The Northern Tradition Shamanism Guild hereby states a policy of tolerance, appreciation of diversity, and extends the hand of friendship to any who will take it.
We are absolutely in favor of racial and ethnic political equality. We do not believe that any race or ethnic group is genetically superior to others, and we support any who choose to mix their genetics with those of another group, or who are themselves mixed-race. Members of our tradition and our Guild can be of any combination of race and ethnicity, and need not be directly descended from the genetic ancestors of this tradition. We know that the Gods and spirits speak to many people, regardless of their ancestry. While ancestor worship is a strong part of our tradition, those ancestors need not only be those of blood.
We are absolutely in favor of humanity, including but not limited to our members, being able to love and partner with whomever they wish, and present themselves and their bodies as any gender they are called to. We support those who are ergi/argr in any form, and those who are not. We support all kinds of diverse sexual behavior and relationship styles between consenting adults who are pursuing joy with each other. We support the right of people to have their differing bodies respected with regard to ability and disability.
We are absolutely in favor of any spiritual practice that gives its practitioners strength, joy, and a positive sense of their place in the Universe. We do not require our members to limit themselves to the religious practices of our shamanic context. We know that many Gods and spirits may speak to any given person, and that many of us walk more than one road up the mountain. Within our own cosmological context, we honor and respect all the Gods and spirits, and do not support the concept of a good/evil dichotomy among them.
We encourage education instead of separation, as we are aware that one can learn about and come to appreciate other paths even when they will never be one’s own, and that this broadening of our knowledge can make us more effective in this diverse world.
While we affirm the right of any private organization to choose their members by whatever criteria they desire, we are absolutely against any kind of derogatory or hate speech against people of other races, ethnicities, sexual and gender and relationship preferences, disabilities, or religious practices. We agree that there is no place for these attitudes in Northern Tradition Shamanism.
We believe that building bridges and educating others is more effective for far-ranging positive change than acting out of anger and fear, and we continually strive to replace fearful reactivity with calm, clear-sighted decisions.
Spoken at our yearly gathering in August of 2018,
The Northern Tradition Shamanism Guild