The Odinic Rite (OR) is a Germanic Neopagan organization whose aims are to promote all aspects of Germanic paganism, termed Odinism after the chief god of Norse mythology, Odin.

History

Influenced by Else Christensen's Odinist Fellowship, the Committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite / Odinist Committee was founded by John Yeowell who was known as "Stubba" in England, 1973. In 1980 the organisation changed its name to The Odinic Rite after it was believed that it had gained enough significant interest in the restoration of the Odinic faith.

Leadership

In 1989 Yeowell resigned as Director of the OR's governing body, the Court of Gothar. The Court then unanimously elected Heimgest as its Director and he was officially installed in this position on 23rd April 1989 at the White Horse Stone in Kent. Heimgest remains the Director of the Court to this day. John Yeowell resigned from the Court of Gothar entirely in 1991 and left the Odinic Rite.

Rival Group

In 1991, an expelled member of the OR, Ingvar Harrison set up a rival Odinic Rite group and sent out letters to the OR membership purporting to be from the Court of Gothar which claimed that Heimgest had asked to be removed from the Court of Gothar and be replaced by Yeowell. These claims were firmly denied in the October 1991 issue of the OR member's journal, OR Briefing. This unofficial OR group, which came to be known as the "Edda" group (due to their PO box being named "Edda" whereas the official OR has always used the PO box "Runic"), continued in existence until

Charity Status

In 1988 the Odinic Rite became the first polytheistic religious orgnanisation to be granted "Registered Charity" status in the UK. Whilst the charitable status did not bring much benefit to the organisation they felt that it was a victory in their fight to have Odinism taken seriously.

White Horse Stone Incident

During the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link between England and France, building work was intended in the area of the fifth century hero Horsa's burial site near the historical site of the Battle of Aylesford in Kent. A retired Stubba and the Odinic Rite campaigned heavily and made numerous media appearances against the destruction of the White Horse Stone site and succesfully had the route of the railway diverted. Later in 2004, due to the previous incident, the Odinic Rite successfully to block the construction of a radio tower mast near the site with a unanimous rejection of the building application by the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. Following this second threat the was set up by Odinic Rite members. The group meets regularly at the stone to clear litter and graffiti from the stone and surrounding area.

Structure and Beliefs

The OR has chapters in France (ORF), Australia (1995), and North America (ORV, 1997) and individual members spread over many other countries. The German chapter "Odinic Rite Deutschland" (ORD, 1995) has since become an independent organisation. The Odinic Rite has legal status in the United Kingdom, Australia and various states in the United States.

The basic unit of the Odinic Rite is the "Hearth", a group of adherents who gather to perform ceremonies known as Blóts or Blotar,

"Professed members" have sworn an oath of fealty to the gods and to the Odinic Rite society. They receive a "torc", a small crescent-shaped shield said to derive from a historical British military decoration (not to be confused with the Celtic "torque").

Members of the Odinic Rite are encouraged to live their lives according to the Nine Noble Virtues and the Nine Charges which are detailed below.

Odinic Rite claim that the swastika symbol (by them consistently referred to as fylfot, a term attested in a 1500 description of ornamentations of church stained glass windows) is "one of the most holy symbols of Odinism". To back up this claim, they refer to swastika-like shapes in rock carvings of the Nordic Bronze Age (where they appear as one among many ornamental symbols), speculating that the Sowilo rune may in fact represent a "semi-fylfot".

Nine Noble Virtues

The Nine Noble Virtues are the ethical code gleaned from various sources including the Poetic Edda (particularly the Hávamál), the Icelandic Sagas and Germanic folklore. They were codified by John Yeowell (a.k.a Stubba) and John Gibbs-Bailey (a.k.a Hoskuld) of the Odinic Rite in the 1970's.

The virtues are:

1. Courage
2. Truth
3. Honour
4. Fidelity
5. Discipline
6. Hospitality
7. Self Reliance
8. Industriousness
9. Perseverance

Nine Charges

The Nine Charges were, like the Nine Noble Virtues, codified by the Odinic Rite in the 1970's.

The charges are:

1. To maintain candour and fidelity in love and devotion to the tried friend: though he strike me I will do him no scathe.
2. Never to make wrongsome oath: for great and grim is the reward for the breaking of plighted troth.
3. To deal not hardly with the humble and the lowly.
4. To remember the respect that is due to great age.
5. To suffer no evil to go unremedied and to fight against the enemies of Faith, Folk and Family: my foes I will fight in the field, nor will I stay to be burnt in my house.
6. To succour the friendless but to put no faith in the pledged word of a stranger people.
7. If I hear the fool's word of a drunken man I will strive not: for many a grief and the very death groweth from out such things.
8. To give kind heed to dead men: straw dead, sea dead or sword dead.
9. To abide by the enactments of lawful authority and to bear with courage the decrees of the Norns.

The German ORD has adopted a different set of nine charges, set out at greater length and not in poetic or archaizing language, notably avoiding reference "enemies of the folk" or "stranger people", which may be summarized as (1) support Odinism, (2) practice Odinism, (3) do not misrepresent Odinism to the public, (4) offer support and protection to your family and your relatives (5) commend Odinism to your children, but let them choose freely, (6) address differences with other members honourably, (7) anybody who is tied to you in mutual solidarity is entitled to your support when in need, (8) do not avoid conflict, but engage in it with dignity and good measure, (9) be prepared to offer reconciliation if you can do so honestly and honourably.

See also

• Germanic Neopaganism
• Neopaganism
• White Horse Stone