Post No. 845 - Book Review: "Pagan Resurrection" and "Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner"

I started this post quite some time ago, when I first read "Pagan Resurrection: A Force for Evil or the Future of Western Spirituality", by Richard Rudgley [Note 1] (ISBNs 0-7126-8096-9 and 978-0-712-68096-7, pub. Century, 2006). Now, in the interests of clearing out or completing some of my many draft and partial draft posts, I'll publish it. I haven't re-read either of the books reviewed - no doubt if I did, I would wish to revise some of the text below - I'd certainly add far more about Jung, who has cropped up in many other books I've re-read or re-read since then.

I'd probably also note a recent comment I read that Odin and The Morrigan seem to be working together, of late ... 

*****

The review of Rudgley at Wikipedia included this about "Pagan Resurrection":

Rudgley's 2006 Pagan Resurrection, subtitled A Force for Evil or the Future of Western Spirituality? posits the idea that western civilisation, belief systems and attitudes have been formed by the "Odinic archetype". The influence of Christianity, he says, has been relatively recent and shallow. Rudgley spends much of the book emphasizing the dark and violent side of Odin, according to Independent reviewer David V. Barrett, "committing the ultimate sin of any anthropologist or historian, back-projecting from highly selective examples of unpleasantness today and photo-fitting them to a distorted image from the mythological past". Barrett concludes that Rudgely's book is "a catalogue of racist individuals and organisations whose only connection with Odin, through very dubious links, is by assertion rather than argument."^[2]

What I liked about this book was that it didn't shrink from the less pleasant aspects of Paganism - for interest, the interest that parts of Nazi Germany had with paganism (through Himmler, not Hitler), and the problem of racism in small parts of Heathenry. The book describes the imperfections of some of the Norse gods (specifically, Odin - I consider Jung's use of the name Wotan is wrong: what he is describing is the later version of the basically relatively gentle forest God Wotan - Odin), and that Jung predicted - in the essay Wotan, which I've got a copy of but haven't read yet - there would be two waves of effects from the "rebirth" (which is something I dispute in general, but I've written about that elsewhere) of Odin:

• The first was the frenzied aspects of the God, manifested in 1920s and 1930s Germany. 
• The second comes from Jung's writing (as cited in the reviewed book):
  "We are driven to conclude that Wotan must, in time, reveal not only the restless, violent, stormy side of his character, but also his ecstatic and mantic qualities - a very different aspect of his nature. If this conclusion is correct, National Socialism would not be the last word. Things must be concealed in the background which we cannot imagine at present, but we may expect them to appear in the next few years or decades. Wotan's reawakening is a stepping back into the past, the stream was dammed up and has broken into its old channel ... and the water will overleap the obstacle."
  and, later in his life, in a letter:
  "When, for instance, the belief in the god [sic] Wotan vanished and nobody thought of him [sic] anymore, the phenomenon originally called Wotan remained ... our consciousness only imagines that it has lost its Gods, in reality they are still there and it only needs a certain general condition in order to bring them back in full force. This condition is a situation in which a new orientation and adaptation is needed. If this question is not clearly understood and no proper answer is given, the archetype, which expresses this situation, steps in ...  ... As only certain individuals are capable of listening and of accepting good advice, it is most unlikely that anybody would pay attention to the statement of a warning voice that Wotan is here again. They would rather fall headlong into the trap .. we are very much in the predicament as the pre-National Socialistic Germany of the Twenties, i.e. we are apt to undergo the risk of a further, but this time worldwide, Wotanistic experiment. This means mental epidemy and war. One does not realise yet, that when an archetype is unconsciously constellated and not consciously understood, one is possessed by ut and force to its fatal goal ... "
  The author initially places this second wave (in Part Two of the book) as being manifested in violent events a few decades ago in the USA, together with the current worldwide destruction of globalisation. He also comments on the rebirth of Paganism, but incorrectly places it in remote backwaters ("hick" communities). I also note that the events and groups Mr Rudgley writes about seem far more typical of the first wave of events, those associated with Odin's frenzy, rather than His ecstasy.
  Part Three of this book moves into the Paganism I know, love and am part of - a genuine, deep, spiritual movement which includes rediscovery of our ancestral traditions.
  In terms of the 60s, when Jung wrote the letter the 2nd quote is from, we had the insanity of the Viet Nam war, and the ecstasy of the (ultimately failed) Counter-cultural Revolution.
  At the time Mr Rudgley was writing, we had the insanity (epidemy?) of the "war on Terror" AND THE EVENTS WHICH LED TO IT (the insanity was not only on one side) and other events which offset the ecstasy of the Fall of the Berlin Wall ... but we also have a deepening of valid spiritual movements and improvements in society (e.g., on human rights).

I do share some of the concerns of the review mentioned in Wikipedia, but my concerns are more generally with Asatru and related traditions. These concerns are handled, I consider, better in Galina Krasskova and Raven Kaldera's book "Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner", published by New Page Books in 2009 (ISBN 978-1-60163-034-6).

In this book, Kraskova and Kaldera look at "northern traditions" ( perhaps defineable as Germanic/Norse derived belief systems?) from the point of view of devotion, including meditation, prayer, prayer beads. altars, shrines, cosmology and solitary rituals. As part of the preparation of the book, apparently around 200 (I couldn't re-find the reference to the number when writing this review, so I may be way off the mark there - my apologies if I am) followers of the various Northern Traditions were interviewed on their beliefs, views and opinions. The scene is set in the introduction to the book, which cites Dale Cannon's book "Six Ways of Being Religious" as a source of ideas on ways of being a devoted follower of one of the Northern Traditions. Cannon's book apparently has examples from several faiths, although none are Northern Tradition (Hinduism is, in my opinion, in an interesting position, as I have read that it could be considered to be what paganism would have been in the west if the advent of Christianity had not happened).

The six ways are: the Sacred Rite, Reasoned Inquiry, Mystical Quest, Shamanic Mediation, Devotion and Right Action. Kraskova and Kaldera give good examples for each of these ways within the context of Northern Traditions, and include a few interesting (to me!) historical anecdotes: in particular, a description by Ibn Fadlan [3] of Vikings prostrating themselves as part of their devotions (p. 80).

This book includes a good discussion on the differences between reconstructionist and reconstructionist-derived. The latter accept "Unverifiable Personal Gnosis" (UPG), whereas the former insist on historical records and accuracy. I'm with the ones accepting UPG as being valid, and the historical records as an "inspirational jumping-off point for further modifications, with an emphasis on connecting with the Gods" (p. 31).

In the context of the concerns I expressed when winding up my comments about "Pagan Resurrection", Kraskova and Kaldera comment that:

• Northern Tradition followers are more aligned with Neo-Pagan values, with "a generally zero tolerance policy regarding racism, sexism, or homophobia, and a strong environmentalist stand. While some Heathen groups may incorporate some of these values, it is seen as a group's own choice rather than a moral imperative". (p. 30)
• Heathens are more hard-line in following only their Gods, and not accepting other Gods or trusting others who follow them, whereas "Northern Tradition Pagans and Heathens who may be called as shamans or spiritworkers as part of a more eclectic community are are accepting of people honouring other Gods, as they think it is rude to refuse a Deity who approaches one or gives one aid." (pp. 32-33)

Since I started this post, there has also been the excellent anti-racist work of groups like Heathens United Against Racism and individuals like Karl Seigfried (see here).

I liked the fact that "Pagan Resurrection" acknowledged the problematic past history of Odinism (because of the connection with evil that Hitler's followers created [4]); I like even more the level-headed, common sense discussion Kraskova and Kaldera provide on problems within a variety of traditions such as Heathenry, Asatru, Norse Paganism, etc. I found the classifications (and the acknowledgement of the politically-loaded problems which can exist with terms) used very helpful, including a sociopolitical classification the authors apparently developed for an earlier book ("Exploring the Northern Tradition"):

• Universalist - Northern Tradition is open to all, regardless of race or ancestry;
• Folkish - believe the Northern Tradition is the ancestral religion of people descended from Germanic bloodlines. The authors write "This is, of course, the most controversial aim of the Northern Tradition to most outsiders. Most Folkish Heathens will protest that they are not White Supremacists, but the small number who cause a great deal of public outcry as well as embarrassment within Heathenry). Most Folkish Heathens do disapprove of the Germanic religions being practised by anyone not fully or at least mostly) of Germanic, Norse, or Anglo-Saxon descent; some even believe that the Gods will not talk to anyone who lacks that tie of blood." I know many Australians who have similar values to this, without the religious connotations - i.e. people who are "family" matter, people who are not family do not;
• Tribal - aim to recreate a past culture, as well as a past religion.

Phew. Apart from all that, Kraskova and Kaldera's book includes excellent information on Gods and Goddesses, examples of prayers, songs and chants, rituals, altars (including contradicted aspects!) and general devotional practice, as opposed to magical workings, which the authors have adopted as a basic premise to emphasise that the Northern Tradition is a religion (although they do also practise magical workings). The section of altars for the various Deities is particularly useful, and there is a section on links and resources.

I recommend Kraskova and Kaldera's book to all those who have any sort of interest in the Northern Traditions, and am looking forward to getting and reading the author's earlier book.

*****

In terms of "Pagan Resurrection", well ... perhaps one can see Odin's frenzy in, if not Crazy Don (Trump) himself, at least in his audiences - just as one could, perhaps, see the more spiritual aspects of Odin in those who oppose Trump (and should, perhaps, be more aware of and focused on Trump's supporters), and that dual existence of these two aspects is, perhaps, the main lesson this trickster God is teaching us: we are what we feed in ourselves - mad and frenetic, or blessed and Divine.

Our choice - personally, socially (nations need to do shadow work as well as individual people) and as a species.

Notes:

1. Apparently he is the author of "Lost Civilisations of the Stone Age", which I am not familiar with.
2. Journeys through time. Channel 4
3. Yes, he who was in very SMALL part "inspiration" for the Michael Crichton novel "Eaters of the Dead", which in turn was the inspiration for the film "The Thirteenth Warrior" which I actually enjoy as a rollicking yarn, without worrying too much about things like historical accuracy).
4. One of the other problems this created was a powerful negative association with a modification of the swastika - the Nazi symbol referred to as "the Swastika" was not the same as the classical Hindu symbol. Wikipedia's entry on this includes the following:
   The swastika (from Sanskrit svástika स्वस्तिक) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing (卐) form or its mirrored left-facing (卍) form. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period in Ancient India. It occurs mainly in the modern day culture of India, sometimes as a geometrical motif and sometimes as a religious symbol. It remains widely used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Though once commonly used all over much of the world without stigma, because of its iconic usage as Hakenkreuz in Nazi Germany the symbol has become stigmatized in the Western world, notably even outlawed in Germany.

[1] BPM = Balanced Positive (spiritually) Mature. See here and here for more on this.
[2] Please see here, here, here and my post "The Death of Wikipedia" for the reasons I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of h2g2, although that doesn't appear to be as extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather engagingly - to be the Earth edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy").

[3] I apologise for the formatting: it seems Blogger is no longer as WYSIWYG as it used to be, and there are a lot of unwanted changes to layout made upon publishing, so I often have to edit it immediately after publishing to get the format as close to what I want as possible.

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr, Pagan Energy Worker, Wéofodthegn

(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix Lux … aka Morinehtar … would-be drýicgan or maga ... )

My "blogiography" (list of all posts and guide as to how to best use this site) is here, and my glossary/index is here.

I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue (see here and here), and it grew ... See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "Pagans for Peace" project (and join me for a few minutes at some time between 8 and 11 PM on Sunday, wherever you are, to meditate-clear for peace), and here for my bindrune kit-bag. I also strongly recommend learning how to flame, ground and shield, do alternate nostril breathing, work with colour, and see also here and be flexible.

The real dividing line is not between Christianity and Islam, Sunni and Shia, East and West. It is between people who believe in coexistence, and those who don’t.

Tom Fletcher, Former UK Ambassador to Lebanon

• If your “gut” (your instinct/intuition) is telling you something is wrong, but logic and the available evidence is saying otherwise, the proper conclusion to draw is that you need better, more personally credible evidence. Your “gut” could be wrong, right, or missing the nuances / “shades of grey” . So could the available evidence.
• All of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context, perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ...

Tags: cycles, deities, denial, discrimination, fear, growth, Jung, Odin, paganism, personal responsibility, society,

First published: Laugarsdagr, 26^th March, 2016

Last edited (excluding fixing typo's and other minor matters): Saturday, 26^th March, 2016