Soil

Mankind has, since we were first created, been concerned with one function, the survival and perpetuation of our species. Countless wars have been fought to crush an oppressor who would seek to take the lives of the defending peoples. Vast humanitarian efforts have been staged to rescue the lives of struggling peoples, either victims of famine, natural disaster or man made disasters. We have gathered wood and dug out coal to keep us warm in winter, diverted rivers and flooded plains to provide us with clean drinking water. Our list of achievements in prolonging our existence is very long and we have used the knowledge given us by Odin well, in cases, to support our lives. But Odin's gift of wisdom has perhaps been overlooked as we have failed to protect the one life that is more important than all, our mother Jorth, Midgard.

This first article is about soil. Very boring most people would think at first, What's gardening got to do with Odinism? Etc. I hope here to dispel that and show that far from being boring, soil is one of the most important and vital parts of the ecosystem of Midgard.

At the great moot, and occasionally in some regional blotar, members of the Odinic Rite will bring a sample of soil from their home or blot site. This soil is mixed together to show our unity, this is very profound as our soil, from region to region, differs as we do, it is right that our soil should join together as we come together. But how many of us actually stop and think, whilst mingling the soil, exactly what our soil is, what is the composition? Does anything live in it? Does this soil have any impact on the preservation of Midgard and all life living there? I doubt if many do, especially the last question. So what is our soil?

The answer to this is not as simple as one would at first think, as there are many different types of soil, but from a basic principle these are sandy soils, silty soils and clayey soils, and the composition of each will vary accordingly. But the basis for each of these types of soil remains the same. Soil is made up of 5 basic components, these are rock, water, organic material, micro-organisms and bacteria's. The rock particle sizes in the soil help to determine the quality. If the particle sizes are to big (as in sandy soil) there is too much drainage and so water does not stay in the soil long enough to be absorbed by the plant. The opposite is true of clayey soils. But in both samples plants have adapted survive in the environment.

Soil formed through broken and slowly ground down particles of rock. These particles mixed with water to create a very poor soil, really just wet rock fragments. The first plants developed in this and as they began to deposit matter on surface (leaves, dropped branches etc.) the soil began to be enriched. This reaction encouraged further growth of plant species, which in turn dropped more organic matter, which rotted down enriching the 'soil' encouraging micro-organisms, earthworms etc to develop & flourish. As more plants took hold, more rock, thrust up by new plant growth, splintered and slowly ground down helping to create new soil. This continual process has gone on for eons leaving us with the rich, fertile soils we have today. Can you see from the above where we are jeopardising future soil creation? Tree destruction (that will come in future article)!

So how important to us is soil? Basically, life would be in a very sorry state without it. In fact there probably wouldn't be any life. For without soil there would be no plants which would mean no crops for food, there would be no photosynthesis which would mean over time our oxygen would deplete. The list goes on and on. So you can see how important it is, and how important it is to protect it.

The soil on Midgard is being slowly, but systematically, destroyed...by us! Soil erosion is a major problem which is happening all over Midgard. One of the best examples for this is with field over-cultivation in North America, which has led to the 'dust-bowl' phenomena. Here vast fields of crops were grown but so savagely harvested that there was no organic material left to enter the soil ecosystem to keep it healthy, this mixed with scorching from the sun caused the soil to dry out and blow in the wind, effectively dead. Things have deteriorated in these places to the point that crops can no longer be grown and the land begins the process of desertification. The same is happening in North Africa where every year thousands of hectares of good organic soil are being swallowed by the advancing sands of desertification. The desertification is a direct consequence of soil erosion. In the tropical rainforests soil erosion has resulted form the savage deforestation, and subsequent invasion of Brazilians building on the deforested areas (incidentally killing off the indigenous Indians of the areas). In our own country soil erosion from over cultivation and logging are thankfully a very small problem, but it still occurs. The demand for new housing and the inevitable clearing that is involved causes massive soil erosion, and with a very rapidly growing population this is only going to increase. Of course soil erosion also occurs naturally. Heavy weather can cause massive erosion. But nature has a way of bouncing back from natural problems, man made problems are the ones that are nearly always irreversible.

Pollution also plays a big part in eliminating healthy soil. Acid rain, industrial pollution, chemical & petro-chemical spills, all these go directly into our soil and water systems (to be covered in a separate article). If things are not stopped Midgard will be a very different place for our grandchildren, who will they turn and point the finger at?

What can we do to prevent the further destruction of the life force of Mother Jorth? As simple men and women there is not a great deal we can do, but we can work to raise awareness of the situation. Eco-Nature groups and wildlife trusts can be joined and worked with to help pressure the government and industry to look how things are. Or just by keeping an area clean, tidy and free from pollutants, as many very worthy folk do on a regular basis at the White Horse Stone. Our children enjoy doing these things whilst at the same time becoming active and knowledgeable about the dangers threatening Midgard. I feel it is intrinsic, as Odinists, to protect out holy mother Jorth, our Odal lands, from all dangers, as we would our families. We cant all be activists or highly qualified environmentalists but we can try to do our bit.

Hail the Gods,
Hail the Rite,
Hail our Holy Lands.