Asgard and Bifrost

The Odin Brotherhood is a secret society for warriors and pagans. From the begin
ning, the movement--in spite of its name--has included women.
The Brotherhood practices the old warrior religion that is today called Odinism
or Asatru. Consecrated to the pagan gods and goddesses of the Norse pantheon, th
ese deities are viewed as "older, better, and truer." Members of the Brotherhood
use the Eddaic Verses also called the Poetic Edda as a kind of scripture.
Members claim their pagan order was established in 1421 to protect the ancient r
eligion during the Burning Times and they insist it has existed in unbroken line
age to the present. If the claim is accurate, the Odin Brotherhood resembles the
Tariquat, the secret brotherhoods in Islam that sustain the traditions undergro
und in times of intense persecution.
Contents [show]
edit Who Established the Odin Brotherhood?
Like the story of Hiram Abif in Freemasonry, the foundation myth of the Brotherh
ood involves a crime against innocence.
In the legend of the Brotherhood, the story begins when a young pagan widow was
caught honoring the gods and goddesses in a remote grotto. For her action, an an
gry mob burned her on a pyre composed of green wood.
After the murder, the woman s three children used an ancient and forbidden rite fr
om paganism (a rite called necromancy) and summoned her from beyond the grave.
Answering the summons, the slain woman instructed her children to save the ancie
nt religion by taking the movement underground. They were instructed to form a s
ecret society a "conspiracy of equals"--dedicated to the old gods. They pledged to
"honor the gods with clandestine rites in deserted places," and they promised t
o "share their knowledge" with "the few" they trusted before they died.
According to the Odin Brotherhood, all of these events occurred somewhere in Eur
asia somewhere north of the Black Sea--in the fifteenth century of the current era
.
They also insist that buried artifacts exist which will some day confirm their t
ale.
edit How Does One Join the Odin Brotherhood?
Traditionally, the teachings were spread by word of mouth, from person to person
.
Today, however, with more written information appearing in manuscript and in pub
lished form, solitary practitioners ( lone wolves who initiate themselves)are becom
ing more common.
In its current form, membership in the Odin Brotherhood is secret as in the so-cal
led Illuminati conspiracy. The objectives of the Odin Brotherhood are stated pub
licly, as in the legendary Rosicrucians.
Secret Societies are still illegal in some countries. As Nick Harding points out
in Secret Societies, for example, they are forbidden by the constitution of Pol
and.
edit Initiation
Initiation into the Odin Brotherhood which only occurs at the solstices -involves a
kind of vision quest cemented by a "ceremony of blood."
In ancient religion, without blood there is no power. That is the reason that an
imals were cut in half when the biblical Jehovah made his covenant with Abraham.
Also, because of the power of blood Jewish boys are circumcised on the eighth da
y.
The initiation rite of the Odin Brotherhood involves solitude, a diet of bread a
nd ice, a white shroud, a dagger, and a fire.
The initiate after proper purification makes three incisions on his body. Done in
the name of "holy violence, necessary violence," the male neophyte makes three i
ncisions on his chest.
He then "devotes, hallows, and sanctifies" his soul to the gods who live by penetr
ating a fire three times with a dagger stained with his own blood.
The scars are called "The-Marks-of-Joy." They are based on the "marking with the
spear ceremony described in the Ynglinga Saga by Snorri Sturluson.
The female neophyte, however, makes three small incisions on the tip of her righ
t index finger. The Odin Brotherhood believes the female s breasts--"the last and
most beautiful embellishment she receives in life"--must not be disfigured.
Mercia Eliade, in Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, notes that secret so
ciety initiations resemble shamanic initiations, and include seclusion (symboliz
ing the "beyond), some sort of prohibition (as in a diet), covering the face and
body, usually with something that is white, and a difficult ordeal, which invol
ves the infliction of "cruelties."
edit Theology
Although Odinism never became extinct hundreds of millions of people have honored
the Eddaic pantheon (in its Vedic form) in the Indian subcontinent since Neolith
ic times--some scholars classify the movement as a neopagan revival.
The Odin Brotherhood embraces polytheism. The Odin Brotherhood believes that mon
otheism, "the belief in one totalitarian god, is preposterous and absurd." The B
otherhood insists that "no single, superordinary, ineffable entity controls all
realities."
According to the Odin Brotherhood, "a universe governed by one supreme deity wou
ld possess the maddening simplicity that characterizes any dictatorship, but our
cosmos clearly shows no evidence of one will at work. Our universe is character
ized by diversity and disorder, and that indicates the universe is molded by man
y wills and innumerable forces."
The gods and goddesses of the Odin Brotherhood, which include Odin, Thor, Frigg,
Heimdall, Balder, Bragi, Vidar, Tyr, Freyja, and the other beings in the Norse
pantheon, are viewed as powerful entities that are finite in nature. Humanoid in
shape--neither omnipotent nor omniscient--the gods are physical beings that inh
abit hidden corridors in the universe. Often appearing on earth in disguise, the
y are known by many names in many languages. Odin, for example, appears also as
Hermes and Rudra.
Believing in direct contact with the gods and goddesses, the Odin Brotherhood te
aches that the deities typically communicate with humanity through a system of "
messengers and spies."
Devotionally, members of the Odin Brotherhood do not worship the gods on their k
nees. The Odin Brotherhood is the enemy of all forms of slavery, and members adm
ire the gods but do not grovel before them.
edit The Seasonal Rites
The Odin Brotherhood has three seasonal rites. The rites are conducted without p
riests, for every member of the Brotherhood considers himself a priest.
The first is called The-Night-of-Joy. Held in honor of the goddesses, the The-Night
-of-Joy is celebrated on the eve of the summer solstice. This festival includes "
feasting, jocularity, and frivolity."
The second is called The-Night-of-Courage. Held in honor of all the Odinists who h
ave died, The-Night-of-Courage occurs on October 31. In the old calendar, October
31 marks the beginning of winter the "time when death is strong in nature."
The third festival is called The-Night-of- Generosity. Conducted on the eve of the
Winter Solstice, this festival includes the bestowal of gifts. At this festival
"every Odinist gives the world something great and something beautiful."
edit Ethics
Ethically, the Odin Brotherhood creates no laws, only virtues. The Odin Brotherh
ood represents "strength over weakness, pride over humility, and knowledge over
faith." Members honor the gods by fostering "thought, courage, honor, light, and
beauty."
Viewing themselves as members of a secret or an "invisible army of the gods," me
mbers see the movement as a "Creed of Iron."
Members are instructed to be "brave and generous," and "direct, uncomplicated an
d strong." Members, the Brotherhood believes, must "live well and die bravely."
A tradition for warriors, the Odin Brotherhood teaches that "when the gods made
man, they made a weapon."
edit Death and afterlife

The Odin Brotherhood teaches that all beings ultimately experience death. In poe
tic terms, death is personified as beautiful females--called the valkyries--who
exist "in an endless variety of exquisite forms."
Since death is not annihilation, the "transfigured life form" will go to one of
three Other-Worlds. The most famous of these "Other-Worlds" is Valhalla.
In cosmic terms, death is described as Ragnarok, the final battle which destroys
every universe. According to the Odin Brotherhood, Ragnarök is an "orgy of purifi
cation" from which a new cosmos is born. The cycle of destruction and rebirth--w
hich will go on forever--is called the "Law-of-the-Endless-Circle."
Also called the eternal return or eternal recurrence, the "Law-of-the-Endless-Ci
rcle" teaches that existence never ends with destruction. Nothing dies forever, an
d all beings and all things will return.
edit Discovery and exposure of the Brotherhood today
The Odin Brotherhood's was first exposed to the general public in 1992 with the
publication of the book The Odin Brotherhood by Dr. Mark Mirabello, who is a pro
fessor of European history at Shawnee State University.
First contact was made when Mirabello encountered a silver-haired man in a books
hop in Leith, in the United Kingdom. At the time, Mirabello was conducting histo
rical reseach as a doctoral student in Scotland's University of Glasgow.
The gentleman, who called himself Lodur's Friend (in honor of the mysterious god
in the Eddaic Verses), was holding a peculiar cane adorned with the images of t
he serpent and the ass, the two animals that speak in the bible. Both were exami
ning occult books. The gentleman noticed that Mirabello was studying a book call
ed the The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross by Arthur Edward Waite. During this enc
ounter the gentleman pointed out that "The rose symbolizes secrecy" while pointi
ng to an engraving in Mirabello's book on the Rosy Cross. The gentleman went on
to say that "Since we speak sub rosa or 'under the rose', our discussion must re
main forever secret."
The two men became friends, and "Lodur's Friend" introduced Mirabello to a "circ
le of fascinating individuals." The group met for unusual feasts, normally in Ed
inburgh or London, always at night, and always during the time of the new moon.
The feasts were referred to as "conventicles," and they were by invitation only.
Those who "feared" or "hated" authority were excluded, but those who "laughed a
t" authority were welcome.
Some years after the publication of Mirabello's book, the anonymous and privatel
y printed Teachings of the Odin Brotherhood began to circulate. Copies of the la
tter are rare.

Odin Brotherhood
edit Bibliography (Odin Brotherhood)
Harvey, Graham. Paganism Today: Wiccans, Druids, the Goddess and Ancient Earth T
raditions for the Twenty-First Century. Thorsons, 2001. ISBN 0722532334
Kaplan, Jedffrey. Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Fa
r Right to the Children of Noah. Syracuse University Press, 1997. ISBN 081560396
7
Kick, Russ. Outposts: A Catalog of Rare and Disturbing Alternative Information.
Carroll & Graf Publishing, 1995. ISBN 0786702028.
Mirabello, Mark. The Odin Brotherhood. 5th edition. Oxford, England, 2003. ISBN
1869928717 The Book in a pdf file)
Melton, J. Gordon. Melton's Encyclopedia Of American Religions (Encyclopedia of
American Religions) 8th edition. Gale Cengage, 2009. ISBN 078769696X
Storyteller, Ragnar. Odin's Return. Payson,Arizona, 1995. (pdf. file of a novell
a based on the Odin Brotherhood story)
Streeter, Michael. Behind Closed Doors: The Power and Influence of Secret Societ
ies.. London: New Holland Publishers, Ltd. 2008. ISBN 1845379373
Teachings of the Odin Brotherhood Portland, nd. (pdf file)
edit Bibliography (General Odinism)
Chadwick, H. M. The Cult of Othin. Cambridge, 1899.
Coulter, James Hjuka. Germanic Heathenry. 2003. ISBN 1410765857
Gundarsson, Kvedulf. Our Troth. 2006. ISBN 1419635980
Hollander, Lee M. The Poetic Edda. Austin, 1986. ISBN 0292764995
Mortensen, Karl. A Handbook of Norse Mythology. 2003. ISBN 048643219X
Paxson, Diana L. Essential Asatru. 2006. ISBN 0806527080
Puryear, Mark. The Nature of Asatru. 2006. ISBN 0595389643
Viktor Rydberg's "Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland" e-boo
k
Shetler, Greg. Living Asatru. 2003. ISBN 1591099110
Sturluson, Snorri. Ynglinga Saga.
Sturluson, Snorri. Prose Edda. Mineola, New York, 2006. ISBN 0486451518
This Is Odinism. 1974. ISBN 095046130X
Titchenell, Elsa-Brita. The Masks of Odin: Wisdom of the Ancient Norse
Wodanson, Edred. Asatru-The Hidden Fortress. Parksville, BC, Canada, 2005.
Yeowell, John. Book of Blots. 1991. ISBN 0950461350
Odinic Rite Flyer
edit Bibliography (Odinist Library pdf files)
The Library of Odinism and Asatru (pdf. files)
edit External links
Odin Brotherhood
Odin Brotherhood Discussion Forum
Odin Brotherhood (North America and Europe)
Irmandade de Odin (Brazil / in Portuguese)
Odin Brotherhood of the Sacred Fire (Mexico)
Odin Brotherhood Material in Spanish
Frequently Asked Questions about the Odin Brotherhood
Facts about the Odin Brotherhood
Radio Interview of Dr. Mark L. Mirabello on the Odin Brotherhood (for "Odin Live
s" radio)
How to Conduct an Odinist Ritual from Wiki-How
An Interesting Site by a Danish Seeker (in English)
edit See also
Odin Brotherhood (Book)
Odin Brotherhood (Discussion Forum)
Irmandade de Odin (Galician)
La Fratellanza di Odin (Italian)
Odinism
Prose Edda
Odinic Rite
Asatru Alliance
Asatrúarfélagið
Asatru Folk Assembly
Odinist Fellowship
Comunita' Odinista

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