Earlier this year, the US-based international Heathen organization The Troth released the third and final volume of their newest edition of their foundational text, Our Troth. Titled “Heathen Life,” volume three completes a tetralogy of books kickstarted in 2018 by the release of Heathen Garb and Gear.
While that introductory book mainly focused on the symbols and the material culture of ancient Germanic religion, the first and second volumes of Our Troth, aimed at presenting knowledge on respectively, the history of Heathenism, and the Gods and spirits of the faith. Edited, and to a significant degree penned by, Ben Waggoner, the publications director of The Troth, these four volumes represent the most ambitious attempt at communicating religious knowledge in the history of modern Heathenism.
Taking into consideration the scope and professionalism of the previous volumes, it comes at no surprises that the publication of this final volume was anticipated quite eagerly in the Heathen and Pagan milieu, including by the present reviewer.
Cover of Our Troth, 3rd Edition, Volume Three: Heathen Life [The Troth]
Prior to receiving an electronic advance copy of the manuscript, I had been following the development of this volume quite closely. Through my contacts with Ann Sheffield, co-editor of most of the book’s early chapters, and Ben Waggoner himself, I had understood early on that the outlook of this book was going to be even broader than that of the previous volumes. My sneaking suspicion that this would be a much more bewildering read than the previous volume was confirmed when I finally took a look at it.
Once the PDF had finished loading on my somewhat aging desktop computer, I was met with nothing short of a behemoth in book form: over 700 pages of text (“only” 677 if you discount the bibliography and the index) and no less than 27 chapters. Even compared to the previous volumes of Our Troth, which were quite wordy in their own right (especially volume two), this felt like quite an undertaking. When simply scrolling down the PDF at full speed takes almost a full minute, it is easy to become apprehensive with reading the whole thing cover to cover.
Nevertheless, after a few grueling weeks where I peered into the book whenever I had time, I managed to go through the entire work. All in all, while I certainly feel enriched by this experience, I cannot help but think that of all the books of the tetralogy, Our Troth Volume Three was probably the most confusing and arduous read. True, the colossal amount of information contained within its pages calls for a degree of reader’s involvement that could be laborious for some, but it is rather the way this information is organized and edited that can make for a burdensome read.
The core of the problem with this third volume of Our Troth lays in its editorial direction, reflected in its title: Heathen Life. What is life, after all, except the entirety of the human experience, something that is by nature too vast to be addressed in a single volume? Previous works in the series could be lengthy, it is true, but their scope felt significantly better circumscribed. The first volume was a chronological history of Heathenism, from prehistoric times to its decline and rebirth. The second volume presented thematic chapters about the various gods, goddesses, spirits, and other supernatural beings of the Old Norse and Germanic faith. Even Heathen Garb and Gear, which felt significantly more disjointed, was able to retain its focus on the material reality of Heathen religious practices and symbols, with neatly-organized (yet lengthy) chapters that felt almost easy to power through.
By comparison, the third volume of Our Troth feels less like a gigantic, one-volume treatise on a single (if broad) aspect of Heathen belief or practice, and more like an amalgamation of smaller theses on more or less coherent and overlapping concepts. In my comprehensive reading of Heathen Life, I managed to distinguish three distinct smaller portions that did not quite feel like they necessarily belonged together: a short essay on Heathen philosophy, worldview and ethics; a practical guide on how to organize, lead, and bring life to a kindred; and a long work on rituals.
In all three of these larger “meta-sections,” the reader will be met with the now familiar style of Ben Waggoner: a mixture of solid ancient sources (often quoted in both English and the original language) organized in rather readable paragraphs and thematic subchapters, sprinkled with a good dose of humor, personal anecdotes and scholarly analysis. However, unlike in his previous works, two issues quickly become apparent: the confusing internal organization of the book and the unequal structure and depth of the various chapters. While independent paragraphs, chapters, or groups of chapters might be remarkably well written and informative, the whole falls short of forming a coherent whole in the same way previous volumes did.
Still, Our Troth vol.3 starts well enough with a clear, well-worded, and worthy introduction by Waggoner himself, laying down his (and The Troth’s) aims for this book:
“My hope is that this book can be used, when needed, as a sword to cut down misconceptions and malicious ideas, both within Heathenry and in the world at large. But more importantly, it is offered as a tool to weave frith—to help build Heathenry both inside and outside of the Troth […] what we’ve attempted to do in this volume is to break away from trying to invent a tradition. Instead of presenting a Grand Unified Theory of Heathenry that tries to bring customs from different places and times into one Pan-Germanic Tradition, we’ve tried to present as wide a range of customs as we could fit between the covers” (pages XV-XVII)
True enough, the first chapters of the book, focusing on concepts of soul, death and afterlife in a Heathen context, are both well written and informative. I, for one, never previously managed to comprehend the Old Norse view on the soul, and came back from reading that chapter with a brand new understanding of the complex and literally multifaceted view our Heathen ancestors had of it.
On this chapter and the following one about death and the afterlife, one can notice how the author manages to deftly weave in ancient sources about a specific topic, academic interpretations thereof, as well as how these ideas have been interpreted within modern Heathenry over time. Throughout most of the book, the reader will be able to get unique historical insights into the way various beliefs and practices were taken up, interpreted, adapted, and sometimes discarded by modern Heathens of all stripes and creeds.
This historical and critical looking back into the way belief and practice have evolved and been recontextualized over time is particularly interesting in the third chapter, dedicated to Heathen ethics. There, one can read about how, over the past half-century, different, rather complex issues and ideas were born, forgotten, influenced individuals and organizations, and how a modern Heathen might make sense of them all.
This third chapter could, in many ways, be seen as introducing the section of the book focused on ethics, philosophy, and morals of the Heathen faith, and a very good one that is. Unfortunately, the following ones fall short of being as insightful and well-constructed. The fourth chapter, titled “Heathenry and the Earth,” discusses environmentalism and the place of humans and the gods within the natural world. It is pretty fine for what it is, but feels somewhat misplaced between the previous chapters on ethics and the following ones focused on race and gender.
There, Waggoner and his fellow editors take the bull by the horns and launch a direct assault against racialist, folkish, and other non-inclusive forms of Heathenry, arguing that those positions are both unscientific and antithetical to the old lore. In the process, Waggoner, whose day job is teaching evolutionary biology, makes full use of his intellectual and academic abilities to dissect and strike down the generally outlandish and very low-effort statements made by individuals and organizations such as Stephen McNallen and the AFA. Had these chapters consisted simply (or mostly) of refuting such claims, it would have been a much shorter, and significantly more efficient, section of the book.
Unfortunately, in their desire to not only counter the position of non-inclusive Heathens but to make a positive case for the historical and scientific basis of inclusive Heathenry, Waggoner and his acolytes end up somewhat missing the mark. While the core of their thesis, that both race, gender, and sexual orientations are partially or primarily social constructs that are both complex, fluid, and easily misunderstood, does stand on its own legs, the authors fail to present a truly convincing case for more specific arguments.
Speaking as someone whose sole academic background is ancient history and literature, I found that a number of references to sources and the lore were rather weak, while appeals to more “hard” scientific resources were either hard to comprehend or outright ambivalent. Take for example the following statement: “In 1950, UNESCO released a statement drafted and reviewed by leading geneticists and anthropologists from several countries. The UNESCO statement did acknowledge that humanity could be generally classified into broad racial divisions—but added that ‘The biological processes which the classifier has here embalmed, as it were, are dynamic, not static […] The biological fact of race and the myth of “race” should be distinguished. For all practical social purposes “race” is not so much a biological phenomenon as a social myth'” (p. 120-121).
A layman like myself might not end up any wiser about concepts of race after reading this statement. I personally understand it as meaning that race is a real biological reality that nevertheless evolves over time and is often incorrectly conflated into societal concepts. This constant back and forth between biological concepts (haplogroups, physical characteristics, medical conditions, and so on) and social constructs (gender, ethnicity, sexualities, nationhood, and the like) makes it harder to make a solid point in either of these categories.
The strength of these arguments is also at times significantly less impactful than one could have hoped. While (correctly) arguing that Norsemen of the Viking Age did not form ethnostates, Waggoner et al cannot go any further than mentioning a couple of written sources and grave finds indicating that, on some occasions, individuals of central Asian and Iranic ancestry were included within Norse society. This is hardly a “gotcha” moment, and is unlikely to convert racists into tolerance and inclusion. Neither is the frankly incomprehensible attempt to argue for a racially diverse and tolerant Viking Age society by using the late-medieval and fantastic Egils saga einhenda ok Ásmundar berserkjabana.
Sketch of the gravesite of the Birka female warrior, excavated in 1878 and shown by osteological analysis to be female in 2017 [public domain]
When it comes to gender and sexuality, the author makes somewhat better use of the pages at his disposal and makes a compelling case against the oversimplified and inanely binary view of gender that is all too prevalent in our contemporary society. Making creative use of, among other things, grave finds and saga accounts, Waggoner exposes in a clear and straightforward way complex historical concepts of gender and sexuality that only partially overlap with corresponding modern ideas. Still, the author does not shy away from his, and the Troth’s, stance on inclusivity, and argues, among other things, that welcoming transgender individuals is very much in line with the old lore.
Yet, after having stated that, the author does acknowledge once again the problematic nature of joining modern concepts unto older ones, such as when he comments on the now (in)famous princely grave in Birka where remains of a woman were found alongside military gear:
“Whether the buried person identified as female and also fought as a warrior and military leader, or whether the person identified as female but was buried with a warrior’s gear for symbolic reasons, or whether the person would have identified as gender-fluid or transgender in modern terms, is unknown and probably unknowable. It is possible that none of our modern gender concepts is a perfect match for how the person would have self-identified, or how the person would have been identified by their community.” (page. 162)
All in all, while Waggoner and his fellows contributors do make a decent case for inclusion within modern Heathenry, they do little to resolve the dichotomy between such modern morals and the historical attitudes and beliefs of ancient Heathens. As the author clearly states, the Norsemen “were not what we might call paragons of peace, love, and universal brotherhood” (page 131), and he fails to present the philosophical and theological principles he and his collaborators have employed to interpret and adapt sources from these rather problematic times to our modern era.
This could have been easily avoided had the following statement from former steersman of the Troth Bill Bainbridge been given a more central place in the book: “I do not believe that the gods necessarily want all of us to be honoring them today in the same ways our ancestors did many centuries ago” (page 241). Instead of tucking this deep into a subsection of chapter nine, this idea could have been introduced early on, and formed the basis for theorizing modern Heathen worship, something that would have given the book a solid common thread.
However, it would be unfair to solely criticize this third volume of Our Troth for what it could have been instead of what it actually is. As stated earlier, the book is structured not as a philosophical and theological treatise on the “whys” of Heathen worship and religious devotion, but mostly on the “hows,” with the sections on ethics and morals making up only a small portion of the whole volume.
As it stands, when it comes to the other two main themes that I have identified, namely the practicalities of organizing a Heathen community, and the study of rituals, Heathen Life more than delivers the goods. In that aspect, this book feels at times more like a manual, rather than a treatise on Heathenry. Pulling from the experience of dozens of Heathens over several decades, Waggoner gives step by step instructions on topics as varied as how to manage group dynamics, establish a place of worship, getting legal recognition as a religious organization, and how to conduct rituals.
These chapters, while remaining rather down to earth, are surprisingly easy to read and represent a priceless resource for anyone aiming to bring worship into a communal context, something that is critical for the survival and development of the faith. From the types of offerings to make to different deities, to how to arrange an altar, or the types of religious paraphernalia one could use, the author goes into a byzantine level of detail that covers just about every facet of the Heathen spiritual life. True, some passages might, after a while, get overtly technical and wordy, such as in chapter eight, which focuses on legal aspects of Heathen worship. But who knows, maybe there is a Heathen out there who need to get into the bottom of court cases such as Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União Do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418.
In these numerous chapters about organizing, offerings, celebrations, oaths and community living, the reader will find a good balance between sources on these ancient practices and the modern applications thereof. On many occasions, Waggoner vacates the pulpit to give space for other Heathens to directly give their point of view on specific topics and share often touching or humorous anecdotes.
Throughout these chapters, there is a clear leitmotif at play, namely, the importance of community and interpersonal relations. As explained on several occasions, the early days of Heathenry were in many ways a period where individualism, self-reliance and independence were seen as the highest virtues. Using both old lore and simple common sense, Waggoner makes a very strong case for redirecting modern Heathenry towards the realms of interdependence, cooperation, and solidarity instead.
While this thesis is both well argued, easy to conceptualize, and makes a whole lot of sense, it becomes much less of a feature the further one progresses throughout the book. Somewhere around the middle of the book, chapters on practical aspects of Heathen life and worship make way for a large section focusing on, on one hand, seasonal celebrations, and, on the other, Heathen life stages, from birth to death.
Ben Waggoner at the Ring of Brodgar [courtesy]
These later chapters, while just as compact and with valuable pieces of information as their predecessors, progressively include less and less comments from modern Heathens or description of practical contemporary applications. Instead, the reader is met with what could be best described as a monstrously bloated Pinterest page filled with great inspiration and commentary, but little in the way of implementation and contextualization. Don’t get it wrong, these chapters remain just as useful about their specific topics as their counterparts in previous volumes, but after a while too much is too much.
I distinctly recall that, after reading no less than six heavy-set chapters of seasonal celebrations, including two about winter rituals (Chapter 19: Yule, and Chapter 20: the Feasts of Winter), I was left speechless as a seventh one showed up, this time focusing on Winternights. Yet, I can truly admit that I learned about an awful lot of traditions, songs, dances, symbols, and other topics I surely would never have come across had they not been neatly and practically gathered within this book.
All in all, Heathen Life, the third volume of this new edition of Our Troth proved just as informative as its predecessors if not, in some aspects, more. Anyone who enjoyed reading about the historical aspects of Heathenry in the previous volumes will positively love the mixture of modern and ancient lore contained within. Yet, I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone reads it cover to cover.
This book is not, as one could think, a concise and thorough treatise on Heathenism, but rather a manual, or a toolbox, filled to the brim with priceless pieces of advice, resources, scholarly commentary, and anecdotes about how one could live a Heathen Life. It is now up to prospective readers to open this toolbox and take out whatever tools they find within to build a strong community, a strong Heathenry in honor of the Heathens of old, at the service of the Heathens of today, and for the benefit of Heathens of tomorrow.
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