What do we see in paganism? Why are we
inspired by the age old traditions of the ancient Germanic peoples?
In this article we will shortly try to explain this. Germanic
paganism offers us a complete cosmography which includes all aspects
of human life. However it´s not a rigid dogma, but a worldview that
gets shape through a number of norms, values and ethics. These are
narrated by the Edda; the only written account about Germanic
Paganism. In the Edda we find a collection of mythical and heroic
verses from the 10th century, in which the world as the Germanic
tribes viewed them was described.
At the foundation of this germanic
ethics lies human action; the eternal wisdom that the power over life
is in our own hands. In contradiction to modern monotheist religions
such as Christianity, it does not promise a beautiful and perfect
hereafter after an empty and disconsolate life, but propagates man as
the master of his own soul. in essence Germanic paganism calls for
embracing felicity in the here and now. As a consequence of our own
actions, we take the happiness which we realize and earn in this life
with us to the afterlife. Germanic paganism emphasizes our personal
responsibility in the here and now. This Germanic ethics are clearly
expressed in “The words of the Exalted” (Hávamál) in the Edda.
In these collected verses we find wisdom and advice for human
relations.
Some pagans blame us that we are
involved in politics. But how can we separate this from a cosmography
that provides us guidelines for all aspects of human life? Germanic
paganism, provides us with a clear political alternative. It teaches
us that people are no passive sheep who have to blindly follow the
ruling class, but that they have to and can make their own choices.
This was also expressed by the political organisation of the Germanic
tribes, where noble leaders only existed by the grace of the people
and where any Teuton had a democratic participation in “the Thing”
which was directed by the Druids. All this was described in detail in
Tacitus his book “Germania”. Paganism does not offer us a god to
blame for our imperfections, the pagan gods teach us to live our own
lives by example, as recorded in the Edda. They teach us that only
values such as honour, loyalty, courage and justice can provide us
with happiness and prosperity. Noble values that sadly seem to have
entirely dissappeared in this modern world.
In a world plagued by an unprecedented
environmental pollution and in which nature is destroyed by modern
man in a pace that the world has never seen before, paganism also
provides us with clear guidelines for a responsible interaction with
the environment and the ecosystem. In Germanic paganism nature is a
holistic reality: it´s a structure of interconnected worlds woven
around each other, intertwined, and responding to each other.
Paganism is the worship of nature and all living things, it
disapproves greed and suggests modesty in all aspects of life.
Germanic culture was immersed in the different natural patrons which
determine daily life. It was the recognition of these foundations
that drew attention to the gods and the powers they possessed.
Germanic paganism teaches us that we have an ancient and enduring
relationship with the natural world that surrounds us.
In this age of globalisation and
alienation the people have in many ways been cut off from its
ancestral wisdom. Only by reclaiming this legacy and by reinstating
it, can we open the path towards a better, more exalted and more
fulfilling life. This heritage offers us an alternative cosmography,
liberated from the oppressive dogmatism and moral relativism of our
modern age. Germanic paganism leads us the way to healthy balance
between authoritarian rules and uncontrolled chaos, between
individualism and collectivism; it provides us with a good guideline
for the realisation of a truly free, peaceful and harmonious
society. Being pagan means being in contact with the world around
you. With a sense of meaning and community it offers an answer to the
disillusionment of a monotone globalized world.
Although Germanic paganism knows a
strong particularistic element, it also knows an universalist
element. In different forms, but substantially in the same essence,
we find the wisdom of Germanic paganism back in all nature religions
the world has known and still knows. The great migrations have spread
the pagan language, religion and mythology from Northern Europe to
Southern Asia. Also the Greek Homerus and the Roman mythology that
later on developed from it, show clear parallels with Germanic
paganism. Also with other nature religions, like those of the native
tribes in parts of Asia and South-America, who have maintained their
primitive style of living until today, we see strong resemblance
with the Germanic faith. This is because all these nature religions
have in common that they find their inspiration and might in the
elemental forces of nature. All are based on the metaphysical reality
that nature offers us. And so the diversity of peoples and cultures
on this world all know their own ancestral source, in which the basic
wisdoms needed for a life in harmony with nature is conserved. Only
by learning from our distant past, we can secure an alternate future
for ourselves and for humanity.
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