Is odinism a Western shintoism ?

God with multiple faces, Odin  (in old Nordic Odhinn, Woden in Anglo Saxon or Wotan in old Germanic) is a mysterious figure. King of Gods, gos of war, shaman god, god of runes, Odin is also considered as the god of wisdom, poetry and magic. The root Woth means "sacred furor" and expresses the idea of ecstasy, surpassing oneself. To Arnaud d'Apremont, odinism is the symbol of persistence of a tradition, the Nordic tradition which noways reborn from its ashes just like Shintoism which lasted through the multiple upheavals of history.

Literally the "way of the gods", Shintoism is like the Nordic way, a philosophy of life which is interpreted by respect of nature in its force, its beauty, its magic, by the veneration of ancestors and also by forgetting the self to the community.

Literally the "way of the gods", Shintoism is like the Nordic way, a philosophy of life which is interpreted by respect of nature in its force, its beauty, its magic, by the veneration of ancestors and also by forgetting the self to the community.These religions of the earth consider that all living beings, and also the ancestors spirits, plants, animals and minerals, are part of a great cosmic family. All embody a manifestation of the universal spirit. This same awareness, which would explain in part the actual interest to ecology, provoked a new interest to nature cultures: since 1973 the Asatru is considered by the Iceland government as an official religion and in 2011 the United Kingdom will officially recognize druidism as a religion. Shintô too, adapted to the changes of Japanese walls.










To Arnaud d'Apremont it is not only about establishing an analogy between these two traditions but also to illustrate their timelessness... « Tradition doesn't belong to men of yesterday nor today... » showing, the stereotypes which are often associated. These clichés oscillate in the rhythm of the metronome called "ignorance" and passing alternatively from touristic folklore to recuperations from extreme right wings.

For more information about the movement Asatru in France. www.asatru.fr