A Defense of My Kin and the Creed that Keeps us Trú

by T.A.Odinson Walsh,  l519-CG/CW

Be it through the unwaveringly wise words of the Herjan Dr. Casper Odinson Cröwell,the unquestionably credible work of Gothi Ron McVan,or the many other admirable and esteemed efforts of those who have contributed to our Cause over the last several years, the Holy Nation Of Odin has been quite clear in its comm­itment to the uncompromising advancement of the ethos that is Fundamentalist Odinism. While we have allowed for the civil discourse that is necessary to our interaction with a world and an age we are so often at odds with spiritually and culturally, we have never been vague or vacillating in respects to our Traditional Tenets, all of which we have taken great pains to explain through the print and computer-media outlets available to our hard-working editors and web masters. In short, we at the Holy Nation Of Odin have been unapologetically adamant in our efforts to help anyone who would wish to understand and/or join our Spiritual Family's Path know EXACTLY Where we stand, and PRECISELY how we proceed.

With all of this in mind, it is incomprehensible to me how those who have, of their own accord and claiming to have been inspired and enlightened by the work and wisdom of my beloved Brothers and Sisters, come to the door of our Hall professing allegiance and a desire to contribute to our collective cause only to, upon learning how very difficult our Path can be to maintain at times, decide that their desire is suddenly not so strong, and their allegiance not so apt. Ironically, these self-same types will often cite "political differences"(though we are PLAINLY a SPIRITUAL ORGANIZATION) for their lack of diligence, or claim to have "not quite comprehended" our actual agenda. To be frank, the pure, unadulterated bovine offal of which such pathetic excuses must be likened in order to forego ones word or pro­fessed pride in Spiritual Integrity, both sickens and saddens me. The former because I have little patience for the spineless, the latter because such moral cowardice causes me to wonder what will become of such an Honorable Spiritual Path-and the Voices of my Ancestors-if it is continuously entrusted to those too afraid to walk it. .
Henceforth, all of us to whom Odin's Holy Nation is our Eternal spiritual Home must understand more deeply the Runes with which we must ward the door of our Hall. We must take each step of our Path with a more constant awareness of the COURAGE OF CONVICTION that aspirants to our Holy Orders must comprehend. The experiment of acceptance based on "potential-or -promises" must, of necessity, be replaced by the embracement of an adamancy that accepts no one through our door who is not prepared to DEMONSTRATE their mutual determination for our common destination. While there may indeed be a deep desire to create a more broad reaching communal atmosphere for our Spiritual Nation, there must first be an insular-understanding of the focus of foundation.

Betimes must rise who few reapers has
And see to the work himself
Havamal, St.59

As is always the case for those forging new (or in our case, RENEWED) paths, the first few steps are the most difficult, and even the staunchest travelers will be tempted to accept the aid of strangers along the road. As the AllFather Odin's words above attest, however, we won't always have the aid we'd like to have, yet tasks must still be tended to, and sometimes we must resolve to do the work ourselves. Such should be the case when it comes to the Caretaking of our Fathers Holy Nation. Each of us must be prepared to do ALL the work ourselves, it necessary, rather than being too quick to believe in the commitment of those who have yet to establish their courage in our Faiths behalf. Yes, the vision of our fertile fields full of Kin who will help us carry in the Harvest is an appealing one, and without a doubt SHOULD be the hearts desire for collective Odinic Destiny, but coaxing folks to the field (where toil lurks! GASP!) in an age where so many expect ease and entitlement should be a task in which WE EXPECT there to be more shirkers than workers also it is im­perative that we plan the Harvest accordingly.

To those of you who have not yet formally aligned yourselves with Odin's Holy Nation/and who may feel as though I am dis­couraging you from doing so because your worth to our Spiritual Family is not yet readily apparent, know that I do NOT discount the very real Courage and Commitment you MAY bring to our Hall, and, by all means, encourage you to knock loudly at our door. I also, however, expect you to appreciate my Sacred Duties as the Chief Warder of the Holy Nation Of Odin and ask yourselves: When and if YOU TOO are admitted to our Hall/would YOU TOO not ex­pect me (and all your Brothers and Sisters) to act with the utmost diligence when it came to the preservation of the INTEGRIT -Y of our ethos? Would YOU TOO not expect of me the COURAGE of my PROFESSED CONVICTIONS? Would YOU TOO not expect that every man, woman and child in our Spiritual Community be afforded an atmosphere in which compromise was unacceptable, duty was unwaver­ing, and your Deities Laws were infallible? Such is the atmosphere esteemed Folk like Dr.Cröwell, Ron McVan, Linda Crowell, Harvald Odinson Jones, Vidar Odinson Harless/and so many others have set out to create for their Folk and Faith, and that anyone would suggest that their attentiveness to the INTEGRITY of that atmos­phere-which is in fact in/of itself the preservation of the ESSENCE OF ODINIC TRADITION-is somehow an exercise in "personal politics" is both an insult to the dedication with which these beloved Brothers and Sisters have approached their duty and an indication of ones profound ignorance when it comes to the duties the AllFather Odin will demand of ALL who would ultimately be found worthy to enter HIS HALL.

The unwise man thinks ay he will live
If from fighting he flees
But the ails and aches of old age dog him
though spears have spared him
Havamal, St.16

Here we fine NO ambiguity regarding whom the AllFather Odin will deem worthy of His Hall. Those unwilling to fight for what matters themselves cease to matter in the Gods Eyes. The Spirit­ual Fight which the members of the Holy Nation Of Odin have embraced is, admittedly, not for everyone. The "odds· are against us, our "foes" possess an inordinate amount of power, and the resources at our disposal are presently few. Fortunately/every Trú Odinists enclave knows, we possess a "weapon" which the greatest empires of history have cringed before and fallen to when those who had it were brave enough to use it. That "weapon" is our COLLECTIVE WILL AND RESOLVE, our unwavering ability to stand against-our opposition-and FOR our ethos-with the un­flagging belief that our foes, however powerful, will eventually understand that we cannot be broken and that none other shall decide OUR destiny.

Hail those who have been walking this Path with Courage and Conviction! Hail those who would walk this Path with us/with Courage and Conviction! And Hail Thee who knows that it IS the Courage and Conviction that keeps our creed TRÚ, spiritual, stability, personal progress, filial duty, lest we digress, absolute focus, infinite sight, discover the locus of Unstoppable Might.