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How to Meditate Effectively

Since I returned from my travels I’ve meditated almost every day. It’s a fantastic practice and I thought I’d describe what I do and how it helps.

The practice is simple enough. I set a timer for 20 minutes. I lie down in a secluded space – under the shade of trees is good, or if it is cold then I just get under the covers of my bed.

I try to focus on my breath. I turn my attention to the physical sensation of inhaling… and then the physical sensation of exhaling. I let my breathing slow down and become more regular. It can be helpful to think the word “in” as I inhale and “out” as I exhale.

Now the thing about trying to focus your attention on one place is that if your mind is undisciplined – well you’ll be all over the shop. All sorts of thoughts are likely to flood your mind – about your shopping list, the book you are reading, the arguments your friends are having, your plans for the day.

These thoughts will pull your attention away from attending to your breathing. So here comes the key to effective meditation.

Your only task when your mind wanders is to notice that your mind has wandered and tell yourself “back to the breath” and return your focus. That’s all. The thing is, it is totally ok for your mind to wander: that gives you the opportunities you need to practice noticing your own thoughts and redirecting them.

In other words, effective meditation doesn’t make some lofty goal of stillness or oneness the goal – though my method certainly enables me to achieve such a state sometimes. Rather, the goal is just to notice that your mind has wandered and return to the breath.

Sometimes, often, you won’t stay focussed for more than a breath or two before you get distracted, no matter how experienced you are; or sometimes thoughts will quietly worm away under your breath focus. This is good – you are learning the landscape of your mind at the same time as you train the beast. Sometimes valuable insights might even come from this, though the time to dwell on them is after your 20 minutes is done.

There are various Zen stories about the important of coming back to your focus point no matter where your mind goes: “Master, I was meditating and the Buddha appeared and told me that I am the anointed saviour of mankind”, says the student. “That’s nothing to worry about. Keep returning to your breath and it will go away”, replies the master.

This is a good attitude to have. If you really must, you can still entertain your megalomania later. But when you are meditating, meditate.

You don’t have to focus on your breath for this general principle to work. Sweyn Plowright, in his book True Helm, offers a very effective meditation practice utilising the rune Isa, with a similar approach to the one I’ve outlined here. I recommend it, in fact. It’s very classy.

I should also add that I didn’t invent the meditation method described here. It is loosely adapted from various different traditions and modified by my experimentation.

Now, you might be wondering how I know that the meditation method outlined here is effective.

Well it definitely takes a while to get the more dramatic results, but here are some of the benefits I have been experiencing since I renewed my daily meditation practice a month ago:

I am more alert; I think clearer, I’m more able to understand things around me and even my sensory perception seems clearer and more detailed;

I need less sleep; sometimes I can use a meditation session to totally recharge my batteries during a busy day;

I feel much less anxious – more confident and relaxed;

I pay much less attention to the kinds of unconstructive self-critical voices most of us fall prey to at times;

I have become less dogmatic, more open to different points of view, and much less emotionally provoked when I encounter views that contrast strongly with my own (this has been a goal for a little while now, as discussed elsewhere in this journal);

I am more focussed – when I really need to get something done, I can do it;

I’m becoming more disciplined but also less up-tight about maintaining my discipline – I’m more comfortable with resting and taking time out yet I think I’m just as productive.

The real litmus test came over this last weekend, when I recorded all the bass for the next Ironwood album. I usually find recording to be stressful, unpleasant, emotionally taxing and, all in all, something to be feared.

This time around though I felt so calm and relaxed. When my emotions started to get away from me I could see it immediately and respond. I noticed that I tend to hold my breath when I’m feeling under pressure and that if I consciously let go of that armour then I become both more relaxed and more competent.

The consequence was that despite this being the most complex and technical material I’ve ever recorded I finished up right on schedule, didn’t rush, pulled out the best studio performances of my life, was totally chill and relaxed, and basically had a monstrously enjoyable time.

Instead of an onerous task, recording was a pure joy. I particularly enjoyed watching myself skilfully manage my own behaviour, thoughts and feelings, gently steering myself along the path.

And folks, that is after only a month of meditating daily, 20 minutes a day. I’m really, really hooked now. I’ve written before in this journal about the distinction between heart and will based living; how the former is so much more powerful yet is so hard to access for those of us raised in a more or less nihilistic modern context. Well meditation is really opening the gates of my heart and unleashing some serious power.

Oh, and to top it all off, on the weekend I also wrote a really cool poem about Odin and my ancestors.

It can be hard, of course, to get into a groove with meditation, but really to do it effectively you need to keep up the practice. Sometimes you might have to skip a day, but believe me, it gets easier to discipline yourself the longer you do it.

If you think you don’t have time – trust me, you’ll start to function so much better after a while that those 20 minutes spent meditating will end up saving you at least that much, maybe a lot more, out of the rest of your day.

And I’ll say again – it doesn’t matter how much your mind wanderes. It doesn’t matter if you don’t reach some transcendental state. Just keep doing it and you’ll find it hard to stop yourself from deriving benefit from the practice.

I’m laying down the challenge folks. Meditation – get into it!

Getting My Act Together

I’ve always believed in the principle that a healthy mind requires a healthy body. I haven’t always practiced what I’ve preached but when I’ve stayed from the path, my experiences have always served to reconfirm that initial premise. I need to be in shape physically if I want to function well mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I used to be a Bouncer. I ended up leaving that life because I’d come to realize that the bar-scene is not exactly a healthy environment to live and work in. (Sometimes I catch on a little slow.) These days I work as a Personal Trainer. I got into the fitness industry expecting to find it a much healthier environment. It is, kinda, but not so much as you’d think.

Now, before I go off on some kind of stupid rant about everything that’s wrong with the health, fitness and nutrition industries, I better put in that I take full responsibility for my own physical and mental well being. I’ve found that to be the only useful attitude to take on the matter. Suffice it to say that I’m not in anything like the kind of condition I want to be in, which brings me to my point…

I am thirty-one years old and I have a few oaths to make.

1. I will get at least one hour of physical exercise every day.

2. I will strive to eat and drink right every day.

3. I will learn to relax.

Notice I haven’t put any time limit on these resolutions? That’s because these are for life.

Note that I fully expect to stumble on the path, and occasionally fall. I resolve to pick myself up and carry on.

Note that number three is likely to be the most difficult for me, personally (because I’m no longer willing to count getting drunk as a form of relaxation). I’ll find a way.

There are plenty of other oaths I could make. Indeed, there are plenty I should make but I need to keep things simple for now. Stick to the basics.

There is, however, one more special oath I would like to make. This one is just for me…

4. I will spend at least twenty minutes on some form of martial arts practice every day.

With all of cyberspace as my witness, these things I pledge.

And let my word be my bond.

Clinton James McDowall

More on my Extremism

Following on from my last post I had a curious realisation. You see, at various points I’ve felt that the myths of Siegfried/Sigurd provide for me some important clues into my personal evolution. Yet I’ve never been able to find my way into applying them in my life.

Certainly Jan Fries’ interpretation of the myth of Sigurd in Seidways has been a helpful stepping stone. Fries sees Sigurd’s discovery of the speech of birds after tasting the heart of Fafnir as symbolic of an attainment of expanded consciousness, a kind of enlightenment, an initiation into the Big Picture. I find this a very helpful interpretation, and relevant to many of my own interests and concerns, but somehow until now I’ve stopped at that point.

Recently the next step opened, however: I noticed that the meaning of the name Siegfried is “Victorious Peace” or more specifically, “Victorious Frith”. Sigurd means “Victory Guard” – presumably a guardian of the peace. This seems inescapably parallel to the Sufi moniker Ali Salaam that I wrote about in my last post: a fusion of fury and tranquillity. Rather Odinnic actually.

The old word frith bears some consideration: frith is a time of fruitful, ordered and harmonious activity. It is bountiful. It is a very active, creative peace. There might even be some conflict mixed into it, however it’s a constructive conflict rather than a gratuitous one. The idea of such a state being victorious in my life is very enticing.

So, hilariously, I find my Sufi interests providing the perspective I needed to advance in my understanding of my Heathen path. I love the fact that the tapestry of wyrd is always more subtle and complex than we expect or might like to think!

What does this ideal of Victorious Peace mean for my life? I’m taking it in two directions – and folks, really this article provides a model for how we can use mythology as a tool and vessel for our own growth so please take what you read here and put it to good use … and feel free to tell me about how that goes for you, too.

Acknowledging Harigast

Harigast is one of the names of Odin and means something like “Ruler of the Host”. It goes deeper than this, actually – Harigast is a provoker and inciter, spurring the war band up into paroxysms of berserk fury. As such he is capable of achieving tremendous things, but potentially also capable of causing terrible things. To me this is a very primal aspect of Odin.

In my reflections I’ve come to see this aspect of Odin as coming through me when I get on my furious, self-righteous high horse. I find something about which to feel outraged, something about which I am free to adopt a self-justifying posture, and then I scythe contemptuously through any and all dissent. Yet as I explained in my last post, allowing myself to give fuller vent to this tendency has not been nearly as satisfying or helpful as I expected. You need more than just brute force to make your way in the world.

Yet it would be false of me to deny this part of myself too. I cannot just repress this Righteous Destroyer – as Phil Hine says, “a god denied is a devil created”. I think that this Odinnic force causes all kinds of problems when repressed into ugly, twisted shapes – indeed, one of the problems of Christianity is that it encourages us to ignore this aspect of our Heathen heritage, allowing it to become subverted and twisted and vile.

To that end I have decided to adopt the name Harigast as a creative pseudonym. The purpose of doing this is not to conceal my identity (I’m happy to publicly declare that Harigast is a literary vehicle). However in doing this I can (when appropriate) explicitly disclaim responsibility for the opinions expressed and/or the manner of their expression. I can allow Harigast expression in a contained, safe form by doing this. This allows me to cleanly acknowledge this aspect of my nature without causing monumental trouble.

Sometimes permitting something you have struggled with causes the need to express it to abate. Giving oneself permission to transgress one’s ego is sometimes so satisfying that the need to transgress subsides. I’m not sure if this will happen with Harigast, but I certainly feel more at home with myself since I prepared his portrait and wrote him a short bio:

harigastHarigast is fury incarnate, a self-righteous proclaimer of violent truths and armoured dogmas, usually provoked by, and in opposition to, self-righteous proclaimers of violent truths and armoured dogmas. Self-appointed avenger of wrong-doing,

Harigast all too easily becomes the very breed of monster he seeks to demolish. His seething outbursts can be beautiful, but also disastrous – as much to Harigast as to his intended victim!

Harigast is a very forceful character and often sneaks hiddenly into Henry’s words… so while many opinions are expressed in his articles Henry, even if he wrote them, does not necessarily agree with them!

Harigast wrote a piece that will appear, Gods willing, in the next issue of Hex Magazine. I’m also making him my co-blogger for this journal; hence we now both have a little bio.

Being Present

While away travelling I realised that I rush terribly. I am rarely focussed on being where I am; I’m always running off into the arms of one thing or other. Extreme emotional trips – such as fury or vulnerability – can be a trick I use to avoid facing the realities of my actions and circumstances.

I’ve therefore started meditating regularly after not doing so for a long time. I’m working with Buddhist techniques of mindfulness to attend more to the automatic assumptions and attributions I make about myself and others (particularly the crappy negative ones).

And I’m trying to hold onto the notion that you have to “go slow to go fast”, as an old mentor used to tell me repeatedly. This last bit of wisdom is really potent. I think it is an essential ingredient for feeding frith. Holding to it is part of achieving victory in the task of building and guarding a victorious frith-stead.

It’s a slow process, bringing about this change. Nevertheless I am whole-heartedly committed to this ideal.

Sometimes I find myself writing about matters spiritual in order to avoid having to actually live in the endless ordinary dilemmas of the present moment (in fact a little bit of that is happening right now as I type this). Consequently it might be that in future I will put less energy into this journal and more into spiritual practice itself. I invite my readers to get more active with their commentary in order to make up the shortfall ;-)

My Extremism

Well – I’m back from my travels. More to come on that soon I’m sure – and on the many reflections I’ve been gifted with while away. In the meantime, here is a piece I wrote while away:

***

I have two quite different, competing tendencies, two incredible extremes of personality.

One is reflective, compassionate, curious, gentle and calm. It tends towards a kind of oceanic rationality which is clear and logical without being alienated or over-abstract. This mode is also a source of great vulnerability and at times fear. It does not tolerate uncertainty, pain or the threat of suffering well. It is childlike and deeply mortal. It deals in the stock of uncertainty, complexity and ecology.

The other extreme I’ve come to refer to as my Righteous Destroyer. It’s distilled fury, rage, destructiveness and brutality but always through a lens of moral absolutism. It is convinced of its own point of view and no matter whether my point of view is sensible or not I lose access to my reason when this mode dominates.

I just want to tear apart all those I disagree with, refute them with a violence that does me no credit. I also see this extreme in many other people and hate them for it. I disown my violence and project it onto anyone I disagree with. This mode is overwhelming and transpersonal – a kind of raging blind deity pulsing through me.

This second mode does not activate in response to every issue or circumstance. It has specific triggers, usually in relation to my recurring feeling of being excluded or unrepresented in the communities to which I gravitate. Or else it reacts out of my perception of injustice, wrong-doing, ignorance, or poisonousness.

For example I’ve allowed it to show very slightly in my writings about the Rune Gild, Alain de Benoist and on matters political. But I work hard to tone my rants down because the seething, righteous hate that rises up in me translates very badly into articulated opinions.

I’ve come to be troubled by the rigid dichotomy I experience between these two modes. I’ve come to be troubled by how violently, destructively reactive I become, often in quite arbitrary situations.

In the last year I’ve experimented with holding back my rage less in various inter-personal situations because I felt I was wimping out by restraining myself. The results have been much less satisfying and productive than I thought they’d be, however.

I am learning that while Alexander cutting the Gordian Knot is one thing, in real life a measure of subtlety, wit, self-control and patience is necessary and not just a cop out.

Often the fury comes over so quickly that I don’t actually bother to check if my chosen target is actually promulgating a perspective I object to or not. I just decide they’re wrong and go for the jugular.

Of course the irony is that I hate those who adopt similarly absolutist and violent postures. And I’m troubled by my extremity. Even if I totally disagree with another opinion, my fury almost completely disables my ability to apply reason and reflection and hence disrupts my ability to challenge or oppose in any constructive or effective fashion.

Or at the very least, the fury overshadows the reasoned and considered aspects of my thoughts and words so that these are diluted in their impact. And I risk coming across like a jerk. All in all: not good!

My fury is a deep ego attachment and, hilariously, it’s an attachment I often unleash in the name of ego destruction! Somehow I doubt this is even the sort of thing ego-oriented magicians have in mind.

When I was initiated into the Al-Jerrahi Sufi Order I was given the magical name Ali Salaam by the then circle leader. I don’t know if she was conscious of the full aptness of the name when she selected it, but it seems highly relevant to this schizoid furious/gentle split.

Ali was one of Muhammad’s generals and really the Islamic version of a berserker; he was much feared. One day he found himself in battle with a foe. He disarmed his enemy but before he could manage the coup de grace his foe spat in his face. Ali stopped, stunned by the epiphany that he was consumed utterly by hatred.

So disgusted then was he with his own actions that he threw his sword aside and stalked from the battlefield. I don’t think that was the end of his military career, but it was the end of his use of linear, brutal fury to further his ends. He resolved to be more respectful of the nature of violence, to act from a more holistic point of view.

Hence the name Ali Salaam – a peaceful warrior or a warrior of peace. I think this name captures my divorced extremities and also articulates a way by which I might yet be able to negotiate a healthier relationship between them. Kalima sure had me figured out when she named me.

That I would mention this point about Sufism should underscore the fact that, for me, these extreme modes are a psychological and spiritual conundrum. I am less and less able to tolerate these contradictions and hypocrisies, the way that they limit me.

When I am in my gentle mode I risk becoming ineffectual and paralytic. When I’m furious I am not fit for human engagement. Insofar as I tend to suppress the latter I also sap my will, passion and courage. I need to bring the two tendencies into communication so that I can freely move between them, weave them together, become whole.

How to achieve this goal? There are several aspects to the challenge:

1) Not letting my Righteous Destroyer run away with me;
2) Not slipping into the shadows of my gentle self;
3) Bringing the two modes into communication and connection.

I’ve decided to try to expose myself more to things that might normally drive me mad, but with a mindful attitude, a determination to stay present and not be swept away. Both gentle, retiring passivity and all-destroying fury are means of avoiding being present.

Perhaps by making more of an effort to be present, to go beyond only seeking out evidence that supports what I already believe (a universal human failing), by choosing to act on my beliefs out of wisdom and confidence and not fury or fear – perhaps I can come closer to reaching a détente between my two extreme modes of being.

I want to emphasis that these comments only apply to me. They do not imply a criticism of how anyone else conducts themselves. I recognise in myself a limitation, a disjunct in my nature, along certain lines. These motifs might have very different meanings for others.

In a sense both gentleness and fury are expressions of my transpersonal channel and my ego. I’m coming into a more nuanced experience of these phenomena as I get beyond hard dichotomies around self and other. I believe reality emerges out of the middle; subjective and objective are post hoc abstractions we derive after the fact.

So around another rung of the crazy spiral of Being and Mystery we go. I hope I can detach from my attachments and reintegrate into a healthier way of relating to myself and to the world around me.

Definitions and Distinctions

“Spectacles, Testicles, Brandy and Cigars. You are all now Discordian Popes and absolutely infalliable, so don’t take any more crap from anybody.”

Reading The Illuminatus! Trilogy on my plane ride back from Paris after midsummer, I came across a set of political definitions so wonderful that I just couldn’t resist sharing them. And, since I’m secretly a repressed plagiarist, I’ve decided to load up the page with another four fun quotes that I just happened to have laying around. 5 quotes in honor of late, great Robert Anton Wilson. 2 by Bob and 3 by some other random weirdos. Hopefully we’ll be able to melt a few minds with this lot.
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FREE MARKET: That condition of society in which all economic transactions result from voluntary choice without coercion.

THE STATE: That institution which interferes with the Free Market through the direct exercise of coercion or the granting of privileges (backed by coercion).

TAX: That form of coercion or interference with the Free Market in which the State collects tribute (the tax), allowing it to hire armed forces to practice coercion in defense of privilege, and also to engage in such wars, adventures, experiments, “reforms”, etc., as it pleases, not at its own cost, but at the cost of “its” subjects.

PRIVILEGE: From the Latin privi , private, and lege , law. An advantage granted by the State and protected by its powers of coercion. A law for private benefit.

USURY: That form of privilege or interference with the Free Market in which one State-supported group monopolizes the coinage and thereby takes tribute (interest), direct or indirect, on all or most economic transactions.

LANDLORDISM: That form of privilege or interference with the Free Market in which one State-supported group “owns” the land and thereby takes tribute (rent) from those who live, work, or produce on the land.

TARRIFF: That form of privilege or interference with the Free Market in which commodities produced outside the State are not allowed to compete equally with those produced inside the State.

CAPITALISM: That organization of society, incorporating elements of tax, usury, landlordism, and tariff, which thus denies the Free Market while pretending to exemplify it.

CONSERVATISM: That school of capitalist philosophy which claims allegiance to the Free Market while actually supporting usury, landlordism, tariff, and sometimes taxation.

LIBERALISM: That school of capitalist philosophy which attempts to correct the injustices of capitalism by adding new laws to the existing laws. Each time conservatives pass a law creating privilege, liberals pass another law modifying privilege, leading conservatives to pass a more subtle law recreating privilege, etc., until “everything not forbidden is compulsory” and “everything not compulsory is forbidden”.

SOCIALISM: The attempted abolition of all privilege by restoring power entirely to the coercive agent behind privilege, the State, thereby converting capitalist oligarchy into Statist monopoly. Whitewashing a wall by painting it black.

ANARCHISM: That organization of society in which the Free Market operates freely, without taxes, usury, landlordism, tariffs, or other forms of coercion or privilege. “Right” anarchists predict that in the Free Market people would voluntarily choose to compete more often than to cooperate; “left” anarchists predict that in the Free Market people would voluntarily choose to cooperate more often than to compete.

Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Illuminatus! Trilogy

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“Under what circumstances is it moral for a group to do that which is not moral for a member of that group to do alone?”

“Uh…that’s a trick question.”

“It is the key question, dear Wyoming. A radical question that strikes to the root of the whole dilemma of government. Anyone who answers honestly and abides by all consequences knows where he stands-and what he will die for.”

Wyoh frowned. “ ‘Not moral for a member of the group-’ ” she said. “Professor…what are your political principles?”

“May I first ask yours? If you can state them?”

“Certainly I can! I’m a Fifth Internationalist, most of our Organization is. Oh, we don’t rule out anyone going our way; it’s a united front. We have Communists and Fourths and Ruddyites and Societians and Single-Taxers and you name it. But I’m no Marxist; we fifths have a practical program. Private where private belongs, public where its needed, and an admission that circumstances alter cases. Nothing doctrinaire.”

Capital punishment?”

“For what?”

“Let’s say for treason. Against Luna, after you’ve freed Luna.”

“Treason how? Unless I knew the circumstances, I could not decide.”

“Nor could I, dear Wyoming. But I believe in capital punishment under some circumstances…with this difference. I would not ask a court; I would try, condem execute sentence myself and accept full responsibility.”

“But-Professor, what are your political beliefs?”

“I’m a rational anarchist.”

“I don’t know that brand. Anarchist individualist, anarchist Communist, Christian anarchist, philosophical anarchist, syndicalist, libertarian,-those I know. But what’s this? Randite?”

“I can get along with a Randite. A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as ‘state’ and ‘society’ and ‘government’ have no existence save as physically exemplified in the acts of self-responsible individuals. He believes that it is impossible to shift blame, share blame, distribute blame . . . as blame, guilt, responsibility are matters taking place inside human beings singly and nowhere else. But being rational, he knows that not all individuals hold his evaluations, so he tries to live perfectly in an imperfect world . . . aware that his effort will be less than perfect yet undismayed by self-knowledge of self-failure.”

Mannie: “Hear, hear!” I said. “‘Less than perfect.’ What I’ve been aiming for all my life.”

“You’ve achieved it,” said Wyoh. “Professor, your words sound good but there is something slippery about them. Too much power in the hands of individuals—surely you would not want . . well, H-missiles for example—to be controlled by one irresponsible person?”

Prof: “My point is that one person is responsible. Always. If H-bombs exist—and they do—some man controls them. In terms of morals there is no such thing as a ‘state.’ Just men. Individuals. Each responsible for his own acts.”

…Wyoh plowed doggedly into Prof, certain that she had all answers. But Prof was interested in questions rather than answers, which baffled her. Finally she said “Professor, I can’t understand you. I don’t insist that you call it ‘government’-I just want you to state what rules you think are necessary to ensure equal freedom for all.”

“Dear lady, I’ll happily accept your rules.”

“But you don’t seem to want any rules.”

“True, but I will accept any rules you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”

“You would not abide by a law that the majority felt was necessary?”

“Tell me what law, dear lady, and I will tell you whether I will obey it.”

Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

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WHAT IS MUTUALISM?

A one-sentence answer is that mutualism consists of people voluntarily banding together for the common purpose of mutual assistance. Clarence Swartz, in What is Mutualism?, defined it this way:

A Social System Based on Equal Freedom, Reciprocity, and the Sovereignty of the Individual Over Himself, His Affairs, and His Products, Realized Through Individual Initiative, Free Contract, Cooperation, Competition, and Voluntary Association for Defense Against the Invasive and for the Protection of Life, Liberty and Property of the Non-invasive.

A character in Ken MacLeod’s The Star Fraction gave a description of socialism that might have come from a mutualist:

…what we always meant by socialism wasn’t something you forced on people, it was people organizing themselves as they pleased into co-ops, collectives, communes, unions…. And if socialism really is better, more efficient than capitalism, then it can bloody well compete with capitalism. So we decided, forget all the statist s**t and the violence: the best place for socialism is the closest to a free market you can get!’

Mutualist.Org: Free Market Anti-Capitalism

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“I think the best bet for ourselves and for the human race is to completely ignore the fuckers, hope to fuck that others also ignore them and just go ahead and build the world we want to live in. Let’s create our own world…”

Helene sat down and answered, “easier said than done, but I agree that is what we learn from most of the magical movements of our time. Wiccans say ‘ An it harm none, do what thou wilt.’ In Chaos magic, there’s a slogan ‘Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted,’ which comes from the Arabs I believe.” She took a mouthful of beer before continuing. “In Thelema they say, ‘Do what THOU WILT shall be the whole of the law.’ If the left-wing anarchists could make peace with the right-leaning libertarians…Well, if enough of us set our minds to it and followed our hearts instead of the rules, we could build the world we want to live in and transform the world we were born into. Simple.”

Sean Scullion, Liber Malorum

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“Well I sometimes call myself a libertarian but that’s only because most people don’t know what anarchist means. Most people hear you’re an anarchist and they think you’re getting ready to throw a bomb at a building. They don’t understand the concept of voluntary association, the whole concept of replacing force with voluntary cooperation or contractual arrangements and so on. So libertarian is a clearer word that doesn’t arouse any immediate anxiety upon the listener. And then again, libertarians, if they were totally consistent with their principles would be anarchists.”

Robert Anton Wilson
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Hail Eris! Viva Loki! All Hail Pope Bob Wilson!

http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html

http://www.mutualist.org/id24.html

Hinduism, Heathenism, and Indo-European Paganism

Hinduism and Heathenism are closely related. I argue the point on three levels…

1. Hinduism and Pre-Christian Heathenism (along with Druidism, Greek Paganism, Zoroastrianism etc.) evolved from the same basic source, Proto Indo-European Paganism.

2. Hindu and Buddhist philosophy has been hugely influential in the Neo-Pagan movement from which Recon Heathenism was born. (And for anyone who’d like to argue that Recon Heathenism is NOT a form of Neo-Paganism, all I can say is “grow up and stop kidding yourself”.)

3. The connection just makes a lot of sense to me personally, on an intuitive level. I’ve learned a lot from studying the eastern religions and clearly I’m not alone among Heathens in feeling this way.

So where does that leave us? Actually it gives us a fantastic new tool, an idea we can use.

The ordinary conception of Heathen history is as a broken line. If we accept the influences of Hinduism and Neo-Paganism on contemporary Heathenism, we can mend the break. Consider this…

We trace our history backwards from Pre-Christian Heathenism to Proto Indo-European Paganism.

We then trace our history forward from Proto Indo-European Paganism to Hinduism and then Buddhism.

From Hinduism and Buddhism, we again trace forward to Neo-Paganism.

From Neo-Paganism we trace forward to Reconstructionist Heathenism at which point we reconnect with our ancestors and realize our religious history is no longer a broken line. It has now been revealed as a circle.

Our tradition is a very ancient one. I find great comfort in that fact.

And, this idea can be used in other ways. Let’s see how we can apply this new knowledge to a common uncomfortable scenario. Someone from work asks you if you’re religious. You have a few different options. You could…

1. Lie.

2. Refuse to discuss the issue.

3. Explain to them honestly that you practice the reconstructed polytheistic religion of pre-Christian northern Europe (and deal with the fact that they now think you’re a raving loony).

4. Say something clever.

What I usually say in this kind of situation goes something like this…

“I feel a lot closer to Hinduism and Buddhism than I do to Christianity, though I’m not really a Hindu or a Buddhist. (Or, I am and I’m not.) I feel I get a lot out of studying philosophy, psychology, history and mythology. Personally, I really get a lot out of mythology, even more than academic philosophy.”

How’s that for magic? Just few simple words, nothing but the truth, and I’ve transformed myself from “potentially dangerous psycho” into “sensitive, intelligent and obviously well read”. This routine probably would not work if delivered to a Christian fundamentalist, but living in Southern California it tends to go over pretty damn well.

Let’s face it. Being part of a new minority religion sucks. Regular people think we’re crazy. They put our books next to the reptilian conspiracy theorists instead of in the religious section and we’re classified as “miscellaneous” on the census. Buddhism and Hinduism, however, are big. They’re old. By accepting ourselves as part of that family we gain a very healthy measure of social acceptance and respectability. And the best part is you don’t need to convert! You don’t need to change a thing! Heathenism is a form of Indo-European Paganism. It is a western variant of Sanatana Dharma. Our tradition is ancient and we are a part of a great and proud religious family.

Hail Chaos!

Viva Loki!

Aum Siva-Wodinaz Aum

Out of Chaos Cometh Order: The Holy FUThARK

To the brave may come the vision of the Valkyrie.
Dave Lee

The pathways lead us on since the screaming Lord awoke
Some heed unto the Need when the secret keys were spoke

The bridge wends ever on into worlds both dark and bright
Some hear the inner voice where the silence speaks aright

The journey has no end since such was never meant
Some feel beyond the veil where the ashen spear was lent

FIRE + ICE

The following description of the PROCESS that the Elder Futhark embodies, is purely SUBJECTIVE. I neither claim that my description of the Futhark is ‘true’ in any objective sense nor that it is of any value to anyone else than me. So why present it to others? Well, I would like to think that it inspires others how Runes can be applied on a individual level beyond the general presentation of each Rune as an ‘isolate’, seperate Stave.

A few years ago, when I was doing STAV with a few companions, I was taught to go through a series of ‘Tai Chi’-like movements of which every one was a Rune Stadha (but we were doing this with the Younger Futhark). I’d like to think of doing this with the Elder Futhark as a means of actualizing the whole cosmogonic process (that the Futhark embodies) in oneSelf. One could also sing through the whole Futhark or do the Stadhas & sing the Runes simultaneously. The idea behind this is to anchor the Runes in one’s psyche, so that they can become associated with certain states of consciousness.

Of course, it’s necessary to do some research and Runic Meditations before one can go through the whole Futhark. But after having stated the obvious I’d like to suggest the idea that the cosmogonic process (the ‘creation’ of the world) is not something that has happened once in a distant past, but that it is an ongoing process. It’s what Goethe called „dieses ‘Stirb-und-Werde’“ („this ‘Die-and-Become’“) that the Runic Process can symbolize and stimulate in the psyche of the seeker. Further I like the idea from Jewish Mysticism that „in the beginning was the Word“. As Galdor is a form of verbal Magic and each Rune Sound (I especially think of the „Kernel-Sounds“ as Thorsson calls them in Rune-Song, p. 33/34) is associated with a certain ‘cosmic’ / magical (cosmogonic ?) energy, it follows that each time we sing consciously the Runes with full concentration, we create the world(s) anew. Magic is then the methodology of re-arranging the world(s) (within or without) by projecting the sonic & visual energy of a particular (combination of) Rune(s) into the cosmos at will.

One word about the Übermensch: I was thinking about my use of the word ‘Übermensch’ in the Third Aett and if it could disturb some readers. But given the fact that the readers of Elhaz Ablaze are surely not ‘mainstream’ & must be rather anarchic spirits, it should follow that you are not ‘brainwashed’ by mainstream media. ‘Übermensch’ (superman) doesn’t imply the idea of ‘Untermensch’ (subhuman). The latter is a perverted creation of the Nazis, not Nietzsche himself. The opposite of ‘Übermensch’ is not the ‘Untermensch’, but ‘Mensch’ (human). It’s my conviction that the Elder Futhark describes an ‘evolutionary’ process on several levels: the cosmonogonic / cosmological and psychological / spiritual level. The ultimate aim of the Elder Futhark on the psychological / spiritual level is, perhaps, the Immortalization of the Soul / Consciousness of the vitki. Such a magician could be considered as a human being that has reached a divine level of existence and all traditions of ancient wisdom have some kind of a word for such beings, for example Xian (in Daoism), Bodhisattva (in Tibetan Buddhism), or Einherjar (in our Heathenism Tradition). I consider the word ‘Übermensch’ as an accurate term, because such a Rune Master is considered to have reached a level that is more than human (which doesn’t mean that he isn’t a human anymore). Yes, of course, this is speculation! It’s my opinion, personal belief, UPG (‘Unverified Personal Gnosis’) – whatever you want call it, dear. My ideas below are inspired by several sources mixed with my own intuition. The sources include diverse artists (bands) & authors like Fire + Ice, Death In June, Ironwood, Chris Travers, Leon D. Wild, Dave Lee, Jan Fries, Sweyn Plowright and Norbert (who taught me STAV for a while). However, the foremost inspiration has been the body of work created by Edred Thorsson – and, of course, my ‘Deep Mind’.

Each Aett has a certain ‘feeling’ attatched to it & represents a certain level of Initiation. I have given every Rune a ‘sentence’ that I somehow associated with each Rune in some of my Runic Meditations (some of them are taken from the lyrics, in part or as a whole, from the bands mentioned above). Then I try to put every Rune in the context of a certain stage of development. The First Aett describes the cosmogonic process (more or less), then I ‘jump’ from that macrocosmic to the microcosmic level (this happens somewhere inbetween Kenaz, Gebo & Wunjo). Please keep in mind that this description is not at all a final piece, but rather a fragment that reflects a part of my understanding of the Runes. Please regard it as an exercise in ‘poetry’ rather than a metaphysical interpretation of the Runes. At some point, it has been suggested, one should write one’s own Rune Poem. I haven’t yet reached that point. However, here we go!

THE FIRST AETT (The Beginning of the Universe / Spiritual Childhood):

FEHU („Eternal Fire. My Being broadens itself over the Vastness of Space!“):

Fehu is the primal movement, the ever extending fire emanating from Muspelsheimr. This eternal extention becomes

URUZ („UR-Form and Form-Giver. I begin to wax and thrive!“):

Uruz is the vital force that shapes all things. Audhumla is licking the Giant Ymir out of the frost that emerged from Niflheimr. As the forms are eternally shaped by Uruz, another force originates:

THURISAZ („Shifter and Resistance-Breaker. My Will is Coming Into Being!“):

Thurisaz is the necessary agent that breaks through all resistance. The three forces of Fehu-Uruz-Thurisaz are so primal, chaotic and ancient that they can only be perceived – in the context of cosmogonic processes – as ‘blind’, unconscious, gigantic movements.

ANSUZ („Ancestral God-Conscioussness. I Give myself to mySelf Eternally!“):

It’s only now that the first consciousness emerges in this evolutionary process that becomes conscious of itself (the First God, Odhinn) – this is the mystery of Ansuz. The triad Odhinn-Vili-Vé dismembers Ymir & creates the universe. This results in

RAIDHO („Holy Order. Rightly I Ride Along the Runic Roads!“):

Raidho – the Holy Order emerges from the sacred consciousness of Odhinn-Vili-Vé. From the Holy Order enflames the spark of knowledge and creativity.

KENAZ („Controlled Fire. I enflame the Holy Spark.!“):

Kenaz is the Promethean Fire given from the Gods to Men. Thus, for example, the discovery of making fire reflects man’s divine ability to use knowledge creatively, which leads to new skills that man continually develops and improves. This is the realm and power of Kenaz. It is also the fire of passion and sexuality, which leads to ecstasy when controlled and used wisely.

GEBO („The triple Gift. The more I Give, the more I Get!“)

Man receives the triple gift (Gebo) from the Gods: the Body (Lík) symbolized by the Tree is ensouled by Life-Breath (Önd) & Consciousness (Ódhr). „Wind and Thought have shaped the Trees.“ (Ian Read) As man fully develops these faculties he reaches

WUNJO („Strength Through Joy, Joy Through Strength. I balance the forces within mySelf!“):

Wunjo represents a perfectly balanced & harmonious state that the aspiring vitki experiences as Joy. Wunjo also embodies the sacred bond of friendship and the Joy experienced in a community. Man is a social animal, but the Runer must necessarily be also a lonely wolf.

Here, in the First Aett, man is spiritually still innocent. The end of this process, Wunjo, is the aim of the naive mystic and in a negative aspect this state can become the obsession for the wooly cotton- brained New-Age romancer. But to the Rune Magician Wunjo is only a necessary requisite.

THE SECOND AETT (The ‘Catastrophes’ & Ordeals of the Magician / Spiritual Maturation):

HAGALAZ („Crisis Leads to Enlightenment. Hail the White Grain!“):

Man’s spiritual childhood is interrupted by a shock that initiates a process of transpersonal growth & spiritual maturity. Hagalaz is the seed of destruction that has encoded in it the seed of enlightenment: the Hail-Stone.

NAUDHIZ („Need-Fire. Seeker, overcome thyself!“):

Naudhiz represents the hardship of life. The Need-Fire is created. This is the necessary friction to test the will of the magician. Finally, it brings progress in his magickal development.

ISA („Silence of Ice. Silence all the senses and listen to the Voice of Silence!“):

In the process of these distressful transformations the vitki must find a silent place within himSelf. By cultivating silence the magician finds a resourceful state within him that is the Region of Pure Will. Thus he develops a mature sense of self without an excessive ego („body armor“). However, nothing ever remains the same…

JERA („Cycles within Cycles. Through Faith in mySelf and my Rhythm I move easily through the Cycles of Life!“):

The vitki realizes that for everything there is a season. As he sows so shall he reap. By observing the cycles of nature he learns about the cosmic ‘laws’. He realizes that the processes in the macrocosmos mirror operations of the microcosmos (his soul). They become allegorical, alchemical keys that bring forth procedures to explore the soul. Thus he finds the World-Tree…

EIHWAZ („Yggdrasil, Pattern of the Worlds. The Fire of the Yew brings Immortality to my Soul!“):

The vitki wanders between the worlds and is taught the mysteries of Life and Death: Eihwaz – Great Initiator! Here he learns about the worlds and their ‘laws’.

PERTHRO („The Three Norns. I Weave my Wyrd with Mighty Deeds!“):

Perthro teaches about the Wyrd and Orlög. Understanding his Wyrd the magician knows there is only one thing worth pursuing: to strive for the Divine within. This is the mystery of

ELHAZ („I strive for my Higher Self. Elhaz Ablaze!“):

Elhaz expresses Man’s longing for the Higher Self. This leads man along the thunderbolt-path, along the serpentine spiral (the shape of Sowilo), to his divine consciousness. Elhaz ignites the Holy Fire of

SOWILO („Eternal Sun, Guide me along the Serpentine Path to the Knowledge of my True Self!“):

Sowilo: the sacred, silent, synthesizing Self is experienced fully for the first time! Here the goal & the way are the same. The Sacred Self is the aim of the magician, but it is also the necessary requisite to travel along the initiatory path without the danger to get lost & become mad. One of the very fascinating features of Runic Mysticism is the fact that this is not the end of the spiritual journey. Rather it’s another beginning.

THE THIRD AETT (The Great Initiations of the Rune Master / Spiritual ‘Übermensch’):

The third Aett shows the Path of the Rune-Master and his Great Initiations…

TIWAZ („Supporter of Heaven, Mighty Pillar of the Sky God!“):

Tyr is the Lord of Law and the Guardian of the Holy Order. The Irminsul is established from within to without. The transcendent centre within the psyche must be fully established – the esoteric location that some German Rune Magicians of the early 20th century have called ‘Thule’.

BERKANO („Pregnant Mother, Container of Strength!“):

Berkano teaches secret growth, the process of Becoming, Being, Decaying and ‘Rebirthing’ is used for the power of the magician. Thus he becomes aware of the Other within. Our ancestors have thought of that quality as a Being independet of the magician’s Self:

EHWAZ („The Golden Wedding. I strive for the Alchemical Marriage!“):

This is „the lonely path towards the eightlegged steed“ (Ian Read). The Fylgja / Valkyrie reveals herself to the vitki. He’s on the cutting-edge of overcoming Death. Marr er manns fylgja („The Horse is the Fetch of Man“).

MANNAZ („Consciousness is Holy. What is Whole, is Holy!“) :

The bipolar structure of man’s consciousness reflects the divine origin of the human psyche. The conscious Mind / Intellect (Hughr) and Remembrance / Intuition (Myne) unite and are enflamed with Inspiration by the Wode-Self. The Well of Urdhr streams eternally from ‘below’ (Jung’s ‘Collective Unconsciouss’ / Myne) to ‘above’ (the Hughr). Thus the ‘super-consciousness’ (Roberto Assagioli) is created at the centre between those three faculties (Hughr, Myne, Wode).

LAGUZ („The Waters of Eternity open up. Flow Along the Runic Rivers!“):

Laguz is the final test. The ancient waters of Life-Force, the Ur-Waters streaming from Niflheimr, pervade man’s Mind, where the accumulation of wisdom & his transpersonal growth become an endless process, if he’s on the path of the Rune Magician, because Laguz is a crucial point. I would like to define the path of the magician against the path of the mystic here (for the sake of playing around with ideas):

You could say that these forces – Laguz – are so strong that the sense of Self will be absorbed by the ancient waters (the path of the mystic). Mystics often speak of this experience as an ‘oceanic feeling’ (cosmic consciousness). One could say that the mystic cures his fear of death by confronting Nothingness (Dave Lee). He gives in & submits his sense of Self to the Life-Force (Laguz); the cosmic Ur-Waters of Laguz ‘consume’ him. He looses his individuality & dissolves into that Cosmic Ocean like a drop of rain. From the mystic’s point of view the following happens: He realizes that he has no individuality, it’s an illusion – he has always been the Ocean. Thus he looses all fear. In the context of this article, I want to argue that, if any mystic could follow that initiatic path so far, his journey ends here.

The magician instead has to ‘seperate’ his Ek from that turmoil, because magick is about control. LHP magicians are control freaks! But this Ek is not the ego at all, as Dave Lee so aptly demonstrates in his Master Work Bright from the Well. Rather it is Spare’s Kia, Verdhrfölnir or the ‘Ultimate Observer’ (de Ropp’s ‘Fourth Room’ or Lilly’s ‘Center of the Cyclone’ or Osho’s ‘The Watcher on the Hill’). To stay in the metaphor from above: The rain drop does not dissolve and mingle with the Cosmic Ocean, but remains its individuality.

INGWAZ („The Principle of Wihaz. Gestation and Transformation. Man, Become God!“):

By isolating himself from all these changes around him, the vitki starts a controlled process of absolute transformation. The storage of the Life-Force of Laguz leads to the gestation of the Seed of Immortality. This seed becomes the ‘Body of Light’ (or what the Vajrayana-Buddhists call the ‘Diamond Body‘). „Man finds his Ing“Rune Games, Osborn & Longland).

DAGAZ („The Morning of the Magician. Atheling, Awake!“):

Dagaz dawns as the darkly shining Noxia-Licht („Night-Light“) of Enlightenment. This Rune is central to the understanding of the essence of Odhinn. Dagaz leads directly to the synthesis of all polar extremes. It’s the Paradox that lies at the centre of the Mystery of Wodhanaz. By uniting the opposites (f.e. ‘Man’ & ‘Woman’) a third thing is born (f.e. a ‘Child’). This is an eternal process. The journey has no end since such was never meant.

OTHALA („Eternal Soul. I, the Winged Ing, repossess my own Space!“):

Othala represents the individuated psyche (in a Jungian sense). This is man’s reclaimed estate of kingly existence, his Immortal Soul. „There are Thrones underground and Monarchs upon them.“ (Coil)

Putting Dagaz as the last Rune of the Futhark could symbolize that the process of ‘uniting the opposites’, that finally leads to what has been called enlightenment, is eternal and never-ending. On the other hand as Fehu symbolizes movable possession (the extension of the Self), Othala represents the end of this process, symbolized by the ‘rewon’ kingly estate (the perfected Self).

I’m in the beginning of learning Galdor. It seems to be a very difficult art. The Runes – the ‘tools’ of Galdor – seem to be of such a mysterious nature that they never can be understood fully. When you move nearer to them, they seem to move further away from you. This lies at the centre of the mystery of Runa. It has been said that the fatalistic acceptance of the fact that Runa will never be fully grasped is the hallmark of a true Odian (a seeker who does not worship Odhinn, but rather emulates the way of Odhinn). Such a vitki explores the dark magick of the Germanic LHP. Let me conclude with the words of a magician, whose words never fail to illuminate my mind:

“In galdor-type magic, the self is fully-conscious at the moment of projection of the will. In other words, the magical self extends its will at the same time the observing self sees it all happen. The observing self is unfazed by the focus of the magical  self – context is not lost, even though the magical self is in a narrow, focused, fanatical state. This is the nature of this kind of magic – that the observing self is present throughout it, and that the consciousness of the wizard is doubled.
So, what we are really developing in our magical work is the ability to split our attention in this way, to bring the observer-perspective into even our most passionate and intense trances. The path of the magician emphasizes both the transcendent and the immanent, worldly aspects of life, in contrast to the way of the mystic, who seeks to transcend the whole show.”
(Dave Lee, Bright from the Well, p. 134).

Reyn til Runa.

Why Be a Chaos Heathen?


The Elhaz Ablaze Sign, designed by Donovan

The following article was intended as my first one for Elhaz Ablaze. Somehow I never finished it. But as Elhaz Ablaze has had its birthday a few days ago, I think it makes sense to write my own story how I came to call myself a Chaos Heathen. The first time I read about Chaos Heathenism and the explanation of it written by Heimlich I felt that it resonated with my being very strongly. Though I personally think that one-word descriptions (or two words in that case) cannot really express who I am and how I feel, I still think that the term Chaos Heathenism is really a gem.

„Why Chaos? Why Heathenism? And what is Heathenism anyway?“, I heard some of my friends ask. Friends of mine – most of them – don’t call themselves anything and, if they are religious (or spiritual, as most of them would prefer that term), they don’t like the idea of belonging to some kind of philosophy and/or religion. So, what is Heathenism? (I know that most readers of Elhaz Ablaze already have a very clear conception of what Heathenism is.) Basically, I think that Heathenism is the ‘religion’ of our ancestors. But it’s not really a religion, it’s more a way of life, or to be even more accurate, a ‘way of doing’. However, this way of doing is based on certain philosophical / ‘religious’ concepts that imply powerful truths about the nature of reality and consciousness. To me personally Heathenry is really about roots (RE-connecting with your ancestors & the ancestral, primal root of consciousness – ANSUZ), the interconnectedness of everything (Wyrd) and about a living, ‘ensouled’ universe/multiverse with which humans can communicate by interacting with ‘beings’ that are imagined as gods, elves, dwarfs & other mythical beings (Esoteric Runology). And, of course, Heathenry is about values (like honour & loyalty), where one’s deeds & words count for something.

But the values of our ancestors implied also a very different approach to the Divine. I’ve been raised as a Catholic and to me God has always been associated with fear (to some degree). Heathenry is very different from such an attitude. The arch-heathen would be able to argue, laugh & talk with his / her Gods. There were also Heathens that only believed in their own ‘might and main’ – rather than in any Gods. But the difference between such an arch-heathen and a modern atheist would be the basic feeling about the universe. The modern atheist basically feels that the world around him is without any meaning (except the one attatched to it by the individual), while the arch-heathen felt a mystical ‘web’ of mystery surrounding him/her and carrying the very fabric of his/her existence (cp. Jan de Vries: Die geistige Welt der Germanen). This is the huge difference, from which very different attitudes towards life and its possibilities arise. This includes a very different attitude towards death, too.

I’d argue (like Edred Thorsson in his brilliant The Northern Dawn – a must-read for anyone, who believes that the heathen worldview is somehow lost and not accessible to us anymore) that modern atheism and its most intelligent and sensitive articulation, existentialism, is a consequence of the monotheistic cult, Christianity. The Kristjan (old way of spelling Christian) worldview NEVER suited to the European ‘soul’ – our ways of thinking & feeling, fighting & loving, doing & being – and it was only a matter of time until it deconstructed itself. Further, what appears Kristjan on the surface is often Heathen beneath its appearance (Yul / Xmass, the Xmass Tree, Easter, Easter Eggs etc. etc.). And many early Kristjan ideas have been ‘germanized’ just to fit to the Heathen mind! Otherwise many Kristjan ideas wouldn’t have been even understood by our Heathen ancestors. Consider how brutal and cunning the Kristjans have been just to realize, why they have converted to a creed that has been totally alien to them. After these important considerations have been ‘digested’, it doesn’t appear so weird anymore (though it’s certainly Wyrd), why being a Heathen in these modern times is like ‘coming home’ or ‘becoming who you are’, rather than just following another foreign cult and/or religion. So, to put it in plain view: when (young) people feel the sacredness of nature, or feel drawn to magic(k) or the Runes or pagan deities asf., I consider all these manifestations as authentic expressions of Self – our Heathen ‘soul’.

But then, why Chaos? First of all, the Chaos perspective just admits that the world has changed dramatically since our Heathen forebears lived on this planet and we cannot (and do not want to) turn back the clock. Our ancestors have been so succesful, because they were pragmatic and knew how to adapt to new challenges. Otherwise they wouldn’t have survived and we woulden’t BE HERE NOW (this being a mantra to achieve a state of real wakefulness :-). The chaos perspective allows us to draw new inspirations from different contexts as we are able today to connect with and elect from many ideas, philosophies, magics, techniques & cultures that surround us materially and virtually. So I don’t consider it as ‘untrue’, when I find myself ‘working with’ Ganesha or Kali (or any other deity I feel drawn to) and/or when I am exploring magical paradigms/techniques/ideas that are not part of the Heathen Lore. (Though, honestly said, I’m beginning to become very sceptical of ‘working with’ Gods from different cultures as this approach of ‘working with Gods’ seems to be disrespectful to other cultures and to the deities themselves. However, this is a topic for another article…) But there is another aspect: the chaos magickal or freestyle ‘shamanic’ approach just suits to many of us rather than a strict, ceremonial way of doing magick (though I tend to like both & lean a little bit more towards a strict way of doing rituals). I’d argue with Freya Aswynn that the Northern Tradition is far more in harmony with chaos magick than a Western ‘Ritual Magic’ approach.

“The magical arts of the Northern peoples covered a wide spectrum of activity, all of which was purely practical. There was none of the Qabalists’ occupation with building a stairway to the Deity, no Golden Dawn mysticism. It was, as the poet T. S. Eliot so aptly put it, ‘designed to produce definite results, such as getting a cow out of a bog’. If it bears a resemblance to any modern magical system then the most likely candidate is Chaos Magic…“ (F. Aswynn: The Northern Magical Tradition. In: The Fenris Wolf, Issue No. 3 (1993), ed. Carl Abrahamsson, Psychick Release Production Cerebrum & Press, Stockholm.)

I personally like the idea that Galdor represents a more ‘strict’ way of working magick and that Seidhr equals the chaos magick approach. However, a Chaos Heathen is someone who doesn’t deny his/her many ‘selves’ and will move on to new horizons of understanding. This should be reflected in one’s own magickal practice. For example, if one still uses the same approach to sorcery after some years of practice, this would reflect that no real progress has taken place. For me Chaos Heathenry just expresses an attitude that allows for more experimentation, free exploration and an undogmatic, fresh perspective. A chaos heathen won’t bother too much about debates that ‘it isn’t historically proven’ to use Runes or Seidhr in such-and-such a way. S/he knows also that it’s not much that we know and that the way historical information is interpreted & presented always reflects the individual agendas of the persons using them. That doesn’t mean that I as a Chaos Heathen dismiss Tradition, but that I believe that one of the cornerstones of that Tradition has been innovation and a creative spirit – not orthodoxy (being a rather Kristjan obsession). Of course we have to avoid New Age nonsense. But we don’t want to fall into the trap of dogmatism either. There is no ‘one right way’ of walking the Runic Path. The Lord of Light & the Drighten of Darkness HimSelf was/is a couragous, creative, innovative explorer & shape-shifter, wandering restlessly between the worlds, always ready to look behind the curtain and to find a new secret. I think that to emulate this spirit in the here-and-now is more noble than to try to live in the distant path of our ancestors. If Othinn was alive as a human being today, he would be a Chaos Heathen. May His Power be Mighty amongst us!

Hail Chaos! Viva Loki! Aum Wotan!

Galdra Logic

“It takes only the acceptance of a single belief to make someone a magician. It is the meta –belief that belief is a tool for achieving effects. This effect is often far easier to observe in others than in oneself. It is usually quite easy to see how other people, and indeed entire cultures, are both enabled and disabled by the beliefs they hold. Beliefs tend to lead to activities which tend to reconfirm belief in a circle they call virtuous rather than vicious, even if the results are not amusing. The first stage of seeing through the game can be a shocking enlightenment that leads to either a weary cynicism or Buddhism. The second stage of actually applying the insight to oneself can destroy the illusion of a soul and create a magician. The realization that belief is a tool rather than an end in itself has immense consequences if fully accepted. Within the limits set by physical possibility, and these limits are wider and more malleable than most people believe, one can make real any beliefs one chooses, including contradictory beliefs. The magician is not one striving for any particular identity goal, rather one who wants the meta-identity of being able to be anything.”

– Peter J. Carroll, Liber Kaos

If it is possible to effect changes in reality simply by changing one’s beliefs, then it logically follows that words must be powerful tools of magic.

Putting it another way…you can make things true simply by stating them as fact, provided that your statement is convincing.

It further follows, then, that the most basic foundational skill of magic is to speak and write convincingly and with authority. To develop this talent, one should study oratory, rhetoric, acting, art, poetry, hypnosis, psychology and propaganda. Practice telling stories, anecdotes and jokes as a means of making a point. In order to develop the glamour of authority, the magician requires a broad general knowledge. Study history, philosophy, mythology, religion and languages.

The ability to speak multiple languages carries with it the glamour of the world-traveller and renaissance-man. In the US, a facility with French will make one appear cultured. Spanish, streetwise. To speak and read in archaic and forgotten tongues is especially impressive as this taps simultaneously into the archetypes of priest, scholar and mystic.

It should be clear by now that it really doesn’t matter much which particular languages one chooses to study. Each has a slightly different, though equally positive effect. Much more important are the foundational skills and the conviction with which you speak. No-one’s going to think you streetwise as you stutter through your basic, overly formal high-school Spanish. Likewise, no-one’s going to mistake you for wise and powerful Magus if your command of the Elder Tongue extends no further than chanting the Futhark in your deepest D&D voice. On the other hand…maybe they will. There’s a sucker born every minute.

Hail Chaos! Viva Loki! Aum Wotan!

Elhaz Ablaze – Happy One Year Anniversary!

One year ago we started Elhaz Ablaze. The idea to have a website where we could express and explore our idiosyncratic and potent brands of mystical Heathenism had been pressing on us for a long time.

Finally our empty talk reached critical mass and, with my discovery of the crappy but easy-to-use Weebly blog system, Elhaz Ablaze was born. It was (and is) an ugly site to look at, but we hoped that we could fill it with enough worthwhile content that readers would not mind.

Of course, we had absolutely no idea who would be interested in what we had to say. As far as we knew, the notions that we have come to refer to under the rubric of Chaos Heathenism would fall on dead (as opposed to deaf) ears.

Actually I have to admit that I hoped to provoke hate mail for the controversial opinions we and our guests have presented. But to date we have gone unscathed (much to my Loko chagrin).

Instead we have discovered that people actually seem to like our stuff – and moreover we seem to have some kind of readership, at least guessing from the Google Analytics thingy I set up in early January.

Since January 4, 2009 we’ve had some 1,238 unique visitors, 2,763 visits and 8,693 page views. Not bad for what must be one of the weirdest Heathen/magic/martial arts sites on the ‘Net! I have no idea what the patronage was like prior to that unfortunately.

I don’t know whether we are preaching to the converted (perverted?) or whether we are actually opening folk to new perspectives – I’d like to hope for a bit of both.

Certainly we felt terribly unrepresented by the bulk of Heathen writings out there and we hoped that we weren’t the only ones. Consequently, one of the joys of Elhaz Ablaze is that it has put us in touch with folk on similar wavelengths to ourselves. It’s a relief to know that we’re not alone.

I’m also pleased that we could invite Matt Anon to join our group. I’ve known Matt electronically for years and we are like cosmic siblings (despite having never met), so to have his ideas presented alongside mine is a deep privilege.

One of the fundamental principles of Elhaz Ablaze is our commitment to the notion that there is only OPINION in Heathenism: there is no orthodoxy and anyone who claims a monopoly on truth in such a sketchy cultural manifestation as ours is a fraud.

Hence, I love that we contradict ourselves and disagree with one another. Nietzsche says that the more permissive a culture is, the stronger it is; the more restrictive it is, the more brittle and weak it is. We want Heathenism to be strong, and therefore it must be pluralistic. I’m proud that Elhaz Ablaze has become a model for this ideal.

That extends also to our guest writers, who do a great job of both agreeing with and contradicting both us and each other! I might not entirely agree with, say, Sweyn’s views about modernity (see his articles in the guest section), but I’m proud to offer them a home, to defy the widespread anti-modernity Heathen attitude that I myself tend to adopt.

For myself, I settled into a regular writing discipline from day one of the site and maintaining my journal has really assisted my spiritual development. Keeping a public diary, writing short monographs on magical subjects, etc, has enabled me to objectify the sometimes all-too-ephemeral unfolding of my spiritual experience.

This in turn has helped me to integrate the various facets of my existence to a much better degree than I have ever achieved – Elhaz Ablaze for me has been a powerful alchemical vessel. Although, of course, there is a great deal more work to come, and many a loose end yet to be brought to roost in Wyrd’s weave.

When I am lost to myself I can turn to my writings on this site and they anchor and reintegrate me into Mimir’s gift of memory, so essential to the nourishment of my personal microcosmic Yggdrasil.

Indeed, writing my journal has been like mapping out a vast and unknowable continent. Every entry I write feels utterly essential to my being once it is done. Some time soon I will read over everything I’ve done – it will be fascinating to retrace my steps over the last year (and the earlier essays I posted in particular).

This journal has been a profound anchor and way-station for my evolution (and in the last year I can barely start to express how much my life has changed, mostly for the better, though certainly not without great struggle and suffering).

Given it is our first birthday I feel it is high time to explain the name Elhaz Ablaze.

Elhaz is a rune of polarities – consider the Old English Rune Poem (this translation by the inestimable Sweyn Plowright):

Elk-sedge is native most often to the fen,
It grows in water; it wounds grimly,
Burning with blood any warrior
Who, in any way, grabs at it.

The fen, the marsh, the swamp, is a liminal place between land and sea. We know these were holy places to the arch-Heathens – the bog offerings archaeologists have found alone confirm this. Yet for all of its liminal openness, the marsh is warded by the elk-sedge – sharp grass, the points of the elk’s antlers, the reach of a deadly blade.

Elhaz represents, therefore, all the beauty and magic of vulnerability and mystery; but also the strength and integrity of the wild beast that dwells within the wetlands. It represents our desire to deal only with those on the ‘level’. This isn’t a question of elitism or anything silly like that, more a question of taste and time management.

Why Elhaz Ablaze? The fire to me represents the overflowing flames of inspiration, magic, possession, enlightenment, purification, celebration, Life itself. The two words in combination to me suggest the meeting of frost and flame, fire and water: in Elhaz Ablaze all oppositions are subsumed into a greater and dynamic whole.

In a sense, then, Elhaz Ablaze is the necessary conceptual twin to Chaos Heathenism. Chaos Heathenism is a philosophy built on the notion of Elhaz Ablaze – the Chaos offers us liminality and magic, the Heathenism offers structure and integrity. In combination they create a synergistic conflagration.

Where to from here? Speaking for myself – I am about to go travelling for six weeks and this journal will likely be fallow in that time. However I will soon post up my voluminous (circa 13,000 word) essay in response to Alain de Benoist’s book On Being a Pagan.

This essay was written originally for Heathen Harvest, where it will also soon appear, but they have graciously let me present it here on Elhaz Ablaze too. I figure it should offer plenty of mind-meat in my absence for those that care to read it!

A word on the creative process of this essay. I took extensive notes on the book as I read it, until my brain was super-saturated. Because the book provoked me emotionally as well as intellectually it put me into an intense fervour over the fortnight or so that I read it.

Then, the day before my current university course started, I sat down with all my notes and wrote the whole thing out in one sitting. Since then I’ve been tweaking a little bit and getting a little bit of feedback from a few trusted readers (Volksfreund deserves particular praise in this regard).

In short, the writing of the essay was itself an act of applied seidh. I utilised extended altered states of consciousness, full activation of my deep mind, variegated forms of trance and seething, runic incantations and the riding of my Wode – my personal River of Fire – into the arms of inspired creation.

I could not have written it with cold blood, but thankfully I did not have to. So when you read it, please see it for what it is – an exercise in poetry as much as philosophical discussion.

Now – what next? I really cannot predict what I’ll do once I get back from my adventures (or what I hope amount to adventures), and I’ll be very busy with my studies as soon as I get back. But I’m sure that wherever the creative impulse leads me, you’ll read about it right here.