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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
With All Due Seriousness
A lot of times most Asatru are characterized as
exclusive and not open to new ideas. In some ways, that's very true. There's
a level of seriousness and tradition present in Asatru which is missing in many
other "pagan" religions.
One of the things we work towards is being taken seriously, as a valid lifestyle option (most feel that Asatru is as much a way of life as a religion; hence the use of the term lifestyle). Most of us feel this means we have to be selective. Does that alienate us sometimes? Yep.
I recently saw a discussion in which someone with a decidedly wiccan flavor was accusing an Asatruar of being scared. Her argument was that we are all afraid that the gods will like the idea of hanging out with nubile young wiccan females "bearing cakes" better than a bunch of warrior-types with mead. Firstly, I haven't actually met that many nubile young wiccans. I've met some sexy ones, but for the most part they're not nubile. Secondly, it's rather sad that such an open-minded wiccan lass would resort to stereotypes -- all wiccans aren't female, and all 'truar aren't male. Finally, we have something that SUPPORTS our beliefs: the Lore.
Through the Eddas and Sagas and various other works, we derive our basic understanding of how the Powers were worshipped and how our people lived. We have a foundation for our beliefs, and while many wiccans have gotten so far from their foundations (such as they are) that they derive no support whatsoever from them, we actively work to prevent that.
It's not always easy. Sometimes we as individuals believe something so strongly that we don't realize it's unsupported by the Lore, and assume that it is truth. Well, it may be and it may not be, and that's the tricky point. Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG) is fine, so long as it 1) isn't contradicted by the Lore, and 2) isn't pushed down the throat of anyone else as truth.
So exactly how is that different from wicca, if someone can believe something that's not supported? We have limits. We also don't automatically accept that someone else's UPG is a valid truth for them. For example, suppose I chose to believe that the tree Yggdrasil is actually a maypole (just to come up with the stupidest thing I can on the spur of the moment). Well, it's not. It's a tree. If I were a Wiccan and chose to share my revolutionary idea with other wiccans, many of them would simply agree that I had made a valid decision on what the tree means to me. Whatever that means. An Asatruar would hang me from a tree and whack me with a maypole until I knew the difference. (That was humor. The actual treatment would probably be much worse, only less physical)
We take our beliefs seriously, because our gods are not just aspects of universal forces or one god and one goddess. We don't subscribe to the Mount Fuji version of deityhood-- that there is only one big lump of deity and that every religion is just another equally valid way to look at it. Our gods are individuals, and we want their respect. We also want to be a religion that can earn the respect of society, and to be able to earn our own self-respect.
Yep, many of us took winding roads to get here, but we are proud of where we are now. For all the things that we may disagree about, we have a common goal and a common set of beliefs. Attack our castles of belief at your own peril.
Disclaimer: Not all wiccans are like that. I know a bunch of very sensible wiccans. Unfortunately, they are the minority.
One of the things we work towards is being taken seriously, as a valid lifestyle option (most feel that Asatru is as much a way of life as a religion; hence the use of the term lifestyle). Most of us feel this means we have to be selective. Does that alienate us sometimes? Yep.
I recently saw a discussion in which someone with a decidedly wiccan flavor was accusing an Asatruar of being scared. Her argument was that we are all afraid that the gods will like the idea of hanging out with nubile young wiccan females "bearing cakes" better than a bunch of warrior-types with mead. Firstly, I haven't actually met that many nubile young wiccans. I've met some sexy ones, but for the most part they're not nubile. Secondly, it's rather sad that such an open-minded wiccan lass would resort to stereotypes -- all wiccans aren't female, and all 'truar aren't male. Finally, we have something that SUPPORTS our beliefs: the Lore.
Through the Eddas and Sagas and various other works, we derive our basic understanding of how the Powers were worshipped and how our people lived. We have a foundation for our beliefs, and while many wiccans have gotten so far from their foundations (such as they are) that they derive no support whatsoever from them, we actively work to prevent that.
It's not always easy. Sometimes we as individuals believe something so strongly that we don't realize it's unsupported by the Lore, and assume that it is truth. Well, it may be and it may not be, and that's the tricky point. Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG) is fine, so long as it 1) isn't contradicted by the Lore, and 2) isn't pushed down the throat of anyone else as truth.
So exactly how is that different from wicca, if someone can believe something that's not supported? We have limits. We also don't automatically accept that someone else's UPG is a valid truth for them. For example, suppose I chose to believe that the tree Yggdrasil is actually a maypole (just to come up with the stupidest thing I can on the spur of the moment). Well, it's not. It's a tree. If I were a Wiccan and chose to share my revolutionary idea with other wiccans, many of them would simply agree that I had made a valid decision on what the tree means to me. Whatever that means. An Asatruar would hang me from a tree and whack me with a maypole until I knew the difference. (That was humor. The actual treatment would probably be much worse, only less physical)
We take our beliefs seriously, because our gods are not just aspects of universal forces or one god and one goddess. We don't subscribe to the Mount Fuji version of deityhood-- that there is only one big lump of deity and that every religion is just another equally valid way to look at it. Our gods are individuals, and we want their respect. We also want to be a religion that can earn the respect of society, and to be able to earn our own self-respect.
Yep, many of us took winding roads to get here, but we are proud of where we are now. For all the things that we may disagree about, we have a common goal and a common set of beliefs. Attack our castles of belief at your own peril.
Disclaimer: Not all wiccans are like that. I know a bunch of very sensible wiccans. Unfortunately, they are the minority.
Posted: Fri - March 26, 2004 at 03:10 AM