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The Assembly of The Elder Troth would like to welcome you to our website. Please click on the links to the left to enter the relevant area of our site. Just as with many organisations and faiths, the Assembly of The Elder Troth too has special days and events which are celebrated by many Asatruar. The links below provide a list of months and the events that you will find occur during those months. We hope you find the information both informative and useful. Presented below are two personally inspired ideas regarding this celebration, the first, being written in 2003 by Dirk Schmitt, and the second one being written in 2004-2005 by Henry Lauer. Original ideas and
synthesis © Copyright 2003 Dirk Schmitt. The author lays no claim
to the information drawn from quoted and utilised sources. For information
or comment about this article, please contact the webmaster. Feast of the Einherjar 25th April The word Einherjar is translated as a masculine plural, being dead warriors (specifically in Valhalla. The singular for Einheri means great champion. Zoega's indicates that Einheri is a great champion of Thor, which is rather unusual, given that the Einherjar are typically linked with Oðinn. Other translations are "single combatants" and "warriors that fight alone". It is said that the Einherjar are selected by Oðinn to spend eternity in Asgarðr, with 50% residing in Freyja's hall, Folkvang (Freyja gets to pick first), and the other 50% residing in Oðinns' hall Valhalla. Little is known of the life led by the Einherjar that reside in Folkvang, but Valhalla is described. During the day, they battle on a great plain, fighting to the death. When the day ends, those who have died rise again, and all wounds inflicted during the day fully heal. This process is vitally important to ensure that their skills are honed at the time of the final battle, Ragnarok, where the Einherjar will sally forth with the Gods. The evening is spent in Valhalla itself, feasting on pork from a boar whose meat is the most succulent and delicious in all the nine worlds, which itself regenerates each day. For drink, mead is supplied by a great cauldron that never drains. They are served by Valkyries during this time. To gain entry to Valhalla/Folkvang, and to be chosen for the Einherjar is the greatest honour that can be bestowed upon a warrior. The concept of the Einherjar is a metaphor for the essential activity of true heroism, not just being a warrior, but excelling in that pursuit. In the Northern Hemisphere, November 11 is used as the Feast of the Einherjer, given that it seems to be the approximate date of a traditional Germanic holy day honouring the fallen. Its' modern significance is the date when the "Armistice" was signed, which saw the end of the First World War in 1918. The 11th in the USA is Veterans' Day. For those of us who live in Australia however, the most significant day in our cultural heritage, is the 25th of April, signifying ANZAC Day. The legend of the ANZACs who fought in Suvla Bay, against overwhelming odds, with the greatest command and control blunder of the First World War, stands as a testament to the traditions of warriors who are fit to be Einherjar. Hence for those of us in Australia, April 25 proves of much greater significance and importance. Days such as this tend to have some fairly obvious things you can do to participate in the Feast of the Einherjar, the most obvious is to attend ANZAC Day parades, either in your local city, or in your local town. If you can, lay a wreath on behalf of your Kindred, or other Asatru organisation. Other things you can do are to enjoy the company of the "diggers" or other veterans, and support them as they who are left grow old. Remember if you do this to bring a gift of some sort. You can emulate the nature of the Einherjar by undertaking some martial activity. Purchase or maintain your weapon(s), undertake some combat training of some nature or just spar. Perhaps go for a day living the unglamourous life of the soldier, have a bare meal, sleep on the floor, stay awake during the wee hours holding sentry on your stead. Feast on Mead and Pork for your evening meal if you've had a hard days training. Einheriar Day Information Package Original ideas and synthesis © Copyright 2004-5 Henry Lauer. I lay no claim to the information drawn from my sources. The ritual outline has been built around structures whose originator I am unable to determine. I may be contacted at henry@ironwoodsound.com.au. This paper was written for the Assembly of the Elder Troth website, www.aetaustralia.org. Einheriar Day is celebrated in the greater Sydney, NSW region on or near ANZAC Day, 25 April. Einheriar Day is a modern heathen construction with no direct historical precedent. It was first practiced in the US on November 11, but other regions of the world have adapted the basic idea to their relevant war commemoration holidays (ANZAC Day, 25 April, in Australia). Einheriar Day’s lack of historical basis gives us great freedom of interpretation. Within the themes of heroism, warrior-ship, self-sacrifice, and perhaps ancestor worship, there are many variations. Some folk I know believe that this rite should be essentially a heathen ANZAC ceremony; at the other extreme, there is the view that the normal ANZAC proceedings do not need to be supplemented and that no additional ceremony should be undertaken. I believe that the ANZAC and Einheriar Day proceedings should be undertaken separately, and need not be conceptually combined. Each is what it is and needs no substitute. Furthermore, some folk may only be interested in one or the other ceremony. It would be hypocritical for me to declare a wide breadth for interpretation if I were to then insist on one approach to the occasion. What follows is my personal take on Einheriar Day, nothing more. Lone Warriors The Einheriar (Old Norse ‘Solitary Warrior’ or ‘Warrior Who Fights Alone’) are warriors of Old Norse legend. Slain in battle, they are taken by the valkyries, half to Odin’s home at Valhalla (Hall or Rock of the Slain), half to Freya’s hall Sessrumnir (Place of Many Seats) in her home Folkvang (Field of the People). There they will feast and brawl until Ragnarok, when they will battle the gods’ enemies at the end of the world. It is out of this conflagration that the world will be reborn and the spiral of time will begin anew. The einheriar are those warriors who have sacrificed their lives in the name of victory. A number of myths relate how Odin arranges for more valorous warriors to be slain by their weaker foes in order to bolster the ranks of his army. This is a reminder that war can be a fickle thing. We may surmise that the einheriar are intended to represent the greatest of Norse warriors. Not only that, but one must suppose an element of ancestor worship is at play here. The einheriar would have included in their ranks the ancestors of a given heathen warrior. In times of difficulty, they might have provided a source of strength and courage to that warrior. Furthermore, the decision to pledge one’s life to Odin or Freya in battle could have incredible effects on a person’s conscious life. The values represented by the einheriar, therefore, are not unlike those reflected in the Japanese practice of hara-kiri/ seppuku: death before dishonour, victory before defeat. The symbolic essence of the einheriar is that the warrior is the sum of his or her actions and nothing more. Perhaps the literal meaning of the word, ‘lone warrior’ reflects the unique devotion to duty that such souls observed on the battlefield and (perhaps?) in their lives. This is not to suggest that every spear-slinging mercenary in Migration Age Germany was a paragon of nobility. We are attempting to access the collective memory of a positive set of symbols, not pretend that the past is a perfect and rosy playground of good cheer. In this sense we should take care not to idealise the ancestral element of this celebration; at various times, for example, the strong emotions aroused by ANZAC day commemorations have been easily manipulated by unscrupulous politicians. I believe that Einheriar Day should serve as a counterpoint to the Dísablót (held in May). The latter celebrates ‘feminine’ mysteries; Einheriar Day provides space for ‘masculine’ mysteries. Of course, each of these occasions has something to offer for each gender. I do not propose that only actual professional soldiers, police, etc, can partake of the warrior ethos. The values of the warrior are genuinely applicable to the spectrum of life. It would be idiotic to demand that along with these skills and perspectives one must be professionally engaged in warfare or martial training. Indeed, I would propose that not a few soldiers, police, etc, do not meet the warrior ethos. That said, combat training can strengthen one’s resolve and bring one closer to sustaining the warrior ethos. Similarly, establishing the discipline of physical exercise and good eating habits will bring one closer to this ethos. These pursuits are therefore valuable. If you are involved in some form of martial training, this celebration provides a good opportunity to reaffirm your commitment to this path and to give thanks to your teachers and/or training partners. Discussion of training and a warrior ‘ethos’ reminds me that the einheriar spirit, despite its name, is not all about solitude. It is much easier to develop and maintain discipline in a group where explicit and shared goals are worked towards. This could just as easily be in a conservation organisation or a magical working group as it could in a self-defence/martial arts class or the armed forces. A warrior is a socially conditioned being, forged from the passing of skills from generation to generation and by the recognition earned in the development of these skills. In past times, to be a warrior was to be relatively elite. In modern democracies, on the other hand, an empowered citizenry, where each individual recognises and acts on the burden of social responsibility, is the key to a healthy and vibrant culture. Insofar as we permit unscrupulous demagogues to use the warrior archetype to disempower the masses, we have handed our birthright of strength to those who would use our silence as tacit approval for their own destructive ego games. The solitude of the einheriar lies in her ability to act on her own initiative, but this ability in turn can serve to ensure right order within a society. Einheriar day thus provides an opportunity to reaffirm our ethical commitment to other human beings as well as to the natural world. Tyr’s decision to sacrifice his hand (see below) illustrates the link between the solitude of personal responsibility and the collective need of social responsibility. In order to stay true to this ideal, it may even be necessary to transgress against unjust laws; Tyr’s purpose is not to entrench injustice just because it is sanctioned by incompetent or malevolent rulers. I suggest three focal points
for the Einheriar Day rite, namely invocation of Odin, Tyr, and the einheriar
themselves. Around these three, deities such as Thor, Vidar, Ullr and
others, might be invoked. The einheriar I have discussed; I therefore
turn to Odin and Tyr. From the northern myths we know that Odin, the father of battle, is the inciter of ecstatic consciousness, be it artistic, magical, or berserk rage. Odin is a force of determination, and rarely fails in claiming that which he seeks. Notably, however, he avoids the use of physical conflict or confrontation. His preferred method is to outsmart his foes, trapping them in webs of deceit, confusion, and ultimately death. Often the myths see him fooling his enemies into bringing doom upon themselves. He is also a determined explorer, perpetually open to new experiences and driven by a hunger for mystery. We would be well served to incorporate a number of these values into our lives: the ability to access and express primal emotions of creativity and destructiveness; the ability to stick to our goals until we achieve them; the empathy and wit needed to work around obstacles rather than waste energy crashing against them; the ability to turn difficult circumstances to our benefit; the openness to new possibilities without which we can become trapped in stagnation. Odin is known by the name Victory Father (Old Norse Sigfoðr). As the god who metes out victory to the rightful winners, his favour may be invoked before the undertaking of a new challenge or venture. It was traditional to cast a spear over one’s foes’ heads before charging into battle. This action was considered to dedicate the enemy to Odin – which is to say, to ear-mark them for einheriar status and ear-mark oneself for victory. In doing this, one would be honouring the enemy even as one condemned them to defeat. The force that sacrifices the most enemy to Odin and Freya is granted victory. In this sense, the battles of old were ritual magic of a most dramatic kind. The message is clear – undertaking determined action towards our goals gets the attention and aid of such deities. This is the old truism that the gods help those who help themselves. As Odin says in the Havamal, Poetic Edda, “one verse led to another verse; one poem led to another poem” (tr. L. Hollander). Perhaps we could reword that as “one act led to another act; one success led to another success”. In all these respects Odin
is a worthy patron of the warrior ethos. He stands as an important counterpoint
to the mere thug, who might abuse his or her personal power by harming
weaker or unwary souls. This manner of indiscriminate violence, whether
it is doled out physically, emotionally, politically or intellectually,
has nothing to do with warrior-ship. It reflects a profound weakness of
character, which is the antithesis of the warrior ethos. To paraphrase
Nietzsche: strength is having claws and not needing to use them. The person
who needs conflict in order to bolster their sense of self worth is no
better than a beast or a giant. The person who cannot mount an attack
upon their own perspective is a weakling, no matter how effectively they
sweep others before them. Tyr is the primary god of the warrior. The most prominent myth in which Tyr figures is that of the chaining of the wolf Fenrir. Fenrir, the son of Loki, is the wolf which prophecy warns will destroy Odin at Ragnarok. The gods, concerned at this news, arrange to keep him under close watch. Only Tyr, in this time, is brave enough to feed the wolf. Fenrir begins growing. And growing. And growing. Soon, the gods are very worried indeed. They forge a chain of steel. Appealing to the fame that Fenrir will win if he can break it, they fool him into putting the chain on, but he breaks it easily. Frustrated, they have a second, stronger chain made. Again they trick the wolf into wearing it, but again he breaks it. The gods begin to panic. They appeal to the greedy dwarves to make a third chain, this time a thin ribbon forged from a host of impossible objects. When presented with the chain, Fenrir is unamused and senses a trick. He consents to wearing the chain only if one of the gods will place a hand in his mouth as a sign of good faith. It its Tyr who volunteers without hesitation. When Fenrir discovers that he has been tricked and cannot escape, he takes Tyr’s hand. Despite the tragedy of his wounding, Tyr does not milk his hardship or dive into melodramatics. Tyr’s sacrifice reflects the warrior ethos: a sense of clarity, focus, resolution, decisive action, pragmatism and acceptance of the consequences of one’s actions. Even the description of his wounding in the Poetic Edda is understated. Tyr accepts as necessary his loss; otherwise the victory of Fenrir’s capture could not be won. The symbolism of a warrior god restraining the personification of aggression and hatred is profound. The message seems clear – the purpose of the warrior ethos is to channel the darker aspects of the self away from their most immediate or unconscious points of satiation in gratuitous violence and madness. It is a concession to the ‘darker’ aspects of the self which, given the right framework, can turn to excellent purposes. It is the focussed gravity of this darkness which can drive the positive aspects of Tyr: his clarity, focus, proactivity and personal responsibility. My essay ‘Odin has a Light Sabre’, on the AET website, explores some of these themes further. Tyr is a severe and just god. The call of Tyrric conscience is a call to awaken and manifest the inner Will. Tyr reminds us that, beneath our doubts or temptation, we always know which option is the right one in times of ethical indecision. Often the right decision is the hardest one – consider how hard it can be to live conservatively for the sake of the natural environment, or to own up to a mistake one has made in the workplace. Similarly, the challenge of ‘owning’ our emotional baggage is a Tyrric challenge. It is not an easy thing to recognise one’s tendency to project (usually negative) emotions and motivations onto other people; it is even harder to learn to stop oneself from doing this. Commitment to meditation, or even better, therapy, can help us move towards the Tyrric ideal. This process takes a lot of compassion and kindness towards oneself and towards others. These values might not usually be associated with the idea of warrior-ship, but they are central parts of the process of self-healing, which in turn leads to self-responsibility and power in the world. Sometimes ignoring our conscience and following the Odinnic route of trickery is actually the best option, but it tends to weaken one’s sense of worth, especially if it becomes the standard solution for all dilemmas. Odin’s battle with Fenrir at Ragnarok is the first toe to toe fight he has fought in a long time. His avoidance of direct confrontation seems to have stolen the courage of his convictions as well as his martial discipline, and Fenrir cuts him down. Tyr may be the foe of Fenrir, but he also seems to possess some empathy for the beast. This is another important (and sometimes overlooked) aspect of the warrior ethos – it does not advocate the objectification or dehumanisation of one’s enemies. To engage in such games is to fall into the irresponsibility of thuggery. Perhaps part of the reason it was considered an honour to die in battle was that the (hopefully) respectful attitude of one’s killer would be a consecration of one’s spirit. Warrior traditions such as that of the berserks or the samurai died out in the face of impersonal mass warfare, which today ensures that 90% of casualties are civilians (in all other ages, 90% of casualties were the actual combatants). We might say that the colonial era was founded upon the wholesale abandonment of these ideals by western military and political leaders. Ironically, these leaders often idealised the honourable conduct of the traditional cultures they destroyed by dishonourable means. This is akin to letting Fenrir
run free, his appetite unquenchable, in the name of public benefit. One
might also see laissez faire capitalism, the direct descendant of colonial
economics, reflected in this lupine image. Tir [Tyr] is a star Tyr is indeed the god of the North Star, whose stillness ships navigated by for centuries. Tyr may also be the god of the Irminsul, the column of the world tree, the eternal column around which the cosmos is ordered. In combination with the primal earth mother Jord/Nerthus/Frigg/etc, Teiwaz may well have been the sky father of ancient Germanic belief. In concert, these two forces express the totality of being. With Thor, Tyr is at least an inheritor god of the Indo-European sky father, and this breadth of influence can support us in spiritual pursuits as well as military endeavours; in art and science as well as in politics. Fundamentally, Tyr is the god of self-responsibility, which is to say, of being responsible to the unforgiving ethical call that wells up from within each of us. His purpose is to help us live with ourselves and our wolfish aspects. Perhaps the particular and recurrent moral dilemmas of professional soldiering contributed to his adoption as the god of warriors. The Ritual The ritual form is known as a blot. The precise meaning of this Old Norse word is unclear, but it seems to refer to sacrifice in the sense of ‘making sacred’. Historically, it seems that the blood of an animal was used as the libation in such a ritual, but in modern times we use mead, which was and is considered the medium of divine inspiration. Before conducting the ritual, it is recommended that the attendees discuss the themes of the rite and explore the ways in which these themes might be applicable to their own lives. It can also be valuable for each participant to discuss what might come of the ritual for them - look again over the above discussion of the themes of the rite. What themes are active in your life at the moment that the forces activated by the ritual might catalyse? Although the ritual is written on the assumption that one person will conduct the bulk of the working (called a Goði if male, a Gyðja if female, after the Old Norse tradition), I suggest that, if possible, multiple participants play a role in performing the poetry. Perhaps different participants could perform different parts of the rite, or alternatively, a specific section of poetry could be shared amongst multiple speakers. I encourage you to customise the ritual to your own satisfaction, perhaps adding additional elements from some of the Yule traditions described in Part One. Military style drumming – e.g. on a snare drum – would suit this ritual well. 1) Opening 2) Statement
of Intention Foul-tempered Sigfoðr Taciturn and holy one Warriors slain await thy
time One eyed god and one starred
god 4) The
Call Alternately, consider trying the following if there are at least four ritual participants. The Goði/Gyðja states the following four line stanza: Odin ride within our minds Each person is assigned one line of the poem before the start of the ritual. The participants begin to recite the poem line by line, with only those assigned to each line speaking at any one time. Gradually the tempo may be increased, the lines overlapping each other. Possible adlibbing on the themes would then become possible. Hopefully drumming will maintain the rhythmic structure of this exercise, or perhaps one person could recite the entire poem in a regular cycle. Others may wish to start chanting the runes to be invoked, and this would be especially effective if done with long, low notes under the main chorus. The idea is for the various layers of chanting, drumming and words to speed up. As more participants move to chanting runes, the Goði/Gyðja or an assistant could take the mead and move the working into the next stage, the loading, in an organic and climactic fashion. 5) Loading The runes I recommend using are Ansuz, Teiwaz, Perthro, and Sowilo (in that order). I discuss the reasons for this selection below. 6) Drinking 7) Blessing May the blessings of Tyr
be upon this gathering! 8) Giving This gift is for Odin and
Tyr, 9) Leaving This deed is done – it has already become.
I have selected four runes for the loading of the mead: Ansuz Teiwaz Perthro Sowilo Numerologically speaking, there are 4 runes, with 4 being the number of Ansuz, Odin’s rune. The total of the runes is 4(Ansuz) +17(Teiwaz) +13(Perthro) +16(Sowilo) = 50. 50 can be read as 5 (Raidho) times 10 (Nauthiz) – so that we have an undercurrent theme of traversing resistance, facing a struggle with determination, or developing and evolving one’s self or power. HOME
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