Asatru Folk Assembly - September 06, 2025


Ásatrú Holidays - September 2025 - Hermann ｜ Else ｜ Haustblót

Hosted by
Steve McNallen
Mentioned
Prince Hermann Elsie Christensen Publius Quintillus Verus Alcetru Alexander Rudd Mills Steve McNallan Ege Alex Christensen Elsie Oaksner Midgard Page Winterfinding Thumelicus Folkmother Summermall Augustus Dusnelda Teruski Segemir Kalkris Druski Veros and 2 more
Ásatrú and Poetry #afa #asatru #asatrufolkassembly #shorts Living Ásatrú Holistically #afa #asatru #asatrufolkassembly #shorts

Episode Stats


Length

15 minutes

Words per minute

130.27

Word count

2,009

Sentence count

99

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

7

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

This episode is dedicated to Prince Herman of the Terusi, a Roman general who was born in the early 1st century CE and died in the late 1st Century CE. He was one of the most brilliant Roman generals of his time, and is considered to be the father of modern Germany.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and folk of all ages, you know what time it is.
00:00:25.700 It is the month of September and we've got some very special holidays, Holy Days, Days of Remembrance for our folk to go over.
00:00:37.200 And we will start that off with the first Day of Remembrance, Prince Herman of the Terusi.
00:00:44.700 And his Day of Remembrance is on the 9th, just a few days away.
00:00:48.860 And then we'll follow that up on the 12th with the Day of Remembrance for Elsie Christensen.
00:00:54.420 And, as always, we have a holiday to go over, and that would be Haustbrot.
00:01:02.280 The official day for that is September 22nd, because it aligns with the autumnal equinox.
00:01:11.780 But, we do observe it on the 20th, because that is the third Saturday of the month, as always.
00:01:18.860 So, let's go over it, get down to it. Here we go!
00:01:24.420 On September the 9th is the day of remembrance of Prince Herman of the Teruski, and he was born the 18th before Common Era, passed away the 21st of the Common Era.
00:01:38.460 Herman, known as Arminius to the Romans, was the heir to the chiefdom of the Teruski tribe.
00:01:44.440 The Teruski were a German tribe that was generally friendly to the Roman Empire, but was required to pay tribute in order to maintain that peace.
00:01:53.280 Part of this tribute was the sons of local noble families, as was often the case in early
00:01:59.540 European politics.
00:02:02.040 Hermann's father, Segemir, gave up his two sons, Hermann and his brother, to Roman statesman
00:02:08.600 Publius Quintillus Verus, to be raised in the Roman fashion.
00:02:14.780 Hermann was given the name Arminius, learned Latin, and was taught the Roman martial discipline
00:02:19.780 that had conquered much of Europe by that point.
00:02:22.740 He was a bright student, and a disciplined warrior and brilliant leader.
00:02:27.440 His skills were so useful to Rome that they granted him official citizenship, as well
00:02:32.300 as the rank of equius, the equivalent of a knight in the Roman military.
00:02:38.940 He earned this by serving with distinction in the Great Illyrian Revolt.
00:02:43.880 Following this, he was sent home to Germany to aid Governor Verus in conquering the Germanic
00:02:49.060 tribes east of the Rhine.
00:02:51.460 Arminius saw Hermann return to the land of Cherusky in northern Germany.
00:02:56.200 His people were still there, still practicing Alcetru, their loyalty to the Aesir, stronger than steel.
00:03:03.580 We do not know exactly why Hermann decided to side with his own people and fight the Romans.
00:03:09.640 Perhaps he had wanted this since he had taken from his father.
00:03:13.960 Or perhaps seeing his folk again stirred something in his soul.
00:03:17.880 We may never know.
00:03:18.780 What we do know for certain, however, is that Hermann chose to stand with his folk
00:03:24.340 against encroaching tyranny and globalism
00:03:27.760 He immediately began plotting a way to unite the various tribes of the area
00:03:32.560 in a bid to push Rome and her legions out of Germany forever
00:03:36.360 When an emergency broke out in the Balkans
00:03:40.300 Governor Veros had to send 8 of 11 legions east
00:03:43.740 leaving Germany with only 3 to keep the peace
00:03:46.980 Hermann saw this as a grand opportunity and likely recognized it as a blessing from the Aesir themselves.
00:03:53.980 He managed to unite many of the local tribes, a seemingly impossible task since they historically had bickered and warred with each other for generations.
00:04:02.980 In the autumn of the Nine Common Era, Hermann tricked Verus into going to Kalkris to put down a fake rebellion.
00:04:13.980 When Varus arrived with his three legions, they were quickly swept away and annihilated
00:04:18.420 by the might of Prince Hermann and five Germanic tribes,
00:04:21.960 and was remembered as the Battle of the Tutaburic Forest.
00:04:25.440 They united as one people and became essentially unstoppable.
00:04:30.360 Blessed by the Aesir once again, the Germans had won a victory that would change human history. 0.71
00:04:37.320 This battle is seen as Rome's greatest defeat as it paved the way for Rome to pull out of Germany 0.97
00:04:42.600 permanently. This defeat was so great that Emperor Augustus himself was driven nearly
00:04:48.480 to madness. It's said that he paced around his palace, yelling,
00:04:52.660 Verus, give me back my legions!
00:04:58.060 After the battle, Prince Hermon's army proceeded to eliminate every trace of Roman influence
00:05:03.200 east of the Rhine. He even tried to invade Gaul to free our Celtic cousins from the empire,
00:05:08.580 but was blocked on the Rhine by Tiberius.
00:05:12.600 Prince Hermann led the Druski for only 12 years after his great victory.
00:05:18.420 He married Germanic priestess Dusnelda, who was later kidnapped by pro-Roman Germans and never saw Hermann again.
00:05:26.940 She gave birth to Hermann's son, Thumelicus, who sadly grew up in Roman captivity.
00:05:36.680 This chain of events eventually led to the breaking of Prince Hermann's great Germanic alliance,
00:05:42.600 and his murder. He was killed by men of his own tribe, as they believed he was becoming too
00:05:48.000 powerful and that Germany was becoming too unified. While his previous victories had ensured that
00:05:54.520 Germany would remain free, the petty treachery of some of his folk fractured Germany in a way 0.90
00:06:00.620 that it would not recover from. As we draw inspiration and awe from Prince Hermann's
00:06:07.380 victories, let us also reflect and learn from his murder. Even a thousand years ago, our
00:06:15.360 folk had the same weakness that we have today. In times are good, we seek conflict within
00:06:22.660 and tear ourselves apart. Rome knew this, as Tacitus mentioned in his work, Germania.
00:06:31.280 When Hermann had done the impossible and saved his folk from slavery, and ensured that their
00:06:36.340 betroth with the Holy Iser would not be broken by later Roman Christianity, but his own folk
00:06:43.340 sought conflict where there need not be any. Had this betrayal not happened, our faith could 0.83
00:06:50.180 perhaps have stood unbroken against the scourge of monotheism. If we can learn from this story,
00:06:58.280 if we can take the blessings of the Iser and keep them, we will continue to stand dauntless 0.95
00:07:04.580 against whatever chaos stands to divide us.
00:07:08.720 Hail, Prince Hermann.
00:07:11.840 And just a few days later, on September 12th,
00:07:15.080 we come to the Day of Remembrance for Elsie Christensen.
00:07:18.960 Born September 12th, 1913, passed away May 4th, 2005.
00:07:25.140 Born Elsie Oaksner on the 12th of September, 1913, in Denmark,
00:07:30.260 she was destined to be one of the leading figures in the reforging of Alcetru.
00:07:34.580 Although born in the small town of Esbjörg, she moved to the capital city of Copenhagen as a young woman.
00:07:42.560 Then in this time of political polarization, before the Second World War, she found herself joining the Danish Workers' Party.
00:07:50.040 Here she met her husband, Ege Alex Christensen.
00:07:54.980 When the Germans invaded Denmark during World War II, they were both imprisoned due to the involvement with the Danish Workers' Party.
00:08:02.440 Once released from prison, they immigrated to Canada.
00:08:06.100 When they arrived, they almost immediately began working to secure a future for their people.
00:08:11.740 Elsie began networking with other like-minded people across North America,
00:08:17.400 first discovering Alcetru, what many called Odinism at the time.
00:08:22.700 In a pamphlet entitled, Call to our Ancient Nordic Religion,
00:08:26.880 penned by AFA hero Alexander Rudd Mills,
00:08:29.620 who she kept as a pen pal until his death in 1964.
00:08:35.620 This began Elsie's journey into building a relationship between Aryan and Isere,
00:08:41.700 immediately understanding that Alcetru is the ethnic faith of the Aryan people.
00:08:46.960 She founded the Odinist Fellowship in 1969 and continued this work until her death,
00:08:53.200 even though her husband passed away in 1971.
00:08:55.600 She relocated to the United States shortly after his passing and began a publication called The Odinist.
00:09:05.920 This is what earned her the moniker of Folkmother, as she was instrumental in bringing so many of our people home to Alcetru in her time.
00:09:17.660 In 1993, she was taken advantage of and unknowingly used as a drug mule.
00:09:23.100 She was arrested, tried, and convicted, then sentenced to five years and four months in prison.
00:09:29.820 Before going to prison, however, she gave the Odinus Fellowship's membership list to Stephen McNallan,
00:09:35.460 who had soon found the Alcetru Folk Assembly.
00:09:39.280 After serving her time in prison, she was deported back to Canada,
00:09:43.700 where she attempted to revive the Odinus Fellowship.
00:09:46.760 She began another publication, Midgard Page, in 1998.
00:09:52.180 She passed away on the 4th of May, 2005, in Vancouver Island, Canada.
00:09:58.780 Elsie was one of a few key beacons for Alcetru,
00:10:02.840 working the wheel of the Isier and lighting the torch that would bring so many of our folk home.
00:10:10.940 Inspired by fellow AFA hero, Alexander Rudd Mills,
00:10:15.220 she would later go on to pass the torch to the Herald of Olden, Stephen McNally himself.
00:10:19.360 She played an integral part in the reforging of our native faith, and she will be honored
00:10:25.440 now and forevermore.
00:10:28.600 Elsie Christensen is the dedicated hero of Baldershof.
00:10:32.760 For more information and a deeper dive into the life and acts of our Folkmothers, check
00:10:36.520 out Baldershof.org.
00:10:39.320 Hail the Folkmother! 0.93
00:10:41.980 Hail Elsie Christensen!
00:10:45.220 And that brings us to our holiday.
00:10:49.500 And as I said earlier, the holiday technically falls on August 22nd, which is the autumnal
00:10:55.340 equinox, but we will do most of our celebrations on the 20th, the 3rd Saturday of the month,
00:11:02.920 our Observed Day.
00:11:04.800 So let's get down to it and figure out what we're talking about, Haustbrotts.
00:11:10.380 Hausbrot, also known as Winterfinding, is the ancient calendar only recognized two seasons.
00:11:18.240 There was summer, and there was winter.
00:11:21.200 Just as Summermall was their first day of summer, Hausbrot was their first day of winter.
00:11:27.980 The temperature slowly begins to fall.
00:11:30.460 The days get shorter.
00:11:32.440 Those who grow their food begin preparations for the final harvests.
00:11:36.780 The larders are grown full with the fruits of earlier efforts.
00:11:41.380 Now it's time to begin the hunt, to kill enough game to finish winter's preparations.
00:11:48.540 Today, many of us don't have the same connections to the need for food and preparation that our ancestors experienced.
00:11:56.680 Food has become easy to access, and therefore not so vitally important.
00:12:01.980 Those who hunt usually do it for sport, not because without it they don't have the food to survive the winter.
00:12:09.060 This doesn't mean, however, that we cannot take the time to think and reflect.
00:12:14.840 Thus begins the winter season.
00:12:17.460 Thus begins the death of the world, too dark and cold.
00:12:22.440 We can all see and feel the change in the world around us.
00:12:27.420 Our days are shorter, the nights grow colder.
00:12:29.780 The leaves change and begin to fall
00:12:32.800 Go outside
00:12:35.160 Find some place to sit and feel the changes
00:12:38.500 Make a hearty meal to share with your family and with the gods
00:12:42.720 If you hunt, dedicate your first kill to the gods and ancestors
00:12:47.660 To Ur 0.99
00:12:48.800 Share a choice cut with them
00:12:51.780 Now is time to begin the closing inn
00:12:55.020 Everyone begins to gather closer to home
00:12:58.180 sticking close to push away
00:13:00.380 the wintry drear
00:13:01.460 take time to remember what's
00:13:04.240 important
00:13:04.600 and with that y'all
00:13:08.320 that's the holidays, holy days, days
00:13:10.280 of remembrance of our people
00:13:11.500 so I want to leave you with this
00:13:14.520 Winter Nights
00:13:16.560 New Hampshire
00:13:17.660 it's coming up
00:13:19.180 you can get your tickets at runestone.org
00:13:22.400 it was amazing last year from what
00:13:24.400 I've heard, there are some beautiful beautiful
00:13:26.300 people up there and august not august the fall autumn in new hampshire in the new england area
00:13:35.260 that's going to be a beautiful drive beautiful scenery go up there uh folk builder boardman's
00:13:41.720 going to welcome you guys to his neck of the woods and you'll get to hang out with the witten
00:13:48.340 erickson and get the erickson the good people of the district and those traveling meet the
00:13:56.120 celebrate winter nights
00:14:01.380 celebrate
00:14:02.660 our female ancestors
00:14:07.960 and just have a great time around a bonfire y'all 1.00
00:14:11.280 national event, winter nights
00:14:14.260 gonna be up in New Hampshire, tickets on sale
00:14:17.660 runestone.org slash store, I'll link it in the description
00:14:21.340 thank you guys so much for listening in another month
00:14:25.360 learning a little bit
00:14:27.440 and with that
00:14:28.740 hail Prince Herman
00:14:31.080 hail
00:14:32.960 Elsie Christensen
00:14:34.660 hail Ullr
00:14:36.340 hail the Iser, hail the folk
00:14:39.320 hail the AFA
00:14:40.240 hail victory y'all, have a good one
00:14:55.360 Stay tuned.