AFA Asatru Academy Story Reading Where Did I Come From? by Folkbuilder Jim Cummings Recorded by Folkbuilder Nick Rice ---------------- Notes to Parents The intent of this little book is to provide young children a basic understanding of Asatru Cosmogony. The descriptions have been based on the Eddic lore. Of course, the lore itself contains a great deal more in the way of content, but this was condensed to make the content more easily digestible for children. - Children will no doubt have questions (all children always do), and you, as their parent, are of course the best source for their answers. However, the following notes are offered as a reference that may be useful in formulating your answers: - The question may be asked if Ymir, Audhumbla, and other characters, as well as Ginnungagap, actually existed as described in the Eddas. An effort was made in this book to imply the symbolic nature of these entities – note the reference to matter/energy, and the evolution of life to more advanced forms. This was done to allow the more precocious youngsters a doorway into contemplation on a more esoteric level. - Repeated references are made to the varying degrees that entities have a “chaotic” nature. The format of this children’s book was insufficient to go into a deeper explanation of this. Should questions arise, what is meant by “chaos” is a destructive, or entropic, force that pushes away from Order, and towards disorder and destruction. All beings (excluding, perhaps, the Gods), have some level of a chaotic nature. The more chaotic elements in one’s makeup, the more likely one is to take actions contrary to the God’s Order, and therefore side, to some extent, with the Thurses. This certainly applies to all of us as humans. Questions in this regard provide an opportunity to discuss considering our actions, asking ourselves – does this serve the Gods in their mission to maintain Order, and continually improve, or does it serve the Thurses and their desire to destroy? - The creation of Ask and Embla as the parents of our European people – Odin’s special people – may raise a question as to where other peoples of the world get their origin. There a several ways to address such questions. A few of them are, first, that the Edda does make reference to the Gods participating in a Thing to decide who should create Man. Along with that divine discussion, it is noted that the Giants (or dwarves, but since Mimir and Surt are mentioned, most likely Giants) “Fashioned many human forms from Earth”. As Giants, even Ymir, also embody a creative force, no matter how chaotic, and ultimately destructive, it may be this could be offered as an explanation as to how the other peoples came to be. - Another way of explaining the origins of different people to children is that the Divine Will, which seeks solely to Be, to Manifest, does so in a “wide” manner. Different streams of the creative force will manifest in different ways – some will be more chaotic than others. This could result in other gods than our own (lesser ones, of course) being generated, and, like the Giants mentioned in the paragraph above, creating peoples in their own image. ---------------- The AFA Ásatrú Academy is a comprehensive homeschool program, grounded in our faith, and built on AFA culture and values. When you enroll your children in the AFA Ásatrú Academy, it's so much more than just homeschooling! We guide you through your state's regulations and reporting requirements and assist you every step of the way. We provide lessons, lesson plans, material, and assist with grading and teaching. While, ultimately, you as the parent are responsible for presenting the material, every effort will be made to help you with this. The AFA Ásatrú Academy provides transcripts, progress monitoring, live video sessions for lessons, and story-times for younger children, and eventually an official AFA Academy high school diploma. The AFA Academy provides you and your family the faith-based education that your children need to succeed and thrive into adulthood. We invite you to take a look at our videos and if you want to know more, please visit our website at www.asatruacademy.org