This weekend I was a panelist at the American Academy of Religion conference at UNLV on “History of Mystery: Pagans in Las Vegas,” organized by Prof. Candace Kant. The panel included representatives from various pagan traditions. I represented Asatru.

My fellow panelists included BJ Rogers of the ADF (Druid) Larrea Tridentata Grove, Edmond Costello of Sanctuary of Solace (an all-inclusive Goddess community,) Abbi McBride of Vegas Vortex, and Rev. Areeya Marie Sharpe of Desert Moon Circle and Temple of Goddess Spirituality (Sekhmet Temple.) Marissa d’Aradia of Sin City Witches was slated to be on the panel but couldn’t make it. I had met most of the other panelists before, either at Pagan Pride Day events or at Sin City Witches events.

This panel was organized by Prof. Kant. I’ve known her for a long time, and have even run into her at both pagan events and local non-pagan events like the local Renfaire. Long ago, I spoke on Asatru to her religion class, which she mentioned as the panelists were chatting before the panel. One of the panelists mentioned that he had almost emailed everyone before the panel to find out what everyone was wearing so we could co-ordinate, but we ended up looking co-ordinated anyway, with everyone wearing black. I said if the conference were not at a university I might have shown up in my full religious garb.

Candace asked, “With your sword?” I smiled and said yes. She explained to the other panelists that my religious attire includes a symbolic weapon but I couldn’t bring one on campus.

That’s about when we got the photo of some of us panelists which appears here on this blog. The audience was not very large, but that is to be expected at a convention for an organization of scholars. Events for the public usually draw more people. Like some of the other panelists, I must thank the local Interfaith Council for my membership in the American Academy of Religion.

The panel moderator was Kahena Viale of the AAR. The panel was organized as a series of questions from the moderator which each panelist answered. Viale asked us to introduce ourselves, then asked how geography affected our practice (my answer below), asked us for a sample of ritual (my sample below), and then asked us what were our faiths of origin and how did we find our paths. During the panel, two of the panelists sang songs, and McBride accompanied her song by drumming. As an example of a small piece of ritual, one of the panelists led a grounding and centering meditation. The moderator question period was followed by questions from the audience, although we ran out of time before everyone could ask their question.

Geography

During the geography section, some panelists spoke about local Native American tribes.

I led off my answer to this question by pointing out that Asatru has traditional holidays but heathen seasonal observances are tied to seasons for farming in northern Europe, which does not relate to our local ecological region. My kindred, American Celebration Kindred, observes some traditional Asatru holidays such as Yule. We also observe some seasonal celebrations based on our local desert region. The rainy season here begins in the summer, and we honor the spirits of water which we call the mermaids or the Nine Mothers of Heimdall. When the rainy season ends in the fall, we celebrate Rainbow Season, because after the rain comes the rainbow. In Asatru the god of the rainbow is Heimdall. We have lots of Heimdall related observances in our kindred because of the founders of our kindred was my late companion Tom whose patron was Heimdall.

Ritual Sample

I had not prepared anything to show any ritual elements or brought any ritual tools with me. However, I told the audience that the most basic Asatru ritual is the toasting ritual, called sumbel. It can be elaborate or simple, done as part of a large ritual with a lot of people or done alone spontaneously. I’ve grown wheat in my back yard to make ritual drink, but if all I have when I want to make a toast is tapwater in a plastic bottle—I held up my bottle of drinking water—that’s acceptable because it’s what I have. When I make a toast I’m sharing what I have.

I said, “Not everyone here today has gods or spirits they honor. But everyone has ancestors, even if you don’t know who they are or don’t like them very much.” That line got a laugh from the audience. I spoke about honoring distant ancestors even if you don’t know their names. I said when you make a toast to your personal ancestors you’re giving back to them to thank them for bringing you into being. So I asked everyone who had a beverage with them to make a toast, “To my ancestors.” That seemed to be well received.

In my intro, I mentioned my book, Asatru: A Beginner’s Guide to the Heathen Path. I had a copy with me to demonstrate. During my response to how I found my path, I circled back to books. As a child, I loved books. I was a huge Tolkien fan. On my 17^th birthday, I received a book. A book about rune magic. When I read it, I knew that was my path. 

Image: Pagan panelists at American Academy of Religion, March 16, 2024. From left: Abbi McBride, Erin Lale, Edmond Costello, BJ Rogers, Candace Kant. Not pictured: Areeya Marie Sharpe.