By Redwald OR
From a young age, idealism ruled my conscious thought process. The world was, and to many extents still is, very ‘black and white’ to me. And never has this philosophy been proven more correct than when I learned of the eternal concept of Natural Law, for in nature we constantly see very simple and definite answers to issues which have been significantly over complicated by our so-called ‘civilised society’.
In nature there are many obvious rules; kill or be killed, struggle and fight to survive, natural selection, strong first/weak last and so forth. And when one sits in front of the television to watch any number of truly excellent documentaries regarding the natural world (yes, the television is still worth turning on now and again) we find that the presenters of such programmes consistently discuss in a positive light such things as natural selection and the harsh, unforgiving power of nature. It is only when the society of men rather than animals is dealt with by politicians, teachers and the mainstream media that these eternal laws are completely ignored or worse, inverted and perverted.
The Odinists of the Odinic Rite understand the philosophy of Natural Law, and that last paragraph is all I need to write for readers to get a feel for the rest of this article. We are part of a religious movement which looks at the world very differently than most non-Odinist members of our race; especially if such non-Odinist people happen to be practitioners of the modern mainstream European religions, i.e. Christianity or Consumerism – both words, it would seem, requiring a capital ‘C’ nowadays. Yet there is a particular subject I would like to deal with which, when first considered, goes against the grain of my aforementioned idealism, and I feel it is a subject that many young Odinist men in particular should take the time to ponder. That subject is procreation; the evolution and numerical advancement of the Odinic Rite through the process of developing relationships and ultimately becoming a father as part of a strong, lasting family unit.
Of course, this article can be read and understood by the women of our faith, but I would like to concentrate expressly on my own thoughts as an Odinist male.
As I mentioned briefly at the beginning of this article, I was and always have been very idealistic. If I were to go into more detail, I would say that as far as relationships were concerned, I had since my teenage years always wanted to get married and have children. Yet I was held back, for I was very particular about the kind of woman I wanted to share my life and start a family with.
But first a little back story. Not long after hooking up to the World Wide Web in my early twenties, I developed an immense passion for reading. Indeed, I had always been and avid reader, but the advent of the internet opened my mind to books, ideas and philosophy which was much harder or near impossible to come by via the local library or High Street book shop. And during the years that followed I took my natural gut feelings and developed them into a more finely tuned understanding, for the most part re-affirming my original gut instincts but of course disproving and adding to those thoughts and ideas previously held. But although I felt empowered and greatly pleased to have begun to understand the world around me, I also began to feel a little isolated from my fellow man. I still socialised and am still great friends with those good people I grew up with, but I wanted something more also. I wanted a girlfriend and I wanted, ultimately, a wife and a family.
Unfortunately I faltered and struggled. I found that if I wanted a purely sexual liaison, this was a relatively easy affair. Pubs, nightclubs and the general modern social scene provided all any male needs to attain a purely orgasmic high, but although this kind of courtship is certainly a part of the process of the male/female courtship ritual, if done to excess with no intention of using that process to find a suitable match, it leaves an emptiness inside the soul, even if the modern media says it is a high that we should continuously strive for.
Thus my problem was twofold and contradictory; I was a young man who naturally wanted fun and the testosterone flowed freely through my veins, but I was also switched on to certain realities to which most of my folk seemed oblivious to. I had found expression through anti-establishment politics and I had found the ethos of Odinism, although the Odinic Rite would come later. So my obvious and highly idealistic response was to find a female companion who was both politically in tune with myself, and also an Odinist or at the very least of Pagan orientation. Of course, looking back I can see I was still naïve regarding the latter, and soon realised that being classified a Pagan did not necessarily mean a thing, morally or otherwise.
My search was a difficult one and provided absolutely no positive results whatsoever. I am sure some readers can imagine how I felt; water everywhere but none to drink is an amusing comparison, for all around me the towns were chock full of women, many of whom I was sexually attracted to, but no-where could I find a female companion who matched my very exact criteria. I searched the internet and I talked to women and to my horror they recoiled at the merest glimpse of my inner-soul as I stormed in brandishing my beliefs like a burning torch.
I found my predicament depressing, for my thoughts and philosophy seemed so naturally right to me. I found that I could talk to women perfectly well and be successful with a reasonable percentage of these women if I talked of things that modern society and the mainstream media dictated were ‘correct’ but if I went off at a tangent they became frightened and uncomfortable.
Over time, I found that this kind of behaviour was not purely a female response, although I am certain it affects more women than men, probably due to the concentrated destructive advertising which is commonly aimed directly at women. But it felt more significant and problematic to me at the time because my aim was to form a long term relationship with a female, whereas I was happy when in male company to play the masculine game of chatting about beer, chicks and sport without pursuing a higher agenda.
Over the next ten to fifteen years I gradually began to find a route to my final goal, but this was a slow understanding and not something that suddenly ‘clicked’. And I think my thoughts on this are worth an article in ORB because I feel sure there are many good, young Odinist men out there to whom this realisation would benefit greatly and save them possibly many years of heartache and despair.
Of course, like many great realisations, the solution is simple and was staring me in the face. The truth is many of our folk are not consciously Odinists and do not have strongly held radical opinions. Women fall in love and are attracted to virtues, personality and appearance. At first glance, a woman will be attracted to these three things. And the greatest revelation of all? To find a partner and start a family, that partner does not have to share your belief system.
Obviously I know full well that there are members of the Odinic Rite who have started families with partners who do share their beliefs, and ideally it would be wonderful if we all had the fortune of bumping into a folkish Odinist of the opposite sex whilst doing the weekly shop. But sometimes idealism and reality are further apart than we might prefer.
I would like to speak now from my current perspective of a male Odinist of the Odinic Rite who is a proud dad to a beautiful, strong healthy nine week old boy, and is engaged to be married to a beautiful, strong non-Odinist lady. A lady who has good morals and a lady who is the greatest mother a man and child could wish for.
This article is aimed at those young Odinist men who are genuinely looking to start a family but feel as I did all those years ago – frustrated that they will never find their ‘ideal’ woman. I would like to offer them the hope and the proof that a family can become a reality, even if at first it may seem that the ideal partner will never materialise.
Indeed, there will likely be compromise. But I have found a long term relationship to be like a game of chess; winning and losing little ‘battles’ but ultimately realising that there is more to life than playing a game.
Our folk are in a perilous situation and we face many difficulties, not least the erosion of our ancestral faith and the issue of low birth rates. Consider what would happen if every young male member of the Odinic Rite waited idly, expecting Freya herself to materialise before him, begging for a proposal of marriage. Isn’t it amusing when one puts it across that way? But in essence that’s exactly what I was waiting for, and surprise, surprise, I never did bump into that Odinic Goddess at the petrol station or the local corner shop.
Or did I? I’d been visiting the quiet local pub for quite some time before I spotted the barmaid’s eyes upon me. I would ride my motorbike there and read my copy of ORB in front of the roaring log fire, enjoying the quiet surroundings and fine ale but never realising the young, blue-eyed, dark haired girl serving my ale would soon agree to share my surname and be the father of my child.
Sometimes you can look too hard, and sometimes you can look in the wrong places. But if the future of our movement is to be a radiant one, then I urge my fellow young single Odinist brothers (and sisters) to consider this article and begin your next trip into today’s corrupt and deviant society with new eyes… for there are glowing beacons of hope just waiting to be discovered, and they are not necessarily wearing an Odinist tee-shirt or a Thor’s hammer. And imagine the wondrous world you can open your children’s eyes to.
