The Odinic Rite (OR) is a reconstructionist religious organisation named after the god Odin. It conceives itself as a "folkish" Heathen movement concerned with Germanic paganism, mythology, folklore, and runes. As a white supremacist organization, the Odinic Rite limits membership to white individuals, holding the belief in Heathenry as the ancestral religion of the Indo-European race.
 | This section may lend undue weight to Alexander Rud Mills, and it remains unclear how or if he has influenced the Odinic Rite. Please help to create a more balanced presentation. Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message. (June 2023) |
The Odinic Rite refers to their form of Heathenry as "Odinism", a term favoured among Heathen white supremacists. [1] In 1841, the term was used by the Scottish writer, historian, and philosopher, Thomas Carlyle in his book, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History : "Odinism was Valour; Christianism was humility, a nobler kind of Valour." [2] It was also used by Orestes Brownson in his 1848 Letter to Protestants. [3]
The term was re-introduced in the late 1930s by Alexander Rud Mills, an Australian fascist. [4] Having formulated "his own unique blend" of Ariosophy, [5] Mills drew heavily on writings of pioneering Austrian Ariosophist and Wotanist Guido von List. [6] Much of Mills' ideology focused around what he conceived as the "British race", a group who he believed also inhabited not only Britain but other parts of the world colonised by the British Empire. [6] That concept was particularly problematic given the ethnically and linguistically diverse nature of the British population during the early 20th century. [6] Mills believed that while Christianity was alien to the "British race", Odinism was 'native' and thus could be better understood by them. [7] He expressed the view that "our own racial ideas and traditions (not those of others) are our best guide to health and national strength". [6] He was critical of Christianity, believing it to be "unnatural" because – in his view – it encouraged the breaking down of racial barriers. [6] In Mills' theology, the Norse gods were symbols of the divine rather than actual anthropomorphic entities, and he believed that each racial group had its own symbolic system for interpreting and understanding divinity. [6] For Mills, Odin represented an archetypal father figure, with other deities from Norse mythology, such as Thor and Frigg, having minor roles. [8]
In 1973 John Gibbs-Bailey (known as "Hoskuld") and John Yeowell (known as "Stubba", 1918–2010) founded the Committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite or Odinist Committee in England. [9] Yeowell had been a member of the British Union of Fascists in his youth and bodyguard to leader Oswald Mosley. [10] In 1980 the organisation changed its name to The Odinic Rite after it was believed that it had gained enough significant interest in the restoration of the Odinic faith.[ citation needed ]
In 1989 Yeowell resigned as Director of the Odinic Rite's governing body, the Court of Gothar. The Court then unanimously elected Jeffrey Holley (known as "Heimgest") as its Director and he was officially installed in this position on 23 April 1989 at the White Horse Stone in Kent. He was professed by Freya Aswynn. [11] Prior to his involvement with the Odinic Rite Heimgest had belonged to a small group known as the Heimdal League, [12] a closed group which disbanded in the mid-1980s.
The Odinic Rite defines Odinism as the natural religion of the peoples of Northern Europe. [13] It has been characterised as a white supremacist organisation and describes itself as a "folkish" group, which it states centres on a stance that includes "racial preservation and promotion", and to "have as many healthy children as is practical". [14] [15] It asserts that "nationality is biological, not geographical", [15] further stating that "It is hardly possible to overestimate the damage that the destruction of racial and national identity has caused, to both people and the environment." [15]
They only allow white members and discourage mixed-race relationships, stating that while this was not a stance taken by heathens prior to Christianisation, this is a necessary precaution in the modern age to maintain "racial integrity" and to prevent "crossed allegiances". [15] The group further draws analogies between invasive species and immigrants, stating that the latter threaten the survival of the white population. [15] It defines right and wrong as follows:
That which fulfils Nature, benefits the race as a servant of Nature, and benefits Odinism as a vehicle for the evolution of the race, is good; that which does not is bad. That which truly seeks and secures this good is right; that which does not is wrong. [15]
The Odinic Rite encourages its members to live their lives according to the "Nine Noble Virtues" and the "Nine Charges". The list of noble virtues (Courage, Truth, Honour, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Self-Reliance, Industriousness, and Perseverance) is attributed to either John Yeowell (a.k.a. Stubba) and John Gibbs-Bailey (a.k.a. Hoskuld), members of Odinic Rite; or alternatively to Stephen Flowers (writing as 'Edred Thorsson'), at the time member of the Asatru Free Assembly. [16]
While the group nominally identifies as a religious organisation that is not political, the worldviews held by the group have been identified as belonging to the extreme-right based on their racial nationalism. It is noted, however, that this terminology wouldn't necessarily be used by members of the group. [17]
The Odinic Rite expanded in the 1990s with national branches in Germany, France, and North America. [18] The German chapter, Odinic Rite Deutschland (ORD), was formed in 1994. [19] In its early history the ORD was heavily influenced by Bernd Hicker who was its chairman for seven years. [20] It collaborated with the group Yggdrasil-Kreis in the 1990s; this group professed a "European religion of nature" and sought to combine Germanic and Celtic paganism. [21]
Due to concerns about connections between the British OR and far-right politics, expressed already in 1995 in the ORD's member's magazine, as well as differing views of practice and organising, the ORD was established as an independent organisation in 2004. [22] It changed its name to Verein für germanisches Heidentum (VfgH; lit. 'Association for Germanic paganism') in 2006. [20]
In 1997 the Director of Gothar, Heimgest, chanted rune names on the Sol Invictus album The Blade. [23]
Heathenry is a modern Pagan new religious movement that has been active in the United States since at least the early 1970s. Although the term "Heathenry" is often employed to cover the entire religious movement, different Heathen groups within the United States often prefer the term "Ásatrú" or "Odinism" as self-designations.
Odinism is a term for Heathenry, a modern pagan religion, typically used by those who hold to "folkish" or race-centric ideologies.
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The Nine Noble Virtues, NNV, or 9NV are two sets of moral and situational ethical guidelines within certain groupings of Heathens, typically those with folkish views such as Odinists and members of the Ásatrú Folk Assembly (AFA). One set was codified by former member of Sir Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists and National Socialists, John Yeowell and John Gibbs-Bailey of the Odinic Rite in 1974, and the other set codified by Stephen A. McNallen of the Asatru Folk Assembly in 1983. However, others believe that the earlier set, the one the Odinic Rite claim they codified, were originally put together and labelled as the Nine Noble Virtues by Edred Thorsson during his time with the original AFA. They are supposedly based on virtues found in historical Norse paganism, gleaned from various sources including the Poetic Edda, and as evident in the Icelandic Sagas).
Else Christensen (1913–2005) was a Danish proponent of the modern Pagan new religious movement of Heathenry. She established a Heathen organisation known as the Odinist Fellowship in the United States, where she lived for much of her life. A Third Positionist ideologue, she espoused the establishment of an anarcho-syndicalist society composed of racially Aryan communities.
Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th century, its practitioners model it on the pre-Christian religions adhered to by the Germanic peoples of the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. In an attempt to reconstruct these past belief systems, Heathenry uses surviving historical, archaeological, and folkloric evidence as a basis, although approaches to this material vary considerably.
Alexander Rud Mills was an Australian barrister and author, interned in 1942 for his Nazi sympathies and fascist beliefs. He was also a prominent Odinist, one of the earliest proponents of the rebirth of Germanic Neopaganism in the 20th century, and an anti-Semite. He founded the First Anglecyn Church of Odin in Melbourne in 1936. He published under his own name and the pen-names "Tasman Forth" and "Justinian".
The Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) is a white nationalist international Ásatrú organization, founded by Stephen A. McNallen in 1994. Many of the assembly's doctrines, heavily criticized by most heathens, are based on ethnicity, an approach it calls "folkish". Once headquartered in Grass Valley, California, with chapters worldwide, the AFA is recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization.
Stephen Anthony McNallen is an American proponent of Heathenry, a modern Pagan new religious movement, and a white nationalist activist. He founded the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA), which he led from 1994 until 2016, having previously been the founder of the Viking Brotherhood and the Asatrú Free Assembly.
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