THIS ARTICLE WILL BE UPDATED REGULARLY

WHY DO WE CALL IT ODINISM?

Odinism, By Any Other Name…
by
Victor Ordell L. Kasen

Version 2.1

Special thanks must be given to Heimgest, Director of the Odinic Rite. This is given freely, openly and honestly for his words have been of great influence in this writing (especially 'Interview With A Gothi, (published by Irmain')). This short article is based on his words in an “Interview with a Gothi”, a book published by Irmin available from the Odinic Rite of which I cannot recommend highly enough. Heimgest, as well as the Odinic Rite, have been and are continuing to be a great influence and inspiration in my life - both spiritually and mentally.

Odinism is the term of which we Odinists use today to identify our spirituality, our religion, our way of being and our outlook on life in all its guises. Although the term I use is Odinism, it is not exclusive as a name for our spirituality (as you will see below) but in regard to the information below it all really depends on your connection with that or any otherparticular term and with this short article I hope to give a good, precise, clear and practical understanding as to why Odinism is the most predominent term used today.

Our Germanic heathen ancestors, before the tyranny of Christianity came to our shores, had no name for their faith as there was no real reason to have one. During this time of light they had no real need to differentiate between themselves and others in this way as no other faith was practiced in their lands. There religion was natural and organic, It incorporated every single aspect of their lives – birth, life, death and rebirth; past, present and future, the being of the physical, divine and intellectual - It sprang purely and directly from their very folk-soul as a people.

However, with the oncoming plague of Christianity and the influx of non-Europeans into Northern Europe since the mid 1900's, bringing with them a multitude of diverse faiths, we now find ourselves as they did then, having to make a distinction between them and having to discern our own spirituality by name.

The appellation of Odinism as an overall reference for our religion is chosen as this is what the earliest innovators* of our faith called it and is also in honour of them but we use this term for yet another more practical reason…

The majority of our folk have at least heard of the Germanic heathen God Odin (the chief God of our faith, the Allfather) and in one way or another can identify with him and what his name is connected to – although this can, depending on their knowledge, be positive or even negative. Taking his widely known name into consideration then, it is easy to see why this name was and still is chosen predominantly over the other more obscure names such as Asatru and Irminism, for example.

Asatru is the next most commonly used term as opposed to Odinism but it is limited in that it really doesn't mean "belief in the Gods" in old Icelandic as many would like it to believe but in actual fact it really only means belief in the Aesir (one side of the two families of Germanic Gods and Godesses of Odinism).

The term Odinism, then, is a central axis for the one whom hears or reads it. It is a starting point for the interested but unenlightened and shows that it is far from a “new-age” faith but an historical one steeped in the mists of time.

I am sure that you have heard of at least two of the following: Shintoism, Buddism, Taoism, Darwinism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Confucianism, etc. What they have in common is the fact that they are named after the principal deity or founder of the faith and as I am sure you know, this is not uncommon or unheard of, thus being one of the reasons Odinism is named as it is. Many of the other names given to our faith are not as straight forward and simple – they are often confusing and/or unheard of far more than the term Odinism. Just ask a couple of people you meet in your day which they have heard of – Asatru, Odinism, or Irminism for example and I am sure that 9 times out of ten they will at least of heard of Odinism or could speculate as to what it would really mean.

Using the term Odinism however certainly does not imply that our religion is Monotheistic or us Odinists Monotheists (belief in one all poweful God - in this case Odin, father ofthe Gods), for our religion has many and varied Gods and Goddesses. In every sense our spirituality is Polytheistic and we as Polytheists honour all of the Gods and Goddesses of the Aesir and Vanir of Odinism (the two families of Gods and Goddesses)

Odinism is not the only name given to our religion as stated above but it is the most commonly used wherever our people lay their feet. Practitioners may choose to use a more personal name of certain deities - Odin for example is also known as Woden, Wotan, and Wodan amongst others. This is done for the reasons given above and out of respect for the ‘chief' God but by no means on him.

The term ‘Odinism' is easy to understand and straightforward. As Heimgest states: “It is simple, it is sensible, it is concise.“

Hail Odinism
Hail Heimgest
Hail the Odinic Rite

PLEASE see also 'Interview With A Gothi - Heimgest, DCG-OR Speaks' as mentioned in an interview with Heimgest. This is also available from the Odinic Rite HERE.

*From Wikipedia below: Odinism

Coined by Orestes Augustus Brownson in 1848 , in A revival of Odinism, or the old Scandinavian heathenism , and re-introduced in the late 1930's by Alexander Rud Mills , 1960s with Else Christensen 's Odinist Fellowship , and early 1970's by the Odinic Rite , the term focuses on worship of Odin in particular, and in the narrow sense refers to the Odinic Rite society, but in a wider sense it is also used synonymously with Ásatrú or Heathen .

From Odinism in Australia:

In Australian (and British and US) law Odinism is described as "the continuation of ... the organic spiritual beliefs and religion of the indigenous peoples of northern Europe as embodied in the Edda and as they have found expression in the wisdom and in the historical experience of these peoples".

The word Odinism was first used in 1848 by the writer O. Brownson, who wrote of "A revival of Odinism, or the old Scandinavian heathenism".

Brownson was probably wrong to limit the geographical origin of Odinism to Scandinavia. Odinism is the ancestral religion of all the Germanic peoples prior to their forced, and only partially successful, conversion to Christianity. Odinism is the indigenous spirituality of many or most of the people living in what are now Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Austria, northern Italy and Spain. All of these regions (and others) were inhabited by Germanic tribes and groups, such as the Goths, Anglo-Saxons, Lombards, Franks, Visigoths, Rus, Vikings, and so on. In more recent times emigrants from these countries have also provided a large part of the population of many "New World" countries. Odinism is therefore also the spiritual heritage of most people in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. In many other countries the ancestors of a sizeable segment of the population were also Odinists. This applies to many South American states, to South Africa and Zimbabwe, and to much of Eastern Europe.

All people around the world whose ancestors were Odinists are known collectively as "the Nation of Odin".

Their is also an article on the Odinic Rite on Wikipedia