Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002, Page 17
Asatruar, worked to formulate and rebuild a religion long thought dead...
(Murray, 2001, ¶ 16)
Regarding dates, many Ásatrúar refer to the Runic Era calendar, as opposed to the common
calendar. The website of the Wodan‘s Kindred explains this as follows:
The Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, etc., have their own calendar system, so why
not us? At the time of this decision the oldest Runic artifact discovered in
Europe had been carbon dated to 250 years before Christ. So they chose
that date as the time when Odin revealed the Runes to our race (the
beginning of the current Era), and counted the year as ―0‖, hence the ―RE‖
stands for Runic Era...[despite differences of opinion] for the sake of unity
and solidarity the Ásatrúar and Odinists of today (most of them) have
decided to adhere to this original date... (Wodanesdag Press, 2001, ¶ 3)
For example, the same Internet site states that the current year is 2251 RE. The above-
cited article by Michael Valgard Murray of the Ásatrú Alliance, also makes ample use of the
Runic Era calendar, for example stating that ―In the year 2238 Runic Era, Asatru was
revived both in Vinland and Iceland by pioneers of the Folk‖ (Murray, 2001, ¶ 9), a
reference to the 1988 founding of Murray‘s Ásatrú Alliance. It is unfortunate that this
seems more the callow attempt of a fledgling belief system to trump the actions of existing
mainstream or alternate faiths, rather than a true endeavor to better itself. The above
expression resembles more a need for ―one-up-manship‖ than sincere theology.
At the same time that McNallen was endeavoring to strengthen the Viking Brotherhood
(renamed the Asatru Free Assembly [AFA]) the Odinist Fellowship was formed in the early
1970s (Kaplan, 1997). Else Christensen, the widow of Alex Christensen, formed the group
and began publication of The Odinist, under the influence of the writings of Alexander Rud
Mills, an Australian Nazi sympathizer. ―Mills‘ diagnosis held that the contemporary malady
of civilization was due to the malign influence of the Jews...Out of this process of reasoning
came Mills‘ most influential book, The Odinist Religion: Overcoming Jewish Christianity.‖
(Kaplan, 1997, p. 15) Concerning this sort of ideology, Kaplan sums up the differences
between Ásatrú and Odinism:
Although self-identified Odinists are often drawn to the belief system by
preexisting racialist beliefs, Ásatrúers are a considerably more diverse
community for whom racial pride, while important, is in most instances
secondary to the greater considerations of spirituality and the
―remagicalization‖ of the world. (Kaplan, 1997, p. 19)
The year 1978 marked a decisive break on McNallen‘s part from Odinistic thought when he
issued a statement in response to the association with Odinism of the National Socialist
White Workers Party, led by Allen Vincent, a veteran of the American Nazi Party. Kaplan
quotes McNallen as saying, ―Nazi-Odinist identification has persisted down to this day, but
most of us either learned to live with it or simply hoped it would go away...The Ásatrú Free
Assembly announces the end of that tolerance‖ (Kaplan, 1997, p. 19).
In 1985, Rob Meek (a.k.a. Ingvar Solve Ingvisson, his craft pseudonym2) joined the AFA,
and would prove to be an eventual blight on the whole of Ásatrú. Financial and political
stressors eventually wore away at McNallen and the AFA, and in 1987 the Ásatrú Free
Assembly was disbanded. Two groups, the Ring of Troth, founded by Dr. Stephen Flowers
2 A craft pseudonym is an a.k.a. that is assumed by some in the pagan/heathen/wiccan community
when either interacting with the pagan community (e.g., book signings or other appearances) or when
performing rituals. It is a totem name of sorts, chosen by the practitioner to denote either some
attribute or to aid in a liaison with the gods. For the most part craft pseudonyms are not legal names.
Asatruar, worked to formulate and rebuild a religion long thought dead...
(Murray, 2001, ¶ 16)
Regarding dates, many Ásatrúar refer to the Runic Era calendar, as opposed to the common
calendar. The website of the Wodan‘s Kindred explains this as follows:
The Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, etc., have their own calendar system, so why
not us? At the time of this decision the oldest Runic artifact discovered in
Europe had been carbon dated to 250 years before Christ. So they chose
that date as the time when Odin revealed the Runes to our race (the
beginning of the current Era), and counted the year as ―0‖, hence the ―RE‖
stands for Runic Era...[despite differences of opinion] for the sake of unity
and solidarity the Ásatrúar and Odinists of today (most of them) have
decided to adhere to this original date... (Wodanesdag Press, 2001, ¶ 3)
For example, the same Internet site states that the current year is 2251 RE. The above-
cited article by Michael Valgard Murray of the Ásatrú Alliance, also makes ample use of the
Runic Era calendar, for example stating that ―In the year 2238 Runic Era, Asatru was
revived both in Vinland and Iceland by pioneers of the Folk‖ (Murray, 2001, ¶ 9), a
reference to the 1988 founding of Murray‘s Ásatrú Alliance. It is unfortunate that this
seems more the callow attempt of a fledgling belief system to trump the actions of existing
mainstream or alternate faiths, rather than a true endeavor to better itself. The above
expression resembles more a need for ―one-up-manship‖ than sincere theology.
At the same time that McNallen was endeavoring to strengthen the Viking Brotherhood
(renamed the Asatru Free Assembly [AFA]) the Odinist Fellowship was formed in the early
1970s (Kaplan, 1997). Else Christensen, the widow of Alex Christensen, formed the group
and began publication of The Odinist, under the influence of the writings of Alexander Rud
Mills, an Australian Nazi sympathizer. ―Mills‘ diagnosis held that the contemporary malady
of civilization was due to the malign influence of the Jews...Out of this process of reasoning
came Mills‘ most influential book, The Odinist Religion: Overcoming Jewish Christianity.‖
(Kaplan, 1997, p. 15) Concerning this sort of ideology, Kaplan sums up the differences
between Ásatrú and Odinism:
Although self-identified Odinists are often drawn to the belief system by
preexisting racialist beliefs, Ásatrúers are a considerably more diverse
community for whom racial pride, while important, is in most instances
secondary to the greater considerations of spirituality and the
―remagicalization‖ of the world. (Kaplan, 1997, p. 19)
The year 1978 marked a decisive break on McNallen‘s part from Odinistic thought when he
issued a statement in response to the association with Odinism of the National Socialist
White Workers Party, led by Allen Vincent, a veteran of the American Nazi Party. Kaplan
quotes McNallen as saying, ―Nazi-Odinist identification has persisted down to this day, but
most of us either learned to live with it or simply hoped it would go away...The Ásatrú Free
Assembly announces the end of that tolerance‖ (Kaplan, 1997, p. 19).
In 1985, Rob Meek (a.k.a. Ingvar Solve Ingvisson, his craft pseudonym2) joined the AFA,
and would prove to be an eventual blight on the whole of Ásatrú. Financial and political
stressors eventually wore away at McNallen and the AFA, and in 1987 the Ásatrú Free
Assembly was disbanded. Two groups, the Ring of Troth, founded by Dr. Stephen Flowers
2 A craft pseudonym is an a.k.a. that is assumed by some in the pagan/heathen/wiccan community
when either interacting with the pagan community (e.g., book signings or other appearances) or when
performing rituals. It is a totem name of sorts, chosen by the practitioner to denote either some
attribute or to aid in a liaison with the gods. For the most part craft pseudonyms are not legal names.
