Athlings
“Athling” is the term used to describe any noble person, motivated by noble goals. We use the term to refer to any oath-bound and Troth-pledged member of our Kindred. As you can read in our statement regarding the Nine Noble Virtues, we believe taking and keeping oaths to be the heart of honor, and any modern person who pledges themselves to Troth, or the ancestral faith of the Heathens, and pledges to uphold the Nine Noble Virtues, is noble by our standards. Good people are known by their adherence to the Nine Virtues. It takes a goodly amount of bravery to go contrary to the dominant “currents” of religion that are active today. But for people like us, the path back to the wisdom of our ancestors demands nothing less.
Kindred Officers and Members
The Idavoll Kindred is not “headed” by one person in particular; all athlings or members have a say over what the activities and policies of the Kindred will be. Following the example set by our noble and wise ancestors in Iceland, we meet as an assembly and make decisions together. Practical details of any religious or festive occasion have to be seen to: thus, the Idavoll Kindred nominates officers whose task it is to ensure that everything runs smoothly before, during, and after Kindred gatherings.
The Steersman is the person whose duty is to organize and arrange our meetings, communicate our plans and goals to all members, reach out to other Asatru groups and establish friendly relations, and handle our media, such as the maintenance of this website. The Steersman also acts as a treasurer.
The office of Hallwarder falls to that individual whose task it is to hallow or bless our places of worship, taking responsibility for the spiritual safety of those within, but also for their physical safety, watching over our meetings.
The office of Goði (Godi or Gothi) falls to that individual whose task it is to offer blots or sacrifices to the Gods on behalf of the Kindred as a whole, during official Kindred gatherings and assemblies. The ancient Germanic Heathens didn’t have official specialized “priests” as other people had; local leaders, community elders, or chieftains were also expected to offer sacrifices on behalf of their communities. In Heathen Iceland, the Goði were political and religious leaders of a district on the island, and temples- called Hofs- were built and maintained by a “HofGoði” or a “temple-priest”. In our Kindred, the title “Goði” (for males) and Gyða (Gythia, for females), simply refers to the person or persons chosen to be the official blot or sacrifice leader during religious observances in which the Kindred gathers together for participation.
In modern days, when most religious groups do have “priests” or “ministers”, Asatru groups tend to allow Goðis to represent them religiously in the same manner as a priest or minister or the like. Of course, any man or woman who follows the faith of Asatru can make prayers and sacrifices directly to the Gods, anytime they like, without needing a Goði or a Gythia; in our Kindred’s operation, however, we (like other Kindreds) find it expedient to have an office of a Goði who specializes in invocation and sacrifice-offering, to help our group-assemblies run smoothly.
The office of Redesman is granted to those members of the Kindred who have made especially in-depth studies of our ancestral lore, chiefly the Eddas and Sagas, and who can give good religious, moral, and ethical Rede or “advice” to other people during hard times or situations. That advice has to be in harmony with the examples set by our Gods and ancestors. The Redesman is a lore-wise advisor and counselor to all the members of the Kindred, for nearly any situation.
The office of Symbeldis falls to the woman who initiates the ritual of the Symbel, the most holy of group religious rites. She not only bestows the right to hold a Symbel to the leader of the rite, but carries the horn or cup from person to person during the sacred rounds of the ritual, and fills the horn. Normally, the woman of the house or dwelling where the Symbel is held is called on to perform this role, but our Kindred nominates a female to perform these duties for Symbels in general, when the Kindred is together. The Symbeldis is a crucial spiritual representative of the Kindred, as she represents the Fate or Norn who offers a sip from the Well of Wyrd itself to each person, and who presides over the creation and resolution of the group-destiny as a whole.
Currently, our Kindred has 8 members.
þórgrímr (Monroe, LA) Steersman and Hallwarder
þórgrímr is a craftsman who has recently found his way back to the ways of his ancestors. þórgrímr is a professional Graphic Designer and Typesetter as well as a part-time web designer. His artistic background reaches back to a very young age when his mother, an artist as well, was very supportive of his creative drive. He has a B.F.A.(Photography) from Louisiana Tech University, a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate from SMFA Boston and has completed 30 graduate hours of studio and art history at Louisiana State University. In addition to this formal training, þórgrímr has worked for creative businesses, such as Mike’s Camera in Boulder, CO and the Laboratory for Creative Arts and Technologies (LCAT) in Baton Rouge,LA. þórgrímr comes from a family consisting of farmers, machinists, educators, and woodworkers which constantly inspire his drive to learn the skills of traditional crafts. In addition, the FireOakandBone website as well as the Idavoll pages you see hosted here, are the beginning of a new path and investigation into his heritage, new found dedication to the Old Gods and his growing interest in Rune esoterica.
Ule (Monroe, LA) Goði and Redesman
Ule has been involved in reconstructions and reclamation of polytheistic ancestral religious paths since 1993. His formal involvement with Asatru began in 1995. He is a prolific writer, an herbalist and holistic healing advisor, an amateur folklorist, and a sculptor of religious images. He also practices Seid, which was an ancient spiritual art among the Germanic peoples with many similarities to what anthropologists today call “shamanism”- Ule offers the services of a Seidmadhr to members of our community who need extraordinary help with difficult life-situations. The art of Seid requires the Seidmadhr (Seid-man) or the Seidkona (Seid-woman) to induce a trance state in which extra-sensory reality can be experienced, and the messages or understandings won from that state can then be communicated to others by the Seid-worker. Ule has been working with trance-state induction and other shamanic techniques for years. He is also (like þórgrímr) a scholar of Rune esoterica and a practitioner of the sorcerous and meditative aspects of Rune-work. Ule is the author of Helsongs, a basic primer on Seid-work and Rune Galdr. Ule holds a BA in European History with a minor in Anthropology, an MA in Criminal Justice, and is now working towards his licensing as a therapist and counselor.
Arnora (Monroe, LA) Wife of Ule; Symbeldis
Arnora is the wife of Ule. She holds a BA in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations, and a minor in Anthropology.