Asatru Folk Assembly
Asatru is about roots…
It’s about connections…
It’s about coming Home.
Asatru is about roots…
It’s about connections…
It’s about coming Home.
I am writing this morning with the sun shining in on me, gazing out at the beautiful blooms on the trees outside my apartment. Life is good and I am feeling springtastic! Everywhere I look, the AFA is a buzz with activity and vitality. Mandy and I just returned from Washington State where I was honored to speak at the Northwest Forum hosted by Counter Currents. These folks gave us great hospitality and a fantastic event. Mandy and I met some great people and we had the opportunity to introduce a lot of folks to Asatru.
In the AFA, we are about doing, and with that in mind, Folkbuilder Cameron Mottus has initiated an effort to raise money for persecuted whites in South Africa. For those of you that may not know, white farmers are being savagely abused and impoverished. This abuse is racially motivated and, because they are sons and daughters of Europe, the victims are being largely ignored by the world. This is a tragedy, but take heart! There are tangible ways that your contributions can help these folk and, so far, the generosity of AFA members towards this has been overwhelming!
Speaking of DOING, the AFA is thriving and growing, now more than ever before. We have big things we want to accomplish, for our Gods, for our church and for our folk. We need your help! The AFA is looking for volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact your local Folkbuilder and they will be happy to get your information to the right people. With your help, we have great things ahead of us.
Hexennacht in the South is right around the corner. I cannot stress this enough, if you can make it...... take the leap and make it happen. These events are so very special and important, they literally change lives. I know that going to national events made all the difference in my life and in my soul. Mandy and I are looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones at this years Hexennacht and we would love to see each of you there and share a horns of warm and fellowship.
Last but not least, embrace the spring that surrounds you. Be inspired to get out, emerge from the hibernation of winter. Seize the might of the spring time sun and happen to life rather than life happening to you. This is a great time to be alive and a great time to be a part of the Asatru Folk Assembly.
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen of the AFA. It feels like this year is going by swiftly. Mandy and I are getting settled into life here in Reno and we are loving every minute in this truly magical place. February started out in style with the AFA Charming of the Plow in Southern California, hosted by the AFA's own Tru-Folk Kindred. The quality of this event was phenomenal, great presentations by Steve McNallen and Bryan Wilton and one of the most profound impromptu sumbles I have ever had the honor of sharing in. I have said it before but I can't say it enough, make the time and attend a national AFA event, they are truly life changing!
The past few months have been about celebrating, planning, and preparing. In March we shift our focus to DOING. As the season of action springs upon Midgard, let us burst forth with renewed vigor and life. In March we celebrate Ostara on the vernal equinox. Ostara is the Germanic goddess of the dawn, like our ancestors, this victory goddess rides out of the east and her radiance conquers all before her, darkness cannot stand against her onslaught. Let our folk spring forth and sweep away all that is dark and foul in our lives and replace it with the warmth and light of great accomplishment. May we build ourselves into the men and women we wish to be and build our kindreds and our AFA family into the heroic force we are destined to become. Always greater, always more, ever ascendant!
It makes me so proud to see all the activity in the AFA, this issue will show pictures of our amazing folk gathering together, sharing, celebrating, DOING. I encourage each of you, come on out and get involved, our church is what we make of it and your AFA family is waiting to welcome you with open arms. We have great folks doing great things and, if the first 2 months are any indication, 2018 will be a year of power and victory.
I have spent the last week absorbing and reflecting on the AFA's 6th annual Winter Nights in the Poconos. I was absolutely blown away by the intensity of this year's event. I want to take this opportunity to thank Folkbuilder and Witan Clifford Erickson for all the hard work that he put in to making this event all that it was. Cliff was behind all the steps; procurement/liaising with the camp, the scheduling, the registration, the auction, the arranging of speakers and rituals, the supply logistics, the clean up to raise a few. Your efforts are much appreciated by myself, by our folk, and I certainly believe by our Gods.
I would also like to acknowledge the profound contribution that Gythia Patricia Hall made to the success of this event. Pat gave our ladies a magical and meaningful bonding experience and brought them together in a way we have all hoped for but only now begin to see realized. Most importantly to me, Pat preformed, not only the most profound Disir Blot that I have ever witnessed, but the most moving Blot of ALL that I have ever been a part of. Thank you Pat, I was shaken to my very core in the most beautiful way and am still digesting it as I write this.
What an amazing month we have had! One year ago, seemingly out of nowhere, Gothar Coordinator Blaine Qualls and Folkbuilder Jason Gallagher put on a spectacular event, Fallfest. Mandy and I have spent this last year anticipating Fallfest II and bragging to folks about our amazing Northern Plains family.
Let me tell you, they did not disappoint! The second annual Fallfest was absolutely amazing. The growth in our Northern Plains region over the last year is astounding and it really showed in the impressive turnout this year. The quality of these folks is truly something to behold, their hospitality is an example for us all. This event was made even more special for me as I had the honor of officiating the wedding of Blaine and Vronna. Start planning to attend Fallfest III now, you will not regret it!
Wow, I am still coming down from the amazing Midsummer at Newgrange Hof. What a stellar gathering!
I would like to thank everyone who made this year's Midsummer such a success and the largest AFA event to date. This Midsummer was personally very special to me because I had the honor of taking the radiant and regal Mrs. Mandy Flavel as my wife. Thanks to all the volunteers, thanks to the presenters, thanks to the Gothar, very special thanks to the gentlemen of the Viking Brotherhood for all their behind the scenes work that made the event run buttery smooth. Last but not least, thanks to all of you who traveled from near and far to share in ritual and fellowship with us under radiant Midsummer sun.
Midsummer is traditionally the start of the AFA year. The guiding theme this year is empowerment through the mystery of Laguz. Let us take the time to cherish Laguz, both as the blood that flows through our veins and the mead that fills our horns. Laguz is the dynamic flow of energy and power that we send, that we receive, and that we share. This sharing is profoundly expressed in the runic charm ALU (Ansuz, Laguz, Uruz).
As the summer flows forth, I urge you all, go out, engage with your fellow AFA members and DO Asatru!
This event was the first of the kind in it’s region and a smashing success. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work of Folkbuilder Heather Clinkenbeard and the AFA’s Tru Folk Kindred, this event was a result of their beautiful vision and spectacular effort, Hail the Tru Folk! As I reflect on Walpurgisnacht and May Day, I would like to share some thoughts on the significance of these celebrations to our faith.
On Walpurgisnacht we celebrate the magic and mysteries of our women, through their workings they prepare our world for holy creation, filling it with potential and enchantment. We follow this the next day by celebrating the virile male force as we erect and charm the May Pole, adding will to the enchantment of the night previous. Through the fertile enchantment of the feminine and the willed potency of the masculine, abundance and life burst forth and permeate our Spring. Magic is truly in the air!
Thank you to everyone who made it out to the Tru Folk’s AFA Walpurgisnacht and I hope that, where ever you find yourselves this Spring, you are filled with energetic enthusiasm for the triumphant future of our Folk.
Watching spring bloom amongst our folk has been a beautiful sight to see, especially this year. In case any of you hasn’t heard, the annual AFA Ostara in the South was an astonishing success this year. Beautiful location, great attendance, and most importantly, a vibrant and united folk. The folk in attendance were full of energy, zealous for our Gods, our Folk, and the AFA.
I want to thank everyone who made this event possible, those who organized this as well as all of you that showed up and celebrated with us.
A focus for the AFA during this spring is on victory. Our ancestors gave blot for victory in the springing of the year, pouring out their will and beseeching our Gods for success, to win, in all their endeavors. Now as then, it is time for us to seek victory and define in our hearts and minds what victory is. Victory is not just one big prize in an all or nothing game to be achieved at the finish line. Large scale victory is a result of daily small scale victories, each building upon each other.
Let us march forward together this year, like the radiance of the dawn, let us conquer all that stands in our way and light up the world with our empowerment, piling up victories where there was once only darkness and shadow. By focused will, let us be victorious in our health, victorious in our families, victorious for our folk.
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