Folk Religion

Introduction

The subject of ancient religious practice is fraught with issues, mostly due to the unfortunate reality that most of the beliefs and practices of ancestral White European tribes have been either erased, or refactored and rewritten by Christianity.

This isn't the end of the world, though! We do know some of the basic ideas behind our ancestors' spiritual traditions, and we can use this information as a foundation for building a strong framework for our religious practices and spiritual beliefs.

So what do we know?

The Pantheon of Gods

Of all the gods, Mercury is he whom they worship most. To him on certain stated days it is lawful to offer even human victims. Hercules and Mars they appease with beasts usually allowed for sacrifice. Some of the Suevians make likewise immolations to Isis. Concerning the cause and origin of this foreign sacrifice I have found small light; that the figure of her image is fashioned like a light galley, shows that such devotion arrived from abroad..

Germania

Like many other Roman ethnographies, Germania correlates the native named gods of the Germanic tribes with the gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon. References to Mercury, Hercules, and Mars are obviously not native to the Germanic people; they had their own names for the gods of various attributes or needs. Many tribes had their own unique god names, too! This is good news for us as modern practitioners of folkism - our gods know who we are. Even if we aren't using the “right” names to communicate with them, they're listening.

This excerpt also makes reference to the practice of human sacrifice. While this isn't impossible, it's important to recognize that Rome frequently characterized foreign cultures as being primitive, violent, and savage - including the slaughtering of humans to appease their equally primitive, violent, and savage gods. Rome once described Christians in this way, accusing them of sacrificing the abandoned babies they reportedly would adopt and care for.

There is no reliable record of the practice of ritual human sacrifice among the ancient White tribes of Europe. Seeing today how certain ideologies or worldviews are intentionally misrepresented and poisoned, it's clear this subversive tactic is nothing new. The people described in Germania are far from primitive, savage beasts. They valued human life very prominently in their culture, which makes me even more skeptical of these accusations.

The All-Father (All-Maker)

Both Germanics and Nords particularly observe and revere Odin, who is seen as the founder of their people, and the creator of the world. Odin is sometimes referred to as the All-Father, which is a nod to his status as the primary founding god.

This basic god concept is not unusual among Germanics and Nords. In fact, it seems to be common across many tribes of people who lack any other evident shared cultural elements. Beyond the people lies creation, which extends far beyond a single race, nation, or tribe. Each tribe may have its own myths regarding the origin of the world, but these are abstract and secondary to the more important central thesis: that our existence is the product of a creative force, and it is therefore deliberate and valuable. This realization can be a very strong defense against the creep of atheism and nihilism.

Reverence and Worship

Nature Reverence

For the rest, from the grandeur and majesty of beings celestial, they judge it altogether unsuitable to hold the Gods enclosed within walls, or to represent them under any human likeness. They consecrate whole woods and groves, and by the names of the Gods they call these recesses; divinities these, which only in contemplation and mental reverence they behold.

Germania

Germania gives us a picture of god worship in which nature itself is greater than the people, as evidenced by their refusal to create temples, tabernacles, or other structures to contain the gods and their worship of the same. This is sometimes denigrated as “nature worship” by Christians and others, but such a term is inaccurate. Our ancestors didn't worship creation; they worshiped the creator through reverence of the creation.

By spending time out in the wilderness, we can connect with something much deeper and greater than our individual selves. We can see how vast the natural world truly is, and how small we are by comparison. This doesn't make our existence meaningless or trite; it simply reminds us that we are not the center of the universe, figuratively or literally.

Our awe of mountains, forests, rivers, and the stars themselves is not the deification of these things! It's an instinctive awareness that the world around us is intentionally created, and serves a purpose beyond ourselves. If you sense this awareness in yourself, don't suppress or silence it. Instead, pursue what your soul is pulling you toward! Sitting silently in a grove of trees, far away from human civilization and all its burdens, can be a remarkably spiritually invigorating experience.

Ancestor Veneration

As with the reverence of nature, the practice of ancestor veneration has long been demonized by Christians, who claim such practice is idolatrous and therefore sinful. Ancestor veneration has nothing to do with making lofty claims of infallibility and absolute sovereignty. In practice, ancestor veneration is about gratitude, and remaining consciously aware that the gift of life was bestowed upon you through generations of your own ancestry.

Christians thank their god for their lives, and for everything in the material world. Folkish tradition encourages us to thank our ancestors for our lives, and to show our gratitude through how we live. By living honorable lives, we honor the sacrifices made by those who preceded us, who struggled and persevered to continue our people's existence for generations to come.

There is another aspect to ancestor veneration which may not have necessarily been part of our ancestors' traditions and rituals.

Modern Folkism

Ancestors in America

For a long time now, Christianity has been central to how we understand life as it was in prehistory. As a result, our societies have focused on the writings which comprise the Christian scripture (i.e. the bible) to provide guidance, instruction, information, context, and understanding. What if our scriptures were something very different?

The founders of the United States - we call these men our founding fathers - left behind extensive repositories of their ideas, beliefs, and philosophies, through their collected writings (books and essays, as well as private correspondence) and speeches. We can learn a great deal from these collections, especially when it comes to fully understanding the intent and spirit behind our Constitution.

Rather than memorize bible verses, which only serve to promote a foreign ideology, we should be learning and memorizing the words of our founders. They were brilliant men who made many important observations about our societies as White Europeans (and their descendants) and how we operate as individuals.

There are many lessons to be had by reading the collected works of America's founders. The next time you find yourself reaching for the bible to answer some question about your life, or to provide some counsel or comfort, reach for the writings of the founders instead. The National Archives (a government agency) maintains an online repository of our founders' writings.

Books Instead of Bytes!

I strongly recommend every patriotic American keep a physical, hardcopy collection of our founders' words. The Library of America (LOA) specializes in publishing complete collections of several of the founders' writings, thoughts, and speeches. They are high quality books made with premium materials, and they are all fully indexed - something that makes learning from the founders much easier if you're just getting started.

If you decide to start investing in building your own library, LOA's slipcased Subscriber Edition books are the best option. You can find them on eBay and through Amazon Marketplace - just make sure you get one described and/or pictured as slipcased, or “subscriber edition.” If you find a copy missing its slipcase, you can contact LOA to buy a replacement.

Note: I am in no way affiliated with LOA. I just really like their books.