Pick the brains of a Rokkatruar.

[Wolfcrux]

Hello! Wolfie here~ I do hope its okay for me to post this, if not, feel free to move my post to its proper place and I will find it! sweatdrop

I dont know how much you all know about the Norse Pagan traditions, or if indeed there are any of you here. So I thought I'd talk a little about my beliefs, so you can get an idea of one of your newest members. 3nodding

Although I identify as Rokkatruar because of the deities I am devoted to, my belief system is quite different from the "set" beliefs.

Basically;
-I believe all deities (gods, goddesses, spirits, creators, etc) exist and all beliefs are valid. This stems from my belief that EVERYTHING exists in some other realm unreachable to man.

-I believe in reincarnation and the collective spirit. That we are, at our foundation, all the same, because we have all come from one Whole. (Which sort of clashes with my worship of Hel, who is a Keeper of the Dead, but I follow her nonetheless.)

-I believe that everything organic has a spirit. Humans, animals, plants trees.. and this combines with above mentioned belief is where my belief in Therianthropy and Otherkin stems from. I personally am a Wolf therian, hence the nickname Wolfie. Its not the same thing as being a werewolf, so dont ask me to shoot a video of a transformation rofl It just means that I have the spirit of a wolf.

-I believe in Balance. Some people would call me a chaos theorist, because I believe that without chaos there is no order, without evil there is no good, without darkness there is no light, and so on. I suppose this is why I was drawn to Fenrir as a deity, because he is so chaotic. Its also why I'm not opposed to what many would view as 'dark' magic. Dont get me wrong, I dont go around attacking people for no reason. Only in self defense (or defense of those I love) and it hasnt been necessary for almost a year now, besides. Unless you count the huge mental/emotional uprising I was involved in over Sen. Wendy Davis's filibuster of SB1 in Texas via Tumblr. That was actually pretty scary to see, even for someone who participated. (I may as well add that I am pro choice, so nobody mistakes me for being against Ms Davis.)

-I am not afraid of death. Perhaps before I began to devote myself to Hel, but by her hand I have learned better. Not to say I wish to die now, no; I have a lot I plan to do with my life and enjoy it. But I understand death better, and know that it is just as much a part of life as anything. So, I'm not very squeamish; I handle dog poop worse than I do blood and gore and decay.

-Everyone is equal. Point blank, regardless of gender identity, gender, sexual orientation, race, belief system, societal standing, anything; we are all (mostly wink ) human and all deserve basic human rights. That includes the right to our bodies; rape and molestation and murder (without extreme due cause such as murder, rape or defense of life) are inexcusable.

-Basic respect. You respect me, I respect you. What I like to call "just be." Anyone can be friends with anyone if we strive to understand and accept each other, even if everything we believe in doesnt mesh so well.

Thats the bare bones of it.... even though this turned into a long post. I wish Gaia had a read-more cutoff. Oh well! I'm open for discussion and questions! 4laugh  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Why do you use the term "rokkr"?  

[Wolfcrux]

Sanguina Cruenta

Why do you use the term "rokkr"?

Because the deities I work with are not Aesir or Vaenir. They are Rokkr.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Sekemoto

Sanguina Cruenta

Why do you use the term "rokkr"?

Because the deities I work with are not Aesir or Vaenir. They are Rokkr.

"Rokkr" is not a thing, though. This is why I'm asking why you use that word. It's a modern creation to which deities have been assigned, which i something I have a lot of trouble with, especially since, e.g., Loki and Sigyn are both Aesir. I don't think I've ever seen Hel identified as anything particularly, but I don't see any reason to invent a new tribe to which to assign Her.  

[Wolfcrux]

Sanguina Cruenta

Sekemoto

Sanguina Cruenta

Why do you use the term "rokkr"?

Because the deities I work with are not Aesir or Vaenir. They are Rokkr.

"Rokkr" is not a thing, though. This is why I'm asking why you use that word. It's a modern creation to which deities have been assigned, which i something I have a lot of trouble with, especially since, e.g., Loki and Sigyn are both Aesir. I don't think I've ever seen Hel identified as anything particularly, but I don't see any reason to invent a new tribe to which to assign Her.

You know, I'm honestly pretty new to the whole Norse Paganism thing. I've identified as Pagan for a little over 4 years, but I was only drawn to this particular pantheon a little over a year ago. I have been fed the term Rokkr and called a Rokkatruar based on my devotion to Fenrir and Hela, so I assumed thats what was correct. Not to say I havent done my own reading, but I havent seen much to the contrary.  

[Morgandria]

I really do wonder when and where the idea and the term started. Rokkr as I understand the word in Old Norse, refers to the distaff, part of a drop spindle for handspinning wool.  

[Talesofbiro]

I think the term started on Tumblr. I believe the term was created to identify people who only (or mainly) work with Loki, His children and/or etin-folk.  

[kyndryana3]

I had always thought it had originated with Raven Kaldera, but it seems like a lot of people attribute the origins of Rokkatru with Abby Helasdottir. Not sure how the name evolved, but I have recently heard a lot more people identifying as Rokkatru.  

[too2sweet]

This is what is listed on Abby Helasdottir's website...

Quote:

The Rökkr can be described as the Nightside deities of northern European mythology, primal beings who predate the more familiar Aesir and Vanir pantheons. They are often the spirits of primordial concepts such as fire, ice, death, and the underworld, and can be compared to the Titans of Greek mythology, or the Nephilim of Semetic myth. Included in their number are Hela (goddess of death and the underworld), Iormungand (the world serpent), Fenrir (kozmic wolf), Loki (trickster god), Angrboda (mother goddess and teacher of seidr), Surt (fire giant), and Nidhogg (tellurian dragon).

WHAT DOES RÖKKR MEAN?

Rökkr:Twilight
Rökkr:Shadow
Rökkr:Darkness

RÖKKR KOZMOLOGY

GRANDMOTHER NAL: Considers the significance of this polar goddess, the mother of Loki, and the grandmother of Hela.

THE KOZMIC GAME: Understanding Rökkr kozmology as encoded within various traditional European board games.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW: As well as being regarded as a classic of modern fairy tales, the Wizard of Oz has certain elements of a distinctly Rökkr nature.

CLASSIC RÖKKR TEXTS

THE VOLUSPA: The Voluspa is a prophecy recited by Angrboda-Heid, which tells of both the creation of the world, and its end. It is important not only because it is given by Angrboda, the Rökkr mother goddess, but because of its great age compared to some other Norse texts.

THE LOKASENNA: The Lokasenna is an important Lokian work, in which Loki attends a banquet of the gods and insults almost everyone in attendance. His insults, though, are not empty menace, but contain cutting truths.

Personally, I don't see the point in making up a whole new name for Gods or Entities that are already in other groups. Plus I generally don't get warm fuzzies when people feel the need to go out of their way to use creative spellings of words in an attempt to make them seem extra special.  

[kyndryana3]

I wonder if it kind of stems from some of the other sub-groups in the Heathen community (like Asatru, Vanatru), and the general tendency for a lot of Heathen forums to be very clanish (to the point of being quite rigid on what they feel qualifies someone as Heathen). People who work with Loki aren't always accepted, let alone those who work will Hel or some of the others. Kind of a "well if you say we aren't one of you, we'll make our own identity".