Recognizing fascism in Heathenry
Updated: Feb 22, 2020
If you've been a Heathen for more than 5 minutes you have probably noticed that the culture of Heathenry contains a varying range of ideologies and beliefs. Some interpretations of Heathenry encourage healthy relationships and conscious self-examination of our values, while others motivate through fear, shame, and guilt or the violent confrontation of these universal feelings. Recognizing which is becoming increasingly difficult with the rise of the alt-right in our spaces.
They've changed their tactics from blatant hate and violence represented in the KKK to more subtle radicalization that takes much longer but is more successful in its methodology. Most won't even realize they're being exposed to manipulative material until it is too late. One they do this is by making their views more palatable using dog whistles and propaganda. You could be reading material that is coded with fascism without even knowing it. This happened to me when I first was looking into Heathenry. I'm constantly asked how to recognize the signs of fascism in Heathenry and so I hope this will prepare you to identify the markers.
Dog Whistles
Politically and socially, a 'dog whistle' is a coded message communicated through words or phrases commonly understood by a particular group of people, but not by others (Mariam-Webster Article). In Heathenry, this means words or phrases that mean something very specific to fascists but may not be noticed by regular folks. This also includes rebranding and redefining words to meet their agenda. Please note the definitions I’m giving are what they mean to *fascists*.
“blood and soil” - return to agricultural values using nationalism and fascism
“ergi” - used to criticize departure from Norse traditional gender roles. This concept IS present in Norse mythology, but fascist heathens misrepresent this word as a serious insult.
“faith, folk, family” - slogan of the Odinic Rite, a racist UK org.
“folkish” - referring to the Völkisch movement from Nazi Germany.
“heritage not hate” - meant to hide the power and danger of white nationalism by saying they are doing what they’re doing to celebrate and defend their heritage ignoring how their views visit social violence on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color).
“Nine Noble Virtues” - principles of the Asatru Folk Assembly that are held up as an empowering alternative to Christianity’s Ten Commandments, but instead seek a demonstration of prowess through exceptionality offered in these virtues. By definition, they’re not accessible to everyone.
“Odin with us/ Wotan mit Uns” - A pagan alternative to the German Nazi military slogan “Gott mit Uns”
“roots” - referring to their belief that you need ethnic/racial ties to this faith.
“son or daughter of Europe” - meant to instill white pride.
“white genocide” - the myth that white people are being aggressively exterminated instead of a gradual consensual mingling of the human race.
“white guilt” - refers to this as the only reason why white people would be concerned with equity and inclusion.
"wolves of Odin" - A lot of fascists call themselves wolves of Odin in reference to the hate group Wolves of Vinland and even further back to Operation Werewolf from Nazi Germany. They will often romanticize wolf packs to parallel gang culture complete with the myth of the "alpha".
More subtle ideologies/concepts
blood purity - using blood purity to emphasize belonging or magical power, claiming that ties are stronger the purer your Germanic blood quantity. This tries to coopt the concept of American Indigenous utilizing blood quantum to protect their lineages and turns it to protecting white supremacy.
brotherhood anything - Odinic Brotherhood, Aryan Brotherhood, etc. This is pretty much always code for cult/gang culture.
chosen vs unchosen - Fascist heathenry tries to make those it's trying to radicalize feel unique, special and "chosen" - usually by the gods/fate/universe.
cult culture - see future posts on cult culture. It's too much to post here.
gang culture - demonstrations of prowess, gang vests with patches (usually fascist symbols), corporal punishment/challenge when the actions of one is disapproved of by the group, designated leader who is usually best at hand-to-hand
hand-to-hand combat as part of religious identity - while there are many Heathens who also have martial hobbies, including hand-to-hand combat in spiritual practice or as part of Heathen community is radicalization via training an army for a race war/holy war.
misdirection through confusion - cryptofascists will often seek to confuse the conversation through holding up logical fallacies (straw man, etc) or projecting/feigned victimhood. This last one can take the form of reversing and perverting social justice concepts to fit their white nationalist agenda, including presenting a reality where the most privileged identities are marginalized and using persuasion via fear bias instead of facts.
Norse gods as ancestors as a way to claim an ancestral closed lineage. They coopted this from BIPOC closed cultures who connect primarily through ancestors because their practices are lost and they have to learn through an ancestral connection.
Odin as God/Loki as Satan - an oversimplification of both of the trickster deities as God and anti-God. Odin isn't omniscient/omnipotent and while Loki definitely contributes to some of Odin's woes, he is also his blood brother and 'partner in crime'.
Odin is only presented as a war god - fascists typically only talk about the facets of Odin that serve their agenda ignoring all the others; poet, wanderer, jul father, song weaver, magician, scholar, etc
preservation of (white) heritage - Fascist Heathens seek to bond through whiteness and white identity which is rooted in supremacy instead of pride in specific European cultures. The only reason that BIPOC bond through their ethnic identity is because their cultural identities were forcibly erased by white colonizers. Although European cultures, such as Irish and Sami, have been subjected to colonization, it never endangered the white race's supremacy and control.
punishment/reward reinforcement - punishment/reward systems are a staple of high demand religion and cults. By talking about rewards in Valhalla against the potential community shame for not living up to hyper-masculine or hyper-feminine modern gender expectations.
rigid postmodern gender roles - constant reinforcement of Christianized gender roles. Constant references to women as birthers or men as warriors despite this being a living tradition and not a reenactment.
“self-reliance” - while this isn't a concern on its own, an overemphasis on self-reliance is meant to separate potential radicals from their support networks under the guise of personal empowerment.
sexual prowess/gender supremacy - emphasis on masculinity being defined by conquest, sexual prowess, and gender supremacy.
planting phobias - basically constant emphasis on violence, fear, paranoia, hate, prepping for Ragnarok, prepping for the total collapse of a white supremacist society as we know it, and general anxiety about things that aren't likely to actually happen.
Valhalla - Valhalla itself isn't concerning, but an obsession with it is a red flag. Valhalla was a place for those who couldn't be buried with their family. Talking about it as if it's the equivalent of a Heavenly reward is usually coupled with radicalization teaching that the reward after this life is more important than moral consequences in this life. All of the afterlives of the Norse are lovely places to journey after death.
Vikings everywhere! - obsession with Vikings instead of seeing this religious identity as a living tradition that has evolved and grown with time. Believing that Heathenry == Vikings is like believing Catholocism == Crusaders.
Code for ‘Nazi’
Nazis don't identify openly as Nazis anymore. Most of their radicalization is based around subtly introducing racist and fascist concepts over time. People just have too much of a visceral reaction to Nazis and the KKK, so most of them have dropped these titles and affiliations. They've created less loaded names for their identity. Here are the common ones.
alt-right
"America first"
anti- multicultural/immigration/globalist/miscegenation/PC/SJWChristian nationalist
demographic nationalist
demographic preservationist
ethno-nationalist/statist
euro-centric
eurofolk
europa/evropa
folkish/Völkisch
human biodiversity advocate
identitarian
isolationist fascist/neofascist
national socialist
nationalist
neo-reactionary
nativist
Odinist
race realist
racial isolationist
racial science believer
segregationist
state’s rights
traditionalist/radical traditionalist
tribalist
western chauvinist
white nationalist
whites rights activist
white separatist
white supremacist
Common Fascist and White Nationalist Symbols
"Bound for Glory BFG" - the name of a white power music band.
"Blood and Honor"
Irminsul - the Germanic tree of life (not always a hate symbol).
Kekistan Flag – Symbol of the fictional country created by 4chan users that hass become both political meme and online movement. Much of the mythology that has been built around Kekistan is influenced by white nationalist and incel/MRA thought despite the claim that Kekistan is a country for shitposters who are allegedly persecuted because of political correctness. Design is based on that of a nazi battle flag.
Othala rune - for asserting white ancestry (not always a hate symbol).
Sowilo rune - (Not always a hate symbol).
Double Sowilo, or Double S's - a symbol for the Nazi SS.
Sunwheel and its derivatives - Swastika, black sun, Celtic cross, sonnenrad
Tiwaz rune - (Not always a hate symbol).
Triple horn - Symbol for the Asatru Folk Assembly, a hate group.
Wolfsangel
It should be noted that seeing just one of these things does not always mean the person holds fascist views. Always take into account the context and how many other red flags are present. If you know the person or believe they may just be naive, err on the side of asking what they think the symbol means and if they have no idea - please educate them. So many new Heathens will stumble straight into white nationalism and never know it until it's too late. Anyone can be radicalized under the right circumstances. Cults and radicalization do not only prey on foolish or unintelligent people. The people most at risk are those who are seeking belonging, emotionally vulnerable, lacking a support network, fearful of the future, wrestling with self-worth, or who just came out of another cult/high demand religion.
Sources:
In Search of an Anti-Fascist Language, Boston Review
Additional thanks to Catherine Heath (Author of Seo Helrune) for her document on Common Dog Whistles Used By White Supremacist Heathens, Heathen Women United Fb group.
💙 Fynn
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