The Norse Ways

I have heard it said that Asatru, and indeed many other variations on the Norse mythos, are a folkway and not a path, where a path was a route to a destination (such as in 'there are many paths up the mountain' - a tenet in many spiritualities) and a folkway was open ended and a means AND an end, rather than a means TO an end.

I found this intriguing and refreshing though I think it might be fair to say that, for some, it can be a path, functionally, as certain of that way seek the 'end' of an after-existence in Valhalla, via the warrior's ways.

I am very curious as to the thoughts of others on this.

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Permalink Reply by Thordis on October 25, 2009 at 11:47am: I'll preface my reply here by saying that I will post it to all three groups which I am a member of that this discussion was started on -smiles-.

Most people who consider Asatru to be a folkway also phrase finding Heathenry to be "coming home". Including myself. It is the destination, not the way to anything "else". Let us look at a consideration then of what "coming home" may mean.

Coming home can be likened to having found just the right place to live in. A house in a neighborhood which is just RIGHT for all of your needs. In other words a real home rather than merely a residence. So what do you do when you move into a home? You begin to explore the possibilities of living there.

You see where the furniture fits the best in each room. You decide who gets which bedroom. You decide what sort of landscaping will work best on the property. You work to maintain it, both financially and in keeping up with all the things a home needs in cleanliness, repairs and general upkeep. You also learn about the neighborhood, who is your closest neighbor and what they are like and form appropriate relationships with them. You get the utilities began and ensure a source of communication with the world ie electricity turned on, the phone and perhaps the internet and TV (cable or dish). Then you "settle in", discovering what it is like to live there with the unique qualities each home provides.

This brings to mind what is a Home as opposed to a mere residence. A home is somewhere that you intend to stay for the rest of your life. A legacy and inheritance that you can pass onto your children. A suitable and fitting dwelling place which you can't even begin to imagine moving away from, it feels that right to you and provides everything that you wish in a dwelling on this earth.

Now what do you NOT do in a new place you consider a "home"? You do NOT consider it to be a "stepping stone" up the residential ladder where you can in a few years "trade up" to what you really want or may need (whether it is family growth or job reassignment). It is where you should be not what you use to get where you should be. Thus, you do not start shopping around for something better when you start to feel financially in a position to do so.

In other words you have no need to find another "home" for you are already there and your focus is on living in that home, with improvements if necessary to its structure or situation over the years. Your focus is on maintaining and improving what you have instead of looking to see what else you can get. This is a homeowner's mentality instead of a mere resident's one and you recognize that it will mean making sure you can keep up the home both physically and financially. Thus responsibility and appreciation is fostered in this mindset.

Now as to the concept of "Valhalla" or in joining any other type of Hall of the Gods (yes there are more choices and destinations then the one hall after all the number of warriors who die in battle are rather slim compared to the general population).

The concept of "halls of the gods" where one goes after death is problematic in a two-fold sense for Heathenry.

First of all it assumes a split of body and soul which is not consistant with the mindset of the ancestors. It also buys into the idea of an afterlife which is to be more appreciated and looked forward to than your current existence. It then is a death oriented viewpoint whereas our Heathen ancestors (who wouldn't understand you using such a term btw, it simply was "the way" to them) had a life oriented mentality. Opposed to this is the xtian (for example) mindset where something "better" waits on the "other side" which admission to can be used as a kind of reward/punishment system for adhering to that belief system.

Our ancestors and those who profess theirself to be Heathens now have a "life is good", the world is a good place, being here in this physical reality is a good thing mentality and it is that which our focus should be on, not on earning enough brownie points to get into some afterlife "party". We do not need some kind of lure in order to adhere to the ways of a Heathen mindset and thus are encouraged to make our life here and now the best it can be and to, by right actions seek this goal.

This attitude would thus foster a more responsible outlook on the world in general and in how we interact with it and with the other beings who share it with us rather than figuring that no matter how much we trash this planet and disregard other creatures on it that all we have to do is to pick a fight and be on the "losing end" of it some day in order to have a place in an alternative version of the xtian heaven. The last part is akin to right before your last breath being able to "repent your sins" and you will go to a better place. That is totally foreign to the Heathen mindset.

The concept of living in Valhalla and other "halls" after death is a very late addition to the Lore (including both the usual eddas and sagas, plus folklore and archaeology). Historically, in pre-conversion times, you find the belief of going into the burial mound and existing there to lend luck to the family and community after death where you join your ancestors. Your "immortality" is within the memories of your descendants and community. The longer you are remembered, the longer some part of you "exists".

You have to remember that even the Gods of the Norse pantheon are not immortal, thus how much less so would be your average human and that immortality in any form was not the goal, but right living while here on Midgard. Too, the fact that ALL of the extant Lore in written form comes to us well after conversion and is penned by xtian authors who may or may not have been faithful or accurate to what really was believed and taught plus a number of things are almost blatantly xtian and classical (read roman/greek) influence and not something which would fit in with the knowledge base we now have about what the Germanic peoples did or believed.. well you can see the problem right there. The concept of Valhalla is one of those foreign influences by most scholarly standards today.

I hope this helps in your quest.

In Frith
Thordis; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by zool on October 26, 2009 at 10:09am: its a way of life, it also includes faith. confuse it with empty rituals, then youre nothing but a tourist.; ▶ Reply to This