Love

Give out Love and let it come in.

lEwe

Principles and Guidance: Love may be understood as part of the survival instinct, a function to keep human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species.  It is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment.  In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, God is love.  Love may also be described as actions towards others (or oneself) based on compassion or as actions towards others based on affection. 

The word love can have a variety of related but distinct meanings in different contexts. Often, other languages use multiple words to express some of the different concepts that English relies mainly on love to encapsulate; one example is the plurality of Greek words for love. Cultural differences in conceptualizing love thus make it doubly difficult to establish any universal definition. Religious views on love vary widely between different religions.    

Different cultures have deified love, typically in both male and female form. Even though in monotheistic religions, the God is considered to represent love, there are often angels or similar beings that represent love as well. Freya, Goddess of love, fertility and war in Norse mythology.  Mihr, spirit of love in Persian mythology.  Venus, Goddess of beauty and passionate love in Roman mythology.

 

The Eight Wiccan Virtues come to us from Doreen Valiente, considered by many to be the mother of modern Wicca. These eight virtues were first revealed in her writing, "The Charge of the Goddess." They are presented in pairs of complementary opposites which balance each other and reflect a dualism that is commonly found in Wiccan philosophy. The Eight Wiccan Virtues are listed in the line, "Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you."

Compassion allows you to have true love, not only for others, but also for yourself. It allows you to forgive yourself when you make mistakes. It's also the ability to have deep feelings and concern for the misfortune and suffering of others. Compassion allows you to share another's pain, gives you the desire to relieve it, and the willingness to act on that desire.

The virtue of reverence refers to having profound respect and devotion for the God and Goddess and all things sacred. But, it also means to have love and regard for all of life, including ourselves, all of Nature, and our planet Earth. Reverence is expressed in the choices you make in your life in caring for and loving your body. It is also shown in the respect you give the Earth by doing things such as recycling, planting trees and gardens, or cleaning up beaches and streams.

 

 

The Asatru moral code of conduct is known as the Nine Noble Virtues. The Nine Noble Virtues represent the distilled wisdom and ancient Germanic moral code gleaned from various ancient sources including the Poetic Edda, the Icelandic Sagas and Germanic folklore: courage, truth, honor, fidelity, discipline, hospitality, industriousness, self reliance, perseverance.

Hospitality is the willingness to share what one has with one's fellows, especially when they are far from home.  We rely on the strengths and love that are forged by blood and oath...what good are such things when we can't otherwise? We must be ready and willing to lend help and assistance where we can, when it is needed- what good are we to those that we are bound if we cannot depend on one another?

Self Reliance is the spirit of independence, which is achieved not only for the individual, but also for the family, clan, tribe and nation. It is not a concept of denying ones interconnectedness with others, but of ensuring that one can take care of oneself first, then ones family and loved ones.  Only freedom can strengthen our love for life, and we cannot allow ourselves to be enthralled by need or want, which in turn enthralls our children and folk.

 

Some of the qualities we hold in high regard are strength, courage, vigor, and the revering of our ancestors. To express these things in our lives is virtuous and we strive to do this.  These convictions of personal honor are well described by the Nine Noble Virtues and the Six Fold Goal.  The Six Fold Goal is a statement of those things for which we are willing to live and die.  The Six Fold Goal is: Right, Wisdom, Might. Harvest, Frith, Love.

When most people hear love they assume it to mean the romantic love between two people, or maybe the love of an adult for their child. And while these are beautiful and worthy things, the love referred to here is the vitality and lust for life embodied in Freyr and Freya. It is the erotic thrill of life itself, the lust of passion and the senses, the enjoyment of pleasure. This is natural to our people and right for us to enjoy.

 

One last thought, an early example of the Golden Rule that reflects the Ancient Egyptian concept of Maat appears in the story of The Eloquent Peasant, which dates to the Middle Kingdom: "Now this is the command: Do to the doer to cause that he do thus to you." An example from a Late Period papyrus: "That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another."

Wiccan morality is largely expressed in the Wiccan Rede: 'An it harm none, do what ye will'. While this could be interpreted to mean "do no harm at all," it is usually interpreted as a declaration of the freedom to act, along with the necessity of taking responsibility for what follows from one's actions.

Many different sources claim the Golden Rule as a humanist principle:  Trying to live according to the Golden Rule means trying to empathize with other people, including those who may be very different from us. Empathy is at the root of kindness, compassion, understanding and respect – qualities that we all appreciate being shown, whoever we are, whatever we think and wherever we come from. And although it isn’t possible to know what it really feels like to be a different person or live in different circumstances and have different life experiences, it isn’t difficult for most of us to imagine what would cause us suffering and to try to avoid causing suffering to others. For this reason many people find the Golden Rule’s corollary – “do not treat people in a way you would not wish to be treated yourself” – more pragmatic.

 

Frigg p, Goddess of romance, marriage, sex and reproduction, married women, household duty, and divination.  She is said to be the wife of Odin, and the Queen of Asgard.  Frigg appears primarily in Norse mythological stories as a wife and a mother. 

Freya f, Goddess associated with magic, shamanism, sacrifice, war, death, and sexuality.  Freya is the daughter of Njord and Nerthus, as well as the sister of Freyr. She was once married to Odr, but he disappeared. She is the principle female fertility Goddess of the native Germanic religion.

Freyr q, worshipped as a phallic fertility God, he was said to bestow peace and pleasure on mortals.  Freyr is a leading member of the Vanir, the Lord of the Earth and a God of fertility.  Freyr gives up his sword for love.

Sjofn, Goddess associated with love. Sjofn is the Goddess of marital bliss, she stops fights between husbands and wives. Sjofn is one of Frigg's attendants.

 

Laguz l rune represents Water in all its forms. Water is an essential ingredient to life. All living creatures rely on it to survive. Water is associated with emotions of all kinds, but predominantly with healing, peacefulness, love, truth, compassion, intuition and forgiveness .

Inguz q rune is concerned with male fertility, gestation and internal growth. It is all about common sense and simple strengths, the home and love of the family, caring and human warmth.

 

See Life with Love!

A Year in Review!

Acceptance

Dignity

Justice

Love

Rede

Strength

Temperance

Truth

Volunteer

Wisdom