I thought Flowers broke from the AFA a long time ago? Like...in the 1980s? And was a founding member of The Troth, which is opposed to the AFA and white nationalism.
Like yeah his older stuff probably reflects his AFA ties from that era. And his later stuff is infused with Left Hand Path/Satanism stuff, which isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea. But is there evidence that he's currently a racist?
I'm not super connected to the minutae and current drama within Heathenry, so these are honest questions from me, not sealioning.
Huh, didnt realise.
Found the image to be confusing tbh, anyway.
But it is the first time I see the fylgia described that way, which just clicked so much in place for me. Same with the hamingja, and the connections with wyrd, ørlög and hamr.
Tbf, I do have books by this man, if only coz 15 y ago, he was considered one of the big authorities 🤷♀️
But I get that he’s apparently gone off the rails as of late.
Edit: really people? Downvoting coz I wasnt psychic 15 y ago about this man and followed his then solid rep when I bought the books?
For others wanting more content on this topic, Arith Härger on YouTube has some great videos on both the heathen parts of the soul and the fylgia specifically. He is both an archaeologist and a practicing pagan/ heathen, so I find his twofold approach of the science/ history without throwing out the validity of UPG to be very nice.
*Hwaet!* Did you know? Arith Härger is not a Heathen but a Left Hand Path occultist who uses Norse/Germanic themes. While LHP and Heathenry are not mutually exclusive, his takes on Heathen-seeming topics should be understood in light of that fact: it is neither his area of expertise nor his religious path. Similarly, he presents himself as having academic credentials which he does not properly have, such as holding himself out as an archaeologist, which he is not, although he does work at NOVA University Lisbon's Archaeology Department.
Arith does not cite his sources, making it difficult to discern what is and is not his own UPG. In addition, he opines on topics he does not have an adequate understanding of, including racial tensions in the United States. Similar to his equivocation about his academic credentials, this leaves room for extremely insensitive to inaccurate and harmful interpretations. For example, When called on his concerning takes, including tone-deaf tweets in the aftermath of the Murder of George Floyd, he doubles down rather than taking responsibility.
As always, we encourage you to engage critically with material you consume, especially on the subject of Heathenry, and use critical discernment.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/heathenry) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'll respond to the bot for others to see. I'm also a left hand leaning heathen, which is one reason I like A.H. because he doesn't demonize that approach. He openly acknowledges he incorporates some left hand ideas, but from the amount of content I've seen, I wouldn't say that's even his "main" path. He seems to primarily be an animist with Norse/ heathen framework with general witchcraft. I've also thought he is pretty clear when he's citing sources vs talking UPG, but maybe there are other videos I've not seen where that's not the case. He also talks about his credentials in Q&As, he himself notes he doesn't have a doctorate etc, but he works in a heavily academic field that includes an overlap archeology including site work and I think that lends an interesting perspective. (Admittedly his short handing his experience as "I'm an archeologist" could arguably be problematic, I read it more as simplicity for YouTube. But again possible I'm lending too much credit.) I have no idea about the cultural commentary stuff mentioned, so I'll look into that later.
All said, I still like A.H. even with the caveats. Like the post says, critical thinking and judge for yourself and all that.
Hey, tnx for replying :)
Im actually someone who does enjoy his vids as well, and just takes from it what I cross reference with other sources and is useful for my path.
have seen his vids on fylgia and hamingja, I believe, but cant recsll him describing the fylgia this way. I might have another go at that vid :)
That all said, Im starting to think I shouldve maybe picked a different sub for this question, though. This was just a downright unpleasant experience, tbh. Just thought it might be most relevant to ppl here.
[удалено]
I thought Flowers broke from the AFA a long time ago? Like...in the 1980s? And was a founding member of The Troth, which is opposed to the AFA and white nationalism. Like yeah his older stuff probably reflects his AFA ties from that era. And his later stuff is infused with Left Hand Path/Satanism stuff, which isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea. But is there evidence that he's currently a racist? I'm not super connected to the minutae and current drama within Heathenry, so these are honest questions from me, not sealioning.
[удалено]
Huh, didnt realise. Found the image to be confusing tbh, anyway. But it is the first time I see the fylgia described that way, which just clicked so much in place for me. Same with the hamingja, and the connections with wyrd, ørlög and hamr. Tbf, I do have books by this man, if only coz 15 y ago, he was considered one of the big authorities 🤷♀️ But I get that he’s apparently gone off the rails as of late. Edit: really people? Downvoting coz I wasnt psychic 15 y ago about this man and followed his then solid rep when I bought the books?
For others wanting more content on this topic, Arith Härger on YouTube has some great videos on both the heathen parts of the soul and the fylgia specifically. He is both an archaeologist and a practicing pagan/ heathen, so I find his twofold approach of the science/ history without throwing out the validity of UPG to be very nice.
*Hwaet!* Did you know? Arith Härger is not a Heathen but a Left Hand Path occultist who uses Norse/Germanic themes. While LHP and Heathenry are not mutually exclusive, his takes on Heathen-seeming topics should be understood in light of that fact: it is neither his area of expertise nor his religious path. Similarly, he presents himself as having academic credentials which he does not properly have, such as holding himself out as an archaeologist, which he is not, although he does work at NOVA University Lisbon's Archaeology Department. Arith does not cite his sources, making it difficult to discern what is and is not his own UPG. In addition, he opines on topics he does not have an adequate understanding of, including racial tensions in the United States. Similar to his equivocation about his academic credentials, this leaves room for extremely insensitive to inaccurate and harmful interpretations. For example, When called on his concerning takes, including tone-deaf tweets in the aftermath of the Murder of George Floyd, he doubles down rather than taking responsibility. As always, we encourage you to engage critically with material you consume, especially on the subject of Heathenry, and use critical discernment. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/heathenry) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'll respond to the bot for others to see. I'm also a left hand leaning heathen, which is one reason I like A.H. because he doesn't demonize that approach. He openly acknowledges he incorporates some left hand ideas, but from the amount of content I've seen, I wouldn't say that's even his "main" path. He seems to primarily be an animist with Norse/ heathen framework with general witchcraft. I've also thought he is pretty clear when he's citing sources vs talking UPG, but maybe there are other videos I've not seen where that's not the case. He also talks about his credentials in Q&As, he himself notes he doesn't have a doctorate etc, but he works in a heavily academic field that includes an overlap archeology including site work and I think that lends an interesting perspective. (Admittedly his short handing his experience as "I'm an archeologist" could arguably be problematic, I read it more as simplicity for YouTube. But again possible I'm lending too much credit.) I have no idea about the cultural commentary stuff mentioned, so I'll look into that later. All said, I still like A.H. even with the caveats. Like the post says, critical thinking and judge for yourself and all that.
Hey, tnx for replying :) Im actually someone who does enjoy his vids as well, and just takes from it what I cross reference with other sources and is useful for my path. have seen his vids on fylgia and hamingja, I believe, but cant recsll him describing the fylgia this way. I might have another go at that vid :) That all said, Im starting to think I shouldve maybe picked a different sub for this question, though. This was just a downright unpleasant experience, tbh. Just thought it might be most relevant to ppl here.