When Radical Christians Co-opt Religious Symbols
I read a really interesting piece in The Atlantic on how radical Christians (mostly rad-trad or radical-traditional Catholics) have co-opted the rosary as a tool of violence. I can’t help thinking about how the Nazis took our runes and Heathen symbols to use to promote their cause. There are some pretty scary parallels there.
What the Radical Christians Are Doing
Their latest fad is to drape rosaries over their semi-automatic rifles (usually AR-15s), take pictures of them, and posting them. It’s a not-so-subtle threat to those of us who don’t have their beliefs that they believe themselves warriors of their god. Nevermind that Jesus always preached peace. But why the fuck would they want to listen to that Jew anyway? (Assuming he even existed.) They’re a bunch of Nazis, anyway.
Why I Find this Objectionable
I have no problem with someone owning an AR-15 or some other semi-auto rifle. Their choice. I have no objections to people owning prayer beads or rosaries or whatever. Hel’s bells, back when I was Catholic, I prayed on those. I still own rosaries and other prayer beads inherited from my parents and in-laws. What I object to is the blatant and crass use of their religion and religious beliefs with the not-so-subtle underlying threat of violence.
It makes me want to go all Viking on them.
Radical Christians are Co-opting Sacred Symbols for Hate
I never thought in a million years that something like the rosary would be used for hate. But then, if there had been any true Heathens around the time of Nazi Germany, they probably would felt the same way on seeing the adoption of the sun wheel, Irminsul, runes, and our myths as being a reason for attacking and slaughtering millions. The similarities are staggering.
What’s more, it seems the more rad-trad the Christians are, the more alt-right they are. Or more appropriately, the more Nazi they are. And they are using holy symbols as a way of giving their cause validation in the eyes of their god. A god who is basically a Canaanite god that was adopted by the Hebrews and later by the Christians.
Make no mistake: radical Christians are dangerous. And the more dangerous they are, the more likely they’ll become embolden and go after people who aren’t like them. That includes minorities and people who don’t worship their god. People like us.
More Issues with Radical Christians
Case in point: radical Christians are also getting bolder when it comes to pagan gatherings. According to the Religious News Service, Christian groups are now harassing pagan festivals with bullhorns and preaching to try to deter generally peaceful pagan gatherings. And apparently law enforcement isn’t doing a lot to stop them. Imagine what would happen if a pagan group was to interrupt a Christian gathering? I guarantee they’d get arrested.
It’s truly as if the radical Christians want a violent confrontation so that the pagans end up looking bad. Because Christians would never resort to violence. <koff> For some reason the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and most of the witch trials spring to mind. Call me crazy.
Taking the High Ground
It feels odd to tell those of us whose ancestors were Vikings to not get into a brawl with these radical Christians, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do. We will not win this if we’re being shown as instigators in a fight. Even if we’re not the instigators, the fact we resorted to violence would come off as bad. Because the group that throws the first punch loses in this. The media will eat this up and we will look like the aggressors. Okay by you? You might have won the fight, but you lost the war in the court of public opinion. Look no further than Antifa. Hel’s Bells, they’re listed as a terrorist organization. Think about that a moment. Heathens aren’t terrorists, or shouldn’t be.
Time to Make Ourselves Heard
Even so, it’s time we make ourselves heard. The Christian extremists are bullies. They expect for us to back off every time. We can’t; otherwise, they win. But we can do this with less risk. Pagan festivals need better security and work with law enforcement beforehand to let them know we expect help if the Christians come to call. Get on the law enforcement’s good side, even if the individuals don’t agree with our beliefs. It’s hard to put fault in someone obeying the law.
What You Can Do
You are not helpless. As a Heathen, you know this. Maybe you shouldn’t go toe-to-toe in combat with these fuckers, but you can make a difference.
What about your day-to-day life? Can you write? Start blogging and tell people about Heathenism. How about a podcast? A newsletter? Get creative. Get the word out any way you can. Don’t want to use your name? A-Okay. Use a pseudonym — many Heathens and pagans do, myself included. Hel’s bells, I’ll even talk about your endeavor if you tell me about it and I like it.
Don’t have time? Support those who promote pagans and Heathens, or even just freedom of religion. Maybe it might be a donation to The Wild Hunt, one of the bloggers on Patheos, or a favorite YouTube person. If you’re feeling particularly generous, even donate to my Patreon account (link below), if you think I’m doing a decent enough job promoting Heathenry. I’m not intentionally shilling for myself, but rather giving you ideas how you can make a difference.
Vote for candidates who don’t promote Christianity over other religions. Donate to their campaign funds, if you can. Or if you can’t, try volunteering to help the candidate’s campaign out. You can make a difference.
Be Safe
I don’t need to quote the Havamal to remind you to be wary. These are troubling times and the Christian extremists are going to great lengths to push their agenda. We need to push back, but in a safe manner. Don’t risk your life or the lives of your loved ones, because we need every single Heathen voice to stand firm. Use pseudonyms. Take precautions. You can still work against the Christian extremists without risking lives, especially your own. Stay within the law. Tyr wants it that way.
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I read about 
I’ve gotten advice from Loki, often because Tyr didn’t have advice for me. Loki’s advice is…well…, not necessarily the best. Sometimes he’s made things worse. So, I don’t necessarily follow his advice. Because he’s a chaos god, you can expect your life to be interesting if he shows up.
I got this image from the Play Store, so you can see the type of runes, bindrunes, and other information they have there. They also allow you to create your own bindrunes with this app. Interesting? Yes. Lots of reference material in this. I’ll probably be looking at this app for a while. If you’re not handy with bindrunes, it has ready-made bindrunes for you. Free (with ads) or pay (without ads).
Although I despise the Runes being called Tarot, I found this little app to be quite useful. I think that anyone who is learning the runes will find this app handy, and it’s easier to bring on trips than your actual runes. (And if you don’t have runestones, that’s okay!)
I like this app. You can either go through the Havamal by sections, from front to back, or have the app pick out a stanza for today. A nice way to have the Havamal handy.
I thought this was an interesting app to try out. It has lessons and texts so that you can learn the basics of Old Norse and then build up your vocabulary with the challenges. A lot of it is dry, but you may find this app useful, especially when paired with videos on learning Old Norse.
I really can’t talk about good apps without telling you about Duolingo, if you haven’t used it yet. It is a language app that really is the best one out there in my not so humble opinion. Duolingo doesn’t have a lot when it comes to ancient languages, but if you want to learn German, Norwegian, Irish, or Gaelic, you’re in luck. I’ve been learning on Duolingo for two years in my spare time and it works. I love it. It has both paid and free learning. The paid gives you some perks and no ads.
Exhausted. You wouldn’t think that the summer solstice would cause me to become exhausted, but the reality is there’s too much to do now that summer is striding towards us. I can feel its touch, even though the relentless rains are turning everything into a lush, green carpet.
Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, and the daylight will give into night bit by bit after the solstice passes. The days will shorten again, but the hottest days are still to come. Sometime around July 1st, the rains will stop and the land will dry out. We won’t see much rain until September.
One pagan whose blog I’ve read said that summer solstice is a time to pause, because the crops have already been sown and the harvest isn’t until fall. Ah, but that is only part of the summer. Work isn’t done especially during summer. It’s a preparation for the cold nights ahead. Berries and edibles need foraging. Dairy animals need milking. Cheese needs to be made. Young animals need caring for.
I have pointed out quite a bit how 
I was reading 
But the post got me thinking about all the special things that happen day-to-day that we take for granted. Most of the time, we tend to use the words, “magical” to describe something special. Whether it’s a beautiful sunrise or sunset, a natural place, or some place out of the ordinary, we are quick to state there’s something “magical” about it. And while I’m not fond of the m-word, as many of my readers can tell you, I think it might be correct to use the term “magical” to describe that.
When I look at our world, it brings me all sorts of wonder. We’re special when it comes to our universe. Our universe had to have just the right laws for stars, galaxies, and life to form. A little too much gravity, or changes to the mathematical constants, and we wouldn’t exist. It’s kind of like our planet. We know life came about because certain factors came together to produce it.
The word “intelligent design” is a concept that the Christians use for belief in their creation stories. While I believe that the gods may have had a hand here and there tweaking our world, I believe that we evolved from lower forms of life. I don’t for a second believe that the gods came from the ice rime licked by a cow, unless somehow this is a metaphor for what actually happened. I don’t think Odin and his brothers fashioned humans from fallen logs, unless you think of it as some metaphor for evolution. We have so much garbage in our genetic code and many serious genetic issues that it certainly doesn’t suggest that anyone intelligent actually designed us.
As creatures of this world, we can’t help but look around us in wonder. Whether you see the glorious mountains, a stormy sea, a brilliant blue sky, or a meadow full of wildflowers, each are a gift for us to marvel at. Have you ever been somewhere that was so perfect in your mind that you couldn’t help but stand back in wonder? Maybe it was the feel of the breeze on your skin, the melody of the birds, the scent of wildflowers, or the stillness of the forest. That moment when you felt it: wasn’t it perfect? Yes, if you’ve felt it, you know what I’m talking about.
The leak that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v Wade has left me wondering where the America I grew up in has gone. I remember when the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the Roe v Wade case. I was just a kid at that time. The year after abortion became legal, I ended up going to a Catholic school where all I heard about was how evil abortion was.
Now that I am past the age of having children, I am not personally affected by the upcoming Supreme Court ruling, but I am terribly incensed. It will have profound affect on women in our society, and will throw us backward into the darker days when women were forced to carry to term or go to back alley doctors to get an abortion.
The whole right-to-life stance makes women into baby makers and not individuals. Think about that. If you believe the sole purpose of a woman is to be a baby incubator, then you’re an asshole and part of the problem.
when the fetus is viable. Still others believe it is when brain activity occurs. Nobody has the answer, assuming there are souls.
If you’re not pissed off that the Supreme Court has thrown out a woman’s right to choose, you’re part of the problem. Conservative states are poised to make abortion illegal, which will only allow those people who can afford to travel to a pro-choice state to have and abortion. The so-called pro-life states will ban abortions even in the case of incest, rape, and when the woman’s life is in danger. But given that Roe v Wade’s foundation was on privacy, you can bet other bans will go into effect, such as birth control, sexual preference, and gay marriage. Even witchcraft, magic, and paganism. Think about that.
As Heathens, we tend to celebrate the solstice rather than Beltane. The summer solstice marks the longest daylight hours, and the ongoing darkness. After the summer solstice, daylight starts waning. In the North, it can be very obvious. In the North, our ancestors tended to think in terms of Winter and Summer. The rest of it was simply transitional times, with special events marked, such as Harvest and 
I finally acquiesced to being old. Okay, maybe not that far, but I realize I need help. I can’t write as fast as I used to. That’s probably because of accidents I’ve had in my misspent youth, which means that I can’t really type that fast.
