How do I convert to Heathenism?
There is only one thing heathens agree on - “We are our deeds”.You do it. Simple as that. We don’t agree on what “it” is, but at least we agree that you just do it.By the way, there is neither requirement nor expectation that you believe. That also comes out of “We are our deeds”. It’s quite okay to believe. A lot of us believe. It’s just not required.You don’t have to be modern or ancient, mainland or Iceland, reconstructionist of modernist. We have all of those and more and they are all our heathen folk.A word for our religion had to come from somewhere because that’s how the rules in English for word adoption work. It was picked to go with Icelandic roots. Not a random choice but the reasons are accidents of history. Asa- for the deities in general and our pantheon in specific, Tru- meaning both “belief in” and “loyal to”.So the word Asatru means “religion”. You can’t call your religion “religion” but you can pick a word meaning that from an ancient language and use that. So that’s what we did.The word Asatru is also a pun. It means religion, but it also means loyalty to the Aesir, Vanir and allied spirits.We’re not exclusive but we do expect you to put our pantheon first. I follow the tribe of Odin. I mostly walk with Thor. Somehow I ended up fond of Athena and Ganesha though I don’t pay those two much attention. I’m one of the believers but I will repeat that among us belief is not a requirement. We judge by seeing if you act loyal to the Aesir, Vanir and allied spirits.
What is a heathen?
What is a heathen?“Heathen” is an idea that was invented for use in certain religions to demonize people outside the given religion to which the users of the word belonged to.Ever since the word was invented it has been used consistently in the ideological warfare that has been waged to spread certain religions.It asserts that “others” who do not follow the given religion are somehow inferior or lesser and need to be converted. Often violence and warfare can be construed as being “necessary evil” to “save” those people who refuse to identify as followers of a certain religion and in stricter cases fail to follow the religious rules of that religion.It is a part of a broader concept of “militarized ideologies”, where ideologies develop militant and aggressive ideas that are the abstract by which the ideology wages war against other alternate views for dominant position in human minds.In this answer religions are just considered a type of ideology and ideologies and religions can often be interchangeable though I personally consider religions as a subtype of ideologies.For instance in Christian and Muslim worlds the respective religions controlled and infiltrated themselves to every aspect of life from birth to education to economy, sex, military, politics and death.Europe fought devastating religious wars and slowly the tight reins that Christianity had over people’s minds subsided after centuries of relentless mind control over the populations of an entire subcontinent.
What should I do to become an Asatru?
There exist religions were you can say you are a member and you are. We are not one of those religions. We don't have any central authority but even between heathens who disagree on the most, we agree on that.We are our deeds. Unlike Christianity we don't mandate belief. In Houston there's a kindred entirely of atheists. They act heathen so they are Asatru.Read books. Asatru has been called the religion with homework.Make sure it's for you. Asatru has been called the religion of joy.Seek groups. While there are plenty of solitary heathens, you remain shallow and a newbie forever until you have group practice. This often means recruit your own locals as we are thin on the ground. For many this means travel to a remote annual campout event.Be selective about organizations. We have fundies who bring their politics with them. Avoid right and left extremists and any organization that tolerates them.Think global, act local. So do select and become a member of one of the organizations. Then proceed to have low expectations because of our small numbers and recruit locally.Relax. Have a homebrew. It's a fun heathen hobby. Share a mug of coffee with Thor. Even if you think he's a character in stories.Utterly reject any concept of literalism in our stories. Thor did NOT go fishing. The story teaches by symbolism.
Can you become a nun after a full life of heathen behavior?
I'm no longer a Catholic, nor do I know much in the way of specifics regarding religious orders.I suspect the fact that you had led a previous life of sin would not be a problem so long as your conversion was genuine. Augustine was made a bishop not too long after laying aside his worldly lifestyle.But if I were in charge of the abbey my concern -- if you were advanced in age -- would be that you weren't really sincere, but were just seeking a loving environment in which to spend your final years.
(HEATHENS ONLY!) Advice on becoming a priest?
answer: two separate ways to go about ordination. Some states will accept the on-line ordinations, some do not. The Troth offer a clergy program that is recognized as legal clergy throughout the states - it can take a year or more (depending on your level of learning going in). It's a good program but some feel too academic oriented. The AFA also offer a clergy program but many don't wish to associate with them, especially to be ordained by them (the claims that their racism and homophobia have toned down over the years is questioned by many - many believe that's just gone more underground. I'm with that opinion, I know several of them in the higher ranks. I'm not anti-Folkish, I'm anti-intolerance). As for forming a kindred: be very clear on your focus. Do you want to have a study Kindred - studying the lore, runes, seidhr, etc. Do you want to be a teaching Kindred, you and a couple of elders teaching newbies to the path? Do you want to focus on forming a family - celebrating the holy days, getting together for some fun activity at least once or twice a month and going on outings? Do you want to have a Kindred that will be very active in the surrounding Asatru community? A combination of all of the above? If you're going for a combo, first settle on where your main focus will be. If you aren't clear, you could have people that are somewhat lackluster and are expecting you to lead them around by the nose and shove them uphill to get things done. That can cause burnout very quickly. Also, be VERY clear on hierarchy - who is the leader, how are things decided, how does one become recognized as an elder in your group, what are you looking for in an elder? Some DECADES experience talking there, my friend. Hope that helps. I'm starring for Heathen contacts.
Origin of the word 'heathen'?
The Word Heathen was not used in Biblical times, it was, in it's modern use, invinted in the early eleventh centery. "In the early eleventh century, King Cnut defined heathenism in his law code: And we earnestly forbid every heathenism: heathenism is that men worship idols; that is, they worship heathen gods, and the sun or the moon, fire or rivers, waterwells or stones, or forest tree of any kind; or love witchcraft, or promote deathwork in any wise; or by sacrifice, or by divination; or perform anything pertaining to such illusions. (Translation from Tony Linsell's Anglo-Saxon Mythology, Migration, and Magick.)" A form of heathen can be found in every Germanic language (for example: Icelandic heiðenn, German heiden, Gothic haithno). The word literally means "dweller on the heath." Amongst the Germanic pagans, it came to have connotations of "wild" as opposed to "domesticated" or "civilized" (Gothic haithiwisks, wild; Anglo-Saxon hæðen, a wild creature.)
Why are all my friends heathens?
Well the official dictionary describes heathens as :a person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those who do."my brother and I were raised, as my grandma puts it, as heathens"synonyms:pagan, infidel, idolater, idolatress; etca follower of a polytheistic religion; a pagan.synonyms:pagan, infidel, idolater, idolatress; etcinformal person regarded as lacking culture or moral principles."eat your chips, you little heathen!"synonyms:philistine, boor, oaf, ignoramus, lout, yahoo, vulgarian, plebeian; etcI think to answer why requires identifying which meaning of ‘heathen’ is being referred to.
Is the term Heathen derogatory?
Pagan comes from a Roman word meaning someone of the countryside. Heathen comes from a Saxon word meaning someone of the heath. It was used by Christians for a person that was a non-believer or a worshipper of nature. I personally never found it to be offensive when used to describe me. Why would anybody else find it so?