Holy Crap, I'm 40!

On November 28th, I celebrated my 40th birthday.

It was actually very quiet - just me and the cat spending the day together. Joe had to work on a trade show that day (he's a union stagehand) so we just went out for dinner later that evening after he got home. I spent the day doing some wash and doing some reading.

Right now, I'm working on a book called "The Faith Club." The website is here. This book involves an "interfaith" conversation between three women: one Muslim, one Jew, one Christian.

I don't call that "interfaith" because the only thing these women discussed were the Abrahamic traditions. I don't see them thinking outside of that box at all.

And as I read it, I find myself thinking "wow, do they even realize how arrogant and self-centered this sounds? It's like they think the only legitimate religions are the Abrahamic ones! I wonder how they'd take the criticisms of a Heathen or a Native American, who might speak up against the atrocities committed against their people and the indigenous ways, in the name of at least ONE of the Abrahamic faiths: Christianity!"

Sometimes I wonder if there will ever come a time when Christianity will finally give and say, "No, we DO NOT have a monopoly on truth, we never did, and we were wrong to act as if we did. There IS spiritual 'salvation' that has nothing to do with Jesus Christ and there always was such 'salvation' - we just refused to admit that."

Given that "salvation" simply means "healing" anyway...of course salvation is available without the Nazarene.

Since in my area I'm surrounded by non-reconstructionist Wiccans and eclectic pagans, I've wondered if I should start a pagan version of "The Faith Club" and get at least one person from each type of pagan path around a table and get some things aired out.

For example, whoever would be the recon representative would have to tell the Wiccan and the eclectic "look, we really don't appreciate the way you people mock our traditions by lifting things from it and using it out of context!" It would be nice if a Hindu person could sit in on this and say "you Wiccans are particularly bad about using the concept of 'karma' completely out of context" and explain why this is a bad thing.

Problem is - I'm not sure that a Wiccan or an eclectic pagan would even listen to it. They'd just view it as an attack and need to defend themselves and their ways.

So it's likely not a very good idea after all.

On another topic, in the "I can't believe I missed this" category...

Last month marked 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It's such a wonderful thing, and I can't begin to excuse myself for missing such an important date. Well, better late than never, right?

Here is a video of Peter Jennings announcing the....eh, I'd call it the "legal" demise of the Wall. (Embedding has been disabled on that video; maybe later I can find an embeddable one.)

20 years later...here's a couple of videos of the celebrations at the Brandenburg Gate:





Freiheit indeed.

Wassail. I'll drink to that. Absolutely.

Let me add this: Joe is very deeply proud to have done his part in ensuring that wall would come down - he served in the US Army from 1983-1986 (right at the tail end of the Cold War, sort of) and was stationed in Baumberg, in Bavaria, just 30 kilometers out from the Czech border. Given that his own great-grandmother had emigrated to the US from Prussia in 1920, and given that he had grown up hearing German spoken in his household, he felt so fortunate to have spent time in Germany and yes, he did take the time to get to know the German civilians while he was over there. Wonderful people, says he, and thanks to a couple of encounters with German women here in the US, I can believe it. Hospitality on a level not even found in the American South, which is justly famous for some lovely hospitality! I'll have to explain that later.

Well, I'm very glad to have found those videos and I'll have to keep up on this from here on out. I'm not one who is inclined to totally ignore everthing that goes on in Europe in the 21st century, just because we no longer live in the Bronze Age or the Iron Age. I'm very much an Information Age/Digital Age/Electronic Age (call it whatever you like) Heathen. I'm here, now. I am a 21st century woman. I see no reason not to live as one; we have creature comforts that, if our ancestors had access to them, they'd jump on them in a heartbeat. Central air conditioning, computers, cars, good dentistry, flush toilets and cell phones come to mind. LOL!! Hahahaha!!!

Well, I guess in the long run, I am enjoying being 40. I thought it would be very traumatizing, and in the weeks leading up to my 40th I was kinda depressed. I felt that way because I don't have kids (not that I'm trying to have any; I'm not really a kid person so I doubt I'll ever have them)...I don't own my own home...I don't really have a "career" to speak of...very long story, that.

But something clicked in my head upon turning 40. It's this: I don't have to take anyone's crap any more. One of my former coworkers, when she turned 40, said "This is the time in your life when you really can make some noise; up to this point, you haven't had much of a clue about what you want, what the world is about, how to get to where you want to be, etc but now - it all falls into place and you can get out and take over the world."

I believe her now.

:D

The Steaks Rite

Every year, on the weekend following Veterans Day, the group I am part of does a special rite to pay homage to:

1: male energy
2: warrior energy
3: hunter energy

We called it "Steaks for the Lord of the Underworld". OK no, it's not really a "Heathen" type of name, but we chose that as a counter to the "Cakes for the Queen of Heaven" ceremony that some people in the pagan world have done.

I sort of got the ball rolling and the idea planted into the minds of three of the men in our group, two of whom are military veterans (Joe and our friend Windsinger). Admittedly the results of this are eclectic, but there were reasons for doing it that way. Joe is actually deeply Asatru and fulltrui to Odin specifically. He normally wouldn't have created an eclectic rite such as this, but it seemed to work out ok in the long run.

In this photo, Joe sounds the horn to begin the first annual Steaks for the Lord of the Underworld rite, November 2007:



Here he is again (in what is admittedly a very blurry picture that I took) leading the rite:



This photo shows the altar setup, three swords to represent the Gaels, the Romans and the Vikings, and our blessing bowl:



In this photo, our friend Windsinger (one of the co-creators of this rite) smiles approvingly at the altar:



The Hand of Tyr presiding over the assembled people (ok so it's a welding glove; we didn't have access at the time to a gauntlet):



Three veterans drink a toast (Joe, US Army; Windsinger, US Air Force; Steve C, USMC):



In this photo, Joe demonstrates the stabbing motion that was typically used with that style of sword:



And of course, there's a reason we call this STEAKS for the Lord of the Underworld:



Dead animal flesh, roasted over hot coals! This is not a feast for vegetarians; part of what this little ceremony does is honor the hunter and the prey.

It's kind of a darkish, somewhat somber ceremony, but we do want to keep it dignified and respectful and of course we always have a good time at the feast afterwards.

Update

Aha, this blog is still here! Good.

I've been a little distracted with life of late, but here I am.

Quickie rundown: Joe bought a "new" bike at a pawn shop recently. A 1985 Suzuki somethingorother. I forget what model it is; when he wakes up I'll ask him. He also tried to convince me to buy a little Honda Rebel for $1600. Nice little bike, only had 26K miles on it and was a mid-1980s model. One problem - I can't drive a standard transmission vehicle! Never had to. Ma and Dad both tried to teach me, but I seem to have a mental block when it comes to letting up on the clutch and depressing the accelerator pedal when starting to move from a standstill. I was told "you'll feel it give" and I have no idea what they were talking about. I never felt it "give". Joe thinks I was not taught properly, and if I were to buy that little Honda, he could explain it to me in a way that makes sense. Hah!

Not that I can spare $1600 for a motorcycle! Times are tough, man!

Been watching the ping-pong match that is the health care debate. Suffice to say that while I did vote for Obama:

1: it was under severe duress (the man I really wanted to see in office was Dennis Kucinich of Ohio)

2: I don't agree with everything he does, and one of the disagreements I have with him is over the mandate that all Americans must buy health insurance

Myself personally, I favor HR676 - Medicare for All. I think one of the WORST things that has happened to health care in this country was the way it has been dominated by unrestricted, for-profit private businesses.

Gad zooks. And even if we can't have Medicare for All, we could at least get some control over crap like "you have a pre-existing condition so we won't cover you/are going to drop you" etc. The health care industry is even exempt from the same anti-trust laws that Bill Gates got nailed on, and that's just not right.

:sigh:

The idea of a mandate is a scary thing. If they start there, where will it end??

Meh. It's late, I've got to get to bed because I have to work tomorrow, and it's a short week this week. Huzzah!

The Spirit of Norway Movie

I thought that including this would be amusing. This is the "Spirit of Norway" movie that is shown after the Maelstrom boat ride at EPCOT at Walt Disney World.



OK no, not specifically Heathen, but perhaps something to keep for posterity anyway. Yes, the movie badly needs updating, and maybe one of these days they'll get to it. When they update the Norway pavilion (IF they ever do; please visit EPCOT82's blog for more information on what Disney is and is not doing about it) it's likely this movie will be removed and archived.

And ok, the soppy side of me gets a wee bit misty when the child places his hand on the ship at the end. I can be so sentimental. But...I guess to me, he's looking at odal. He's looking at what has come before him and the inheritance he now carries forward. I wonder where he is now.

Here's a film of the attraction itself...



Here's a film of the entire pavilion, including a few shots of the replica stave church, which houses a small museum about the Vikings:



I'm not really sure what to make of the fact that Disney's Norway pavilion completely capitalizes on stereotypes about Norway, Norwegians and Vikings. I don't know if it creates an incomplete image of Norway and makes it look too medieval, too stuck in the past or what.

On the other hand - I got a cute troll there. LOL!

And what the hell - it's fun for the kids. They eat it up. And they really like seeing the Viking museum and the big Viking ship just outside of it. Sometimes just seeing the way the kids' faces light up makes it all worthwhile.

Naming

In the tradition of giving someone a descriptive nickname (like Hrolf Gangr or "Hrolf Walker"), I have been given a name.

This tickles me. It makes me feel important, like I have won a place here because I have spontaneously earned a name. I did not put anyone up to this or ask for this name. It just happened on its own.

Joe has dubbed me "Hnoss" - his jewel, his treasure.

He adores me. And he's ready to put his money where his mouth is and prove to the world how he adores me. I'm everything to him.

:D

About Me

Well, I suppose I've got to post something here, and for the time being, I think the best thing to post is a spiritual biography.

I grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland as a United Methodist. The church I went to is a large church, and my family was quite active in this church. My late father was an usher there, as well as one of the coaches for our youth basketball team. My great-grandmother turned the first spadeful of soil for the laying of the foundation of the current church building, and we were a very well-known family in this church. Here, I was christened, baptized and confirmed as a United Methodist.

But when I was in my early teens, my parents divorced. I stayed with my father in our house and in the same neighborhood. Mom eventually met he who became my stepfather, and unfortunately this is where some weird things began happening. She and her new man were heavy drinkers. This new man couldn't keep his hands off of me when he was drunk. This is not a good thing.

When I graduated high school, I made the mistake of thinking I could go live with Mom and stepfather and go to the college of my choice, which they lived very close to. I was there for two years before the abuse became too much, and I eventually fled their home.

During this period, I began doing a lot of searching, trying to figure out what was going on here and why this was allowed to happen to me. The Bible held no answers for me, that's for sure.

On campus, I found some Wiccans, and after talking to them for a few months, I decided to do a self-dedication on Ostara of 1989. Thus, I set my feet on the Wiccan path.

Don't so many of us start out this way?

That was all well and good. In 1991, my boyfriend and I moved to central Florida, and I got involved in the local Wiccan community here. In 1996, said boyfriend and I broke up, and I found myself on my own.

Through the introduction of my high priest's partner, I found myself attending a Unitarian Universalist Church; this was something I'd never heard of when I lived up North. The local Wiccan community frequently holds events there, in their large hall.

In late 1996, I met the man I am currently with - Joseph, who is an Odinsman and who has been since he first set his feet on any pagan path. We first met at a local pagan bookstore, and after two years of pursuit, I finally gave Joe my phone number. In time, we became an official couple, and here we are.

Joe has been instrumental in introducing me to Asatru, and in showing me how different Asatru is from Wicca or eclectic neo-Paganism. I'm not sure he realizes how he has inadvertently taught me things that apparently I needed to learn. In time, I'm sure I'll be writing some of these things I've learned in this blog.

One of the things that Joe got me thinking about (well, him and a lot of the reading I have done on Asatru) is the very simple idea of the Gods as the Elder Kin.

That is one of the concepts that keeps me coming back to this path. I admit to wrestling with it at times, and wondering if there is a place for me here - I am not really inclined to be one of what I call the "axeatru" who believes that Asatru is an excuse to beat the piss out of everything that irritates me, and I'm also not inclined to be a "beeratru" or someone who believes Asatru is an excuse to punish my liver with inhuman amounts of alcohol. Thankfully, it seems that much of this kind of vision of Asatru is making way for something a lot more balanced and realistic and down-to-earth. So now I can spend more of my time meditating on what the idea of "Elder Kin" means to me, instead of wasting my time beating back the axeatru and the beeratru!

At the moment, I don't really have the words to explain what the idea of "Elder Kin" means to me and how important it is; just know that with this in my awareness, I'm able to find some level of spiritual peace. Spiritual hospitality. It's a huge relief, trust me.

I must admit that for a short time, I had a major case of sour grapes and tried becoming involved with the Episcopal Church. I experienced a wonderful welcome there, and that welcome makes their path hugely tempting...except I just can't make myself believe in that whole Jesus thing. Plus, it is an alien path for me, a descendant of Celts and Germans. I even have the red hair to prove said descent!

I think I'm going to cut this short for now...I had not planned to go into much detail right now anyway. That can come later...

Memorial Day 2009

I'm going to post this video for Memorial Day, that we may not forget that any Asatru military fallen do not have the option to have Thor's Hammer engraved on their grave's headstones:



Click here to go to the website for The Hammer Project.

Hail the noble fallen!