Steve's Comments Part 2
The Evolution of the Irminenschaft, Feb 15, 2011 (used by permission)
The tradition has evolved in a few different ways.
This first ought to be obvious: we simply have a whole lot more information available today about the practices and beliefs of our ancient ancestors than what was available in the early 1900s. Remember, it was Rudolf John Gorsleben who translated the Poetic Edda into Modern High German, which means anyone in Germany trying to build anything before his time lacked this precious resource! (A side note: Mills did not have access to the Poetic Edda when he introduced Odinism either). Today we can purchase countless Icelandic Sagas and other sources of ancient lore inexpensively through publishers such as Penguin – that was not true back then. This is all before we get into other sources of knowledge such as archaeological finds.
The second is that we have had the opportunity to see what works and what doesn't in other Heathen traditions from both the First and Second Reawakenings. Along with this, we have absorbed much from our contemporaries – Ásatrú, Odinism, and especially Théodish Belief.
We really don't spend much effort on Theosophy or any of those other traditions. Heathendom is tainted enough from outside traditions to want to foster more of that. Yes, many in the First Reawakening were influenced by these things; just as many in the Second Reawakening are influence by neo-paganism, ATRs, or what have you. That doesn't mean that it's necessarily healthy for Greater Heathenry.
Wiligut... Well, his work is complex. Briefly I would suggest that he stumbled on some very powerful things but because of his religious and political affiliations had a lot of difficulty making sense of it all. There is much of value in his work. But some of it can come off pretty wacky, too. He's one to read with a good set of filters in mind and a strong ability to “translate” from one religious context to another.
I [would] not say that Ásatrú, Odinism and Théodism evolved out of Irminenschaft, as they clearly did not. But they all do owe as certain debt to the Irminic tradition- especially Odinism who, in its early development, borrowed much from Armanenschaft.
As for the things that set us apart. First let me say that I think we have more in common than we do things different. That being said, though, there are really three things: one is that our orthodoxy/orthopraxi is a bit different. We accept a slightly different “cannon” if you will, because we do not see ourselves as reviving a dead religion, but rather carrying on a living - albeit fragmented – one. The second is that we hold to a more “brutally honest” approach to history in that there is no romanticizing of any particular eras or what have you. We are willing to admit that we've had Nazis, Communists, racialists, and other unsavoury characters in our history but recognize that one's spiritual insights have little or nothing to do with one's politics. From what I've seen other Heathenrys have some trouble dealing with these sorts of issues. By the way, I know that many of the early writers have been associated with extreme right politics; but before paining them all with that brush consider pioneers such as Fidus who might been seen as something of a hippy today, or Peryt Shou who was more of a Communist. Point being that the politics of Heathens in the early 1900s were just as divergent as the politics of Heathens today.The third thing that sets us apart is that we hold to a unique position in the old fólkish/universalist debate. As far as we're concerned both extremes have it wrong! We are võlkisch in that we're not concerned about being white; we're concerned about being German. You'll note that even in List's day he did not write about a religion for “white folks” or “northern Europeans” but about a faith for “Aryo-Germans”. Other traditions have held to this as well, but are not as well known. Hedenskap is Norwegian, Forn Sed is Swedish, and, of course, Anglo-Saxon Heathenry is English. There are some folks currently building something of a Dutch Heathenry. It is the hope of Irminen that we will be able to inspire more in these sorts of endeavours, not just one for Germans.
This first ought to be obvious: we simply have a whole lot more information available today about the practices and beliefs of our ancient ancestors than what was available in the early 1900s. Remember, it was Rudolf John Gorsleben who translated the Poetic Edda into Modern High German, which means anyone in Germany trying to build anything before his time lacked this precious resource! (A side note: Mills did not have access to the Poetic Edda when he introduced Odinism either). Today we can purchase countless Icelandic Sagas and other sources of ancient lore inexpensively through publishers such as Penguin – that was not true back then. This is all before we get into other sources of knowledge such as archaeological finds.
The second is that we have had the opportunity to see what works and what doesn't in other Heathen traditions from both the First and Second Reawakenings. Along with this, we have absorbed much from our contemporaries – Ásatrú, Odinism, and especially Théodish Belief.
We really don't spend much effort on Theosophy or any of those other traditions. Heathendom is tainted enough from outside traditions to want to foster more of that. Yes, many in the First Reawakening were influenced by these things; just as many in the Second Reawakening are influence by neo-paganism, ATRs, or what have you. That doesn't mean that it's necessarily healthy for Greater Heathenry.
Wiligut... Well, his work is complex. Briefly I would suggest that he stumbled on some very powerful things but because of his religious and political affiliations had a lot of difficulty making sense of it all. There is much of value in his work. But some of it can come off pretty wacky, too. He's one to read with a good set of filters in mind and a strong ability to “translate” from one religious context to another.
I [would] not say that Ásatrú, Odinism and Théodism evolved out of Irminenschaft, as they clearly did not. But they all do owe as certain debt to the Irminic tradition- especially Odinism who, in its early development, borrowed much from Armanenschaft.
As for the things that set us apart. First let me say that I think we have more in common than we do things different. That being said, though, there are really three things: one is that our orthodoxy/orthopraxi is a bit different. We accept a slightly different “cannon” if you will, because we do not see ourselves as reviving a dead religion, but rather carrying on a living - albeit fragmented – one. The second is that we hold to a more “brutally honest” approach to history in that there is no romanticizing of any particular eras or what have you. We are willing to admit that we've had Nazis, Communists, racialists, and other unsavoury characters in our history but recognize that one's spiritual insights have little or nothing to do with one's politics. From what I've seen other Heathenrys have some trouble dealing with these sorts of issues. By the way, I know that many of the early writers have been associated with extreme right politics; but before paining them all with that brush consider pioneers such as Fidus who might been seen as something of a hippy today, or Peryt Shou who was more of a Communist. Point being that the politics of Heathens in the early 1900s were just as divergent as the politics of Heathens today.The third thing that sets us apart is that we hold to a unique position in the old fólkish/universalist debate. As far as we're concerned both extremes have it wrong! We are võlkisch in that we're not concerned about being white; we're concerned about being German. You'll note that even in List's day he did not write about a religion for “white folks” or “northern Europeans” but about a faith for “Aryo-Germans”. Other traditions have held to this as well, but are not as well known. Hedenskap is Norwegian, Forn Sed is Swedish, and, of course, Anglo-Saxon Heathenry is English. There are some folks currently building something of a Dutch Heathenry. It is the hope of Irminen that we will be able to inspire more in these sorts of endeavours, not just one for Germans.