Matl Blunt James F.

Keathley
Governot Colonel, MSHP

Mark S. James Van Godsey

Ditector, DPS Dirccto| MIAC

MIAC Bulletin
Asatru-Odinisnr
a7-1 9-O7

Recenl decades have seen a proiiieration oi different religions

and sects. Pad oi this movemenl has been a reslrgence of in
lerest in ancienl religious beliels and polythelsm. Whiie not re-
. cerving as much atlention as other pre-hjstoric religions, such as
Wicca, AsatrLl and Odinism stem irom simiiar backgrounds.
Both are evolulionary or reconstructed forms 01 religior prac-
ticed in Europe prior to the spread ol Christianity, meaning that
they are moderf interprelations of praclices that may have taken
difierent forms in the past. Asatr! and Odinism are of interest to
the law eniorcement community becalse many members of
while supremacist organizations have chosen them as a white
European allernalive to olher rejlgions.

Historical Asatri-Odinism

Asatri derives from the Old Norse words Asa (gods) and lr!
(failh). The term was firsl used in a modern contexl in a 1gth
cenl!ry opera, many o{ whjch ai the time (including Wagnefs
Ring of the Nibelung, ol "Bide of the valkyries" lamelot Thor's Ilammer
ADocalvDse NowIansJ
Apocalypse Drid that was pad ot Victorian Bomanticism.
Nowlans.) evoked a sense of historical pride

A polytheistic religion, Germanic paganism maintained a pantheon ol lour major gods and an assorlmenl
ol iesser oods. As with other pre-Cbrislian European religions, their rituals centered on sacrifice lmosl of'
tef animal, bul sometimes human as well). The view of the afterlile, as with many olher aspects of the re_
ligion in its original iorm, was not wellJormed, with no consistenl belieis on what took place after death

The spread of Christianity in the iate Foman perjod and the early lMiddle Ages gradually supplanted the
naiive peopje's original beliefs, as kings and their sublects turned to the newer religjon.

Neopaganish

Whiie the term was mentioned in the 1 gth century, Odinism as a modern religious movement began in the
1 930s. Australiaf Alexander Budd Mills wrole a series of books in the 1 930s relaled to Odinism and ihe

'Church o{ Odin,' the most prominenl ol which was "The Call ol Our Ancienl Nordic Beligion."! ln 1973 a
cenlralized group of Odinists was iormed in England. Known firsl as the Commit-
1ee 10r the Resloration of the Odinic Rite (Odjnlsl Commillee for short), the group
disbanded in 1979 and reJormed as The Odinic Rite.3

Sveinbjorn Beilleilsson ar lcelaoo( la'me ounded AsarrJ the roderr o ga__

ized lorm oi Germanjc paganism, and petitioned the lcelandic governmenl lor
recognition of lhe religion in 1972. The governmeni did so in 1 973, and was iol-
lowed by Denmark and Norway.

Since that time, small groups of Asatrli adherenls have sprung up around the
 world, predominately in Scandinavian co!nfies, bu1 with several groups located in
the United Slales as well. Some of these groups have tormed associalions wilh each
other and meel lor the religion's higher holy days. Groups in the Uniled States in-

ffi
clude the Asatr, Folk Assembly, the Asafu Aljiance, The Troth, and the lrminsul Af
tir.

Practices

Modern Asatr, possesses more structure than its ancient predecessor even though
there are few texts that provide any iniormation on ancienl riles and riluals.

Worship revolves around four malor gods:

Odin Ood oJ maqic, poetry, riches, and the dead; ruler 0t VaJhalla
Thor sky god who wieJds a hammer, controls the weather, and protects the law and community
Freyr lerlility god seen as the io!nder of lhe Swedish royal dynasty
F rcy)a lertility goddess ol love and beauly, Odin's wife and patron ol tamjlies

Additionally, Asatr! proiesses dedication to a moral code known as the Nine Noble Virtues: Courage,
Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, lnduslriousness, SeJJ-reliance, and Perseverance. Aiso,
rites are practiced ai the times of the summer and winter solstice and the sprjng and lall equinox.a

The alterlife described by Asatni consists oi a heaveniy paradise of Valhalla tor those who die in battle, a
s
peaceJ!l place knowr as Hel lor most, and a hellish iate in Hifhel lor the most wicked

David Lane and Wotanism

David Lane, a while supremacjst member 01 "The Order" who died if

prison on May 28, 2007, whiJe serving a 1 90 year sentence ioT acts com-
mitted while a member ol "The Order," Jorm!lated his own take on Ger
manic paganism. A firm believer ir n!merology, the sludy ol words and
numeric values ior hidden meanings, Lane proclaimed to have uncovered
a coding system within the King James Versron (KJV) of the Bible that
p'oves nim to be a proDher lor a rew vers.on ol oaganisn llown as wo.

Lane ostensibly chose Wotanism as the name tor his religiot because it
was the iorm used in central Europe, as opposed to Odinism in Scandina'
via. Additionally, "Wo1an" appealed 10 Lane because o{ its value as an ac
ronym, to stand for "lryill 9l f he Aryan Nation." Lane viewed other mod'
em'day Germanjc paqans as nothing more than "game players, deceivers
and universalists who had usurDed the name Odin."/

Several times in his writings Lane lakes lo task J!deo_Christians and neo-pagans for associating God
with love. As Lane states it:

The iact is, lhe Creator made lions to eat lambs, wolves to eal tawns, hawks to eat sparrows,
and the races ol men to tight ior life, women, tood, tetrjlory and power. There is no love iove
lovel! There is j!st law lai lawll Harsh, somelimes cruel, but still divine lawlls
Lane's views on religion and race, embodied in Wotanrsm, are perhaps besl summed up by anolher
slalement oi Lane's. "Nature and nalure's laws are the work oi the Creator," Lane wote. "Thereiore na'
ture's laws are God's iaws. And the iirsl and highesl law oi nature is lhe preservation of one's own kind."

White Order of Thule

The original Thule (pronounced "Two-Lee") Society was a German occultist society thal served as one 01
the parenl organizations tor Hiiier's Naz pady. Thule was the Greek name lor a my{hical nodbern coun'
try. The modern-day White Order oi Thule has its basis in white supremacist belieis with the additional
lrappings ol Odinism. Members 01 the White Order ol Thule have shown supporl for members of The O[
der. ln 2002 a member oi ihe Whiie Order of Thule, Leo Felton, was convicted oi plolting to blow up
landmarks ,n Boston in the hopes of siading a race war.e
 Y@RT$
Life Rune odin Rune odin Rune (variationr
,oJJ:l;:;,", ,#lf:::i:
ward otf wolves,
also used bY SS)

Runes that may be seen as tattoos on white supremacislsl0

lmpllcations for Missouri

Europe make i1 very attraclive to

Germanic paganism s origin in lhe pre-Christian praclices oJ nodhern
whilp srrnremaclsis who see it as a rellqlon wilhout the "laint" oi other cultures oI
races This adds to the
reel can be seen as
;;;i; ;;;;;;;;i;;;r ;;"'"oi r.i.toii".l 6'ia", as Asalri-odinism is a relision that thev
11!lii.iirij,ii",i"""i rJ"rt"","gbi;l'r""irtturethaltheyviewasbeingsrrongerandmorewarrjoL
nol in any way make a person
centeied ttran modern society. B;ing an adherenl to Asatd-Odinism does
are aJfiliated if such a manner
."i. l"iit"o t" L"tg white supreilacist On the contrary, those who be-
,.r"frjj "
*f ire""rpremacisis and makethe move to Germanic paganism based on those initial
"i"i ". ou"i" r"oerslanding o lle
r'.[] ilu"lnq; -eligiol ano ils orlgins w_al rakes ll.alrac_ive lo exlremisls
andhowlhoseextremislsinterprelandmodity"lherelgjonto:uilthelrown.racrslbeliefs'mayassisllaw
enlorcenent olftce's lo beilel uldersElo lhe nlndsej ol whlLe suoremaclsls
dps y:l ut on
The IVIAC requests ieedback on this producl (email miac@mshp T" S-qYl:: lol future"'qgestions
products
;;;; ;i;;;;;th" Missouri law entorcement communilv thal mav be utiiized

MWd$,@w trwf Mf,wtrwffi &6@ffi ffi mmWsEs @c mtmm

Division of Drug & Crime Conirol, PO Box 568,-Jefferson City' IMO 6510^2 0568
pioi"' izs-2fi-a122 TollFree:866'962'6422 Fax: 573-751-9950
in thts newsbtet hoiltd be coftb{ed LAW ilFOBcffiM gNslflYE Fuffiet dhnbufion ot tn'
HtAC DECLAIME|: Att lntonatbn conbined
tomkn h frh nerewt is rcstichd to law entoremn;;;;t* ;ii"i;i,
- nnnwr* ryencies, and Depinent ot tutense oeanimtbre
io-Aiioi' aq ifiutit THEBEIF MAt BE BELEASED ra aN\ MEda
oilt, un* pilo, awrcvat E o,.,"a ,., r," p"ot"n"i iiiii hts oohct wttr be.Enoved ron ail disttbution
sat(cfi civb and ctuinat pen"tw *v et,sr to' n'"use"iii-s"iidi* "'s"n'trc^
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tdt rho int^rn^tinn h*.in nay
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not be Mlac nilcnt!

shovd be conhcgd lot ke soutc* and rethb|||tv ol inloMion

;^*. 1t""""" reiigionfacts'com/a-z-religion-index/asatru htnl July 2007'

orShuddmills htnll' Julv 2007
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L nuaO Vilts,'tle ""**rrtrtttf://u'ww
Catl ofOur AncienL lordic-ReligioD," thttp://www odinic-rite
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';q""ri["'""4e^*",-abourtheoRandodrnrsm,'ithtp:'w;'wodnj('rrborr/qilhiill
p"g"nisn lhxp://www religionfrcts comi L z+eJ iUon-r nder/naru hml' lub' 2007
' "i*i.r fC""*"l" ''' hrn JulJ /u!/
The Bi; Reli!'on Ch;L rhlrl:rww$ el'tio|iacr'com/brg-rerilror-chrd
' fieetneordeI orc/PvilmrdPrcphecv/PPinuo hhnll'
David Lane, "The Pyramjd ProPhecv lnroduclion thnp:/riwu
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lnnr.rwuu.rtl.orl/l eirn'iel'nn/lelron corrvrc!ion flspl 20Jrl) 100:
i'ent-o"fumaro,iL"ugue, HuteonDtsplay: eVisuollatabaseofgxtrcnrislsyilbols Logos andT!{oos'"
svmbols/delaull-graPhics asp.l, 2005
lhst://www-adl.org/hale