In our reconstruction movement, one only has to look for mere moments to find someone, somewhere, proclaiming that politics and Heathenry should not mix. Usually, this comes from the "universalists" or the leftists that denounce the rightists as caring more about politics than Heathenry. Usually, the folkists take the same stance, denouncing both the right and the left, while they themselves are not guilt-free of political leanings, either.
I am writing this post because over the summer, I had the opportunity to visit a Heathen/metal bar in Italy. I was quite impressed by the knowledge of Heathenry of the bartender, and as typical with the Italian people, honored by their hospitality and friendliness. On one of the walls in the bar, a printout of a poem along with a depiction of a Nidstang1, and the bartender touted this paper so proud, proclaiming that it is a curse against those that mix Heathenry with politics.
Recently, during my studies, particularly during my studies of ancient Greek religion, it struck me about how wrong the notion of mixing Heathenry with politics is against Heathenry.
Heathenry should be mixed with politics. As I Heathen, I will say that this notion of not mixing politics and Heathenry is absolutely wrong, and those that rally against mixing the two do not understand Heathenry. I will also say that our Heathenic ancestors would laugh at this notion, and I can prove it.2
The answer is a simple but much overlooked aspect of the nature of Germanic (and Indo-European) Heathenry.
Heathenry is political.
Heathenry is everything.
That sounds abstract, I'm sure, and I do not want my readers to think I'm going off into some fluffy tangent, so I will end this cryptic prose.
Remember, our ancestors did not have a name for their religion. They did not have a mythical conversion date for their people, and they did not understand the notion of conversion. They did not understand what Christianity (or Islam) was, which is why that some Heathens agreed to honor the Christian God alongside their own Gods. Heathenry is an ancestral religion, like Hinduism,3 (our far-distant, twice removed, half cousin at this point) or Shintoism. You are born into it, and you can convert away from it, but you can never convert to it.
They didn't have a name for their religion or a conversion process because their religion is everything.
How so, you may ask? One big hangups new "converts" to Heathenry may have is the notion of so many different Gods. Sure, there's the Allfather God--then there's the God of light, his son, then there's the elements--thunder, fire, water. There's the Sun and the Moon, there's the Earth Mother, there's the Goddess of sex and the God of plenty, there's the divine twins--then we have Gods of music, Gods of hunting--it goes on. Truth be told, there are more Gods than that, and the Germanic pantheon as we know is not complete and never will be. But our brothers, the Greco-Romans, have a religion far more recorded than ours... and how many Gods are there? Hundreds. How many different functions do these Gods have? Thousands. Some of these functions are glorious--Victory! Courage! Honor!
But then there's Venus, who aside from being the Goddess of love, sex and fertility, is also the Goddess of sewers.4
That doesn't sound too glorious, does it?
It's a hard concept to wrap your head around if you grew up Christian, and probably harder if you have no knowledge of Greco-Roman history.
For the Romans, Venus was also a Goddess of purification and cleanliness. The Romans honored Venus to give thanks for purifying the city.
In other words, Indo-European Heathens such as the Romans, and our Germanic ancestors, had a deity for every single human function, no matter how glamorous or mundane that function may be. Our Heathen ancestors believed that every action you make is a tribute to the Gods. Therefore, in order to honor the Gods, you take care to make every action--no matter what that action be--an action worthy of their reverence.
This is the reason for many Gods--and Goddesses, and Heroes, and God-like beings such as elves and wights, that total into the thousands.There are these deities everywhere--not just in the sky and under the ground, or in the boulder and in the tree, but also in the walls, in your chair, and yes, in your toilet, as silly as the latter may sound to read.
What this translates into is that our Heathen ancestors believed in taking pride in what you do. Every action you do is tribute to the Gods, because you are only trekking Midgard for one lifetime. Make each and every action count.
Thus, when you engage in politics, you are also paying tribute to the Gods.
Politics and Heathenry are therefore inseparable. When an individual is mixing Heathenry and politics, they are paying tribute to their Gods. Regardless of their politics, and regardless of what you think of their politics--to ask a Heathen to separate his Gods from politics is akin to ask him to separate his Gods from his spirituality.
There is no "separation of church and state" with the Heathen, because you cannot separate "the church" from the Heathen, just as you cannot separate the Olympian athlete's foot stepping on the track or his breath being drawn from Zeus.5 The notion of being able to separate your religion from everything you do is an Abrahamic religious concept.6 Of course, there is no dogma with Heathenry--that is another facet of our nature that I am pleased to say most do adhere to--so there is no threat of a theocracy.
Let every action, whether physical or mental, whether through arm or tongue, whether at the spur of the moment or at the end of a plan, be a tribute to your Gods. Honor each and every deity wherever they hail, and that includes the spirits within the political world. Do not be afraid to mix Heathenry with whatever you wish--Heathenry is everything you do, and every facet of your life, and that includes politics. Do not let those who proclaim the two should not be mixed intimidate you with their misinformed opinions and silly little curses (remember, Thor protects!), as they too, usually have an agenda.7
Footnotes:
1 A Nidstang was a horse skull or decapitated head propped on top of a stake and left outside the door of someone that the perpetrator of the grisly decoration is cursing. Sometimes, runes were present, or insults were scribbled on the stake.
2 I'm willing to cite my sources on this if anyone inquires or is interested, but this is basic knowledge of Classical civilization.
3 Hinduism is a blanket term for many different traditions that as we know it today are a mixture between the Indo-European Rigvedic religion and the indigenous religions of the Indus valley, along with whatever else they have absorbed over time.
4 Venus of the Sewer is best known for having a sanctuary in the Roman forum. If you visit the Roman forum, you can see what remains of it today.
5 During the Olympics of ancient Greece, every single movement and even thought was a tribute to Zeus.
6 Ironic, isn't it?
7 Usually, when someone is against "heathenism and politics" it is usually against the politics that the person is personally not fond of.
I am writing this post because over the summer, I had the opportunity to visit a Heathen/metal bar in Italy. I was quite impressed by the knowledge of Heathenry of the bartender, and as typical with the Italian people, honored by their hospitality and friendliness. On one of the walls in the bar, a printout of a poem along with a depiction of a Nidstang1, and the bartender touted this paper so proud, proclaiming that it is a curse against those that mix Heathenry with politics.
Recently, during my studies, particularly during my studies of ancient Greek religion, it struck me about how wrong the notion of mixing Heathenry with politics is against Heathenry.
Heathenry should be mixed with politics. As I Heathen, I will say that this notion of not mixing politics and Heathenry is absolutely wrong, and those that rally against mixing the two do not understand Heathenry. I will also say that our Heathenic ancestors would laugh at this notion, and I can prove it.2
The answer is a simple but much overlooked aspect of the nature of Germanic (and Indo-European) Heathenry.
Heathenry is political.
Heathenry is everything.
That sounds abstract, I'm sure, and I do not want my readers to think I'm going off into some fluffy tangent, so I will end this cryptic prose.
Remember, our ancestors did not have a name for their religion. They did not have a mythical conversion date for their people, and they did not understand the notion of conversion. They did not understand what Christianity (or Islam) was, which is why that some Heathens agreed to honor the Christian God alongside their own Gods. Heathenry is an ancestral religion, like Hinduism,3 (our far-distant, twice removed, half cousin at this point) or Shintoism. You are born into it, and you can convert away from it, but you can never convert to it.
They didn't have a name for their religion or a conversion process because their religion is everything.
How so, you may ask? One big hangups new "converts" to Heathenry may have is the notion of so many different Gods. Sure, there's the Allfather God--then there's the God of light, his son, then there's the elements--thunder, fire, water. There's the Sun and the Moon, there's the Earth Mother, there's the Goddess of sex and the God of plenty, there's the divine twins--then we have Gods of music, Gods of hunting--it goes on. Truth be told, there are more Gods than that, and the Germanic pantheon as we know is not complete and never will be. But our brothers, the Greco-Romans, have a religion far more recorded than ours... and how many Gods are there? Hundreds. How many different functions do these Gods have? Thousands. Some of these functions are glorious--Victory! Courage! Honor!
But then there's Venus, who aside from being the Goddess of love, sex and fertility, is also the Goddess of sewers.4
That doesn't sound too glorious, does it?
It's a hard concept to wrap your head around if you grew up Christian, and probably harder if you have no knowledge of Greco-Roman history.
For the Romans, Venus was also a Goddess of purification and cleanliness. The Romans honored Venus to give thanks for purifying the city.
In other words, Indo-European Heathens such as the Romans, and our Germanic ancestors, had a deity for every single human function, no matter how glamorous or mundane that function may be. Our Heathen ancestors believed that every action you make is a tribute to the Gods. Therefore, in order to honor the Gods, you take care to make every action--no matter what that action be--an action worthy of their reverence.
This is the reason for many Gods--and Goddesses, and Heroes, and God-like beings such as elves and wights, that total into the thousands.There are these deities everywhere--not just in the sky and under the ground, or in the boulder and in the tree, but also in the walls, in your chair, and yes, in your toilet, as silly as the latter may sound to read.
What this translates into is that our Heathen ancestors believed in taking pride in what you do. Every action you do is tribute to the Gods, because you are only trekking Midgard for one lifetime. Make each and every action count.
Thus, when you engage in politics, you are also paying tribute to the Gods.
Politics and Heathenry are therefore inseparable. When an individual is mixing Heathenry and politics, they are paying tribute to their Gods. Regardless of their politics, and regardless of what you think of their politics--to ask a Heathen to separate his Gods from politics is akin to ask him to separate his Gods from his spirituality.
There is no "separation of church and state" with the Heathen, because you cannot separate "the church" from the Heathen, just as you cannot separate the Olympian athlete's foot stepping on the track or his breath being drawn from Zeus.5 The notion of being able to separate your religion from everything you do is an Abrahamic religious concept.6 Of course, there is no dogma with Heathenry--that is another facet of our nature that I am pleased to say most do adhere to--so there is no threat of a theocracy.
Let every action, whether physical or mental, whether through arm or tongue, whether at the spur of the moment or at the end of a plan, be a tribute to your Gods. Honor each and every deity wherever they hail, and that includes the spirits within the political world. Do not be afraid to mix Heathenry with whatever you wish--Heathenry is everything you do, and every facet of your life, and that includes politics. Do not let those who proclaim the two should not be mixed intimidate you with their misinformed opinions and silly little curses (remember, Thor protects!), as they too, usually have an agenda.7
Footnotes:
1 A Nidstang was a horse skull or decapitated head propped on top of a stake and left outside the door of someone that the perpetrator of the grisly decoration is cursing. Sometimes, runes were present, or insults were scribbled on the stake.
2 I'm willing to cite my sources on this if anyone inquires or is interested, but this is basic knowledge of Classical civilization.
3 Hinduism is a blanket term for many different traditions that as we know it today are a mixture between the Indo-European Rigvedic religion and the indigenous religions of the Indus valley, along with whatever else they have absorbed over time.
4 Venus of the Sewer is best known for having a sanctuary in the Roman forum. If you visit the Roman forum, you can see what remains of it today.
5 During the Olympics of ancient Greece, every single movement and even thought was a tribute to Zeus.
6 Ironic, isn't it?
7 Usually, when someone is against "heathenism and politics" it is usually against the politics that the person is personally not fond of.
