Will the Marine Corps put "Odinist" on my dog tags?

[Keltrick]

For gravestones I know they can do a generic Neo-Pagan pentagram, but I think that's it. As far as I know you can list anything as your religion on your dog tag.

well that's really lame. I'm not some devil worshiping Wiccan.

Devil ... woshiping ... wiccan. Uh-huh. Well, I think I'm pretty much done with this thread after reading that.

ok even i'll admit that when i pressed post, i probably should have worded that differently. my bad

im just a little tired of people confusing Norse Paganism with Satanism or some sort of witch cult. we are normal people. we don't sacrifice humans and we don't use the sacred runes to supposedly tell our futures. once again, my bad.

Thank you for owning your mistake.

I see it as this: if you're tired of Norse Paganism being confused with a Satanic religion just because people, that don't understand it, label it as such, you should attempt to be more understanding of fellow pagans. They deal with many of the same labels you do. Granted, while I know more about Asatru than Wicca, I do know Wiccans don't believe in JudeoChristian hell or devils.

I personally have a friend who identifies as an Asatruar. He has a Mjölnir tattooed on his arm, so I'm more knowing than most when it comes to it. Not an expert, but understanding. I want that for every religion out there.

As for your gravestone emblem, I hope it works out in your favor. If the worst was to happen, your family causing a bit of ruckus might help out. If they press and keep talking about freedom of religion, they may get what they/you want. I think the argument will be harder to win though if you're still alive and its a "just in case" stance you have to take.

 

[Johnny Reb]

I thought it was called Asatru, not Odinism.

Modernism vs. reconstructionism. Asatru and other sects of Heathendom wish to reconstruct the old Heathen religion, so they can practice it like our ancestors did and bring it into the modern world by studying the Eddas, Sagas, folklore, and books on Norse Myths. Odinists believe that the past is a good place to do research, but Odinism is a religion of the here and now. We do not put as much importance in studying and reconstructing the past. The Gods are living being that are alive today. We can contact the Gods here today, so if we can contact our Gods directly and find out from them what they want today; how is studying books on myths more important than direct contact? So, studying the Vikings, Goths, etc. is more important to Asatru people than to Odinists, albeit Odinists read the Eddas and Sagas too. The Eddas and Sagas are not a Heathen Bible as some Asatru people think. They were written by Christians, not Heathens.

So it's mostly a matter of interpretation then? That's quite interesting.

I'd be quite interested in doing some research in this; do you have any good sources where to start?

And also, you mentioned that you have a wish to do your gods bidding. I've only pretty rudimentary knowledge of Asatru from school in Sweden. But similarly to Greek gods, the old lore of the Norse seem to tell of them as having quite human needs and whims. How do you interpret that into your daily life?

you could start with the website of the Odinic Rite. They have some really good articals on there, as well as some cool videos. note: i am not a member but they have the right idea http://www.odinic-rite.org/main/

but over the years i have bought several really good books. there's a lot of really good stuff on amazon. but note that no one Odinist speaks for the rest us. every man is entitled to his opinion. because one man says one offensive thing does not mean we all believe that. we have no commandments so people think that they need to make one themselves.

well most people see the gods as actual human like entities. they see Odin as an old man with a beard and one eye, and Thor as a redheaded buffoon that carries around a hammer smashing things. i see this as silly. I see the gods as unending forever lasting being, as big as the universe itself. They want us to live full, rich lives full of honor and duty to our kin and folk. I see the gods themselves are part of my folk. on a regular basis i pray and sacrifice to them. We live by the law of Gebo. A gift, for a gift. When i sacrifice to them they are bound to give back to me, and vise-versa

if you have any other questions, don't be afraid to PM me, im happy to help in any way i can.