Virtues Essays: the first six
‡Wisdom
PRIEST
arrogance← wisdom →gullibility
↓ ↓ ↓
insight judgment sagacity
He knows alone who has wandered wide,
And far has fared on the way,
What manner of mind a man doth own
Who is wise of head and heart.
-Havamal, trans. Olive Bray
1. the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice because of the experience and knowledge that you have.
2. the knowledge that a society or culture has gained over a long period of time.
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Wisdom is the ability to make good decisions based on education and life experience.
“What is the wise thing to do?”-wisdom is such a vast subject that such a question rarely arises. On the other hand, I may ask what is the responsible thing, the culturally appropriate thing, or the environmentally friendly thing to do. All these are specialized aspects of wisdom. For although wisdom is often used with such transcendence that it becomes sentimentality, and so often that it becomes kitchy, it is nevertheless part of our practical lives in so many guises. I use wisdom everyday, whether teaching, talking with friends, or worshipping. And then once in a while there is an experience of insight that is transcendent, when nature and the Kindreds become clear.
In ritual, wisdom helps determine the what’s and how’s. Sagacity of I-E history and specific deities combine with insight to produce a ritual fit for the gods. Judgment helps us decide which authors and sources to rely on, and which to commit to the flames. ADF could not fulfill its unique vision without this crucial virtue.
Myth shows us myriad examples of wisdom. Sagacity is displayed in the Poetic Edda in the kenning-catalog poems such as Grimnismal. Insight is exemplified in Odin hanging from the world tree to acquire wisdom beyond mere words. Judgment is shown in the decree of Zeus that led to Kore sharing the year between the underworld and earth, so that both death and life might have their place in the world order.
‡Piety
PRIEST
negligence← piety →righteousness
↓ ↓ ↓
reverence responsible action sacrifice
He a high altar made me of heaped stones-
All glary have grown the gathered rocks-
And reddened anew them with neats’ fresh blood;
For ay believed Ottar in the asynjur.
-Hyndluljod, trans. Lee M. Hollander
1. devotion to religious duties, etc.
2. devotion to parents, family, etc.
3. a pious act
-Webster’s NWD
Summary. Piety is the appropriate and responsible maintenance of relationships, whether spiritual or social, even (or especially) if this demands compromises or sacrifices.
I do occasionally stop and wonder what the pious thing to do is. Usually it has reference to specific deities and what they would prefer done. Also, when the high days come round, I feel guilty if I don’t recognize them in a large or small way. I almost never consider piety with regard to family or state, but these are no less important aspects of piety.
Regarding ritual, piety sums up the sense of commitment and right relationship that underpins our religion. In ADF, celebrating the high days is a “primary religious duty” (DP, p. 17). The DP manual also emphasizes observance that is “correct” (p. 15). Yet we are also exhorted to observe by keeping the rites “that call to [us],” not by any prescribed formula or doctrine (DP, p. 9). Thus, “correct” observance means not doctrinal correctness but correct relationship. It is observance in accord with our personal commitments to the Three Kindreds and society.
The ancients give us literary examples of piety. The Aeneid shows Aeneas fleeing burning Troy carrying on his back his father and his household gods.
I learned a lesson in piety as I was coming to terms with the ADF ritual outline. I didn’t understand the main intention of the ritual-it seemed entirely focused around offering the sacrifice. I wanted something more geared toward the theme of a high day festival, perhaps involving some relevant mystery, initiation, or enchantment I could experience. Such would have better fit my idea of ritual gained from other paths. So for my first high day I reworked the outline, inserting some creative mini-rites prior to the sacrifice. As I grew with ADF, however, I came to understand the centrality of the sacrifice. Now I appreciate the ritual outline, which focuses first and foremost on giving to the divine other (and only then on the return flow back to the self). I no longer use the mini-rites in my high day rituals. Through this experience I learned how piety is not about self, but about the relationship between self and other. I sacrificed my prior notions about ritual and what I should get out of it, offered to the other in responsible action, and in return gained reverence not only for the deities but also for the ways of the ADF family.
‡Vision
PRIEST
denial← vision →lost in fantasy
↓ ↓ ↓
perspective concentration discernment
Much game had gathered the gods, of yore;
On wassail bent the wands they shook,
The blood they scanned for brewing kettle,
And found that Aegir full many had.
-Hymiskvida, trans. Lee M. Hollander
1. an idea or picture in your imagination
2. a dream or similar experience, especially of a religious kind
3. the ability to think about or plan the future with great imagination and intelligence
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Vision is the inspired or mundane ability to discern and tell between possibilities, concentrating on the most significant while maintaining perspective in relation to the whole.
Vision is one of ADF’s more intrepid virtues. It is not as clearly attested (as such) in the historical record as other virtues. It may perhaps be an aspect of wisdom. For example, Plato said that wisdom is seeing the “right relationships between all that exists” (Wikipedia, “Wisdom”). This sense of perspective is something I would place under vision.
I rarely ask myself, “What is the visionary thing to do?” However, I do consider the appropriate, responsible, and beautiful things to do (note the crossovers with wisdom). I also frequently consider ADF issues in relation to its vision for the future. For example, an issue arose regarding the appropriateness of Skip’s discussion of historical polyamory in his book The Solitary Druid. In my view, the question is whether to inform prospective readers of the historical realities or give non-Pagans the impression that ADF is a haven of polyamory and orgiastic ritual. If we want to be a public religion with worship spaces on every street corner, we must always consider our place in the greater non-Pagan society. ADF’s place in the vision of society is just as important as fidelity to history.
In ritual, vision has the special meaning of psychic or magical ability, including meditation, visualization, trance, divination, and so forth. It is what enables us to see the fire, well, and tree as the Fire, Well, and Tree, and make the mental leap to the world of the Kindreds. It also lets us ground and center by giving us perspective on our relation to nature, our ancestors, and our descendants.
Myth gives us examples of vision in inspired figures, such as Odin drinking the song-mead, or the seeress from Voluspa prophesying the beginning and end of the world order. We also find in the ancient mortals great examples of vision, from Aristotle to the inventors of the aqueduct.
Vision may not be a virtue as vital as the others. I think the naïve dullard who lacks vision but sacrifices with piety and perseverance may yet attract the sympathy of the Kindreds. Despite this, I must say that of all I’ve learned on the path, perhaps the most valuable is the vision of my place the world. When I am overwhelmed by personal problems, I remember that the obstacles that loom so large at the moment are miniscule in the grand scheme of nature. I try to draw on the patience inherent in plants, hills, and clouds. Without a vision of my place in nature, I could not do this. Also, when I eat, I may to recall the cycle of life and death that affords me this nourishment, and which will one day claim me as nourishment for worms and grass. I could not appreciate my participation in life and death without vision.
‡Courage
WARRIOR
foolhardiness← courage →over-confidence
↓ ↓ ↓
disciplined fear bold action enterprise
"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."
Clive Staples Lewis
1. the ability to do something dangerous, or to face pain or opposition, without showing fear.
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Courage is acting boldly in times of conflict or danger, perhaps experiencing fear but without being controlled by it.
I have never thought to myself, “What is the courageous thing to do?” Nevertheless, facing down my fears has been important to me. Two fields of battle have been facing my father without fear, and becoming a confident heterosexual man. My virtue has often slipped into vice, however. Once I carved a circle into my left palm, just because I was afraid to do it. This is an example of foolhardiness, because I could have got an infection, or caused distress to others, had they discovered what I did.
In ritual terms, courage is what enables us to show up before the Kindreds, and then to take them seriously. Critical thinkers know that the existence of spiritual entities cannot be proven; it takes courage to approach and embrace the unknown. Courage is especially important in Neo-Paganism, where traditions have been lost and most rites must be boldly invented or re-invented.
Courage features powerfully in Norse myths and sagas. The enterprising spirit of the Viking or the hero’s bold execution of the duty of revenge is so prevalent as to require no reference. In Greco-Roman literature it is also prevalent. Courage is often exemplified by culture-bringing trickster figures, such as Prometheus. The theft of fire was a bold enterprise that changed the world order for the better, but which required facing up to a painful price. Courage (or Bravery) was also one of the four cardinal virtues of the ancient world. In addition, Plato defined wisdom as not only knowledge of the Good, but also the courage to act accordingly (Wikipedia, “Wisdom”).
‡Integrity
WARRIOR
arbitrariness ← integrity →pedantry
↓ ↓ ↓
self-respect justice honesty
A heavy doom is dealt to men
Who in Vathgelmir’s water wade;
He who untruth utters and on others lies,
Long will he linger there.
-Reginsmal, trans. Lee M. Hollander
1. the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
2. the state of being whole and not divided.
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Integrity is the ability to be true to yourself and others, and to act with fairness and consistency but without insisting on principle merely for principle’s sake.
I often ask myself what is the honest, fair, or responsible thing to do. These are aspects of integrity. In addition, I often must draw a line between myself as an American and as a Japanese resident. What I will and won’t do to fit in concerns the integrity of my cultural identity.
In ritual, integrity keeps our thoughts, words, and actions in line with the mission and vision of ADF. Hearth cultures are not mixed and historical facts are not forgotten. At the same time, we do not pedantically insist on such principles over and against our present-day needs. Integrity also allows us the self-respect to face the Kindreds without groveling before them nor arrogantly commanding them.
Myth shows us integrity in the resolution of Kore’s abduction. On the one hand, Kore had eaten of the fruit of the underworld, and so by law she must remain there. Yet her loss caused Demeter such grief that the earth grew infertile, and all mortals were unfairly doomed to perish. The resolution, whereby Kore shares the year between the earth and the underworld, respected the principles of the underworld without allowing pedantic legalism to destroy the world order. Integrity is also one of the four cardinal virtues of the ancient world (in the form of Justice).
‡Perseverance
WARRIOR
vacillation← perseverance →obstinance
↓ ↓ ↓
resolve endurance dependability
"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it - but all that had gone before."
Jacob Riis
1. the quality of continuing to try to achieve a particular aim in spite of difficulties.
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Perseverance is the resolve to endure difficulties without giving up, in order to achieve a goal.
Perseverance may be an aspect of integrity. It may be thought of as integrity displayed over time in relation to a specific goal.
It is not altogether natural to ask oneself, “What is the perseverant thing to do?”, but many people have instilled in them a strong “Never give up” ethic. My father taught me never to be a quitter. Even when in junior high I took an ag-and-auto class, in which all the bullies in the school were concentrated, and every day was a nightmare, I still saw it through to the end. Perseverance has always been a strongpoint for me. With my history of depression, without perseverance I would not be here today.
With regard to ritual, perseverance keeps up devotions, especially daily devotions, even when the spark of enthusiasm seems gone. Sometimes you find your spiritual advancement at a plateau. Pantheons and patrons flag, groves dissolve, and life events intervene, but perseverance keeps the Kindreds in your life. And then there are those rituals where nothing goes right, you screw up your lines and feel like a buffoon. If you keep hang in there, it may win you enough points from the Kindreds to save the day. In such rituals I usually feel the Kindreds are not so much angered as amused, and that suggests a vital tool of perseverance: levity.
In myth we find role models in suffering gods and goddesses, such as Demeter. She lost her daughter Kore and searched for her the world over. It looked hopeless, but she did not give up. Though the winter is long, spring will come again.
PRIEST
arrogance← wisdom →gullibility
↓ ↓ ↓
insight judgment sagacity
He knows alone who has wandered wide,
And far has fared on the way,
What manner of mind a man doth own
Who is wise of head and heart.
-Havamal, trans. Olive Bray
1. the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice because of the experience and knowledge that you have.
2. the knowledge that a society or culture has gained over a long period of time.
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Wisdom is the ability to make good decisions based on education and life experience.
“What is the wise thing to do?”-wisdom is such a vast subject that such a question rarely arises. On the other hand, I may ask what is the responsible thing, the culturally appropriate thing, or the environmentally friendly thing to do. All these are specialized aspects of wisdom. For although wisdom is often used with such transcendence that it becomes sentimentality, and so often that it becomes kitchy, it is nevertheless part of our practical lives in so many guises. I use wisdom everyday, whether teaching, talking with friends, or worshipping. And then once in a while there is an experience of insight that is transcendent, when nature and the Kindreds become clear.
In ritual, wisdom helps determine the what’s and how’s. Sagacity of I-E history and specific deities combine with insight to produce a ritual fit for the gods. Judgment helps us decide which authors and sources to rely on, and which to commit to the flames. ADF could not fulfill its unique vision without this crucial virtue.
Myth shows us myriad examples of wisdom. Sagacity is displayed in the Poetic Edda in the kenning-catalog poems such as Grimnismal. Insight is exemplified in Odin hanging from the world tree to acquire wisdom beyond mere words. Judgment is shown in the decree of Zeus that led to Kore sharing the year between the underworld and earth, so that both death and life might have their place in the world order.
‡Piety
PRIEST
negligence← piety →righteousness
↓ ↓ ↓
reverence responsible action sacrifice
He a high altar made me of heaped stones-
All glary have grown the gathered rocks-
And reddened anew them with neats’ fresh blood;
For ay believed Ottar in the asynjur.
-Hyndluljod, trans. Lee M. Hollander
1. devotion to religious duties, etc.
2. devotion to parents, family, etc.
3. a pious act
-Webster’s NWD
Summary. Piety is the appropriate and responsible maintenance of relationships, whether spiritual or social, even (or especially) if this demands compromises or sacrifices.
I do occasionally stop and wonder what the pious thing to do is. Usually it has reference to specific deities and what they would prefer done. Also, when the high days come round, I feel guilty if I don’t recognize them in a large or small way. I almost never consider piety with regard to family or state, but these are no less important aspects of piety.
Regarding ritual, piety sums up the sense of commitment and right relationship that underpins our religion. In ADF, celebrating the high days is a “primary religious duty” (DP, p. 17). The DP manual also emphasizes observance that is “correct” (p. 15). Yet we are also exhorted to observe by keeping the rites “that call to [us],” not by any prescribed formula or doctrine (DP, p. 9). Thus, “correct” observance means not doctrinal correctness but correct relationship. It is observance in accord with our personal commitments to the Three Kindreds and society.
The ancients give us literary examples of piety. The Aeneid shows Aeneas fleeing burning Troy carrying on his back his father and his household gods.
I learned a lesson in piety as I was coming to terms with the ADF ritual outline. I didn’t understand the main intention of the ritual-it seemed entirely focused around offering the sacrifice. I wanted something more geared toward the theme of a high day festival, perhaps involving some relevant mystery, initiation, or enchantment I could experience. Such would have better fit my idea of ritual gained from other paths. So for my first high day I reworked the outline, inserting some creative mini-rites prior to the sacrifice. As I grew with ADF, however, I came to understand the centrality of the sacrifice. Now I appreciate the ritual outline, which focuses first and foremost on giving to the divine other (and only then on the return flow back to the self). I no longer use the mini-rites in my high day rituals. Through this experience I learned how piety is not about self, but about the relationship between self and other. I sacrificed my prior notions about ritual and what I should get out of it, offered to the other in responsible action, and in return gained reverence not only for the deities but also for the ways of the ADF family.
‡Vision
PRIEST
denial← vision →lost in fantasy
↓ ↓ ↓
perspective concentration discernment
Much game had gathered the gods, of yore;
On wassail bent the wands they shook,
The blood they scanned for brewing kettle,
And found that Aegir full many had.
-Hymiskvida, trans. Lee M. Hollander
1. an idea or picture in your imagination
2. a dream or similar experience, especially of a religious kind
3. the ability to think about or plan the future with great imagination and intelligence
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Vision is the inspired or mundane ability to discern and tell between possibilities, concentrating on the most significant while maintaining perspective in relation to the whole.
Vision is one of ADF’s more intrepid virtues. It is not as clearly attested (as such) in the historical record as other virtues. It may perhaps be an aspect of wisdom. For example, Plato said that wisdom is seeing the “right relationships between all that exists” (Wikipedia, “Wisdom”). This sense of perspective is something I would place under vision.
I rarely ask myself, “What is the visionary thing to do?” However, I do consider the appropriate, responsible, and beautiful things to do (note the crossovers with wisdom). I also frequently consider ADF issues in relation to its vision for the future. For example, an issue arose regarding the appropriateness of Skip’s discussion of historical polyamory in his book The Solitary Druid. In my view, the question is whether to inform prospective readers of the historical realities or give non-Pagans the impression that ADF is a haven of polyamory and orgiastic ritual. If we want to be a public religion with worship spaces on every street corner, we must always consider our place in the greater non-Pagan society. ADF’s place in the vision of society is just as important as fidelity to history.
In ritual, vision has the special meaning of psychic or magical ability, including meditation, visualization, trance, divination, and so forth. It is what enables us to see the fire, well, and tree as the Fire, Well, and Tree, and make the mental leap to the world of the Kindreds. It also lets us ground and center by giving us perspective on our relation to nature, our ancestors, and our descendants.
Myth gives us examples of vision in inspired figures, such as Odin drinking the song-mead, or the seeress from Voluspa prophesying the beginning and end of the world order. We also find in the ancient mortals great examples of vision, from Aristotle to the inventors of the aqueduct.
Vision may not be a virtue as vital as the others. I think the naïve dullard who lacks vision but sacrifices with piety and perseverance may yet attract the sympathy of the Kindreds. Despite this, I must say that of all I’ve learned on the path, perhaps the most valuable is the vision of my place the world. When I am overwhelmed by personal problems, I remember that the obstacles that loom so large at the moment are miniscule in the grand scheme of nature. I try to draw on the patience inherent in plants, hills, and clouds. Without a vision of my place in nature, I could not do this. Also, when I eat, I may to recall the cycle of life and death that affords me this nourishment, and which will one day claim me as nourishment for worms and grass. I could not appreciate my participation in life and death without vision.
‡Courage
WARRIOR
foolhardiness← courage →over-confidence
↓ ↓ ↓
disciplined fear bold action enterprise
"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."
Clive Staples Lewis
1. the ability to do something dangerous, or to face pain or opposition, without showing fear.
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Courage is acting boldly in times of conflict or danger, perhaps experiencing fear but without being controlled by it.
I have never thought to myself, “What is the courageous thing to do?” Nevertheless, facing down my fears has been important to me. Two fields of battle have been facing my father without fear, and becoming a confident heterosexual man. My virtue has often slipped into vice, however. Once I carved a circle into my left palm, just because I was afraid to do it. This is an example of foolhardiness, because I could have got an infection, or caused distress to others, had they discovered what I did.
In ritual terms, courage is what enables us to show up before the Kindreds, and then to take them seriously. Critical thinkers know that the existence of spiritual entities cannot be proven; it takes courage to approach and embrace the unknown. Courage is especially important in Neo-Paganism, where traditions have been lost and most rites must be boldly invented or re-invented.
Courage features powerfully in Norse myths and sagas. The enterprising spirit of the Viking or the hero’s bold execution of the duty of revenge is so prevalent as to require no reference. In Greco-Roman literature it is also prevalent. Courage is often exemplified by culture-bringing trickster figures, such as Prometheus. The theft of fire was a bold enterprise that changed the world order for the better, but which required facing up to a painful price. Courage (or Bravery) was also one of the four cardinal virtues of the ancient world. In addition, Plato defined wisdom as not only knowledge of the Good, but also the courage to act accordingly (Wikipedia, “Wisdom”).
‡Integrity
WARRIOR
arbitrariness ← integrity →pedantry
↓ ↓ ↓
self-respect justice honesty
A heavy doom is dealt to men
Who in Vathgelmir’s water wade;
He who untruth utters and on others lies,
Long will he linger there.
-Reginsmal, trans. Lee M. Hollander
1. the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
2. the state of being whole and not divided.
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Integrity is the ability to be true to yourself and others, and to act with fairness and consistency but without insisting on principle merely for principle’s sake.
I often ask myself what is the honest, fair, or responsible thing to do. These are aspects of integrity. In addition, I often must draw a line between myself as an American and as a Japanese resident. What I will and won’t do to fit in concerns the integrity of my cultural identity.
In ritual, integrity keeps our thoughts, words, and actions in line with the mission and vision of ADF. Hearth cultures are not mixed and historical facts are not forgotten. At the same time, we do not pedantically insist on such principles over and against our present-day needs. Integrity also allows us the self-respect to face the Kindreds without groveling before them nor arrogantly commanding them.
Myth shows us integrity in the resolution of Kore’s abduction. On the one hand, Kore had eaten of the fruit of the underworld, and so by law she must remain there. Yet her loss caused Demeter such grief that the earth grew infertile, and all mortals were unfairly doomed to perish. The resolution, whereby Kore shares the year between the earth and the underworld, respected the principles of the underworld without allowing pedantic legalism to destroy the world order. Integrity is also one of the four cardinal virtues of the ancient world (in the form of Justice).
‡Perseverance
WARRIOR
vacillation← perseverance →obstinance
↓ ↓ ↓
resolve endurance dependability
"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it - but all that had gone before."
Jacob Riis
1. the quality of continuing to try to achieve a particular aim in spite of difficulties.
-Oxford ALD
Summary. Perseverance is the resolve to endure difficulties without giving up, in order to achieve a goal.
Perseverance may be an aspect of integrity. It may be thought of as integrity displayed over time in relation to a specific goal.
It is not altogether natural to ask oneself, “What is the perseverant thing to do?”, but many people have instilled in them a strong “Never give up” ethic. My father taught me never to be a quitter. Even when in junior high I took an ag-and-auto class, in which all the bullies in the school were concentrated, and every day was a nightmare, I still saw it through to the end. Perseverance has always been a strongpoint for me. With my history of depression, without perseverance I would not be here today.
With regard to ritual, perseverance keeps up devotions, especially daily devotions, even when the spark of enthusiasm seems gone. Sometimes you find your spiritual advancement at a plateau. Pantheons and patrons flag, groves dissolve, and life events intervene, but perseverance keeps the Kindreds in your life. And then there are those rituals where nothing goes right, you screw up your lines and feel like a buffoon. If you keep hang in there, it may win you enough points from the Kindreds to save the day. In such rituals I usually feel the Kindreds are not so much angered as amused, and that suggests a vital tool of perseverance: levity.
In myth we find role models in suffering gods and goddesses, such as Demeter. She lost her daughter Kore and searched for her the world over. It looked hopeless, but she did not give up. Though the winter is long, spring will come again.