from The Runestone: Summer 1993 #4
In shamanic cultures the world over, when someone is lethargic, weak, and incapable of responding appropriately to his surroundings, it is assumed that he has lost his soul. It is up to the shaman to find it. This usually involves a dangerous trip to the underworld, with many magical obstacles to overcome and monsters to fight. The shaman makes the journey, recaptures the soul, and heals the afflicted individual. Any other treatments or medicines are supplementary. Without a soul, the patient will eventually die.
We in the industrialized West are in exactly this predicament. The only difference is that the patient is not an individual, but a very large group of people – almost everyone of European descent. It’s no secret that we have lost our will to defend ourselves. Popular culture insists that White men can’t jump, that classical literature should be abandoned because it was written by DWM’s (Dead White Males) and that we are generally just about the most rotten people on the planet. Even the slick news magazines gloatingly acknowledge our dispossession. Why the malaise? What has created the collapse of our collective immune system? What happened to our will to live?
We have lost our soul. No, not souls, but the singular soul of our people. But just what do we mean by that statement, and how do we regain this crucial essence?
Every group of genetically similar individuals has a collective unconscious that expresses their hopes, dreams, and experience. The Gods have a home there, and our innermost instincts and innate predispositions flow from the mighty rivers that guard it’s borders. It’s our true “home acres”, the odal lands bequeathed to us by our forefathers and foremothers.
On the whole we’ve lost touch with this magical place. It still exists somewhere, but we can’t effectively tap into it, or at least not to the extend we need. Our spiritual pathways are blocked so only the smallest trickle of life-giving holiness can get through from this wondrous realm. No longer able to believe in our ancestral wisdom, we are unable to believe in ourselves. Without a soul we are defenseless. Our lethargy is unshakable. Bereft of self respect we acquiesce in our own extinction.
How do we solve the problem? By restoring the religion that is naturally ours – Asatru. We Asafolk are all shamans in a sense, able to touch the Gods. We are conduits by which our dieties can manifest in Midgard. Each time we honor the Gods, their power grows among us. When we remember our great heroes, the spiritual strength of these men and women shines more brightly. With every libation to Freya, every candle lit to Thor, every horn raised to Odin, those sacred traditions become more real, more charged with power. We are recreating the universe in each instant, in accordance with our Will. Those of us who love the Aesir and Vanir can reclaim our Folk soul. The burden is great, but there are many of us and we are determined.
It’s not a complicated thing; it’s easy. And we don’t have to ask anyone’s permission. We – that’s you and I – can start today. If we all do our part, the day will come when our Folk will awaken to the courage, the balance, and the will-to-power that springs from a healthy soul.
What have YOU done lately to bring us back to health?