Odin Brotherhood

Odin the Wanderer (1896) by Georg von Rosen An icon presently used by the Odin Brotherhood

The Odin Brotherhood, which practices Odinism or Ásatrú,[1] is a Germanic Neopagan secret society which allegedly "preserves genuine traditions of pre-Christian paganism".[1] Mark Mirabello's study of the Odin Brotherhood have been referred to in a number of publications on religions or secret societies,[2] and the Odin Brotherhood is listed in the eighth edition of the Encyclopedia of American Religions by J. Gordon Melton, with members in many nations.[3]

Melton has written that, "The brotherhood has distanced itself from the racism that has infected Norse beliefs in the twentieth century and eschews the idea that there are either chosen peoples or master races".[3][4]

From the beginning, the Odin Brotherhood has included women in its membership.[3]

Claims

The Odin Brotherhood was first described in print in a 1992 book by Mark Mirabello, who claims he encountered it while conducting earning a PhD in History from Glasgow University;[5] his The Odin Brotherhood was first published in 1992.[6]

Researcher Graham Harvey expressed doubts about the group:

"A book called The Odin Brotherhood has been circulating which claims to be a record of contacts (in Britain and elsewhere) between Dr. Mark Mirabello and a secret society called the Odin Brotherhood. Whilst I have received enigmatic letters claiming to be from members of the group I have been unable to check the veracity of Mirabello's claims. No other group that I have talked to (including one that was named in a "Brotherhood" letter as a contact) has any more knowledge of the group beyond reading the book. Most doubt its existence."[7]

And Thomas Coghlan, a forensic psychologist of the New York Police, writing in Cultic Studies Review, said from Mirabello's account that "at first read it appears specious." [8]

In contrast, researcher Stephen E. Adkins writes that "British Odinists claim that there has been a secret Odinist movement , the Odin Brotherhood, since 1421....Membership of the Odin Brotherhood has always remained small, but undoubtedly, some adherents made it to the American colonies and the United States."[9]

Beliefs and practices

Unlike most Odiniist/Asatru groups, which claim to be reconstructionist, the Odin Brotherhood claims that it preserves genuine traditions of pre-Christian paganism.[1][9] The group claims that it was founded in 1421: a widow was accused of practicing Odinism and burned, and a Catholic priest forced her two sons and daughter to witness the burning, those children were Christians in public, but secretly formed the group to preserve Odinism.[9] Many groups have made claims of being many years old, and it would be really extraordinary if the group had been really founded in 1421.[1]

The Odin Brotherhood embraces Odinism, which is defined as ancient religion that "acknowledges the gods by fostering thought, courage, honor, light, and beauty."[10]

The Odin Brotherhood embraces polytheism. "Hard Polytheists," members believe that the gods are distinct, separate real divine beings not psychological archetypes or personifications of natural forces. Hard polytheists reject the idea that "all gods are one God" The Odin Brotherhood believes that monotheism, "the belief in one totalitarian god, is preposterous and absurd." The Brotherhood insists that "no single, superordinary, ineffable entity controls all realities."[10]

The brotherhood has no buildings (temples or churches) but attempts to honor the gods everywhere, as long as outsiders are excluded; all words are "whispered," and all "abominations" are avoided. The central rite of the brotherhood is called the "Glimpse-Of-Extraordinary-Beauty," during which the celebrants believe they are "enveloped and penetrated by the thoughts of a god".[3]

The brotherhood believes in life after death and that there are three "Other-Worlds," one of which is called Valhalla or the White-Kingdom. Not a paradise, Valhalla is a place of honor for heroes.[10] The existence of the Christian hell is denied.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 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
  2. ↑ See, for example, 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
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Melton, J. Gordon (2009). Encyclopedia of American Religions (8 ed.). Gale Cengage. pp. 861f. ISBN 0-7876-9696-X.
  4. ↑ On the Brotherhood's position on race, see Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. 5th edition, Oxford: Mandrake of Oxford, 2003, p.38 ISBN 1-869928-71-7
  5. ↑ Mirabello's Ph.D. Dissertation
  6. ↑ The Odin Brotherhood: A Non-fiction Account of Contact with an Ancient Brotherhood : with a New Epilogue a Statement on the Odin Brotherhood. Holmes Publishing Group. 1992
  7. ↑ 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
  8. ↑ Thomas Coghlan, New York City Police Department (2007), "The Spread of Ásatrú in Vinland", Cultic Studies Review (International Cultic Studies Association) 6 (3)
  9. 1 2 3 Adkins, Stephen E. (2011). Encyclopedia of Right-Wing Extremism in Modern American History. ABC-CLIO. p. 172. ISBN 1-59884-350-8.
  10. 1 2 3 Mark Mirabello. The Odin Brotherhood. 5th edition, Oxford: Mandrake of Oxford, 2003, p.27 ISBN 1-869928-71-7

External links

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