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Integrating Practice Into Your Life

So far all of what has been covered focuses on the ideas and general principles of the Way of Fire & Ice. These are essential for understanding what it means and how Radical practice is different from other forms of spirituality. This brings the conversation to the last of the five points: living the Way. What is presented here is meant to influence and guide all aspects of your life. It does not start and stop with ritual observances, holidays and sacred symbols. These ideas saturate every part of your life.

It may seem obvious what this means. Of course someone who follows a particular form of religion or spirituality doesn’t stop being that person when they aren’t engaging in rituals or celebrating holidays. If the example of the Gods of Paganism in whatever form you follow shape your life then, logically speaking, most Pagans are always Pagans even if they’ve missed the last few ritual observances or their forms of honouring the Powers are unique to how they see things. Similarly the ethics at the heart of these practices likely always influence your personal conduct in one way or another.

The place where this gets really sticky is on bigger questions than regular observances, holidays and wearing the right necklaces. What do you do if there are things happening in the world around you, whether they are big or small, that are seen as unjust, unethical or otherwise wrong according to your beliefs? What if these actions are not ones that you or your friends are personally doing but are being done by others or in broader society?

Such questions are not easy ones to answer. Too many in the modern world have felt the lash of religious persecution justified by invocations of the sacred to cover for oppressing others. Whether you’re talking the bombed out shells of abortion clinics in Kansas, young queer people facing angry gangs of righteous bullies or veils torn from innocent faces on the streets of London there’s no question that using religion to justify attacking others is harmful and dangerous. It would, therefore, make sense to stand up to such groups and work with any who face harm from such persecution. Refraining from persecuting others and defending those who suffer from such harm is a direct, easy answer to these questions and is supported by examples like Thor’s defence of others, Beowulf’s aid for Hrothgar or Havamal 48 which says:

The lives of the brave and noble are best
Sorrows they seldom feed
But the coward fear of all things feel
And gladly not the greedy gives

But what happens when the harm being done is happening under the color of law or is the result of institutional decisions and trends instead of specific, discrete actions and you have to take your own actions to see justice done? If standing up to persecution is justified and causing such harm is not then how is taking action without direct provocation justified? One could argue that if refraining from imposing on others is morally justified then it would be wrong to violate this principle. Such an analysis, while understandable, is short-sighted.

Sometimes there are others in the world who do harm from a place of power and must be confronted. Taking action in these cases is very different from flipping the persecutors’ dynamic and taking up their whips to scourge the innocent. The reason is simple. Whether you are facing corrupt officials and leaders or powerful, seemingly faceless institutions who do great harm to others through thousands of small yet intolerable blows you are not acting as an aggressor or imposing on the innocent. That such injustice is happening is already a first act of harm. This justifies the necessary work to end the source of such injuries.

One good example of this are the recent actions by the group Extinction Rebellion in London in this past week. Over a thousand activists were arrested for blocking roads, disrupting traffic and shutting down large parts of the city. They claimed what they were doing was necessary to force the British government and other world leaders to declare a climate emergency and confront the growing crisis of climate change. On the surface what they did was not directly confronting the actual causes of climate change or the most guilty actors. Yet, in taking the actions they did, they forced attention to this broader concern, raised awareness and signalled a willingness to do whatever they could that is within their power to make change happen. By striking in ways that disrupted the mechanisms of normalcy they were, in an indirect way, attacking the larger problem.

Some, at this point, may then ask, “but what about the law?” This question assumes that obedience to the law, in all its forms, is an inherently good act while defying it is inherently bad no matter how justified that act may be. What it misses is law and morality are the same thing. Laws, in theory, are created by society with the consent of the governed to define orderly conduct. If the purpose of law is to ensure a just, orderly and safe existence for all under its power then any law which does not do this or, even worse, allows for the few to inflict harm on the many is directly contrary to this purpose. Even if an action is defensible according to the letter of the law if it defies this deeper, underlying purpose of equity and justice then the action is wrong regardless of legality. If there are laws which defend unjust actions then that law itself is unjust and should be defied until it ceases to be.

It is important to remember, as many others have pointed out, that many unjust systems were actually legal. The horrors of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, which lasted for three centuries, were protected by law. The destruction of Native American communities in North America was sanctioned by the US and Canadian governments. The horrors of Nazi Germany, ranging from the persecution of LGBT people to the Holocaust and the deliberate starvation of millions of Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians and countless others in eastern Europe, were legally protected government policy. This was, in fact, invoked by many high-ranking Nazis during the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal to defend their actions and question the grounds for putting them on trial. None of these legal shields change that these actions were wrong and unjust by any measure.

This leaves it clear that taking action, sometimes even illegal action, in the name of the right cause or to end to harm against others is justified in the Way of Fire & Ice. You cannot simply stand by and do nothing when others are suffering or when your community is in danger. This is where living the practice is both most meaningful and most challenging. Taking up this form of Norse Paganism is more than accepting a specific method of spirituality that puts a lot of emphasis on meeting people’s needs, working in the now, always living and adapting and using the past for developing inspired adaptation. It means taking up these values to do right in the world, make life better for everyone and never accept good enough as the best that can be.

At first this may sound daunting. Not everyone can be a full-time agent of change. You should also not always be constantly switched on with no rest or respite from such work. If the point of working for a better world is to make life better then part of that means living your best life. Instead you should strive to do the best that you can, what you feel capable of doing and what you think is the most effective way to resolve the problem at hand. This could be everything from charging to the front lines of direct action to having the hard conversations about big issues with the people you care about. What matters most is always living the values of the Way in all aspects of your life as best as you can.

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Inclusive Practice

Answering the question of what inclusivity in spirituality is has driven intense debate across all forms of Paganism, including and especially Norse Pagan and Heathen practices. There is little dispute among most that inclusivity is something to strive for. Many are now referring to themselves clearly, loudly and proudly as inclusive practitioners and their organizations are openly calling themselves inclusive in nature. Easily the biggest example of this sea change was Declaration 127, a joint statement by multiple Heathen and Norse Pagan groups around the world declaring their support for inclusive principles and refusal to give space or shelter to the Asatru Folk Assembly because of their promotion of openly bigoted ideology. The Way of Fire & Ice is definitely one such form of practice.

For the Way of Fire & Ice, also known as Radical Norse Paganism, the foundation of inclusivity rests on the much older concept of hospitality. For the ancient pre-Christian Norse peoples hospitality was one of the bedrock concepts of their societies. In Norse hospitality, which is described in detail in the Poetic Edda saga known as the Havamal and discussed in many other places, if a person came to your door in need of food and shelter you were obligated to provide it for them. Guests would provide some help around the house for the duration of their stay in a form of mutual aid. Hospitality was open to anyone in need so long as they behaved as a good guest should and didn’t abuse the generosity of their hosts.

How hospitality shapes inclusivity is very direct and simple. In Radical Norse Paganism anyone who wants to practice is free to do so regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, national origin and physical or mental ability so long as they treat all others in shared space with dignity and respect. These factors are ones that are beyond any person’s control. They are inherent to their being and existence in many different ways. Just as the ancients expected hospitality be extended to any person in need so to does the Way keep its doors open to any person who feels called by what it teaches regardless of any inherent factors or traits that define them.

Some, however, might then argue this means anyone and everyone must be welcomed no matter what. If, as some argue, no one can be discriminated against by inherent traits then it wouldn’t make sense for this practice to exclude anyone at all. This, however, both misses the point of how inclusivity is understood in Radical practice and how hospitality worked. In the ancient world hospitality could be withdrawn or even denied to a guest if that guest either was abusing the generosity of their hosts, abusing other guests in the space or were notorious for such deeds.

This is what justifies excluding anyone who argues for bigoted ideologies. Whether they are Folkish Asatru, white nationalists, AltRight, some other variety of fascist, trans-exclusionary radical feminists, misogynists, homophobes or any other similar belief at the core all of these ideologies are based on actively denying other people the right to exist. Such active dehumanization isn’t just disrespectful and denigrating, it actively puts people in harm’s way. Denying others’ right to exist, as those who deny the validity of trans experiences or excuse racial discrimination just to name a few of many examples, becomes justification for doing physical harm to them.

This goes all the way down to the level of language. Words are as much deeds as any other action. Some might see this as excessive sensitivity but there is research supporting this position especially when it comes to inclusivity. For non-white peoples living in largely white-dominated societies racial slurs, profiling and harassment causes very real psychological harm. At the worst such language, and the ideas these words carry, are grist for the bloody mills of police brutality and hate crimes. In the case of gay, lesbian and trans people there is solid evidence that, along with inspiring violent deeds, such language causes direct harm up to and including suicide. Words, far from being harmless, carry great weight that causes real harm to people who already suffer too much in modern society.

Some would say this position is invalid and inherently hypocritical. If, as they would claim, inherent traits are grounds for including people then anyone practicing these ideologies must also be given space. Many of them lay claim to some sort of inherent trait like bloodline, gender essentialism or some other biological-sounding yet utterly pseudoscientific nonsense. Regardless of their justification their beliefs or ideas are the products of and all for specific beliefs and actions which can be changed. The same is not true of someone’s gender identity, race, sexuality or place of birth. No matter what someone does they cannot stop being Black or gay or born in Morocco while a white nationalist or transphobe can stop following and acting on such destructive, dehumanizing ideas.

Stating this space is open to all, except for anyone who cannot respect others or treat them with the basic dignity all people deserve, is only the beginning of what inclusivity means in the Way of Fire & Ice. For those involved in the practice it also means everyone’s voices matter in shaping the Way, what it means and how practice impacts them and their lives. Those who are from marginalized groups, whether they are trans, queer or from an oppressed minority group, are the first that anyone should listen to on any matters impact their experiences or communities. Newer practitioners have as much to offer, from their fresh perspectives, as experiences and trained people. True inclusivity means giving voice to those who, whether due to societal factors or group dynamics, are often denied say.

For the Way of Fire & Ice inclusivity is absolutely essential. It is directly tied with the other core ideas, practices and precepts of Radical practice. To truly honor ideas like hospitality, living by your deeds, following a living practice, inspired adaptation and making practice work for people you must welcome all regardless of any inherent traits. If their deeds show they cannot work with others then they should be removed from shared, community space. To be truly inclusive is not just to welcome in people from marginalized communities but to also give them a voice, space to express themselves and to heed the wisdom expressed by those who are less experiences or connected within a community as much as those with the weight of time and training behind them.

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What Must Be Done

On Wednesday a Louisiana resident claiming to be an Asatru black metal musician was arrested for burning three historic Black churches. The perpetrator was a member of several Heathen and Pagan webgroups, some more prominent than others, where he was a regular participant in discussions. He claimed his inspiration was the notorious Varg Vikernes, a Norwegian white nationalist who went to prison for burning several medieval Norwegian churches and murdering fellow black metal artist Euronymous, who also claims to represent the old ways that many Heathen and Norse Pagan practitioners revere. Many groups, including the Troth and the ADF, have rightly denounced his actions and the Facebook group Followers of the old ways, one of the larger online spaces the arsonist was part of, banned him.

So where does this leave us?

The brutal truth is this act is only the latest addition to a bloody, ashen trail of murder and mayhem. Barely a month has passed since the Christchurch killer signed his pre-shooting rant with, “see you all in Valhalla!” and local media have alleged there are connections between him and the Asatru Folk Assembly. Before Christchurch there was the 2015 case of two men arrested in Virginia on charges of plotting a vicious spree of murder and destruction in the name of Asatru whose targets were several Black churches and synagogues. Along with them was the 2012 case of a member of the infamous Wolves of Vinland was arrested in Virginia for attempting to torch a historic Black church. Then of course there was the 2014 Overland Park murderer who shot up a synagogue and a Jewish community center in the name of white power and the Norse Gods.

Every time Heathen groups cried “not in our name!” Yet for all our protests, indignation and denunciation they just don’t stop. No amount of outcry has stemmed this flood of fire and lead. This leaves no doubt that more needs to be done and this must start with asking why these food for Niddhoggr keep invoking our Gods before committing bloody deeds.

There are, of course, the usual suspects. There is a whole panoply of bigoted, fascist organizations who claim to be coreligionists so they can better spread their candy-coated hatred. The most notorious are the Asatru Folk Assembly, the Odinic Rite, Nordiska Asa-Samfundet, the Nordic Resistance Movement, the Soldiers of Odin and the Communida Odinista de Espana but they are far from the only such groups. There are countless other smaller groups, online spaces and organizations who promote their own brands of Naziism with a Norse Pagan paintjob. Thwarting their works, as organized and widespread as they may seem, is a matter of knowing who they are, giving them no platform and educating our communities.

If it was as simple as locking out the obvious members of the obviously hateful organizations then you would think we’d be in the clear. Unfortunately their operatives are rarely so blatant and the members of less known, equally insidious groups know better than to openly promote their ideas in an obvious fashion. They know that most people tend to react very poorly to someone openly saying, “hey who wants to be part of my jackbooted neo-Nazi Party, start an apocalyptic race war, kill all Jews and stamp on the face of humanity for the next thousand years?”

This is why they resort to a strategy known as entryism. An entryist strategy encourages its practitioners to join larger groups that they think have sympathetic individuals and potential recruits, use more appealing propaganda that plays up themes like heritage, glorious battle, a sense of belonging and “preserving our culture” and take other similarly indirect approaches. When they promote books, videos or articles they often refer to more obscure or less obvious white nationalists like Julius Evola or Stefan Molyneux, use far right sources with a veneer of legitimacy like Breitbart, the Daily Caller and the Daily Mail and effectively slip ideological gateway drugs into the conversation. Natalie Wynn at ContraPoints has an excellent video on the subject showing how insidious and disturbingly effective these tactics are. Regardless of the specifics they work best in spaces that fail to challenge their ideas or material, sending a signal to sympathetic people that what the white nationalists are saying is acceptable.

What makes these sorts so effective are several tendencies existing within our community that make their jobs much easier. One string they like to pluck is exploiting all different manners of denigration by race, sex, religion, gender, sexuality or national origin. They particularly like to exploit bashing of Christians and Muslims as these actions are both more frequent than other examples and less likely to face challenge. Regardless of the specifics any such behaviour, whether malicious or seen as nothing more than mild mockery, is inhospitable, unwelcoming to new people and the toxic atmosphere these remarks create will drive good people out along with making fodder for fascists.

Another common thread they pull on is the tired old “Both sides are at fault!” argument which is frequently trotted out in company with “breaking frith!” and “stop causing drama” to silence people who call out bigotry. Along with being generally useless arguments that don’t actually communicate or prove anything they provide excellent cover for white nationalists with an agenda by effectively giving them permission to keep doing what they’re doing. Shutting down opposition to white nationalism, even if you personally disagree with white nationalist beliefs, always makes their work much easier. As much as you and your community may not like dealing with heated arguments it’s better for people to call out these problems than to shut down such arguments and give space to fascism.

They also especially love exploiting the insecurities of lonely people looking for guidance. Many in our broader community are in places or situations where the only contact they receive with other followers of the same form of spirituality is through the Internet. When they find themselves less than welcome in online spaces, for any number of reasons, they are easy prey for white nationalists who are more than eager to exploit their insecurities to pluck up a potential recruit. Things they especially zero in on are newbies who face a less than welcoming reception or people who play at macho posturing to build themselves up. A welcoming, hospitable and genuinely inclusive environment that doesn’t force anyone to be something they are not to fit in is one of the best antidotes for helping reach these vulnerable people before white nationalist recruiters do.

The best, most consistent solution to creeping white nationalism in any Pagan or Heathen group is adopting the tactics of anti-fascism. One central pillar of this approach is giving no platform to fascist, white nationalist or bigoted ideas. What this means is any discussion that promotes or supports these ideas must be banned outright. Some, including white nationalists themselves, claim this simply makes the ideas more taboo and attractive yet there is little evidence supporting this assertion. In fact fascists and white nationalist leaders like Richard Spencer have openly admitted no platforming has decimated their movement’s ability to organize, recruit and promote themselves. Followers of the old ways’ decision to ban the arsonist is an example of these methods in action.

There are many who argue these sorts of confrontational, shut down tactics are counterproductive. They argue what is more effective is building bridges, reaching out to white nationalists and trying to win them over. These strategies have been the bread and butter of many inclusive Heathen organizations for the better part of three decades. Yet in that time bigoted groups have spread their influence, grown in numbers and are now actively encouraging violent deeds. In the years prior to Declaration 127 bigoted groups like the Asatru Folk Assembly went from being concentrated in a few regions to having global reach and influence while others have operated with such impunity that any sort of Norse Paganism and Heathenry is automatically assumed by most to be organized bigotry. As much as proponents of bridge-building would claim otherwise the results speak for themselves and the story they tell isn’t anything worth boasting about.

In stark contrast is the track record of the anti-fascist approach. You could argue the beginnings of this strategy as a real force in Heathenry and Norse Paganism goes back to Circle Ansuz’s work laying out the ugly truths hiding behind Stephen McNallen’s friendly façade. In the wake of their work groups like Heathens United Against Racism, the Svinfylking and many others agitated, educated, applied pressure, engaged in direct action and challenged this bridge-building consensus with a clear, unequivocal rejection of bigotry in Heathenry. In a span of only four years anti-fascists went from challenging an unshakeable status quo to ground-breaking united acts for inclusivity like Declaration 127. The media narrative has also shifted, if only slightly, from focusing solely on racists in horned helmets to giving the real, inclusive core of modern practice the attention it deserves. Compared to the bridge-building method, which has enjoyed three decades of failure, anti-fascism brought decisive results in a little over a tenth of the time.

There is much work to be done. Declaration 127 helped turn the tide but it was only a first step. We cannot hope to passively ride out this storm, waiting for someone else to solve the problem for us. Everyone in the Heathen, Norse Pagan and Pagan communities must directly confront this problem, drive it out and ensure that bigoted people and groups have no shelter in our spaces. The alternative is watching an ever-growing tide of hate crimes done in our name rise until those tainted waters swallow us whole, staining our honor beyond all hope of redemption. If we are a community that truly values courage then we must do the hard thing, take a stand for what is right and get to work. The death and destruction that comes from inaction and ineffective action speaks for itself.

Please also kick some money over for repairing the damage done.

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Making Spirituality Serve People

Serving people’s needs in the context of spirituality is a complicated question to wrestle with. What makes this such a thorny matter is that it cuts to the heart of what it is all about. For many the purpose of religious practice of any sort is to connect people to a higher power either directly, through mystical practices, or philosophically through ideas that are meant to help you lead a good life as defined by each practice. Most forms of practice combine the two to varying degrees. The implicit idea here is such connection and guidance lead people to a good life, thus fulfilling their needs.

The problem with this generally accepted assumption is it puts the belief system and its requirements at the center of the discussion. People are expected to adhere to what flows outward from there, receiving guidance from accepted authorities that theoretically will ultimately serve their needs. While on paper this dynamic is supposed to serve the needs of people in practice it puts the whims of authority in the position of interpreting what is good for others. This takes power away from people to decide what is best for themselves by putting it in the hands of others.

In the Way of Fire & Ice the process for developing spirituality works in the opposite direction. There are certainly sources in this practice that are used for initial inspiration and discussion. How this is handled, however, is completely different than many cases of conventional religious or spiritual practice. Just as the past is used as a starting point for inspired adaptation applied in the present the same is true of the initial material and ideas offered in the Way, also known as Radical Norse Paganism. Radical ideas become a foundation for each person to build their own ideas, practices and specific interpretations of what they think is best for them and living in the world.

Some might say this is offering nothing more than a total free for all to practitioners and provides no clear way forward. Such a take misses that developing your own way is only half of the process. The other half of the process is recognizing the broader world we live in, the impact of our actions on that world and how that world impacts us. These broader dynamics, as a reflection of the influence of Fate on our lives, mean that while we can live and understand the world as we choose this does not mean we do so as we please with no regard for consequences. Such intimate ties of cause and effect which bind everyone in the world together means you cannot simply interpret and apply however you want. You must take the needs of others and the world around you into account.

For a concrete example of this you may find the knowledge-focused aspects of the Aesir Odin to be most appealing to you. In your practice you might choose to express this by writing poetry in the old forms, researching the lore or meditating on the runes. You might also choose to explore this element of a highly complex God by exploring the questions posed by the world around you. Both approaches are equally valid interpretations of what Odin is associated with.

In both cases the pursuits of wisdom are not value-neutral experimentation for its own sake. What you learn and how you apply it has impact on both your life and the lives of people around you. There is a world of difference, from a moral perspective, between using the fruits of such labor to advance bigoted ideas, act as a spiritual gatekeeper or deny others their basic needs and applying your knowledge in ways that uplift people around you, better inspire free exploration or increase our understanding of the struggles of the human condition.

In Radical practice there is no question you should always use what you learn, understand and develop through your spiritual practice for the betterment of yourself and others. Spirituality doesn’t start and stop in ritual, meditation and devotionals. You live it in every moment of your life. This means your insights, interpretations and the broader guidance that moves you always applies. Such application manifests in small ways, such as tiny acts of kindness for a lost stranger, or in big ones, like engaging in direct action. Regardless the core thread is all the people and the world around you matter. Striving to be a better person does not mean using others as rungs on the ladder of success. It means seeking ways to improve yourself while also standing with others in their times of need, offering a helping hand where you can and always being mindful of the impact of your actions.

This is also why free exploration, interpretation and pursuit of spiritual knowledge by all practitioners with no gatekeepers, authorities or barriers is necessary. No one person, no matter how learned or experienced they might be, will ever have all the answers. Neither will any specific institution or organization. Everyone ultimately benefits from discussion, debate and encouraging the pursuit of new experiences. What matters most in this dynamic is not how close or far they are from one specific person or authority’s view but their impact on your life and the lives of those around you. Spirituality, in this understanding of practice, is a compass that helps guide you and not a map with specific routes, directions and points you are supposed to follow.

This does not mean the Powers exist to serve you and your needs. They are not automatons or archetypes who simply are present to fulfil your every desire. They have their own needs, goals and drives. However this doesn’t mean their choices get to override yours or your autonomy simply because they demand it. A Power doing something doesn’t make their actions automatically right just as your own interpretations and applications of spiritual practice aren’t automatically right regardless of impact. It is your responsibility to always be mindful of your needs and boundaries when working with any of the Powers. Sometimes this can be resolved through careful negotiation of what is acceptable while in other cases you may decide a specific Power is not one you can currently work with.

This process of people-centered spirituality works just as well in a community setting. This is where discussion, debate and reaching a shared consensus comes into play. Shared practice that meets the needs of people is created by collectively shaping these ideas. It would, after all, make no sense to claim something is a people-centered communal practice if it was developed in ways that disregard the desires of all members of the community engaging in that practice. Such a process should also make sure that your community is as welcoming and hospitable to any guests, visitors or others who wish to participate by helping explain to them what your community’s practices are and why your group engages in such practices.

Ultimately building practitioner and people-centered spirituality is a constant process. Your needs, the needs of those around you and those of the world will always be in a state of chance. How your practice works will always be changing as will the practices of the community around you. Such changes are not a problem. Instead what matters is that any changes, developments or adaptations are serving people’s needs, improving lived conditions, uplifting the state of the community and making things more hospitable instead of less. These sorts of changes, ideas and objectives are the essence of people and needs-centered spirituality.

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Inspired Adaptation

How we use the past in developing modern-day spiritual practice is a key question all Pagans must wrestle with. In the Way of Fire & Ice the answer is to adapt the examples of the days before Christianity in ways that honor their spirit while also being effective for meeting the challenges of the present. There may be some who would object to this approach, arguing this is a greenlight to simply making things up as it suits people today with no regard for their pre-conversion significance. What such a position misses is adaptation requires a foundation to build on. The roots of inspired adaptation rest in the past but these roots are not the sum total of practice or what is possible. They are what feeds growth in new, relevant that serve people in the present and build potential for a stronger, enduring future.

The place where inspired adaptation starts is understanding the history, society, culture and spirituality of the ancient Norse peoples. When researching these topics you must never forget several key hard limits. There is a lot of information that has been lost whether due to the ravages of time, a lack of existing written sources in the first place or even possibly the deliberate destruction of sources or artifacts. When it comes to written sources only a handful were produced by the Norse peoples and the rest are products of outside observers, limiting their utility for a modern practitioner.

Even so there is quite a bit that can be gleaned from these sources and cross-referencing them with surviving bits of folklore. Scholars like Neil Price have delved deep into the existing evidence to reach some powerful, persuasive conclusions regarding what the practices of the ancient Norse may have been like. It is important when reviewing such research to remember this field, contrary to what many might assume, is constantly changing. Everything from new interpretations to new evidence can upend age-old assumptions.

One example is the case of the famous shield-maidens, warrior-women who took to the battlefield in ancient days. For decades many scholars dismissed these literary fabrications. Recently, however, the re-examination of existing archaeological finds in England and Sweden have uncovered warriors’ graves who were, based on genetic and skeletal analysis, biologically women. This has inspired fresh debate as to whether the earlier argument that shield-maidens were simply a figure of folklore and song was correct or the result of a lack of evidence combined with the pre-existing biases of the scholars making that claim.

You may be wondering what the point then is to inspired adaptation if the facts surrounding the Norse peoples are somewhat murky and subject to change. The goal of inspired adaption is not to use this body of knowledge as the ultimate arbiter on what modern practice is and means. Though the information you are working with is incomplete and may sometimes change there are deeper, more common themes that resonate throughout all the evidence. These greater ideas of hospitality, a world filled with many Powers, the importance of Fate and deeds as the weight of a person’s character along with many others remain true both in the past and the present.

This is the place where the process of inspired adaptation truly begins. Now equipped with a baseline understanding you can then ask the central question of inspired adaptation, “What about these ideas or practices are relevant to life in the present and how can I best apply them now?” A good example of this is developing relationships with the different Powers. We know, to some extent, that ancient worshipers interacted with the Gods, spirits of place and the dead in a variety of ways whether through offerings and ceremony. We do not know how, specifically, this relationship was built but based on records of sacrifices in several places in Scandinavia, discussion of practices like sitting on grave mounds and the discovery of Thor’s hammer pendants all over Scandinavia that there probably were a lot of ways people built these relationships.

From these examples you can then make an informed, inspired choice of how to adapt this broader concept of relationships with the Gods to the modern day. The fact that we don’t know, specifically, if the individual in that story engaged in regular meditation or daily devotionals to build this relationship doesn’t mean those possibilities are off-limits. If those methods are what you think works best for establishing a relationship with Thor or any of the other Powers then use them. Filling in the blanks in ways that works for you now is the essence of inspired adaptation.

Inspired adaptation doesn’t just apply to spiritual practices. It also can influence how we understand the Powers and how the example of the ancients should influence us in the present day. One example of this comes from modern digital culture that many are familiar with: internet trolls and internet moderation. The term trolling originally comes from industrial fishing and refers to deliberately provoking people, through controversial or inflammatory posts in forums and discussion spaces, into giving strong emotional responses. The main check against such activities are usually forum and chat moderators with the power to ban users from the space, a power that is sometimes referred to as the banhammer.

To be clear all of the terms and behaviour around these ideas are totally modern in origin. That said it is rather striking, for a Norse Pagan, how closely this all parallels both the folklore surrounding Scandinavian Trolls and the role played by Thor. Mythological trolls are known for actions running the gamut from mischievous and potentially annoying to actively malicious, much like how internet trolls run the gamut from being relatedly harmless pranksters to vicious bullies and AltRight provocateurs. Both groups of trolls are also banished by a hammer-wielding guardian of boundaries and borders of a given space. Even though this is a totally organic, unrelated development for a modern Norse Pagan it’s rather interesting how the Internet, something with no precedent in the ancient world, managed to develop a set of symbols, language and activities that closely mirror an aspect of pre-Christian Norse myth. There’s even examples of this overlap being explicitly invoked by Internet users.

This isn’t to say that Thor is definitely the God of Internet Moderators or that online trolls are the same thing as their folkloric cousins. The point is these totally organic parallels show how ancient ideas, practices and symbolism can be adapted for explaining modern day phenomena along with understanding the Powers’ relevance in the present day. Thor’s role as guardian and protector has clear parallels to other present-day jobs or roles for keeping spaces safe, ejecting those who abuse hospitality and confronting threats to a community.

Similar arguments or adaptations could be made for any of the other Powers in many ways, making space for them in the present that the ancients could never have foreseen. Odin, based on his ancient role as patron of the skaldic poets and world-weary wanderer, could also be associated in the present with investigative journalism. Skadi, as the protector of the mountains and snow, could also be associated with environmental conservation while Frigga, known for her patient labors and deep knowledge of many secret arts, could be just as at home in a research lab as she is by the hearth. When you consider how truly vast the Powers are and the broad concepts they are associated with there is plenty of room for seeing their presence in society in ways the ancients could never have foreseen.

The goal of inspired adaptation is to apply the knowledge, examples and practices of the past in ways that reflect and address the challenges of the present. Sometimes this means filling in gaps in what we know about ancient practices with new methods. In other cases this could mean developing new interpretations and perspectives on the ancient Powers so you can better understand them and the world around you. Though some may see this as nothing more than a lot of mental gymnastics justifying making things up that would belittle inspired adaptation and other similar methods while failing to honestly engage with the concept. Inspired adaptation is only possible through knowing the core concepts, values and ideas that run through ancient Norse society and myth. It is a process that challenges you to constantly re-evaluate how you live your spirituality, practices and interpretations to ensure you are effectively meeting your needs and the needs of the people around you. Its roots are firmly planted in the soil of the past while the trunk and branches reach through the present and into the future.

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A Living Tradition

Being a living tradition is one of the core ideas of the Way of Fire & Ice. What this means is this Way, along with your personal application of it, is always adapting to best meet the needs of practitioners while drawing inspiration from the example and ideas of the pre-Christian Norse peoples. If you imagine the Way of Fire & Ice as a tree then the past would be the soil its roots are planted in, the trunk the philosophical and spiritual core while the branches and leaves are the ways it adapts to meet the challenges of life. Even though there are central ideas that serve as the guiding values of the Way there is also plenty of room, both individually and collectively, for deciding how you apply those values.

To some this may sound like it defeats the purpose of what spirituality or religion means. In the eyes of most of society matters of the spirit are inscrutable, unchanging institutions whose roots stretch deep into the mists of time. They are often seen as immovable pillars defined by unquestionably fixed principles that define everything about them. To some extent this is true. At the core of all spiritual practices, this one included, are certain ideas and philosophies that define everything associated with them. Yet even with this trunk of central traditions spiritual practice is, and can be, something that is always in motion.

Modern Christianity is a good example of this in action. Even though most Christians will point to the Bible and claim it is the unquestionable source of all that is true about their religion what this has meant changes over time. If you were to transport a modern Catholic Christian back to Medieval Europe there probably are some things they would recognize while many other practices, interpretations or applications of Catholic doctrine would be unspeakably strange and unfamiliar to them. If you go back even further to the days of the Roman Empire there wasn’t even a concept of a single Bible that was the ineffable source of all religious knowledge.

The same is true in Norse Paganism for even more potent reasons. Unlike Christianity, which has direct links to its past through a relatively unbroken chain of practice, modern Norse Pagans are a revival of a form of spirituality that was almost completely wiped out nearly a thousand years ago. The closest we have to any sort of direct connection are surviving fragments of knowledge that survived in folklore, a handful of texts that didn’t fall prey to the ravages of time, historical accounts that were all written by outside observers whose knowledge, not to mention motives, of Norse practice was limited at best and a growing trove of archaeological finds.

Yet these limitations should not be a cause for alarm or some sort of challenge to the legitimacy of Norse Pagan practice. All forms of religion and spirituality have always been growing, changing and adapting over time. In our case this simply means we have more blank space to fill in between the handful of fragments available for crafting our mosaic. Where some might see emptiness others might see freedom to innovate, create and shape a new interpretation that merges the best of the old with the needs of now.

In the Way of Fire & Ice this open space is embraced. What we know of the lives, ideas and practices of the ancients is a jumping off point for developing meaningful applications of these older ideas. It is a source of inspiration for charting a new course forward into the shared challenges of today and tomorrow. Where you have material to work with, whether that is text or carvings on runestones, is a point of reference for developing answers for the places where the past falls silent.

This isn’t to say there is no place for the past or the wisdom of the ancients; far from it! After all this entire spiritual practice draws its origin from the ways of the ancients. A key part of the Way includes honouring the dead, both from the distant and recent past. Instead what this means is to give homage to what came before without treating pre-modern practice as some sort of upper limit or hard line on what we can and cannot do. It would both be incredibly arrogant for modern people to assume to claim the necessary absolute knowledge for making such claims when it simply doesn’t exist.

Walking hand in hand with the limits of historical knowledge are the deep mysteries of spiritual practice itself. To put it quite bluntly there is simply no way any one person could possibly claim to have greater objective, provable knowledge of the nature of the Powers than anyone else. The spirits of place and the deceased function in ways the living can only grasp the edges of. The Gods themselves are beings that are, simply put, completely beyond us on every level. They are entities whose knowledge of what we refer to as the sciences is so incredibly complete that they were capable, collectively, of crafting stars, galaxies, planets and life as we know it.

Any moments where people interact with them will always be filtered through the realities of the human condition. Needless to say, this puts them so far beyond the prejudices of daily life that suggesting the bigotries of modern people are even a concern to them is laughable. This also means any knowledge we have of the Powers is best gained through collective discussion and shared investigation rather than trusting in solitary revelation or wisdom handed down from on high.

Limitations of modern knowledge of the past along with the challenges of knowing the Powers, as this implies, are not the only reason why the Way is a consciously living, adaptive form of spiritual practice. Meeting people’s needs is the other. History since the time of conversion is, simply put, littered with the evidence of what happens when any sort of spirituality becomes an instrument for power over others. Part of what enables this is when adherence to the abstract takes precedence over serving practitioners. Every part of this world has been scarred by the whips and brands of authoritarian spirituality which, in every case, justified atrocities by invoking dogmatic adherence to specially authorized interpretations of the sacred.

It is from this desire to both serve the needs of practitioners and learn from the mistakes of the past that the Way uses the past as a springboard for leaping forward. Even though there are some core ideas and values that make up the essence of what the Way stands for these principles are points of reference rather than hard and fast dos and don’ts. These broad ideas leave room to you for interpreting how, exactly, you apply these principles and interpret the significance of the Powers. If there are methods that help you better understand the Powers and how to live your life then feel free to pursue them regardless of if ancient Norse peoples did so. The core question posed by living practice is, “Do my actions reflect the values of the Way?” and not, “Would the ancients approve of how I’m doing this?”

The ultimate challenge presented by living spirituality is taking charge of your own life. Following a living practice means everything you do is ultimately your responsibility. At the end of the day you have to, at least, be able to live with yourself and the weight of your deeds. While this may seem to be a heavy burden to bear it also gives you tremendous freedom. Letting your practice live, grow and change gives you the power you need to be the author of your life.

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Why Norse Paganism?

You may be wondering, as many often do, why I or anyone else would be building a spiritual practice based on the Gods and beliefs of an ancient society whose lives were dramatically different from our own. This is a fair question ad I hope this essay will give some kind of answer. At the time of this writing thousands, possibly even million, of people all over the world have turned to all kinds of pre-Christian Gods, cultures and beliefs for guidance, comfort and creating meaning in an often cruel, unpredictable world. In spite of all of the reasons modern people may find Pagan spirituality irrational or even dangerous it clearly appeals to a lot of people. Others turn to the symbols, mythologies and aesthetics of these societies for inspiration.

What I offer is only my opinion on the matter and speaks only for myself. I think the best way to explain it is through discussing the key elements of Norse Paganism. From where I sit these are the many Powers, what they mean for us and the ties of Fate that bind everything together. This only just scratches the surface of what Norse Paganism is but I think it is enough to at least get started. I hope by explaining my reasons you can better understand this practice and hopefully your own reasons for pursuing something like this one. If you choose to follow this path you will quickly find out this rabbit hole is a lot deeper than you could possibly imagine.

The best place to begin is the most obvious: the question of why believe in a world of many different, sometimes warring Powers, ranging from spirits of place and the dead to the mightiest of Gods? For some this is nothing more than pointless superstition or even worse empty idolatry. For me the multifaceted, complex and sometimes conflicting nature of the cosmos is a far more satisfying understanding of the wold than either that of one Almighty God or with none at all. A world of many Powers is one where there is, much like life, no single force in the driver’s seat. It’s on where we are not judged for failing to reach some sort of perfect ideal but are simply yet another bunch of flawed beings doing our best to make our way in the world.

The existence of many Powers also offers many different sources of wisdom and guidance. Some times you may feel drawn to what Thor shows, by his conduct and what he is associated with, is the right way forward in a time of tension. Other times the example of a local river or your deceased great-grandmother could be what helps you resolve a major dilemma. Just as much as the example of different Powers can help you the fact that they are flawed also means their mistakes teach just as much as their successes. This makes their example all the more relevant for those of us struggling to live our lives, face the world and do the best we can with what we’ve got.

There is also more to these Powers than just that they are many. In the existence of spirits of place and the dead there is more to be had than what some might dismiss as simple superstition. Accepting their existence means accepting a world where everything has to be given a basic level of respect from the tiniest creatures and plants to the needs of whole communities. Such an assumption has profound implications for how we live considering that rampant abuse of the planet we share with many other living things has brought all life to the brink of extinction. Trees, oceans and animals stop just being things we can use and become beings that must be respected.

Finally there is the complex web of Fate that binds it all together. Fate, to many, simply means what will be will be. This is very different from how Fate works in Norse Paganism. For us Fate is made by all things. Your actions, the actions of others and those of the people and beings who have gone before you shape the world. They expand and limit the possibilities of everything they touch. They also make the world you live in that determines your options in life all the way down to the time you are born into, where, what this means for your life and how it shapes the lives of people around you.

To sum it up your actions, and the actions of everyone around you, matter. Your choices, deeds and decisions help shape the world. The actions of others do as well with none of these happening in a vacuum. What Fate shows is an interconnected world. Actions influence other actions and the sum of all of these deeds is the vast web that binds everything together. It is also a web that we can change. That the world is truly in all of our hands is a powerful message especially in a time when so many feel utterly helpless. We can, individually and collectively, make this world a better place.

In many ways the ways of the pre-Christian Norse peoples hold up a mirror to modern society that forces us to really question if how we are living is truly how life should be. To be clear I have no problem with the many advantages, comforts and developments that come with living in the 21st century. I’m quite happy with not having to jump into a ship, sail across one of the roughest bodies of water on Earth and bury an axe in some stranger’s face while hoping I don’t catch an arrow with mine to make a living. What makes for great songs and stories doesn’t necessarily make for a good life.

It’s when you dig deeper that the true knowledge their ways offer becomes apparent. In the harsh time and place where they came from the Norse peoples found a clear, effective way of understanding the world. They saw a way that, in spite of the challenges and inevitabilities everyone faces, gives hope and guidance in dark times. For me Norse Paganism challenges the seemingly unmovable, unalterable facts of the world with their own weaknesses and all of the real strengths of humanity. Norse Paganism makes me consider the impact of my actions, urges me to live mindfully in a world of empty consumption and gives me many sources of guidance which only ask for my best instead of demanding impossible perfection. Far from being a belief system outside of its time it is one that is perfect for the moments we are living in now.

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The Poisonous Roots of the Christchurch Shooting

There are no words that can convey the sheer horror and awfulness that was unleashed hours ago in Christchuch, New Zealand. I cannot even imagine the heartbreak and anguish the Muslim community of New Zealand and all others Muslims around the world are feeling in the wake of Brenton Tarrant’s livestreamed attacks. Thoughts and prayers feel shallowly insufficient in the face of such brutality. Instead I offer is my solidarity and reaffirmation of unshakeable commitment to fighting the very things that cruelly ended so many innocent lives. Only by action can anyone truly make good on any intentions we have.

In the case of Tarrant’s attacks you may be wondering how, exactly, this is relevant to a Pagan author or website. The hard truth is what happened in Christchurch is painfully close to our community thanks to the actions of the very community that radicalized him. The White Genocide myth which inspired him is as much a product of white nationalist Pagan propagandists, including notorious examples like Stephen McNallen’s Asatru Folk Assembly and the Odinic Rite, as it is the work of other elements of the sprawling AltRight movement. He further proved this connection with his 8chan post where he signed off with, “See you all in Valhalla!”. If all we do is offer our condolences or, even worse, condemn the act while public proclaiming the shooter wasn’t a true Pagan of any sort then the toxicity that fed him will continue to fester.

Understanding this connection first requires understanding the myth that moved the shooter to kill so many. The White Genocide myth is an idea that runs through the heart of the modern AltRight movement. Promoters of this myth claim there is a global plot orchestrated by Jews to wipe out all white people by encouraging immigration from non-white countries into what they see as rightfully “white” nations. This idea is widely supported throughout the AltRight with many using it as a rallying cry for action. When the marchers at Charlottesville shouted, “Jews will not replace us!” they were invoking this piece of white nationalist propaganda.

The AltRight are far from the only proponents of this idea. Stephen McNallen’s Asatru Folk Assembly has been pushing similar beliefs for years while cloaking their bigotry in the guise of religious practice. On the flip side many members of the AltRight have eagerly snatched up occult symbols like the Sonnenrad as part of their iconography. McNallen himself has promoted these connections most recently through his Wotan Network organization. Tarrant himself used the Sonnenrad as part of the logo on the cover of his 87 page manifesto as shown below. Simply using these symbols doesn’t make people like Tarrant, who also claimed to be seeking the blessing of the Christian Knights Templar, Pagans. Their use of these symbols, invoking Valhalla and other similar tropes are part and parcel of a subculture that freely uses whatever it thinks properly represents “white culture” regardless of any contradictions or lack of consistency these acts of appropriation rest on. That such use is encouraged by White Nationalist Pagans helps spread these ideas.

Towards a new society: environmentalism, responsible markets, addiction-free community, law and order, ethical autonomy, protection of heritage and culture, worker's rights, anti-imperialism. We march ever forwards.
Image from the cover of Brenton Tarrant’s manifesto “The Great Replacement”

For some this appropriation is offense enough. It has been argued the problem this poses is one of making the rest of Paganism look bad through guilt by association. What this view misses is the greatest harm done by their mythmaking is measured in lives destroyed. This past October a gunman, fueled by these same hateful lies, burst into the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue and killed eleven Jewish people. In June 2015 Dylan Roof invoked the same story to justify his murder of nine Black Americans people at prayer in the Emanueal African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Thomas Mair claimed the same motives for justifying his June 2016 assassination of British Member of Parliament Jo Cox while Norwegian mass murder Anders Breivik, one of Tarrant’s sources of inspiration, used the same claims to justify his brutal 2011 killing spree which claimed the lives of 77 people.

The White Genocide myth has also spawned two deadly near misses. In November 2015 two men, claiming to follow a white supremacist form of Asatru, were arrested in Virginia by the FBI for plotting a massive campaign of murders, assassinations and bombings all aimed at Jews, Black Americans and Muslims. Just this last February Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher Paul Hansson was arrested for planning and stockpiling an eye-popping arsenal for carrying out an even more ambitious campaign of killing, all motivated by his belief that “liberals and globalists” were out to kill all white people.

There is no doubt these words have moved people to murder on three different continents. Their terror can only be stopped by tackling the problems they create on all sides and in all manifestations by replacing their bigotry with a vision for our spirituality and the world that embraces the best in humanity. Though White Nationalist Pagans are not solely responsible for inspiring all of these murderers we must do our part in confronting the damage they’ve done. We must leech out the poisons of patriarchy, white supremacy and fascism and heal the damage done with the medicines of inclusivity, hospitality, equity and true justice. This work will not be quick or easy but it must be done. The alternative, as the events from earlier today show, is simply too awful to accept or compromise with.

As for Tarrant and his ilk the sagas make it quite clear what awaits them is not reward in Valhalla but something far more suitable for them:

38. A hall I saw, | far from the sun,
On Nastrond it stands, | and the doors face north,
Venom drops | through the smoke-vent down,
For around the walls | do serpents wind.

39. I saw there wading | through rivers wild
Treacherous men | and murderers too,
And workers of ill | with the wives of men;
There Nithhogg sucked | the blood of the slain,
And the wolf tore men; | would you know yet more?

Voluspo, Henry Adams Bellows Translation