English Heathen

Welcome to the English Heathen site which is designed to help anyone who is already an English Heathen, or wishes to become one. What is an English Heathen? An English Heathen is an individual who believes in the most ancient polytheistic religion of the English; the primary god of the English pantheon is Woden – the All-Father. This religion is thus named Wodenism, or in its version promoted by Woden’s Folk, the Woden Folk-Religion.

This site is run by Woden’s Folk which is the foremost Wodenist Movement here in England; Woden’s Folk promotes a form of Folkish Wodenism based upon the most ancient Solar Religion of the Northern Folk, and incorporating a form of Primordial Tradition which goes back to the ancient northern island of Scandi/Thule/Atalland – an ancient island in the far north which, according to legend, sank at the end of a Golden Age. The latter we term the Polar Mythos which is the most ancient tradition of the Northlands.

This site is designed for anyone who is interested in Wodenism, and getting involved at one level or another with the rituals and active work of Wodenism. The foremost Wodenist Group here in England is Woden’s Folk, and this site will aid anyone involved in our work, but it does not stop there. There are many people who, for one reason or another, do not wish to get involved in a group, or become active within a group. These individuals may wish to work alone, and work at their own level of experience, or perhaps work on their own until such time as they feel right to join a group. Such people we shall term the Lone Wolf who wishes to remain active as an individual, but who, perhaps, does not know how to go about it. Hopefully, this site will aid these people too, and help them to educate and train themselves to become an English Heathen.

You will notice that throughout this site we steer well clear of promoting an “antiquarian” stance, i.e. dressing up in Anglo-Saxon garb in order to (for a short time) get away from a society that we feel alienated from. Believe you me, we do feel alienated, just as anyone else does in such a rotten society as we live in today, but our stance is that we have to remain in this society, but not be a part of it. It is our firm view that the society we live in today cannot last much longer, and that it will fall into total chaos, anarchy and destruction before too long. Good reason for us to prepare ourselves for such times. Why do we feel that this society will not last? After careful study we have come to the conclusion that we have entered a period of change, a period between two world-ages, a time when catastrophic changes are bound to occur, since all outworn and outmoded ideals will be destroyed in order to recreate a new world-age with new values, and above all new religious beliefs.

This is why we have concentrated our attention upon religion, rather than any other form of change. It is also true to say that the problems the English face today are spiritual and psychological, so no form of political change could occur until such time as these problems are overcome – through a profound Spiritual Revolution. That we are right in our interpretation can be seen from the events of our times – constant wars, terrorism, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, forest fires, and major catastrophes around the world. That society is breaking down can be clearly seen from the violence of our own society today; a society rife with crime, violent crime, perversions of every sort, horrific crimes again the vulnerable – children, the old, and the womenfolk of our land. This is all part of society today, and every new and horrific crime gets easier to bear as people get used to the snowball gathering pace. There may be a knee-jerk reaction for a short time – but then everything returns to “normal”, waiting for the next horrendous crime to come to light.

We live in what is termed now a “multi-cultural” society, where each section of that society has its own “community” (within the “World Community”); yet the English Community has no clout whatever within this “multi-cultural” society. Indeed, anyone who attempts to get a say, and stand up for the English, is deemed to be a racist, and will soon be attacked from all angles of the Establishment. The trigger word “racist” is used to great effect, though it is somewhat wearing thin nowadays due to overuse. A quick look at the word racism should suffice to show how this word has been twisted in meaning to suit the ends of a corrupt establishment who seek the total destruction of the English Folk. The term racism (race-ism) has the suffix ism which derives from the Greek ismos which means “doctrine” or “ideology”; so the term race-ism should translate as “Race Doctrine” or “Race Ideology”. Even stretching this point to the limit it could never mean race hatred – which is what the modern term “racism” has been adapted to mean! The only reason why this word should have been adopted for this use, to smear anyone who attempts to stand up for his own kind, is to destroy altogether the idea of race, and the idea that there are different races, and thus different species of mankind. This despite the fact that we can all see that there are differing races and species, as well as different nations and groups within those species.

The attack upon the English is merely a part of a world-wide attack upon all races and species of mankind; it could only lead to the destruction of all races and species. This is an attack upon Natural Law which decrees that Nature is in essence and form a unity based upon a diversity of species. Just as a tree is a tree, yet there are ash, oak, yew, elder, elm, birch, beech, pine, and many more species of tree, there are also differing species of mankind. Anyone but an idiot could not see that this is so – but there are far too many idiots out there who hold positions of power and influence, otherwise the world would not be as it is now – total chaos! And who is the most foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?

The idea that a “European State” can be forced upon the peoples of Europe involves the destruction of the existing Nations of Europe – including the English Nation. As this European State progresses it has become clear that the aim is to allow the existence of the smaller nations of Britain – Scotland, Wales, Ireland (in the latter case it would involve the destruction of Ulster which is a clear entity in itself which differs in national identity to that of Eire) – but to break the English nation into “regions” which would then become part of a European State. We can see now where Scottish Nationalism, Irish Nationalism, and Welsh Nationalism have sprung from, a secret plan to break up the British Union and to create a number of small “regions” in these islands which would be part of a European State. English Nationalists should thus be aware that they alone are not involved in a struggle for freedom, and for a struggle for the existence of their nation – the whole of Europe (and world-wide too) is involved in this struggle. There may be a need to struggle for our own nation, but we are also part of a greater struggle for the survival of all nations, peoples and races upon this earth.

Up until World War I the English considered themselves to be a Germanic people of mainly Nordic stock. With such a fierce and horrendous conflict between brother Germanic Nations, it suddenly became a “fact” that the English perhaps did not slaughter the Romano-Britons, but mingled with them, thus becoming a “Celtic” people – the Germanic Roots were severed! With a second and just as horrific World War II following this, imagine how much further the English became severed from their Germanic Roots. I would strongly advise all English Heathens to carefully study the history of these two World Wars, and then to educate themselves into what is really going on in the world around them. English Nationalism (of any form, political or otherwise) will do itself no favours by being “anti-German”, since the Anglo-Saxon peoples were a Germanic People. Breaking from these Germanic Roots only serves the purpose of those who today promote the idea of the English being “Celtic”; indeed, this idea has already spread as far as Germany where some German heathen groups refer to the English as “Celts”. The only solution to this great problem is for English Heathens to regain their ancient ties with their Germanic Brothers in other lands – and, like the Anglo-Saxons, these ties stretch around the world.

We call ourselves English from the Old English term Englisc; some still like to use the term Anglo-Saxon, which we use here to emphasize our roots, and to make clear who we see as being the real English Folk. However, the term Anglo-Saxon is really too vague, since there were also Jutes, Frisians, Franks, Swedes (Wuffingas) and various other tribal groups that made up the “Anglo-Saxon” invasion of Britain. This should also put paid to the idea that the later Viking invaders should be iognored due to their attacks upon the English in this land – these Viking raiders were of exactly the same blood-stock as the English – a Nordic and Germanic People from Northern Europe. Indeed, according to Tacitus the Ingwaeones, whose title alone connects them to the English, were based in northern Germany and Scandinavia – exactly the area where the Anglo-Saxons and later Vikings originated. The Vikings are just as much part of the English make-up as the Anglo-Saxons. The English Nation evolved from a union of these peoples – all from Northern Europe.

Which brings me to yet another point, and that is the futility of trying to ignore anything later than the Norman invasions, since this has no relevance to the Anglo-Saxon English. Unfortunately, this has become widespread as an English Consciousness starts to grow: we have to look at this in a different light if we are to regain a true English Consciousness. If we were to ignore everything after the Norman Conquest we would have to believe that the English never existed after that time, and this would lead to the conclusion that the English do not exist today. What a boon to those who would wish to see the non-existence of the English today. We should certainly not fall into that trap! Although the make-up of the English, and its institutions, have changed, the English still exist today, even though the aforesaid English Consciousness exists today at a deep level – hidden in the Blood of the English. The great names of English History are still writ upon the Scrolls of Time, and their Englishness was never eradicated by the effects of the Norman Conquest, or by any other repressive means.

The Battle of Hastings was lost simply because the Norman invaders (whose leaders were descended from the Norsemen, as their name suggests) used superior tactics, and the English made a great mistake through lack of discipline. This is something we should consider carefully, since we need to learn by our mistakes. We should consider the “War of Independence” fought in the USA, where the “red-coats” of the British lined up in formation to confront the enemy head-on, as was done in pervious wars. The enemy clearly knew that they could not win by a head-on confrontation, and used snipers to pick off the British in the forests and wooded areas – i.e. they fought using guerrilla warfare, the only way to win against superior odds.

On the same subject, about the need to adapt to varying situations, rather than sticking to a set plan and formation, we should consider the following which is from the era prior to World War II. Now, the Germans overran nearly all of Europe (not including Britain) within a very short period of time due to a tactic known as the Blitzkrieg; whilst the “allies” were busy digging trenches (as they had done in World War I) to halt the enemy advance, the Germans used a tactic which we could call the Lightning-War, using fierce and swift tank attacks going round the defenses set up. Had we not been an island we would certainly have had the same tactics deployed against us – and things could have been far different. It is not so well known that this tactic was given to the Germans by an English Army Officer prior to World War II; this officer was J.F.C. Fuller and he put this new plan of warfare to the British, who rejected it out of hand. He thus took the idea to the Germans (prior to any hostilities) who used it to devastating effect at the start of the war. Fuller got the idea from studying the warfare of Alexander the Great.

I have digressed slightly here, but there was a need to show that the Normans conquered this country using only a small force of men-at-arms. The means of doing so was to build castles, and to control the people from these small areas. The English had not developed a structure that could withstand such a means of total control; and the tactic of creating fear and panic in the common people of England ensured the success of the invaders. This same tactic is used today to control the English – fear and the creating of panic and disorder! The first thing that a bully must do is to instill fear in his (or her) victim; someone who shows no fear will never be a target for a bully. I underlined the words “The English had not developed a structure that could withstand such a means of total control” so as to point out that a return to a structure similar to the Anglo-Saxons would never be able to successfully oppose the oppression we face today, whose structure is very similar to the tactics of the Norman invaders – centralized and highly organized, and ruled by violence and fear. The Norman invasion, under Duke William, was blessed by the Catholic Pope and thus had the power of the most organized Christian Church behind it.

Looking back to the past in order to correct past mistakes, and to learn from the past, is fine. Trying to live in the past in today’s modern world is futile! In the past the Anglo-Saxons may never have had an organized religion, but that does not mean that today we do not need to build one. The world is far different. When I say “organized” I do not mean centralized, what I do mean is a religion suited to the whole of the English Community. And that will need to be a well organized religion if it is to embrace the English Nation. Indeed, it will need to be tailored to reach a wider audience.And this is why, as English Heathens, we should seek to change ourselves rather than preaching to others what should be done; it is our duty and our responsibility to lead by our own example, for what the English Community needs today is good leadership. And that leadership should not be made up of economic materialists, bound to an alien consumer society; it must be made up of spiritual leaders who seek to bind the English together as a Folk-Nation so as to ensure its survival and indeed its advancement and enhancement as a people.

Any future English State should not exist for any purpose but the survival and enhancement of the English Folk. The English have never been a static people, whose institutions have remained static and unchanging. No people could ever exist without change, for change is part of the process we live in – Becoming. Everything is in a state of Becoming since we live in time, and time is constant change at every moment. The ancient English knew this as part of what they termed Wyrd. The term Wyrd actually means “to become”, and is connected to the idea of time, since time came into being when the Wyrd Sisters (Norns) appeared at a particular point in the Cycle of the Ages.

The history of the English shows that their evolution moved from small tribal groups, continually warring for land and plunder, to a more centralized English Nation made up of the former warring groups. This moved on to a time of further expansion and empire, until the reverse process (process of decay and destruction which is an inevitable part of the cycle) took over, and the empire began to split and fall apart, then the British State (of which England was a part), and finally the English Nation which today is in the throes of decay and destruction. This is all a part of the process of creation-preservation-destruction or birth-life-death; but as the ancients well knew the true cycle has always been – birth-life-death-to-rebirth. Rebirth and renewal are always there for those who struggle for these concepts; and that goes as much for the English Nation as for anything else.

Woden’s Folk recognizes the need for a far different approach to the English Struggle, and that new and virile tactics are needed in order to reverse the destruction of the English Folk, and the rape and pillage of the sacred Land of the English – England. The tactic we are evolving is that of a new Woden Folk-Religion which is suited to the English Folk, but which is based upon the Ur-Religion (Primal Religion) of the Teutonic Folk of which we are a part. Our Folk-Religion can be adapted for the use of any Teutonic Nation, although the basis of it is English, and for the English peoples, and it revolves around the English Mysteries.Lastly, there is no point whatever in creating a movement that is based upon the concept of being “anti” – this is a negative approach that is counter-productive. Organizations that are solely based on opposing something (whatever it is) are built upon the negative and will thus have no positive drive which will act as a lasting entity that can win any struggle. Such organizations are open to being used and manipulated by the establishment for their own ends, and although they may show initial successes these will never be long-lasting, and certainly never be able to continue a positive struggle to win the freedom of a people or nation. This is why we have taken the road of self-education, self-training and self-reliance which are positive actions designed to change ourselves, yet to act for change to the whole – i.e. to the English Folk as a whole. It is a fact that if a small section of the English Folk were to effect a major change in itself – a positive change – this would have a profound effect upon the English Folk as a whole.

We should like to make it clear that what we do not mean is the concept of self-preservation at all costs. Self-preservation is an inbuilt survival tool, but today it has become a thorn in the side of our Folk. Our English ancestors had a very different view of life than today’s consumer economic society which is a collective based upon rampant individualism. The welfare and survival of the individual has become all-important, and the ancient concept of the survival of the tribe or nation has been pushed aside. Our English ancestors upheld the idea of self-sacrifice for the welfare and survival of the family, the tribe, or the nation. Such a concept depended upon a far different type of consciousness – a Folk-Consciousness and a Blood-Consciousness. This depended on a consciousness of being a part of a particular blood-kin, and that this was a sacred entity in itself. When we lost the idea that this was a sacred entity we lost the idea of blood-kinship, and then the idea arose that everyone was “equal” and the “same” and that nothing existed as a separate entity in its own rite. The Eternal Laws of Nature had been broken, and we were severed from Nature and her immutable laws. The world has been thrown into chaos and everything is falling away into ruin and decay.

This is why we term ourselves a Folkish Heathen Movement for this refers to the concept of a Folk which is a sacred entity in itself; the term embraces a whole host of ideas related to a people, its blood-kinship and the concept of self-sacrifice for the whole, rather than self-preservation of the individual. It also embraces the religious ideals of a people, its tradition, its culture, and above all its unique identity as a people. These are all integral to the struggle to build an English Movement which will serve the English Folk in its struggle for freedom and the right to take control of its own destiny. The English Heathen may wish to work within a group or as an individual or Lone Wolf, yet the aim of all should be to build an English Movement that will serve the English Struggle for freedom and for the right to control our own destiny. The individual should seek to become self-reliant, as self-sufficient as possible, self-trained and educated into the struggle, and bonded to the English Folk by the power of a Folk-Religion that binds him to his ancient gods and ancestors, and one which creates a bond between himself and the Sacred Land upon which he dwells – only a Warrior-Religion and a Nature-Religion can achieve that. This is the Woden Folk-Religion of the English.