On Nordic-Germanic Pagan Morality.
As the Pagan Revival spreads throughout the West, we have to clarify what Pagan morality actually is. Pagans are often reactionary against Christians without clearly defining what their actual moral system is, and this leads to a lot of weakness within our community. Thelemites especially have issues with this as the dictum of the gods “Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law” seems to smaller minds as being a license to hedonism and careless and abusive attitudes toward others. Asàtru, the other spiritual path I follow, seems to have less of a problem with its moral code, yet oftentimes this moral code has an unclear definition for most. We will attempt to make clarifications so we can move forward with our spiritual work. In this essay, we will focus on the Nordic-Germanic moral code.
Christians, especially uneducated American Christians, have a very limited understanding of the ancient classical Greco-Roman world and the so-called “barbarian” Nordic-Germanic world. The Northern Tribes are thought to have been illiterates and savages who “raped and murdered” their way across Europe. Even Tacitus in “Germania” referred to the Northern Tribes as a very “moral people” with very strict codes of life. Christianity often concerns itself to the height of hysteria with sexual matters, but Tacitus writes that adultery in these so-called “barbaric tribes” were rare and concubinage was only reserved for the higher-ranking tribesmen and even then, was not actively pursued except for rare cases when there were not enough men after a war or some other catastrophe. In marriage the husband would give the dowry unto the bride. Also, women had a certain equality in the household, especially when it came to protecting the house and tribe. Tacitus writes that in Germanic culture, “a woman must not imagine herself exempt from thoughts of manly virtues or immune from the hazards of war. That is why she is reminded, in the very rites that bless her marriage at its outset, that she is coming to share a man’s toils and dangers, that in peace and war alike she is to be his partner in all his sufferings and achievements.” (Tacitus, “Germania”, pg. 43.)
Women in the Nordic-Germanic and Anglo-Saxon tribes had governing powers as queens and priestesses. Abortion was unheard of, regardless of what slander Christians enjoy laying upon the Germanic peoples. This was considered an affront to Freyja and Berkta, the goddesses of love and fertility respectively. Women were highly respected in Nordic-Germanic culture and had a high status in society, though they were expected to have absolute fidelity to the man and the clan. The same standard was held to the men.
There is this notion amongst uneducated Christian moderns that young virgin women were offered as sacrifices to the gods. This is of course a preposterous Hollywoodized concoction. The blòt or “sacrifice” during fertility and harvest rites had nothing to do with humans. They were sacrifices of animals and crops that ensured the next harvest. Human sacrifice was limited to prisoners of war and tribal undesirables who were criminals, deviants, or defectives. Nobody was sacrificing their intelligent virgin daughter to the gods. It shows just how much Christians lie about the history of the West. In extreme circumstances such as clan war or tribal population collapse during months of starvation, a member of the tribe would volunteer themselves to be a part of a sacrifice. This was not done to “appease the angry gods” but rather for the tribal sorcerer to open a portal to do magickal work. When the person sacrificed dies, a portal is opened temporarily to the spirit world and the sorcerer has time to influence the gods to work in the tribe’s favor. Human sacrifice in the Nordic-Germanic tribes was not this gratuitous orgy of violence that we saw in the Central and South American civilizations who were near their metaphysical collapse when the Spaniards arrived. The Nordic-Germanic world was a different story, with human sacrifice done only in the utmost necessity when it involved anyone other than criminals, unruly slaves, and prisoners of war. We can now set aside any criticism of this ancient Indo-European society and its moral practices. It should also be quite clear that much of this is unnecessary today, but one must pause to reflect upon the violence committed on Westerners by foreigners in our modern times and what the gods would have thought about it.
At this juncture we must address the notion that the Nordic-Germanic Tribes were illiterates. It is my belief, and current research and archaeology is coming to this knowledge, is that the Elder Futhark runes are a script that comes from a much older series of magickal petroglyphs and are much older than 100 CE and most likely go back centuries earlier. These ancient petroglyphs were used for magickal work and eventually developed into a language. Rather than being a hybridization of the Greek and Etruscan alphabets, these southern alphabets are actually emergent from the ancient runes that came into the south via migrations. Further analysis of this is outside the scope of this essay. We also must pause to reflect on the biased scholarship working against Indo-European cultural knowledge in academia since World War II. It is my contention that the runes are one of the oldest alphabets on earth.
Gift giving and hospitality were the highest virtues in Nordic-Germanic culture. This is symbolized by the Gebo rune which is associated with the realm of Asgard. Gift-giving in the old culture indicated a sense of spiritual balance within family, the clan, and the tribe. Selfishness and stinginess resulted in their eyes in unnecessary intrapersonal conflict. Part of the reason why Christians took over so quickly was that Germanic hospitality let them in. This hospitality in our modern world is exploited by the Christian religion and its child Marxism to bring in black and brown Third Worlders to Europe and the Anglo-sphere.
The spiritual metaphysics of the ancient Asàtru religion and initiatory system centers around the concepts of Orlög, Wyrd, and Haminja. Orlög is the Nordic-Germanic equivalent of Karma, the primal layers of past influences in one’s life and actions that influence the present and the possible future. Using meditation, ritual, and moral observance along with Ordeals of Initiation corrects negative Orlög to balance one’s Wyrd which is the manifestation of fate, destiny, and the path of living. This corresponds to Dharma in the Hindu system. Orlög and Wyrd have similar meanings, though Orlög has more to do with past actions. Wyrd has to do with fate and synchronicities which work in favor of the individual as his negative Orlög is reconciled and he is purified for a new path. When this occurs when he is given access to the realm of the Haminja, which is the blessings of Divine Luck manifesting in the life of the individual. To achieve Haminja one must correct all the negative aspects of one’s life through the Ordeals of Initiation. All of this happens through infinite cycles of reincarnation as one’s Orlög is purified in Hel before going on to the next incarnation. Much of these concepts are similar to Samsara in Hinduism. We must be reminded that the ancient Nordic-Germanic religion and the Vedic religion were once the same religion until the Indo-Aryans migrated from the steppes of Central Ukraine 6,000 -8,000 years ago and sacked the Dravidians and merged their mystical system with that of the Shaivites.
Now we must examine the basic moral code of the Nordic Germanic Tribes. This is the Six-Fold Goal which includes
1. RIGHT: This is Judgment and Justice meted out by the god Tyr in good judgement for the spiritual well-being, physical safety, and prosperity of the family, clan, and tribe.
2. WISDOM: This is Wisdom both revealed and hidden given to us by Wotan in the spiritual mysteries. This Wisdom is preserved in the wells of memory for the preservation and regeneration of our civilization. The Wisdom of Wotan also includes all philosophy, art, literature, and other writing including Skaldic poetry.
3. MIGHT: This is the two-fold goal of defense and victory under the aegis of Thorr. Nordic-Germanic spirituality is based on the fight against entropy. This is similar to the Greco-Roman amelioration of Akrasia or “decline.” The symbol of Ragnarök, the Twilight of the Gods, gives this philosophy a sort of fatalistic aura. Rather, it is positive in noting that the individual is always centered and in connection to the Divine in the form of Thorr to halt all entropy for protection of the Self, the Family, the Clan, the Tribe, and the Civilization. We must remember that it is Thorr’s decree that family is above the gods. Everything in the Nordic-Germanic culture is focused on protecting the family. The family is the force that protects against entropy. We must be reminded that after Ragnarök, Asgard is cleansed and the gods return to their Primordial state along with the surviving primordial family to repopulate the world in the next Golden Age. We must remember that the ancient Nordic-Germanic culture did not believe in fixed concepts of “good” and “evil” but rather polarities of LIGHT and DARK. These polarities are in a dance of creation and destruction and the individual in union with the gods lives a life of balance by understanding the opposing nature of these forces.
4. HARVEST: This is the celebration of death and renewal in nature under the aegis of Berkta who promises wealth and abundance in Harvest if the collective Wyrd of the tribe is in balance. Harvest is the essence of the Blòt or Holy Sacrifice which involved animals, crops, and mead.
5. FRITH: This is under the aegis of Frey and Freyja. Frith is the essence of collective freedom and goodwill in the society of the clan and tribe so that each individual can follow their True Will and best express their talents and unique abilities. Frith is about having a HIGH TRUST society where gift-giving, fellowship, and joy are present. The word Frith means “peace” and signifies peace in the tribe.
6. LOVE: This is the essence of the Lust and Will for Life as expressed by the entirety of the society and manifest in each and every individual. Love is also under the aegis of Frey and Freyja. Love in the Nordic-Germanic culture also was expressed in physical pleasure between husband and wife and Priest and Priestess. This is similar to the concept of Love Under Will in Thelema where sex itself becomes a spiritual, magickal act. This is the antithesis of the spiritual deadening of life as exhibited by the Abrahamic faiths and their absolute hatred of sex which was unknown in the ancient Nordic-Germanic world. This hatred of sex has created a plethora of vices, diseases, anxieties, and perversions in our modern world.
The Six-Fold Goal provides the necessary spiritual foundation for a truly functioning High Trust society. Pagan societies were small, tribal, High Trust societies based on the Nine Noble Virtues. We must pause and consider the Latin Virtus in its proper meaning as something elevated, centered, and powerful in its aura, not just meaning “being a good person.” These Nine Noble Virtues are about creating individuals who have a power in their voices and actions. These are the 9 Pillars of Vertical Solar Power under the aegis of Balder (Apollo) and Sunna (Themis.)
1. Courage (heartiness)
2. Truth (knowledge of the essence of life)
3. Honor (worthiness)
4. Fidelity (Troth)
5. Discipline (hardiness)
6. Hospitality (friendliness)
7. Industriousness (work)
8. Self-reliance (freedom and Frith)
9. Perseverance (steadfastness)
The Six-Fold Goal and the Nine Noble Virtues are the essence of Nordic-Germanic Pagan morality and are superior and in complete opposition to the weakness of Universalist Nicene Christianity and its concepts of Original Sin and Vicarious Atonement. These two foreign Semitic concepts have destroyed the minds of the Indo-European people in the Age of Ragnarök as they are about the complete abdication of personal responsibility and created unbalanced Orlög. In essence, Abrahamism tells us all that we are weak and broken and that through begging Christ for forgiveness we can enter a trite heaven. This is the polar opposite of all of the morality mentioned here which puts the responsibility onto the individual to perfect themselves for the gods which, in-turn, benefits the collective of the tribe. Balanced Wyrd and the achievement of Haminja are done through Ordeals of Initiation and centering oneself in the Will of the Gods. If we do not return to the Six-Fold Goal and the Nine Noble Virtues our civilization is lost.