor’s New Year’s Eve party from a quarter mile away. I’m in a rural area; gunshots are expected.) It seems fitting to say goodbye to the year with the end of our Yule.

I had written how Yule had been primarily a non-event. That much is true. Yet, I used the time to observe nature around me while I was getting the farm chores done. It really does seem like nature does take a breath during this dark time as we turn the corner and head into the light.