Picture

Odinism is an ancient religion that honors Odin,[1] Thor, Frigg, Freyr, Freyja, Heimdallr, and other deities[2] from the Norse pantheon.[3][4] Some adherents view "Odinism" as synonymous with Ásatrú (which means "true to the gods"),[5][6][7][8] but others do not.[9] In addition, some see it as synonymous with Wotanism or Wodenism, but others disagree.[10][11]
 
In Scandinavia, the religion may be called Forn Sed.[12]
 
A formal union of some groups in Odinism and Ásatrú was attempted in 1997,[13] but it was dissolved in 2002.[14]

In recent years, Norse paganism has been referred to as Heathenry, but many avoid that term. [15], [16] 

​In this article, Odinism[17], [18], [19] refers to all movements devoted to the Norse gods and goddesses.

Beliefs

Odinists use ancient texts, known collectively as the Eddas, [20] [21] as "important primary sources of information on the old religion," and its theology and cosmology. According to the Odinist Fellowship, "the importance of the Eddas to the contemporary revival of Odinism" is "self-evident," and "no literate Odinist should fail to devote time to their study."[2][22]
 
In particular, the Codex Regius manuscript of the Poetic Edda is especially important.[23][24]

Odinists are polytheists. Many Odinists are "hard polytheists",[25] and they believe that the gods and goddesses are real beings with distinct personalities.[26]  Many Odinists believe that the gods and goddesses walk the Earth (Midgard) in human form, and E. Max Hyatt claimed that Odin and Frigg were guests in his home.[27]
 
A few, however, see the gods and goddesses as different aspects of nature or as Jungian archetypes.[28][29]

None of the gods are omnipotent. Indeed, a few possess disabilities, such as Tyr, who lost a hand, and Höðr, who is blind.[30]
 
Like all pagan religions, Odinism does not have a devil. In the words of Professor Walter Burkert, “There is no devil in the ancient religions, but each god has his dark and dangerous side.”  [31]
 
Odinists are not slaves to any deities. They do not kneel or bow their heads to the gods. Odinists (and Asatruar) believe they are "kin to the gods" and are also the "friends" of the gods.[32][33][34]
 
Odinist lore has two types of gods, the Æsir and the Vanir. [35]  These gods exist in a "mythic" past, a past that is not cut off from the present or set outside time, but co-occurs with it. [36]

Other important entities are the Giants or Jötuns. They are not evil, but they are the dangerous enemies of the gods.[37][38] Although constantly in conflict, the gods and the giants have a complex relationship. Odin, for example, has a Jotun mother, and Loki, a giant, made a blood brotherhood pact with Odin.[39] Notably, however, although the Aesir seduced giant females, they (unlike the Vanir) never married them. Also, the ásynjur, the females, were off-limits to Jotuns.[40]

Odinists strongly believe in the power of destiny or fate. Personified as the Norns, they are female beings who rule the destiny of humans and the gods and goddesses themselves.[41] According to Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the Völuspá, the three most important Norns are Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld.[42]

The Voluspa, in the Poetic Edda, describes the norns. The reference to "wood" refers to the runes:

Thence come the maidens
mighty in wisdom,
Three from the dwelling
down 'neath the tree;
Urth is one named,
Verthandi the next,--
On the wood they scored,--
and Skuld the third.
Laws they made there,
and life allotted
To the sons of men,
and set their fates.[43]

Afterlife Concepts

In general, Odinists believe these words of the Odinic Rite of Australia: "Our ancestors are sacred. Some are already living with the gods."

Odinism features what Régis Boyer called the "universal belief" in "multiple souls." [44]
 
The most important of these souls is Hugr (spirit, mood, thought, similar to the spiritus in Latin). The
hugr, a type of "free soul," can leave during sleep and take on the shape (hamr) of another human or animal and physically act in those forms[45] Another soul is the fylgia or double (like Egyptian ka or Greek eidilon) Fylgia is from verb "to follow." It often took the form of an animal ( the mental state of individual determined that) When an individual saw his fylgia while awake it was an omen of death.[45]

The most celebrated post-death destination[46][47] is Valhalla. Those who die in battle and those who initiate themselves into Odin's warrior brotherhood (called "marking with the spear, the initiation rite is mentioned in Ynglinga Saga) will be Odin's guests in in Valhalla.[48] The death-song of Ragnar Lodbrók describes this belief, so, too, does the Eiríksmál.[49][50]

Interestingly, in the Grimnismal, in the Poetic Edda, the goddess Freyja takes half of the heroic dead to her "field of the host," a place called Fólkvangr. This is probably a reference to women who die giving birth.[51]

Some Odinists believe in reincarnation (more properly, the transmigration of souls), and the concept is suggested in the Poetic Edda. The epilogue of Helgakviða Hundingsbana II refers to the idea.[52]

One group, the Wotanists, claim that Valhalla is here on Midgard (earth), and warriors are reborn here to do battle again. Weaklings and cowards, in contrast, simply dissolve with death.[53]

Ragnarök and the Eternal Recurrence

Odinists believe that “Time is not lineal but circular, with everything moving in cycles of birth, death, and rebirth.”[54]

Odinists believe that this current universe will one day perish in a final battle between the gods and their enemies. In this battle, called Ragnarok, most of the gods, and the champions in Valhalla (the einherjar), will die heroically.[55]

Odinists also believe, however, that "nothing dies forever."[56] In the circle of time, called the eternal recurrence by Friedrich Nietzsche,[57] and the "Law-of-the-Endless-Circle" by Odinists, this universe, and the same gods and humans who are in it, will one day return.[58]

Ethics

Odinism is a "life-affirming religion,"[59] a creed without "penitence."[60] In the words of one Odinist: "Instead of stressing forgiveness and redemption, we emphasize honour, and the value of man. We do not need forgiveness from our gods. To ask forgiveness is to once again subjugate yourself. Instead you remember the mistake, and seek to learn from it. There is no absolution, no clean slate. You live with your actions, and you die with their memories."[3]

Odinist ethics are based on virtues found in historical Norse paganism, taken mainly the Poetic Edda, especially the Hávamál and the Sigrdrífumál,[61][62] In the Odinic Rite, these virtues are defined as
1.         Courage
2.         Truth
3.         Honour
4.         Fidelity
5.         Discipline
6.         Hospitality
7.         Self Reliance
8.        Industriousness
9.         Perseverance

Promoting a warrior ethic, Odinists have an ethical system based on honor and shame, rather than guilt and sin. In a shame ethical system, the highest good is public esteem. In a guilt ethical system, such as Christianity, the highest good is a quiet conscience. In an honor/shame ethical system, reputation is everything.[63]Thus, in the Hávamál, these words are uttered:

Every man is mortal:
But I know one thing that never dies,
The glory of the great deed.

In Odinism, courage is the ultimate virtue, glory is the greatest prize, and the warrior's  supreme fear is the contempt of his peers.
​
Rituals

Julius Caesar noted that the ancient Germans had no equivalent to druids and cared little for ritual,[64] but modern Odinists have religious rituals, such as a blót, where Odinists offer mead libations,[65] and rituals for rites of passage, such as marriage.. Odinist rituals may be found in the Book of Blots by Stubba (John Yeowell) of the Odinic Rite.[66] Another noted collection is the Asatru Book of Blotar and Rituals by the Asatru Folk Assembly, which is based on the work Stubba.[67]

By conducting rituals to the gods and goddesses, "We remember them, honor them, and try to become more like them."[68]

One model for the blot can be found in Harkonar saga goda. At a ritual meal, a sacred toast was drunk to Odin (for power and victory), then to Njörðr and Frey (for prosperity and security). "Men also drank a toast to their kinsmen who were buried, and that was called a memorial toast." [69]

Odinist rites often take place in private homes,[70] but places to honor the gods and goddesses have been established on plots of land purchased for the purpose.[71] Odinists may use a hörg (a grove of trees), or they may build a hof (a wooden temple) on the land.[72]

British Odinists have converted a 16th-century chapel in Newark, Nottinghamshire, into an Odinist temple.[73] and currently two hofs are planned for construction in Iceland, one in Reykjavík[74] and one in Akranes.[75]

Odinists have also archaeological sites for their rituals. In the United Kingdom, for example, Odinists have assembled at Nine Ladies stone circle in Derbyshire,[76] and the Rollright Stones in Warwickshire.[77][78]

Odinism and Race[79,80,81]
 
Although one Odinist group (the Odin Brotherhood) specifically teaches that there are no "master races" and no "chosen peoples,"[82] the term "Odinism" is sometimes associated with the ideology of "folkish" ideals.[83]

According to Professor Mattias Gardell, some see "Odinism as revolving around the primacy of race and Asatrú serving as its nonracial counterpart," but "in reality" there "seems to be no such neat division," and many "self-defined Asatrúers" are "centered on race."[84]

In the opinion of Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, a scholar of esotericism, Nordic racial paganism is synonymous with the Odinist movement (including some who identify as Wotanist). He describes it as a "spiritual rediscovery of the Aryan ancestral gods...intended to embed the white races in a sacred worldview that supports their tribal feeling", and expressed in "imaginative forms of ritual magic and ceremonial forms of fraternal fellowship".[85] [86]

Extreme forms of Odinism can be found in prison subcultures, such the Holy Nation of Odin, led by Casper Crowell.[87]

Some extreme right wing white power movements have used Odinism to promote a white-power agenda.[88]

Odinism and Wicca
Odinism is different from Wicca.  To cite the Odin Brotherhood:

"Wiccans hug trees. We cut them down and build fires and dragon ships. Wiccans hold hands. We make fists. Wiccans hug furry little animals. We hunt dangerous prey. Wiccans dance naked in circles. We march boldly into the future."

Odinic Rite

In 1973 John Gibbs-Bailey (known as "Hoskuld") and John Yeowell (known as "Stubba") founded the Committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite or Odinist Committee inEngland.[89] In 1980 the organisation changed its name to The Odinic Rite after it was believed that it had gained enough significant interest in the restoration of the Odinic faith.

In 1988 the Odinic Rite became the first polytheistic religious organization to be granted "Registered Charity" status in the UK.

Odinic Rite has national branches in France (ORF), North America (ORV, 1997) and the Netherlands (ORN, 2006).[90] A separate organization formed from 1972-1994 is the Odinic Rite of Australia [91] A German chapter of Odinic Rite was founded in 1995, but this group renamed itself Verein für germanisches Heidentum (VfGH) and severed all organizational ties with Odinic Rite in 2006.[92]

Odinic Rite of Australia

The Odinic Rite of Australia was founded in the 1990s as an independent organisation, after over a century of Odinism in the southern continent, culminating in the works of Rud Mills in the 1930s and beyond. [93].[94]

The Odinic Rite of Australia in 2011 published the "Melbourne Creed" of Odinism, which is a 9-point statement of belief, "An Odinist Creed."[95] The creed is designed to suggest beliefs that many modern heathens may share.

The Odinic Rite of Australia has had legal status with the Australian government since 1995, and is currently seeking recognition to supply Pagan religious celebrants for government-recognized legal marriages. In December 2014 it published the authored second edition of Stubba's "Book of Blots", originally published by the Odinic Rite in 1991.

Odinist Fellowship

Initiated by Else Christensen and her husband Alex, the Odinist Study Group was renamed the Odinist Fellowship in 1971, around the time of the death of Alex Christensen. Else Christensen's relocation to Florida, US. came in the 1980s.[96]

For many years, The Odinist Fellowship published a periodical called The Odinist out of Canada and Crystal River, Florida.[96] Additionally, her travels included friendly contact with other groups, such as the large Arizona Kindred (where she met up with the Kindred's "Norsemen of Midgard" motorcycle club) and the Steve McNallen's Asatru Folk Assembly. Since Else died in 2005, her Odinist Fellowship dissolved, with much of the membership transferring to the Odinic Rite.[97]The last known chapter of the US Odinist Fellowship is based in Florida, and is called the Kindred Folk.[citation needed]The organization has recently been reactivated in 2015.[98]

Odinist Fellowship (UK)

The British-based Odinist Fellowship was established by Ralph Harrison in 1988and is unaffiliated with the US organization founded by Christensen. The British Odinist Fellowship is registered under English law as a religious charity.[99]

The aim of the Odinist Fellowship, according to its constitution is "to practise, promote and propagate Odinism. By Odinism is meant the original, indigenous form of Pagan, polytheistic religion and spiritual beliefs, practised by the ancestors of the English and related northern European peoples, as embodied in the Eddas and as they have found expression in the wisdom and in the historical experience of those peoples." The Odinist Fellowship, according to its website, claims that Odinism is England's "native and national faith".

Odinists practice a nine-fold calendar and the Odinist Fellowship's liturgy of worship and sacrifices are published in "The Book of Rites". A notable achievement of the British Odinist Fellowship was to gain legal recognition for the Odinist religion in the case of "Holden v Royal Mail PLC(2006)", when a ruling was made to declare that Odinism is to be recognized as a religion for the purposes of anti-discrimination legislation.

According to its website, the Odinist Fellowship is planning to "institute a network of Odinist temples in every English county, and in every major town and city up and down the land". The first of these was inaugurated in June 2014 when a 1556 Tudor chapel in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, purchased by the Odinist Fellowship, was consecrated as the first Odinist Temple in England for over a thousand years.

The website describes Odinism as follows: "Odinism is a polytheistic religion. We believe in and honour the life-giving and bountiful gods and goddesses of the Odinic pantheon, whom we refer to collectively as the High Gods of Asgard, or as the Æsir and Vanir. Our gods are true gods, divine, living, spiritual entities, endowed with power and intelligence, able and willing to intervene in the course of Nature and of human lives. It behooves us to seek their goodwill and sucour through prayer and sacrifice. But the gods do not require us to abase and humble ourselves; they do not seek to make of us craven slaves. Odinists therefore do not bow or kneel or kow-tow to the gods, but address them proudly like free, upstanding men and women. Odinists regard our gods, not as our masters, but as firm friends and powerful allies."[100]

Odin Brotherhood

In a book published with Holmes Publishing Group in 1992, and now in its sixth edition with Mandrake of Oxford,[101] Mark Mirabello, a British-educated history professor who lectures in the United States, claimed to have been in contact with a secret society known as the Odin Brotherhood. Mirabello claims that the Odin Brotherhood preserves genuine traditions of pre-Christian paganism in Europe.[102][103][104] He claims that the group was founded in 1421 and including women from the beginning.[102]

Professor Graham Harvey (writing in 1995) tried to deny the existence of the Brotherhood (even though he admitted that he had "received enigmatic letters claiming to be from members of the group)," [105] but today such an opinion is viewed as without merit.  The group is listed in The Encyclopedia of American Religions (8th edition) by Dr. J. Gordon Melton,  and it maintains several web sites [106] and an anonymous forum with in excess of a thousand participants. [107]

In 2013, The Way of the Odin Brotherhood by Jack Wolf[108] of Canada was published. The book details Mr. Wolf's own contact with the Brotherhood and provides additional details on the group's beliefs, legends, and practices.[109] The book is published by Mandrake of Oxford.

Mr. Wolf's book contains new revelations about the Brotherhood, including the suggestion that the gods, who visit here often, are actually living in the past. According to the Brotherhood, the entire time line of past, present, and future is accessible to the gods.[110]

Odinist Community of Spain — Ásatrú

There is some Germanic neopaganism found in Spain, including the Odinist Community of Spain — Ásatrú (COE)[111] founded as Circulo Odinista Español in 1981.[112] The COE was recognized by the Spanish government as a religion, allowing them to perform "legally binding civil ceremonies", such as marriages. COE[113] is the fourth Odinist/Asatru religious organization in the world to be recognized with official status, after those in Iceland, Norway and Denmark.[114]

Odinic Rite of Argentina - Rito Odinista de Argentina

There is also an Odinic Rite of Argentina (Rito Odinista de Argentina) that has no association with the Odinic Rite in England.[115]

Wodanesdag Press (Hyatt)

Wodanesdag Press is an independent publisher in Canada specializing in "Ásatrú/Odinism". It was established by E. Max Hyatt a.k.a. Edred Wodanson (1948-2010) in 1993.[116]
E. Max Hyatt (Edred Wodanson) is best known for his book, Asatru--The Hidden Fortress.

Wodanesdag Press also ran an "Outreach Program of Wodan's Kindred" (odin.org). Identifying their religion as "Asatru/Odinism", the organization's FAQ comments on the question What is the difference between "Asatru" and "Odinism"?

"[...] in both the U.S. and Europe many hearty souls were awakening to the ancient call of their Ancestral gods and goddesses. Some adopted the name Asatru to identify their beliefs, while others used the name Odinism (Odin being the Alfather). Many believe that the two names are interchangeable, while others disagree. It has been noted by some writers on the subject that Asatruar (followers of Asatru) seem to be more spiritually oriented, while Odinists seem to be more political in their views. While this does hold true in some cases, it cannot be applied to all. There are several Odinist organizations that have no political interests, whatsoever. At the same time there are many Folk who go by the name Asatruar, and are very political. All of this said, it is true that a large number of Odinists believe that the various gods and goddesses of the Northern pantheon are simply representations of the various aspects of Nature. Whereas, most Asatruar believe that while this Nature-aspect is true, in another sense the gods are also real spiritual beings, with unique lives separate from this Earth (i.e. in Asgard). "

Comunità Odinista (Italy)

Established in 1994, the Comunità Odinista is an independent organization of Odinists in Italy.
 
Odinism in France (L'Odinisme)

Les Fils d'Odin (The Sons of Odin) are Odinists in France.
 
There is also an Odinic Rite Francophonie section dedicated to the French speakers .[117]

Wotanism
 
David Lane (1938-2007)[118] founded a white nationalist form of Germanic neopaganism, which he called "Wotanism". In an essay entitled Wotanism (Odinism), Lane makes clear that he chose the name in contrast to the existing term Odinism:

"I first chose the name Wotanism over Odinism. First because W.O.T.A.N. makes a perfect acronym for Will Of The Aryan Nation. Secondly because he was called Wotan on the European continent and only called Odin in Scandinavia. Therefore Wotan appeals to
​References 
  1. Stephan Grundy. The Cult of Ódinn: God of Death? The Troth, Inc. 2014 ISBN 1941136001 2014
  2. See List of Germanic deities
  3.    H. M. Chadwick. The Cult of Othin: An Essay in the Ancient Religion of the North. Cambridge University Press. 2013.ISBN 110767719X
  4.    William A. Craigie. The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. Leopold Classic Library 2015
  5.    Stephen A. McNallen. Asatru: A Native European Spirituality. Runestone Press. 2015. p. 2 ISBN 0972029257.
  6.    Asatru' - The Hidden Fortress by E. Max Hyatt (Edred Wodanson) - updated 2009 edition Wodanesdag Press ISBN 0973842326 and Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. Mandrake of Oxford.ISBN 1869928717
  7.    Mark Puryear.The Nature of Asatru, pages 111-112, The Norroena Society, 2006
  8.    Osred Jameson, Odinism, Present, Past and Future, page 4, Renewal Publications, 2010
  9.    Odinism: The Religion of Our Germanic Ancestors in the Modern World by Wyatt Kaldenberg. 2011. ISBN 1461003326, Folkish Odinism. by Wyatt Kaldenberg, 2013.ISBN 1492297348, and Casper Odinson Crowell, Mrs. Linda Crowell Vor Forn Sidr: (Our Ancient Religion) Vinland Kindred Publishing. 2012. ISBN 0985476001
  10.    Ingessunu, Wulf, ‘Wulf: The Collected Writings of an English Wodenist’, Black Front Press, 2014.
  11.    *Jeffrey Kaplan 1996. "The Reconstruction of the Asatru and Odinist Traditions." In Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, edited by James R. Lewis, State University of New York Press.
  12.    Gregorius 2015, pp. 65–66. On heathen, Asatru forn sed Gregorius, Fredrik (2015). "Modern Heathenism in Sweden: A Case Study in the Creation of a Traditional Religion". In Kathryn Rountree. Contemporary Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Europe: Colonialist and Nationalist Impulses. New York and Oxford: Berghahn. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-78238-646-9.
  13.    The International Asatru-Odinic Alliance (1997-2002) was a religious association formed by the Asatru Alliance, the Asatru Folk Assembly, and the Odinic Rite in September 1997. It was meant to be an alliance of those Norse pagan organizations which took a "folkish" viewpoint at a time of strong sectarian conflicts with those they labeled "universalists."
  14.    Mattias Gardell. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. pp. 258-283.
  15. Stephen A. McNallen, an American Asatru leader, avoids "heathen" because in the "public mind" it means an "ignorant, superstitious, or uncouth person." Stephen A. McNallen. Asatru: A Native European Spirituality. Runestone Press. 2015. p. 2 ISBN 0972029257.
  16.  Dr. Michael Strmiska, a pagan who studies the subject, made this observation: "recently I prefer Norse-Germanic Paganism as a catch-all term that covers all relevant bases and slights none."
  17. Current research suggests that the term "Odinism" was first used in 1822 in Universal Geography: Or A Description of All Parts of the World, on a New Plan, by Conrad Malte-Brun.   It was also used by Orestes Brownson in his 1848 Letter to Protestants.  See The Works of Orestes A. Brownson: Containing the Second Part of the Political Writings, ed. Henry Francis Brownson, T. Nourse (1884), p. 257
  18.   In the 20th century, Odinism was the term used A. Rudd Mills in The Call of Our Ancient Nordic Religion.
  19. The Odin Brotherhood prefers Odinism as the name of the religion.  See Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. 6th edition, Oxford: Mandrake of Oxford, 2014. ISBN 1906958637 and Jack Wolf.  The Way of the Odin Brotherhood. Mandrake of Oxford. 2013. ISBN 190695853X.
  20. On the mythic image of the Nordic peoples, see John L. Greenway, The Golden Horns: Mythic Imagination and the Nordic Past. University of Georgia Press, 1977 ISBN 0820303844
  21.   Patricia Terry, Patricia. (Trans.) (1990). Poems of the Elder Edda. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-8235-3 hardcover, ISBN 0-8122-8220-5 paperback. For the Prose Edda, see Jesse Byock, (Trans.) (2006). The Prose Edda. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044755-5.  See also Paul Acker and Carolyne Larrington, editors. The Poetic Edda: Essays on Old Norse Mythology. Routledge. 2013 ISBN 0415653851
  22.    See also Debora Duss, "The Eddic Myrth between Academic and religious Interpretation," in Horst Junginger (Editor) and Andreas Åkerlund (Editor), Nordic Ideology between Religion and Scholarship,Publisher: Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2013, p. 73 ff. ISBN 3631644876
  23.    Wodanson, Edred (Hyatt, E. Max). Asatru: The Hidden Fortress. Wodanesdag Press (1995)ISBN 0973842326
  24.    Margaret Clunies Ross. A History of Old Norse Poetry and Poetics. 2011 ISBN 1843842793
  25.    Jennifer Snook.American Heathens: The Politics of Identity in a Pagan Religious Movement. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 2015 p. ISBN 978-1-4399-1097-9.
  26.    Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. 6th ed. London: Mandrake of Oxford, 2014, pp. 27-32. ISBN 1906958637 .
  27.    Mattias Gardell. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. p. 157.
  28.    Mark Puryear. The Nature of Asatru: An Overview of the Ideals and Philosophy of the Indigenous Religion of Northern Europe. ISBN 0595389643, 2006.
  29.    Osred Jameson. Odinism: Present, Past and Future. 2011. p. 37 ff. ISBN 1-4457-6816-X
  30.    Lois Bragg. Oedipus Borealis: The Aberrant Body in Old Icelandic Myth and SagaFairleigh Dickinson University Press. 2004. pgs. 93ff, 116ff. ISBN 0838640281
  31. Walter Burkert.  Greek Religion.  Harvard University Press.  1985. page 188.  ISBN-10: 0674362810.  See also  Mattias Gardell. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. p. 156.
  32.    Stephen A. McNallen. Asatru: A Native European Spirituality. Runestone Press. 2015. p.252 ISBN 0972029257.
  33.    Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. 6th ed. London: Mandrake of Oxford, 2014, pp. 65, 69. ISBN 1906958637
  34.    In medieval times, the relationship between the devotee and the gods was also one of "friends." See B S Phillpotts. Edda and Saga Thornton Butterworth Ltd. 1931, p. 196.
  35.    Rudolf Simek. A Dictionary of Northern Mythology. BOYE6. 2008. ISBN 0859915131
  36.    Mikhail Ivanovich Steblin-Kamenskii. Myth: The Icelandic Sagas & Eddas, Karoma Pub, 1982. ISBN 0897200535
  37.    Kveldulf Gundarsson. Elves, Wights, and Trolls: Studies Towards the Practice of Germanic Heathenry. 2007 ISBN 0595421652
  38.    For a description of the rite of blood brotherhood, see the saga of Örvar-Oddr.
  39.    Kris Kershaw. The One-eyed God: Odin and the (Indo-) Germanic Männerbünde(Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph No. 36). Publisher: Institute for the Study of Man (2000) Language: English ISBN 0941694747
  40.    Jarich G. Oosten. The War of the Gods: The Social Code in Indo-European Mythology.  Routledge Library Editions. ISBN 071020289X. p. 38.
  41.    Gardell, Mattias. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. ISBN 0822330717, p. 155
  42.    Karen Bek-Pedersen. The Norns in Old Norse Mythology Dunedin Academic Press Ltd. 2013. ISBN 178046035X
  43.    See the Voluspa at http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe03.htm
  44.    Claude Lecouteux. The Return of the Dead: Ghosts, Ancestors, and the Transparent Veil of the Pagan Mind. 2009 p VIII. Inner Traditions. ISBN 1594773181
  45. ^     Claude Lecouteux. The Return of the Dead: Ghosts, Ancestors, and the Transparent Veil of the Pagan Mind. 2009 p 152ff , p VIII. Inner Traditions. ISBN 1594773181
  46.    For an extensive discussion of Old Norse afterlife ideas, see Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson. The Road to Hel: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature. Cambridge University Press; Reissue edition. 2013. ISBN 110763234X.
  47.    For a modern Odinist perspective on afterlife beliefs, see Osred Jameson. Odinism: Present, Past and Future. 2011. p. 67 ff. ISBN 1-4457-6816-X
  48.    Hans-Peter Hasenfratz. Barbarian Rites: The Spiritual World of the Vikings and the Germanic Tribes. Inner Traditions, 2011 p. 23. ISBN 1594774218
  49.    Osred. Odinism: Present, Past and Future. 2011. p. 67 ff. ISBN 1-4457-6816-X
  50.    It is noteworthy that Sinfjötli, who dies from poison, also goes to Valhalla. Kveldulf Gundarsson. Our Troth. 2 vols. 2006 ISBN 1419635980 I:518
  51.    Bruce Lincoln. Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology and Practice. University Of Chicago Press. 1991 . ISBN 0226482006 .
  52.    Paul L. Acker (Editor), Carolyne Larrington (Editor) The Poetic Edda: Essays on Old Norse MythologyRoutledge.2001. p. 189 ISBN 0815316607
  53.    David Lane Victory Or Valhalla: The Final Compilation Of Writings 2008 ISBN 1438285817 p. 189ff
  54.    Mattias Gardell. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. p 155.
  55.    E.O.G. Turville-Petre. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. Publisher: Praeger 1975 p. 275ff. ISBN 0837174201
  56.    Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. 6th edition. Mandrake of Oxford. 2014 ISBN 9781906958633p 107-108
  57.    Lawrence J. Hatab. Nietzsche's Life Sentence: Coming to Terms with Eternal Recurrence. New York: Routledge. 2005 ISBN 0-415-96758-9.
  58.    Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. 6th edition. Mandrake of Oxford. 2014 ISBN 9781906958633p 107-108, 165-166
  59.    Mattias Gardell. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. p. 157
  60.    see http://www.odinistfellowship.co.uk/
  61.    The 9 Noble Virtues - OR Site
  62.    Andrew Peter Fors. The Ethical World-Conception of the Norse People. Leopold Classic Library 2015.  See  also also   Preben Meulengracht Sýrensen (Author) and Joan Turville-Petre (Translator).  The Unmanly Man: Concepts of Sexual Defamation in Early Northern Society (The Viking Collection, Studies in Northern Civilization.  Vol 1.   Odense University Press.  1983.  ISBN-10: 8774924362 
  63.    Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. sixth edition. Mandrake of Oxford. 2014. p. 99.ISBN 1906958637
  64.    Jaan Puhvel. Comparative Mythology. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1989. ISBN 0801834139, p. 191
  65.    Gardell, Mattias. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. ISBN 0822330717, p. 158
  66.    Stubba. The Book of Blots 2014 ISBN 1312680725
  67.    Asatru Book of Blotar and Rituals: by the Asatru Folk Assembly ISBN 1466312653
  68.    Stephen A. McNallen. Asatru: A Native European Spirituality. Runestone Press. 2015. p. 9 ISBN 0972029257.
  69.    Osted Jameson, Odinism, Present, Past and Future, page 66, Renewal Publications, 2010
  70.    Jennifer Snook. American Heathens: The Politics of Identity in a Pagan Religious Movement. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 2015 p. 22 ISBN 978-1-4399-1097-9.
  71.    Gardell, Mattias. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. ISBN 0822330717 p. 159
  72.    Mattias Gardell. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. p. 159.
  73.    "World's first modern-day pagan temple is in Newark". NewarkAdvertiser. 18 June 2015.
  74.    Hof Project of the Architecture & Urban Design Bureau.
  75.    Asatru temple in Akranes? Asatru _ News, Views and Musings from a 21st Century Heathen. 2003.
  76. Jenny Blain and Robert Wallis.   Sacred Sites Contested Rites/Rights: Pagan Engagements with Archaeological Monuments.  P. 140.   Sussex Academic Press.  2007.  ISBN-10: 1845191307.
  77. Jenny Blain and Robert Wallis.   Sacred Sites Contested Rites/Rights: Pagan Engagements with Archaeological Monuments.  P. 178.   Sussex Academic Press (August 1, 2007).  ISBN-10: 1845191307
  78.   http://www.whitehorsestone.org/
  79.    The Fylfot (Englishname for the swastika), in its many forms, is used in the past as another symbolic rendering of the Mjöllnir, is a popular and somewhat important symbol used nowadays by Odinists.George Waring, Ceramic Art in Remote Ages; John B. Day, London; 1874. p. 12
  80.   On the swastika in Odinism, see Ron McVan.Creed of Iron: Revised Updated Edition 1479159069
  81.    Osred Jameson. Odinism: Present, Past and Future, 2010. Page 192. ISBN 978-1-4457-6816-8
  82.    J. Gordon Melton. Encyclopedia of American Religions, 8th edition, Gale Cengage (2009), ISBN 0-7876-9696-X, pp. 861f
  83.    On Odinism and Asatru and race, see Stephanie v. Schnurbein, "The Use of Themes of Religion in Contemorary Asatru," in Horst Junginger (Editor) and Andreas Åkerlund (Editor), Nordic Ideology between Religion and Scholarship, Publisher: Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2013, p. 225ff ISBN 3631644876
  84.    Mattias Gardell. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. 2003. p. 152.
  85.    Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (2002). Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity. New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-3124-4. (Paperback, 2003.ISBN 0-8147-3155-4.) p. 257.
  86.  On folkish Odinism, see David Lane Victory Or Valhalla: The Final Compilation Of Writings 2008 ISBN 1438285817 .
  87.    Casper Odinson Crowell and Mrs. Linda Crowell, Vor Forn Sidr: (Our Ancient Religion) Vinland Kindred Publishing. 2012. ISBN 0985476001
  88.    http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/11/13/3721890/white-supremacy-odinism/
  89.    Richard Rudgley. Pagan Resurrection: A Force for Evil or the Future of Western Spirituality?   2006. P. 240 Random House UK.  ISBN-10: 0712680969
  90.    www.odinist.nl
  91.    odinicriteofaustralia.wordpress.com
  92.    asatru-online.de; the organization does not now identify as "Odinist", instead describing its religion asGermanisches Heidentum (German for "Germanic paganism") while recognizing Asatru as "designation or short form for the renewal of Germanic paganism in widespread use today" (wird heute weithin als Bezeichnung oder Kurzform für das erneuerte germanische Heidentum verwendet).
  93.    For more information, see the ORA's background at ORA's history
  94.    Jøn, A. Asbjørn (1999). "'Skeggold, skalmold; vindold, vergold' - Alexander Rud Mills and the Asatru faith in the New Age". Australian Religion Studies Review (University of Sydney) (12): 77–83. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  95.    The Creed may be read at: Odinist Creed
  96.  Osred Jameson.  Odinism, Present, Past and Future, page 204-5, Renewal Publications, 2010
  97.    Notice concerning the Odinic Rite absorbing the US Odinist Fellowship after Christensen's retirement
  98.    http://odinistfellowship.com/
  99.    Charity Registration for the UK Odinist Fellowship
  100.  See http://www.odinistfellowship.co.uk/
  101.    Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. 6th edition, Oxford: Mandrake of Oxford, 2014,ISBN 1-906958-63-7
  102. Stephen E. Adkins. Encyclopedia of Right-Wing Extremism in Modern American History. ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 172.  ISBN 1 59884 350 8
  103.    Michael Streeter. Behind Closed Doors: The Power and Influence of Secret Societies. New Holland Publishers Uk Ltd. 2008. pgs 143-5, 258. ISBN 1-84537-937-3
  104.    Jeffrey Kaplan. Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of Noah. Syracuse University Press. 1997. ISBN 0-8156-0396-7 footnote 26 in page 196
  105.    Charlotte Hardman and Graham Harvey. Paganism Today: Wiccans, Druids, the Goddess and Ancient Earth Traditions for the Twenty-First Century. Thorsons. 1995. p. 43. ISBN 0-7225-3233-4
  106.    Odin Brotherhood - Home
  107.    The ODIN BROTHERHOOD: A Pagan Secret Society - Index page
  108.    See Author Web Site for The Way of the Odin Brotherhood
  109.    Jack Wolf . The Way of the Odin Brotherhood. Mandrake of Oxford. 2013. ISBN 978-1-906958-53-4
  110.    Jack Wolf. The Way of the Odin Brotherhood
  111.    Comunidad Odinista de España-Asatru
  112.    asatru.es.
  113.    * Ernust García (2015),Encuentro con Odin: Un Ensayo Sobre el Destino, Biblioteca de Estudios Odinistas, ISBN 978-1-5085--4474-6  (Spanish)
  114.    Register of the minority religions of the Spanish Ministry of Justice
  115.    Orígenes del Rito Odinista de Argentina | Rito Odinista de Argentina
  116.    Mattias Gardell. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism Duke University Press Books, 2003, p. 244ff.
  117.    http://www.odinic-rite.org/francophonie/
  118.    For his complete works, see David Lane, Victory Or Valhalla: The Final Compilation Of Writings By David Lane. 2008 ISBN 1438285817
  119.    online copy at mourningtheancient.com

  

External Links
​
M.A. Degree in Old Norse Religion (Odinism/Asatru) from the University of Iceland

​Academic Papers on Odinism and Asatru