This month we raise a horn in honour of the Folkmother, Else Christensen. Born in Denmark in 1913, Else never felt at home in the church of her parents. For her there was always a pull from her ancient ancestors and from the forests of her native land. Else and her husband emigrated to Canada after WWII in search of better job opportunities. There they quickly got in to touch with Alexander Rudd Mills’ wife in Australia and, using Mills’ writings as a starting point, they began a small Odinist study group with some of their friends. This study group eventually morphed into the Odinist Fellowship. Founded in 1969 or ’70, it was one of the first Odinist/Asatru groups in North America. In 1971 the first issue of The Odinist was published as the official newsletter of The Odinist Fellowship. The Odinist Fellowship grew quickly with Else at its head, her tireless correspondence with Odinists across the world helped to build contact between many disparate believers in the Gods of our Folk. There is a story out there attributed to Stubba, one of the founders of the Odinic Rite, about how when he and Hoskuld were first wanting to create an Odinist group in England they wrote to Else and she gave them contact information of 3 more Odinists near them; from those humble beginnings the Odinic Rite arose. Over the years Else also recognized the potential of those men and women in prison who would one day return back to the free world. She was among the first Odinists to reach out to prisoners and even went so far as to volunteer inside the prisons of Florida to help teach the ancestral ways behind the wire.
Else never faltered from her dedication and devotion to Odinism, right up until her death in 2005 she continued publishing her newsletter and corresponding with people all across the globe. She lived the value of Perseverance and with her passing Odinism/Asatru lost a great voice that promoted our ways.
Hail the Folkmother, Else Christensen!
Blaine Qualls
Gothar Coordinator,
Asatru Folk Assembly
