The Adventurous GIT

Content Warning: Weight Shaming Havamal 20: A greedy bloke, unless he curbs his bend, will eat himself into lifelong grief: he's often derided when he comes among the wise, a man who's a fool in the belly. Translation -  Andrew Orchard - Penguin Classics The AFA's podcast recently decided to attempt a discussion about one of the most complex and personal topics affecting society today: obesity and weight. It went about as gracefully as you'd expect... "A" for effort tho... The first clue was the title, an elegant foghorn to the listener that a holier-than-thou lecture was incoming: "No Fat Heathens." Leading in with several Havamal verses, including the one above, the presenter somehow felt it was wise to dispense questionable dietary/medical advice on a podcast ostensibly dedicated to religious topics. I don't see a benefit to a full point-by-point breakdown like  some of my previous rebuttals , but there are some salient...

23: An unwise man lies awake all night, brooding on everything; he's quite worn out, when morning comes, and it's all just as bad as before Translation -  Andrew Orchard - Penguin Classics We all worry, it's a natural part of being human. Isn't it? I'm not sure. I mean, shouldn't I worry? Seriously, the meta-worrying is stressful AF. Every choice can bring anxiety. Is there a "right" or "wrong" choice? Often, our experience and knowledge can tell us that the answer for the majority of our choices. Running a red light, even though we're late, is a "wrong" choice, it's safe to say. But what about taking that job offer on the other side of the country? What about the comfortable, but cramped, house you can easily make payments on, but you're positive some space would grant some peace of mind? For those questions, things get significantly fuzzier. For the monotheists, it's a common response to "Let Go...

Havamal 54: Middling-wise should each man be, never over-wise; for he lives the fairest life of folks who knows not over-much. Translation - Andrew Orchard - Penguin Classics Knowledge is power, and power corrupts. We usually take that corrupting nature of power to mean a corrosive effect on morality and decision-making ability. The idea that right and wrong and the differences between the two begin to blur when more and more power (and knowledge) are obtained is not a new one. The clearest two examples of this are in the same movie/comic book: The Watchmen. It's no mistake that we see Dr. Manhattan become more and more detached from his "humanity" the more powerful he becomes. Then there's the (spoiler alert for eight year old movie) villain of the piece, Ozymandias. His knowledge drove him to cross several lines of morality that others felt were too far. The question I'm pondering today, though, is that corruption the only kind of effect that ca...

It's no secret these days that  Nazis   are   everywhere.  The themes of nationalism and racism are rising to the surface once more. Now, more than ever, we must be wary of what and who we endorse, even tangentially. We can no longer afford to "explain away" questionable viewpoints from celebrities, no matter how large or small their reach. The majority of Pagans will agree with the phrase, "Words have power." We're not just talking about spell-casting, ritual, prayer, or anything specific to religion. Every spoken word has the power to bind, to heal, to divide, to wound, to do any number of things in the right hands in the opportune moment. via GIPHY Like how a single word can make an entire generation cry. Which brings me to today's Havamal verse: 57: One brand takes fire from another,  until it is consumed, a flame's kindled by flame; one man becomes clever by talking with another, but foolish through being reserved. The Po...

Odin is a Thief and a Deceiver. Tyr is an Oathbreaker. I'm okay with that. Not exactly qualities to aspire to, though. Something that many Polytheists struggle with is the fallibility, the errors, or even the outright terrible behavior attributed to the Gods and Goddesses in the Lore. Lacking the certitude of an "all-good" monotheist worldview, the myths and stories we have from pre-Christian times don't always seem like the noblest of deeds. There's a host of  examples that can counter that narrative of "all-good",  but on the whole, most monotheists still count their Deity as lacking character flaws. A debate on that is a different post for a different blog. This here blog is Polytheist Territory, and I'd much rather talk about Them, thank you very much. I can't promise this power isn't going to my head. Yes, the title of this post is the classic Star Wars reference, where a deception was created ( retroactively , because we k...