Lateral shift: Explaining the change of direction for Sons of Heimdall

Perhaps I should take a little time to explain the thinking and motivation behind moving this blog away from the popular vikingness of some aspects of heathenry. It is less a rejection of that side of things than it is a recognition that a more generalised pre-christian or even pre-capitalist focus fits in with my other interests, notably ecology, left wing politics and, well, hippiness.

The world is in a really bad state at the moment. It could be said that in the west, at least, we are collectively enduring an economic and political, as well as ecological Ragnarok. Politics and the establishment are moving further and further towards fascism, especially in America and the UK. Billionnaires and their corporations amass huge wealth and enjoy unprecedented profits, while the workers whose labour creates that same profit languish in poverty. Corporations who produce the vast majority of pollution refuse to accept that action needs to be taken by them to mitigate climate change. Instead, they boost the signal of misleading advice stating that individual families can somehow save the planet by sorting waste into different coloured plastic boxes while corporations themselves pollute and ravage the environment indiscriminately.

It is my train of thought that supposes that simply replacing the Christian religious orthodoxy with a more pagan spirituality will not be sufficient to stem this tide of fascism and ecological disaster. Swapping out Yahweh for Odin and his companions does nothing to affect the underlying problems - most notably the world-denying christian attitude of superiority over the environment and the capitalist emphasis on capital and profit as the only true values.

So it is that my focus has shifted toward the reawakening of pre-christian, non-capitalist views of our animist ancestors, as espoused by Rune Hjarno Rasmussen and explained on his Nordic Animism YouTube channel (amongst other places).

It also allows me to move away from a history-focused "wouldn't everything be nicer if we were more tenth century in our outlook" and toward a more positive, "This is how we can be inspired by our own past and other cultures to carve a better future for the world". As I alluded to before, it also means I get to rail against capitalism and contemporary religious dogma. Which is something I quite like doing. Powerful corporations and churches with lots of resources and undue influence need taking down a peg or two. The power has always lain with us, the people. We simply forgot that for a while. If we come together and demand better from our politicians and service providers, we can make the world a better place - through repairing the damaged connections we have with the environment and other cultures.

I personally think that my brand of heathenry is inextricably linked with my belief in left wing politics, universal acceptance and tolerance, ecological activism, a love for the world and its eco-systems and my hatred of injustice. The worst of these injustices being 1% of the world's poopulation living in the lap of luxury and obscene wealth while a huge proportion of the world starves and lives in terrible poverty. Our heathen ancestors treated slaves better than our society treats supposedly free people.

Kith of Yggdrasil forum post 2011: Pondering Tyr

Here is a blog entry I originally posted to the (sadly now defunct) Kith of Yggdrasil forum in Dec 2011 and then again to my UK Pagan blog just under a year later. Think it might have found its way to my internal martial arts blog at some point, too. Enjoy.



Posted ImagePosted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 2:04 pm Post subject: Tyr I've allowed Tyr to occupy my mind somewhat, perhaps in an effort to get to grips with him and any way that he might help in my Baguazhang training.

I've read the usual factoids regarding him, available from several sources. Perhaps once the chief deity until he was usurped by Odin in some areas. Sky god. Patron of combat. Lost his hand while binding Loki's troublesome canine offspring... yada... yada... yada...

At first I found him completely inscrutable. Very little information available regarding him and there seem to be very few authors willing to pontificate too much as to his nature, either.

Then I started to really think about what we know of him. He lost his hand when binding the wolf. Offered as a pledge of faith. Tyr must have known that the hand would be lost once the binding was complete. To look that giant, ravenous animal in the eye and to offer your hand without a solitary quiver of doubt crossing your face...? Any sign of unease would surely have warned Fenrir of the gods' true intent. To keep that calm under such immense pressure in spite of what pain and loss was to come. Now that calls for ice in your veins.

Similarly, Tyr is described as the only god brave enough to feed the bound Fenrir. When you consider the nature of the other gods, that is quite a claim to fame. Perhaps the statement is not meant to be literally true - Odin and Thor, for example, do not strike me as cowards - but to be hailed as the bravest of the gods is an incredible accolade.

The feeding of Fenrir also raises another interesting point. This wolf has just bitten your hand off, what kind of fairness of judgment must you show not to bear a grudge and to feed the animal? Hel, why not just let Fenrir starve, chained up helpless as he is? Obviously, Tyr's honour precludes him from such base flaws.

Indeed, Tyr's honour would have to be renowned for his hand to make sufficient a pledge for the wolf to allow himself to be bound. Let's face it, Odin or Thor would be likely to eschew honour in order to get the job done. Only Tyr, it seems, had enough honour, bravery, determination, pragmatism and foresight to offer his hand for the greater good and to secure the future - allowing the gods a chance to secure a better post-Ragnarok world...

What will I attempt to learn from him, then? It seems he has a lot of value to teach me, even from the superficial insights I have drawn for myself so far. I am looking forward to getting to know him even better, so that I can learn some of those traits of which, I must confess, I could use more.

Obviously, at the time I didn't feel the need to reference any of my claims within the little passage - but it is through plain, simple consideration and musing like this that I have come to feel myself closer to Tyr than before. No mystical mumbo-jumbo required. No chanting bollock-naked in my garden (good job, too, I only have a small balcony that is overlooked by the apartment block across the street). Nothing but a little time and thought.

Wonder if I could get closer to other aesir and asynior in this way? Might be worth thinking about... ;)