The Adventurous GIT

In my last post , I raised the alarm about Stephen McNallen's latest endeavor, which appears to not only involve partnering with out-lout-n-proud AltRight Red Ice Media, but utilizing Apocalyptic Rhetoric in order to push a racist agenda under a Heathen veneer. Now I'm sure everyone's curious about my closing statement from part 1, so let's get to the action. "[...]where I try to figure out just why McNallen's somehow willing to throw Wotan under the bus to achieve his goals." Transcript to follow - Video queued to begin in line with transcript (02:29 - 03:16) "Now, I happen to have been a follower of Wotan, under his name of Odin, for some 45 years, and my personal experience is that He is utterly real, if inherently mysterious. But I don't expect my Christian, or Atheist, or Agnostic, or Other friends to agree on that. Instead, I invite them to think of Wotan as Carl Jung, the famous psychologist, did: Namely, as an inherited ...

Edit Note: The original version was taken down for copyright infringement claims, apparently stemming from the song in the lengthy intro. Timestamps have been changed to reflect the latest version, embedded below. I thought I was done with him. A long and multi-part breakdown of his unscientific views on race should have done the trick. I spoke up against an "elder" who, once he could espouse his views free from association with the organization he founded, could rant his way into obscurity. It's a day for American Gods gifs. I make no apologies. Stephen McNallen is back with another video. This time, the video itself is as slick and polished as the honeyed words the old racist spat out in his previous videos. He has teamed up with Red Ice , an unabashedly racist and white supremacist network. I assume they are responsible for plucking the old man out from in front of his hearth and into the black-backed studio he now speaks from and set him up with all of ...

There are lots of Heathen 101 articles out there: How to approach the Gods , Are the Gods even there , Do They want to work with you , How much you're allowed talk to Them ... It can be rough trying to practice a religion rooted in the concepts of tribe and family all by your lonesome, I admit. There are group practices and rituals that won't really pare down to just one person, and there's something to be said for the connected nature of community that comes from being part of a Kindred. I sincerely hope one day to find (or create?!) one that I can work with to honor the community and the Gods. In the meantime, though, being alone is no excuse for not honoring the Aesir and Vanir with regular gifts and prayers. But what to do? There are so many rules that everyone on the Pagan Interwebs seem to want to lay down in a depressing "Heathen-er Than Thou" Mjollnir-measuring contest, it can quickly get confusing, especially for the fresh-faced newcomers who jus...

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...