Happy 4th of July!
Do You Even Troll, Bro?
Today, I’m on a rant against trolls. These may indeed be the type that live under bridges, but more
likely, they live in their parents’ basements and bitch about those of us who actually have something to say. These are the types who use the “anonymity” of the Internet to cyber bully and laugh at those who don’t agree with their world view.
Kids, I’ve been slaughtering trolls before you were a gleam in your troll-daddies’ eyes. I think you need to get a reality check. For the rest of those who want to understand why someone doesn’t respect your opinions and viewpoints online (or if you’ve ever been the target of DYEHB), read on…
Internet Trolls are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists
Whoa! That sounds extreme, doesn’t it? Guess what? Those aren’t my words, but I agree whole-heartedly. The pronouncement comes from an article in Psychology Today. Trolls are the nastiest people around and we don’t want to spend anytime near them. They scored ridiculously high in what shrinks call “the Dark Tetrad:” narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism. Canadian researchers came to this stunning conclusion that those of us who have been on the Internet had already known after two studies with more than 1200 subjects. So, if you’ve ever taken delight attacking people on the Internet for sheer sport, count yourself among the troll-kind. And you’re not my friend. For some reason, I couldn’t see the graph, but I found it on Slate, so you can see it too.
The researchers had this to say:
“… the associations between sadism and GAIT (Global Assessment of Internet Trolling) scores were so strong that it might be said that online trolls are prototypical everyday sadists.” [emphasis added]
Well, well, well. That says to me that they simply get their rocks off making other people feel awful. Nice.
Is the Rational Heathen a Troll?
Now, I can hear some of you muttering that I am some kind of troll because I post what are controversial posts occasionally. And sometimes, yes, I admit that the titles are a bit more click-bait so that you’ll read them, but I consider that just good journalism and not necessarily trolling. In my Recons are Idiots piece, I thought I was pretty damn clear what kind of recons I had issues with. And oddly enough, those were the same folk who took umbrage at my statements by proving me right. It’s funny because as many outspoken recons there were, there were more people saying, “yeah, I’ve experienced that — thanks for agreeing with me.” So, if you’re a recon and you’ve disagreed with me, note that plenty of other folk are in my court and you or someone who claims they’re a recon are the ones who have given recons that reputation.
That being said, I don’t go out of my way to attack a particular person. Oh, I might mention a type of person, or refer to someone whom I keep anonymous for everyone’s overall protection, but I don’t troll the boards looking to pick fights and make people miserable. If anything, I’m extremely courteous to those on other boards. Now, if you come swinging on my own board, then the gloves are off. If you make a legitimate case, I will listen to you. I may not agree, but I’ll listen to you. And if you’re civil to me, I’ll be civil to you. That’s the game we’ll play. The only people I don’t have patience for are the racists and white-supremacists. And I will insult you if you are one.
Look, no one says you have to read my page. In fact, if you don’t like what I’m saying, maybe you should go elsewhere where people agree with you. You’re welcome to stay in your narrow-minded corner since you can’t seem to accept someone else’s point of view. (And yes, I just took a swipe at you. Deal with it.)
I’ve had precisely two trolls show up on my Facebook page. After some long, ugly discussions which ended up as ad hominem attacks, I didn’t bother to tell them to fuck off. I simply banned them. The problem is the more you try to reason with them, the worse they get. Finally, I got tired of them and pulled the plug. I’ll entertain opposing views, but you’re on my good graces if you’re nasty. My good graces incidentally are largely dependent on how much work I have to do, how much sleep I’ve had, and what kind of day I’m having. In other words, “you don’t know my day, bitch,” — don’t push it.
Why Do They Do It?
Interestingly enough, there is a lovely post in Psychology Today which actually states why trolls do what they do. A lot of it has to do with the nameless face in the crowd mentality. The overall “anonymity,” or at least, obscurity, of the Internet, combined with the feeling that other people’s silence equals agreement, and being surrounded by a social group that will at least support them, are reasons they will say the damnedest things. The trolls I zapped online wouldn’t dare say what they did to my face. If they did, they’d better only keep it at words.
For a while, there has been people who had a board specifically for Heathen trolls. I read through some of their “laughs” and found them to be boring and inane. And yes, I just call them inane. They laughed at people for the way they practiced Heathenism, as though there is some “right” way and some “wrong” way. I’ll admit, there are some practices I think aren’t right due violations in the ethics of reciprocity, and you’ll know up front why I think that, but the gray areas of Heathenism are very large. It’s those gray areas that the trolls revel in, and they make certain that everyone knows how “stupid” they think a person is. While I might think your way of practicing Heathenism is wrong, if it is harmless and you’re not trying to push it on me, I probably won’t make fun of you. If I do, it’s because it’s so bizarre and off the chart. But I won’t name names. Ad hominems directed at specific people aren’t cool, and downright mean. There’s no reason to do this.
The Troll Test
Yes, really, there is an Internet troll test. While I am not beyond getting into a debate with someone, I can truly say I say no to all those questions. I’m not asking you to bare your heart to us, but if you really think it’s a great idea to call me names, I’d suggest taking a look at the questions and see if maybe the shoe fits. If it does, then perhaps you need to go somewhere else. Like very far away.
Was Mani Responsible for Life?
The other day I had several awesome ideas for blog posts. They were full of insight and witty
thoughts. I even put the ideas down in drafts so when I was out of clever ideas, I could just start on one.
Note to self: don’t put down ideas when you’re sleep deprived. No, they aren’t that wonderful.
So, for these reasons, the post is a bit late. I also had some errands I’ve had to run on Saturday, so sue me. In retrospect, I may salvage a few of the pieces. I’ve salvaged at least one of them. In this case, I’m writing about the moon and how scientists think that it may have something to do with the development of life on our planet. You see, I was looking up at the beautiful strawberry moon on solstice and feeling thankful that we have it. So, this post is about the moon and why we should be glad it is in the sky.
A Bad Moon on the Rise
I’ve thought about going down the direction of the full moon jokes, but that would be childish and immature. Which is why I’ve broken down and yes, gone that direction, because I’m not above being childish and immature. So, let’s get that out of our systems right this second and get down to mooning.
Why Our Moon is so Special
Our moon isn’t like other moons in our solar system. Most moons either formed while the planets were being formed and were stuck in their orbit around the planet. Either that, or the moons were captured by the planet’s gravity and are hanging in there for the time being. If you look at the various planets and moons, you’ll notice something peculiar about our planet with our solitary nightlight and the rest of the planets and their moons. Namely, our moon is not only solitary, but it’s big when compared to the mass of the Earth.
It is more than a quarter of the Earth’s size at 27 percent. In fact, no other planets have such a size ratio at 4 to 1 — all other moons we know about are much smaller than their planets.
Our moon actually formed from a collision between the Earth and another, smaller, protoplanet that scientists have named Theia. The theory (and BTW, if you’re having trouble with the word, “theory,” read this) is that some 4.5 billion years ago, only a very short time (relatively speaking) after the Earth came into being, some 30 to 50 million years, Earth and Theia were vying for the same space. Both protoplanets were still very hot and were still forming, so when they crashed into each other, something interesting happened. Theia didn’t smash headlong into the Earth; rather, the blow was more of a glancing blow. The result caused matter to be ejected from the Earth and Theia to get partially swallowed up. Both planetoids as they re-coalesced became locked in each of the other’s gravitational pulls. The moon is identical in composition to our Earth, which along with computer simulation models provide the explanation to its existence.
So, that alone makes our moon special, but what is really interesting is that without our moon, we may not have had life form. Here’s the explanation.
How the Moon may have Helped Bring about Life on this Planet
We don’t think of Mani as a creator god, but the moon has helped our planet evolve the life we see today. First off, the moon is responsible for stabilizing our Earth’s axis. Without it, the axis would wobble mightily and we would experience vast changes in our temperature to the point where Earth would be inhospitable to life. Imagine the axis tilt so extreme that we are plunged into a terrible cold so no life would have been able to evolve.
Secondly, the tides the moon creates exposes the land to both air and water, forcing evolution to select for creatures that reside in these tidal areas that could thrive in both environments, thus setting the stage for land creatures.
Other Effects the Moon has on our Planet
The moon has also had the effect of slowing the rotation of our planet, thus lengthening our day to nearly 24 hours. Our planet has, in turn (excuse the pun), changed the rotation of the moon to 27.3 days, which is the same time as it takes to make a complete orbit around our Earth. This is why we always see the same face of the moon. Our planet’s rotation continues to slow because of the moon (due to tidal friction), but it would take 9 billion years for the moon to actually slow our planet to the moon’s orbital rate.
The moon is slowly moving away from our planet, and it was once much closer. We had more significant tides then and the pull on the Earth’s mantle may have set the state for plate tectonics.
The Gift of Metals
One cool thing to consider is that our moon has given us metals on and close to the surface. You see,we suspect the iron migrated to a small core.
scientists have modeled planet such as the Earth forming and when it cooled, all the metal should have migrated to the Earth’s core. But it hasn’t. That’s because when Theia hit the proto-Earth, it splattered much of its core across the Earth’s mantle. Our planet spewed a portion of our mantle to form the moon and thus we received the gift of metals from the moon’s earlier version. Our moon shows no iron in its rock —
How Mani has Affected Mankind
Without the moon, we wouldn’t have the tides that we do (we would have tides from the sun, but they would be minuscule.) We would have very dark nights every night; it’s unlikely we would’ve been able to hunt at night, or perhaps we would end up with greater night vision. We wouldn’t have eclipses, or obvious ways to divide our year into months (the word, “months,” is derived from “moon.”) We wouldn’t be able to advance technologically without metals. Think about it. What if we couldn’t get copper, tin, iron, and other metals easily?
I’m Not the Only One Waxing About Mani
Apparently I’m not the only one waxing about Mani. There’s a cool article in Witches and Pagans that deals with Mani. Mani being the brother of Sunna and the son of Mundefari, he’s one of the god that we know little about. He is pursued by the wolf, Hati, who will consume him on Ragnarok. The Witches and Pagans article mentions that he is the protector of abused children and also those who are emotionally distressed or suffer mental illness. I don’t know if that is UPG, current folklore, or if that is mentioned somewhere in legends. I haven’t done that much research about him, but I often feel comfort and joy looking up at the moon.
So, there you have it. My take on the moon. Hopefully he brings you as much joy as he brings me.
You Ain’t a Priest/Priestess Just Because the Gods Spoke to You
Well, I’ve been dealing with some wankers and wandered over to their web pages and found that they were proclaiming their priesthood for all to see. Seriously? Seriously? It’s one thing to think you’ve heard the gods through dreams and meditations, and another thing entirely to call yourself a godhi/gythia because of said visions.
So, if you’re one of those, I’m going to bade you to stop reading right fucking now. Take a breath and have some chamomile tea. Block my posts on Facebook, so you never have to read them again. And bask in the knowledge that I haven’t upset your apple cart.
Now for the rest of you who won’t screw themselves into the ceiling over this post, please feel free to continue…
Mighty Presumptuous, Ain’t It?
You have to wonder what the mindset is of someone who has become a heathen or even joined up with Asatru and started calling themselves a godhi/gythia. What kind of person has that big of an ego, (or that much delusion?), to call themselves that without agreement from some kind of community? It’s one thing, I suppose, if you went through training, seen visions without LSD or peyote, and were generally acknowledged as a godhi/gythia by the people of your kindred. It’s another thing to slap that label on your mug because you swore the raven that cawed to you said “I am Odin.”
Talking with a God/Goddess Isn’t Enough
Look, I’m not doubting that you could’ve had that experience. Hels bells, I’ve had those type of
experiences, and the best I could come up with as a title is The Rational Heathen. Not exactly god-inspired, if you think about it. I had to fight the atheists for that name on my blog. (Which brings me back to last week’s post.) My point is that there’s enough of us who have had those types of nudges from the gods and goddesses to the point where we could all be considered godhi/gythia in some way if you were using “the gods spoke to me” as your qualification for priest/priestess-hood. I’m sorry, but as unique as your experience might be to you, it isn’t that unique. There are enough people I know in the pagan/heathen community who have spoken with our pantheon on more than one occasion. And some, I hate to say, may simply be undiagnosed schizophrenia.
Did a God Talk to You, or is it Schizophrenia?
TL;DR Point: Schizophrenia causes people to hallucinate, and while it affects only 1% of the population, it still could be the reason some people believe they talk to gods. If you are so certain you know what the gods want, be sure you don’t have this disease…
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, schizophrenia hits about 1 percent of the population, or somewhere between 7 to 8 people out of 1000. I am NOT saying that those of us with dreams, insights, connections with the gods, etc are schizophrenic, but I have to point out that this could account for SOME people. When there are 320 million people in the United States alone, that means there are about 3.2 million people in the US that have schizophrenia.
Now, I’m not saying you are schizophrenic. I’m not saying I am schizophrenic. But the numbers, statistically speaking, do point to a fairly large number that in this country alone could encompass most — if not all — of our worldwide believers. But thankfully, we have to account for the affected Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, and whatnot, so I suspect the percentage among the Heathens is around the 1 percent as well. Maybe it’s a bit higher because our religion isn’t “the norm.” Maybe it’s lower. Regardless, if we point to all of Heathenry, we can probably say a small portion are schizophrenic.
I bring schizophrenia up only because it does have a tendency to cause people hearing voices or having delusions. Whether it’s the belief a god or gods talked to you, or whether you think your dishwasher has secret conversations with the refrigerator, this disease can account for much. And not surprisingly, many schizophrenics aren’t even diagnosed.
If you are so certain you know what the gods and goddesses want, be sure you don’t have this disease.
I’m Okay; You’re Okay if You’ve Liked My Page
TL;DR: Don’t be an asshole and claim you’re a godhi/gythia to bully people whom don’t necessarily agree with you.
I’m under the opinion that most folk who have claimed to have had dreams or gods/goddesses inspired UPGs while meditating or in a trance/dream state are okay and (mostly) rational people. Many I call my friends. I’ve talked about Lokeans in previous blogs, and many of them are cool people. I would not put them under the “crazy” label.
I honestly don’t care if you’ve had visions from the gods or not. What I care about is if you’re an asshole about it. Part of that asshole behavior is presuming you’re a godhi or gythia because of it and using those conversations as your Norse pantheon god-given right to bully the rest of us what to believe. Sweetie, it doesn’t work that way. For one thing, you aren’t the only one who has heard from the gods.
Studying Eddas and doing research doesn’t make a godhi/gythia. If it did, there would be a lot of scholars who are godhi/gythias who don’t believe in our gods. In fact, I’d probably qualify as a gythia with just that criteria because I did a fair amount of study in myths, legends, and dead languages. I even have a higher level degree that encompasses anthropology, legends, and languages.
Part of being a godhi or gythia is being recognized as such in the community. It has to do with knowing the lore and the runes, as well as a dedicated willingness to serve the community. As a non-gythia person, I’ve talked to a few people whom I respect whom I would call godhi or gythia. Very few. Like count them on one hand. What struck me about them was their willingness to share their knowledge and their overall kindness in helping me in my quest to be closer to our gods.
The people who are abusive, mean, and bullying, despite having someone think of them as a godhi/gythia are clearly NOT. Why do I say this? Think of the purpose of a godhi/gythia. They’re intended to help people in spiritual matters. They have a willingness to serve the community.
No, I’m NOT a Gythia
You’ll be relieved to hear that I don’t consider myself a gythia in any way. I don’t have a kindred, per se, and I don’t take myself that seriously. (You shouldn’t either, unless I’m being dead serious, which I can be, from time to time.) I don’t have much respect in the community and I don’t fancy myself a religious leader. While I do a fair amount of reading and studying, most of my waking hours are spent trying to make a living, not spending time reading Eddas and books on the subject. When I’m feeling cocky, I write this blog. Occasionally, people ask me for advice. I warn them up front that I’m pretty ignorant, but I am happy to at least give them my honest take on what they ask. Beyond that, I’m pretty much what you deal with: a low bullshit writer.
The Gods Have Given Me a Title!
No, seriously, they have. From now on, you will address me only as The Rational Heathen, Supreme Cynical Rabble-rouser. I am feeling quite pleased with myself, which means I’m probably going to do some more shit-stirring and poking-the-crazy than normal. I asked Loki for the title Supreme Shit-Stirrer, but he refused to give up that title. I then asked for Pokes-The-Crazy, but Odin wouldn’t give up that title either. So, I’m stuck with Supreme Cynical Rabble-rouser. It does have a ring to it, I’ll admit.
So, What IS a Heathen, Exactly?
Well, last week was fun, because I irked a bunch of people with my opinion on frith and troth. I suspect this week, I’ll irk a bunch of people who have laid claim to the word “heathen.” So, let me get this out in the open, once and for all:
You do not have the exclusive right to the word “heathen.” In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that you have no right to exclusively claim the word “heathen” anymore than you have the exclusive right to claim the word “pagan.”
There, now I feel better. But for those of you who were curious, I am going to go through the history and etymology of the word, “heathen.”
What Does the Word “Heathen” Mean?
I’m going to irk some folks when I trot out the Oxford English Dictionary. Under the definitions of Heathen, it says:
noun
chiefly derogatory
1 A person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those who do.
1.1 A follower of a polytheistic religion; a pagan.
1.2 (the heathen) Heathen people collectively, especially (in biblical use) those who did not worship the God of Israel.
1.3 informal An unenlightened person; a person regarded as lacking culture or moral principles.
Well, that says a lot. We can assume those who follow the Northern gods, such as myself, can be considered a heathen because of definition 1, and especially, 1.1 and 1.2. For those who dislike my posts and tell me to change my blog’s title, the definition in 1.3 may indeed apply to me, and therefore, I can most definitely be considered a heathen by that definition. (As an FYI, there is no definition 2.)
If you look up other dictionary definitions, you’re likely to come across synonyms: pagan, infidel, idolater, heretic, unbeliever, disbeliever, nonbeliever, atheist, agnostic, skeptic; archaicpaynim
Let’s look a little deeper into the etymology.
Etymology (not Entomology) of Heathen…OR “It’s a Bug Hunt”
Whenever I think of etymology, I always think of the movie, Aliens, because “etymology” sounds remarkably close to “entomology.” Hence, “It’s a bug hunt.” Seeing as it is not, I’ve gone over to Dictionary.com and pulled up “paynim,” which is the root of “heathen.”
It says:
1.
a pagan or heathen.
2.
a Muslim.
3.
pagandom; heathendom.
Origin of paynim:
200-50; Middle English: pagan (noun and adj.), pagan countries, heathendom < Old French pai (e) nime < Late Latin pāgānismus paganism
“But Tyra,” you say, “that isn’t where heathen comes from.” I kind of agree with you on that. The Oxford English dictionary cites:
Origin
Old English hǣthen, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heiden and German Heide; generally regarded as a specifically Christian use of a Germanic adjective meaning ‘inhabiting open country’, from the base of heath.
Okay, so now we’re somewhere. And we can agree that it comes from Anglo-Saxon, which means “inhabiting open country.”
The Definition of Heathen
A heathen, by definition is either a pagan who does not worship the Abrahamic religions (or a major religion) or a person who inhabits open country. Wow! Isn’t that simple? There isn’t a single mention of Odin, frith, troth, or reconstruction anywhere in those definitions! (One might assume that if you follow Odin and the Aesir, you are most definitely a heathen.) It isn’t a particularly discriminating term, either, when it comes to the pagan gods.
The word, “heathen” seems to be all encompassing when it comes to pagans. And guess what? By the agreed upon dictionary definition, heathen encompasses Wiccans, pagans, and other folk who do not follow the Northern gods. It does, by definition, encompass those who worship Jotun, Loki, Native American gods, African gods, Shinto, Hindu, Asian polytheistic religions, Atheists, and even some people who worship snakes in their bathtub. You might argue that the bigger world religions such as Hindu, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, and other religions that have huge followings are not heathen, and you might be right, but only because they are widely held religions. I might argue with you that they are part of the “heathen” group because they are not of the Abrahamic religions.
The Definition of Asatru
So, if “heathen” is not a definitive term for someone who follows the northern pantheons, what is
Asatru? Well, Asatru is really a religion, and is defined by the Oxford dictionary as:
noun
Origin
1920s. From Icelandic ásatrú from Old Icelandic ása, genitive plural of áss god + trú belief, perhaps after Norwegian asatro early Scandinavian pagan religion.
So, What Does All This Mean?
“Heathen” is such a general term that it’s hard to pin it down to one particular group or custom. I tend to use the term “heathen” to mean anyone who follows or worships gods in the northern pantheon. I don’t get my panties in a wad if someone uses it differently than I do. I expect there are going to be different usages of the word. 
That being said, I will include you in the term “heathen” if you follow the northern pantheon and aren’t a racist or Nazi sympathizer. Hel, I’ll even accept the recons in that definition. You don’t need a secret handshake, a Mjolnir necklace, a drinking horn, or horns on your helmet (in fact, horns on your helmet will get you tossed out — fair warning!) And that, my friends, is what a heathen is.
Yeah, Well, I’m not into “Frith”
“Frith” and “Troth.” If you hang around with Heathens and Asatruans, inevitably you hear those words. Those silly, archaic, bizarre words. Every time I see those words, I want to roll my eyes and sigh. Or laugh. Or puke. Or something. It’s not that I disagree with the concepts, per se, I just have a tough time with silly archaics.
And I know at least two “dead” languages.
What the Fuck is Frith and Troth?
First, I need to get the definitions out of the way to ensure the recon rabble will find something to argue or poke fun about. So, let’s look at frith. My understanding is that it is tied to the “inner yard” or Innangarth which makes up the kindred. If you look it up under Wikipedia (and you recons are welcome to fix their definitions, by the way), it points out a state of peace that has to do with relationships. Frith encompasses fealty to lords as well. Basically, it is peace that occurs to those who belong to a certain unit, let’s say “family.” But family is more like The Godfather’s family — extended and has those who must swear loyalty of some variety. When you’re offered sanctuary, that’s frith working. Got it?
Troth is loyalty and truth. If you look up the word in Merriam-Webster’s, you’ll see loyalty or pledged faithfulness. Basically, it’s an archaic term for “truth” or “oath,” depending on its context.
So Why the Fuck do I Have a Problem with them?
Other than the names and usage instead of modern English, you probably are wondering what is wrong with using them today. Glad you asked that. I’m going to address the whole Innangarth/Utanngarth and the concept of frith (crap, I keep typing “firth” because my mind and fingers rebel against this silly word.) Basically, the idea comes down to an early form of feudalism that we got away from a long time ago.
Frithering Heights
Let’s talk frith. Back in the olden days, you had to have scores of relatives, friends, and whomever else in your Inner-yard because, quite frankly, the world was a dangerous place (it’s still dangerous, but not quite that level in Western societies) and if you didn’t have allies close at hand, you had everything taken from you by force. Warfare was common back then, and it was the equivalent of living in street gangs, but without police to really turn to. It’s no surprise that I likened the Inner-yard to the Mafia in the Godfather. Hels Bells, where do you think the Sicilians learned this behavior? Try the Norse and the Normans. There’s a reason why there are red and blond Sicilians.
“But Tyra,” you say, “we’re using frith to mean a safe space for our family and friends.” I would argue that that’s fine, but be aware it is much different than the historical frithering something or other. Yes, it can evolve over time — I’m not as pedantic as some — but change the term. Tell us what it is. “Safety,” “Safe space,” or whatever. You’re using an anachronistic word here.
Frith, like many things, is conceptually an attractive idea, but in the end really offers a lot up for abuse of power. People swear fealty to that particular lord and support him. Peace (lack of warfare) occurs between members, though there are always disagreements. Basically, you trade your loyalty for protection. Feudalism, to sum it up succinctly.
I grew up in a Frith-type household. It sucked. Not because of any physical abuse (although I could make the case for verbal abuse), but because there were things you never went to the Utanngarth over. And quite honestly, there should have been more Outer-Yard interaction. There were too many “secrets” that shouldn’t have been, and too many issues that later on caused problems that could have been addressed early on and avoided.
By the way, the Heathens of old weren’t the only ones who had the concept of Inner/Outer-Yard. That concept is alive and well with the Japanese and other Asian ethnicities. In fact, the Japanese have one set of words for family members that are only used among family members versus a more formal set of words for “outsiders.” In many ways, Heathen culture mimics Japanese culture and Shinto: concept of inner/outer yard, ancestor worship, local kami/wight worship, female sun goddess, highly ritualized ceremonies with drink, warrior class which required fealty for protection, thegns/daimyo…I could go on and on.
I can see Frith being used as an excuse to hide addictions, sexual abuse, law breaking, and other terrible things, because it’s all too easy to insist on loyalty for “protection.” Look at how feudalism was abused. Look, our ancestors thought it sucked enough to get rid of it. Now, I can hear the recons arguing with me on this. Guess what? I don’t give a shit. The fact that it CAN be abused, suggests it WILL be abused. Power, my friend, corrupts.
What About Troth?
Being a follower of Tyr, I do have some thoughts about Troth. You may guess by my crazy blog posts I tend to be a little on the brutally honest side. Being honest and forthright is best, In My Not So Humble Opinion (IMNSHO), but I am quick to avoid oaths. Oaths are solemn things, and yes, the gods will hold you accountable to them. So, swearing loyalty, except maybe in marriage, scares the bejesus (heh!) out of me. Fail that oath, and you’re dealing with an ugly situation both here and in the afterlife, such as it may be. Plus pledging Troth to anyone in terms of fealty, takes us right into the (not so) good-old-days of feudalism.
So, Where does that Leave us?
By now, I can feel all the recon rage. Look, I really don’t care if you frither and troth all you want. I get the concepts, and I get you want to go back to the Bad Old Days. Or maybe you think you can do a better job incorporating them into your family, kith and kin. Far be it from me to tell you how to live your life, as long as it doesn’t affect me. I’m not saying don’t respect your elders, and don’t respect your family, but families aren’t perfect, and no matter how much you’d like your Hof, Kindred, or whatever you call your group to be, to be perfect, it isn’t going to be that way.
I’d argue too that our Inner-Yard versus Outer-Yard has grown substantially. One could make the argument that our Inner-Yard encompasses our community, our state, or even our nation. I haven’t gone so far as to say it encompasses our world, but maybe if we discover other life forms, that might be a real possibility. (Someday, I’m going to write something about if Thor is on other planets, but this post is long enough.)
Anyway, use frith and troth around me, and I’ll laugh. If for the silliness of the words, if nothing else.
The Gods are Not Your Bitches
It’s nice to see someone in the pagan community agree with me, even though they said it nicer than I did. The gods, whether you think of them as people or metaphors, don’t necessarily jump when you ask them to jump. They don’t necessarily do things because you whined at them. And they certainly aren’t our bitches who show up because we called to them.
Connecting with Gods
Connecting with the gods is a personal thing, In My Not So Humble Opinion (IMNSHO), and each connection is as different as it is for each individual to be different. How you related to one god isn’t necessarily how I relate to him. I think it has to do with who we are and how we got to this point. Tyr, for example, doesn’t really pop in, raid the refrigerator, and open up a bottle of mead on the counter at my house. If he does at your house, please tell me. I’d be mighty curious about that. I’d be surprised. (Now, if it were Loki, I’d expect that.) Some folks claim to have real life experiences. I’ve only had one, and that made me question my sanity. (Meeting Odin on the street — seriously.)
It’s not my place to tell you how to connect with gods, but I might offer some advice: They aren’t your bitches, and most aren’t interested in you unless you bring something to the table. Occasionally, a few of us hear the call and say “what the fuck?” That happened to me, but I realize that having such experiences can be uncommon, not the rule when it comes to the gods.
My Own (Limited) Experience
I think the gods tend to be a bit more mindful about our pasts when we “connect” with them. As a follower of Tyr, he’s my main go-to god for just about everything. That being said, sometimes I realize that other gods are more suitable to my petitions, but I really don’t know them that well.
Tyr knows I have a lot of baggage from religion and childhood. If I have a fault, it is I lean pretty heavily on him from time to time. It’s mostly just moral support, but occasionally it’s a “I need this” kind of request. Yeah, it comes from growing up Roman Catholic and being shoved into the “pray to god to help you” mentality. Realistic
ally, I know that Tyr is not the god for that sort of thing, but when I have shit raining down, he gets an earful. Because I look at him like a friend. Sometimes I just get a sympathetic ear and not much more. Sometimes I get help. Sometimes another god pops into my life because he or she is better at helping me. If anything, I now have five gods/goddesses that I offer blots and talk to.
That’s how I relate to the gods. I wasn’t looking to go back to being a theist, so I kind of have the opinion that because they found me, they knew what kind of package they were picking up. Lately, when I bemoaned not being able to talk to the wights with someone who actually does a fair amount of work with them, I learned some things and actually got some positive things happen. Okay, so I’m a bit agnostic on them still, but they’re included. And I get a more positive feeling from them.
Why We Demand Help
I often talk about Christianity, mainly because I can’t get away from my Christian upbringing. If you were raised Heathen, Pagan, or with another religion that wasn’t derived from the Abrahamic religions, you probably don’t have the same reliance that many who have left those faiths have to their gods. We’ve been spoon fed a pack of lies since we could understand words. It’s not our parents’ faults, per se, they’ve been as brainwashed as we have since their childhood. There’s a good reason for them to teach us Christianity’s teachings, too. The fear of their hell and eternal torment makes even the toughest guy in the room quake.
So, we’re taught very early on that god will provide. That god will care for us. That everything will work out to god’s plan. And when stuff goes our way, we praise god. When shit happens — and it does happen to good people, and even the best followers of the Christian god — we tell ourselves that it was god’s plan, or maybe they weren’t really that good. Because a kind and just god wouldn’t allow that to happen, would he?
So, we beg for good things to happen to us. That we get that raise, get accepted to that school, get a job, find a significant other, heal someone or ourselves, or win the lottery. The reality is that unless we get off our butts and do something, it’s unlikely we’re going to see positive results. That’s where that old saying “god helps those who help themselves” most likely got started. Well, whether you should maybe claim it as a god’s victory is questionable. I’d argue that every victory is your own, and if the gods help you out, you should be thankful for their aid, but you’re the one who really made it happen.
The Gods are Not Our Bitches
If we look at the gods as strictly archetypes or metaphors for the universe that surrounds us, we can pretty much deduce they don’t need us, although we’re already heavily reliant on them. We rely on Sif and Freyr for growing things, Thor for our thunderstorms (i.e. rain), Sunna for our light, Mani for more than just a shining orb above us at night, but may have had to do with actual life, Tyr for our laws, both human made and natural, Odin for our creation, and so forth. My point is we rely on them for a lot already, so calling them down to aid us, especially when we have no rapport with them, seems a little self centered. If we consider them entities, so much more so.
If you have a relationship with a god or gods, chances are you already know your boundaries. If you’re looking for help and you only have relationship with one or two gods, maybe they’re the first should hear your plea and then see what they say. Other gods most likely need some type of introduction and probably a pretty decent relationship before one can ask for things from them.
When we understand that they’re entities (or at least metaphors) with their own agendas, we can see that our gods aren’t the Christian vending machine that our society has come to expect.
A Heathen in a Christian Land
I’ve been thinking a lot lately on how heathens get treated by dominant religions. In the past, there were plenty of persecutions — in some countries today, most notably Islamic, you’re likely to be persecuted if you’re not part of their religion. In true theocracies, our beliefs make our lives difficult. This is why I believe it is important to put things in perspective. If you’re a heathen like I am, where you live in a Western republic where religion is tolerated, but you don’t necessarily have the support structure to make you feel inclusive in your beliefs, it’s important to keep some perspective. Five hundred years ago, you’d be dead, and not in a pleasant way.
Dealing with REAL Theocracies
If you’ve lived your entire life in the United States, it’s easy to get riled up about how people react toward you having beliefs that don’t fit the Christian paradigm. Although one of the big principles our country was founded on was the separation of church and state, we still have to acknowledge that Christianity is the big influence in our lives. Even though we have a number of whack-jobs who insist that we should have prayer in school, creationism taught alongside evolution, and other stupid things, we haven’t the same situation that people who live in real theocracies endure.
I knew an Iranian Jew who supported the Shaw of Iran before the Ayatollah took over. He and his family had to flee for their lives. Think about it. Christians and Jews are constantly persecuted by Islamic extremists, which makes dealing with your neighbor giving you the stink eye because of your hammer pendant laughable. Okay, so you got some disapproval there. At least you don’t have to worry about the religion police breaking down your door and arresting you.
Worse for Atheists
It can even be worse, if you’re atheist. Stumbling across Life as an Atheist in an Islamic Republic is a real eye-opener. Even if you live in what may be considered a more enlightened Islamic country, you can undergo some pretty nasty abuse — and no one will say anything bad about it because you are considered wrong. Yes, yes, we hear stories of how people treat those who don’t believe in Christ in the South, but unless you get in peoples’ faces, it’s unlikely you’ll be physically abused.
Americans Don’t Like to Talk About Religion
At this point, you may be shaking your head on this, but these numbers seem to play out from my own experience: Americans don’t like to talk about religion. In fact, according to an interesting post by Atheist Republic, the Pew Research Center (which does a lot of polls) discovered that half of American adults seldom talk about religion to those outside their families. Those who do like to talk about religion are usually the ultra-religious (Oh, THERE’S a surprise — yes, that was sarcasm.) But what you might not know is that somewhere between 60 and 80 percent actually want to hear about your religion, and agree to disagree.
It Could Be Worse
For all our bitching about Christianity, and how we’ve been treated in the past, at the present, Americans have far fewer problems than we could have. Certainly there are other religions in this country that have it tougher. Namely Judaism and moderate Islamism. If the worse behavior you’ve receive has been weird looks and stink eyes, count yourself lucky. There are far worse bullying behaviors you could experience. If you’ve been suckered into having dinner at a friend’s place and they tried to convert you, well, you know where that person stands and perhaps you need better friends. Now, if you’re locked up against your will, beaten, and made to recite bible passages, then you have something. If you’ve escaped, you had better have reported it to the police. Being locked up and beaten is more than just a little on the illegal side.
It Could Be Better
Yeah, I’m not saying this country is without faults. We’ve had the Salem Witch Trials, Mountain Meadows Massacre, and extermination of Native Americans under the name of the Christian god for their lands. There have been hate crimes against different faiths. One that springs to mind is hate crimes against Jewish people, but even Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Mormons, and other Christian faiths have experienced intolerance. For a country founded on the separation of church and state, we’ve seen our share of bad behavior.
The problem isn’t usually the majority, although incidents such as 9/11 and other terrorist acts tend to heighten mistrust, and yes, people behave badly because we know that these terror groups have ties to Islam, albeit radical Islam. It’s common for those of us to look at those “not of our tribe” with suspicion. It doesn’t make the prejudice right.
Feeling Alone?
Heathenism can be practiced alone, or in a group. That’s the beauty of it. I’m kind of a solitary kind of gal, so you’re not likely to see me at an Asatru or Heathen gathering. Even so, there are groups in your neighborhood. I recommend the American Asatru Association to get more involved. That way, you don’t have to go it alone.
Reconstructionists are Idiots
That got your attention? Good. Well, at least you know where the Rational Heathen stands. After
\having dealt with enough of these morons, I’ve come to the conclusion that at best, reconstructionists are misguided. At worst, they’re idiots. I say this with the utmost candor, having dealt with reconstructionists when I first got involved in online Heathenry. I even got thrown off a list for expressing my views, albeit politely. (Yeah, me being polite — go figure.) I was told in no uncertain terms I was wrong for my opinions and ideas, and when I logically tore them to pieces, they resorted to ad hominem attacks, and then throwing me off their list. Oh, and then banning me. Like that really showed me?Seriously? Seriously??
Ad hominem attacks are a clue to me you really don’t have your shit wired, and at this point, the best you can do is just insult me. Yeah, that won the argument. Throwing me off the board and banning me just proves your opinions can’t stand scrutiny. Which is why you should never go toe-to-toe with The Rational Heathen without having your arguments well thought out.
What is Reconstructionism and Why Should I (or Anyone) Give a Shit?
At first, you might think that I, the Rational Heathen, would be a complete reconstructionist. After all, I’m all into logic and learning how and why things came into being. Reconstructionism, at its core is trying to learn and ascertain how northern paganism came into being, what constitutes northern paganism, and what influenced it later. This actually sounds right up my alley in a lot of ways. Many reconstructionists tend to be atheistic or agnostic in nature. They like playing anthropologist, and look to archaeology for clues how heathenism came into being.Okay, that’s good. That’s insightful. I’m good with that so far.
They look at the sagas and Eddas as being tainted by Christianity. That any semblance of Heathenry is corrupt in them and therefore they are unreliable. I can kind of agree with that. The reason is we know that these stories were written down by Christians, during a Christian time, and we’re looking through an incomplete glass, one that wasn’t written down completely true to form, and one that was written well after the people became Christian.
The sagas are a lot like like me writing down the history of the old West with only oral stories handed down from my in-laws who were told the stories from people who are now deceased. Imagine if we only had stories our families told, and no written journals, newspapers, books, or anything else during that time. Of course the stories I would write down would be the ones that the tellers remembered being told, would be changed enough to reflect the tellers’ points of view, and might even have gotten mixed up with other stories of that time. So, yeah, I think that the idea to question the veracity of the sagas are well founded, to a certain extent.
When the Reconstructionists Go Too Far
So, with this agreement, why aren’t I in the reconstructionist camp? I’m not against the concept of reconstruction, per se, I’m against the way it is being used in arguments. I’ve read through enough reconstructionist babble to decide that they’ve gone too off the deep end when it comes to trying to recreate our beliefs. They argue point after point against those who do use the Eddas, Havamal, and Unverified Personal Gnosis to beat people into submission, when the reality is when it comes to science, we really don’t have a full picture what Heathenry was to our ancestors. What’s more, they don’t seem to care that if Heathenry is to remain relevant, it must be relevant for ourselves and not necessarily for our ancestors.The Greatest Problem with Reconstruction
The greatest problem with reconstruction is that we just don’t have enough evidence to say “Yea verily, this is how it was.” We have a lot of good educated guesses by really smart dudes with letters after their names, but we don’t have proof other than what others have wrote about the northern pagan cultures and what those people left behind. We also have traditions and folklore that went back to those times, but piecing those bits into actual fact is like trying to put together one shattered cup from a pile of shattered pieces of several cups that have been left outside for years. Yes, you might get something together that looks like the original cup, or you might be missing pieces, or you might have put several pieces of another cup into the cup you were trying to restore. And even if we want to put together this cup, is it something we put on the shelf and look at it, or is it something we use?
I’d argue that the reconstruction folks are more along the lines of putting it in a nice display case to look at from time to time. They’re not the ones who take the cup out and actually use it the way it was intended. They’re interested in the cup as the prize and not as what the cup does for anyone, metaphorically speaking, or they’re using it as a weapon against other people. It’s still a cup, but it’s being used as a hammer to slam people who actually agree with multiculturalism in Heathenism. But it’s not the right tool, and because it’s made from broken pieces, it shatters pretty easily.
Hitting a Running Horse While Blindfolded
Reconstructionists, if they had their way, would fix heathenism in some arbitrarily agreed to point and time. What time, I have no fucking clue, because religion and religious beliefs change over time, even in the Viking Era. They’re trying to hit a running horse while blindfolded. If you look at current religions of today versus even three hundred years ago, you’d see some pretty stunning changes. Christianity is a good metric because we know so much about it. Ask yourself was Christianity looked like three hundred years ago and compare it to today. Yes, there are going to be similarities that we recognize, but there are also going to be stark differences in celebrations, attitudes, and even belief systems. Add the remoteness of some villages, and you’re likely to see even more differences geographically.We know that during the Viking Age our ancestors went, well, everywhere. The Vikings went everywhere in the known world. We know they were in Sicily (conquering it twice, once by the Norse with Bjorn Ironsides and once by the Normans), Russia (the Varangians), and in Slavic countries. They went west toward the Americas, east far enough to have genetic mutations that are only found in people with Mongolian ancestry in Iceland, south into Sicily and did have dealings with Muslims, and north, well, they are Norse. There is a black Heathen mentioned, for the gods’ sake! I’ve seen Viking caches that had a gold Buddha in with all the other treasure in a museum display. Think about that and tell me that Northern Paganism wasn’t influenced by other groups. The answer is that they were. Which means there is no way we could distill what a pure Heathen was like at any point and time.
When Reconstructionists Go Bad
Many reconstructionists are a sorry lot. They want to espouse their own world view as fact and use what few bits of what archaeologists have recovered to support their assertions. They’re kind of like the Catholic church that insisted on an Earth-centric view of the cosmos instead of accepting that the Earth revolves around the sun, and not the other way around. If they just would bend a little and look at reality with an open mind, they’d see it all fall nicely into place, instead of trying to shoehorn their own beliefs like the proverbial square peg and round hole.
What’s worse, they seek to alienate the people who would do Heathenry the most good. I’ve heard them call those who try to incorporate other pagan traditions into Heathenry derisively as “Wiccatru,” and while I’m clearly not Wiccan, and don’t think much of spells (and don’t believe in magic, per se), I don’t think discouraging that branch of potential heathens is helpful. There are the Rokkatru folks who honor the Jotnar, whom the reconstructionists say can’t honor those beings because nobody in the past honored them (Like they were there? There may be no evidence of worship, but you just can’t prove a negative, especially with our lack of archaeological evidence.) Then, there are the Lokeans, who have to deal with the Marvel jokes. Maybe I don’t see eye to eye with Wiccans, Rokkatru, or Lokeans, but that’s not the point. The point is we have people who want to know our gods and our beliefs — there is no reason to exclude them.
Some reconstructionists go as far as to be tribal. If your ancestors were not from a particular German hamlet, or didn’t come from Norway, they don’t want you as part of the team. Dudes, quit goosestepping in your parents’ basement. Race is a construct. We’re all a bunch of inbred monkey cousins with some very small genetic adaptations. Deal with it.
Our Worldview is Different — Thankfully
Let’s face it: our worldview is vastly different from our ancestors’. We don’t hold slaves and most of us find slavery repugnant and downright wrong (I say “most of us” because I know of some whack-jobs who probably think it’s okay). We find the idea of human sacrifice to be abhorrent (everyone except the guy I argued with in a group that said that he understood why it happened and wouldn’t, when pressed, be against it), and value the individual.
The Individual in Heathenism
Some reconstructionists would like to point to the family as the smallest acceptable unit and would like to claim that Americans (and Christianity) puts emphasis on the individual only, and not the tribe. This is patently absurd. Here’s why.
Looking at Anglo Saxon texts such as the Seafarer and Beowulf, not to mention the Norse Eddas, seem to point to accomplishments of individuals. If you look at Bronze Age folklore, it’s not the family who triumphs in those stories; it’s the individual. Last time I checked, Cinderella’s stepmom, stepsisters, and her dad were pretty worthless when it came to helping her. Cinderella gains help from a fairy godmother who is pretty much a stranger.
What about other stories? The Smith and the Devil, considered a pre-Christian, Bronze Age tale is about an individual who outsmarts an evil entity, similar to Tom Tit Tot or Rumpelstiltskin in many ways. In each of those stories, the hero must overcome the evil creature. That isn’t a question of family, per se, but a question of dealing with an evil creature. The stakes become high when the creature asks the hero not for her soul, but her offspring. In Smith and the Devil, the devil asks for the smith’s soul in return for granting him a magic power.
Oh wait! Those stories are corrupt with statements about the Christian god. Okay, well what is there about Christianity that makes it individualistic? The Catholic church didn’t exactly value others worshiping other religions, or even making it up as you go. In fact, Christianity before the Protestant reformation said that the only way to salvation was through the Church and its sacraments. You couldn’t just read the bible for yourself and decide what was right or wrong. You needed the Church to do it. Doesn’t sound particularly individualistic to me. Guess what? It wasn’t.
You are Tainted
If you’re a reconstructionist, you need to be at least open to allowing Heathenism to grow. Trying to reconstruct a religion from more than a thousand years ago from a dead culture is like trying to preserve a time capsule that never existed. You may construct something, but it’s unlikely it is something that resembles what was there in the past. It’s a lesson is futility. Your current world view is based on what is around you. You will never, ever come close to what our ancestors were like in your attempts at mimicking them. For one thing, technology has tainted you. Your language has tainted you. Your education has tainted you. Your nation and how it has evolved has tainted you.
The gods are not stagnant beings. They don’t just hang around and wish for the halcyon days of the Viking era. They know it’s folly to look backward. If they wanted that time saved, don’t you think one of them could have saved that puppy in a time capsule somewhere and trotted it out for all to see?
We Need to Be a Big Tent
You’ve heard the terms big tent and small tent when it comes to politics. It works for religion, too. There’s enough room under the Heathen tent to be inclusive and open to other ideas, and other people. Yes, there are going to areas where we disagree, but that’s normal. We need people with new ideas and new perspectives on our beliefs because otherwise we remain stagnant. Heathenry should not be something that sits on a shelf to show everyone how cool and smart you are. Heathenry is a celebration of our gods and the old ways as they pertain to today. We know through science that we’re one tribe, not many, although we have different ethnicities. We need to find common ground with people who want to be included. The only people we should not include are those not willing to consider other viewpoints and whose sole purpose is hate. We’ve had enough hatred thanks to the perversion of our beliefs.The Wights Won’t Let Me Go Back to Atheism
Well, okay, that was a shocker. Sometimes I need to be reminded that the world really is weird and sometimes despite my statement being The Rational Heathen, I find something I can’t explain. This time, it’s wights.
How This All Started
I’ve been reading quite a bit from the Atheist Republic and finding that I have a lot in common with those unbelievers. I’ve never pretended to be a devout religious fanatic, which is why when I’ve communicated with Tyr and some of the other gods, I’ve felt like, well, a poser. You see, I’d call myself agnostic in a heartbeat — except for that. Today I was feeling pretty ambivalent about the gods and was about to say something on a private Facebook group about it, and when I hit enter, the words vanished.
Poof.
None of my other posts had. Just those. Tried again. Poof.
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| The Wights’ opinion and a Doctor Who Reference |
I wrote “Okay, I was going to talk about my indecision about going back to atheism and the wights blew my words away. If they don’t behave themselves, I’ll threaten to call down Thor.”
I hit enter. The only thing that appeared was Okay.
I edited the post and began to wonder what the fuck was going on.
Do the Wights Really Listen?
Well, crap on toast. I don’t know what to think about that little interchange. As a friend put it when I bemoaned why Tyr would even venture to approach a near atheist, she said “he must like a challenge.” I guess that’s true. I don’t know why Tyr would consider me, but I have some suspicions. And I’ve been surprised at some of the allies he’s picked to help me. Maybe the wights are just part of that group of allies.
I kind of wonder since I did a salt ritual recently to clean out the bad wights if the good ones have stuck around and are trying to keep me heathen. You have to wonder when your computer only acts weirdly when you write about them or question your own heathenism. It doesn’t fuss when working on other more intensive projects. Just saying.
My Atheist Leanings
Some days I feel like maybe it’s all a delusion and I really need to accept that there are no gods. I think that maybe I’m just giving myself consolation by thinking there are entities greater than ourselves that can help us through life. Otherwise, life gets scary if we really think we’re on our own.
I can’t help but wonder if this was the rationality in looking for gods and wights. It’s a big scary world when we can’t depend on anyone but ourselves. That being said, I get weird shit happen when I question it. It’s like the gods set up those pesky wights to keep me in line.
I’ve still been losing critters, but not at the rate it has been. Of course, some of it is just plain bad luck. Some of it has to do with diseases. I think it is funny when I start writing about wights, they pay more attention. Maybe that’s the way heathenism works.