"The Plague of Three" upon Folkish Neopaganism

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[2-2-17 Retraction regarding this article]

Personally, I don't mind the term "Pagan," ("country dweller") since it's part of our history. After Christianity took over by force, "native believers"---those who believed in the spirituality of their own ancestors---were often relegated to the rural countryside, often outside of mainstream society. I know some do not like that term. It could be said that there are now some small but somewhat significant folkish-spiritual movements in what was once the Eurocentric "west." In some ways, the sophisticated folkish-spiritual movements of the other two chief racial types of the Americas could also be included here due to their own smaller issues of harassment or mockery directed at them. I'm specifically referring to the inherent worth of these various systems.

The Plague of Three


1) Cultural Marxism

Everyone is at least partly "Socialist" since everyone seeks, even in a small way, to reward someone while punishing someone else. Like Capitalism, it's part of the recipe for civilization. Cultural Marxism is simply "rich man's Socialism." Nothing about it actually helps anyone. It's another control mechanism for the masses... "transvestite rights instead of worker rights" (hint hint). The transnational banks and corporations grow with unbounded power... but at least men can use the women's bathrooms! By actual definition, Hillary Clinton is almost as far right as one can get; people only perceive that she's on the left.

The "neopagan movement(s)" is unique in that it has slowly but steadily grown without the aid of any outside help or promotion. There won't be any "Germanic Heathenry Studies Department" at a major university any time soon. There's a natural missing puzzle piece in people's lives, which isn't available to them in mainstream society, and they have discovered what it is for themselves. To put it bluntly, this first category is generally made up of "anti-white bigots" at large; and it makes little difference what the person may look like as they plunge the dagger in. It's to the point where a small and totally non-political private folk group can be attacked for merely existing. It makes one wonder what they're so afraid of?

While there's an element of this antagonistic politic which is funded by the usual suspects like the Ford Foundation, most of it is made up of hipsters who are defacto foot soldiers for "political correctness." Political correctness is another tool in this "rich man's Socialism" construct. It's all perception since these same forces destroy societies and fund genocide around the globe without criticism from the controlled hipsters. "Social justice" is only for whom the transnational cartels say it's for... all while they eliminate whole rural societies in some cases.. to get at their natural resources. I would argue that these antagonistic hipsters are partly guilty for crimes against humanity since they do whatever these powers steer them to do. If you're helping genocidists, then you're guilty of it.

There are various groups which call themselves names like Heathens Against Hate. This may sound like a good proactive concept; an attempt to keep things on a logical path. Actually it isn't. These are people who call themselves Heathens, but can't imagine why anyone could possibly think that any European tradition would have anything to do with European ancestry? There's apparently an old multinational secret society called The Odin Brotherhood, which is concerned about the Islamic invasion of Europe. While the concept appears to project strength, their only concern is religious freedom. In other words, they can't imagine why anyone would believe that Odinism would have anything to do with one's ancestry? On their forum, someone suggested the ancestral-spiritual concept. I remember one guy responding, and you could just feel the utter internal agony in his words. He was mortified.

Even the mere term "Odinism" is considered a racist concept by many. Gee, I can't even keep up with all of the dos and don'ts anymore! There was one Christian video on YouTube where, if I remember correctly, an American Christian college girl tried to sign up for some type of work/study project at a supposedly "Asatru" company located in one of the Scandinavian countries. I bring this up only as a warning of what's out there. Some Heathens are much the same as Wiccans, or perhaps worse.. as in this case. In a letter to one official in this company, the young woman stated that she was a Christian. The response by this man was so sexually and violently profane, that I can't repeat it here. Beyond his stunning dishonor, he fully associated Asatru as a homosexual movement. I can recall one so-called "Heathen" blog in which the author, to an extreme degree, associated Heathenry with Communism... and went on at length in an attempt to prove it. Needless to say, he didn't believe that Heathenry had a damn thing to do with ancestry!

Other blogs, Wiccan and Heathen, are rabid about spotting "racism"... just like "witch hunters" of the Middle Ages. Frequently they make it a point to bring up folkish neopagan racists, and state how they're not allowed. Within cultural Marxism, "rich man's Socialism," the promotion and obsession of these "ISMS" are designed to destroy the rights of workers and small business people on numerous fronts. The only real "ISM" involved here is socio-economic Classism. This controlled-opposition has transformed the mainsteam "Left" into an anti-Labor and pro-war mongering movement. These white middle class hipsters and anarchists won't protest the military manufacturing plants as they roam around trying to spot a racist behind every tree.

I believe that Wiccans have done some good things. However, very often they just simply cannot stop talking about homosexuality. I remember visiting the website of one Wiccan radio program from Massachusetts. It seemed like such a great idea; to have a whole program on some small station. When I listened to the archives, programs would begin and they would go on the first ten minutes without talking about anything other than the gay movement. Hmm... I like tall women.. does anyone want to hear me talk about it at length? Sexuality is, and always will be, a personal thing. No intelligent person wants to hear about it. It's pretty clear that homosexuality is very important on the minds of most Wiccans.. mostly likely because of the perceived need to not be like Christians.

I think that folkish traditions should be about respect... from all sides. Unfortunately it doesn't happen often. I have observed online a few different folkish racial factions extending goodwill to each other in a small way. I think there's some potential for that sort of thing since they would or should have more in common than not. I remember watching a YouTube video about Shintoism once, and what seemed to be a young white guy commented that he wanted to become a Shintoist. Many Native American groups have now begun to close their rituals to the public because people like this guy simply will not leave them alone! I looked up Druidic groups in California one time, and saw some "Druids" who were not even of European descent. There's one YouTube video of a white guy marrying a Mexican gal in an "Asatru wedding"... with her father giving away the bride. They were very Mayan. Would it be fair to ask the groom as to why he would be interested in Asatru, an ancestral religion, in the first place? There are some Heathens who believe that "the gods" want them to intermarry with other races.

2) Social Science

The real job of Social Scientists is to make the world safe for global predatory monopoly Capitalism... PERIOD. This is the reason that Jeffrey Kaplan gets to be practically the spokesman for the Asatru Folk Assembly, of which he hates because it's "European and folkish"... all the while he ignores certain powerful people who have eliminated entire societies in the Third World! In his politic, that's not "racism." The word "racism" was invented by a man whose political group helped mass murder over 60 million people who just happened to be of a different race and religion than they were.

There are hundreds upon hundreds of self-interest racial/ethnic groups of every kind in California. The system has made it crystal clear that any European collective concept is off limits. Perhaps we can refer to this rule as "Kaplan's Law." There can, however, be Irish, Italian, German, Croatian, etc. clubs/groups; probably because the social controllers don't want to butt heads with people of certain ethnic backgrounds, and the number of these groups are pretty small and quiet anyway. However, according to Kaplan's Law.. anything white or European is "Nazi." Some years ago, in a Bay Area high school which was about 20% white, some students formed a "white students union" of which there are many well established racially-based students unions all over the state. Immediately the ADL was called in to investigate. This political dynamic has grown with leaps and bounds in recent years.

Even if a person is not anti-white, they can still be an incredible pest! Sabina Magliocco is a professor of Anthropology and Folklore at California State University, Northridge. In the name of paying the bills, she injects herself into anything and everything "Italian-American and Pagan," despite the fact that these traditions are very small in the U.S. She feels that it's her duty and right to fully dress them down to size for close in-depth analysis... even to the point of calling those in these tiny communities "liars." Apparently our traditions are none of our business! It's important to realize that she isn't part of these communities at all. It's all only for that all-important direct deposit. Another example of state-funded intrusion upon others [This paragraph has been retracted 2-2-17].


3) National Socialism

Since European people merely existing is "racist" to some, this subject is in sore need of some rational definition. The Third Reich only lasted about a dozen years, yet it still captures the scorn and imagination of many; while the British Empire lasted centuries, dominating everything in its sight, yet with little criticism or admiration. Part of this is due to the fact that the NAZI's embraced what we think of as Germanic Neopaganism. Ironically, if you examine it closely for a long period of time, you may come to realize that what they espoused was actually something closer to possible spiritual concepts from the original Teutonic homeland of very ancient times. In any case, this connection is often brought up by enemies of Asatru from every stripe as this reconstruction has slowly grown in recent years. Small movement, big enemies. However, certain people who have embraced Germanic neopaganism have certainly helped promote the idea of this connection. As to whether or not they actually feel a spiritual tie to it, or are merely using it for political purposes, can only be speculated on.

As a consequence of all this, influential groups like the ADL or the SPLC release a lists of "hate symbols," which includes many symbols of Heathenry, such as the Othala. In fact, the Othala has been projected as the next Swastika... a symbol to be banned in some capacity within this ongoing neo-witchhunt. You can only take so many backward steps towards the edge of the cliff. Still, one can't deny the reckless usage of sacred symbols by so-called Neo-Nazis. Just as a general rule, it's probably not a good idea to overtly mix one's spirituality with any political construct. However, both the far right and far left do it incessantly. I can recall one YouTube video where some very left leaning political activist made a video after he had just--likely very ingenuinely--converted to Wicca. He was displaying his Pentacle Star overtly while politicking, and it just looked so stupid.

There are also non-European American groups which are very similar to Neo-Nazi or KKK groups. While facebook will not tolerate any European-American collective concept at all, they tolerate groups like the New Black Panther Party and La Raza--both of whom have had individuals in an official capacity clearly call for racial violence and murder--and a group calling itself United Pagans of Color. They espouse a long held infantile fantasy, present across many races, of somehow every race teaming up against a particular race.. which has never actually ever occurred in that particular manner. In this case against white people, and they go on at length about the evils of white people... all under the approving eye of facebook. I use them as an example since they would be the equivalent of Neo-Nazi Heathenry.

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Great 2009 interview of Dr. Stephen Flowers by 'The Phora'

Excellent interview lays out the history and current state regarding Heathen/Neopagan folk interests.

http://www.fromtexttospeech.com/


A Conversation with Dr. Stephen Flowers [aka Edred Thorsson]

By Michael Moynihan - The Phora - 2009 (republished in 2015 by Renegade Tribune)

One of dominant paradigms of modern society is fragmentation. In the world of popular culture this translates into dazzling distractions and endless ephemera, while in the world of academia it engenders over-specialization and an unspoken refusal to even attempt to understand the “bigger picture,” especially from a metaphysical perspective.

In this atomized environment, anyone extolling a cohesive vision that is marked by traditional values – not to mention high standards – automatically becomes an anomaly. So it is the case with Dr. Stephen Flowers, who is the rarest of breeds: a scholar with spirit, one who is single-minded yet open-minded. For more than a quarter-century he has dedicated his energies toward unraveling the mysteries not only of the ancient symbolic alphabet of the Runes, but also of the deepest realms of the Germanic myth and culture from which they arose. For Flowers, this quest is summed up in a single word, RUNA, which is the old Gothic language form of “rune” and was equivalent to the Greek term mysterion (“mystery”). It was in the early 1970s that Flowers heard this word audibly whispered in his ear, and since that time he has tirelessly pursued a path of understanding its implications.

Following graduate work in Germanic and Celtic philology under the esteemed professor Edgar Polomé (1920–2000), Flowers received his Ph.D. in 1984 with a dissertation entitled Runes and Magic: Magical Formulaic Elements in the Elder Tradition (later published by Lang, 1986). In the mid-1980s Flowers also began a more public writing career under the name Edred Thorsson. His books on the Runes and Germanic magic (Futhark, Runelore, At the Well of Wyrd, Rune-Might, Northern Magic, The Nine Doors of Midgard, and A Book of Troth) have become classics of sorts, and although they are aimed at the occult book market, they reveal a depth of understanding and degree of knowledge that is unusual to find in this genre.

Under his own name he also published less speculative material, for example Fire & Ice, about the German magical order the Fraternitas Saturni, and his translation of the Galdrabók, a medieval Icelandic grimoire. His interest in Germanic topics extends not only to the distant past, but also into more recent and controversial manifestations, such as the völkisch period at the turn of the 19th century or the esoteric aspects of the Third Reich, and his translations of Guido von List’s Secret of the Runes, S. A. Kummer’s Rune-Magic, or the writings of Karl Maria Wiligut (The Secret King: Himmler’s Lord of the Runes) all shed scholarly light on these topics. He has also written Lords of the Left-Hand Path, a lengthy study of darker occult currents, and an innovative analysis of ancient Greek magical texts entitled Hermetic Magic.

Unlike many who possess academic credentials, Flowers was never content to relegate his interests to a purely intellectual level, and thus he has long been active in the contemporary revival of Germanic heathenism, variously called Odinism or Ásatrú (a coinage derived from Old Norse, meaning “loyalty to the gods”). He was an original member of Stephen McNallen’s seminal organization the Ásatrú Free Assembly (which still exists today as the Ásatrú Folk Assembly), and in 1979 founded his own initiatory group, the Rune-Gild, dedicated toward the serious exploration of the esoteric and innermost levels of the Germanic tradition, as well as the greater Indo-European culture of which it is but one branch.

Underlying all of his work is a belief in the profound importance of traditional Germanic thinking and the eternal relevance of its mythological expression. After all, English is a Germanic tongue, and our society – fragmented or decayed as it now may be – owes its true origins as much, if not more so, to northern Europe than to Athens or Rome. Dismayed at the ongoing erosion of support for Germanic studies at most universities across the Western world, Flowers has recently unveiled his latest project: the Woodharrow Institute. This non-profit educational institution aims to maintain and foster the tradition of Germanic scholarship, offering courses and publications, and interacting with academic circles wherever possible. Besides administering the Institute, Flowers and his wife Crystal also direct the Rûna-Raven publishing house, which issues an ongoing catalog of titles concerning varied aspects of ancient Germanic culture, along with specialized language studies and works in related areas.
The Conversation

Michael Moynihan: Can you recall what initial event or events led to your setting out upon the path you’ve taken toward understanding the mysteries of the Germanic tradition?

Stephen Flowers: I started out my “career” in understanding the mysteries of the Germanic tradition as what I would later come to understand as an “occultizoid nincompoop.” I was interested in a variety of pretty nutty things. One of my first passions was monster movies. Perhaps Famous Monsters of Filmland was my first bible. My “favorite monster” was the one created by Frankenstein. There was simply something about the “Gothic,” Germanic origin of the myth that appealed to me. Before that I can remember being drawn to all things Germanic (and Scandinavian) the films The Vikings (which I saw during a childhood trip to San Antonio) and the Fall of the Roman Empire vaguely inspired me with certain scenes of Germanic “barbarism.” Later this slightly matured into an interest in the Morning of the Magicians/Spear of Destiny mythology, and culminated in my “hearing” the word RUNA in 1974. This was a catalyst for a quantum leap in my development. It caused me to delve into the scientific and academic basis of what it was that had so fascinated me from childhood. All of this experience laid the foundation of the nature of my own teaching, following this pattern: (irrational) inspiration, leading to (rational) objective study, leading to (subjective) internalization, which ultimately leads to objective enactment (= understanding/personal transformation).

Michael: What brought about your initiation into organized Ásatrú or Odinism, and how do you look back on this period now?

Stephen: Back in the mid-1970s there were only a very few individuals entertaining the idea of the revival of the old Germanic religion. My own individual journey started as early as 1972. However, I will say that it remained rather haphazard and undirected until 1974 when I heard the word RUNA whispered in my ear. But even then, with the inspiration from a higher source, the struggle to understand the full significance of it all was a significant one that had to be carried out in the earthly plane. I saw notices in places like Fate magazine for the Ásatrú Free Assembly and was intrigued, but for some reason I thought it unwise to contact this group until I had something significant to offer. By 1975 my work had taken the direction of being more guided by scholarly discipline. Once I had made significant progress in the reformulation of my runic philosophy (which found expression in the manuscript that became Futhark) and in my graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, I felt prepared to make contact with Ásatrú groups.

I first met the leader of the AFA, Stephen McNallen, at the first AFA Althing in the summer of 1979. Meeting Steve was a life-changing experience for me. He is an embodiment of a kind of Germanic spirituality that puts words into action. It was at that time that I was named a godhi [the Old Norse designation for a spiritual leader] in the AFA. It is now the only credential that I hold as being of any significance in the world of Ásatrú /Odinism. Despite whatever history might have passed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there can be no doubt that Stephen McNallen is the guiding light of American Ásatrú. I count Steve McNallen as a friend and colleague and very much value the fact that it was from him that I received my godhordh – or “authority as a godhi.”

Michael: You have often spoken about how essential disciplined scholarly training can be for understanding the esoteric aspects of the religion and how to most effectively put these into practice. Presumably, such an exchange also functions simultaneously in the reverse direction – in other words, what positive ways did your active involvement with the religion impact your academic work?

Stephen: The esoteric, spiritual aspects function as initial forms of inspiration to the mind. This is essential to the Odian approach to life. First there is an “irrational,” or supra-rational, impulse – a bolt out of the blue that sets the conscious mind on its mysterious course. That impulse can, for many, be a disorienting stroke from which they never recover. They simply sink deeper and deeper into a sea of subjectivity. For another group, the subjectivism is eventually re-balanced with rational work. Understanding of the inspiration is gained, without “explaining it away.” The allowance of subjective inner experience and insight to coexist with objective, rational analysis is essential to the process of truly understanding the tradition in a scientific way, as well as to the process of personal development based on the traditional symbology.

It was noted by outside observers, my mentors in the academic world, that I had an uncanny ability to make sense of obscure myths and to apprehend the hidden connections between and among various mythic structures. This ability stemmed from my inner experience which was constructed on a basis lying outside the purely rational models. If one is trying to delve into the mysteries of the symbolic culture of an archaic world – one very much separated from our own contemporary society and values – then obviously some key must be found which is something other than plodding logic or wild speculation. For me this key is the balanced openness to the mythic spirit of Odin. I was lucky enough to have academic mentors who supported me in this approach, who were themselves spiritual men. Without their inner support I could not have achieved whatever it is I have achieved.

Michael: Why is the notion of a scholar of pre-Christian religion who actually adheres to the spiritual ideas that he also studies such a radical one? Is this simply a byproduct of the situation in the West where any religious path outside of the “mainstream” monotheistic faiths is painted as cultic and marginal?

Stephen: I think this attitude stems almost entirely from two sources: 1) the antagonism of the materialist worldview toward the traditional spiritual one, and 2) the opportunity the adherents to the materialistic worldview have taken to attack the spiritual view based on historical events surrounding World War II. This materialist worldview is “monotheistic” in the sense that it allows for only one set of orthodox values. In this way it is really a secularized form of monotheistic religion. The Judeo-Christian system of thought has lent itself very well to being secularized in such a way that it can be turned into a model for modern political and economic theories. As a side-note, Islam has been much more stubborn in its adherence to its original values, which has caused it to be very much “out of step” with its monotheistic cousins.

Judaism and Christianity can be tolerated by the establishment scholarly world because they can be viewed as theoretical prototypes of the materialistic and positivistic model that now dominates thought in the West. Earlier traditional models are seen not so much as a threat to religion as they are seen as a threat to the monolithic political and economic order. The pre-Christian, traditional philosophies are too divergent and multivalent to be coerced into one single “market” of ideas. This points to the fatal hypocrisy of the current crop of modernistic “thinkers,” who spout off about “multiculturalism” and tolerance, but who exclusively support monolithic socio-economic models that enact the opposite of what they publicly espouse. Surely the ancient, traditional and pre-Christian world is more in line with what really sounds best to most people. Are not ancient, pre-Christian Athens or Alexandria more ideal models for the future over medieval Rome or Constantinople?

Clearly the animosity to those who see value in pre-Christian models stems not from the religious side of the debate, but rather from the secular challenge traditionalism poses to the current political order. What is needed is a campaign for the re-education of the academic world to show that the idealized future is one that is more likely to be based on the mosaic of pre-Christian traditions than it is to be based on the monolithic Christian model.

Scholars of pre-Christian tradition must indeed be sympathetic and even empathetic to the paradigms they are studying. If they do not have a subjective link to the paradigm they are seeking to understand, then they have categorically placed an insurmountable barrier between themselves and the “object” they seek to understand. Hence they have in fact disqualified themselves from ever being able to really understand the patterns of thought in question.

Michael: You have always tried to encourage those involved in neo-heathenism to uphold a higher intellectual standard, and whenever possible to actively pursue serious academic study. Have you noticed any significant number of people willing to rise to the challenge?

Stephen: To this point I would say that there has indeed been a significant number of people who have taken up the challenge to pursue academic goals as a way to put their inner, spiritual lives on a more firm foundation. The number may be significant, but not large. It is hoped that with the advent of the new Woodharrow Institute a greater number of people will “get” what it is I am trying to convey in this trend. The whole “neo-pagan” world has been made a part of the Bohemian “underground” sort of mentality of the Anglo-Saxon (this includes the imitative American) culture. What I am trying to do is simply call the Anglo-Saxon culture back to its more organic Germanic roots. This includes the way in which the idea of “neo-paganism” is approached.

As I outlined in my essay “How to Be a Heathen,” printed in the volume Blue Runa (Rûna-Raven, 2001), there was a time when “pagan knowledge” indicated something that was rigorous to begin with, and gradually evolved to higher realms of the ordinarily ineffable. “Christian faith” was something which opposed “pagan knowledge” and was characterized by subjectivism and infinite appeals to unverifiable authorities from the beginning to the end of the process. In this way it can be seen how the typical “New Ager,” or “wiccan” [sic] is in fact paradigmatically much closer to the original Christian model of thinking than is the average “Christian believer” today. Serious Christian seminarians would not think of ignoring the study of Latin, Greek and Hebrew, yet the many aspirants to the “priesthood” of Ásatrú today think that learning Old Norse is an unreasonable thing to require. It is remarkable to note how many people don’t even get the grammar of their supposed “Norse name” right!

The reasons for this apparent virtual hostility to learning are a part of the Anglo-Saxon “anti-egghead” mentality. By contrast it can be noted that some of the turn-of-the-century German revivalists were in fact professors, e.g. Jakob Wilhelm Hauer (Tübingen) and Ernst Bergmann (Leipzig). This inner cultural bias must be first recognized before it can be overcome. Do not think for a minute that I am extolling the great wisdom or character of the typical modern academic. The academy is presently in decay. However, the basic and systematic knowledge possessed by those who have spent decades in specialized studies, and who have been the traditional recipients of knowledge handed down from several previous generations of scholars is a resource that is indispensable to us.

Michael: While your focus is usually on traditional Germanic or northern European culture and religion, you have also addressed other areas in some of your work, such as with the book Hermetic Magic. What was your reason for doing so – and how do these seemingly distinct realms fit together or cross-fertilize?

Stephen: In Hermetic Magic I concentrated on the operations from the Greek magical papyri that made use of the symbolic power of language and the alphabet (i.e., the more Greek-influenced operations). Indeed there is a great deal of possible cross fertilization between the Germanic and Greek traditions of verbal and alphabetic magic. The book Hermetic Magic was an experiment in the use of the principle of RUNA in the decoding of a tradition other than the Germanic. It proved to be generally successful. Much of what Hermetic magic was all about has been lost in the Golden Dawn/OTO-style magic of the Victorian gents. Hermetic Magic is an attempt to go ad fontes, i.e., back to the sources of what Hermetic magic is, in order to arrive at a fresh and eternal perspective on the power of the human will. This is an exercise in the power of RUNA, Mysterion, as I see it. Hermetic Magic shows what can be done with the principle of RUNA/Mysterion. That it has been generally ignored by the run-of-the-mill “hermetic” crowd is a sign of just how esoteric the actual tradition is.

Michael: The work of Georges Dumézil, the French scholar of Indo-European comparative religion, has been a strong influence on your own outlook. What do you consider to be the most important aspects of his work, and why did they resonate with you to such a degree?

Stephen: First of all, I suppose I came to it as a matter of tradition. My own teacher, and Doktorvater, Edgar Polomé, was a (qualified) Dumézilian. Beyond what I learned in his classrooms, however, I saw that his objective studies (which involved making detailed dossiers of the various Indo-European Gods, etc.) coupled with his structuralist approach allowed for the beginnings of a contemporary and living synthesis of ancient ideas with those of Jung and others. The ideas of Dumézil are 1) accurate and objectively verifiable to a great degree, and 2) are potent tools for current self-transformational work.

Michael: In recent years there seems to be a consistent effort on the part of certain segments of the academic community to discredit Dumézil’s work, and especially his formulation of the tripartite/tri-functional model. Such attempts are reminiscent of those directed against Mircea Eliade and other scholars of religion and myth. Why this animosity, and what are these discreditors so afraid of?

Stephen: They are afraid of the resurgence of Indo-European culture. They have intellectually invested in the idea that internationalism is good and that anything that glorifies the non-European world is preferable to anything that seems to lend prestige to European culture. All of this is so ironic because the ideals from which they draw are entirely of European origin. Nevertheless, as a matter of ideology, but probably more as a matter of an intellectual fashion trend, the academic establishment frowns on anything that they see as “glorifying” the European culture. They would probably argue that their reasons for this vaguely have something to do with Germany in the 1930s. In conversations with German academics in runology I discovered that the same things are happening at German universities now as happened in American ones in the 1980s and 1990s – anything relating to ancient or medieval northern Europe is being dismantled.

There is also the fear that Europe will really be able to make peace within itself based on the Indo-European model, rather than the Christian and/or Marxist model. This would discredit their intellectual prejudices once more. Specifically on Dumézil and the tripartite theory, his theories have the potential of forming the basis of a pan-Indo-European cultural unity. They are the greatest challenge to Christianity and to materialistic positivism in the 20th century. So it is not without some justification that Dumézil has been so widely attacked. His theories do pose a challenge, and are not merely intellectual curiosities. They call for some sort of action and some sort of change on the part of the reader of his ideas.

The dirty little secret is probably merely that in academia the study of old languages and ancient history is hard, whereas what they are replacing all of this with is relatively easy. So that the “war on the Indo-Europeans” is really part of the general “dumbing down” of the academy.

Michael: Not so long ago you attended an international scholarly conference on runology in Denmark. What were your impressions about how this discipline is faring in today’s academic world?

Stephen: The academic field of runology, like any other academic discipline, is subject to the dictates of fashion and changing intellectual trends. (This is where an academic discipline differs from a Traditional discipline.) Most of the 19th and early 20th century runologists accepted the relationship between religion or magic and the runes as a given fact. They accepted this uncritically because it appeared to them (perhaps rightly) as the most obvious conclusion based on all prima facie evidence. Because they were uncritical in their acceptance, however, this left the door open to a subsequent generation of runologists to question the earlier generation’s assumptions. In the world of science this is a good thing. If those who did not question the “magical” nature of the runes had not been so uncritical, then a deeper and more insightful exploration of the idea of runes and magic might never have been undertaken.

I was very gratified to have younger individuals – many still students – at the runic conference discreetly approach me and tell me that part of the reason they came to the conference was to meet me, and that they had first been exposed to the wondrous world of the runes and the esoteric Germanic tradition through my more “popular” works.

The changing face of academia dictates that what is “in” today, will be “out” tomorrow. The seeds of the next generation of runologists have already been planted. On some level, perhaps, those who are foes of tradition have sensed this. Their strategy is perhaps to prevent the seeds from growing by not allowing the seeds to exist in fertile soil. The whole fields of runology, comparative religion, Indo-European studies, etc., are being systematically rooted out of academic institutions. Especially in America this is occurring with simultaneous impetus both from the “right” and from “left.” The international left sees the European tradition as being in power, and their myth of the dialectic determines they should seek to disestablish whatever is in power for “revolutionary” reasons. The right, on the other hand, is dominated in America by a Christian sentiment, which sees interest in our ancient traditions as being hostile to the Christian model. It is interesting to note that these apparently divergent interests of the “left” and “right” are, in America at least, in agreement that at least one of their common “enemies” is the organic national traditions of Europe.

This is occurring not just in America, but in Europe as well. Recently the position of Prof. Dr. Klaus Düwel at the University of Göttingen in Germany was terminated by the administration of the university. At the runic conference in Denmark the runologists signed a petition aimed at the university administration to ask that this prestigious position be maintained. The roots of the academic study of runes at that institution go back to the Grimms.

Michael: Is the founding of the Woodharrow Institute for Germanic and Runic Studies in some ways a response to the current situation regarding these areas of study?

Stephen: The Woodharrow Institute is not only a response to this current situation in academia, but also to shortcomings, as I see them, in the “esoteric subculture.” The Institute stands apart from the current “magickal subculture” in that it is informed by, and on its most basic level must conform to, all the legitimate rules and regulations of scientific procedure – all of which are beneficial to the overall process if kept in perspective. These methods infiltrate our way of approaching esoteric areas, or areas of inner work, as well. As has always been the case with the Rune-Gild – which in the future will be re-established within the context of the Woodharrow Institute – we start with what is objectively known and move from that base into an exploration of the darker corners of the unknown.

So the Woodharrow Institute is intended to meet a challenge from two ends of a pole: it is to bring an objective and scientific basis to the beginning of inner work, and to re-envision the final purpose or aim of intellectual work itself as a completion of the self. It is to bring objective standards to a morass of subjectivity (the occultizoid culture) and to bring inner purpose to the often sterile and pointless pursuits of academia. This is a formidable challenge, to be sure. Yet this is what makes it worth undertaking.

Michael: What role do you see the Institute ultimately fulfilling, and how might it interact with more established or formal academic institutions?

Stephen: It is clear from what has already been said that the academic discipline of runology, as well as those of older Germanic studies and Indo-European studies, etc., are in trouble. If scientific runology is left to its normal cycle of intellectual fashion, there is no harm done. The radical traditional runologist would be free as always to partake of the fruits of that intellectual labor and have his inner work enriched by it. However, if the traditional academic fields are uprooted and marginalized to extinction then this would no longer be possible.

The Woodharrow Institute is designed to be a refuge for the academic tradition – and to foster to some extent a sort of guerrilla scholarship. The basic work for the Institute must not in any way be compromised by “occult thinking”; it should be entirely historical and academic. We will “play the scholarly game” according to its rule and according to its standards. Then and only then can the Institute fulfill another of its major tasks: to act as a “think tank” for those interested in inner work. The fact that the word “academic” is used to describe only that kind of work which is “purely scientific,” is in a sense a misuse of the term. Plato’s school, the Academy, from which our modern use of the term is ultimately derived, did not have as its final aim the production of scientific data limited to what can be quantified and objectively known. That was only a stepping stone to the true purpose of the school, which was the transformation of the individual into a higher form of being – in other words, the final “product” was the completed soul. This whole ultimate purpose has been lost in the modern academic institution, except perhaps where secret pockets of scholars might preserve it unofficially.

The Woodharrow Institute seeks to restore the complete model of the old Academy in a Germanic context. As such its ultimate purpose is transformational, and not merely “scientific” as understood in modern parlance. Participants in, or members of, the Institute will, however, not be required to pursue this inner work as any sort of prerequisite for membership. The Institute will develop a full range of areas of interest and research.

It is hoped that the Institute will in the future be able to establish good relations with mainstream academia. We could offer practical programs in language study, experimental archeology and, most importantly, experimental or experiential ideology. Our mission in mainstream academia would be merely to restore traditional areas of study where they have been lost and to help retain them where they are in jeopardy.

The Institute then has two main purposes in the world:

1) to act as a refuge for displaced scientific work in the fields of runology, Germanic studies, and general Indo-European studies; and 2) to act as a think tank for individuals interested in making use of the scientific work as a basis for inner development. The Woodharrow Institute is a weapon in the struggle against both modernism and occultizoid subjectivism.

Michael: In the ancient Germanic cosmology, a cyclical dynamic exists where the old order collapses and is torn apart from both within and without, but this is a necessary step that precedes the unfolding of a new beginning. Is it a stretch to look at contemporary events in this light? And if not, what is the best way for the aware individual to approach the present situation?

Stephen: It is my contention that traditional views are eternally valid and ever-meaningful. The Germanic cosmology, ragnarök, which can actually refer to the beginnings, middle or end of the cosmological process, involves at the end of the process certain ages. These are referred to in the poems of the Elder Edda with terms such as the “Wolf Age,” which refers to the “greedy,” “covetous,” or “appetitive” nature of the age. Clearly the world as a whole is in a “Wolf-Age.” The individual, and certain groups of elect, can, as Julius Evola put it, “ride the tiger.” This means that certain individuals and groups can, exercising their will against the grain of consensus reality as informed by Tradition, lay the personal and transpersonal foundations for the next (inevitable) cyclical development. This next cycle will (naturally) be more imbued with Tradition, as the developmental wheel turns.

Michael Moynihan is a writer, artist, and publisher from New England. He is co-editor of the annual journal TYR: Myth – Culture – Religion, published in Atlanta, Georgia. He regularly contributes to cultural and music periodicals worldwide, and is also the North American Editor of Rûna.

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Wotansvolk flag as an Umbrella Symbol of European Neo-Paganism?

In the 1997 book 'Creed of Iron', author Ron McVan presented a new Wotanist flag (shown above). I don't see any particular reason that this flag cannot symbolize all traditional European-descended neo-pagan concerns. According to legend, Genghis Khans mother--Hoelun--handed him an arrow when he was a boy. She asked him to break it in two, which he did. Then she handed him a handful of arrows and asked him to break them in two. When he wasn't able to, she impressed upon him that alone one is not nearly as strong as part of a group; and, of course, Khan went on to conquer much of the world, but only after uniting feuding bands of Mongol tribes.

On page 142 of the book, McVan displays the powerful flag and describes its meaning, which all basically relate to "the Allfather," Wotan. However, the solar cross is the main symbol, and it can be tied to virtually every other Europagan tradition. Lets face it, the Teutonic spiritual tradition had been the most defined and widespread pre-Christian pagan tradition in Europe; and it was spread to virtually every corner of Europe at some point. OF COURSE, there were other pagan traditions! However, remember Hoelun's arrows...

The "horned god tradition," while it was also--in some form--spread throughout Europe in ancient times, lacked the definition of Odinism. Also, almost all of these spiritual traditions overlapped one another; especially as they're connected to the "wheel of the year." I tend to prefer the name "Wotan," rather than Odin, because it reminds me of the larger concept. In other words, "Wotanism" reminds me more of the mountains and forests of ancient central Europe, than it does the more Scandinavian-sounding "Odinism." The Langobards called him "Godan," but I'm thinking of what would be best in relating to the larger spiritual concept. Everything cannot be neatly packaged and presented for each one of us on a silver platter all the time!

A folkish Wiccan, for example, could very much relate to the solar cross and the two ravens. Also, there were "Wiccan-like" pagans (i.e. "Witches") within Norse and Germanic paganism. Still, we live today as if we were those feuding bands of Mongol tribes. Even within Odinism/Asatru, there is a strong factional feeling. Sometimes we need to occasionally think of the bigger picture. Remember, there were Odinists burned alongside Witches in the Middle Ages. They were viewed with the same distain by religious zealots then, or even today. This flag could be more of a "spiritual proposition concept," than an actual "organization." No concern needs to intrinsically "change," but perhaps pragmatically "expand" their spiritual scope.

The flag was designed to be a Wotansvolk ("Odin's People") symbol. Couldn't it also be a symbol of the larger Heathenry ("the people of the hearth") and/or the Pagans? A lot of areas have just a tiny handful of people who self-identify with a particular pagan tradition. Wouldn't it only make sense for them to be part of a voluntary milieu of a larger harmonious localized Europagan social construct? No matter where we live--whether in a remote area or in a large city--we still are all "the people of the hearth." Perhaps it's time to recognize that first, rather than always be factionalized in a largely artificial, negative thought-form.

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