Converting to Heathenry

A common concern those interested in practicing Heathenry along with newly initiated Heathens usually have is "How do I convert to Heathenism?"

The answer is quite simple: you cannot convert to Heathenism.

You are either a Heathen or you are not. But it is not as complicated as it sounds. Allow me to explain.

Enlightenment thinker Rousseau said that we are born free, it is society that puts us in chains. This is true. What is also true is that we are born Pagan, and it is society that puts us into Christianity.

In order to understand this, you must journey back with me to the days of Heathen ancestors.

When our ancestors, the Germanics, or even the Greeks and Latins, entered recorded history, they were not Christians. Their warriors swore oaths to the Allfather of battle. The poets heralded the ancient heroes that slayed the greedy and monstrous force of chaos known as the dragon--whether that hero bore the name of Beowulf, Perseus, Siegfried, Thor, or even Indra. The Goddess of sex and marriage blessed the bride at their weddings. Some of their practices today are still with us, such as the bride and groom exchanged oath rings at their wedding, after the father symbolically gives his daughter away. Nevertheless, they were Heathens through and through.

That changed. No one can deny that. But what also could never change is that our ancestors were Pagans. We know the reasons why the Christian conversion happened, and there is no gain in feeling bitter about it or wishing it didn't happen in the first place. What is to gain is recognizing our ancestors for what they were. If we recognize our ancestors for what they were naturally, before something was forced upon them for political reasons, then we can find the pure, true, traditional way of life that they followed.

Our ancestors had no name for their religion. You may hear this repeated a lot, but it's true. Asatru, Odinism, Heathenry, whatever you want to call it doesn't matter too much because Heathenism had no name. What an anthropologist would call their religion was indeed Heathenry, but they didn't see it as that. They simply saw it as a part of their lives. It was an inseparable part of them. They didn't worship the Odin because they read some myths or played a video game and "felt" that Odin is close to them, or some other weak reason, but because worshiping Odin was part of their lifestyle and their culture. They didn't stumble into an Odinist temple and then "testify" into the power of Odin or some other such nonsense. They worshiped Odin because he was their God as their fathers were their fathers.

If we are to be true Heathens, then that is the mentality that you must have. You cannot convert to Heathenry. You are born a Heathen if you are Germanic (and this is true for any tribal, traditional religion). There will be no special ceremony for you where you don white robes and jump in a river and declare your virginity. There will be no baptism, and no priest to guide you, and no one will care that you "convert". Once you recognize your rightful place as your ancestor's descendants, and your ancestral Gods as your Gods, then you have claimed your birthright. You are now a Heathen.

The Christians, particularly the Catholics, a religion that all Germanic people were under at one point or another, recognize this. This is where the concept of original sin comes from. The Biblical Israelites were "God's Chosen People", the Christians--mostly gentiles that converted to Christianity--had "original sin". Catholics (and other sects of Christianity) believe we, the moment we are conceived, the moment the sperm fertilizes the egg, are sinners. We are born sinners, and we must be baptized into the Catholic religion to atone for this. This is because they know we are born Pagans. We are naturally Pagans and must be "perfected" into Christians.

Sure, one can make the argument that we don't really know how the Heathen religions and practices came about in the days of pre-history. You can make the argument that European Paganism was a combined religion of Sky-Father worshiping Aryans and Earth-Mother worshiping Neolithic farmers in Europe, but there is no real proof of this, and there can't be. It's a "What-if" question. What is known and not a what-if question is that when our ancestors entered recorded history, they were Heathen, and they had a deep religious culture, rooted in tradition and rich in meaning as it was rich in mythology.

Germanic Heathenry is what came naturally to our ancestors. If you are to "convert" to Heathenism, you must let it come naturally out of you. It is there in you. Search for it and let it flourish.We are Heathens not because it's what "feels right", or at least not only so, but because it makes sense for us to be Heathen. We are our ancestors, and we follow in their footsteps, proudly and surely.

Remember and recognize that you are a Heathen. Now, you have "converted".

If you do wish to have a more formal introduction into Heathenry, here is something simple.

Get out of the city. Go into solitude, deep in the forest, the mountains, or even the desert if that's where you are. Make sure you have a clear view of the sky, preferably a scape of it. The sky is majestic in any weather and at any time. Being out in nature is the best way to do this. Though nature is around you regardless of the presence of trees, you want to be in solitude. No distractions such as car horns or other humans. Clear your mind. Focus. Now, stand erect, and firm; our Gods do not want you to grovel on your hands and knees like a slave. You are not submitting. You are not humiliating yourself. You are proud, and your ancestors are proud of you.

Stand tall. Lift your chin up. Put your chest out and your shoulders back. Keep your eyes open. Stare up at the endless sky. Marvel at its totality as your ancestors did thousands of years ago.

Now, you are to speak. Speak in confidence and with assertion. You are a man, not a slave. But you still are less than your Sky God, but neither you nor your God will openly recognize that. You are lesser to your God as you are lesser to an older, paternal figure that you admire, and look up to, but know you will never reach the same level as he. You feel less than he is, but there is never a need for you to say that to him, or for him to say that to you. Nevertheless, your respect for him is immense, and you mold yourself after him, even if its an unobtainable ideal.

That is the Sky God. Some people call him Thor. Some recognize him as Tyr. You can even talk to the Allfather instead.

Say something along these lines in your native language, and don't you dare speak in some pseudo-archaic form of your language:

Father Sky, I recognize you as my father,
Father Sky, I recognize you as my grandfather,
Father Sky, I have come home.
Father Sky, you have my oath, as your son, and as a man.

The Sky Father God for our ancestors was either Thor or Tyr, depending on which tribe and or period we are speaking about. I view Tyr as the Sky God. Call to the God that makes the most sense to you. You can even leave it at "Sky Father", or "Father Sky".

Do realize that a prayer like that is an oath. I will elaborate on oaths in this blog sometime, but for now I will say: do not take oaths lightly. Oath-breakers were viewed as the same level as thieves and liars by our forefathers. Think about it: what does a man have, aside from his word? Once a man breaks his word, he cannot be counted on. He cannot be relied on. He cannot be trusted. He now has nothing.

Now, will Thor strike you down with Mjolnir if you break an oath to him? Of course not. Are you going to be tortured in Helheim as suggested in the mythology? No. But what that makes you is a man that is not of his word. Even if no one else knows that you are an oath breaker, you yourself know, and that should be enough to cause you great shame. Furthermore, now that you are oath-conscious, the floodgates have been opened, you will not take oaths lightly, even if you don't realize it overt. One aspect of our mythology is that it was highly metaphorical. The oath-breakers suffer in Helheim because of their guilt.

Remember that next time you think about going back on your word.