Instinct

I was a little boy, when I realized the slight differences in the scent of weather. It sounds funny to talk about it like that, but it’s the only way I can describe it. I remember standing outside in the yard, no more than eight years old, barefoot, and watching the rain come over the mountain, and into the valley. I remember that smell. Even though I was only a small child, I was almost immediately able to distinguish the difference in scents between seasons and weather. Spring rain smells different, of course, than autumn rain. This comes in handy, especially if you work outside.

Over the years, I have been made fun of for saying that you can smell a storm coming. Often times, it’s been written off as false information, told by the simple minded. I’ve even recently watched a show about weather, where the “science experts” dismissed the idea of predicting weather through senses. They laughed at the idea that any person, or animal, could predict such a thing. The last few years, however, there have been articles published that talk about how it is, in fact, true. You can, indeed, smell a storm coming. 

How does this relate to growing up in Appalachia specifically, or Heathenry for that matter? The answer is simple. Over the generations, we have forgotten what it is to feel. In Heathenry, we read our books, study our lore, argue science, and forget what it is to survive. We spend so much time talking about ancestors, but we don’t remember what it was that helped them survive. For as complex as Heathenry is, it’s really not. That’s what makes it complex. It’s difficult for those who have a modern mind to understand. 

Simply put, Heathenry is who we are. To understand ourselves is to understand Heathenry. It’s a part of our ancestors and culture. The reason that story sticks with me, is because looking back on it, it’s a lesson. We don’t always have to have books to tell us what we feel or who we are. Looking in the mirror and seeing your ancestors looking back can give you as much inspiration and guidance as any book. It’s a ritual I perform every day. 

So, why is it so hard for folks to grasp the idea of looking inside themselves and using intuition and observation to live their lives? That can be a little complicated. We live in a society that is all about right now. Instant gratification, while sometimes useful, has gained so much control of our daily lives. Many folks can’t seem to get into the idea that sometimes, things just take time. Looking into yourself and observing nature, and putting that with what you observe about your own survival instincts, is too much work. Looking it up online, reading it in a book, or asking someone on a forum has become the primary ways of learning.

Books are great, and talking to other folks on forums can be extremely helpful. Don’t get me wrong about that. However, sometimes you just have to take a week and sit outside for a few hours. Breathe in the air, watch animal behavior, look at the trees and sky, and take notes if you have to. Everything from what you’re smelling, to how the breeze makes you feel. Once you do that, look back and compare at your week. Did you find that the leaves on the trees turned over? Did you notice how the birds were behaving?

I’m sure some people reading this may be wondering what I’m getting at. I’d almost bet that someone is angrily reading on, looking for how this fits in with Vikings and Odin. The fact is, it has everything to do with our ancestors and our Gods. It’s something that seems lost in the age of digital self-serving instant gratification. In essence, we are that something, and we are lost. 

Science can tell us only so much, as can any book. At some point, we have to make decisions based on our own instinct. Not to be confused with a decision based on something we’ve read about. Rather, a decision based on circumstance and personal placement in the specific situation. Getting back to our roots as humans and as a folk, comes from more than just academics. You have to also live it.

Although intuition may not be recognized by more science minded folk as a legitimate way of practicing Heathenry, it doesn’t mean that it’s any less true to who we are. We have to balance academics with intuition. With academics, we can learn a world view through history, archaeology, and other information. With intuition, we can live the world view through how we make decisions, react to situations, and practice our faith accordingly. 

In the end, we need to step away from this outside information, and look in ourselves. Do we constantly have to be looking for others to approve? When I started work on building a Kindred, I had talked to one of my best friend’s. At the time, I had been exposed to a lot of opinions on Heathenry via the internet, as well as a lot of bickering due to those opinions. The one thing we talked about and agreed upon, was that we weren’t going to let someone tell us how we can, or can’t do things. We were going to balance what we knew with how we felt. If it fit the world view, which comes natural as it’s a part of who we are and where we come from already, we were going to do it. For us, it’s about balance, adaptation, and understanding ourselves and our ancestors.

            Sometimes, we just have to get away from the internet and television, and go work in the garden, take a walk, or just sit for a while and think. Your faith isn’t just words in a book. Your faith is who you are. It’s time to apply that knowledge to your everyday life.