Odin Brotherhood

The Odin Brotherhood is a norse-pagan paradigm that was created by Mark Mirabello in 1992,
via the publication of his book The Odin Brotherhood.
It is unknown how many people have self-initiated into Mark's paradigm, but,
due to the high popularity of his book, it is probably a substantial number of people.
The only actual Odin Brotherhood group that exists is an internet forum that Mark created
within his Odin Brotherhood website, and even that forum is buggy,
such that it may fail to load based upon browser specifications.

In imitation of Gerald Gardner before him,
Mark Mirabello created a pseudohistory of continuity, with which to promote his paradigm.
Using that method had benefitted the popularity of Gardner's paradigm- called Gardnerian Wicca,
so Mark thought that it would benefit the popularity of his own paradigm as well.

The Odin Brotherhood paradigm is described below.

Who Established the Odin Brotherhood?[]

Like the story of Hiram Abif in Freemasonry, the foundation myth of the Brotherhood involves a crime against innocence.

In the legend of the Brotherhood, the story begins when a young pagan widow was caught honoring the gods and goddesses in a remote grotto. For her action, an angry mob burned her on a pyre composed of green wood.

After the murder, the woman’s three children used an ancient and forbidden rite from paganism (a rite called necromancy) and summoned her from beyond the grave.

Answering the summons, the slain woman instructed her children to save the ancient religion by taking the movement underground. They were instructed to form a secret society–a "conspiracy of equals"--dedicated to the old gods. They pledged to "honor the gods with clandestine rites in deserted places," and they promised to "share their knowledge" with "the few" they trusted before they died.

According to the Odin Brotherhood, all of these events occurred somewhere in Eurasia–somewhere north of the Black Sea--in the fifteenth century of the current era.

They also insist that buried artifacts exist which will some day confirm their tale.

How Does One Join the Odin Brotherhood?[]

There is no actual physical Odin Brotherhood group to join, unless Mark Mirabello himself,
and a few of his buddies, set something up, so you might be able to join a physical group by
contacting Mark Mirabello.

Otherwise, the only thing that you can do is to self-initiate, and to try to get some other people to
adhere to the paradigm, and then set-up an Odin Brotherhood group yourselves.

Initiation[]

Initiation into the Odin Brotherhood–which only occurs at the solstices–-involves a kind of vision quest cemented by a "ceremony of blood".

In ancient religion, without blood there is no power. That is the reason that animals were cut in half when the biblical Jehovah made his covenant with Abraham.

The initiation rite of the Odin Brotherhood involves solitude, a diet of bread and ice, a white shroud, a dagger, and a fire.

The initiate –after proper purification– makes three incisions on his body. Done in the name of "holy violence, necessary violence", the male neophyte makes three incisions on his chest.

He then "devotes, hallows, and sanctifies" his soul to the “gods who live” by penetrating a fire three times with a dagger stained with his own blood.

The scars are called "The-Marks-of-Joy". They are based on the "marking with the spear" ceremony described in the Ynglinga Saga by Snorri Sturluson.

The female neophyte, however, makes three small incisions on the tip of her right index finger. The Odin Brotherhood believes the female’s breasts--"the last and most beautiful embellishment she receives in life"--must not be disfigured.

Mircea Eliade, in Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, notes that secret society initiations resemble shamanic initiations, and include seclusion (symbolizing the "beyond), some sort of prohibition (as in a diet), covering the face and body, usually with something that is white, and a difficult ordeal, which involves the infliction of "cruelties".

Theology[]

Although Odinism never became extinct—hundreds of millions of people have honored the Eddaic pantheon (in its Vedic form) in the Indian subcontinent since Neolithic times--some scholars classify the movement as a neopagan revival.

The Odin Brotherhood embraces polytheism. The Odin Brotherhood believes that monotheism, "the belief in one totalitarian god, is preposterous and absurd". The Botherhood insists that "no single, superordinary, ineffable entity controls all realities".

According to the Odin Brotherhood, "a universe governed by one supreme deity would possess the maddening simplicity that characterizes any dictatorship, but our cosmos clearly shows no evidence of one will at work. Our universe is characterized by diversity and disorder, and that indicates the universe is molded by many wills and innumerable forces."

The gods and goddesses of the Odin Brotherhood, which include Odin, Thor, Frigg, Heimdall, Balder, Bragi, Vidar, Tyr, Freyja, and the other beings in the Norse pantheon, are viewed as powerful entities that are finite in nature. Humanoid in shape--neither omnipotent nor omniscient--the gods are physical beings that inhabit hidden corridors in the universe. Often appearing on earth in disguise, they are known by many names in many languages. Odin, for example, appears also as Hermes and Rudra.

Believing in direct contact with the gods and goddesses, the Odin Brotherhood teaches that the deities typically communicate with humanity through a system of "messengers and spies".

Devotionally, members of the Odin Brotherhood do not worship the gods on their knees. The Odin Brotherhood is the enemy of all forms of slavery, and members admire the gods but do not grovel before them.

The Seasonal Rites[]

The Odin Brotherhood has three seasonal rites. The rites are conducted without priests, for every member of the Brotherhood considers himself a priest.

The first is called “The-Night-of-Joy”. Held in honor of the goddesses, the “The-Night-of-Joy” is celebrated on the eve of the summer solstice. This festival includes "feasting, jocularity, and frivolity".

The second is called “The-Night-of-Courage”. Held in honor of all the Odinists who have died, “The-Night-of-Courage” occurs on October 31. In the old calendar, October 31 marks the beginning of winter—the "time when death is strong in nature".

The third festival is called “The-Night-of-Generosity”. Conducted on the eve of the Winter Solstice, this festival includes the bestowal of gifts. At this festival "every Odinist gives the world something great and something beautiful".

Ethics[]

Ethically, the Odin Brotherhood creates no laws, only virtues. The Odin Brotherhood represents "strength over weakness, pride over humility, and knowledge over faith". Members honor the gods by fostering "thought, courage, honor, light, and beauty".

Viewing themselves as members of a secret or an "invisible army of the gods", members see the movement as a "Creed of Iron".

Members are instructed to be "brave and generous", and "direct, uncomplicated, and strong". Members, the Brotherhood believes, must "live well and die bravely".

A tradition for warriors, the Odin Brotherhood teaches that "when the gods made man, they made a weapon".

Death and afterlife[]

The Odin Brotherhood teaches that all beings ultimately experience death. In poetic terms, death is personified as beautiful females, called the valkyries, who exist "in an endless variety of exquisite forms".

Since death is not annihilation, the "transfigured life form" will go to one of three Other-Worlds. The most famous of these "Other-Worlds" is Valhalla.

In cosmic terms, death is described as Ragnarok, the final battle which destroys every universe. According to the Odin Brotherhood, Ragnarök is an "orgy of purification", from which a new cosmos is born. The cycle of destruction and rebirth, which will go on forever, is called the "Law-of-the-Endless-Circle".

Also called the eternal return or eternal recurrence, the "Law-of-the-Endless-Circle" teaches that existence never ends with destruction. “Nothing dies forever”, and all beings, and all things, will return.

Invention of the Odin Brotherhood[]

The Odin Brotherhood paradigm was invented in 1992 via the publication of the book The Odin Brotherhood by Dr. Mark Mirabello, who is a professor of European history at Shawnee State University.

Mark made-up a false narrative of how he "discovered" the Odin Brotherhood (which he himself invented). That story goes like this:

Mark Mirabello encountered a silver-haired man in a bookshop in Leith, in the United Kingdom. At the time, Mirabello was conducting historical reseach as a doctoral student in Scotland's University of Glasgow.

The gentleman, who called himself Lodur's Friend (in honor of the mysterious god in the Eddaic Verses), was holding a peculiar cane adorned with the images of the serpent and the ass, the two animals that speak in the bible. Both were examining occult books. The gentleman noticed that Mirabello was studying a book called The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross by Arthur Edward Waite. During this encounter, the gentleman pointed out that "The rose symbolizes secrecy", while pointing to an engraving in Mirabello's book on the Rosy Cross. The gentleman went on to say that "Since we speak sub rosa or 'under the rose', our discussion must remain forever secret.".

The two men became friends, and "Lodur's Friend" introduced Mirabello to a "circle of fascinating individuals". The group met for unusual feasts, normally in Edinburgh or London, always at night, and always during the time of the new moon.

The feasts were referred to as "conventicles", and they were by invitation only. Those who "feared" or "hated" authority were excluded, but those who "laughed at" authority were welcome.

Some years after the publication of Mirabello's book, the anonymous and privately printed Teachings of the Odin Brotherhood began to circulate. Copies of the latter are rare.