HEATHENS IN OR OUT OF UNIFORM: PUT YOUR BURIAL AND FUNERAL WISHES IN WRITING - ᚬᚦᛁᚾ ᛅ ᚢᚦᚱ ᛅᛚᛅ
- Hrolfr
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
In light of the recent changes to military religious preference codes, Odin’s Warrior Tribe strongly recommends that all Heathens — especially active-duty military, veterans, law enforcement, and first responders — prepare a will and written instructions for their next of kin on how they wish to be buried and how their funeral services should be conducted in the Heathen tradition.
This should be part of your personal readiness. It may be attached to your will, placed with your important papers, and given to your spouse, next of kin, trusted family members, executor of your estate, and lawyer. It should be signed, dated, and made known.
Within our Odinic Shamanic Warrior Cult, preparation for death is not morbid. It is disciplined. It is honorable. It is responsible. We take life seriously, and we must take death seriously. Having a will and Heathen burial instructions is required.
Written funeral and burial instructions are also required or strongly expected in numerous elite special operations units. The Chieftain has served in many such communities, including the Ranger Regiment, JSOC at large, and special mission units. In those worlds, a serious man makes his wishes known. He does not leave his family guessing.
Your written instructions should address, in plain language, how you want your faith honored when you die. That may include where you wish to be buried, how you wish to be identified religiously, what emblem or symbol should be used, who should officiate, what words should be spoken, what songs or music should be played, what items should be placed with you if allowed, who should serve as honor guard or pallbearers, who should be notified, and what you do not want done.
If you are Heathen, say so clearly. Nobody is an “Other.”
If you want a Heathen funeral, say so clearly.
If you want Odin, Thor, Freyja, Tyr, the ancestors, the Disir, the Norns, the Valkyries, or the honored dead invoked, say so clearly.
If you want the Mjölnir — the Hammer of Thor — on your headstone or marker, say so clearly. As far as we know, the Department of Veterans Affairs still recognizes the Mjölnir / Hammer of Thor as an approved emblem of belief for government headstones and markers.
Do not assume people will know what to do. Do not assume an administrative system that eliminated your code will get it right. Do not assume your family will understand your wishes unless you write them down and speak with them. Perhaps there is a family member who wants to try to convert you in death through a funeral of another faith. Unfortunately, it happens. Do not let that happen to you.
This is one way we make it absolutely clear that our faith is real, our dead are to be honored properly, and no Heathen should accidentally be buried under another faith tradition because no instructions were left behind.
Odin’s Warrior Tribe is currently receiving a large number of inquiries from service members and veterans who are concerned about the recent religious-code changes. We will respond as we are able. That said, our first responsibility is always to our members, because Odin’s Warrior Tribe is a 501(c)(3) church. If a Tribe member dies, whether in action or from other causes, the Tribe will be represented, as we have done before and will do again. That is part of our obligation.
The Chieftain of Odin’s Warrior Tribe is a fully ordained Gothi and retired U.S. Army Colonel, a veteran of five wars, and is authorized by Fairfax County Court Order pursuant to Code of Virginia § 20-23 to solemnize legally binding Heathen religious weddings across the Commonwealth of Virginia. This is not a mere celebrant service; it is a sacred and legal union under the authority of both state law and ancient Heathen faith. The same Gothi is likewise recognized to perform marriages in the neighboring state of Maryland as ordained clergy. These rites are not just ceremonial — they carry both legal and spiritual weight for our members.
When a member crosses into the halls of the ancestors, the Tribe does not falter. We show up. The Gothi is available to perform funeral services for members and their immediate families and has attended the celebration of life for a member of the Tribe who passed while active, held out of state in accordance with the member’s wishes. At that member’s formal interment at a National Cemetery, a senior Hersir of the Tribe was present to represent the brotherhood and bear witness in honor.
Though our Chieftain/Gothi has not yet performed a funeral at Arlington, he is authorized and prepared to do so. As an ordained religious leader and full U.S. Army Colonel, retired, he is uniquely qualified to conduct Heathen military funeral rites at Arlington in uniform and throughout Virginia, and, as we understand it, at any National Military Cemetery, within the standard time frame required by cemetery protocol.
These funeral services are currently reserved for members of the Tribe and, in some cases, their closest military companions. Future availability to the broader Heathen military community is not yet something we do because of time constraints, but it may be considered, with the expectation of reimbursement for associated costs.
This is what separates Odin’s Warrior Tribe from the countless fly-by-night social media groups lacking legal grounding or real-world commitment — groups that are internet-based and not even real 501(c)(3) organizations. When you marry, when your children are born, when you pass on — we are there. That is frith. That is honor. That is our Tribe.
The phrase “rest in peace” — R.I.P. — comes from the Latin requiescat in pace, meaning “may the deceased rest peacefully.” First seen on Christian gravestones in the 8th century, it became widely used on grave markers by the 1700s. Originally, “rest in peace” was a prayer for the departed soul’s eternal peace in Heaven. Today, “rest in peace” and the abbreviation “R.I.P.” are commonly seen in cemeteries and obituaries. It is a widespread term, but it is Christian in origin and meaning.
For us as Heathens, or for our friends and family speaking of us when we pass, using “R.I.P.” can be inappropriate because of its deep roots in Christian doctrine and beliefs about the afterlife. It reflects the Christian concept of a peaceful rest in Heaven and, in some interpretations, the biblical rising of the dead.
The Christian Church historically opposed cremation for several key theological and cultural reasons. One was belief in the Resurrection of the Body, central to Christian doctrine, particularly at the end of time during the Second Coming of Christ. The Church feared that cremation, which destroyed the body, might symbolically undermine this belief, as it was seen as incompatible with the idea that the body would be raised again. In early Christianity, cremation was also commonly associated with pagan and Heathen practices. Burial became the distinctly Christian practice, following the example of Jesus of Nazareth; thus, cremation was viewed as a rejection of Christian burial customs.
We also have an obligation to the families of our members, especially the children of Tribe members. Those children bear the cups — the kuksa — in our tradition, and we do not forget them.
Prepare now. Write it down. Sign it. Date it. Tell your spouse, next of kin, family, and legal counsel where it is. Make sure your faith and wishes are known. Get a lawyer if necessary, or have a military lawyer help you prepare your will.
It is appropriate and recommended for Heathens to be buried or cremated with shoes; many Christians are not. For some this is for Helvegen — the walk to Hel. Those killed in action or chosen Valhalla or Folkvangr. Our concepts of the afterlife include Valhalla, Folkvangr, Hel, Ran’s Hall (for those who die at sea), ancestral realms (fells, hills and mountains, such as Helgafell in western Iceland -the entry of the dead into hills is described in Eyrbyggja saga), Nastrond (Corpse shore) for murderers, oath breakers, and such.
“Who will sing me
Into the death-sleep sling me
When I walk the road to Hel
And the tracks I tread
Are cold, so cold.”
— Wardruna
For the Tribe, if you want, the Chieftain will throw a spear — within whatever limitations the cemetery places — over the casket or urn of a Tribesman or Tribeswoman. Archaeological studies show that spears were thrown with force over the deceased Heathen’s body. We believe this use of spears in funeral ritual has some connection to Odin throwing his spear over his enemies and claiming them. It may have been a way for those involved in the funeral to dedicate a deceased warrior to Odin in death.
Odin owns you all.
Óðinn á yðr allaᚬᚦᛁᚾ ᛅ ᚢᚦᚱ ᛅᛚᛅ
Make sure “they” know it.
Hail the Gods.
Hail the Ancestors.
Hail the Honored Dead.
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