A Heathen can be defined by four basic dimensions. Does he think like a Heathen? Does he act like a Heathen? Does he reflect the Heathen community? Does the Heathen community reflect him?
What does it mean to think like a Heathen? Mostly, this is values. There are several variants of codified lists of values, and while they can be very different, as can our interpretations of them, they also have much in common. This is because they not only reflect our common modern vision, but also because they have the same root in the common lore, that is, the Edda (particularly the Havamal) and the Sagas. Our values very much shape our behavior and our choices in day to day life. This brings us to the next point.
What does it mean to act like a Heathen? Simply put, do we follow through on our values? It is easy to state the values in a list and interpret what they mean to us, but it is meaningless if those interpretations are not put into practice. We know what an oath is and its importance. This is taking the next step and following through on that knowledge.
Does this person reflect the Heathen community and does the Heathen community reflect this person at first seem to be different ways of phrasing the same question, but the difference is the point of view. An individual reflecting the community means that this person, when reflecting on his own qualities, sees the similarities between themselves and a particular community. Most Heathens today would include the elder tribes in making this comparison, even though it is contemporaries with which he will ultimately interact. If the same core values are shared and practiced, then a connection is made.
The Heathen community reflecting the individual is the opposite. This is where the community can look at an individual and judge based on any number of factors if this person shares the same qualities and should be included in the group. The group determines if this person is representative of the rest of the group, and the connection is reciprocated. To come full circle, it is the group as a whole that determines the core values that are practiced as individuals and as a collective.
I intentionally left this a bit abstract because I wanted it to be evident that this process, mostly unconscious, can be applied to virtually any society, from high school friendship cliques to national and political lines.
Notice anything missing? Maybe you did. There is nothing here that says you have to be "of pure blood" to be Heathen. One of the chants of the white supremacist Heathens is that they are German, or white, or whatever, "all the way back." I say to them: "prove it."
Let's do a little experiment. Every human being is the product of 2 individuals, 2 parents. That makes 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great-grandparents, and so forth. We'll assume that for our purposes, you know your grandparents, but not your great-grandparents, because most of us do not get to know our great-grandparents for very long, particularly at a mature level. If we look at 8 generations back, that is a total of 510 individuals that each of us is directly descended from. We personally know 6 of those folk, so that leaves 504 people that we know less and less about going back farther and farther into family history. Assume you have a family tree of individual names.
Next, let's take into account the chaos factor. Chop off every branch above every adoption or orphan whose parents you have no biological knowledge of. Now, think about your family, and the families of friends. How many skeletons do you find in the closets? How many "indiscretions?" How many cover-ups? How many hidden adoptions? How many 2nd world war name changes? Did any Applebaums become Schmidts, or Smiths? Is every child the product of a faithful marriage? (Remember, DNA testing has only been around since 1985, with accuracy increasing enough to exonerate those formerly convicted based on DNA tested with older technology.) How many do you know nothing about except a name?
Now, there are 504 people going back about 150-200 years, that are your direct ancestors, but that you never met, and are otherwise strangers to you. It's probably quite a slice of society that you are looking at, probably not too unlike a random street sampling. Some upper crust, a few "crazies." Now tell me, do you trust them all at their word? If so, go back one more generation and you are now dealing with over 1000 ancestors. Another generation, over 2000 ancestors.
Can anyone honestly tell me that if they met a German, or "white man," that is even 1/16, 1/32, or 1/64 Jewish, or Black, or anything else, that they would be able to tell? Do we deny them kinship on such a slight superficial "taint"? Chances are that nearly all of us have some "impurity" as the supremacist may call it. What if that percentage is inversed, and the person is only 1/16 or less "white"? Ultimately, what does it matter?
So as long as your Heathen heart beats fierce and proud, do not concern yourself with those who may judge you so superficially. Let them fester in their own filth. Seek out those who would judge your heart, and who's heart you judge to be your equal, and raise a horn to kinship.
Go In Frith.