2023: The Year of Aun

If you're a heathen of my ilk, you'll be engaged and excited by "The Year of Aun", as explained by the Nordic Animism channel.

The rebirth of the 8-year-cycle of festivals and celebration is a momentous occasion for all heathens.  Add to that the goal of healing the world of the various toxins of modernity and it becomes a recipe for creating hope in a time of bitter darkness.

Most of the online content relating to #Aun2023, though, is the work of highly educated and very knowledgeable individuals.  Each with vast knowledge in related and Aun-adjacent subjects; animism, anthropology, history, sociology linguistics.  

While the online content from many of these experts is very accessible and entertaining, I can't help but feel under qualified when I try to engage or join in.

So, in this post (finally getting to the point), I'll be listing my plans and goals that I hope will serve as my modest observance and contribution to the #Aun2023 phenomena.

1.  Educate myself.  Reading up on subjects that I feel will enhance my appreciation of #Aun2023.  Animism, Norse mythology, history, world politics, ecology & green issues, decolonisation and indigeneity.

2.  Hiking and exploring my local area.  The northwest has some beautiful landscapes.  I want to explore these and also learn the history of the places I visit.

3. Gardening. Reconnecting with nature and my own spirituality through the simple toil and natural interaction of working in my garden.

4.  Art.  I'm not much of an artist, but I want to practice my bass more.  Then, perhaps, in another 8 years I might compose some Aun-inspired music.

5.  Physical Culture.  Using martial arts and meditation - through practising baguazhang - to improve myself, my understanding and my connection to the universe 

6.  Interactions with friends, neighbours and family. Connecting more widely with my fellow humans being just as important as reconnecting with other then humans.

So, this is my "2023 Year of Aun for Dummies".  Watch this space for updates as to how it all goes.

Sowing the seeds of our own destruction: The threat of societal collapse has been recognised 50 years ago

The Infamous 1972 Report That Warned of Civilization's Collapse
A Wired.com article

Capitalist forces, i.e. the unremitting quest for profit at any expense, is driving us toward an ecological apocalypse that will result in nothing short of the end of human civilisation. Those with the power and influence to do anything about it are reluctant to do so and very slow on the take up. Very slow as the article above shows that this undeniable situation we find ourselves in has been understood and forecast at least 50 years ago.

It is not a new thing. There isn't any time left to think about things or see how this plays out. We act now, or society collapses not just a little bit, but into a new, dark age. Governments and corporations play act at concern for the environment and make hollow gestures toward being "carbon neutral" or having a "green policy". If this is all that happens from them, we are doomed.

The only way governments and corporations can be forced to do the right thing for humanity is through collective action. If enough people refuse to vote or boycott products, citing environmentalism as the reason, those who rely on the support of the market, i.e. us, the people, will be forced to take proper action.

My tentative first ideas for the Year of Aun #Aun2023

First of all, what is the Year of Aun? To find out, visit the Nordic Animism Youtube channel.

When I was young, I lived in Lincolnshire. A very rural county, not really known too well outside of its borders for anything other than farming. Mostly arable farming, though I did live near many fields of (dairy) cows, a piggery and a turkey farm. Back then, I felt a really strong connection to the land. I appreciate my mature mind might well be embellishing this a little. After all, what did I know back then of spirituality or, indeed, the mundane world at large? I was a socially-awkward teenage boy who'd rarely ventured further than perhaps the 20 miles to the nearest market towns.

Back then, however, I did feel a certain connection to the land as something more than just "the area in which I lived". I felt a connection to the earth, where a good portion of the food I ate was grown. When I fell over and scraped my knees (as kids are wont to do), it was that same earth that my blood fell upon and soaked into. When my elder relatives died, it was the earth into which they were buried. Or, in some cases, it was the air around us into which their ashes scattered. As the descendant of farmers and farm workers, it was that same land that my ancestors had worked for generations. It felt like it was a part of my DNA.

Fast forwarding to the present day, I'm sitting in the spare bedroom of my house before a laptop, working from home. "The new normal", apparently. In my youth. I've tried re-engaging with some of the hobbies I used to enjoy. I've renewed my contact with old friends. But nothing quite seems to quell that feeling of something missing. Perhaps it is that connection to the land that I miss?

For my Year of Aun plans, I think I will focus upon rebuilding that connection to place that I felt as a boy. Albeit this time across the Pennines in the northwest. Lancashire is very similar to Lincolnshire it a lot of ways. Lots of hills and large city-sprawls notwithstanding.

#AUN2023

Gods, wights and ancestors - Or is that the wrong way around?

One of the side effects of heathens bringing their christian sensibilities into heathenry is the over-emphasis on the Aesir and Vanir. The Gods and Goddesses star in our mythology, cosmology and campfire stories. They inspire us and teach us important lessons about the nine worlds and the importance of being a good heathen. Being active in all the nine worlds and having great stories and quests to complete means that they have little time to spend dealing with the whims and fancies of the average everyday heathen.

Perhaps one of the things that was new and appealing about christianity at the time of the conversion was the idea of a god who took interest in each worshipper's life. One who watched over them and cared for them - offering protection and blessings to that individual worshipper, rather than to the collective community as a whole.

For heathens, gods weren't required to offer personal service to each individual. Our ancestors, being part of our own family line and having loved us in life would have been the ones who took care of personal fortune, luck and prosperity. After all, it is in the ancestors' own interests for you to succeed and gain fame and fortune. For they live on in you and they are in turn remembered by you. As the Havamal says, "...one thing never will die, the fame of one who has done well". They are your protection and the source of your wyrd. To understand them is to understand yourself. To recount their stories is a foundational part of your fame and carving your own story that your descendents in turn will remember for you.

Similarly, wights or vaettir are closer to the individual heathen than the Aesir and Vanir. This is because, while they are not part of your family and do not have any vested interest in you in that sense, they do share your little corner of Midgard with you. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement to have good dealings with the vaettir of your home and surrounding area. They are like your neighbours. Getting on well with your neighbours can significantly improve your quality of life. Just as being embroiled in a dispute with your neighbours can cause considerable detriment. Therefore, it is wise to make offerings to the wights/vaettir of your local area and home.

Other members of my family share my ancestors and so we could (were any of them heathen) blot together in their honour. My friends live in my neighbourhood and so we share some vaettir between us, and those of us who are heathen blot to them. However, when dealing with heathens who aren't family or local to me, my ancestors and local vaettir mean nothing to them. This is where gods and goddesses help bring us together. I can meet my fellow heathens from the south of England and offer a toast to Thor, knowing they will join me. If I offer a toast to my grandfather Harry, what would that really mean to them? Equally, if I offer a toast to the vaettir from Rivington Pike, how will they understand what that means? Gods and goddesses are more likely to take an interest in heathenry as a whole, or larger communities of heathens. So, when I mix with my fellow heathens at Sumarrblot 2021, it will be to them that I drink.

For a better, more educated and erudite explanation of this, I heartily recommend checking out Arith Harger's video on Tribal Heathenry.