The Self and The Tribe
I decided to write on this topic because of the current situation in the United States where I live. The world is in the mists of a pandemic that is killing millions. The United States is in political and social turmoil where the idea of liberty has been twisted into an idea of action without responsibility for those actions or consequence. Americans are only looking at what they perceive to be infringement on their personal rights rather than the common good of the tribe.
The ancestral pagan Germanic tribes held the tribe, the family, as their most important possession. Without the tribe survival would be nearly impossible. For many people today the concept of the tribe and family could not be more different that that of the Ancestors. In our modern world we send eighteen or so years living in a home with our parents and maybe a sibling or two before venturing out into the world on our own. Obviously, this experience varies from person to person, but most people reaching adulthood (18) head off to college or a career and a life of their own. Their interactions turn to friends rather than blood family.
We should start by defining wat is family. Mægð is the ancestral concept of family which literally means kinship through marriage. Marriage was, and is, the combining of tribes. However, want is a tribe and how does that differ from family? In our modern society our family is our blood relations and those who become family through marriage. At least this is how most people define family. In pagan/heathen circles a tribe can be a family. Most of us do not have family members who are pagan/heathen, thus we have attempted to fid other like us who are. With them we create bonds that can be similar or the same as family bonds. Thus, a tribe becomes more than a circle of friends, it becomes a family.
In the days of yore, family members depended on each other for life and death. Today, not so much. We have become a cult of the self, asking what you can do for me, rather than what can I do for us. We live in a self-centered society where we are privilege enough to be able to survive into old age without the assistance of the tribe. This is both a blessing and a curse. For one we do not have to worry so much about dying from diseases and waring with other tribes, but what we lost may have been far greater.
Tribalism offers far more than friendship; it offers a belonging that is just as much family as the bonds of blood. Pagan tribalism is based on a web of oaths which is dependent on Wyrd and orlæg. The basic idea of wyrd is fate and that what is to be, will be no matter what, based upon the past actions of all. Orlæg is that which is laid down first, or a sort of template of your life to come at birth. It is how you will live this life based upon past deeds of your ancestors and family. Both are somewhat complicated and will be addressed in later posts. What we need to understand is that we are our deeds, our deeds are the deeds of the tribe, and that the deeds of the one effect the deeds of the tribe and vice versa. This can be a complicated concept for modern man. If you look at the path your grandfather took in his life you can see how that path effected your father and thus your life as well. If he chose to find good paying work, save money, and build an empire you may be wealthier in life that other. But if he chose to squander his earnings and live in poverty this may have caused your father to struggle in life financially and either follow the same path of work twice as hard to eke ahead. Thus, these actions would affect your life as well. Oaths in a pagan society are sacred bonds that tie people and the tribe together through the idea that oaths and bonds are sacred and breaking these bonds will have long-term consequences affecting orlæg and wyrd. This is bad in pagan beliefs.
The problem is that so many people, and some pagan/heathens, do not understand the concepts of orlæg and wyrd. The me centric society we live in focuses on the self rather than the tribe. The hardest thing to do withing a Kindred is to create a sense of the tribe and keep those tribal connections. In modern paganism oaths are used alternatively to blood ties. While we may not be related to the people we chose to join in fellowship, we can have oath bonds that bind us together and help to create a common identity and a true future tribe. Our goal is to create the new modern version of the ancient Germanic tribe. To do this we as people need to think tribally rather than singularly.
Those who follow Norse Paganism, or Asatru, often are solitary and think independently. I have been involved in Asatru and Germanic paganism for four decades, and yes, I have been solitary and singular. However, I have always thought tribally, that is for the common good. I use the philosophy of the common good in my everyday life inside and outside of my pagan life. It is how I am wired. I feel that after generations of tribalism I believe that resetting society is possible.
The ancestral pagan Germanic tribes held the tribe, the family, as their most important possession. Without the tribe survival would be nearly impossible. For many people today the concept of the tribe and family could not be more different that that of the Ancestors. In our modern world we send eighteen or so years living in a home with our parents and maybe a sibling or two before venturing out into the world on our own. Obviously, this experience varies from person to person, but most people reaching adulthood (18) head off to college or a career and a life of their own. Their interactions turn to friends rather than blood family.
We should start by defining wat is family. Mægð is the ancestral concept of family which literally means kinship through marriage. Marriage was, and is, the combining of tribes. However, want is a tribe and how does that differ from family? In our modern society our family is our blood relations and those who become family through marriage. At least this is how most people define family. In pagan/heathen circles a tribe can be a family. Most of us do not have family members who are pagan/heathen, thus we have attempted to fid other like us who are. With them we create bonds that can be similar or the same as family bonds. Thus, a tribe becomes more than a circle of friends, it becomes a family.
In the days of yore, family members depended on each other for life and death. Today, not so much. We have become a cult of the self, asking what you can do for me, rather than what can I do for us. We live in a self-centered society where we are privilege enough to be able to survive into old age without the assistance of the tribe. This is both a blessing and a curse. For one we do not have to worry so much about dying from diseases and waring with other tribes, but what we lost may have been far greater.
Tribalism offers far more than friendship; it offers a belonging that is just as much family as the bonds of blood. Pagan tribalism is based on a web of oaths which is dependent on Wyrd and orlæg. The basic idea of wyrd is fate and that what is to be, will be no matter what, based upon the past actions of all. Orlæg is that which is laid down first, or a sort of template of your life to come at birth. It is how you will live this life based upon past deeds of your ancestors and family. Both are somewhat complicated and will be addressed in later posts. What we need to understand is that we are our deeds, our deeds are the deeds of the tribe, and that the deeds of the one effect the deeds of the tribe and vice versa. This can be a complicated concept for modern man. If you look at the path your grandfather took in his life you can see how that path effected your father and thus your life as well. If he chose to find good paying work, save money, and build an empire you may be wealthier in life that other. But if he chose to squander his earnings and live in poverty this may have caused your father to struggle in life financially and either follow the same path of work twice as hard to eke ahead. Thus, these actions would affect your life as well. Oaths in a pagan society are sacred bonds that tie people and the tribe together through the idea that oaths and bonds are sacred and breaking these bonds will have long-term consequences affecting orlæg and wyrd. This is bad in pagan beliefs.
The problem is that so many people, and some pagan/heathens, do not understand the concepts of orlæg and wyrd. The me centric society we live in focuses on the self rather than the tribe. The hardest thing to do withing a Kindred is to create a sense of the tribe and keep those tribal connections. In modern paganism oaths are used alternatively to blood ties. While we may not be related to the people we chose to join in fellowship, we can have oath bonds that bind us together and help to create a common identity and a true future tribe. Our goal is to create the new modern version of the ancient Germanic tribe. To do this we as people need to think tribally rather than singularly.
Those who follow Norse Paganism, or Asatru, often are solitary and think independently. I have been involved in Asatru and Germanic paganism for four decades, and yes, I have been solitary and singular. However, I have always thought tribally, that is for the common good. I use the philosophy of the common good in my everyday life inside and outside of my pagan life. It is how I am wired. I feel that after generations of tribalism I believe that resetting society is possible.
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