Difference Between Asatru And Wicca

I've been researching Asatru for about 2 years now, and have been a practicing Wiccan for 10. Just to let you know where I'm coming from.

The first primary difference between Asatru and Wicca (or at least the way Wicca seems to be developing these days) is that Asatru is primarily polytheistic, and Wicca tends to be pantheistic. Also, the Wiccan Rede (a modern invention, by the way) has provisions against harm ("An harm ye none, do what ye Will"), where Asatru has no such provision, and to some degree possesses a warriorhood mystique. This does not usually seem to get overly melodramatic (as far as I have seen), but it does exist.

Also, with only rare exceptions, Asatru groups tend to be very decentralized and do not have elevation systems as Wicca does. Leadership tends to be based on the local level, and I have never seen (so far) the sort of ego stroking common among Wicca with the Asatruar. One main reason for this is that they tend to have few qualms about telling each other to fuck off when they choose to, and still are able to go out for beers together. That kind of candid behavior has become frightfully rare (as far as I have experienced) among Wiccans, who seem to enjoy petty little squabbles and backstab gossipry.

Asatru rituals are much simpler than most Wiccan rituals. The primary rite, the blot, is basically little more than sharing a round of beer or mead while praising the Gods, although it can be made more elaborate if that is desired.

Asatru are rarely eclectic. They have a solid source of lore for their workings and magic (if any), and tend to be more likely to put effort into a new beermaking kit than memorizing the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.

Asatru tend to look down on "Norse Wicca," and with good reason, to a degree. Where Wicca is an occult system that has developed into a religion (and a largely mismashed quasi-Celtic, semi-New Age, dash o' ceremonial Crowley stuff), Asatru is a religion largely rekindled from historically-recorded accounts of specific peoples, with occult qualities a secondary (thought important) side. Wicca does not possess ancestral roots of its own (here I should clarify between "Wicca" and "witchcraft"), where Asatru does. Norse Wicca tends to be regarding by some (not all) Asatruar as uncommitted wannabes.

At the same time, however, I don't think any of them would stop to tell a Norse Wiccan that they thought he/she were a jerk/twit/etc. Asatruar tend to be somewhat libertarian, with something of a 'live and let live' attitude. Like any group, there are varying opinions on this matter. Many Asatru are concerned about this not so much becuase they're arrogant or whatnot, but they fear (I think) the watering-down of their faith, as the New Age has watered-down the Craft.

For myself, if you are strongly attached to the Wiccan framework and find closeness with the Teutonic Gods, then go for it. But I'd also suggest giving the Asatru method a try. You might be surprised with the results.

I'm currently teaching some Craft students who revere the Teutonic Gods (Oaktavia Grove in Boston). They are aware that what they are doing is considered borderline, and all I ask is that they respect that. You also may find that you can happily engage in both.

By the way, in case you want to read it, you might be interested to know that most Asatruar I know HATE Ed Fitch's *Rites of Odin*.

Feel free to email back. Hope I was of help.

Oh, you might be interested in writing a group I helped to develop: The Wyrd Network, which was designed to help answer the very question you asked me. It's not a recruitment thing or such, but may be of interest to you.

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Viking Ancestors In England

You betcha there are many British citizens who are etterkommere (descendants) of Norwegian vikinger (Vikings), although it is unknown how many and where from. Britiske forskere (British researchers) are conducting a study to chart Northern England’s Viking legacy. Professor Peter Harding at the University of Nottingham will be leading the study and working very closely with the project coordinator in Norway, Harald Lovvik. The mission is to discover where the descendants of the vikings slo seg ned (settled) and from what regioner (regions) in Norway the Vikings who eventually reproduced and/or settled in England kom fra (came from).

Harding and his fellow forskere had hoped prosjektet (the project) would have started in 2008, but was only recently Approved by norske myndigheter (Norwegian authorities). Prosjektet will be conducted as follows: Forskere will take mouth samples from 20 people from each of the following regioner: Sognefjorden, Ryfylkefjorden, Hardangerfjorden, Hedmark, Trondheim, Bergen, Gudbrandsdalen, Stavanger, and Namdalen (at first, the project was to only choose people from the cig cities in this list, but as you see, they have expanded out of the cities). Forskere will focus on the y-kromosomet (Y chromosome) since it is only passed from far til sonn (father to son). Each frivillig (volunteer) will be required to know his farslinje (paternal line) back 6 or 7 generasjoner (generations) in the same area. Since it may prove to be more difficult to locate and test people deep ute i landet (in the country), forskere will Supplement some of provene (the tests) with people from Oslo who come from those specific regioner.

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

Genevieve Petty - Tantric Influences On Thelema
Stephen Mitchell - Learning Magic In The Sagas
Rabbi Michael Laitman - Basic Concepts In Kabbalah
Garfield Tourney - The Physician And Witchcraft In Restoration England
Julia Phillips - History Of Wicca In England

God Vali

Vali is the God of vengeance and retribution. As Odin’s son, he sought vengeance for the death of his brother, Balder, by killing Hodr. He is renowned for his courage and his accuracy with the bow. On the other hand, he is recognized for being a life and light bringer and in olden times the month of February was dedicated to him.

Tyr As Father Protector And Provider

TYR has often been misunderstood and even more often misrepresented. The Romans simplistically equated him with their god of war, mars. Consequently Tiw, as the Anglo-Saxons called him, has the honour of giving his name to Tuesday, but is otherwise neglected by many as being embarrassingly militaristic.

Tyr is the father-god, as his name suggests, the god of fatherhood, the father figure amongst gods. Too much importance has been attached to the question of who is the chief god. As polytheists we are entitled to have differing views in this matter. Odin was acknowledged as Allfather and supreme god because the values which he epitomised became most highly honoured, not by all, but by most, or at least most of the rulers and skalds in the Northern world.

Regardless of his title, Allfather, Odin's numinous, ecstatic, mystic, Mysterious, poetic, runic and inspirational qualities do not characterise him as a fatherly archetype. Typically the father is not a poet but a provider, not a magician but a protector, a caring figure not a shaman. Odin gave up his eye for wisdom; Tyr sacrificed his hand to protect the others from a danger. It is Tyr who acts the father.

The masses turn to the father-god in times of need. It is a basic human instinct, instilled in childhood. In a patriarchal society, such as the early Germans', the father is head of the family, a ruler of that microcosm of society, laying down the law. His is the duty of instructing children in the knowledge of right and wrong and distinguishing praiseworthy behaviour from the punishable.

Thus Tyr is the god of personal and public ethics and governs whatever applies to the ethical code. Hence the inscription 'Mars Thingsus' (i.e., of the Thing), for the Thing is the parliament which makes laws and the court which enforces them. Tyr is the fatherly god who implements justice in order to protect us and preserve our social order. He is a caring and noble god, teaching us that order is better than chaos.

Tyr, god of war and victory, was no soldiers' and generals' god. He was no mere 'crude deity of slaughter', as Ellis Davidson says. Quite the contrary! Certainly, soldiers in the thick of battle would turn to him for protection. But who had greater need of defence than the defenceless? Who would sacrifice more fervently than the non-warfaring folk, the women and children, the farmers and fishermen, the thralls and churls? Who, following defeat at the hands of land-hungry tribes, would be raped, slaughtered, driven from their farmlands into starvation? Who, if unlucky, would be enslaved, but they?

War was no contest of justice, as Ellis Davidson argues, but a struggle for survival. The god of war and victory, Sigtyr, like a father to his people, his children, would guard them from the horror of defeat. The good father may be stern but never cruel. He is the protector of the family and the tribe.

One reason why scholars underrate Tyr is that he is little mentioned in the Eddas and little worshipped in Iceland (where the Eddas came from) or in Norway (where the Icelanders came from). Elsewhere, as many place names attest, he was much venerated by the masses.

Odin and Tyr are contrasting gods. Their cults may well not appeal to some people. The importance attached by society to the attributes they each represent has varied throughout history. But to claim that one has supplanted the other is to ignore the great differences between their two characters and to ignore the durability of fundamental archetypes.

As polytheists we should Understand the necessity for the many different paths to the truth and then choose the way which suits us best.

Books in PDF format to read:

Aleister Crowley - The Star And The Garter
Sepharial - Astrology And Marriage
William Wynn Westcott - Numbers Their Occult Power And Mystic Virtues
Ragner Storyteller - How To Invoke Freya Valkries For Protection And Defence

What Were The Vikings Beliefs About The Afterlife

Much like the ancient Greeks, the Vikings had neither a positive or negative view of the afterlife. They believed for the most part, the dead, if they had lived an unexceptional life, would travel to a place called "Hel" (which is where the modern word "hell" comes from) which lies far to the north and under ground. It was a thought of as being a cold and damp place where the spirits of the dead continued in a dreamlike form of existence. It was not particularly happy, but it was not torturous and was viewed as a long sleep. There were other ideas of an afterlife that were believed as well. There was another realm beneath Hel, where people who had lived bad lives were gnawed upon by a serpent called "Nidhoggr". They slept in a hall that was made of snakes and dripped poison. This place, called "Nastrond", was located on the shore of an ice cold subterranean sea. Those who lived exceptional lives in a positive way could expect to travel to "Asgard", the home of the Gods. They would spend the afterlife in happiness. The exact dwelling that was given to these people depended upon their lives. For example: hero's who died in battle would go to "Vahalla" the "Hall of the slain", and live with Odin the king of the Gods. Here they spent all day fighting each other, only to rise from the battlefield in the evening healed of their wounds and then spent the rest of the night feasting. The main theme of the afterlife seems to have been repetition. It was not however, believed to be eternal. They believed that the world of both the living and dead, gods and monsters would one day be destroyed and the universe would begin anew.

Books in PDF format to read:

Howard Phillips Lovecraft - Through The Gates Of The Silver Key
John Dee - A Letter Containing A Most Brief Discourse Apologetical
Aleister Crowley - Liber 046 The Key Of The Mysteries

Using A Teleportation Rune

First thing to do is to setup the teleport rune. And if you don't have your teleportation rune set up, just look at the full-page diagram; let us go through how to use it. First, you need to set up your pathway, or tunnel, to the place you want to go. Do this by extending the outer ring of energy (from your destination) upwards to the desired location- through dimensions; so the tunnel is actually quite short and just splices into where you want to go.

It is time to connect the tunnel to your means of going through it. Cause the five elemental energies to course through the straight lines of the rune, blending together and tying the center ring to the tunnel. Double check this step to make sure you have a strong connection.

At this point, you are essentially ready to teleport, but before you do this, there is another step. You need to make a clone of your now-ready teleportation circle and place it at your destination; right where the tunnel connects. Do this by simply willing another prepared circle to appear over the tunnel connection.

The final step is the teleportation itself. Your tunnel is ready to receive you. Remember the large mass of energy, right under your feet? Cause it to surge upwards; and will it as hard as you can to push you through the tunnel, to your destination. Remember that this requires an immense amount of energy and will.

Congratulations! Hopefully, you have just accomplished your first teleportation! If not, however, just go back and keep trying. This takes a lot of practice.

using a

TELEPORTATION RUNE

APPENDIX I:

"Alternate methods"

Just as you can push yourself through a dimensional tunnel; you can also pull yourself through a dimensional tunnel. This can be done if a teleportation circle already exists at the place you want to go. Repeat the basic method, but this time make the tunnel extend towards you. When you have done this, bring the beam of propulsion energy (found in the center ring) to you, make sure it has a firm holding on the rune, and simply have the energy pull you along and to the location.

Don't have enough room to draw out the whole rune? This problem is easily solved. Just draw the rune on a sheet of paper, and place it on the floor in front of you. Proceed to place the energies in their required places on the rune, and begin to connect the tunnel. When this is done, all you have to do is stretch the tunnel itself (not the paper representation) outwards until it has reached the desired size, and step into it. You now have your appropriately sized teleportation circle.

APPENDIX II:

"Credits and resources"

Written by Vaughan Nelson-Lee on 8/1/08.

Thanks to SpellHawk for the idea of a teleportation rune; and to the rest of the Casa Umbrae crowd (Caroline, Jordan, Nikola, Ben, Kio, and a few more) for advice and getting me into magic.

For more information on this sort of thing; register on http://casaumbrae.proboards53.com Or check out Spell Hawk's comprehensive magic and language sites:

http://moisant-webboard.tk/
http://cmoisant.friendpages.com

How To Invoke Freya Valkries For Protection And Defence

Book: How To Invoke Freya Valkries For Protection And Defence by Ragner Storyteller

Freya was a warrior goddess, a Valkyrie, and also the goddess of sensual love. Though this captivating goddess had numerous lovers, she was the wife of the Mysterious Norse god Od.

Freya was a spectacular beauty known for her appreciation of romantic music and stunning floral arrangements. That was her softer side; she was also known as the goddess of war and death. As leader of the Valkyries, she had considerable power. She had the right to claim half the souls of the bravest warriors who died in battle. Actually going onto the battlefield, she would gather them up and take them back with her to spend the after-life in her home in perpetual rest and recreation. A sweet and generous woman, she always invited their wives or lovers to come and live with them. The other half of the heroic warriors, who belonged to Odin, would be gathered up by the Valkyries and taken to Valhalla where they were able to live in comfort and honor.

She was Also Called upon to comfort those who were dying, to ease their transition into Valhalla (the "otherworld"), serving as a guide and companion on the journey to Valhalla for many Viking heroes who had died nobly. When Freya and the Valkyries rode forth on their missions, their armor caused the eerily Beautiful flickering light that we know as the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

The goddess Freya's passions were abundant, vigorous, and unrestrained. Clothed or not, she is usually shown in sensual poses. She is often depicted riding her golden chariot through the skies, the chariot pulled by two large blue cats who were a gift from the Norse god Thor.

Download Ragner Storyteller's eBook: How To Invoke Freya Valkries For Protection And Defence

Books in PDF format to read:

Aleister Crowley - The Royal Game Of Life Or Galestial Snakes And Ladders
Aldous Huxley - The Doors Of Perception And Heaven And Hell
Ragner Storyteller - How To Invoke Freya Valkries For Protection And Defence