Please do not think I am a horrible person, but I'd like to get opinions and/or if other people have experienced this.
I have a framed picture of my parents on my altar. So what's the problem, you ask? Well, I didn't have a very good relationship with my parents as I look back. They were in truth not very nice people, to each other or to us (my siblings and me). We were not physically abused, we always had food and clothing, we really wanted for nothing materially. It was the emotional aspect. My parents were always angry with each other, and apart from providing material things they were very self-centered. Being the 6th of 5 surviving children, I was raised pretty much as an only child. The age gaps between me and my siblings are 19 years, 17 years, 15 years, 12 years. A brother 6 years older than me is the one who died. My siblings were more like aunts and uncles to me. My brothers went into the US Navy, and my sisters got married asap to get out of our home. I was left as a pawn between my parents
Anyway, the conflict I have is that, given the emphasis placed on honoring ancestors in the Asatru tradition, am I being a hypocrite by having my parents' picture on the altar only because I feel I "should"? I realize that without them, fighting one day, not talking the next notwithstanding, I would not be here. I feel more of an affinity for the ancestors of centuries past, even though of course I don't even know who they are. Sometimes I think maybe I should just have a small print of a person from the Viking Age, like one you'd find on the internet.
So that's it.
I have a framed picture of my parents on my altar. So what's the problem, you ask? Well, I didn't have a very good relationship with my parents as I look back. They were in truth not very nice people, to each other or to us (my siblings and me). We were not physically abused, we always had food and clothing, we really wanted for nothing materially. It was the emotional aspect. My parents were always angry with each other, and apart from providing material things they were very self-centered. Being the 6th of 5 surviving children, I was raised pretty much as an only child. The age gaps between me and my siblings are 19 years, 17 years, 15 years, 12 years. A brother 6 years older than me is the one who died. My siblings were more like aunts and uncles to me. My brothers went into the US Navy, and my sisters got married asap to get out of our home. I was left as a pawn between my parents
Anyway, the conflict I have is that, given the emphasis placed on honoring ancestors in the Asatru tradition, am I being a hypocrite by having my parents' picture on the altar only because I feel I "should"? I realize that without them, fighting one day, not talking the next notwithstanding, I would not be here. I feel more of an affinity for the ancestors of centuries past, even though of course I don't even know who they are. Sometimes I think maybe I should just have a small print of a person from the Viking Age, like one you'd find on the internet.
So that's it.
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