DECLARATION OF TRADITION

Months in the making, the Declaration of Tradition is now OPEN for all Germanic Pagans to sign today!

Working with various Pagans, the DOT has been devised so as to represent the traditional values we are to adhere to as followers of Germanic Paganism.

The Declaration of Tradition serves as a means of unifying sincere followers of Germanic Paganism with a framework we can refer to and use to take collective action.

If you are a Germanic Pagan and believe in the traditional values taught to us by our Gods and ancestors, become a signatory today. You can sign as an individual or as an organisation if you have a gathering.

Special thank you to WodenWyrd and Þórr Siðr for their valuable assistance in the Declaration's creation, to Dan Capp / The Fyrgen for the website building, and to all individuals and organisations that have become signatories.

BECOME A SIGNATORY:
declarationoftradition.com

In the Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa (The Tale of Styrbjörn the Swedish Champion), a man named Eiríkr inn sigrsæli (Eric the Victorious) is described as blótaði Óðin - sacrificing to Odin - as well as gafsk honum, meaning he gave himself to Odin.

Gautrek's Saga also features the same terminology when Starkaðr stabs a reed-stalk into King Vikar, which turns into a real spear and says:

Nú gef ek þik Óðni.
"Now I give you to Odin."

The idea of "giving" oneself to a deity is primarily in reference to Odin. Hávamál verse 138 has Odin giving Himself to Himself on Yggdrasill:

Veit ek at ek hekk
vindga meiði á
nætr allar níu,
geiri undaðr
ok gefinn Óðni,
sjálfr sjálfum mér,
á þeim meiði er manngi veit
hvar's hann af rótum renn.

"I know that I hung
on a wind-battered tree
nine long nights,
pierced by a spear
and given to Óðinn,
myself to myself,
on that tree no man knows where its roots run."

Wāt iċ þæt iċ hēng
windgan māde on
nihta allu nigon,
gāre wundod
and ġiefen Wōdne,
self selfum mē,
on þām māde
þe nān mann wāt
hwæs hē of rōtum rinnþ.

Hávamál 138 in Old English (Crawford).

Creative professional Laurence Hardy in his series documenting the history of ancient European Pagan fertility cults has written an article about the Declaration of Tradition: https://laurencehardy.co/journal/anchored-in-the-ancients

You can sign the DOT here: declarationoftradition.com

Based Total War game capitalising "Him" and "Gods" when referring to Them. Thanks to Poetica Atelli for sending this in.

We live on Midgard? Splendid.

Hail Woden, the kin-wise raven-tester, thou who art known by many names.

Humans as trees

A kenning used for the word "warrior" in the skaldic poetry provides Germanic Pagans with an insightful look at how our ancestors conceived of humans, linking back to our creation in the Vǫluspá.

The term kringinn bör hjörþings means "the smart tree of the sword-assembly." Another term used for warrior is Ógnrakkr álmr dynskúrar málma, meaning "Battle-brave elm of the din-shower of weapons."

In an anonymous lausavísur in the Saga of Magnus Barefoot, a warrior by the name of Þórir is referred to as Lundr hjǫrs:

Ullstrengr spurði orði, hvé Þórir mætti; skip renndusk at hvatla; sverð snarpra fyrða bitu slætt. Lundr hjǫrs kvazk heill at hǫndum en hrumr at fótum; frôgum þat gǫrva; glamm grjóts gerðisk á borði.

"Ullstrengr ("Wool-band") asked how Þórir was faring; the ships closed quickly; the swords of keen warriors bit bluntly. The tree of the sword (warrior, Þórir) said he was hale of hand but halt of foot; we heard that clearly; there was a crash of rocks against the planking."

In these three instances, humans are referred to as trees. This is because our ancestors understood humans to have been created from driftwood by Odin, Hoenir and Lothurr, which is preserved in the poem Vǫluspá, stanzas 17-18 in the Poetic Edda.

The Danelaw

Odin and poetry

Poetry was a prized skill to our Germanic ancestors. Having the ability to compose poetry today is equally as useful for Germanic Pagans who want to create hymns to the Gods and ancestors that can be used in worship.

In the Norse literature, poetry is referred to as something intrinsically connected to Óðinn (Woden). The following list contains some kennings for poetry which feature Óðinn:

líð Hôars
"Drink of Hôars"
Hôars = Óðinn

hverlǫgr farms galga
"Cauldron-liquid of the burden of the gallows"
Burden of the gallows = Óðinn

líð Yggs
"Terrifier's drink"
Terrifier = Óðinn

Gjalfr Gauts
"Hollering sea of Gautr"
Gautr = Óðinn

hrannir saltunnu Hárs
"Waves of Hárr's hall-barrell"
Hárr = Óðinn

vágr Rǫgnis
"Wave of Rǫgnir"
Rǫgnir = Óðinn

And a personal favourite of mine:

Mjǫðr burar Bors
"Mead of Bor's son"
Bor's son = Óðinn

Poetry is tied to Óðinn because the traditional understanding of our ancestors is that He stole the mead of poetry from Suttungr's hall after transforming into an eagle and spitting the mead into the drinking vessels of the Gods. This knowledge is preserved in the poem Skáldskaparmál in the Prose Edda, along with the origin of Kvasir and his transformation into the mead of poetry after his death.