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Author: Tyra Ulfdottir

Is Thor Stupid?

Is Thor Stupid?

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It seems to me that there are two camps when it comes to Thor: those who think he’s at least average intelligence (for a god, whatever that is), and those who think he’s maybe not as dumb as a post, but would be challenged by one occasionally.  Since I picked on Thor last week, I’m going to test his good graces again and tackle his intellect.

All Brawn and No Brains

I suspect that thinking Thor is stupid is a relatively recent phenomena which has to do with our current stereotypes.  Although the stereotypes are changing, the common stereotype of the muscle man is the stupid jock. I think, rightly or wrongly, that stereotype has been crafted over the years.  Although science disagrees that people who are athletic are stupid, it’s still a stereotype that is perpetuated.  I did a quick look on the Internet in the quest for the search of why muscular people, particularly men, are considered stupid. I found a reference on that oh-so-accurate Wikipedia (that was sarcasm, for those not paying attention), and even a blog which mentions a study on it.

My Own Experience with Jocks

Growing up, I had the joy of dealing with bullies, and dealing with kids who were naturally better at sports. I had undiagnosed asthma which precluded me from doing well in physical activities when I was younger.  This was during a time when people thought asthma was “all in your head.”  It took years for me to admit I have it, and now that I do, life is much, much easier. But I digress.  Most of those kids were, well — not the brainiest — and those who were smart, tended to hide it for fear of being bullied.  To add to the stereotype, I grew up when nerdy guys in lab coats got people to the moon.

In college, I saw kids who got scholarships and were treated like gold because they were good in sports.  While not all the jocks were stupid, many were not the sharpest knives in the drawer, because they often were given a pass.  I went into the sciences, geek girl that I am.  So, the stupid jock was commonplace.

My junior and senior year, I worked out and trained in martial arts.  So, I got to know the weightlifters.  Many had been the kids everyone picked on when they were small; a good portion of them were introverts. So, they did the best thing they could think of: not become a target. Many of the people I knew in martial arts were smart.  Yes, there were the average and idiots in the group as well, but most I would categorize as being clever enough.

So, why the dichotomy?

When We Moved from Agrarian to Industrial

I think that the shift in emphasis started in the 18th century, but really didn’t take hold until the 19th century and early 20th century where people started separating themselves into white collar and blue collar (note: this is not a rich versus poor argument).  My parents looked down on those who didn’t have office jobs as being unable to be smart enough to attain those positions.  Never mind that many of the blue collar jobs paid better than white collar jobs.  I suspect that this attitude was fostered though the colleges and through those who were able to work pushing paper for a living.  I suspect that the GI Bill after WWII and emphasis into getting higher degrees also pushed more people into thinking that manual labor means you can’t hack an office job.

I’ve already mentioned the moonshots, which were a result of the cold war. In fact, I suspect that the emphasis going into science and other intellectual activities caused a bigger split, suggesting that you couldn’t be both strong and smart.  Sure, we had our Hollywood heroes, but they emphasized not  strength, per se, but beauty. Professional athletes were always admired, but they were never considered brilliant, except when it pertained to their performance

When Physical Prowess was Admired

It used to not be that way.  Prowess in sports suggested you were good on the battlefield. Being physically fit has paramount before firearms became prevalent. After all, whether you lived or died, whether your family would survive, and whether you had enough food was largely dependent on your fitness and skill as a hunter, warrior, and farmer.  Firearms replaced swords, pikes, maces, and knives, and armor went away.  No longer did you have to carry some 50 to 70 pounds of armor and weaponry.  While there were wars, most problems were resolved in torte.

Brains and brawn weren’t considered mutually exclusive.  Many warriors were considered clever and intelligent.

So, What About Thor?

I feel that Thor has gotten a bad rap, not because he’s stupid, but because he has likable characteristics that make him more…well, human. Somehow he loses Mjolnir, and has to go in drag to get it back.  He journeys with Loki to Jotunheim and yes, he is tricked by the Jotun’s magic, but then so is Loki.  Then, there’s the story how Thor tricks a dwarf who is about to marry his daughter in the Alvissmal where the gods promised Thor’s daughter while he was away. Tricking a dwarf to stay above ground after sunrise (and thus turned to stone) doesn’t suggest a stupid god.

My UPG Take on Thor

I am not an expert when it comes to Thor, but what little dealings I’ve had with him shows me a strong and compassionate champion.  Yes, he has a temper; yes, he is not beyond using his strength. But I have noticed that he is more likely to forgive if someone makes an error like Thjálfi did in breaking the bone of his goat and sucking out the marrow. As one of the gods who favors humanity, I can think of no better champion.

I don’t think Thor is stupid.  I think that because his strength is so great, we sometimes don’t take into account that Thor is smart too.  After all, he’s the son of Odin and Jord.  Would Odin have a stupid kid?  I don’t think so.

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How We Can Learn from Thor Losing Mjolnir

How We Can Learn from Thor Losing Mjolnir

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I’m staring at two half-finished blog posts and hating them.  I think it’s because even though I tend to write stuff that causes people to think about some heavy things, today I need a little levity.  And I think I’m not the only one that needs it in the Heathen community.

Taking Everything Too Seriously

I swear to the gods, people take everything way too seriously most of the time. Hel, our ancestors
didn’t always take everything seriously.  The stories about Loki and Thor are prime examples. Thor loses his hammer; Heimdall devises a plot for a cross-dressing Thor (after Loki found out Thrym the king of the Jotun wanted Freyja as his wife) to so he can get his hammer back. The story is fairly short, but I can imagine a bunch of drunk Northmen telling the embellished story and laughing. Then, there is the story of Loki’s and Thor’s journey to Jotunheim.  Oh yes, and the building of Asgard’s wall and Loki’s philandering with a stallion…

Our ancestors understood that levity was important, and not even the gods were beyond having amusing stories told about them.

Why We Need to Lighten Up

My point is that our ancestors had plenty to worry about.  They had invaders and wars. They had famines and poor harvests. They had diseases that wiped out whole villages that today we’ve cured or at least made less deadly.  They didn’t have smartphones, iPads, and Pokemon Go. Yes, yes, we have plenty of terrible things happening in this world, but sometimes its important just to laugh and shake our heads over the crazy stuff.  I swear if more people just relaxed and didn’t throw down every two minutes, I think we’d be a lot better off.

Science Backs Me Up on This

We know (from science, of course) that getting angry all the time isn’t healthy.  According to Scientific American, people are getting angrier all the time and less civil due to the Internet.  It’s because you’re dealing with a perfect storm of perceived anonymity, the ability to have a monologue, the inability to gauge people’s emotions and reactions, and the ability to be an armchair advocate without really doing anything toward a cause. What’s more, the media outlets actually foster this behavior by leaving up the worst comments, thus allowing people to think this is acceptable behavior.

People are Angrier Because of Issues

A fairly recent piece written in the BBC talks about how Americans are even more angry than before due to a number of issues. We’re bombarded with bad news all the time and becoming more polarized.  I remember back when 9-11 happened.  I spent a long time being depressed because I was seeing news constantly about the terrorist attacks. Eventually, I had to turn the TV off.  So it has been with the Internet.

Dealing with Rage

At some point, we have to decide if we’re going to stay angry all the time, or whether it’s time to lighten up. Obviously, there are times for seriousness, but we should take a clue from the gods and see humor even in the most dire situations (such as losing Mjolnir).

 

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Do You Have Free Will? Probably Not.

Do You Have Free Will? Probably Not.

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This late post is due to me getting a summer cold. I’ve been dealing with this crap for the past two days which means that taking care of myself supersedes a blog. (Hard to believe, eh?)  My latest post which is bound to rile some people is about fate and free will.  Rather than tell you my overall opinion on the subject (but I will give you my thoughts on it), I’m going to go over what Norse mythos/legends and science has to say about it.  You can then come to your own conclusions.

The Heathen Concept of Fate

Those who follow Norse paganism are no doubt familiar with the Wyrd/Fate and the Norns who weave our Wyrd strands. Their names are Urdr, Verdandi, and Skuld and they water Yggdrasil and use mud to prevent the World Tree from rotting.  (I don’t exactly understand how, since rot often occurs with wetting things down, but I digress.) They also weave the strands of each god’s and human’s life. How much is predestined versus how much we can choose is the great debate. The fact that they set our fate upon its path suggests that our destiny may be predetermined already. As always, Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV) on this interpretation.

To me, the Norns are akin to the Greek Moerae, the Roman Parcae, and the Slavic Sudice, which is highly suggestive of an older Indo-European pagan religion whence these beliefs sprang from.  I talk about this a bit in my earlier posts, so it should come as no surprise to my readers. I’m not going to talk about the validity of predestination versus free will when it comes to the Norns.  I’m going to talk about what science has to say about it, because I find the implications far more interesting.

Is it a Conscious Decision, or are We Trying to Explain Our Behavior?

We think that we make choices all the time.  But 20 years ago, psychologists proposed that we somehow convince ourselves that our behavior was caused by our own thoughts and actual intentions after the behavior, itself. In other words, the fact that you’re getting up from your desk to get a cup of coffee isn’t ruled by thought, but by behavior and your mind plays a great game to convince you that you thought this up all along.

As farfetched as this seems, a recent study takes this to the next step. Subjects were presented with five white circles and asked to think which one they thought would light up red. Whichever one was lit up was done randomly and without a predictable pattern. The subject could give an answer that they selected the one that was lit up, selected one that was not lit up, or tell the examiners that they didn’t have enough time. What happened was interesting.  When the time was too short more that 30 percent claimed they picked the right circle (when the number should have been around 20 percent).  When the examiners slowed the time between when they were to choose before the circle lit up, the number that claimed to pick to right one fell to about 20 percent.

At some point, the scientists determined, the people were mixing up what happened with their actual intention. In other words, stuff happens and we make up a good story why it happened and how we intended it to happen that way.

Bereitschaftspotential

That mouthful of a word describes a readiness state our brain goes into before we are conscious of our own decision.  This state can occur up to 1.5 seconds before the mind is conscious of it. In fact, Sam Harris makes a case against the whole concept in his book entitled, (what else?), Free Will. This was proven in tests using MRIs back in 2008, which allowed the researchers to predict the person’s action up to 90 percent even before the person knew what he or she was going to do.

The Block Universe and Time Theory: Or How to Make Your Head Hurt

Okay, you say, that’s works for people, but how about a person’s fate? Well, now I’m going to dive right into the Block Universe theory on time, which will probably make your head hurt about as much as mine is hurting right now with this cold. Time in the Theory of Relativity and other equations is changeable backwards and forwards, so our thought that time is linear isn’t right.  The Block Universe theory states that the past, present, and future exist simultaneously in space-time and that we perceive time’s passage as if a spotlight is being shined on the moment events seem to occur.  Events happen, but the past and the future are already there too.  We live in a temporally scattered existence.  We’re scattered throughout a certain segment of time.

Well, this puts our lives in another perspective.  We exist simultaneously with ourselves when we’re born and when we die.  Our entire lives have already existed and the point where we are at is just the spotlight shining on it. So, while we can make choices that create events, those future events already exist with the past and the present. 

 

Then Again, This Might Be a Computer Simulation

Nowadays scientists are at least considering the possibility that the whole universe is some gigantic computer simulation program and we have no idea what purpose it might have. Elon Musk of Tesla is convinced we’re a simulation. Neil deGrasse Tyson believes it’s about a 50 percent chance.  In which case, all our speculation may be moot and our gods are just terrific programmers.

What The Rational Heathen Thinks

 There are certainly other views of the Universe I haven’t covered, but it’s getting late and I’m tired and still have some work to do. At some point, I look at the question as possibly meaningless — if I don’t have free will, and if my fate is plotted for me, it won’t change my actions one way or another.  I still have pieces I have to write, I still have chores to do around home, and I still have plenty of things I must do.  If I am the master of my fate, then the outcome and plan is still the same.  I’m not going to say “it was fated,” because I understand that the one thing physics does recognize well is cause and effect. So my work to fix something that breaks or try to improve things is what may cause positive outcomes.

Then again, it might be fated that I do these things.  Who knows?

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Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

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Do You Even Troll, Bro?

Do You Even Troll, Bro?

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Today, I’m on a rant against trolls.  These may indeed be the type that live under bridges, but more
likely, they live in their parents’ basements and bitch about those of us who actually have something to say.  These are the types who use the “anonymity” of the Internet to cyber bully and laugh at those who don’t agree with their world view.

Kids, I’ve been slaughtering trolls before you were a gleam in your troll-daddies’ eyes.  I think you need to get a reality check.  For the rest of those who want to understand why someone doesn’t respect your opinions and viewpoints online (or if you’ve ever been the target of DYEHB), read on…

Internet Trolls are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

Whoa!  That sounds extreme, doesn’t it?  Guess what?  Those aren’t my words, but I agree whole-heartedly.  The pronouncement comes from an article in Psychology Today. Trolls are the nastiest people around and we don’t want to spend anytime near them.  They scored ridiculously high in what shrinks call “the Dark Tetrad:” narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism. Canadian researchers came to this stunning conclusion that those of us who have been on the Internet had already known after two studies with more than 1200 subjects. So, if you’ve ever taken delight attacking people on the Internet for sheer sport, count yourself among the troll-kind.  And you’re not my friend.  For some reason, I couldn’t see the graph, but I found it on Slate, so you can see it too.

The researchers had this to say:

“… the associations between sadism and GAIT (Global Assessment of Internet Trolling) scores were so strong that it might be said that online trolls are prototypical everyday sadists.” [emphasis added]

Well, well, well.  That says to me that they simply get their rocks off making other people feel awful.  Nice.

Is the Rational Heathen a Troll?

Now, I can hear some of you muttering that I am some kind of troll because I post what are controversial posts occasionally.  And sometimes, yes, I admit that the titles are a bit more click-bait so that you’ll read them, but I consider that just good journalism and not necessarily trolling.  In my Recons are Idiots piece, I thought I was pretty damn clear what kind of recons I had issues with.  And oddly enough, those were the same folk who took umbrage at my statements by proving me right.  It’s funny because as many outspoken recons there were, there were more people saying, “yeah, I’ve experienced that — thanks for agreeing with me.” So, if you’re a recon and you’ve disagreed with me, note that plenty of other folk are in my court and you or someone who claims they’re a recon are the ones who have given recons that reputation.

That being said, I don’t go out of my way to attack a particular person.  Oh, I might mention a type of person, or refer to someone whom I keep anonymous for everyone’s overall protection, but I don’t troll the boards looking to pick fights and make people miserable. If anything, I’m extremely courteous to those on other boards.  Now, if you come swinging on my own board, then the gloves are off.  If you make a legitimate case, I will listen to you.  I may not agree, but I’ll listen to you.  And if you’re civil to me, I’ll be civil to you. That’s the game we’ll play.  The only people I don’t have patience for are the racists and white-supremacists.  And I will insult you if you are one.

Look, no one says you have to read my page.  In fact, if you don’t like what I’m saying, maybe you should go elsewhere where people agree with you.  You’re welcome to stay in your narrow-minded corner since you can’t seem to accept someone else’s point of view. (And yes, I just took a swipe at you.  Deal with it.)

I’ve had precisely two trolls show up on my Facebook page. After some long, ugly discussions which ended up as ad hominem attacks, I didn’t bother to tell them to fuck off.  I simply banned them.  The problem is the more you try to reason with them, the worse they get.  Finally, I got tired of them and pulled the plug. I’ll entertain opposing views, but you’re on my good graces if you’re nasty.  My good graces incidentally are largely dependent on how much work I have to do, how much sleep I’ve had, and what kind of day I’m having.  In other words, “you don’t know my day, bitch,” — don’t push it.

Why Do They Do It?

 Interestingly enough, there is a lovely post in Psychology Today which actually states why trolls do what they do.  A lot of it has to do with the nameless face in the crowd mentality.  The overall “anonymity,” or at least, obscurity, of the Internet, combined with the feeling that other people’s silence equals agreement, and being surrounded by a social group that will at least support them, are reasons they will say the damnedest things.  The trolls I zapped online wouldn’t dare say what they did to my face.  If they did, they’d better only keep it at words.

For a while, there has been people who had a board specifically for Heathen trolls. I read through some of their “laughs” and found them to be boring and inane. And yes, I just call them inane.  They laughed at people for the way they practiced Heathenism, as though there is some “right” way and some “wrong” way.  I’ll admit, there are some practices I think aren’t right due violations in the ethics of reciprocity, and you’ll know up front why I think that, but the gray areas of Heathenism are very large. It’s those gray areas that the trolls revel in, and they make certain that everyone knows how “stupid” they think a person is.  While I might think your way of practicing Heathenism is wrong, if it is harmless and you’re not trying to push it on me, I probably won’t make fun of you.  If I do, it’s because it’s so bizarre and off the chart.  But I won’t name names.  Ad hominems directed at specific people aren’t cool, and downright mean.  There’s no reason to do this.

The Troll Test 

Yes, really, there is an Internet troll test. While I am not beyond getting into a debate with someone, I can truly say I say no to all those questions.  I’m not asking you to bare your heart to us, but if you really think it’s a great idea to call me names, I’d suggest taking a look at the questions and see if maybe the shoe fits.  If it does, then perhaps you need to go somewhere else.  Like very far away.

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Was Mani Responsible for Life?

Was Mani Responsible for Life?

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The other day I had several awesome ideas for blog posts.  They were full of insight and witty
thoughts.  I even put the ideas down in drafts so when I was out of clever ideas, I could just start on one.

Note to self: don’t put down ideas when you’re sleep deprived.  No, they aren’t that wonderful.

So, for these reasons, the post is a bit late.  I also had some errands I’ve had to run on Saturday, so sue me. In retrospect, I may salvage a few of the pieces.  I’ve salvaged at least one of them. In this case, I’m writing about the moon and how scientists think that it may have something to do with the development of life on our planet.  You see, I was looking up at the beautiful strawberry moon on solstice and feeling thankful that we have it. So, this post is about the moon and why we should be glad it is in the sky.

 A Bad Moon on the Rise

I’ve thought about going down the direction of the full moon jokes, but that would be childish and immature.  Which is why I’ve broken down and yes, gone that direction, because I’m not above being childish and immature.  So, let’s get that out of our systems right this second and get down to mooning.

Why Our Moon is so Special

Our moon isn’t like other moons in our solar system.  Most moons either formed while the planets were being formed and were stuck in their orbit around the planet.  Either that, or the moons were captured by the planet’s gravity and are hanging in there for the time being. If you look at the various planets and moons, you’ll notice something peculiar about our planet with our solitary nightlight and the rest of the planets and their moons.  Namely, our moon is not only solitary, but it’s big when compared to the mass of the Earth.
It is more than a quarter of the Earth’s size at 27 percent. In fact, no other planets have such a size ratio at 4 to 1 — all other moons we know about are much smaller than their planets.

Our moon actually formed from a collision between the Earth and another, smaller, protoplanet that scientists have named Theia.  The theory (and BTW, if you’re having trouble with the word, “theory,” read this) is that some 4.5 billion years ago, only a very short time (relatively speaking) after the Earth came into being, some 30 to 50 million years, Earth and Theia  were vying for the same space. Both protoplanets were still very hot and were still forming, so when they crashed into each other, something interesting happened.  Theia didn’t smash headlong into the Earth; rather, the blow was more of a glancing blow.  The result caused matter to be ejected from the Earth and Theia to get partially swallowed up.  Both planetoids as they re-coalesced became locked in each of the other’s gravitational pulls. The moon is identical in composition to our Earth, which along with computer simulation models provide the explanation to its existence.

So, that alone makes our moon special, but what is really interesting is that without our moon, we may not have had life form.  Here’s the explanation.

How the Moon may have Helped Bring about Life on this Planet

We don’t think of Mani as a creator god, but the moon has helped our planet evolve the life we see today. First off, the moon is responsible for stabilizing our Earth’s axis.  Without it, the axis would wobble mightily and we would experience vast changes in our temperature to the point where Earth would be inhospitable to life.  Imagine the axis tilt so extreme that we are plunged into a terrible cold so no life would have been able to evolve.

Secondly, the tides the moon creates exposes the land to both air and water, forcing evolution to select for creatures that reside in these tidal areas that could thrive in both environments, thus setting the stage for land creatures.

Other Effects the Moon has on our Planet

The moon has also had the effect of slowing the rotation of our planet, thus lengthening our day to nearly 24 hours.  Our planet has, in turn (excuse the pun), changed the rotation of the moon to 27.3 days, which is the same time as it takes to make a complete orbit around our Earth. This is why we always see the same face of the moon.  Our planet’s rotation continues to slow because of the moon (due to tidal friction), but it would take 9 billion years for the moon to actually slow our planet to the moon’s orbital rate.

The moon is slowly moving away from our planet, and it was once much closer.  We had more significant tides then and the pull on the Earth’s mantle may have set the state for plate tectonics.

The Gift of Metals

 One cool thing to consider is that our moon has given us metals on and close to the surface. You see,we suspect the iron migrated to a small core.
scientists have modeled planet such as the Earth forming and when it cooled, all the metal should have migrated to the Earth’s core.  But it hasn’t.  That’s because when Theia hit the proto-Earth, it splattered much of its core across the Earth’s mantle.  Our planet spewed a portion of our mantle to form the moon and thus we received the gift of metals from the moon’s earlier version. Our moon shows no iron in its rock —

How Mani has Affected Mankind

Without the moon, we wouldn’t have the tides that we do (we would have tides from the sun, but they would be minuscule.) We would have very dark nights every night; it’s unlikely we would’ve been able to hunt at night, or perhaps we would end up with greater night vision. We wouldn’t have eclipses, or obvious ways to divide our year into months (the word, “months,” is derived from “moon.”)  We wouldn’t be able to advance technologically without metals.  Think about it.  What if we couldn’t get copper, tin, iron, and other metals easily?

I’m Not the Only One Waxing About Mani

Apparently I’m not the only one waxing about Mani.  There’s a cool article in Witches and Pagans that deals with Mani.  Mani being the brother of Sunna and the son of Mundefari, he’s one of the god that we know little about. He is pursued by the wolf, Hati, who will consume him on Ragnarok. The Witches and Pagans article mentions that he is the protector of abused children and also those who are emotionally distressed or suffer mental illness. I don’t know if that is UPG, current folklore, or if that is mentioned somewhere in legends.  I haven’t done that much research about him, but I often feel comfort and joy looking up at the moon.

So, there you have it.  My take on the moon.   Hopefully he brings you as much joy as he brings me.

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You Ain’t a Priest/Priestess Just Because the Gods Spoke to You

You Ain’t a Priest/Priestess Just Because the Gods Spoke to You

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Well, I’ve been dealing with some wankers and wandered over to their web pages and found that they were proclaiming their priesthood for all to see.  Seriously?  Seriously?  It’s one thing to think you’ve heard the gods through dreams and meditations, and another thing entirely to call yourself a godhi/gythia because of said visions.

So, if you’re one of those, I’m going to bade you to stop reading right fucking now.  Take a breath and have some chamomile tea.  Block my posts on Facebook, so you never have to read them again.  And bask in the knowledge that I haven’t upset your apple cart.

Now for the rest of you who won’t screw themselves into the ceiling over this post, please feel free to continue…

Mighty Presumptuous, Ain’t It?

You have to wonder what the mindset is of someone who has become a heathen or even joined up with Asatru and started calling themselves a godhi/gythia. What kind of person has that big of an ego, (or that much delusion?), to call themselves that without agreement from some kind of community?  It’s one thing, I suppose, if you went through training, seen visions without LSD or peyote, and were generally acknowledged as a godhi/gythia by the people of your kindred.  It’s another thing to slap that label on your mug because you swore the raven that cawed to you said “I am Odin.”

Talking with a God/Goddess Isn’t Enough

Look, I’m not doubting that you could’ve had that experience. Hels bells, I’ve had those type of
experiences, and the best I could come up with as a title is The Rational Heathen.  Not exactly god-inspired, if you think about it.  I had to fight the atheists for that name on my blog.  (Which brings me back to last week’s post.) My point is that there’s enough of us who have had those types of nudges from the gods and goddesses to the point where we could all be considered godhi/gythia in some way if you were using “the gods spoke to me” as your qualification for priest/priestess-hood. I’m sorry, but as unique as your experience might be to you, it isn’t that unique. There are enough people I know in the pagan/heathen community who have spoken with our pantheon on more than one occasion.  And some, I hate to say, may simply be undiagnosed schizophrenia.

Did a God Talk to You, or is it Schizophrenia?

TL;DR Point: Schizophrenia causes people to hallucinate, and while it affects only 1% of the population, it still could be the reason some people believe they talk to gods. If you are so certain you know what the gods want, be sure you don’t have this disease…

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, schizophrenia hits about 1 percent of the population, or somewhere between 7 to 8 people out of 1000. I am NOT saying that those of us with dreams, insights, connections with the gods, etc are schizophrenic, but I have to point out that this could account for SOME people. When there are 320 million people in the United States alone, that means there are about 3.2 million people in the US that have schizophrenia.

Now, I’m not saying you are schizophrenic.  I’m not saying I am schizophrenic. But the numbers, statistically speaking, do point to a fairly large number that in this country alone could encompass most — if not all — of our worldwide believers.  But thankfully, we have to account for the affected Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, and whatnot, so I suspect the percentage among the Heathens is around the 1 percent as well.  Maybe it’s a bit higher because our religion isn’t “the norm.” Maybe it’s lower.  Regardless, if we point to all of Heathenry, we can probably say a small portion are schizophrenic.

I bring schizophrenia up only because it does have a tendency to cause people hearing voices or having delusions.  Whether it’s the belief a god or gods talked to you, or whether you think your dishwasher has secret conversations with the refrigerator, this disease can account for much.  And not surprisingly, many schizophrenics aren’t even diagnosed.

If you are so certain you know what the gods and goddesses want, be sure you don’t have this disease.

I’m Okay;  You’re Okay if You’ve Liked My Page

TL;DR: Don’t be an asshole and claim you’re a godhi/gythia to bully people whom don’t necessarily agree with you.

I’m under the opinion that most folk who have claimed to have had dreams or gods/goddesses inspired UPGs while meditating or in a trance/dream state are okay and (mostly) rational people.  Many I call my friends. I’ve talked about Lokeans in previous blogs, and many of them are cool people.  I would not put them under the “crazy” label.

I honestly don’t care if you’ve had visions from the gods or not. What I care about is if you’re an asshole about it. Part of that asshole behavior is presuming you’re a godhi or gythia because of it and using those conversations as your Norse pantheon god-given right to bully the rest of us what to believe. Sweetie, it doesn’t work that way.  For one thing, you aren’t the only one who has heard from the gods.

Studying Eddas and doing research doesn’t make a godhi/gythia.  If it did, there would be a lot of scholars who are godhi/gythias who don’t believe in our gods. In fact, I’d probably qualify as a gythia with just that criteria because I did a fair amount of study in myths, legends, and dead languages. I even have a higher level degree that encompasses anthropology, legends, and languages.

Part of being a godhi or gythia is being recognized as such in the community. It has to do with knowing the lore and the runes, as well as a dedicated willingness to serve the community.  As a non-gythia person, I’ve talked to a few people whom I respect whom I would call godhi or gythia. Very few. Like count them on one hand. What struck me about them was their willingness to share their knowledge and their overall kindness in helping me in my quest to be closer to our gods.

The people who are abusive, mean, and bullying, despite having someone think of them as a godhi/gythia are clearly NOT. Why do I say this?  Think of the purpose of a godhi/gythia.  They’re intended to help people in spiritual matters.  They have a willingness to serve the community. 

No, I’m NOT a Gythia

You’ll be relieved to hear that I don’t consider myself a gythia in any way.  I don’t have a kindred, per se, and I don’t take myself that seriously. (You shouldn’t either, unless I’m being dead serious, which I can be, from time to time.)  I don’t have much respect in the community and I don’t fancy myself a religious leader. While I do a fair amount of reading and studying, most of my waking hours are spent trying to make a living, not spending time reading Eddas and books on the subject.  When I’m feeling cocky, I write this blog. Occasionally, people ask me for advice. I warn them up front that I’m pretty ignorant, but I am happy to at least give them my honest take on what they ask.  Beyond that, I’m pretty much what you deal with: a low bullshit writer.

The Gods Have Given Me a Title!

No, seriously, they have.  From now on, you will address me only as The Rational Heathen, Supreme Cynical Rabble-rouser. I am feeling quite pleased with myself, which means I’m probably going to do some more shit-stirring and poking-the-crazy than normal.  I asked Loki for the title Supreme Shit-Stirrer, but he refused to give up that title.  I then asked for Pokes-The-Crazy, but Odin wouldn’t give up that title either.  So, I’m stuck with Supreme Cynical Rabble-rouser.  It does have a ring to it, I’ll admit. 

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So, What IS a Heathen, Exactly?

So, What IS a Heathen, Exactly?

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Well, last week was fun, because I irked a bunch of people with my opinion on frith and troth.  I suspect this week, I’ll irk a bunch of people who have laid claim to the word “heathen.”  So, let me get this out in the open, once and for all:

You do not have the exclusive right to the word “heathen.”  In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that you have no right to exclusively claim the word “heathen” anymore than you have the exclusive right to claim the word “pagan.”

There, now I feel better.  But for those of you who were curious, I am going to go through the history and etymology of the word, “heathen.”

What Does the Word “Heathen” Mean? 

I’m going to irk some folks when I trot out the Oxford English Dictionary.  Under the definitions of Heathen, it says:

noun

chiefly derogatory  
1 A person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those who do.

1.1 A follower of a polytheistic religion; a pagan.

1.2 (the heathen) Heathen people collectively, especially (in biblical use) those who did not worship the God of Israel.

1.3 informal An unenlightened person; a person regarded as lacking culture or moral principles.  

Well, that says a lot.  We can assume those who follow the Northern gods, such as myself, can be considered a heathen because of definition 1, and especially, 1.1 and 1.2.  For those who dislike my posts and tell me to change my blog’s title, the definition in 1.3 may indeed apply to me, and therefore, I can most definitely be considered a heathen by that definition.  (As an FYI, there is no definition 2.)

If you look up other dictionary definitions, you’re likely to come across synonyms: pagan, infidel, idolater, heretic, unbeliever, disbeliever, nonbeliever, atheist, agnostic, skeptic; archaicpaynim

Let’s look a little deeper into the etymology.

Etymology (not Entomology) of Heathen…OR “It’s a Bug Hunt”

Whenever I think of etymology, I always think of the movie, Aliens, because “etymology” sounds remarkably close to “entomology.”  Hence, “It’s a bug hunt.”  Seeing as it is not, I’ve gone over to Dictionary.com and pulled up “paynim,” which is the root of “heathen.”

It says:

noun, Archaic.
1.

a pagan or heathen.
2.

a Muslim.
3.

pagandom; heathendom.

Origin of paynim: 

200-50; Middle English: pagan (noun and adj.), pagan countries, heathendom < Old French pai (e) nime < Late Latin pāgānismus paganism

“But Tyra,” you say, “that isn’t where heathen comes from.”  I kind of agree with you on that.  The Oxford English dictionary cites:

Origin

Old English hǣthen, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heiden and German Heide; generally regarded as a specifically Christian use of a Germanic adjective meaning ‘inhabiting open country’, from the base of heath.

Okay, so now we’re somewhere.  And we can agree that it comes from Anglo-Saxon, which means “inhabiting open country.”

The Definition of Heathen

A heathen, by definition is either a pagan who does not worship the Abrahamic religions (or a major religion) or a person who inhabits open country.   Wow!  Isn’t that simple?  There isn’t a single mention of Odin, frith, troth, or reconstruction anywhere in those definitions! (One might assume that if you follow Odin and the Aesir, you are most definitely a heathen.)  It isn’t a particularly discriminating term, either, when it comes to the pagan gods.

The word, “heathen” seems to be all encompassing when it comes to pagans.  And guess what?  By the agreed upon dictionary definition, heathen encompasses Wiccans, pagans, and other folk who do not follow the Northern gods.  It does, by definition, encompass those who worship Jotun, Loki, Native American gods, African gods, Shinto, Hindu, Asian polytheistic religions, Atheists, and even some people who worship snakes in their bathtub. You might argue that the bigger world religions such as Hindu, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, and other religions that have huge followings are not heathen, and you might be right, but only because they are widely held religions.  I might argue with you that they are part of the “heathen” group because they are not of the Abrahamic religions.   

The Definition of Asatru

So, if “heathen” is not a definitive term for someone who follows the northern pantheons, what is

Asatru? Well, Asatru is really a religion, and is defined by the Oxford dictionary as:

noun

The pagan polytheistic religion of early Scandinavians ( historical ). Now also: a neopagan religion based on this.

Origin

1920s. From Icelandic ásatrú from Old Icelandic ása, genitive plural of áss god + trú belief, perhaps after Norwegian asatro early Scandinavian pagan religion.

So, What Does All This Mean?

“Heathen” is such a general term that it’s hard to pin it down to one particular group or custom.  I tend to use the term “heathen” to mean anyone who follows or worships gods in the northern pantheon. I don’t get my panties in a wad if someone uses it differently than I do.  I expect there are going to be different usages of the word.  

That being said, I will include you in the term “heathen” if you follow the northern pantheon and aren’t a racist or Nazi sympathizer.  Hel, I’ll even accept the recons in that definition.  You don’t need a secret handshake, a Mjolnir necklace, a drinking horn, or horns on your helmet (in fact, horns on your helmet will get you tossed out — fair warning!)  And that, my friends, is what a heathen is.

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Yeah, Well, I’m not into “Frith”

Yeah, Well, I’m not into “Frith”

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“Frith” and “Troth.”  If you hang around with Heathens and Asatruans, inevitably you hear those words.  Those silly, archaic, bizarre words.  Every time I see those words, I want to roll my eyes and sigh.  Or laugh.  Or puke.  Or something.  It’s not that I disagree with the concepts, per se, I just have a tough time with silly archaics.

And I know at least two “dead” languages.

What the Fuck is Frith and Troth?

First, I need to get the definitions out of the way to ensure the recon rabble will find something to argue or poke fun about.  So, let’s look at frith.  My understanding is that it is tied to the “inner yard” or Innangarth which makes up the kindred.  If you look it up under Wikipedia (and you recons are welcome to fix their definitions, by the way), it points out a state of peace that has to do with relationships. Frith encompasses fealty to lords as well.  Basically, it is peace that occurs to those who belong to a certain unit, let’s say “family.” But family is more like The Godfather’s family — extended and has those who must swear loyalty of some variety. When you’re offered sanctuary, that’s frith working.  Got it?

Troth is loyalty and truth.  If you look up the word in Merriam-Webster’s, you’ll see loyalty or pledged faithfulness.  Basically, it’s an archaic term for “truth” or “oath,” depending on its context.

So Why the Fuck do I Have a Problem with them?

Other than the names and usage instead of modern English, you probably are wondering what is wrong with using them today.  Glad you asked that.  I’m going to address the whole Innangarth/Utanngarth and the concept of frith (crap, I keep typing “firth” because my mind and fingers rebel against this silly word.)  Basically, the idea comes down to an early form of feudalism that we got away from a long time ago. 

Frithering Heights

Let’s talk frith.  Back in the olden days, you had to have scores of relatives, friends, and whomever else in your Inner-yard because, quite frankly, the world was a dangerous place (it’s still dangerous, but not quite that level in Western societies) and if you didn’t have allies close at hand, you had everything taken from you by force.  Warfare was common back then, and it was the equivalent of living in street gangs, but without police to really turn to.  It’s no surprise that I likened the Inner-yard to the Mafia in the Godfather.  Hels Bells, where do you think the Sicilians learned this behavior?  Try the Norse and the Normans. There’s a reason why there are red and blond Sicilians.

“But Tyra,” you say, “we’re using frith to mean a safe space for our family and friends.”  I would argue that that’s fine, but be aware it is much different than the historical frithering something or other.  Yes, it can evolve over time — I’m not as pedantic as some — but change the term.  Tell us what it is.  “Safety,” “Safe space,” or whatever.  You’re using an anachronistic word here.

Frith, like many things, is conceptually an attractive idea, but in the end really offers a lot up for abuse of power.  People swear fealty to that particular lord and support him.  Peace (lack of warfare) occurs between members, though there are always disagreements.  Basically, you trade your loyalty for protection.  Feudalism, to sum it up succinctly. 

I grew up in a Frith-type household.  It sucked.  Not because of any physical abuse (although I could make the case for verbal abuse), but because there were things you never went to the Utanngarth over.  And quite honestly, there should have been more Outer-Yard interaction.  There were too many “secrets” that shouldn’t have been, and too many issues that later on caused problems that could have been addressed early on and avoided.

By the way, the Heathens of old weren’t the only ones who had the concept of Inner/Outer-Yard.  That concept is alive and well with the Japanese and other Asian ethnicities. In fact, the Japanese have one set of words for family members that are only used among family members versus a more formal set of words for “outsiders.” In many ways, Heathen culture mimics Japanese culture and Shinto: concept of inner/outer yard, ancestor worship, local kami/wight worship, female sun goddess, highly ritualized ceremonies with drink, warrior class which required fealty for protection, thegns/daimyo…I could go on and on.

I can see Frith being used as an excuse to hide addictions, sexual abuse, law breaking, and other terrible things, because it’s all too easy to insist on loyalty for “protection.”  Look at how feudalism was abused.  Look, our ancestors thought it sucked enough to get rid of it.  Now, I can hear the recons arguing with me on this.  Guess what?  I don’t give a shit.  The fact that it CAN be abused, suggests it WILL be abused.  Power, my friend, corrupts.

What About Troth?

Being a follower of Tyr, I do have some thoughts about Troth. You may guess by my crazy blog posts I tend to be a little on the brutally honest side.  Being honest and forthright is best, In My Not So Humble Opinion (IMNSHO), but I am quick to avoid oaths.  Oaths are solemn things, and yes, the gods will hold you accountable to them. So, swearing loyalty, except maybe in marriage, scares the bejesus (heh!) out of me.  Fail that oath, and you’re dealing with an ugly situation both here and in the afterlife, such as it may be.  Plus pledging Troth to anyone in terms of fealty, takes us right into the (not so) good-old-days of feudalism.

So, Where does that Leave us?

By now, I can feel all the recon rage.  Look, I really don’t care if you frither and troth all you want. I get the concepts, and I get you want to go back to the Bad Old Days.  Or maybe you think you can do a better job incorporating them into your family, kith and kin. Far be it from me to tell you how to live your life, as long as it doesn’t affect me. I’m not saying don’t respect your elders, and don’t respect your family, but families aren’t perfect, and no matter how much you’d like your Hof, Kindred, or whatever you call your group to be, to be perfect, it isn’t going to be that way.

I’d argue too that our Inner-Yard versus Outer-Yard has grown substantially. One could make the argument that our Inner-Yard encompasses our community, our state, or even our nation.  I haven’t gone so far as to say it encompasses our world, but maybe if we discover other life forms, that might be a real possibility.  (Someday, I’m going to write something about if Thor is on other planets, but this post is long enough.)

Anyway, use frith and troth around me, and I’ll laugh.  If for the silliness of the words, if nothing else.

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The Gods are Not Your Bitches

The Gods are Not Your Bitches

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It’s nice to see someone in the pagan community agree with me, even though they said it nicer than I did.  The gods, whether you think of them as people or metaphors, don’t necessarily jump when you ask them to jump.  They don’t necessarily do things because you whined at them.  And they certainly aren’t our bitches who show up because we called to them.

Connecting with Gods

Connecting with the gods is a personal thing, In My Not So Humble Opinion (IMNSHO), and each connection is as different as it is for each individual to be different.  How you related to one god isn’t necessarily how I relate to him.  I think it has to do with who we are and how we got to this point. Tyr, for example, doesn’t really pop in, raid the refrigerator, and open up a bottle of mead on the counter at my house.   If he does at your house, please tell me.  I’d be mighty curious about that.  I’d be surprised.  (Now, if it were Loki, I’d expect that.) Some folks claim to have real life experiences.  I’ve only had one, and that made me question my sanity.  (Meeting Odin on the street — seriously.)

It’s not my place to tell you how to connect with gods, but I might offer some advice: They aren’t your bitches, and most aren’t interested in you unless you bring something to the table.  Occasionally, a few of us hear the call and say “what the fuck?” That happened to me, but I realize that having such experiences can be uncommon, not the rule when it comes to the gods.

My Own (Limited) Experience

I think the gods tend to be a bit more mindful about our pasts when we “connect” with them. As a follower of Tyr, he’s my main go-to god for just about everything.  That being said, sometimes I realize that other gods are more suitable to my petitions, but I really don’t know them that well.

Tyr knows I have a lot of baggage from religion and childhood. If I have a fault, it is I lean pretty heavily on him from time to time. It’s mostly just moral support, but occasionally it’s a “I need this” kind of request.  Yeah, it comes from growing up Roman Catholic and being shoved into the “pray to god to help you” mentality.  Realistically, I know that Tyr is not the god for that sort of thing, but when I have shit raining down, he gets an earful.  Because I look at him like a friend.  Sometimes I just get a sympathetic ear and not much more. Sometimes I get help.  Sometimes another god pops into my life because he or she is better at helping me.  If anything, I now have five gods/goddesses that I offer blots and talk to.

That’s how I relate to the gods.  I wasn’t looking to go back to being a theist, so I kind of have the opinion that because they found me, they knew what kind of package they were picking up.  Lately, when I bemoaned not being able to talk to the wights with someone who actually does a fair amount of work with them, I learned some things and actually got some positive things happen.  Okay, so I’m a bit agnostic on them still, but they’re included.  And I get a more positive feeling from them.

Why We Demand Help

I often talk about Christianity, mainly because I can’t get away from my Christian upbringing.  If you were raised Heathen, Pagan, or with another religion that wasn’t derived from the Abrahamic religions, you probably don’t have the same reliance that many who have left those faiths have to their gods. We’ve been spoon fed a pack of lies since we could understand words. It’s not our parents’ faults, per se, they’ve been as brainwashed as we have since their childhood. There’s a good reason for them to teach us Christianity’s teachings, too. The fear of their hell and eternal torment makes even the toughest guy in the room quake.

So, we’re taught very early on that god will provide. That god will care for us. That everything will work out to god’s plan.  And when stuff goes our way, we praise god.  When shit happens — and it does happen to good people, and even the best followers of the Christian god — we tell ourselves that it was god’s plan, or maybe they weren’t really that good.  Because a kind and just god wouldn’t allow that to happen, would he?

So, we beg for good things to happen to us.  That we get that raise, get accepted to that school, get a job, find a significant other, heal someone or ourselves, or win the lottery. The reality is that unless we get off our butts and do something, it’s unlikely we’re going to see positive results.  That’s where that old saying “god helps those who help themselves” most likely got started.  Well, whether you should maybe claim it as a god’s victory is questionable.  I’d argue that every victory is your own, and if the gods help you out, you should be thankful for their aid, but you’re the one who really made it happen.

The Gods are Not Our Bitches

If we look at the gods as strictly archetypes or metaphors for the universe that surrounds us, we can pretty much deduce they don’t need us, although we’re already heavily reliant on them.  We rely on Sif and Freyr for growing things, Thor for our thunderstorms (i.e. rain), Sunna for our light, Mani for more than just a shining orb above us at night, but may have had to do with actual life, Tyr for our laws, both human made and natural, Odin for our creation, and so forth.  My point is we rely on them for a lot already, so calling them down to aid us, especially when we have no rapport with them, seems a little self centered.  If we consider them entities, so much more so.

If you have a relationship with a god or gods, chances are you already know your boundaries. If you’re looking for help and you only have relationship with one or two gods, maybe they’re the first should hear your plea and then see what they say.  Other gods most likely need some type of introduction and probably a pretty decent relationship before one can ask for things from them.

When we understand that they’re entities (or at least metaphors) with their own agendas, we can see that our gods aren’t the Christian vending machine that our society has come to expect.

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