Having other people accept the label you give yourself, which they also give themselves, when you refuse to comply by their “rules,” isn’t that likely to happen.
As long as you care about them accepting you, you’re stuck - you want to be part of the gang but are not willing to do what it takes.
You can either go round telling people you’re Asatru (which means true to the Aesir, and that’s a whole area about how “true” you’ll be if you’re triggered by any kind of obligation being placed on you) or you can just find some new label.
I did a bit of digging, “solitary heathen” seems to be a thing, maybe that’ll work better for you.
She appeared wearing a typical Nordic-Germanic dress that matched her hair color, coming down from the stairs of the house with white walls that she projected around me, she didn’t look like a super model, but as a friendly yet agressive woman who was indeed what comes to my hearth when I think about Denmark. She didn’t say anything, yet I still feel that feeling of a delicious soup being cooked for lunch. The experience was so fulfulling that I never felt the need to call her again, I feared that such thing would become a routine and lose its magic
I don’t consider my replies off-track since they’re about the way groups work, and about the way individuals have to earn the right to change a group’s rules.
If you want to be a solitary, you can explore the Principle of Gender in the Kybalion and easily figure out what that feminine stuff means.
The Kybalion PDF, archived link (we don’t trade PDFs on here as a general rule but this one is okay, the text is out of copyright and the edition was given for download from the site that created it).
And there’s no-one to tell you “That’s not part of the lore” either.
When I was being taught how to use Icelandic Staves, my teacher explained it this way: the reason why women are more magically inclined are because they are the gates that new life emerges (while it obliviously takes two to tango, women are the ones who physically bring life into this world). When one is creating a stave (which is essentially a runic sigil), you are creating a new being to manifest the desires. Men have to find their own way to create life (for me, it was my voice, which I combined deep throat chants while making the staves, as words can “give birth” to entire social systems, giving rise to new cultures and societies).
Of course, that is just traditional thought within the group she came from in Iceland. Whether or not magic has a role in Astrau really depends on the kindred/individual we are talking about, as it varies.
I wonder if the ones who don’t do magic train fighting with axes. Here where I live there are people who gather in someone’s house and dress themselves as vikings and larp all day long, but as they can’t raid the local grocery store, they larp as villagers, that is what I imagined when I read that some modern Norse Pagans don’t do magic, but I might be wrong, as I’ve never met a Norse Pagan who doesn’t do magic
Quite possible lol there are those who are trying to learn fighting techniques through the sagas (for example, shield throwing). But I think a majority of those who don’t (which I have found to be few), focus on the Hávamál and the sagas for words of wisdom, as well as Blót and Symbel ceremonies.
I was actually denied from joining two groups before being accepted by the one I was in before leaving to explore other paths. The first was because I am male, and the other was for my interest in magic.
I think the best nugget of truth I can say on this subject is that with any path, there will be groups that say something you disagree with. But at the end of the day, the heart is where the gods speak. If you are inclined to follow a different Avenue than the group thinks is right, you should follow it. Even if you must walk it alone
Well I can say that is not really true about the statement that only female practice in iron age Scandinavia . Their were many males to
you find the evidence in their graves. As an north European archeologist our institution in UPPSALA holds at least one bloth but we tried two have two every year one at summer and the other winter… We held it together with Egyptologist and rome/ Greek archeologist. So it’s very much alive their with blood sacrifice as well we tried once without the blood, worst summer and year for everyone evolved ever.
So the saying is don’t spite the ancient Asa gods so we stuck to the real thing. In STOCKHOLM their is an entire group of asa Followers that use to meet when Was part of it every week in old town STOCKHOLM. So to answer your question the magic practice is still alive and practiced by some group so if you want to do it I think you should try a bloth ceremony.
Let me know what happened if you did find a group to do it with.
Personally, Asatru is garbage.
Practice magick if you want. Sounds to me like you’re not seeking a group or an ideology but real experience and wisdom.
Asatru wont provide that, seeing as they immediately have put blinds on people’s ability to decide for themselves if they can practice magick or not.
Also - they are probably referring to the gender split between Galdr for men and Swift for women.
In general, Asatru is a cringe fucking LARP, but their anti-magical sentiment as described by the OP is a relatively accurate carryover from traditional Norse society.
Magic was generally regarded by Norsemen as “ergi” (unmanly, dishonorable) because straight fights and honest, candid solutions to social problems within the tribe were a life and death necessity. So nominally at least in most tribes the practice of magic among tribesmen was punishable by death if foul play in tribal matters could be proven, banishment and outlaw status if it couldn’t.
So Seidrmen (yeah they still existed and still do, lol) were typically either wandering outlaws for hire or playing their occult hand very close to the chest.
The rules were different and heavily relaxed for women because they’re on average the smaller and weaker sex and so guile and cunning were seen as more passworthy.
And the non-humans seem little better, fluffing up their fur to look bigger, changing colour to hide, or evolving to look like the background you live in, and growing big antlers to look invincible.
I’ve always considered the practice of magick as another tool for survival. If you’re a male, and lacking in traditional male qualities, than magical practice is always better than getting your face pounded in by some beefier dude.
Eh, from what I have heard, they are rare but exist.I just happened to came across them. I have found myself at the dining tables of very…interesting folks over the years, usually in the good way.
If Lamarckianism was true I suppose you’d have a point but it isn’t
Only people wear heavy ass antlers on masks by choice. Deer on the other hand are damned glad to shed the things every season because they’re a mutation which really hurts like a son of a bitch. That’s a rather key difference I think between LARP and what actually works in real life. It isn’t always comfortable, pleasant, palatable, or happy ending.
Not at all, this is about passing on what helps you to survive, and the world is a larp-friendly place, so the animals who larp the best in their own niche pass on their genes.
This is why any position of status or leverage (even being a successful beggar) in human society always comes with a costume that alters appearance.
Wear the wrong costume, and you will not succeed in your role.
But they’re born instinctively programmed knowing how to pose with them to prevent actual conflict, they don’t need a masters in “Deer psychology,” or politics, or sociology.
