Honor the Fallen
- Sara Ault
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Five hundred doors there are and forty more
I eeen, in Valhall's walls
Eight hundred fighters through one door fare
When to war with the wolf they go.
— Grímnismál, stanza 23
I want to talk about honouring our fallen warriors and how that relates to spiritual understanding of the Einherjar.
The warrior ethos is a significant part of ancestry and spiritual practice. We can all agree that those who die on the battlefield should be held in the highest regard and remembered this November's Veterans Day and Einherjablót Of those many fallen warriors on the battlefield, Óðinn chooses a select few to become Einherjar, sending Valkyries to claim them to join their brothers in Valhǫll, feasting and fighting until Ragnarök.
That is the most widely known way to be counted with the Einherjar throughout our history. That is because it is only recently that we've been needed to fight on a variety of battlefields. Modern times, a very, very small window in our history, has brought our Folk to new stages such as social media, a hundred political fronts, and a variety of created societal structures, etc. With that we must talk about what does it mean to be a warrior for your Folk. It doesn't only encompass the stereotypical battlefield anymore. Can one who fights on these untraditional fronts still be chosen to join the Einherjar? It definitely bears asking the question and opening discussion to reflect this in modern times because death while engaging on these modern fronts is extremely unlikely. So, then we have to discuss a delayed ascension possibility. This is certainly a possibility in my mind, however I would not presume to know by what criteria Óðinn selects those he wants for the final battle.
The Æsir have seen to it that we continue to exist as a race, which says that we are expected to continue to grow, advance, and fight to preserve our Folk as times change. Now Óðinn will choose who he sees fit for what he needs, we also can't say what Ragnarök will look like, so the point being is why not, why not fight each and every day in your respective areas of expertise like you could join the Einherjar. You may just be someone Óðinn decides is needed.
Always honour those that have died selflessly on a physical battlefield, though do not forget those warriors for the Folk that have passed by other means. Raise a horn to our fallen warriors this November, say their names and reflect on their deeds. Raise a horn to the Einherjar, those elite chosen warriors that prepare and will fight selflessly alongside the Æsir.
"There are many slain warriors in Valhalla with many more yet to come."
