As a easy way to introduce myself I decided to just pull one of my posts off from Tumblr and share it here. I hope you guys enjoy.
I saw on an Asatru Folk site a criticism about Hellenism. The author wrote that unlike Hellenism Asatru has a huge appeal because of its view of the afterlife. The author wrote that Asatru offers the halls of Valhalla whereas Hellenism only offers the gloom of Hades. Not only does this author not understand their own faith (not everyone goes to Valhalla) but they also do not understand mine.
When someone dies their spirit travels with Hermes down to the Styx. The spirit is then ferried across the river and led by Hermes to the Crossroads. At the Crossroads the Three Judges Minos Rhadamanthys and Aeacus decide the fate of the spirit based on their deeds and actions in life. This is different from the Christian idea of sin because the Gods are entirely unconcerned with things like who we decide to bed or how many different kinds of fabric we decide to wear. Instead the Three Judges look at the overall impact of our lives on the Cosmos.
The majority of us who have lived normal lives will be sent to the Asphodel Meadows. The Asphodel Meadows are the gloom that the Asatru author spoke of. The common view of the Asphodel Meadows parallels that of the Heathen view of Helheim. The spirit exists in a mild way as in life with both joy and sadness. The spirits is spared the worst of things like hate evil and pain though. Interesting fact the Asphodel Meadows get their name from this flower.
If the spirit lived a good especially beneficial life the Judges send it to the Elysian Fields. This is the Hellenic version of Heaven. Here is where the spirits of great social leaders artists philosophers soldiers and those who just lived decent lives etc get sent. This is also the place where those who managed to achieve enlightenment on Earth rest in perfect bliss. In ancient times it was believed that those initiated in the Eleusian Mysteries would go here after death. The Elysian Fields are nothing but fine food fine wine sex and sleep. There is no work toil boredom hate or anything else that plagues the living in this sacred place.
The third and final option is Tartarus. The Judges reserve the land of Tartarus for those few spirits who have committed especially heinous crimes against humanity nature and or the Gods. This land if full of pain and suffering. Characters in mythology like the Titans Tantalus and Sisyphus are sentenced to suffer here.
I also believe in reincarnation. This idea was more common among the Romans than the Greeks but I carry it nonetheless. According to tradition after the spirit served its allotted time in its designated place it either drinks from the Lethe River or the Mnemosyne River. The difference is that the Lethe causes the spirit to forget its past life and existence in the Underworld. Whereas the Mnemosyne allows the spirits to remember both of these things. What determines rather or not a spirit is allowed to drink from one and not the other is where they spent their time in the Underworld. Those who went to the Elysian Fields are allowed to drink from the Mnemosyne and those who went to the Asphodel Meadows or Tartarus are only allowed to drink the Lethe. After the spirit has had its drink it is reincarnated along familial lines
I saw on an Asatru Folk site a criticism about Hellenism. The author wrote that unlike Hellenism Asatru has a huge appeal because of its view of the afterlife. The author wrote that Asatru offers the halls of Valhalla whereas Hellenism only offers the gloom of Hades. Not only does this author not understand their own faith (not everyone goes to Valhalla) but they also do not understand mine.
When someone dies their spirit travels with Hermes down to the Styx. The spirit is then ferried across the river and led by Hermes to the Crossroads. At the Crossroads the Three Judges Minos Rhadamanthys and Aeacus decide the fate of the spirit based on their deeds and actions in life. This is different from the Christian idea of sin because the Gods are entirely unconcerned with things like who we decide to bed or how many different kinds of fabric we decide to wear. Instead the Three Judges look at the overall impact of our lives on the Cosmos.
The majority of us who have lived normal lives will be sent to the Asphodel Meadows. The Asphodel Meadows are the gloom that the Asatru author spoke of. The common view of the Asphodel Meadows parallels that of the Heathen view of Helheim. The spirit exists in a mild way as in life with both joy and sadness. The spirits is spared the worst of things like hate evil and pain though. Interesting fact the Asphodel Meadows get their name from this flower.
If the spirit lived a good especially beneficial life the Judges send it to the Elysian Fields. This is the Hellenic version of Heaven. Here is where the spirits of great social leaders artists philosophers soldiers and those who just lived decent lives etc get sent. This is also the place where those who managed to achieve enlightenment on Earth rest in perfect bliss. In ancient times it was believed that those initiated in the Eleusian Mysteries would go here after death. The Elysian Fields are nothing but fine food fine wine sex and sleep. There is no work toil boredom hate or anything else that plagues the living in this sacred place.
The third and final option is Tartarus. The Judges reserve the land of Tartarus for those few spirits who have committed especially heinous crimes against humanity nature and or the Gods. This land if full of pain and suffering. Characters in mythology like the Titans Tantalus and Sisyphus are sentenced to suffer here.
I also believe in reincarnation. This idea was more common among the Romans than the Greeks but I carry it nonetheless. According to tradition after the spirit served its allotted time in its designated place it either drinks from the Lethe River or the Mnemosyne River. The difference is that the Lethe causes the spirit to forget its past life and existence in the Underworld. Whereas the Mnemosyne allows the spirits to remember both of these things. What determines rather or not a spirit is allowed to drink from one and not the other is where they spent their time in the Underworld. Those who went to the Elysian Fields are allowed to drink from the Mnemosyne and those who went to the Asphodel Meadows or Tartarus are only allowed to drink the Lethe. After the spirit has had its drink it is reincarnated along familial lines
Comment