[Main Blog Post] Eirik Westcoat and the American Futharch

[jprussell]

Eirik Westcoat is the modern poet from whom I have learned to craft verse in Germanish meters, and he has constructed a new set of Runestaves fitted to the sounds of modern English. Along the way to explaining why he did that, though, he just happened to drop a remarkable insight into one of the mysteries of Runic scholarship.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

3) Yes, from my admittedly distant vantage point overseas, it feels like there's a lot of potential for a distinctive and genuinely American Heathenry to develop over time. Which is great, but it feels like we're lacking some of that energy here and still a little stuck on the "academic reconstructionist" stage (but see below).

4) Thanks for the tip. I was aware of Rasmussen, but haven't delved too much into his work. The "local customs" thing is interesting, since I get the sense that's a major strand of several in-person Pagan/Heathen groups both here and in Sweden. Ie. the focus on "Forn Sed" if you've run into that term, literally "old custom", where they use various half-Christianized folk traditions as a starting point for their practice more than the written myths or reconstructions.

Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I suspect the nationalist (or let's be real, racist) baggage was more of an issue back in the 90s and 00s. These days it's more about Islamic immigrants vs American-style secular rightwing populists, with a few hardcore Christians thrown in. Thankfully, Heathens haven't really been part of that whole debate in the public view, and the days of Varg Vikernes et al are thankfully long gone. Both national Heathen-adjacent organizations here do very clearly disavow any kind of racism on their public pages, though, and I guess some prejudice might still linger.

Actually, the few times I've seen anything Heathen-related in the media here, it's been more along the lines of "look at these silly people doing their silly ceremonies while benefitting from public money" (all religious organizations get state support based on member count here).

And of course making your own fun is always a good suggestion. :) Like I said on MM, maybe I'll try to adapt the Merlin rituals eventually, unless someone else does first. I have no idea if Hill plans on writing more books for the system. For the time being I'll focus on just working my way through the curriculum as written, though. Like you've talked about here before with your Dolmen Arch practice, I feel what I need more than anything right now is steady work with a structured system "by the book", then we'll see.

[jprussell]

4a) Indeed, and I've become more and more interested that sort of work as I've gone along and gotten over a desire for a most likely imaginary "purity" of practice/belief. I mean, heck, look at the Heathen Rosary!

4b) That seems likely true, but is a bit hard to sort out in a "very online" context, as opposed to going to a group and meeting folks. I initially used the term "nationalist" because I think the Romantic and early post-Romantic interest in embracing Germanic myth and ethos among Germanic nations was not all about "race" or "racism," though of course they were all mixed up a lot of the time, and these days, many people insist that such nationalistic tendencies were just racism, and dismiss all of it with that label. Also, to call a spade a spade, certain groups within the Nazis enthusiastically embraced some elements of Romantic Germanic polytheistic revival, and I get the impression there's a lingering fear of being associated with the 20th century's ultimate bogeymen (this is certainly sometimes true in America, where some, but not all, avowed neo-Nazis have adopted Germanic mythic and religious symbols, myths, and sometimes worship). I also have heard that such fears might be especially strong in Germany, made worse by the strict legal bans on anything Nazi-related, and I inferred that the Germanic nations that were occupied by/allied with/neutral to the Nazis might have some similar feelings.

In America in the last few decades, all of this has been muddied by a few currents that come together most messily: 1) As I mentioned, some actual, this-is-what-I-call-myself Neonazis worship Odin and get Runic tattoos and what not, 2) the increasing focus on racial identities and their associated tensions has left some white folks going "what about our racial identity?" with varying levels of animosity toward other races, 3) the emphasis on both historical reconstruction and ancestor worship/veneration has led many groups to place great emphasis on the ethnic and cultural context of pre-Christian Germanic polytheism, which was, to not put too fine a point on it, very white, and 4) the social justice/woke/progressive/whatever term you prefer cultural and social currents have greatly altered how folks use the term "racist" and "racism," which has created all kinds of counter-responses.

Put all this together, and you get everything from extremely woke Heathen organizations that celebrate any archaeological, historical, or mythic evidence for things championed by today's progressives, Heathen organizations that are avowedly racist, Heathen organizations that say "we don't have a problem with other races, but our organization is for folks of Germanic heritage," folks who aren't racist but won't join Heathen organizations that are too loud about advertising their non-racism, and all kinds of other permutations. To say nothing of how any of these organizations might change over time as the more politically-motivated of their members try to steer it in the directions they think best.

Or, at least, that's sure what it looks like from my computer screen! These complications, along with basic logistics like "there really aren't that many actively practicing Heathens" and "all of us have our own idiosyncratic interpretations of how to do worship, personal practice, and interpret myth," have, as I said, so far kept me from getting involved in anything in-person.

Despite all that, as you say, I'm getting the impression that maybe some of these things are fading a bit, and "serious" Heathens are finding their voices and each other and looking more to build healthy practices for the future than to fight over definitions from the past. Unless, of course, that's wishful thinking on my part.

4c) Heh, I haven't even seen Heathens getting that kind of coverage here in the states, so maybe things are more "advanced" there than you realize! :)

4d) That sounds like a rather sensible path, to me, and I'll be interested to hear what comes of it for you, especially since at this point, I'm only really familiar with JMG's approach to spiritual work.

Oh, and responding to your comment below, no worries!

Cheers,
Jeff