How To Form A Kindred

Article taken from the Asatru Alliance website. I am not affiliated in any way with the AA but Murray’s kindred outline is a good model for Volkish organizing.

The most important advice that I could give anyone wishing to form a Kindred, is to choose your members carefully. It takes a tremendous amount of effort on your behalf, and you need people who have a positive attitude. 

You will need people whom you can trust and depend on. People with negative attitudes only draw strength and vitality from you. They will sap your spiritual and physical strength, and you will fail in your purpose of forming a group of self-supportive people dedicated to making the Kindred succeed. 

You must have members who you feel comfortable around and whom you can trust explicitly at Kindred gatherings and events. If some oddball or loose-canon type comes around, politely show them the door. You and your family, and the women and children of your group, should at all times feel safe and comfortable. If you have to spend all of your time worrying about so-and-so running amok, your Kindred will fail. Follow your instincts the All-Father gave them to you for just such reasons. 

At first, it is more important to have a small, loyal, tightly knit group, than a large group with no cohesive purpose or goal. It is much easier to focus on your Kindred development with four or five individuals committed to making the Kindred work, than twenty people with twenty different ideas on what they think the Kindred should be. Once your group has established itself, and has developed a Kindred philosophy and a system of gatherings that works, then open up the Kindred to new membership a little at a time. 

Over the years, I have seen one Kindred after the other explode onto the scene with a fast growing membership, lots of plans and boundless energy, only to see them fail. The Kindred leader, for one reason or another, didn’t have a cohesive plan that worked. Or the leader was inconsistent with Kindred focus and goals, and kept changing the direction of the Kindred. For instance, he changes the name of the Kindred several times a year, one moment he is Asatru, the next Vanatru… or Odinn is his mentor today, and it is Thorr tomorrow. Indecisiveness, confusion, and just plain stupidity, will lead to failure. It is very important for the Kindred leader to be consistent and open in his plans for the group. 

Next, one should always lead by example. As the founder and leader of a Kindred, people will look to you for guidance. Live true always be honest and honorable in your dealings with the Folk. You are a role model, and you must never forget it. 

Learn to cultivate leadership traits in the members of your Kindred. Encourage people to take an active role during Kindred activities and planning. If someone has an idea and the ability to follow through with it, be supportive and helpful. As your Kindred grows, there will be plenty of work to go around.

Kindred Activities

It is vital for the healthy growth and development of the Kindred to have regular gatherings. The more frequent the gatherings, the better. I would encourage those who can to meet once a week. If that is not possible, try to get the Kindred together as often as possible. The Arizona Kindred meets every Wodensday. Now I realize that we have members in several states, and even within the state, some of us are separated by hundreds of miles. Some of us though only live a few miles from each other, so we meet once a week. We also have the seasonal Blots as well as other important gatherings throughout the year. We expect our members to attend all the gatherings that they can, with at least one a year being mandatory. 

We have always expected our members to be self reliant, and one way to promote this is to have regular camp outs. In the Winter we camp in the desert, and in the Summer months we camp in the mountains. We encourage our members to procure suitable camping equipment, and to learn campcraft. Of course, for those new to camping in the great outdoors, we always have enough gear to share. If at all possible, schedule several camping trips a year. The Arizona Kindred meets this way about six times per year. 

At our camp outs, we follow a usual routine. Those who can, arrive Friday afternoon to secure a campsite and to generally set up the camp. We usually have an informal meal that evening and just kick back and enjoy each others’ company around the fire. 

On Saturday morning we usually have some type of group activity. This could be going for a hike, a trip down to the swimming hole, or perhaps a firewood scrounging expedition. Sometimes we will have a seminar and discuss an important topic. By mid afternoon, we prepare for the Blot. Following the Blot, we have a formal Feast. This is usually a pot luck dinner, with everyone bringing something to share with the Kindred. The Kindred usually supplies the meat for the cookout, and has a campstove available for those who need to cook their offering to the Feast. In the evening at dusk, we hold the Sumbel. We encourage our members to brew their own mead and bring it to share at the Sumbel. Following the Sumbel, we usually stay around the campfire and just enjoy each others’ company. 

On Sunnasday morning, as Gothi, I cook breakfast for the Kindred. This usually consists of hearty Spam sandwiches and berserker coffee. I have been known to cook breakfast for 30 people or more. 

After breakfast, the whole Kindred should be engaged in cleaning the grounds, and as a last gesture, we make an offering to the Land Spirits. This sequence of events works well for the Kindred, and people learn to work with the schedule. Again, consistency is the key to successful outings. 

At our weekly gatherings, being limited to a couple of hours at a time, we usually spend the first half hour or so just talking about our week, and sharing any news or ideas with the Kindred. Then we have an ongoing project that we work on. We have for the past year been studying the Runes. At first we concentrated on the basics, learning how to pronounce them, write them, know them, and later we carved them. We each made our own Gandr. Then as our knowledge progressed, we made our own Runes and started to cast them. At the same time, we read and studied the Rune Poems of the Eddas. Always working together as a group to learn all that we possibly can about the Runes. This work continues today. We also have studied the Havamal, and continue to do so. We are now comparing various translations of the old Lays to learn even more. Lately we have started to study Old Norse for liturgical reasons and for everyday conversation. This is a work in progress. 

Future plans are for brewing classes, wood carving, organic gardening, home disaster preparedness, and whatever else we decide to learn and to share with each other. Although all of this takes time, we look at this as all in a life’s work. We will continue to meet and study as long as we draw breath. 

This should give you some idea of Kindred activities. Remember the importance of meeting often, and having interesting activities for the Kindred to share.