Hofbok

Raven's Troth AsaTru Kindred

Six-Fold Goal

The Six-Fold Goal:

RIGHT is ruled over by Tÿr. It is the justice of law shaped by the lore of our folk and meted out with good judgement and true by those who can see the truth. This is a goal rationally sought and rationally administered---The rule of rationality and enlightenment in the world. From this our desire to see a world rationally is derived.

WISDOM is watched over by Othin. This is the hiddern lore and powers welling up from the darkest depths of our souls and hovering high over our heads, shining beyond the clouds, and leading us on into the unknown. This is the mysterious force that has he ability to hold all things together, ruled by those who can see and understand the whole. Above all, wisdom must be preserved, for in it are the wells of all memory; if it and only it survives, all other parts of the whole may be regenerated. From this is derived our sense of adventure, our curiosity about the unknown, our seeking and questioning character.

MIGHT is wielded by Thör. In might is embodied the two-fold goal of victory and defense, which both depend on pure power or might for their ultimate right. Without this pivotal goal, all others will fall into decay and be overcome by things outside the truth---as indeed they have been. But might must be ruled over by right and wisdom, and must serve the purposes of harvest and frith. There is worth of might in and of itself, however. In the bodily expressions of power is found the joy of victory which acts as a balm on the soul of the warrior. The goal of conquest and exercise of might can be turned without or within the true maon or woman---but it must find expression. From this is derived our hunger for conquests, big and small, and our great will to power.

HARVEST is holy to the Vanir. This is the reaping of the things of the good cycles of nature, which ensures that the fold continues to flourish in the world, that the livestock abound in good health, and that the seed is rightly planted, cut, and threshed. Harvest is the overriding need for organic continuance---for the continuance of organic life. Harvest here includes all of the fruits of economic cycles. It is the goodness of plenty, of wealth, and physical well-being. Today our society and our desire for abundance and wealth is dominated by this value system.

FRITH is ruled by frey and Freyja. Frith is our own word for "peace". Frith is the true state of "peace" wherein all parts of the Six-Fold Goal are successfully pursued and attained by a society. In frith is true freedom, for frith is the essence of freedom, the state in which self-directed, self-willed growth and development can take place. Frith usually implies an absence of war but not of struggle or conflict, which must always be present on some level when true growth is taking place. In frith we do not stand still; in frith we learn how to take our fights to ever higher fields. Right/might/frith form a powerful axis. Might provides the protection frith needs to promote freedom, but might must be ruled by right to protect frith from ungoverned might. From frith comes our almost universal desire for "peace", but if we misunderstand what this means, we can bring ourselves not "peace" but stagnation and death.

LOVE is the law of life and is embodied in Frey and Freyja, the "Lord and Lady". This is the pure powerful love, of the "lust" of eroticism. In it is our sense of play and pure pleasure. The stem word from which "love" is derived has to do with the enjoyment of (physical) pleasure. that we seek this as a goal is natural and good, but it is not without its non-natural or "spiritual" sides, to be sure. In seeking pleasure, we show and more importantly experience an unbridled lust for life itself. This deep well of desire acts from below much the way wisdom does from above; in fact, there is a secret bond between them. Wisdom and love hold the six goals together.

we are accepting essays and commentaries concerning the six-fold goal, to be published on our website. Submissions should be sent to kwm04@cvip.fresno.com