Asatru Folk Assembly - May 2022 Live Discussion

00:00:00.000 hello hope everybody out there is having a having a good evening and hope may is off to a good start

00:00:16.860 for everyone thanks everybody it's neat to see everybody lined up in the chat room on the side

00:00:23.140 I appreciate you guys, as always. To start off, I'd like to say huge congratulations and thanks to James and Sarah Alt for hosting a fantastic Elsie Fest just about a week ago.

00:00:44.500 it was really really a special event if you guys didn't make it you should think about it next year

00:00:50.360 it's an annual event that happens every year in Wisconsin around this time and it's set up to

00:00:56.420 honor the folk mother and get folks together there and it was beautiful we had two baby namings

00:01:02.980 I had the honor of performing a wedding it was a really nice event so uh and the alts run a really

00:01:10.580 tight event. Everything worked out great. It was fantastic, and I'm looking forward to it again

00:01:15.220 next year. Thank you so much, and thank you to all the members that helped with their hospitality

00:01:20.080 on getting me there. I had to do some road tripping and crashing at a folk builder's

00:01:28.060 house, and I appreciate all the hospitality and all the help getting there.

00:01:31.040 um so i wanted to uh i guess start off by answering a couple of questions that i received

00:01:42.500 in email for tonight's uh tonight's live and the first one um i was asked if i had any thoughts or

00:01:51.600 what my feelings were about the pagan futures conference that uh thomas rousel of survive the

00:01:59.260 jive is hosting in London, I believe, next month. Um, first, I got a chance to meet him

00:02:11.700 one time. Seemed like a very nice guy. Very good guy. I've got got nothing against him.

00:02:18.360 um I think he talks about some interesting things what

00:02:26.000 so I guess the my thoughts on it are this it's being hosted by a

00:02:35.640 youtube personality and guy who does um historical historical study into ancient uh

00:02:51.960 ancient european paganism and it's got a co-host or a special guest that's a also a historian

00:03:00.360 And I think, I got to say, I find it a little bit insulting. I think that there is some mindset there in those circles to treat European paganism in general and Alcituent specific as some sort of a historical research project and something that maybe one day we can have again at some point.

00:03:30.360 And it blatantly ignores, you know, 50, almost 60 years of tradition of living, breathing

00:03:40.120 oustertru that exists.

00:03:43.140 It's a conference on pagan futures and paganism of European paganism.

00:03:49.540 And it's hosted by, you know, by scholars and academics, but not by, but not by priests.

00:03:58.300 um there's a lot of active uh european faith communities

00:04:04.740 that they could draw from um we certainly you know we have afa members in europe and we have

00:04:13.420 a thriving and amazing worldwide ausitru church right here and it's kind of ignored as if it

00:04:21.440 doesn't exist. It would, can you imagine for a minute, a Christian futures conference being

00:04:31.840 hosted by, you know, two academics and, you know, folks that specialize in first century

00:04:42.020 Judea archaeology. And not by not by priests or by pastors, but by scholars on on antiquity.

00:04:51.920 And I think that it does a disservice to also true and to our gods not to treat this as a living faith that's active.

00:05:02.160 Clearly, we're active, we're thriving and we're doing great things.

00:05:05.460 And I really wish that would be highlighted at this type of an event instead of what would be, could be or should be.

00:05:15.100 I think some shining a light on what is would be a really nice thing.

00:05:19.400 That's my thoughts on that in general.

00:05:21.440 um got another question but I'm gonna look on the side and see if we've got any questions from

00:05:31.040 you guys so far is there a hof in Georgia no there is not but very soon there will be a hof

00:05:38.080 in Florida and northern Florida is the plan for that

00:05:42.880 Okay.

00:06:04.600 Okay.

00:06:04.680 um i wonder why that is if that's in a response to the the comments i just made i think because

00:06:16.560 certain people have invested large portions of their life in theory and philosophy and in

00:06:23.980 academics and haven't invested as heavily or built their reputation on practice

00:06:29.260 or on involvement in active, active Ausitru. And so I think that people have a tendency to

00:06:37.100 view the world through a lens that they've constructed for themselves. And sometimes

00:06:42.620 maybe it's valuable to step away from that and get a more objective view. But I think people

00:06:47.180 focus on, on their wheelhouse. And I think that what has brought Survive the Jive to prominence

00:06:55.060 is theory and archaeology. And so I think that's where that comfort zone is. I think that's probably why.

00:07:25.060 all right so i've got a couple of other questions i believe um question from alan

00:07:34.100 did the original property that was scouted fall through or is the search still on so

00:07:42.000 the original original property um we've had a couple had more challenges that would have liked

00:07:50.180 on getting yours off, unfortunately. We've had a challenge on figuring out funding.

00:07:56.240 You guys have been extremely generous and we have that figured out now. We've had a challenge of

00:08:03.220 with a title company and with a bank so far. Now we're in a completely different situation.

00:08:11.420 We have a property we are currently involved in negotiations with and we're very positive

00:08:17.620 about that. We've got several other options in case this weren't to work out, but I'm hoping

00:08:23.020 to have some really good news for you guys very soon. And I know I've said that a lot. And so

00:08:27.900 I'll praise the ice when it's crossed, but we're getting very, very close. And this entire time

00:08:33.000 we've been building up a war chest for it for more down payment on it. And we've got great

00:08:38.540 individuals on our, on our side that are, are generously offering to, to loan us the money

00:08:45.740 that we need to make this happen. So right now, we're just trying to find the right place for

00:08:49.500 the right deal. And we're currently in a really good negotiation.

00:09:05.340 My Hexam Noct has been fantastic.

00:09:08.900 um yeah unfortunately netley this last month i was unable to make it out to odenshoff to

00:09:16.960 celebrate there because the pass this late in the year the pass over the sierras was

00:09:23.360 snowed in and impassable and they were turning folks around so i was unable to make it out to

00:09:29.180 uh the odenshoff observance of hex and knock last month but i heard it all went very very well

00:09:36.100 And like I said, I was able to celebrate with folks out at LC Fest.

00:09:40.360 So it was very nice.

00:09:42.180 Thank you for asking.

00:09:43.520 I hope everybody out there had a really great Hexenacht.

00:09:46.340 I hope you guys are geared up for a fantastic May Day. 0.66

00:09:49.660 If you can, make it to one of your Hoffs for May Day.

00:09:52.140 We've got May Day celebrations at all three of our Hoffs.

00:09:56.020 It is well worth it if you can get out there and dance around the Maypole and celebrate with your folk.

00:10:06.100 king of cheese thank you i appreciate you asking um we're all doing great i'm doing fantastic my

00:10:21.220 family's doing great uh aubrey just turned two last month since last time we talked to you guys

00:10:27.060 she's got all of the emotional upheaval and sleep problems that come with being a two-year-old

00:10:33.780 but she's fantastic she's learning she's picking up something learning something new every day and

00:10:38.100 it's really it's really nice to be able to watch her grow and learn that but we're doing great

00:10:41.700 and i appreciate you asking

00:10:55.700 yeah what went on is we had a gentleman over on the side that was 0.88

00:11:11.060 making ridiculous ridiculous comments and ridiculous questions about things that

00:11:17.400 that aren't really the stuff for for noble and dignified people to have a conversation about 0.98

00:11:24.660 And that was handled by our moderators. I think Mandy handled that and I appreciate it.

00:11:47.740 Sorry, guys, I'm reading a comment on the side. We've got kind of a lengthy question.

00:11:54.660 So it's a complex question. We've got a question on the side. Do I think that things will get better and the persecution of Ausatru and of the AFA will end? And do I think the pendulum will swing back in a more healthy, traditional way?

00:12:12.540 it's complex yeah a given given an infinite expanse of time yes i guarantee you the pendulum

00:12:22.320 will swing back and i think the persecution will end at some point when that will be who knows

00:12:28.640 but i'll say there's kind of two things going on there's a media agenda to push themes that

00:12:38.320 are flashy and sexy in the moment. And they like to talk about racism all the time. That's

00:12:45.000 their bread and butter in this day and age. And then there's our actual involvement and actual

00:12:50.240 acceptance in the community. And I'll proudly say this, we've had great interactions with

00:12:55.340 the community at all three of our Hoffs. We have amazing interactions with regular folks

00:13:00.860 every single day. The world is not like the media likes to portray it. That said,

00:13:07.540 when they have involvement with businesses and public perception, you know, they're going to

00:13:14.560 create boogeymen wherever they find it advantageous to do so. But in the real world, the more we do

00:13:21.740 things in reality, the more we interact with our neighbors, and the more we're involved in our

00:13:26.260 communities, at least on a local and a day-to-day level, it's getting better all the time. And

00:13:33.060 that's been a really, really special thing to see, like I said, in all three of the places that we

00:13:37.760 have Hoffs. So it's getting better. And unfortunately, the visibility of it looking

00:13:45.580 like folks coming after us is only going to increase as we increase in our success, in our

00:13:50.740 scale, in our numbers, and as we have more Hoffs and do more things. But that goodwill that we

00:13:57.000 build out there and the good reputation that we build is going to increase also. So I'm not

00:14:01.680 worried about it. We are prepared to face whatever challenges are before us, as long as we are acting

00:14:08.120 within the will of the gods for the good of our folk. And as noble people, I'm confident and

00:14:15.960 excited about the future we have ahead of us. And like I said, we're doing great things. As of right

00:14:20.500 now, we're sitting at the highest number the AFA has ever had as far as members. Contributions have

00:14:26.000 never been higher. Interaction has never been higher. Participation and attendance has never

00:14:31.580 been higher. We're doing great. We are very, very fortunate and very blessed. And I really

00:14:36.880 appreciate it. I appreciate all you on side who've been part of that.

00:14:56.000 Thank you, Mr. Tidwell. A fantastic gentleman that I met out at O-Star at Thorshof gave me this tie, and I'm excited to wear it. I think it's sharp, too.

00:15:26.000 I apologize, guys. Again, I'm reading over here on the side. I want to make sure I'm not

00:15:39.720 missing questions. Yes, Alistair, I absolutely remember talking to you. I hope you and Jessica

00:15:47.520 have been able to have some conversation about the things you were volunteering on,

00:15:51.500 and I appreciate you. I appreciate you being here.

00:15:56.000 So another question I got asked over the email for today's broadcast is whether I consider Skadi as one of the Vanir gods or goddesses, rather.

00:16:13.880 um and kind of what the question generally was when you deal with the gods and their different

00:16:23.520 tribes how that all works out when there's marriages and things between those tribes

00:16:27.640 and I think we we do ourself a disservice when we look at that too much in terms of

00:16:35.640 of earthly existence, I think that the different gods of our folk all share a certain commonality.

00:16:46.340 And I think that the families of the gods more reflect different parts of our reality and our

00:16:51.480 soul than, you know, different tribes of peoples here in Midgard. I think I will say this on Skadi,

00:16:59.560 I think that once we see a situation with the, and there's different kinds of giants, but the giants that are useful and beneficial and friendly towards mankind, also the Vanir, the ones that are useful and that our folks worship have been assimilated into the tribe of the Aesir.

00:17:25.160 And you see Skabi listed amongst the Aesir, the goddesses of the Aesir.

00:17:31.480 So I think that she counts as that.

00:17:33.640 I think that she is one of the spirit beings in our cosmology that's merged with the Aesir to add her might to that tribe and to the orderly gods in our cosmos.

00:17:49.420 So I, I, I see Scotty as an I see her and she's listed in the end as that way.

00:18:19.420 i appreciate having such an active uh active chat over on the side so what questions do

00:18:38.220 you guys have tonight um i think this is probably a good time to encourage everybody to come on out

00:18:46.700 to our midsummer at Odin's Hof next month.

00:18:49.520 That's kind of the flagship national event

00:18:51.820 of the Aus True Folk Assembly.

00:18:55.420 The past three years, we've had record attendance there.

00:19:00.120 It's a fantastic weekend at our very first Hof.

00:19:05.260 It's a really great time to interact with other AFA members

00:19:09.200 to enjoy our space there and enjoy our time together

00:19:14.320 and to celebrate the the might of midsummer together with your afa family so i'd encourage

00:19:20.400 everybody to make it out there if you can in brownsville california um your best bet if you're

00:19:26.480 flying in is either sacramento or reno and yeah i'd encourage everybody that can to make it out

00:19:32.720 that way because it's going to be a really great event i'm looking forward to it

00:19:39.440 i have not watched the northman yet

00:19:44.320 Alistair, when I get off of here, I'm going to have a conversation with Cliff, and we'll see

00:19:54.700 where we're at. Yes, we would love your help. We'll try to get that figured out.

00:20:00.600 I'll try to get to the bottom of that for you. I appreciate you volunteering your help.

00:20:09.100 Heathen Man, I've heard a lot of good things from people who've gone and seen that movie.

00:20:12.920 Again, I haven't seen it. I can't speak to it myself. I've seen a lot of pictures from it. And I, one thing that always perturbs me is the drab, everybody wearing black and roadkill on their shoulders depiction of the Viking era.

00:20:32.140 There was a lot of bright colors. There were people that, you know, I went to a museum in Sweden with a lot of Viking era artifacts and there's all kind of nose hair clippers and combs and they were people who were very concerned about their appearance.

00:20:51.520 There are people who had beautiful and amazing things and were really technologically advanced for their era and for the place that they were in the world.

00:21:02.200 So I'm always hesitant when I see kind of Ooga Booga tribal barbarous depictions of the Viking Age, because I think it spreads a misunderstanding about that time period and about those people.

00:21:21.520 I got a question about our trough I do not like that I certainly don't like the organization

00:21:39.780 that that's from I would I would urge not reading that or being involved with anything

00:21:49.540 that comes from the trough the ring of trough or any any people that spawn from there i think that's

00:21:56.660 a it's always been a pretty misguided organization um and i think that a lot of the information in

00:22:06.820 that book is is misguided but it's been a very long time since i've encountered it or read anything out

00:22:11.700 of it um okay what would i say to someone who's generally agrees with the afa's purpose and goals

00:22:27.860 but is more skeptical about the supernatural i think that's okay i think being skeptical

00:22:33.620 is probably a healthy thing what i would say most is

00:22:41.700 something to be said about opening yourself up um our our faith isn't one that demands

00:22:50.340 a thousand percent acceptance and commitment to it from day one sight unseen that's not the nature

00:22:56.820 of what we do your faith is built over time and it's built over what we call a gift cycle

00:23:02.580 or an exchange of energies between us and the divine.

00:23:05.600 What I would suggest, being skeptical is okay.

00:23:10.020 Shutting a door and being resolved to not believe in the supernatural,

00:23:15.620 I would say is not okay.

00:23:17.420 So I would encourage a person who is skeptical

00:23:21.040 but agrees with the AFA on everything else to give it a shot,

00:23:25.380 to attend ritual, to open their mind,

00:23:28.720 to maybe even make an offering and reach out

00:23:31.780 and just see what happens. I find that if you go in with an open mind or when new people come in

00:23:40.020 with an open mind and want to check out and see what bloat's about, it may not happen the first

00:23:44.840 time, may not happen the second time, but something awakens when they're there with their folk,

00:23:50.220 when they're standing in ritual in a sincere way with other Alcetruar. And when that connection

00:23:58.500 with the gods happens, it's very real. And there's no way for me to, I guess the analogy that's

00:24:06.500 closest to me, and I don't know if this makes sense to everybody or whatever, but if you've

00:24:11.060 ever been hunting, whenever you go out hunting, you're so excited and you want to see stuff and

00:24:15.120 you're hunting in every stump or dark spot in the woods or slight movement of a branch

00:24:23.580 is that animal you're hunting. You know, it's like that when you're moose hunting in Alaska,

00:24:27.900 It's my experience. And every, every anything that you mind could possibly think is a moose, that must be one. Oh, no, it's not. No, that's it. No, it's not. But when you see what you're after and you actually see one and you're, you're blown away and you have, you know, how could you have been fooled by this other stuff? There it is.

00:24:45.840 i've seen that with ritual too and it's one of the most special things i've been able to do

00:24:51.540 as a gothi is sometimes to help facilitate that or to be there when i see in someone else's eyes

00:24:59.800 when our gods and the divine becomes real to them when all of a sudden they're struck by the reality

00:25:06.040 of what we're doing that's a really special thing so like i'd say i'd encourage i'd encourage folks

00:25:11.880 to come in with an open mind and open heart and see what happens.

00:25:16.120 I can't guarantee anything, but I think there's good odds

00:25:18.960 that something really special will happen in that person's life.

00:25:35.380 The inner guard and out guard, the inner and the outer yard.

00:25:41.880 So I got a question on explaining that a little bit. And I guess the concept of that is where you draw the line on people who are inside your circle, who you have frith with, and people on the outside of your circle who you don't have that frith relationship with.

00:25:58.560 And I think that you can define this depending on the situation more or less broadly. But there's people who are in your inner circle that you have a high degree of loyalty to, that you have commitments to, and that you have reciprocal relationships and understandings with.

00:26:18.880 and to those people you owe a heightened level of openness, of honesty, of

00:26:27.260 getting along and of treating well. And then there's people in the outer circle that you

00:26:34.660 don't have those agreements with. You guys haven't had those exchanges. There's not that

00:26:40.620 understanding of that reciprocity and there's not that situation. So those people you tend to be

00:26:46.340 more closed and more cautious with. The people in your inner circle, it's a very high trust

00:26:51.540 environment. The people in the outer yard, much less so. And I think that's the bare bones of

00:26:58.220 the inner guard and the out guard.

00:27:16.340 um so alistair has a good question about uh focus house true in canada and what my thoughts are on

00:27:33.060 it and erring on the side of caution when there's a government that's much more restrictive

00:27:38.900 and much more liberal than our government here in the united states

00:27:46.340 Um, I don't know the exact letter of all the laws in Canada. And I want you to stay on the right side of that. And, you know, be law abiding. But I encourage everybody to be sincere in their faith. And I think as much as is humanly possible, you should live your faith openly, and you should live your faith proudly.

00:28:10.220 i'm not sure what rules were come to this in canada but as far as you can i don't think you

00:28:18.740 should err on the side of caution i think you should err on the side of truth and the side of

00:28:22.640 openness you should use your real name your real faith or your real face and be proud of your faith

00:28:29.060 be proud of your beliefs and be proud of of where you stand i think the only way for any of this to

00:28:36.060 get better is for people to show their face in daylight and stand behind the things they believe.

00:28:44.200 I understand that's more difficult in governments where the rules are a little bit different.

00:28:51.120 So I can't speak as an expert on that, not being a Canadian citizen. But as far as legally

00:28:58.480 permissible, you should be open and proud of who you are and what you believe in. And that's the

00:29:04.180 only way to make it better for your children and your children's children who follow along in this

00:29:09.300 faith.

00:29:34.180 Um, Alistair, as far as where somebody should begin on rune study, um, and you said besides the obvious, which is, is, uh, Thorson's Futhark work, all roads lead to Edred Thorson.

00:29:54.040 um they really do when it comes to runic study uh he is the source of that study

00:30:03.840 for modern house to true i don't vouch for everything that man believes or everything

00:30:11.540 about his lifestyle but his runic knowledge is extensive he's put in the time and he's devoted

00:30:18.100 his entire adult life to a an unbiased understanding of the runes um i think his

00:30:23.940 work is very good futhark is certainly a really good place to start but he's written several other

00:30:28.660 books that i think are very good on it um runemite is a one of his that i think is particularly

00:30:35.700 useful and the one that i like and i think is not talked about as much is alu also by edrid

00:30:44.260 and i think that one is very very useful and it talks a lot more about practical application than

00:30:50.260 some of his other books another one that's not by edrid but is by a rune guild member that i think

00:30:57.940 is very simple and very good for younger people or people who are brand new to trying to study

00:31:04.260 the runes and that's the runes workbook by leon wild um i really like that that was you know one

00:31:11.860 of the ones i read earlier on and and i think it's very it's very accessible to people who are just

00:31:18.420 starting out on learning about the runes so i always like to recommend that book

00:31:24.580 i actually found that at the time in a barnes and noble so that one has sold fairly mainstream and

00:31:30.900 has had some success that way so it should be hopefully easy to find but i think that one's

00:31:35.700 always one i recommend to people who are new just starting out in their their runic studies

00:31:41.860 um

00:31:55.860 Absolutely, Rachel.

00:32:09.180 For a long time, there was a lot of ossature that were, I don't know, that claimed to be solitary practitioners.

00:32:18.740 And I think that, you know, there's occasions in your life where that may be the case.

00:32:23.140 If you, you know, if you're stationed in some obscure place or your work or your life has you in, you know, some foreign, drastically foreign country to where none of your folklore are around, I think that that makes sense.

00:32:40.260 If you're incarcerated in some way, I think solitary practice makes some sense.

00:32:46.240 if you're homesteading out in the middle of nowhere, I mean, you make the best of your

00:32:51.400 situation. But if you have the option, also true is, is meant to be a community faith that always

00:32:59.140 has been the community was everything to our ancestors. Also true was born out of our folk

00:33:07.940 relating to our gods as a community and as a family. And I think that's where you see the

00:33:14.200 fullness of this faith is when practiced within a community. So if you can, if it's at all possible,

00:33:21.660 I can't encourage you enough to get involved with local AFA members in your area and to practice

00:33:26.300 also true as a community, as a folk. When you get together in ritual,

00:33:34.200 you become, something magical happens. You become much more than the sum of your parts.

00:33:38.360 You know, by the fact of you participating in ritual as a group, it magnifies the power of what you're doing in a way that you don't get individually.

00:33:53.260 That said, anyone listening, if you agree with this, if you want to be involved and you want to reach out and be part of this, I would highly invite you to join the House True Folk Assembly.

00:34:08.360 There's a join link at www.runestone.org.

00:34:14.760 We'd love to have you be a part of this and help move into the future with us together and strong before our gods.

00:34:23.240 So please consider that if you're listening and you like what we're doing.

00:34:35.160 Got a lot of activity in the chat room today.

00:34:38.360 uh who would the norse sky god be i think that the

00:34:45.720 the easiest answer for that would be tear um the god of the bright sky um the sky father

00:34:56.300 if you will i think tear would be the most easy example of that but i think that if you're looking

00:35:02.400 at filling archetypical sky god roles within an Aryan context, I think that both Odin and Thor

00:35:13.200 have roles of that, certainly with the storm, with the thunder, with the lightning, with the

00:35:21.360 night sky. But I think when you think of the bright day sky, Tyr is the best example of the sky god

00:35:29.540 of, of, of our pantheon.

00:35:47.180 Heathen man, I'll be on the lookout for Alpha Crab.

00:35:52.040 We don't have any, any interviews or show invitations coming up.

00:35:57.200 I'm always open to that.

00:35:58.780 i'm certainly open to that when we have anybody who's fair-minded or familiar or wants to talk

00:36:03.580 about alsatru um but yeah i'll let folks know as soon as those are become available i think

00:36:11.100 the next thing we're doing is my next uh my next monthly chat like we're doing right now

00:36:16.220 um but yeah i'm always open to that if if you know folks that are interested in

00:36:21.340 you know having the discussion or wanting to do an interview please send them our way

00:36:28.780 um z moon what happened to the flags that were listed on the website it's no longer there i'm

00:36:39.080 not sure which flags you're looking at we recently ran out of stock and i had to restock

00:36:43.020 um we got a flag order in i want to say two just about two weeks ago so i would check back on the

00:36:51.780 website and see if they're in stock if you have a question about it though please email me

00:36:56.420 at Matt Flavell at runestone.org. I'd be happy to look into it and see what we can figure out for

00:37:06.020 you. But we should have all of our flags back in stock. We don't have our 25th anniversary flag

00:37:12.360 because that was a limited edition item. And we are now, shoot, that was a while ago. We're now

00:37:21.140 into our 28th, yeah, now into our 28th year, we got 27 years in the books now. So

00:37:38.700 So that's the only one I think we're out of.

00:37:49.420 Goethe Stam, glad you could join us.

00:38:08.700 Alu would be spelled A-L-U, and that's based on the runic formula, Ansuz, Laguz, Uruz.

00:38:21.160 And that was, you know, one of the most well-attested, not linguistic, but magical runic formulas of our ancestors.

00:38:32.800 And it has a lot of connotations in what we do in ritual.

00:38:36.020 There's a lot more to that Alu formula.

00:38:38.700 a lot of these questions i answer and i look and our gothar or our folk builders or just other

00:39:00.160 members are answering them in the chat i appreciate the help guys that's great and i think it helps

00:39:04.700 people who look at these down the road um catlar they're going to be cloth patches with the afa

00:39:14.700 logo at some point there should be there absolutely should be and i think we can get on fixing that um

00:39:24.300 yeah i'll look into that when i make um another order of patches for our hoff districts i'll see

00:39:29.820 if i can get a just the afa logo and a patch as well i'll absolutely look into that and hopefully

00:39:34.700 we'll have one of those coming up soon

00:39:59.820 all right

00:40:02.460 uh z moon if you're looking for the flags of the different kindreds our contact page has been

00:40:18.060 changed around because now we have uh our own web pages for each of our hoff districts we're

00:40:24.060 getting so big and so uh so widespread that it just wasn't all fitting on that one page anymore

00:40:29.420 it was becoming confusing so for the odenshoff district it's www.odenshoff.org

00:40:39.820 for thorshoff district it's www.thorshoff.com and for baldershoff district it's www.baldershoff.org

00:40:54.060 and the flags of the different kindreds are all listed there as well as the local contacts in

00:40:59.420 those areas and those are really cool websites our folk builder jessica lambert put a lot of

00:41:04.380 a lot of love into making those really beautiful for us and one of the coolest things on there

00:41:09.340 is our event calendars they show all of the amazing activities that we've got going on

00:41:15.180 all of the time in the outstreet folk assembly and it's really it's really neat and it shows you

00:41:19.660 you know stuff that's local to you that you could possibly attend so please do check by

00:41:24.700 any of those websites and check out the event calendars and come out to those events if you can

00:41:49.660 sorry guys still looking over on the side we got a lot to lot to wade through over there

00:42:19.660 About the Ulf Hednar, what, over on the side, we have a question about talking about the

00:42:33.320 Ulf Hednar. What would you like to know about them? What would you like me to address in

00:42:38.920 regards to the whole fit in our shameless i'm sorry that you think that um clearly we disagree

00:42:52.200 wonder why you'd show up to to tell us that tonight

00:42:55.640 um so we have a question will there be hops dedicated to the goddesses at some point there

00:43:12.020 absolutely will and we have plans to do that um we have a very specific order that we're going in

00:43:18.920 It was something that we committed to and are part of a cycle with a long time ago.

00:43:26.060 And that was listing the gods and the goddesses in the order that they came up in the Gilfagening poem in the Edda. 0.92

00:43:33.820 As soon as we're done with the 12 Hoffs towards our 12 gods, we will begin with our goddesses. 0.92

00:43:43.740 And so there's a lot of those coming up, but we do have a little ways before those Hoffs happen. 0.94

00:43:47.920 but there absolutely will be Hoffs dedicated to our goddesses, and I look forward to that.

00:44:08.160 I'm answering questions way back because we got so much going on on the side, working on it.

00:44:17.920 ah i hope i'm understanding the question so uh would i feel a neat we need a living breathing

00:44:33.040 actual school of thought the christian contrast was appropriate in regards to the pagan futures

00:44:38.240 conference would you say we need both i'm not really sure i understand the question

00:44:44.720 I think that there's plenty of room for philosophy and, you know, schools of thought as the richness of Ausitru develops, but I think practice and doing is always much more important than thinking about.

00:45:03.880 I think thinking is really important. Planning is very important. But the best created plans that are never executed are very, very little value. The value comes in the doing and the achieving.

00:45:19.460 um going out there and participating in also true is is infinitely more important than

00:45:27.620 philosophizing about what could be while not being part of what is uh i think that that

00:45:35.460 there's not even a comparison i think that assuming you do practice then absolutely

00:45:40.940 there's tons of room to to think and to come up with schools of thought and really refine and

00:45:48.760 develop the richness that our faith has to offer. We have a lot of folks doing that within the

00:45:53.980 House of True Folk Assembly, but what comes first and foremost is building that relationship with

00:45:59.020 the gods and participating in that active relationship with the gods. So often we get

00:46:06.560 the analysis paralysis to where we're so busy thinking of what should happen or,

00:46:15.400 you know, navel-gazing that we don't get up and get out and actually do. And now we're living in

00:46:21.580 a time, especially inspired this time of year, where it's the time to do. It's the time to go

00:46:27.300 out and be part of something and not sit in the basement and contemplate what could be,

00:46:34.920 but go out and make what should be happen.

00:46:37.280 Matthew, it is absolutely easy to join the AFA. We do do a little bit of background check as far

00:46:50.640 as to make sure that our families are safe, but it's very easy to join the AFA. We want all of

00:46:57.320 our folk who are safe and healthy for our families to be around to come home to Ausitru, to come home

00:47:05.280 to the Astro Folk Assembly. If it's something you've been thinking about doing, you should give

00:47:08.900 it a try. I would love to see that. If you're interested, you can apply at runestone.org.

00:47:24.920 And Lion of Apollo, I just want to say again, I don't mean to downplay academics. It's very

00:47:29.520 important i think that most all of us here are you know have a love of history have a love of

00:47:37.040 archaeology a love of literature many of us a love of philosophy so i don't i don't downplay

00:47:44.160 any of those things but all those things should equip us to live our life instead of prevent us

00:47:50.560 from actively living our lives when the two work in harmony i think that's beautiful when the one

00:47:57.040 detracts from the other especially when the the thinking stops the doing i think that's a that's a

00:48:05.840 significant problem in our circles and i think that's one of the reasons i talk about it so much

00:48:10.240 i don't ever want to downplay the amazing things about history i love history

00:48:14.720 a day doesn't go by that i'm not listening to a historical podcast or reading a book about history

00:48:21.840 or biography or both so please don't think that i'm downplaying any of that i'm not i promise

00:48:27.040 james i think everybody likes snacks in their room i will again thank you for the amazing

00:48:46.520 snack basket i had in my room at lc fest it was fantastic you even remembered that i love the

00:48:52.800 the dried apricots. Thank you, James. It was delicious.

00:49:14.600 Hey, Fawn, it's great to see you here. I hope you're doing good.

00:49:22.800 Hmm okay.

00:49:49.520 Okay. Solutrian asks, some people debate if there's a political solution. Do you think the

00:49:56.700 AFA offers a religious solution that is superior to what other activists slash political groups

00:50:02.980 offer? Yes, or I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing. I think that politics and religion

00:50:11.080 certainly have a relationship but your your religious values should inform your politics

00:50:19.480 and not the other way around i think that

00:50:25.160 hey aubrey i think that good politics come from good values and good people with good goals and i

00:50:32.840 think that we're so many people are very frustrated with the world around them look this is my

00:50:41.480 beautiful baby girl two years old got chocolate on her face because she had a kitkat and she's

00:50:46.520 squirmy so i think this is a brief appearance this evening but i appreciate her coming and

00:50:50.840 saying hi what i'm saying about the politics though is um we all have different things we

00:50:57.800 want to see in the world and i would never encourage people not to be politically active

00:51:01.320 go out there and make a change in the world where you can but i've known a lot of people that have

00:51:07.400 been involved in all kind of politics all of their adult lives and haven't seen haven't seen their

00:51:14.600 world really get better by it but everyone i know who's been involved in the afa for any amount of

00:51:20.440 time has seen has seen the world get better has seen us build community for our folk has seen us

00:51:28.360 build a place a safe haven for values that we share for healthy places to raise our families

00:51:36.280 it's been overwhelmingly beautiful and i think that's the most accessible solution

00:51:42.920 if there's ways to fix the big picture at some point that's fantastic but right now

00:51:48.280 we have the opportunity within our afa family to continue to build something that is truly

00:51:53.800 changing lives and it's beautiful and if you haven't been a part of it it's hard to it's hard

00:52:00.840 to explain how serious or how big that is but i've watched this you know i've

00:52:09.720 i've watched all of these things that i wanted to see happen in life and and they were distant

00:52:16.040 dreams a lot with us having hoffs and having the amazing afa community we have and now i get to

00:52:22.200 to watch my daughter grow up playing with other AFA kids at families like my own that

00:52:29.920 were built through the Astru Folk Assembly. We're fixed it to play at Hoffs dedicated 0.96

00:52:37.480 to our gods within the AFA. And it's good that we have Gauthier Stamm on over on the

00:52:44.300 side, but starting next month, we're going to launch our homeschool program so we can

00:52:50.180 raise our children and help educate our children in a way that supports our worldview, our faith

00:52:56.540 and our values and shelters them from some of the very toxic things that are out there in the world

00:53:02.060 today. So I think that the religious solution offered by the AFA is the best place to go and

00:53:07.320 the best place to start. And it doesn't stop or hamper any political solution. It's just good in

00:53:13.940 and of itself. And if you've got the AFA, then you can go out from that place and pursue

00:53:20.180 political things that you feel are beneficial and the right thing to do.

00:53:25.660 But the AFA is your base and is your home for that.

00:53:30.260 That's what our folk need. Our founder, Steve McDowell, always talked about how our folk

00:53:35.020 suffer from a soul sickness. The AFA is the cure to that. And when we are whole again,

00:53:42.860 And when we're supported by a faith community that supports our values, then we're in a much better place to do anything in the world, be a political activist or not.

00:54:12.860 I don't mean to have so much dead air.

00:54:40.440 I just got to got to have a way of keeping up with the chat, too.

00:54:43.480 So stay with me and watch my odd facial expressions, I guess, while I'm looking on this.

00:54:53.900 So a guy who was asking about the Northmen, we got one guy on the side, said it was not good.

00:54:58.420 what is the order of the gods in that poem all right catalyst so this is the order that we're

00:55:15.380 going to have our hofs in um 12 gods in that poem and it's a little bit confusing so you've

00:55:23.040 got to read it very carefully in the gilfaggening though it lists the gods that are depending on

00:55:28.100 your translation, worthy of worship or beneficial for mankind to worship. And those gods are in this 0.95

00:55:34.160 order. Bothan, Thor, Baldr, Njordr, Freyr, Tir, Bragi, Heimdall, Vidar, Vali, Ullr, and Forseti.

00:55:50.020 And that's the order that we're establishing our hafs in.

00:55:58.100 And anybody who wants to check that out on their own, it's the poem called The Gilfaggining in the Etta.

00:56:05.100 um alistar that's a good question um he has a has a question about addiction and uh

00:56:29.100 and how that the Alcitru principle of victory can help folks overcome personal battles.

00:56:36.560 We have a lot of people in the AFA, and I don't think it's us specifically,

00:56:40.840 but I think it's the world that we live in that struggle with addiction.

00:56:45.140 And Alcitru has helped a lot of people overcome that.

00:56:48.200 Um, I think one thing, one thing that I believe about house of truth is that it's very empowering. If you're responsible, unlike some other creeds, if you're responsible for your actions, and if you, you bear the, the honor and the glory for achievement,

00:57:17.040 but also the shame of failure, then you're in a position to fix that. If everything is within 0.99

00:57:24.080 your power to make a difference in, then you have a lot that you can do to make everything better.

00:57:32.160 If it's your fault, then you can stop it and you can fix it. If it's somebody else's fault or some

00:57:37.760 cruel twist of fate, there's very little you can do. But if it's your fault and your responsibility

00:57:43.400 and you're the hero that can fix things in your own saga, then the world is at your fingertips.

00:57:51.840 You're in a spot to make everything better. You can start today and make tomorrow better than

00:57:56.960 yesterday. And I think that idea and the idea of stacking those victories and honoring our gods

00:58:04.760 by placing victory upon the altar of our gods, that's huge. And I know that that's empowered a

00:58:14.060 lot of people to take responsibility in their lives, in their families, and with addiction

00:58:19.740 or anything else that they struggle with. We are the people that strive, that conquer,

00:58:27.640 that succeed. Victory is inherent to our folk. And we are all in a position to be more and be

00:58:35.900 better than we are. And I think that should encourage all of us to be a little bit better

00:58:40.680 tomorrow than we are today.

00:58:57.640 Thank you.

00:59:27.620 month. I really like getting a chance to talk to you guys this way. I hope that I'm able to answer

00:59:32.560 you guys' questions and provide some valuable insight for you guys. I appreciate you guys so

00:59:39.440 much being here and listening and participating. I don't know if there's a lot of trolls or it's

00:59:51.200 just the same troll over and over again, or just what we're dealing with tonight, but

00:59:56.760 shows that we've got an audience and that folks are listening, and I suppose that's a good thing.

01:00:21.200 King of cheese, I am very glad that you feel that way about joining the AFA. He said over inside,

01:00:31.300 if you can't see this in the replay, that in the short time he's been a member, the AFA has helped

01:00:37.880 him turn himself around, and that joining was one of the best decisions he ever made.

01:00:43.340 I feel that way personally as well, and I'm really, really glad that you feel that way.

01:00:51.200 My wife, Mandy, is working hard. We appreciate you in the moderator chair. Thank you so much.

01:00:57.500 um so we got a question about the afa hats uh now i gotta find my place and where i was in the chat

01:01:26.800 We've got a question if the AFA hats will come back on sale at the store.

01:01:33.760 Yes, at some point we will have hats back on there.

01:01:36.340 We just got one of our own members to make our products in-house.

01:01:40.920 She's doing stuff made to order.

01:01:42.560 She's the one responsible for all of the shirts that have gone up in this last month. 0.97

01:01:46.760 I think the next thing she's going to tackle is athletic wear, some gym shorts, some tank tops, and things like that for the summer. 0.51

01:01:53.820 but yes we will absolutely get some more hats going and that's afa member and folk

01:02:00.060 builder melissa mills thank you so much melissa you're making beautiful stuff and we really

01:02:04.540 appreciate it

01:02:25.020 um thackeray are am i ever harassed for my beliefs i don't know if that's a me

01:02:33.340 question or an afa question online i suppose we're harassed for our beliefs often in reality

01:02:41.020 and in person not ever not once um i think a lot of this is a really easy thing for kids to do

01:02:50.220 online activism and get all excited about but i think in reality it's much harder to do that when

01:02:57.180 you have to look somebody in the face and not not for fear but it's different when you're dealing

01:03:02.940 with a nice a nice and friendly person in front of you that's happy and you just decide to say

01:03:08.140 rude stuff to them a lot of people who say rude things on the internet aren't the same kind of

01:03:13.580 folks that say rude things to your face in person for a variety of reasons but no i'm never harassed

01:03:18.780 for it in real life um but yeah online i think we face harassment for our beliefs all the time

01:03:24.460 Matthew I'm glad to hear you're going to submit an application

01:03:31.360 that's great sorry my wife just walked in and looked at me funny I wasn't sure what that is

01:03:39.780 hopefully I don't got something on my face

01:03:41.740 wow I'm so behind on this chat please bear with me guys I appreciate that

01:03:54.460 Z-Moon, I'm not sure what situation you're talking about. If you gave me a little bit

01:04:08.700 more detail, I can respond to it better. Yeah, please, if you could provide more detail on

01:04:14.440 what you're asking, I could give you a better answer. I'm not trying to duck you. I'm just

01:04:17.440 not really sure what situation you're referring to.

01:04:24.460 Alistair. Yes, he asked if I've got any recommendations for single young men and women looking to start families on their own.

01:04:35.460 Come to AFA events. I know that it is way easier said than done, but I feel I feel like I can say this.

01:04:45.460 I lived in Alaska when I met Mandy and Mandy lived in Florida and we we met at an AFA event

01:04:52.960 at winter nights in the Poconos and here we are we've been married for I got a math been married

01:05:02.820 for almost five years and we have a beautiful baby daughter and a life that we truly love

01:05:08.900 Um, I've seen a lot of families created within the AFA. It's very important. Please don't

01:05:17.840 compromise on your values in order to start a family. I know, I know what it's like to feel

01:05:23.120 lonely. I know what it's like to really want to start something and to, you know, feel like you're

01:05:28.180 stuck with the options you have. Build your family within the AFA, build your family based on common

01:05:36.600 values and a common relationship with our gods. And they will bless you and amazing things will

01:05:44.180 happen for you. I've watched it happen over and over again. I watched it happen. I was able to

01:05:51.660 perform a baby naming and a wedding for an AFA couple at the LC Fest that I was at this last

01:05:57.360 month. It's absolutely real thing. I can't say it enough. Build your family within the AFA and

01:06:04.420 and build your family with the gods in mind.

01:06:30.640 Z-Moon, we have people in Michigan.

01:06:32.840 Um, oftentimes the folks in Michigan interact with our Ohio folks or our Wisconsin folks

01:06:38.960 or our Indiana or Illinois folks, if you're willing. And here's the thing. Do we have folks

01:06:46.340 in your town? Maybe, but chances are, if you want to be involved, you got to drive a little bit,

01:06:51.980 but the distance is much shorter today than it was before. And all it takes is for people in

01:06:58.260 your area to get together, to join, to stick around until other people join. And then there

01:07:02.620 you know you have a group but yeah surrounding michigan we've got some very good groups with

01:07:07.500 decent numbers of people in michigan we've got quite a few members um but again they haven't

01:07:13.020 coalesced into their own group in michigan yet michigan's tricky they've got the upper peninsula

01:07:18.300 and i don't know what you call the lower peninsula i guess but it makes michigan a

01:07:23.260 little bit trickier usually the upper peninsula guys go to wisconsin but we do absolutely have

01:07:29.900 members of michigan

01:07:52.380 does the afa have a day that we worship once a week like uh like a christian church does

01:07:57.820 no we don't once a week typically because everybody is as spread out as we are um we get together

01:08:06.220 usually once a month local communities and local kindreds are getting together all of the time but

01:08:12.040 our hoffs we have services there at least once a month um and the more we get local people closer

01:08:18.700 together and the more we get more hoffs though those uh the frequency of events of those hoffs

01:08:24.820 will increase, certainly.

01:08:26.100 But right now, each Hoff has a major gathering

01:08:29.800 at least once a month.

01:08:43.740 We are all very, very excited about the homeschool program.

01:08:48.640 We're starting our kindergarten class

01:08:50.480 for the homeschool program, like I said,

01:08:53.000 at the beginning of next month.

01:08:54.300 Goofy Rob Stamm over on the side here is the dean of our homeschool.

01:08:58.600 We are committed to, at the very least, us, and I hope this makes sense the way I describe it, but having another grade level ready by the beginning of each new school year.

01:09:10.080 We may go faster than that if we can, but at the minimum, the kindergarten class that starts this fall, we will follow them all the way through, and they can be within our homeschooling program all the way to be graduating class of 2035.

01:09:24.300 um like i said it'd be nice to move faster than that but we don't want to rush it we want to make

01:09:30.040 sure we do it right and kindergartners starting starting this fall will be able to go all the way

01:09:36.100 through their their uh all the way through 12th grade with the house true folk assembly

01:09:41.220 uh robert burgess um i'm glad that you think that uh he says with the cultural marxism everywhere

01:09:59.860 a community like the afa is a seems like healthy place for his son and need to grow

01:10:04.260 we are. I'm glad that you think we are, and I'm excited for you and your son to be a part of that

01:10:13.200 and for us to grow together. We do our very best to provide the very best community that we can

01:10:20.740 that honors our gods, honors our folk, and builds for the next generation.

01:10:34.260 um this is the odenshoff flag uh each of our hoffs have their own flag this one says do

01:10:46.020 right and fear none that is the uh i fear no one rather that is the odenshoff motto

01:10:52.900 and i have it back there because i am in the odenshoff district if you look at the website

01:10:57.460 that composes most of the western united states western portions of canada and it also composes

01:11:04.660 australia and new zealand

01:11:14.740 fair enough alistair i need some elevator music to play while i'm reading the chat over on the side

01:11:19.700 uh king of cheese sorry tony i just really like the name on there so i got to keep referring to

01:11:30.540 you as the king of cheese um i'm really glad to hear you had a good experience with fray

01:11:36.940 with lighting candles it can be as simple as that lighting a candle on your altar maybe burning

01:11:42.560 some incense and just just opening yourself to the gods sometimes has really powerful results

01:11:48.780 I know that's how I started, and that's why I'm here today doing what I do.

01:12:02.600 Oh, wow.

01:12:03.420 I didn't realize that it's 7-12.

01:12:05.720 It's going a little bit over what I'm used to here.

01:12:08.400 All right.

01:12:08.720 Let me keep looking on the side.

01:12:10.640 It's not a rush.

01:12:11.620 all right so joel says he likes the northman and it was great

01:12:20.300 so i don't know not having seen it i can't judge getting a variety of opinions on the side

01:12:25.920 Okay, so I get a question. I get this question kind of often. For professionals, how should we

01:12:43.740 approach joining the AFA openly and reducing the stigma with those we encounter during our work

01:12:49.500 life. Be a good person. When you get people to know you and who you are, and you present yourself

01:13:04.880 well, when they find out what your beliefs are, they have to mesh those with the person that they

01:13:14.240 no. So when people accuse you of being some hateful, mean-spirited person, but these people

01:13:20.760 know you to be a good worker, a nice, a friendly, a family-oriented, noble person, those things

01:13:27.440 don't mesh. If you build a reputation for being noble and being kind and helpful and a good

01:13:37.000 person, it makes it much easier if somebody finds out something that they read that's

01:13:44.820 controversial about you or about your church or what you believe. Building those relationships

01:13:49.680 and building a reputation of being a noble and good person, it sounds very simple, but that

01:13:57.580 really is the key to everything. And the more you do that, it helps me, it helps the next guy,

01:14:03.520 it helps everyone else. The more our members are known for being a certain way, if that way is

01:14:09.060 noble and good, it builds a reputation for those that follow to where they'll have an easier time

01:14:14.860 than maybe some of us have had. I'd say the other thing is be open and honest about your faith from

01:14:22.720 day one, and then you don't have to worry about it coming back to get you later. If you start out

01:14:28.220 and your people have no idea what you believe or who you are, and all of a sudden they find out

01:14:32.880 it's some big shock and it's strange. If your people know from day one who you are and what

01:14:37.240 you believe, then when somebody tries to out you in the future, it kind of fizzes. I think everyone

01:14:44.600 should consider that getting doxed doesn't equal getting fired and horrible things happening to

01:14:51.760 you. We have a lot of people that people try to dox or they find out about their faith and it

01:14:57.480 doesn't go anywhere. We have a lot of people that, you know, are welcomed by their employer

01:15:03.380 and encouraged to wear their hammer proudly and to be proud about their faith and post

01:15:08.080 things around. Everybody has to do what's right for their own situation. I understand

01:15:16.380 that. But you do yourself a big disservice by living in fear. I think that being authentic

01:15:24.240 and who you are and building a life to where you're authentic in all aspects of your life

01:15:28.720 is the best way to be happy and to build that reputation that you want for yourself and for

01:15:35.520 your family. And that's what I would encourage. Like I would encourage you wearing your hammer

01:15:39.680 from day one and answering questions. That is another thing that I think we all could do better

01:15:45.120 at. When people ask you questions about your faith, questions about the AFA, questions about

01:15:50.600 your hammer. If you act defensive or I don't talk about that, that looks terrible. If you're excited

01:15:58.100 and like, hey, I'm also true. Let me tell you about, you know, what we do. That's, that's great.

01:16:05.380 Openness is much, much better than being closed off and defensive. When you're proud of what you

01:16:12.580 believe, it shows and you shine with that nobility that being Aryan truly means. When you're

01:16:20.020 secretive and cagey and acting suspicious, that sends off on a very primal level everybody's red

01:16:26.480 flags that you have something to hide and that clearly you're up to no good. So be happy and be

01:16:33.060 what the sagas call be a glad man when you do things. Wear a smile and be proud of who you are

01:16:38.140 and keep your head up.

01:16:50.020 all right guys um it uh it's been a little while now we're a little bit over the time we usually do

01:17:13.940 i'm gonna let you guys go but i want to give you a chance if anybody has any last

01:17:17.460 minute questions they didn't get answered or anything they want to hear me talk about

01:17:21.460 before we end it tonight please just take a minute we'll give it a couple of minutes here

01:17:25.860 and if you have something please ask on the side thank you so much for all the great questions

01:17:30.580 tonight and all of the activity in the chat room it's really great to see everybody engaged and so

01:17:35.940 many of you being here and being part of these while i wait for any last minute questions i want

01:17:58.420 to encourage anybody who's listening to this that is interested go to www.runestone.org

01:18:04.820 and if you want to join and be part of what we're doing, please do. There's a join button there.

01:18:11.140 We'd love to have you be a part of it. We've got great things going on and we, you know, a part of

01:18:16.260 our declaration of purpose is issuing the call for all of our folk to come home to our gods,

01:18:21.060 come home to our AFA. So I'd encourage you guys to do that. Got one last question I see over on

01:18:31.540 the side how's the bjj going i don't do brazilian jiu-jitsu i do uh japanese jiu-jitsu it's going

01:18:38.080 really well um i'm a brown belt at it so far and i'm working really hard to try to advance and get

01:18:46.480 that black belt um dealing with some old man joint stuff but it's going really good uh i appreciate

01:18:52.820 you asking um yeah it's really neat and i was able to find a really cool dojo here in reno so i

01:18:58.180 appreciate that. All right, guys, thank you so much for

01:19:05.440 participating and being here tonight. I appreciate you. I

01:19:08.060 appreciate all this opportunity to interact with you guys each

01:19:11.460 month. Look forward to talking to you guys next month. Till then,

01:19:16.300 hail the gods, hail the folk, hail the AFA.

Asatru Folk Assembly - May 03, 2022

May 2022 Live Discussion

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