Just prior to leaving for Althing 17 (click here for report), I recieved the latest issue of The Runestone. While the AFA announced the publication of this issue on an earlier news update, I will add that this high quality magazine is a must for all serious Asatruar. Reinhold Clinton's Spear Against Tusk begins as many articles in the Asatru press have over the years, giving a historical overview of the hunt in Germanic religious practice. Of itself, this would be of value. But Reinhold goes beyond a review of facts, and recounts an evocative tale of the Wotan Kindred's boar hunt. Such is the true nature of our faith- it is more than a reenactment, it is a revival.It was suggested that I attempt to write an article, and the result, Roots and Branches, is in this issue. It arose from my longstanding doubt that the association of Wotan with Mercury in the Late Roman Empire was "right" in terms of the common Indo-European origins of the two pantheons. I engage in a review of the reconvergent syncretism.
The AFA Guild News section is always a favorite, giving some idea of the wide range of interests today's Asatruar pursue, and also how our faith is intertwined with so much beyond ritual alone.
Steve McNallen's review of the Book of Blotar follows in this issue. This is followed by news of Else Christensen, whose work with The Odinist Fellowship across many years has earned a debt of gratitude.
A report on the "Pre-Thing" held in June, with numerous photographs, gives a glimpse of our Nation, the embodiment of the living faith.
The AFA's recent ceremonies over the remains of the Kennewick Man were reported not only here, but in non-Asatru news sources throughout the country, including CNN. The Runestone devotes three pages to the background information about this landmark event.
Charles Spratling's Sif's Bounty is another example of how The Runestone focuses on Asatru not as a museum piece, but as a living faith. As the author notes, "Recognizing the importance of the harvest isn't just a quaint relic of the past. It's the pressing issue of the future." Our faith is tied to such natural processes of life, and this article is a stark reminder that we cannot fall prey to urban blindness toward the source of our sustenance.
The "Bits and Pieces" section is a rich mine of information nuggets. Reports on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the recently discovered boar-crested helmet, and much more.
Finally, "Moot Point" gives readers a chance to add their views and these are quite worthwhile as well.
To find out more, go to the AFA website at http://www.runestone.org
Hnikar
While at the Althing I was given my copy of Vor Tru #57. There are many fine Asatru publications, some exceptionally good like The Runestone, but I think all would admit that Managing Editor Valgard Murray and Associate Editors Michael Moynihan and Robert Ward have made Vor Tru the finest Asatru periodical produced in the world today. I own 2,000+ books and subscribe to a variety of publications, so I seldom reread anything. Vor Tru, however, I often reread again and again.This issue is no exception, packed with incisive and weighty articles, and packed with graphics in support of the text and with photographs.
It begins with the complete Asatru Alliance calendar of important dates and festivals, followed by the "Here and Now" section, which details the International Asatru/Odinic Alliance, the start of the Odinic Rite Vinland, the "Pre-Thing", a review of the Time magazine piece on the faith, a review of the Kennewick Man case, the tale of W.Hodding Carter's planned journey from the Old World to the New aboard a Viking ship, the astounding tale of the Cheddar Man's DNA match to a local resident 9,000 years later, and a number of other stories.
I always enjoy the monotheistic hypocrisy being exposed in "Star Crossed and Moonstruck"- such as the gun-toting priest who was nicknamed "Furniture" by the strippers in the club he frequented. Lots more in this section, too.
Valgard Murray's report on Althing 16 includes a great number of pictures, including 9 of Jason and Renee's wedding alone (that's me and Suzanne, by the way, in the background of the top left picture on page 13, all the way on the left). The glimpses these pictures provide of our living faith, combined with the text by Valgard, speak volumes.
Next an interview of Heimgest, the Director of the Court of Gothar of the Odinic Rite, conducted by Robert Ward and Robert Taylor. Heimgest is an eloquent spokesman for our gods, and this interview is an important glimpse at his thought.
Joshua Buckley's Wandering In The Light: Fidus' Long, Strange Trip, rich with detail of the life of the artist Fidus and replete with photographs and startlingly beautiful reproductions of his artwork, is another in "The Germanic Revival" series which has become the talk of the Asatru world.
Markus Wolff's The Irminsul: An Investigation into the Mysteries of the Germanic World Pillar is simply brilliant, and the wide array of graphics added to the text are equally so. This is a further example of the fine scholarly work being done by modern adherents of the ancestral gods.
Robert Taylor's report on the Odinic Rite Annual Moot which he attended in England, with delegates attending from around the world, tells of yet other expressions of our Nation.
"Letters to the Editor" follows, and then a poem, followed by reports from the Asatru Alliance's heart, its Kindreds.
One of the finest moves made by the editors of Vor Tru has been to reveal in each issue the cultural expressions of our faith, and related works in print. When someone wants to know what is going on in music of interest to Asatruar or, these days, what music is being made by Asatruar, they turn to the reviews in Vor Tru. Whether Norwegian black metal bands, or England's Sol Invictus (on the album reviewed, Heimgest DCG performs an invocation of rune names), or Amber Asylum's 7" vinyl of Irish folk songs, or reproductions of Viking Age music, you'll find it in Vor Tru. The book and periodical reviews are similarly rewarding to the Asatru reader. I've decided to get a copy of Aspects of Anglo Saxon Magic by Bill Griffiths on the basis of Michael Moynihan's review (Vor Tru even gives the information you'll need to get ahold of what they review).
As the entrants in the Althing 17 mead brewing contest revealed, the art has been revived. Annabel Lee's Brewer's Notes conclude this issue of Vor Tru, with an interview of Dave Logsdon of Wyeast Laboratories, which provides fermentation cultures for brewers throughout the world.
Future generations will still be reading these issues of Vor Tru, I think, both scholars and Asatruar, as repositories of wisdom and knowledge. For more information, go to http://www.jcave.com/~eagle
Hnikar
Added 10 September Second Mountain Kindred is offering Wisdom From The Edda (2nd revised printing) for $4.00 (P & H included). This is an authorized remake of the classic Odinist Fellowship booklet which offers selections from the Poetic Edda, much of it taken from the Havamal- with appropriate commentary on each topic. Profits will support the work of the Odinist Prison Project. Orders may be placed with:
Second Mountain Kindred P.O.Box 6088 Harrisburg, PA 17112-0088Makes checks/ money orders payable to: W.H.N. Order inquiries can be made at: [email protected] .
Added 10 September The Odinist Prison Project will continue operating on a limited basis for the benfit of Odinist/Asatru prisoners' religious rights. Current cases will be continued as resources become available. At this time, no new cases are being considered due to understaffing. Applications are being accepted for volunteer Staff positions which may eventually become salaried positions. Interested parties should send a standard resume and cover letter to:
Odinist Prison Project P.O.Box 6088 Harrisburg, PA 17112-0088
Added 19 September Folkish Asatru has been getting alot of very positive press as of late, primarily due to Kennewick Man. The most recent being articles in The Washington Post and the popular French daily Le Figaro. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any active links to either newspaper to view the articles, so I figured you would like to see pictures from the Tri-City Herald (click here to view pictures).
Ragnar
Added 29 September 1997 Here is a link to the Washington Post article that Ragnar mentioned. The Asatru Folk Assembly has succeeded in bringing our Faith into the consciousness of many of our Folk who had not known adherents of the ancestral faith still honor the ancestral gods, receiving extensive and positive coverage in dozens of newspapers worldwide, on nationally syndicated radio programs, and on various television stations, including CNN. It is good that the AFA gave the nay-saying universalists all the consideration they warranted- none! Hail the Asatru Folk Assembly!
Hnikar The Washington Post on the AFA and the Kennewick Man
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