Odinism -- Religion of the New Age

Rasp

Senior Editor
[From: The Odinist, nos. 91 & 92 (1985)]


ODINISM—RELIGION OF THE NEW AGE



Since the dawn of man the human spirit has been fascinated by the Eternal Order. The sun rising unfailingly every morning, the moon and stars passing through monthly or annual phases, the birth of life in all its varieties that ends in death and decay—all leave their mark on perceptive beings, who, not having understanding, nevertheless, seek to understand. And when a measure of explanation has been achieved for the more obvious phenomena, when the mind begins to penetrate into the heavens and observe with its implements endless expanses of myriads of galaxies, or into the workings of a single atom—behold—an entirely new array of mysteries is presented, more numerous and fascinating than before, that are sometimes most effectively dealt with on the plane of pure intuition. What a fantastic spectre, the universe, if one could ever consider it in all its glory.

There are those who would feign understanding by reducing all to a play of natural forces, exclaiming that the earth's seasons are the result of chance location of its axis, that seas and mountains developed through well known physical laws, that present forms of life were determined by natural selection. It is not the contention here to either defend or refute these arguments; our only desire is an acknowledgement of the wisdom inherent in nature. After all, no one can deny the mathematical pattern of a honey-comb, the complex structure and working of the animal ear, the fact that gravity and forces of motion hold the solar system, indeed, the universe, in balance, and if we could detach ourselves from nature and look upon it from some distant realm, with just a consideration of impersonal, non-guided influences, we would marvel that all this HAD to be.

What a folly it was, although comprehensible, that early peoples should believe in an original creation, with the world and heaven made to endure, forever unchanging. The truth is that nature is in a perpetual state of change, nothing is immutable; a cyclical pattern guides everything, from birth to death to rebirth, giving rise to new forms. What we see, then, is constant, unending creation, so wondrous a phenomenon that we are often tempted to wonder if the universe is moulding itself towards some DESTINY which only time will tell, that will be determined by its present and past character. Our brief if life-span may delude us into seeing life and the universe as collections of 'things' instead of as dynamic, interrelated processes.

Regardless of the revelations of modern science, the old patterns of thought, inherited from primeval times, persist to the modern era, together with all manner of priestcraft and superstition. All religions now in existence are derivatives from some unenlightened age, when people adhered to beliefs more out of fear than true spirituality. Consequently, in today's world there is disenchantment with the old beliefs, and skepticism, doubt and plain indifference towards noble thoughts have become prevalent. Into this vacuum must step a new religion, one of greater spiritual value than ever before—the religion of Odinism.

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Those who disdain religious observances usually do so by egoistically placing themselves above the common folk, with the thought in mind of eventually seeing the coarse stupidity of religious masses inevitably wither through the means of our much lauded 'progress'. Such being the case, these 'thinkers' do not realize who the joke is on. Throughout man's history religion has played a most significant part, especially with the development of civilization. When we consider the Golden Ages of past Cultures, we do not find the materialism, worldly comfort and standardized, sterile knowledge characteristic of declining societies; nay, the people who initiate the Culture are far above such mundane tendencies. These are times of intense religiosity that is always characteristic of a young civilization when pyramids, temples and cathedrals are built; and if we consider one of the first civilized people on earth, the Sumerians, we find that the first cities were conceived as the estate of the gods, whose inhabitants served these gods and thought themselves and their cities entirely dependent upon those gods. What ancient city did not have its house of worship as the most imposing structure within its walls? None of the more magnificent and durable creations of past Cultures for which those cultures are most remembered, whether monuments, art or philosophy, would have been realized if they had not been essentially religious undertakings. Egyptian paintings and sculpture, giving modern archaeologists such a vivid description of early life in that land were developed to adorn the temples and final resting place of the god-king. Look at the great massive efforts made at Tikal or Chichen Itza in Central America, or at Ankor Wat in Indo-China, and see how religiously enthused were their constructors. The tales of Homer inspired the early Greeks towards personal excellence, brought on the Olympic Games, and created artistic styles in architecture, painting and music never before conceived.

The best remembered of such religious epochs is that of the 'Middle Ages', when Gothic cathedrals grew upon the landscape, and much care was placed in the realization of objects for religious adoration, resulting in the masterpieces of the Renaissance—the Pieta by Michaelangelo, the Last Supper by da Vinci, the Jurisprudence by Raphael, etc. Even science owes its existence to basically religious individuals. At the beginning of Western learning, science and religion were complementary sides of one universal truth; it was inconceivable that they should be in conflict. Sir Isaac Newton was primarily a philosopher, more interested in biblical prophecy than in gravity. Then there is the example of America, of a whole new concept of a nation, hewn from the forest by people whose motivation was the desire to practice their religion and build a society in accordance with their ideals. Also, the phenomenal expansion of Capitalism was extensively promoted by the Calvinist Movement. By all standards, religion and culture are inseparable; the more spiritual and pure the religion, the closer will that culture be to its Golden Age. In fact, so closely related are the two that civilization can be considered a stage of development unrelated to the needs of the barbarian.

From the initial foundings of a culture, the spiritual worth of humanity slides downhill. All civilized cultures, whether Indian, Moslem, Classical or Modern, have experienced an 'Age of Reason', following a former era of profound belief. All civilizations have had great influence upon the intellectual development of man, as evident from calendars, mathematics, writing, inventions, etc., accomplished by early peoples. The city itself is a mental stimulus, as it brings personal confidence and introduces more chance of an easy transference of ideas than a rural community. Finally, the old religions have generally become popular during ages of want and poverty, when people adhere credulously to some hope of comfort. For obvious reasons, therefore, the growing refinement of civilized man inevitably places him in opposition to the mystical and 'irrational' beliefs of his forefathers.

The American Quakers, after becoming rich and prosperous, abandoned their former religious zeal. John Wesley observed that where wealth increased, religion decreased in equal proportions, and also John Calvin noted that the poor were more obedient to God than the rich. How many modern clergymen, today, preach 'fire and brimstone' to congregations that arrive in brilliant new automobiles? The afflictions that plagued Rome in its last stages of empire were blamed, by the remaining believers, on the lack of faith in the old gods. Although an entirely mystical assertion, it was ironically half correct. With the loss of religion comes a loss of reverence, with this a loss of respect, even for the military virtues of honour and courage essential for national enterprises. From a lack of national self-respect, of pride in race, can flow a Pandora's box of nightmares for a culture, eventually extinguishing its light altogether. At least during a pre-civilized period the people obeyed their divine instinct of ethnic preservation, expressed in loyalty to a clan or family, with marriages always religiously sanctified; but when all concept of everything Holy is lost, and replaced by hedonism, there is no end to the depravity of the selfish soul, and no race degenerates as quickly as the Aryan.

There is no intellectual rebellion in the destruction of a great religion, only a passive reaction of indifference, whose soil is fertilized by rationalism and a general state of well-being that silently undermine ethical principles, while at the same time the religious institutions become hierarchical and contract back into their traditions, losing their former fanatical vitality. The enemies of religion now have their chance to point to the many weaknesses of spiritual belief. Of the old, vulgar religions, these weaknesses, undoubtedly, are many; however, the inspirational influence of spiritual thought upon a culture perhaps is confirmation of the statement that the real value of a hypothesis is in its applicability, not in its truth. The mistake which the anti-religionist is prone to make is his denial of ALL spirituality since his problem is actually twofold—whether to discard the good with the bad as one would destroy a city for its breeding of crime, or, to recognize spiritual worth while cleansing from it the senseless cabalism, stupidity and fear that have always been its main characteristic.

Associated with religion to such a considerable extent that they are virtually indistinguishable from it are rituals, idealism and morality. The question now is—could a religion exist without these identities?

The less a people's development, the more emphasis we find placed upon rites and ceremonies in spiritual observances, to impress believers with the importance of adhering to their faith. These have the beneficial function of giving cohesiveness, direction and a sense of belonging, with the disadvantage of severely shackling the individual and his freedom. These religions are notably non-idealistic in comparison with those of the more developed societies whose idealism replaces ceremony in giving unity and purpose. Taking Christianity as an example, we find the older catholic church placing paramount importance on ceremony, whereas the latter ultra-modern sects of protestantism have practically discarded all such nonsense, since these splinter groups emphasize more the pure ideal of spiritual understanding than the Roman catholic church. If this seems an offense to the catholic faith, let us consider that this church has incorporated much paganism, and in countries such as Guatemala, tolerates the old Indian cults on its doorsteps. We therefore see that a loss of ritual does not imply a loss of religiosity, where this is replaced by idealism. The more a people are idealists the more freedom they will achieve from petty traditions and tasks.

We have already stated that idealism is least evident amongst the religions of primitive peoples. In fact, an approximate distinction can be drawn between the civilized and uncivilized religion, as in a primitive society the gods serve man, to reward and punish as a parent does a child, whereas in a civilized culture man serves the gods, thereby giving him a motivating ideal for artistic and laborous effort. Yet neither idealism nor ritual make a religion. We may have the purest, highest form of ideal, but if this belief does not possess a distinguishable spark of life, common to all religions, it will remain a philosophy, possibly one giving a code of ethics for people to live by, but never becoming a religion. Stoicism was such a philosophy. It taught that virtue was the one good, and immorality the one evil. It became very popular but served as a religion only to those with the education to realize the extent of virtue's benevolence.

The ideal of moral behaviour is an integral part of religion although morality may have a very different meaning for various peoples the world over. This is because of the different circumstances which diverse tribes and segments of humanity live under, naturally making differences in their practical codes. By morality, what we mean is a cosmic truth that applies to the world, expressed in the more noble creeds. Man, a product of biological evolution, is rooted in his animal past, consequently he has animal needs and intuitive expressions. The noble religions have been aware of this and as they have been donated to the world by people of high intellect, they automatically sought to control man's animal nature, and properly direct the body's physical needs so as not to dominate the spiritual facet. Greed, lust, gluttony, rage, sensualism, materialistic obsession, etc., all degrade man to a more beastly level. If we consider the whole span of life's evolution on this planet, what we mean becomes even more clear. One meaning of evolution is the freeing of animal life from both the determinisms and arbitrariness of nature.

Contemporary with the growth of awareness or awakedness of a species to its environment (intelligence), comes less reliance on its environment. Amphibians are partially free of the water, the womb and cradle of life; reptiles more so, and these must be placed on a higher scale. Through the marsupial stage come mammals, which are warm-blooded and can survive in cold temperatures, no longer restricted to tropical or sub-tropical climates; what is more, they give birth to their young instead of leaving eggs to hatch by chance on a sunny beach. The advancement from lower living forms is obviously one of less dependency. Finally, man is capable of living in any environment, land, sea or air, even space. What nature is left for the highest form of life to free itself from and advance the evolutionary process even further, is the animal nature itself, expressed through inspired moral teachings.

It should be obvious that the spreading of an ethical principle is possible only amongst minds capable of hearing it. Although morality does not make a religion, it can be a part; religion is the vessel containing moral teachings, as usually it is also the conveyor of legend and folklore, all issuing from the soul and spirit of a people. To preach virtuous phrases amongst New Guinean Pygmies whose interests lie predominantly within the animal-sphere is a wasted effort; elaborate dress and ceremony would be a far more effective means of proselytization. Not all peoples are the same in their abilities to accept and retain high idealism or spirituality, much less develop it.

In contrast to worldly idealism we have a concept of the divine, of that cosmic spirituality expressed foremost in the religions of Indo-Europeans. Amongst this race there has never been evidence of religious cabalism, belief in demons and the host of elaborate absurdities that seem part and parcel of oriental belief. Its main characteristic has been its spirituality from the beginning. Zoroastrianism was a development from ancient Aryan tradition, and was the first to teach that life was a struggle between good and evil. Many of its teachings became incorporated into Judaism and Christianity—for instance, the association of light with the Good; the surrounding of the god-head with helpers or angels; the god of Darkness, Ahriman, represented by Satan; and a belief in a final judgment. The same attempt to uplift the human spirit was made by the Aryans in northern India, shown by the Vedas; and also the gods and goddesses of Europe were never imposing, exotic creatures with the function of demanding absolute, total submission. Here man was an individual, a free being, with the power to acknowledge right from wrong and the choice to pursue whatever path he may, determined by the individual conscience. Knowing the racial basis for a high religion, it is not surprising to learn that Guatama Buddha was born from an old Aryan family in India.

What we perceive, then, from religions which express a desire to free man from his animal self, is the necessity, first, of having noble people willing to adhere to high ideals, and hence place themselves one step further up on the great ladder of life which is the purpose of all creation. This is the corner-stone of Odinism. The Odinist places no distinction on any thinker, founder or saviour, as he realizes that the sole motivating factor in harmony with the natural order is a recognition of ethnic inheritance and a devotion to the principles of Aryan blood. If all persons of Aryan stock are loyal to themselves and to their people, never seeking to dilute or hinder their racial development, they will be participants in the universal, scheme, and their lives will be a blessing to them. If, on the other hand, anyone endeavors to weaken this race through slaughter or the promotion of mongrelization; or by the manipulation of economic and social pressures, seeks to hinder Aryan socio-cultural progress, the wheel of fate will mercilessly crush them.
 
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In Christianity are the seeds of Western destruction that have always been evident from the time when Aryan man first attempted to advance science and learning, only to be burnt as a heretic; from Charlemagne, the Saxon Slayer, to the 30-years war, to St. Bartholomew's Massacre, to the present day when pious gentlemen preach universal 'brotherhood'. Such has been our legacy from Christianity as a political establishment. As a religion in the modern world, it is a farce; all that is left is a burnt-out shell which has been the case for all religions that are based upon superstition. If Western civilization is to endure, Christianity must give way to another religion.

The importance of religion to culture and culture to civilization may now be certified, and in this we may also place the importance of race to religion. If the entire process of civilization and progress is boiled down to essentials, race and religion emerge as the two main functional pillars. What is in the heart of every Odinist is primarily the preservation and advancement of the Aryan racial type, with this people continuing to derive maximum benefit from the genius of their culture without this passing away as in former eras. By our understanding of the relationship of religion to history, we find that Spengler's pessimistic view was overstated, that civilization need not decay like a plant, that this decline is in part a spiritual malady and can be arrested by the establishment of new religious concepts.

If we take this responsibility upon ourselves, it becomes paramount to at least have a knowledge of what religion is, after having described what it is not. Again considering the vulgar religions for our clarification, could we ever suppose that these would maintain their powerful control if the gods and demons honoured by those religions were suddenly deprived of their awe and demoted to insignificance? This is doubtful since the gods most devoutly honoured are logically the most imposing.

Would christianity or mohammedanism ever have become world forces if they did not possess belief in a heavenly after-life? In all religions it is obvious that the powers to be worshipped are omnipotent to the worshippers because people feel their helplessness and are seeking salvation whether, it be from drought, pestilence, death or whatever it is over which mere mortals have no control. Therefore, religion, reduced to its skeleton, means the hope of reward (salvation) through fidelity to a belief, and upon this hope there gradually develop the traditions, folklore, spiritual outlook, etc. of a people, determined by ethnic constitution. These additions may change or disappear without having any renowned effect upon the religion's vitality, but when the hope of a religion is extinguished then the whole faith may be expected to slowly wither. Without reward there is no religion.

The Odinist religion is no different in this respect than any other, with a few exceptions. Odinism is a realistic creed that does not place itself above the world and its problems, awaiting some saviour to descend upon the earth in heavenly raiment to put an end to all wickedness and corruption. The Odinist is an activist, and as such believes, if righteousness is ever to govern, it must be attempted by himself in the here and now. This is not to say that Aryan rule is necessarily always virtuous, nor that Aryan peoples do not have their moral weaknesses; what gives them the right to claim worldly right is their display of minds receptive to idealism and spirituality: a true Aryan is an individualist, almost a god to himself, and with these qualities, by remaining loyal to blood and spirit, Aryans inevitably become the forgers of DESTINY.

We are the ones who will undertake the pursuit of justice, with the destruction of everything degenerate and parasitic as determined by our conscience, while attempting to give life and freedom to all genetically healthy. A now unimaginable new world where sanity, simplicity, art and philosophy would replace the materialism, hedonism and mass-man mentality of a degenerating Society, is the striving of Odinism.

All this could be achieved by a renovation of traditional Aryan values. Therefore, the hope expressed by all religions is evident in Odinism, thereby making it a true religion; the difference is merely that salvation is no longer other-worldly, its means no longer passive; Odinism is practical and realistic, its means depend upon individual and collective action, with no saintly withdrawal from reality. Action may be considered the worship of the Odinist Faith, just as work became the salvation of Calvinist Protestantism, exemplified by the phrase, 'the Lord helps those who help themselves'. Whereas in a superstitious religion hope was in prayer, action becomes the Odinist expression of faith.

Because the ends of Odinism lie in the realm of the political, the issue of an afterlife is of no consequence, as it has no scientific foundation, being a left-over from unenlightened times, and is an opinion that must be resolved by the individual. For the Odinist it is the interests of the folk that are eternal. Thus the natural duty of bearing pure and healthy children, in number according to the ability of having them properly reared, and this held as a sacred obligation.

Otherwise, the motivation for pursuing virtue is found in morality for its own sake with the establishment of a spiritualized society, a pursuit determined by the individual conscience, with this conscience determined by individual worth. Since the Odinist, by the very nature of his religion, seeks to improve himself in all ways, mentally, physically and spiritually, to become ever more honoured by his place in a changing universe; he views immortality as a worthless gesture of self-deception, for he realizes that it means degradation towards the selfish and less noble role. Over the Odinist there is no Semitic concept of sin, with its consequential neurosis and belly-crawling fear, born from the imprisoning idea of absolute submission to a deity; here is a free intellect, a god of his own being. Odinism can be considered much like the ancient Greek religion in respect to the ethical side of life. The Greeks did not believe in a paradise after death, everyone went to Hades, whether good or bad. In the Homeric tales they were given examples as to how a valiant person should live, and thus seek the blessings of the gods, making their mortal existence more meaningful.

The most distinguishable feature of Odinism is that for the first time a religion has declared itself founded upon the concept of race, with its correlation to culture and civilization. Without race there is
Nothing; therefore our first duty is a study of race and the significance of Aryan peoples to world history.

Odinism is the torch of Aryan destiny; before its occurrence the Aryan peoples never really had a forward-looking course, since they were subject to internecine warfare, mongrelization and depletion. The greatest ravages of the 20th century were an example of Aryan fratercide, which exterminated millions of our best people. We have responsibility to yet unborn generations, and only by race consciousness can this responsibility be met. With our rich racial heritage, why should we become estranged from ourselves by the adoption of Judaic-christian religious ways that are inferior to Aryan metaphysics, and absorb alien customs, laws, names and above all, give the honour of a 'chosen' people to a certain tribe merely from their say-so, while on bended knees, in the true Christian mode, learn submission to offence, an act of servility that is anathema to our very soul?

The Heroic Age of Greece was contemporary with the emergence of a religion that sprung from national character, that gave honour to national character. The culture of Northern Europe, on the other hand, has never had a Heroic Age; what corresponded to that of Greece, our 'Dark Ages', was one of our subjection, by fire and sword and threat of everlasting damnation, an alien doctrine that taught humility and obedience, instead of respect for the moral traditions we already had. Now this alien doctrine is in its final death throes, hanging over the abyss by a thin thread of respectability while hare-brained hypocrites attempt to rationalize its absurdities.

Let the Aryan Spirit awaken from its narcosis, let the mighty Teuton once again batter down the walls of Rome in final obliteration. May we then recognize our truer spiritual selves, in the light of modern science and apply ourselves in the formation of that religious body which will unite all Aryan elements under one banner. Let every Odinist seek his birthright. By so doing we shall step into the Golden Age of Western history that awaits us.

[Editor’s note: the name of the author of this article has unfortunately been lost.]
 
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