June 28th, 2003 marked the day of my “official” conversion to Heathenism (née Ásatrú).  Why I can recount such a specific date is a story unto itself and one I’ll delve into in another post.  For the purposes of this post though, suffice to say, I have been a Heathen a relatively long time now.  Longer in fact than my time spent calling myself a Christian, but again, that’s another story.

In short, one of the things that initially drew me to Heathenism was the ethos and world view.  I’m not naturally someone who is particularly sensitive or attuned to otherworldly things.  While I love reading mythology, folklore, and stories of the supernatural, in practice, I’m a fairly empirical, science and reason-based sort of person.  Based on my understanding of terms and conversations with professors of philosophy, I’m something of an agnostic in the traditional sense according to Thomas Huxley:  “It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that which he has no scientific grounds for professing to know or believe.”

(Yes, I know it’s a Wikipedia link.  I’ve read further, but this will give you a decent starting point from which to do your own reading, if you haven’t done it already.)

I could certainly accept the existence of the divine, given the appropriate level of evidence.  What would constitute an appropriate, convincing level of evidence?  I’ve given that a lot of thought, but have yet to determine the criteria.  Should I figure it out though, I will definitely post about it.

Ergo, since I’ve yet to encounter convincing evidence for the divine, have yet to encounter or determine any logical necessity for its existence, and finally, feel very little on an anecdotal, spiritual level, I’m not holding out much hope for such a thing.  Nothing is impossible, only highly improbable.  God/s included.

That was the abridged set up for the following statement:  as an agnostic, I was initially, primarily attracted to the world views and ethos which Heathenism presented.  Those were what of the most importance and value to me.  The divine is unknown and uncertain.  All that is known and certain — on a good day! — are our deeds in this world.

As stated earlier though, I’ve been a Heathen/Ásatrúar for a reasonably long time now, and my initial understanding of Heathen values and virtues has deepened, matured, and grown less certain.  In the words of Oscar Wilde, “I’m not young enough to know everything.”  Heathenry, in all its names and incarnations, also continues to evolve, fracture, mature, and devolve.  When I initially converted in the early 2000s, it was nearly expected that you should be able to recite the 9 Noble Virtues and the prayer from The 13th Warrior.  (I’m only half joking.)  And as someone who converted during his time serving in the military, that ethos was completely appropriate and fitting to my environment and mindset.

Fifteen years later though, as a civilian and an academic, I find myself searching for something more robust and appropriate to this new world and point in my life.  There is certainly nothing wrong with the 9 Noble Virtues as I’ve seen them listed, but they are sparse on their own.  Also, I’ve reached a place where godfolk, chieftains, and the guidance of others does not satisfy everything I need.  It has been stated that the tribe is the smallest unit of Heathen society, and while that is quite possibly true, the individual that lacks, and can not find what is needed from the tribe, that individual has an obligation to fare forth and seek out that which he or she lacks.  Without that which is lacked, the individual can not properly benefit the tribe.

Thus, I start here.  This blog seems as good a place as any.

I have no interest or expectation to change minds or affect Heathen thought.  If Heathens happen upon this blog and benefit from it, fantastic, but the point of these posts will simply be to straighten out my own thinking.  I welcome input, but feel under no obligation to humor trolls.  If you want to post your thoughts, start your own blog.

That being said, this may have come from a Christian theologian, but it resonates with me, and I see nothing about it beyond the name of the deity which is incompatible with Heathenry:

“If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.” — Francis of Assisi

In my opinion, this could be slightly reworded and fit into the list of warnings from the Hávamál.  In short, Don’t trust a man who kicks his dog, for he will kick you when he’s able and it suits him.  There is certainly more to the statement which could be addressed, but I will start here and build from this.