Have you heard the Silent One?
The First Conversation
Younger: I read about the Old Gods and They seem to make sense to me. How can I become a gothi?
Elder: That depends; what do you think a gothi is?
Younger: Isn't it like a priest or something? They lead ceremonies and things like that.
Elder: That's part of it. A gothi must also be an advisor to leaders, a counselor to the community, a teacher for those who would learn the religion, and many other things. The gothi sometimes acts as an intermediary to the Gods for those who do not have such skills themselves. Mostly, a gothi must be a scholar and a problem solver.
Younger: How can they fit all that onto a test to become a gothi?
Elder: A test? There is no test other than life. We do not have an official designation for our religious leaders like you find in other religions. We don't have a formal priesthood. There are some groups of kindreds that have formalized things just for their use, but there is no central Asatru authority for this.
Younger: Then how would anybody know that I'm a gothi?
Elder: A gothi is identified by the services they perform for their community. When other people trust you to do gothi things, you will be their gothi. There's not a badge or anything.
Younger: Oh, okay, that makes sense. It still sounds like a lot to learn. If there isn't a formal title, where do I start? How do I learn all of that?
Elder: You can never know everything, and you have to be okay with that. They call Asatru "the religion with homework" and that is a very true statement. Being a gothi is a path that you follow where you will be learning and researching for your entire life. As you learn, you will find that you can help other people more. You will gain greater experience and wisdom, hopefully.
Younger: If I learn all of that, then can I be a respected gothi?
Elder: Respect can come from that, if you are doing it to serve your community. The greater knowledge allows you to help members of your community. It can also give you a different understanding of the Worlds and how things work in them. If you are the sort to want it, the knowledge may even lead to power.
Younger: Those sound good, but you don't seem very enthused. Are there downsides to being a gothi?
Elder: The study takes a lot of time and effort, and even then you will never know enough. That can be frustrating. When you try to help people in your community, they may not like the advice you give. When you help one person, it may go against another person, resulting in an unintended enemy. Of course, all that knowledge will eventually make you a little strange and that can disrupt your social interaction.
Younger: I guess I hadn't thought about those things. There seems to be two sides to everything.
Elder: At least.
Younger: You've mentioned community a few times. That's like my kindred or small group, right?
Elder: Sometimes. Other times, the community can be all the Asatru people. It may mean all the other people in the Middle World, our World. It can encompass all the entities in the Nine Worlds. As a gothi, you have to see the big picture. The Wyrd connects us all and the acts you perform in one place can reverberate to the ends of the universe.
Younger: So if I start studying to be a gothi and I screw up, it can have major repercussions everywhere?
Elder: Sort of. You can screw up without studying and have the major repercussions. By studying, you reduce the chance of screwing up. The more you know, the less likely you are to do something horribly wrong.
Younger: I'm better off studying, then.
Elder: Aren't we all.
Younger: Okay, where do I start?
Elder: Here are some books to get you started.
- "Essential Asatru: Walking the Path of Norse Paganism" by Diana L. Paxson
- "Travels Through Middle Earth: The Path of a Saxon Pagan" by Alaric Albertsson
- "Myths of the Norsemen" by Helene A. Guerber
Important Points from the Conversation
- An Asatru gothi does many of the things that priests and ministers of other religions do, such as lead ceremonies and provide counseling
- There is not official designation of gothi in Asatru and there is no central authority that could grant such a designation
- A person wanting to be a gothi must study the religion as well as other subjects that help them perform their duties to their community
- A gothi will never know everything, so they must do the best they can with the knowledge and wisdom they do have
- A gothi's community includes every entity in the Nine Worlds, though they will probably interact with those who are more local to them