Buzzed, part 1

Hávamál (Bellows and Thorpe translations): The Sayings of the High One - the High One being Odin. It's the "Best of Miss Manners" of the Norse. Or rather, the "How not to get yourself killed in a stupid way" of the Norse. Not to say that it's the 'Bible', so to speak - you won't find a lot of Heathens willing to admit that they believe Odin himself dictated it - but it's still good, common sense.

One of the most famous stanzas is probably this one -

Cattle die, | and kinsmen die,
And so one dies one's self;
One thing now | that never dies,
The fame of a dead man's deeds.

- but there's much more than that to be found lurking around. Advice on life, love, friendship, family, and well, how not to get yourself killed in a stupid way. It also include a section on Odin's ordeal to obtain the runes as well as a section on the use of them.

Virtues - the Guest and the Host

The Nine Noble Virtues seem to be a standard post on most Asatru-focused blogs I've seen. It's a nice, handy little list alongside "The Praiseworthy Virtues of the North" but personally, I've always been more partial to the Hávamál. Not as rules but as a guide. A lesson in good manners and thinking your actions through and being cautious around the people you're with, because you never know when someone is aiming a knife at your back.

On a side note, it's always amused me how people haul out the 'honour' issue and use it as a hammer against everyone else. Even more so when the very same people turn out to tolerate each other only for the sake of appearances and it only takes the smallest of things to make everything blow up - religion, like politics, is always a touchy topic to debate. It's srs biznez.

It isn't a big place I live in but it's mine, and I take the job of hostess seriously. Being a good host is just as important as being a good guest - nobody wants to be known as someone who lets their guests go hungry and thirsty, just as nobody really wants the reputation of being "That Person" who always gets too much to drink, smashes the plates, insults the other guests, and finishes up by puking in the sink. It's about reputation, certainly, but even more so it's about personal pride. It's my home and I want it to look its best when I get company. Sometimes, that means compromises, too - as a host and as a guest. Maybe I don't like everyone on the guest list at a party, maybe I even hate their guts, but a party isn't the right place to duke it out, verbally or otherwise. It's that reputation thing again. Sometimes, you have to suck it up and deal with it to a certain extend. Not that you have to talk with them beyond "hello", just that maybe it isn't the brightest idea to try and drown them in the gravy... even if they sort of had it coming, and any jury would deem it not just excusable but praiseworthy.

I like being a good host. Maybe it's a little too 'housewife-y' for some but it works for me.