This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Crafting the Web: Canadian Heathens and their Quest for a ‘Virtuous’ Self Joshua James Harmsworth PhD in Social Anthropology The University of Edinburgh 2015 Declaration January 2, 2015 I declare that this thesis has been entirely composed by me and is my own original work, with acknowledgement of other sources, and that the work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Joshua James Harmsworth 2 Abstract Focusing primarily on a number of small Heathen communities known as ‘kindreds’ and their ‘kith’ near Ottawa, Toronto and Montréal in Canada, this thesis approaches Heathenry as a potential means of ‘everyday’ self- and world-making. It examines the ways in which the ‘virtuous’ words and deeds of my interlocutors helped them to actively effect certain formations of self and world, and attempts to capture the significance of Heathenry as a practical process of formative interpersonal engagement and self-fashioning. Paying special attention to the ‘playful’ character of this process, it explores Heathenry as an aesthetic and ethical project of self-making – a project that produces and underpins particular kinds of ‘excellence’ and ‘authentic’ subjects. Emphasizing the creative poiesis entailed in this project, my thesis explores the ways in which Heathenry enables people to locate and orient themselves within a shared field of potentiality as subjects and agents questing for a ‘virtuous self’. I argue that both the end and means of this quest entails a reorientation in people’s aesthetic sensibility and personal ethical quality. The thesis concludes by illustrating how this highly personalized yet shared process of self formation facilitates people’s continuing journey to become increasingly ‘worthy’ Heathen subjects; that is, selves realized through their own virtuous acts of narrative objectification and those of others. As skillful and skillfully fashioned subjects, I suggest that my informants became able to experience their own potential virtuous development as a development of the ‘cosmos’ itself – a development, that is, of the very realms their quests embodied and manifested, and throughout which their virtuous selves came to be projected. 3 Acknowledgements Before I begin I would like to extend my most heartfelt gratitude to the many people, communities and institutions that made my research, this thesis and the journey I believe they represent possible. In the first place, I am indebted to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh for the support and direction they provided over the course of my program. I am particularly grateful to Dr Dimitri Tsintjilonis and Dr Richard Baxstrom for the guidance they have provided and immense patience they have shown me over the past five years. What follows would not have been possible without them. I would also like to thank Mark my father and Donna my mother for their constant encouragement and quiet understanding. Thanks also goes to Dr Theresa Millar whose keen eye and exacting standards helped make the following pages intelligible. I am extremely grateful to Lindsay, Erik, Chantal and Alec for opening their homes to me while I was in Canada. A special thanks goes to Katie who always tried to motive me when motivation was lacking, calm me when the stress became nearly unbearable and tolerated me when I was, in all honesty, intolerable. Most importantly, I would like to recognize and honor all of those who were kind enough to share their lives and experiences with me during my time in Canada and Iceland. A particular thanks goes to the fine folk of Rúnatýr Kindred, Raven’s Knoll and Ásatrúarfélagið. I am especially indebted to Auz, Erik, Viktor and Samuel for the many doors their worthy names opened. Each of these individuals and communities – and many more besides – opened their world to me and I am eternally grateful. Lastly, I would like to apologize. Being a community of accomplished scholars and self-identified individuals of ‘strong conviction’, I present this thesis knowing that some of those who were kind enough to speak with me may read what I have written and dislike or disagree with what has been said. Throughout my discussion I have attempted to depict their lives and experiences as sympathetically as possible while still adopting a critical perspective that they will hopefully find both interesting and insightful. 4 Table of Contents List of Figures 7 Introduction 9 ‘[G]lory never dies, for the man who is able to achieve it’ 10 Contextualizing the Quest 12 Concerning Heathenry and Heathens 19 Heathenry and the ‘Secular Age’ 28 The ‘Heathen Imaginary’ 33 Chapter Outline 38 Chapter I - The Heathen Project 42 Introduction 47 A Heathen Journey 51 Contextualizing Heathenry 61 Heathenry as ‘Project’ 71 Conclusion 81 Chapter II - Encountering the Web 83 Introduction 87 ‘Connectedness’ and the Heathen Project 91 The Nine Worlds of the Heathen Cosmos 93 Inhabiting the Nine 97 Heathen Practice 110 Navigating the Web 120 Populating the Heathen Cosmos 126 Conclusion 129 Chapter III - ‘Aestheticizing’ the Everyday 130 Introduction 136 Aesthetics 139 The ‘Heathen Aesthetic’ 144 5 The Heathen Project as Aesthetic Reorientation 163 Conclusion 168 Chapter IV - An ‘Ethics of the Ordinary’ 169 Introduction 174 Morality, Virtue and an Ordinary Ethics 176 Pastiche 182 ‘Heathen Ethics’ as Pastiche 186 A Heathen ‘Ethics of the Ordinary’ 192 Conclusion 201 Chapter V - Playfulness and Performance 203 Introduction 210 Play and Playfulness 213 Performing Playfulness 224 The ‘Playful Heathen Project’ 233 Conclusion 236 Chapter VI - Crafting Ancestors 238 Introduction 240 The Crafting Heathen Project 243 Crafting Ancestral Selves 253 Crafting Collage Selves 260 Conclusion 270 Conclusion 271 Canadian Heathens and their Quest for a ‘Virtuous’ Self 271 The Heathen Cosmic Imaginary as ‘Re-enchantment’ 275 Bibliography 280 6 List of Figures Introduction Figure 1: Hail & Horn Odin god pole (by Jonathan D. assisted by Erik L.) 9 Chapter I Figure 2: Hail & Horn Odin god pole (by Jonathan D. assisted by Erik L.) 42 Figure 3: Hail & Horn permanent vé the evening before the Rune Ritual 45 Figure 4: Raven’s Knoll campsite near Eganville, Ontario 47 Figure 5: Ásatrúarfélagið burial space, Reykjavík 78 Chapter II Figure 6: Jonathan D. wight home 84 Figure 7: Jonathan D. permanent vé, Rúnatýr Kindred 2011 Midsommer 85 Figure 8: Rúnatýr Kindred 2011 Midsommer sun-wheel and hearth fire 87 Figure 9: Rúnatýr Kindred Freya and Freyr idols and altar 100 Chapter III Figure 10: Hail & Horn Odin Blόt offerings and Húsel ingredients 130 Figure 11: Hail & Horn Mead Hall 132 Figure 12: Hail & Horn Mead Hall table decorations 133 Figure 13: Wooden wall Mjölnir (by Jonathan D.) 146 Figure 14: Drinking horns at Brynn and Shane H.’s handfasting 147 Figure 15: Runic script on Viking shield (by Jonathan D.) 149 Figure 16: Wooden plaque with volknot and runes (by Jonathan D.) 149 Figure 17: Rúnatýr Kindred banner and enclave at the 2012 Midgard Gathering, Raven’s Knoll 151 Figure 18: Katherine L. mead offering in front garden 158 Chapter IV Figure 19: Katherine L. mead with framed copy of the Rúnatýr Kindred virtues 170 Figure 20: Rúnatýr Kindred Winterfinding altar with leechcraft supplies 184 Figure 21: Jonathan D. armorsmithing and woodworking space 190 7 Chapter V Figure 22: The Sacred Well of Raven’s Knoll 203 Figure 23: The Nerthus Procession with anthropologist (photo by and reproduced with permission from Shane H.) 204 Figure 24: Raven’s Knoll gnome home 205 Figure 25: Raven’s Knoll standing stone 206 Figure 26: The Nerthus idol and altar 207 Figure 27: Nerthus Procession cart with banners 207 Figure 28: Midgard Gathering 2011 welcome sign with runes 210 Figure 29: Nerthus idol and offerings on cart (photo by and reproduced with permission from Shane H.) 221 Figure 30: Nerthus idol with altar, offerings and ‘Bob’ 229 Figure 31: Mjölnir pendant 231 Chapter VI Figure 32: Katherine L.'s mead brewing station 244 Figure 33: Erik and Chantal's ancestor altar 254 8 Introduction Hail & Horn 2012 I arrived at Raven’s Knoll for the inaugural Hail & Horn Gathering early on the first day in the hope of doing a bit of exploring and photographing before the other attendees began showing up. Once I had finished registering and erecting my tent, however, I was distressed to find that a number of others had apparently had the same idea. Panicked by the thought that I had missed an opportunity to collect some priceless ethnographic tidbit, I anxiously collected my battered notebook and camera and began making my way towards the newly erected permanent Heathen vé (sacred enclosure). Figure 1: Hail & Horn Odin god pole (by Jonathan D. assisted by Erik L.) As I was walking past the Rúnatýr Kindred enclave, or camping space, Jonathan and Erik, who, judging by their sunburns, had already been at the Knoll for some time, yelled out a greeting. Deciding that my visit to the vé could perhaps wait until the scorching June sun had sunk a bit lower in the sky, I turned towards them and returned their salutation.