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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
High Fidelity
One of the NNV that is among the easiest for me
to forget (and as I've said, I don't memorize them, so they're all fairly
forgetful) is Fidelity. Interesting word, fidelity. It brings one of two ideas
to mind: a stereo or a spouse.
A stereo is called a "High Fidelity" or Hi-Fi because it faithfully reproduces the sound that was originally made. A couple have fidelity in their marriage if they are faithful to each other (I know my examples are weird when I have a stereo reproducing and a couple not reproducing). So the root of fidelity is faithfulness. Some versions of the Nine Noble Virtues list it as loyalty, which is close enough, but isn't as much fun to say.
As Asatru, we are by definition faithful to the Aesir. They have our loyalty, above and beyond all other gods or goddesses. There can be no division of that loyalty, just as a man cannot cheat on his wife and remain faithful to her at the same time. So if you're bloting to Shiva but worshipping the Aesir, I don't know what you are, but you ain't Asatru. Confused would probably be a good word. And yes, I've heard all the excuses such as "Odin TOLD me to blot to Shiva" or "I had a previous oath to Baron Samedi and I can't break that." Confused is still a good word.
Need another reason beyond "Asatru means being faithful to the Aesir?" We cannot mix and match gods and goddesses and remain Asatru because we can never know for certain how the Aesir feel about those other gods and goddesses. Freya may get along really well with Hera, and they may go out clubbing together. Or they may hate each other and be (im)mortal enemies and their every meeting might end up in a soap-operatic hair-pulling, rolling-on-the-floor slapfest. It would take a bigger fool than I to get caught in the middle of something like that.
Wow! What a great little side rant! Anyway, back to the ways of fidelity.
Aside from our faith to the gods, we must keep faith with one another, within our families, kindreds, and friendships. I must acknowledge that making friends with the enemy of a family member or friend is going to, sooner or later, cause me to be unfaithful to one of them. The High One tells us:
To his friend a man should be a friend
and to his friend's friend too;
but a friend no man should be
to the friend of his enemy.
(Havamal verse 43, Larrington translation)
This is approaching what I said from the backside, but it comes to the same thing. No friend of mine should be friends with me if I'm a friend of his enemy.
We must always remember, however, that unless we remain faithful to ourselves, we can have fidelity with no one and nothing else, and no one and nothing else can have fidelity with us. I cannot lie to myself about who I am and what I do and expect to have any type of honest relationship with anyone else. If you are not first Selftru, then you cannot be any other kind of Tru.
A stereo is called a "High Fidelity" or Hi-Fi because it faithfully reproduces the sound that was originally made. A couple have fidelity in their marriage if they are faithful to each other (I know my examples are weird when I have a stereo reproducing and a couple not reproducing). So the root of fidelity is faithfulness. Some versions of the Nine Noble Virtues list it as loyalty, which is close enough, but isn't as much fun to say.
As Asatru, we are by definition faithful to the Aesir. They have our loyalty, above and beyond all other gods or goddesses. There can be no division of that loyalty, just as a man cannot cheat on his wife and remain faithful to her at the same time. So if you're bloting to Shiva but worshipping the Aesir, I don't know what you are, but you ain't Asatru. Confused would probably be a good word. And yes, I've heard all the excuses such as "Odin TOLD me to blot to Shiva" or "I had a previous oath to Baron Samedi and I can't break that." Confused is still a good word.
Need another reason beyond "Asatru means being faithful to the Aesir?" We cannot mix and match gods and goddesses and remain Asatru because we can never know for certain how the Aesir feel about those other gods and goddesses. Freya may get along really well with Hera, and they may go out clubbing together. Or they may hate each other and be (im)mortal enemies and their every meeting might end up in a soap-operatic hair-pulling, rolling-on-the-floor slapfest. It would take a bigger fool than I to get caught in the middle of something like that.
Wow! What a great little side rant! Anyway, back to the ways of fidelity.
Aside from our faith to the gods, we must keep faith with one another, within our families, kindreds, and friendships. I must acknowledge that making friends with the enemy of a family member or friend is going to, sooner or later, cause me to be unfaithful to one of them. The High One tells us:
To his friend a man should be a friend
and to his friend's friend too;
but a friend no man should be
to the friend of his enemy.
(Havamal verse 43, Larrington translation)
This is approaching what I said from the backside, but it comes to the same thing. No friend of mine should be friends with me if I'm a friend of his enemy.
We must always remember, however, that unless we remain faithful to ourselves, we can have fidelity with no one and nothing else, and no one and nothing else can have fidelity with us. I cannot lie to myself about who I am and what I do and expect to have any type of honest relationship with anyone else. If you are not first Selftru, then you cannot be any other kind of Tru.
Posted: Sun - March 21, 2004 at 05:41 PM