Vidar's Gothi

In a recent social media group post, someone asked about a core set of beliefs in Asatru or Heathenry. They stated their experience of many different groups with different words, names, and practices and wondered if there really was anything that tied us all together. Many of the responses addressed individual but specific differences. Others worried about how a core might exclude people who had differences. When it comes down to it, the differences are not very great, and here's why.

It's good to see that there are plenty of new books introducing our religion to the general populace. The more we are known, the easier it is for others to accept us without freaking out. I picked up such a book at my local shop. The title is Norse Myths & Tales and it is copyrighted 2017 from Flame Tree Publishing (ISBN: 9781786646552).

Yule has come up once again. Sorry there wasn't an earlier post for the holiday; but the technical issues that prevented posting have been resolved. The important thing now, though, is the celebration of the Yule holiday.

A Time for Celebrating

In earlier days, the passing of the Winter Solstice meant that you had made it through a good bit of the winter and that spring would be on the way. The days would get longer, and warmer. For people who had to plan ahead really well just to survive the winter, that was a big deal.

The Eddas tell us that in the Last Big Battle, the leader of the fire giants, Surt, will cast his firebrand across the sky and it will cause all the worlds to burn. Rising waters will eventually quench the fires and the surviving humans will emerge from their caves to start rebuilding in the Middle Garden. During the Cold War, we had a clear idea of what this was likely to be, but the idea went away for a while. It could be back.

I went to the quiet place and, while seeking guidance, was shown an image of a place from my teen years. I had the feeling that someone in the Asatru community would find the information useful and that I was to write about it. It's all about housing and community.

In my teen years, I lived in Arkansas. There was a group of people who lived on land a few miles away. The locals called these people Gypsies, but I was never sure of who they really were. When I first noticed them, they all lived in campers except for one family that had a mobile home.

Over the years, one question has come up repeatedly. It may have been in conversation with other Heathens or maybe while talking to an interested outsider. In the big picture, it is a really good question. If our Gods are the real Gods, then why are there so many monotheists?
To answer this question, you have to approach from several directions at once. It is made more difficult by the fact that the cultural framing of the question is often influenced by those same monotheistic religions. That doesn't mean there isn't an answer, so here we go.
First, a little history…

The news has many stories where people argue about tolerance and what it means for themselves and their culture. In many of these debates, it seems that the folks involved are missing some of the definition of tolerance or are trying to change the meaning to fit their agenda. We cannot allow such things to get in our way as we go about our Asatru lives.

It is important to note that just tolerating someone does not mean that you agree with them. Instead, tolerance is about how you treat someone with whom you disagree. This shows very clearly in matters of religion.

I often go to the Quiet Place and commune with Vidar Leathershod. He gives me glimpses into things that are happening or are going to happen. Some of the images take some interpretation and others are very clear. For the past several months, the images have been brief but clear. The Gods are busy.

At first glance, there would seem to be many differences between Christianity and Asatru, but many of these are superficial. At the heart of the matter are a few core, fundamental differences in how we view people and what makes them special. Fortunately, these differences are easy to explain. Unfortunately, the differences are hard to argue in a religious debate.

For the last month or a little more, my main work with this site has been cleaning up the damage from an onslaught of attackers from the outside. Sitting in the dim light of my home office and listening to the thunder outside, it occurred to me that this is what a modern battle between sorcerers would look like.