I am a Heathen; yes the religious group that was banished to the fires of hell by the Christian Bible. We were not only banished to the gates of hell, but we were slaughtered by Templar knights until the pagan religion itself almost died out as well.
I want to give you more background about my religion as heathen bashing is becoming more popular in some circles these days than hippie-bashing was during the '70s. There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about us, but I will not go into detail about the gods as this will take all day.
During earlier years while the National Party/Dutch Reformed Church coalition was at full force every person belonging to any form of traditionally European polytheistic religion was accused of being a Satanist. The fact that they did not even believe in an entity called Satan or the concept of “the devil” did not matter to them. To them any person not ascribing to the Christian faith was a Satanist and thus to be removed from society. This not only led to being labelled as an outcast but could also result in a prison sentence.
I was brought up in a strict Calvinistic environment and being labelled a Satanist was the worst condemnation anyone could receive. This left an impression on me throughout my childhood especially as I never felt that Christianity was the right religion for me. I never was a rebellious child or even teenager but somehow I felt as if I had committed a sin worse than murder for not feeling at home with Christianity. I experimented by visiting different denominations of the church but I never found the fulfilment that I longed for. After that I went through different stages from being Agnostic to being an Atheist.
This is when I discovered Germanic Heathenism, or Asatru, and what previously seemed to be Satanic now made complete sense to me. We pray to the Gods of the Aesir and the Vanir. The stories of their lives are recorded in the Sagas of the Eddas. Each God has His/Her own place in my religion with each complementing the other’s traits whether it be good or bad. The Gods do not decide your fate but they steer you throughout your life. Responsibility is not taken away from the individual but rather it is up to him/her to decide which Gods to honour most, to learn from their characteristics, good and bad.
It is also not a static religion where you only honour a select few Gods but to honour the Gods that is of relevance to you current situation, with the only exception of Odin who is the Allfather and is most important of the Gods. You get to learn about their personalities, their strengths and their weaknesses, and to recognise them within yourself. You cherish the good and you try to overcome your weaknesses. It is built upon respect for your kinsman, nature and your heritage. Self-reliance is an important factor and Family is the centre of the religion.
Even though the oldest God Wotan (Odin or Woden) possessed the knowledge of magic I find no feeling of affiliation to any group practicing it. The rituals and spells of this magic went lost through time and any group with the exception of Seidr who practices magic, especially if it is spelled with a “K”, could not be taken seriously. Real heathens also don’t wear black clothing with a pentagram around the neck, that portion of society should rather use the term Goth, individuals without any sense of self or direction in life. We also do not wear robes as that belong at the renaissance fair, we dress and look like ordinary people and are indistinguishable from your average Christian. We do not sacrifice humans or animals to the Gods nor do we get involved in sex orgies as part of religious practice or dance in circles naked under the full moon.
I honour the Gods at the Blot with a feast and drink and during Heathen festivals. The most important is Jul from 20 to 31 December. The god Baldur was reborn at this time but it also signified the beginning of light (Longer days) and the end of the dark (Longest night). During this festival, the Wild Hunt is at its peak and the dead roam the earth in the dark. The god Wotan (Odin) is the leader of this Wild Ride; charging across the sky on his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. In ancient times, Germanic children would leave their boots out by the hearth on Solstice Eve, filled with hay and sugar, for Sleipnir's journey. In return, Wotan would leave them a gift for their kindness. In modern times, Sleipnir was changed to a reindeer and the grey-bearded Wotan became the kindly Santa Claus.
The second most important is the festival of Walpurgis, a night both of revelry and darkness. The nine nights of April 22 to April 30 are venerated in remembrance of Wotan’s self-sacrifice upon the World Tree Yggdrasil. It was on the ninth night that he ritually died for an instant. At that moment, all the Light is extinguished while utter Chaos reigns. At midnight, the Light returns in dazzling brilliance. On Walpurgisnacht, the dead have full sway upon the earth; it is the ending night of the Wild Hunt. This later became modern day Easter. Both these festivals are examples of how heathenism was assimilated into Christian culture and religion in an attempt to make it more attractive to Heathens.
This was the main reason that I left Christianity as I saw how it adapted over time to stay with the times. What was the reason for its survival over the ages is also what made me realise that it was a religion without substance - if only in my opinion. Actions or principles could be considered as sin the one day yet be allowed the next, take for example gay marriages. If this is the case, and it is, what will remain of any religion in the end? It will be reduced to a politically correct cult with no moral principles.
No thanks. I no longer want to be part of a religion where the followers visit church on Sundays only to continue to commit sin on a daily basis. It seems as if it is okay to cheat on your spouse and in business, to discriminate, lie and manipulate others to your own benefit. As long as you visit church on Sunday you know that your God was sacrificed for your sins.
This in essence is what is wrong with the world today; you can do as you please as there is always someone else to blame and if all else fails you could just blame the devil. Forget materialism, cherish traditional values and take responsibility for your own actions. Do not try to keep on defy the rules and guidelines as set by your ancestors as it was there for a reason...
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