On Community

I have perhaps been erroneous in the use of the phrase "the Heathen community".  It is actually not one community, but several communities with overlap and cross-pollination.  Actually, it is more of a demographic, and the only thing many Heathens can say they have in common is reverence of the Aesir and Vanir.

Currently, there are a lot of fault lines in Heathenry.  The most major ones, worth noting, are:

-Folkish Vs. Universalist
On the one side, the Folkish feel only those with (primary) Northern European heritage can and should be Heathen; on the other side, there are those who feel anything goes, including Norse Wicca, dual- and multi-trad.  Usually (but not always) with Folkish Heathenry comes a high dose of homophobia and conservative "family values", whereas the Universalists may be more progressive, perhaps to a fault of being too tolerant.  (This fault line deliberately leaves out the tribalists who seem to be ignored by both Folkish and Universalists when debating on this subject.)

-Mysticism Vs. Pragmatism
There are some Heathens who are mystical and could not imagine a life without a direct line of communication with the Gods; on the other side there are many more who are skeptical at best, and see such practices (example: trance possession, personal gnosis, God-marriage, non-runic spellcraft, Otherworld journeying, etc) as unnecessary or non-Heathen at worst.

-Tradition Vs. Modernity
On one end of this spectrum we see groups that will do their entire rituals in an elder tongue and Blot livestock; on the other end we will see people participating in Heathen rituals on Second Life.  I personally have observed most people are somewhere in the middle of this fault line, with some who do things with more pomp and circumstance (dressing in ritual garb, doing most of the hallowing in an elder tongue, giving homebrewed mead or a feast), and some who are more down-home (as in The Ten Minute Miller Lite Bumble that I have observed many communities think is OK).

-Loki-Friendly Vs. Anti-Loki
There are some Heathens who readily embrace Loki as friend or even as Patron; there are some who will hail Him when Odin gets His due but mainly to keep Him at arm's length; many deplore any honor of Loki and Jotnar who would fall on "the wrong side" at Ragnarok (that is, if you believe Ragnarok is inevitable).


There have been attempts made over the years to unify Heathens, to try to put aside differences and build bridges of frith to strengthen the Heathen presence in the United States.  I will say, at the risk of being controversial, that I will not sell out my values and compromise at a false notion of "community" with people I find dishonorable to say the least, that is, those who would promote racism or look the other way, or treat Heathens like dirt for being too woo-woo for their liking.

For most of the seven years that I identified as a mainstream Heathen, I felt like I needed to "do things for Heathens and Heathenry", and this took me several places. 

In 2006 I joined a small but notable Heathen organization at the behest of a close friend of mine.  I wanted some kind of involvement in the Greater Asatru Community (TM) mainly because I wanted people to vouch for me if, worst case scenario, I was put in the looney bin (professionals I was seeing at the time did not approve of my religion, even without discussing woo-woo stuff).  But I also wanted a sense of community, a chance to do things with other Heathens and feel a part of Heathenry.  So, I mostly interacted with local/regional Heathens I knew.  My first sense that something was majorly afoul in the state of Heathenry was interacting with a larger-scale group of Heathens and casually mentioning to a few people that I am disabled.  The issue came up in the first place because at the time I was taking medication that cannot be used with alcohol, and a group I associated with made some interestingly offensive comments about the alcohol issue as well as the nature of my disabilities.  I had to explain, from there, that I bought cider to use in faining when I could afford it, which of course brought more offensive comments about "doing it wrong".  On the other hand, the people who would mock my disabilities would praise prison ministry in the same breath, so apparently convicted murders and wife-beaters have more worth to these particular Heathens, than the disabled.

Around this same time I started getting visited by Loki in dreams and meditative experiences. My initial reaction was "oh shit" and I remember thinking I was crazy and then telling Loki to go away because He was not supposed to come around. In fact I remember an initial conversation I had with a Heathen friend about this, along the "hey, does this happen to you, and what should I do about it?", he told me I was likely having hallucinations.  I discovered Raven Kaldera's writings about a month after I arrived here in Southern California, and little bells and whistles went off.  It made me extremely uncomfortable at first, as I had been programmed by my involvement within Asatru to think of this stuff as "not properly Heathen".  But it was also too true of myself and my situation to ignore, and then of course Loki was showing up again.

By the end of 2007, I had left an organization, been effectively banned from association with local/regional Heathens due to my more "controversial" associations both with Gods and people, and was still stubborn enough to want to keep calling myself Heathen, trying to find a way to build bridges of frith with people, somehow.  At the same time, I began to feel resentful that I had reached out again and again just to be rejected in some way.  Initially, I was rejected for being socially awkward, then for the limitations and circumstances of being disabled, then finally for being honest about my wyrd experiences.  I felt that I had tried my best to conform, to not be annoying, to live honorably, to worship the Gods correctly.  And even when I tried my best, my best efforts didn't matter.

The last stand came when my other half and I shut down the local Asatru Meetup that I had been co-organizing for a year, and him as main organizer for several years.  I was angry; angry that the Meetup turned into an anti-Wiccan bashing party rather than actual discussions of relevant Heathen topics, and often attended by Folkish.  I was angry, and decided for a time to completely leave the word Heathen out of my vocabulary.

In summer of 2008 I began to use the word Heathen again, but I am still wary of joining groups, or trying to network with others to "build community" or "strengthen community bonds". 

It took me about eight years to realize I was shoehorning myself into a specific acceptable way to present, to the point of internal discomfort, and still failing at it.  The outward appearance means nothing if inwardly, it does not match.  I have realized that the eight years were not a waste, as I have learned a few valuable lessons, that I would like to share with you (my readership) now... whether or not it applies to you, it's something to keep in mind.

1. Nobody has a copyright on the word Heathen.
As I mention in my article about why I don't identify as Asatru, I believe the word "Heathen" means "of the heath" and ergo, if you worship the Gods of that Northern heath... which yes, would include the Paleolithic/Neolithic Gods that look suspiciously like Jotnar... you can call yourself Heathen.  I think Heathen is a better word for the Northern way than "Pagan" because it is closer to our language.  That being said, the Heathens in Iceland have no problem calling themselves Pagan and we should not be looking down our noses at other Pagans which does in fact include Wiccans.

However, to me, Heathenry is a broad enough umbrella label to include people who are "doing it wrong" as far as I feel it should be, and those who would think I'm "doing it wrong", too.  See point 2:


2. Sharing Gods and even a religious label, does not a co-religionist make.

Myself, Folkish Joe, Anglo-Saxon Ed, and Tree-Hugging Militant Vegan Sally may all honor Frey as a primary Deity.  However, Folkish Joe, Anglo-Saxon Ed, and Tree-Hugging Militant Vegan Sally are all doing things differently, and perhaps in an irreconcilable way - but for different reasons.  I wouldn't hang out with Folkish Joe because he's racist; I wouldn't do ritual with Anglo-Saxon Ed unless he really wanted to because he would probably do things more Recon and not like my "Low Magick" format; I wouldn't be able to stand Tree-Hugging Militant Vegan Sally's personality (and this from a Hedgewitch, no less).  I suspect all three Frey devotees would share similar "not my kind of Heathen" sentiment towards me.  So, no harm done, unless of course you think everyone should be forced to compromise and get along.


3. Human nature will always trump any codified ethics presented by a religion.

There are plenty of Heathens I have met (not all) who will go on and on about the Nine Noble Virtues and maybe adhere to four and ignore five, and while it's not the Ten Commandments and we are not people of the Book and Thor's not going to come down and smite someone for not being industrious enough on a bad day, I find a lot of the current infighting in multiple groups and organizations to be typical of this problem.  By the same token, I've met many Neowiccans (not all) who feel that they can't ever curse anyone because violating "harm none" will cause the Law of Three to get them, but everything outside the circle is A-OK, including slander, trying to destroy relationships and families, and not being mindful of the impact of their selfish actions on others.

One of the biggest mistakes I have made in my 13 years as some kind of Pagan, is to think that because someone is Heathen or Pagan, they should "know better" and "do better", that they should be more ethical somehow.  The fact of the matter is, no matter how hard we strive to be noble and "better", most of us are going to fall short of a codified ethic.  My advice to people is to find out what is most important to them in terms of values, and live by their own personal code of conduct, trying their best rather than failing at pre-conceived notions of what honor and glory should look like.  Humans are animals; humans are glorified apes, more or less, and at the end of the day it's about eating, shitting, fucking, and sleeping.  We have reactions to fear, and a tendency to be territorial and jealous.  It is best, in my experience, to own up to our animal nature and cut oneself some slack, while still understanding it's not good to indulge in every whim to the detriment of one's kin.  There is no enlightenment for the Vanatruar to attain, only an appreciation for the natural world.  (Like my other writings on the Net, this advice is free, and whatever it's worth, or not, to you.)


4. Whether or not one can accurately call themselves a part of a community is highly dependent on the level of like-mindedness, trust, and working together.

Ergo, why my first sentence for this article mentioned that Heathenry is not a community, but a demographic that may have some communities.

Most Heathens think everyone should be active in their locale/region, or something is seriously wrong with them.  I have talked with at least one Heathen who feels it is impossible to be a "solitary Heathen".  As a Witch, most of my spiritual experience has been solitary, so I beg to differ.

I do understand that no man is an island.  That being said, referring back to point #1, having Heathens in the same town, county, or state does not mean you are compatible with them, or they with you, especially as certain areas of the country do have a certain culture and often Heathen subcultures form as a reaction to the dominant paradigm (e.g. the Folkish Asatruar in liberal New England; the Folkish Asatruar in ethnically-diverse no-race-as-majority Southern California).  While there are more general ways to be of worth to a community, such as providing information and other resources, it is still no substitute for actually interacting with others, and feeling a sense of camaraderie with them.

Iron Wood Kindred is not technically a Heathen group (we are a Northern Tradition group, more accurately), but I can say I had a great time at Etinmoot and I found more hospitality, acceptance, and good will from this group and associates than I did when I was a part of "mainstream Heathenry".  I find there was care taken in the rituals done at Etinmoot (including my own for Gerda) and it gives me food for thought for how to do a meaningful Vanatru practice at home.  Just because the membership may be scattered and many of us correspond most by phone and e-mail does not mean we are not a real community, that we are some "Internet Kindred".

The fact of the matter is, I see groups like IWK becoming the wave of the future.  There is no reason why I cannot fellowship with Like-Minded Norse Pagan X because they live in, say, the Netherlands, and I can only get out there once every 5 years.  There is no reason why I should have to force myself to get along with Heathen Curmudgeon Y in my hometown when being around them elevates my blood pressure.  Like-mind and irreconcilable differences aside, some people live out in rural areas and can't just get on the bus and go to the nearest pub moot.  Some are disabled and can't get out of the house much or can't drive.  Should they be cut off from discussing Heathenry with people, from caring contact with others, from enriching their spiritual lives?

We do not live in a tribal society anymore.  While I would agree with many (so-called) Recons that a large reason why our society is suffering is because we don't live in tribes anymore and can't necessarily trust our blood kin or our neighbors, I do think that barring some apocalyptic "Dies the Fire"-esque scenario, we are stuck in the modern world and have to adapt accordingly.  If people are supposedly invested in "their own Folk", there should be no reason to berate others not of that "innangarth" for doing things differently.  Besides which, I think there should be more schisms within Heathenry, not less.  More options for people who like a certain kind of spirituality.  After all, before the conversion era, we at least know that the elder Heathen did things differently from village to village, and often family to family.


(C) 2008 Sigrun Freyskona.