Racism in Modern Heathenry

Heathen Symbols, Hearthside Blog, Denmark, Museum Østjylland

I have been trying to write about modern Heathen history and its ties to racism for some time now, but as you can imagine there is no easy way to approach it. However, recently something happened in my classroom which might shed some light on the topic and how to approach it. Some of you may know I am an educator by profession. I work in a grade 4-6 Montessori classroom. Recently we told the 3rd Great Story. The Great Stories are about the big questions. The 3rd Great Story is about the evolution of humankind, the advent of technology, the start of agriculture, and all such things. My director asked me to make a work for our Art shelf on Paleolithic painting so that the students could really experience something of what it would be like for early humans.

The work included using mortar and pestle to grind up paint into powder, then mix it with water to get the correct consistency. The students were able to paint on stone and also try painting a huge brown paper attached to the wall using sticks, crude paintbrushes made with false fur and sticks with leather cords binding them, or their hands. On Friday there was an upset in the hallway where the art station is. I went out to see what was going on. The students had discovered a swastika had been painted on the wall painting and were very upset.

As it turns out my co-teacher had painted the swastika on the cave art. And as soon as I realized it was her I understood what had happened and we sat down with the students to explain it. You see, my coworker is from India. And it was the fast day for Vishnu. In India the swastika is a religious symbol representing peace. She was horrified to learn it meant just the opposite to our students. It took awhile to get myself heard over the general confusion of the students, but finally I was able to let them know symbols don't always mean the same thing to different people of different cultures or people in different times or places. The students decided that we would cut the swastika off the cave art then rehang it. I suggested just painting over it in the same colour but they preferred to cut it off. My coworker agreed, given her new knowledge of the symbol from a Western perspective.

This leads right into what I want to talk about in regards to modern Heathenry. A lot of modern Heathens talk about taking back our symbols that have been misappropriated by the not-so-inclusive brand of Heathens. But the reality is that it cannot ever be that simple. As a faith Modern Heathenry is a very new development. In the 16th Century the German Reformation caused the need for a sense of identity for the new nation. The Vikings seemed like strong archetype figures to grow myths around in order to create great myths for the legitimacy of nationhood. In the 18th century Romanticism across Northern Europe helped to solidify these myths of Vikings as warriors who nations like Germany and Sweden (among others) traced their existence back to as being some sort of ideal of greatness.

In 1906, Guido Von List wrote The Secret of the Runes, and hello, modern rune interpretations for divination! (Guido Von List was an exceptionally sketchy dude, you should look him up.)

Then in 1933, Jakob Hauer started the German Faith Movement, in hopes of uniting Volkisch groups in Germany. He also tried to get this movement of Germanic Heathenry to be the official religion of the Nazi party. Hitler didn't like it, but many high ranking members of the Nazi party were Volkisch. This is how runes ended up getting used as Nazi symbols. The swastika was also appropriated from religions around the globe because to the Nazis it was a symbol that represented power, which they irrevocably tarnished.

But the part of the story perhaps most forgotten by modern Heathens in North America starts in 1969. That is when Else Christensen of Toronto created the Odinist Fellowship. That's right, the first Heathen organization in North America started in Canada. Too bad it wasn't an inclusive organization.

The first inclusive Heathen organization to form in North America was the Troth in 1987, and it was not without its growing pains. There were inclusive Heathens before this but many were practicing actively alongside racist Heathens, because they were ignorant of the issue or just genuinely had no other groups to practice with. The first Canadian inclusive Heathen organization to form was the BC Heathen Freehold in 2002. And the Heathen Confederation of Canada only formed in 2021, the first national level inclusive Heathen organization to date. The history of modern inclusive Heathenry is very short, especially in North America.

The sad reality is the racists didn't co-opt our symbols. They liked ancient symbols and people such as Guido Von List ascribed modern meaning to them with Nationalist intentions. Now inclusive Heathens are trying to have a piece of the pie, but we didn't bake it. That said, using ancient symbols with modern inclusive intent is much better than the alternative. We still need to humble ourselves and also educate ourselves of our modern Heathen roots. If you want to know more about the history of modern Heathenry in North America I strongly recommend the Heathen History podcast. As they so eloquently put it, “[They] read the racist stuff, so you don't have to!” And quite frankly I do not have the bandwidth to read every publication of The Odinist, among other things!

So, the swastika? Pretty much irrevocably ruined for any Western religion, including inclusive Heathenry, but in the spirit of peace and understanding we need to be aware its meaning in Eastern religions is not the same. Runes? Ancient Heathens used them but we don't know all of the ways they were used. The modern divinatory meanings are made up, and not by inclusive Heathens. However, they still work for divination just the same as how the guy on TikTok who throws swiss cheese at a book page then reads what is spelled out in the holes, is practicing an effective method of divination. You are using a tool to reveal a message. Runes can and should be used by modern inclusive Heathens and we should advocate for them as inclusive Heathen symbols. However, we have to be aware of how various runes were used by the Nazis and how they are used by white supremacists today. (Maybe don’t get certain runes by themselves tattooed on your person.) It is an uphill battle, but this is the path forward for modern Heathenry.

Further Sources:

The Troth

https://thetroth.org/resources/history/

The Heathen History Podcast

https://www.heathenhistory.com/

A Brief History of Modern Heathenry https://windintheworldtree.wordpress.com/2023/09/29/a-brief-history-of-modern-heathenry/

Asatru - Norse Heathens of Modern Paganism

https://www.learnreligions.com/asatru-modern-paganism-2562545

Modern Asatru vs. Historical Heathenry

https://www.aldsidu.com/post/modern-asatru-vs-historical-heathenry

The History of Norse Heathenry

https://skaldskeep.com/norse/history/