Aut vincere aut mori
I wrote the following article between 12 and 18 July 2020. My thoughts had turned to my grandmother who would have turned 102 on the 13th. I never knew her but I've seen her face in the night sky among the stars while raising a horn to the disir.
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Aut vincere aut mori is a well-known Latin phrase that has gained such popularity that it may be said to have attained the status of cliché. For me, this motto that brazenly announces "Victory or Death" is more significant than it is for most. It is emblazoned on the family crest of my mother's family –the McCabes. Through the years, I have researched my ancestral lines and spent many hours and dollars on genealogy websites. I submitted not one, but two DNA tests, as have a reported 26 million other people –a number predicted to rise to 100 million in the next two years.[1] The popular genealogy site Ancestry.com even partners with NBC Entertainment to produce a long-running television series, Who Do You Think You Are? The series features various stars and entertainers learning of their ancestry through various on-line tools, researchers, and visits to ancestral lands. People from all walks of life are actively seeking to learn who they are. Many have come to believe that a huge part of one’s identity is based on the lives of their forebears. It makes sense then to learn of those, without whom, we literally would not be.
In Ásatrú, the ancestors and their worship are extremely important. On several holidays, we specifically honor them. Recalling the Disir (the female protective spirits our families and tribes) is a traditional element of the celebration of Winter Nights. As Gothi, I’ve celebrated the holiday by asking each participant to bring a photograph of a departed female ancestor to place on the altar following a silent procession into our worship space.
The ritual of sumbel also celebrates the accomplishments and even the failings of our ancestors. Typically conducted in three rounds, the sumbel is comprised of ritualized toasts.[2] The first round is generally offered to the gods; the second to the ancestors; and the third may be a personal boast, the swearing of an oath, the offering of a gift, or even a toast to a personal hero or friend. It is often the retelling of the stories of ancestors that is most compelling. I’ve seen such heartfelt memories bring those in attendance to tears or to wild applause depending on the outcome of the tale.
Some Heathens argue that the gods themselves are our ancestors. Such a position is not pure fantasy or wishful thinking. In fact the god Yngve-Freyr has long been identified as a King of Sweden.[3] Similarly the royal lineage of the kings and queens of England (including the present-day Elizabeth) has been traced back to Odin himself.[4] The Goths tribal name is derived from the god Gaut meaning “god” and is also identified as one of the many names of Odin. It is fair to say, as has Dr. Thomas Karlsson, “The Goths are Odin’s people.”[5] Indeed, specific tribes worshipped specific tribal gods –not only in Europe, of course, but also throughout the ancient world.
Today we tend to separate the idea of “culture” from that of “religion.” This thinking is likely the result of the domination of the Christian Weltanschauung throughout Europe. Christianity is, of course, both monotheistic and universalist. As such, Christians actively attempt to convert “non-believers” to their belief system without regard to geography or ethnicity. We are apt then to associate culture with specific ethnicities or tribes while thinking of religion as ignoring such boundaries. For the ancient Germanic tribes, this thinking would be considered very strange. Edred Thorsson quotes Julius Caesar's comments on a noticeable quality of the Germanic tribes that he encountered, “they have no druids.”[6] The druids were a special priestly caste in ancient Celtic culture. Thorsson explains further,
The Germanic mode of spirituality was and is much more focused on the individual, small independent bands of practitioners, and the heads of tribal, clanic, or familial units.[7]
For the Germanic tribes, spirituality was embedded in the very fabric of the culture itself. It was not separated—and certainly was not something to do on Sunday mornings or only on special occasions. If we consider that a “tribe” may be defined as a group of “families sharing a common history and tradition,”[8] then it is fair to say that a tribe is both a “genetic community” and a “cultural community.” Tribes are made up of extended families that share traditions and a cultural heritage that historically included spirituality.
As Ásatrúars our ancestors represent that unbroken lineage from the recent past to the time pre-dating the Christian occupation, when native spiritualities were practiced openly and freely. We are well aware that our dearly departed relatives may have attended a Christian church regularly, but we honor them nonetheless. Their lives were one step on a long path, without which we would not be who we are today –if at all. Their actions and their lives are part of our inherited wyrd.
When I first explored my ancestry, I was thrilled to discover that my Irish heritage is filled with legends fitting of the Emerald Isle. The McCabes, an Anglicization of the Irish Mac Cába meaning “sons of Cába” are recorded to have been gallowglass. The term "gallowglass" is derived from gall óglaigh, Irish for "foreign warriors." Essentially the McCabes / Mac Cábas were a tribe of elite mercenaries who arrived in Ireland from the western isles of Scotland. The Mac Cábas are said to have descended from King Sigtrygg Silkbeard, the Hiberno-Norse king of the city of Dublin, who gathered a great Viking army in 1014 to fight King Brian Boru at Clontarf. This clash of cultures was one of the final blows to Heathens in Ireland and was recorded as a great victory for Brian Boru and the Christians.[9] Following the defeat at Clontarf, the McCabes took refuge in the Scottish Hebrides. They are thought to have ultimately settled in Ireland in County Cavan by the year 1350.
Leaving behind his ancestral home, my great-great grandfather, Patrick arrived in the United States from Cavan in 1890. This was no small decision—but Patrick had descended from a long-line of brave men and women. They chose for themselves the motto, Aut vincere aut mori and it is likely that, like those who had gone before him, he did not cower in the face of opposition.
A beautiful characteristic of Ásatrú is its practice of honoring of ancestors. While we may not know much about some of those who have gone before, there are many ways for us to learn. We can research our family genealogy. We can speak with relatives and ask them to share their memories. We can set up altars with photos that we find buried in old boxes hidden in dusty attics and basements.
Let us raise mead-filled horns to our ancestors while recounting their tales and pronouncing their names! Through their stories and through the power and magic of our words, we will find that they return to us.
By this process, we not only honor our ancestors, but we may come to discover who we are.
1. Matt Binder, “More than 26 million people have added their DNA to four leading ancestry databases: report.” February 12, 2019, https://mashable.com/article/at-home-ancestry-test-boom/
2. For more on the ritual of sumbel, see especially the chapter, “Sit now to Sumbel” from my book, Tales from the Ironwood (USA: Sigurd Press, 2019), 71-75.
3. See especially “Ynglinga Saga” in Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla or The Lives of the Norse Kings (New York: Dover Publications, 1990).
5. Thomas Karlsson, Nightside of the Runes: Uthark, Adulruna, and the Gothic Cabbala (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2019), 42.
6. Thorsson, Re-Tribalize Now! A Step-By-Step Guide to Cultural Renewal (North Augusta, SC: Arcana Europa, 2020) 46.
7. Ibid, 47.
8. Ibid, 7.
9. Despite the Christian victory, Brian Boru lost his life during this battle. Sigtrygg Silkbeard survived the defeat but would ultimately convert to Christianity and help found Christ Church in Dublin.
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