Ásatrú Alliance

The Ásatrú Alliance (AA) is an American Heathen group founded in 1987 by Michael J. Murray (a.k.a. Valgard Murray) of Arizona, a former vice-president of Else Christensen's Odinist Fellowship. The establishment of the Alliance, as well as the establishment of The Troth, followed the disbanding of the Asatru Free Assembly ("old AFA") in 1986. The Ásatrú Alliance largely reconstituted the old AFA, dominated by prior AFA members, and acting as a distributor of previously AFA publications.

Michael "Valgard" Murray (center) with Stephen McNallen (left) and Eric "Hnikar" Wood (at the 2000 IAOA Althing)

Background
See also: Heathenry in the United States

Stephen McNallen founded the Asatru Folk Assembly ("new AFA") in 1994 as the successor organization to the Asatru Free Assembly. The Alliance and the Folk Assembly organizations have existed in parallel since, temporarily united within the International Asatru-Odinic Alliance (1997–2002). Gardell (2003) classifies the AA as folkish. The AA defines Ásatrú as "the ethnic religion of the Northern European peoples".

The Ásatrú Alliance is recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious organization, or church. The AA was formed on June 19, 1988 by seven kindreds, which were members of the disbanded Ásatrú Free Assembly, who ratified on this day a set of by-laws to preserve and promote the beliefs of Ásatrú in the United States of America.

The Ásatrú Alliance promotes ethnonationalism in the guise of a return to the religion of the ancient Scandinavians, which the organization's website describes as merely one form of what is essentially a pan-European native religion. The website makes the explicitly racist claim that Ásatrú is the only suitable religion for the descendants of ancient Europeans––i.e. Caucasians––and is by the same token unsuitable for people of any other ethnic background, who are described as "essentially different from" people of European ancestry.

The AA is currently headed by a board of directors composed of representatives appointed by their kindred, to speak on their behalf for any AA business.

The AA held its 32nd annual Althing gathering in September 2012. Kaplan (1996) estimates the AA has between 500 and 1,000 members.

As a definition of Ásatrú, AA cites a 1995 essay by McNallen on "what is Ásatrú", which concludes by summarizing the main goals as the practice of "courage, honor, the importance of the family and ancestral bonds, strength, freedom, the preservation of our kind, and joyful, vigorous life."

World Tree Publications is the Ásatrú Alliance's publishing house.

Valgard Murray

Valgard Murray (Michael J. Murray), born in 1950 in Iowa to a Mormon farming family, to Thomas and Marion Murray of Scottish, Lithuanian, Irish, and German descent.[1][2] He remained the Allsherjargoði of the Ásatrú Alliance of Independent Kindreds, Inc. until entering a semi-retirement in 2015. Valgard has five daughters, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

At the age of four, Valgard was burned on over thirty percent of his body. By the age of eleven, he would have a vision which we would later recognize as Oðinn on Sleipner leading the Wild Hunt. Six years later, he would meet a woman who would introduce him to a group of Northern Folk who kept the old ways. This group would eventually become the Arizona Kindred of Ásatrú Inc.[1] Murray has stated that he has also had a vision of Odin at the age of four.[3]

Murray later moved to Arizona and became an electrical engineer.[4]

Murray was involved with the American Nazi Party (ANP) into the late 1960s.[5] and came to know of Odinism/Asatru through Elton Hall, the Arizona organizer of the ANP. He later became the Arizona organizer of the ANP.[4] He has also been the spokesperson for the Arizona-based National Socialist outlaw brotherhood Iron Cross MC.[6]

In the early 70's Murray and Hall formed a kindred and made contact with Else Christensen.

In 1976 the Arizona Kindred became the first kindred certified as such by the Odinist Fellowship, which until then had only individual members.[4]

Murray worked with Else Christensen to found the Odinist Fellowship, and served as vice president.[4]

Between 1984 and 1987 he was a representative of the AA,[7][8][9] and was on the board of the International Ásatrú-Odinic Alliance (IAOA), and chosen the first honorary IAOA Allsherjargoði for the three-year period.[1][7][8][9] Although Murray states the IAOA title was 2003 for three years,[1] even though the IAOA disbanded in 2002.[10][11]

In 1984 the Arizona Kindred instead chose to affiliate with the Asatru Free Assembly (old AFA). When that folded, he and Robert Taylor of the Tribe of the Wulfings, formed the Asatru Alliance in 1987, inviting other kindreds to a formational Althing in 1988,[6] and also served on the Board of Directors and as General Manager of the Ásatrú Folk Assembly.[1]

In 1987 he served as General Manager of the AFA, and in 1986 founded World Tree Publications.[8]

In 1997 he was elected the Alsherjargothi of the Ásatrú Alliance.[12][13] Although, Gardell says that this decision was made and ratified at the 1988 formational Althing,[6] he was only honorary Alsherjargothi in 1988, and in 1997 officially accepted overall.[1]

At the second Althing of the AFA, Murrary allegedly threatened to kill a homosexual attendee with a Mac-10.[14]

On October 17, 2007, Murray gave a deposition (an out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes) in the Eberle v. Wilkinson & the State of Ohio case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at the officers of the Attorney General, Columbus, Ohio.[15] In 2009 he was criticized heavily by Heimgest, the Director of the Court of Gothar (DCG-OR)/Alsherjargothi of the Odinic Rite[16][17] for the views, and alleged lies,[16] he expressed in his Deposition.[15]

In 2013, Murray commented on the killing of the head of the Colorado Department of Corrections Tom Clements as the alleged murderer "practiced a controversial form of religion behind bars" which was Asatru.[18][19]

In 2014, Murray was interviewed in a three-part series by George Whitehurst Berry on the Sedona Dreams Show.[3] During this interview, Murray stated that Asatru means, "faith in god." Asked if it actually refers to the Gods and Goddesses, he responds, "Well, yes it did, but the word itself is not plural, it just means faith in god. And, it does of course mean, in the old way, respect in honouring the old gods and goddesses of the Northern European people.[20]

gollark: Really, this is just ridiculous. I mean, why reply with that constantly?
gollark: Wait, hold on, I'll spoiler tag it.
gollark: Oh, no, they said ||in <#424394851170385923> they had made a "taser" or something||.
gollark: WHY DID YOU INVOKE HIM
gollark: -70 degrees sounds like it would be fatal or at least quite bad for you for long durations.

References
  1. "worldtreepublications.org - Valgard Murray Biography". Web.archive.org. 2014-02-20. Archived from the original on 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  2. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism.
  3. Part 1 (archived), Part 2 (archived), Part 3 (archived)
  4. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism, page 261
  5. "A racist brand of neo-Paganism, related to Odinism, spreads among white supremacists". splcenter.org. Archived from the original on April 18, 2014. Retrieved 2017-01-26..
  6. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism, page 262
  7. Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism, page 263
  8. "World Tree Publications : HISTORY". Eorldtreepublications.org. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  9. "worldtreepublications.org - World Tree Publications". Web.archive.org. 2014-12-23. Archived from the original on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2017-01-26.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  10. Holley, Jeffrey (aka Heimgest), 'Presenting the Truth: Correcting the inaccuracies and falsehoods of Valgard Murray's Deposition', Odinic Rite
  11. "Valgard Murrays Deposition in Eberle vs Wilkinson & the State of Ohio" (PDF). Odinic-rite.org. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  12. "ABOUT VALGARD MURRAY". Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-28.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  13. "ABOUT VALGARD MURRAY". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  14. Lewis, James R.; Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, State University of New York Press, 2006. p. 203-204
  15. Murray, Michael J., 'Deposition in Eberle vs Wilkinson & the State of Ohio'
  16. Heimgest, Presenting the Truth Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  17. Owen, Laurel, 'A Commentary on Valgard Murray’s Deposition' Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  18. Clements’ Murder Suspect Practiced Controversial Religion In Prison " CBS Denver Archived November 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  19. "An Infamous Murder and Asatru in Prison". Wildhunt.org. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  20. "George Whitehurst Berry welcomes Allsherjargoði Valgard Murray to the 1/25/14 Sedona Dreams Show - Sedona Dreams". Web.archive.org. 2014-01-22. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2017-01-26.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)

Further reading
  • Gardell, Mattias (2003). Gods of the Blood The Pagan Revival and White Separatism. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-3071-4.
  • McNallen, Stephen A. (2004). "Three Decades of the Ásatrú Revival in America", Tyr: Myth-Culture-Tradition Volume II. Ultra Publishing, pp. 203–219. ISBN 978-0-9720292-1-6.
  • Kaplan, Jeffrey. 1996. "The Reconstruction of the Asatru and Odinist Traditions." In Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, edited by James R. Lewis, State University of New York Press.
  • Chadwick, H. M. The Cult of Othin. Cambridge, 1899.
  • Coulter, James Hjuka (2003). Germanic Heathenry A Practical Guide. ISBN 978-1-4107-6585-7.
  • Gundarsson, Kveldulf. Our Troth. 2006. ISBN 978-1-4196-3598-4
  • Paxson, Diana L. (2006). Essential Asatru Walking the Path of Norse Paganism. Citadel Press. ISBN 978-0-8065-2708-6.
  • Puryear, Mark (2006). The Nature of Asatru An Overview of the Ideals and Philosophy of the Indigenous Religion of Northern Europe. iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-38964-3.
  • Shetler, Greg (2003). Living Asatru. Booksurge Llc. ISBN 978-1-59109-911-6.
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