Wane Wyrds

Modern etching of Havamal 143: Freetha on deviantart In Norse Paganism, as well as many other ancient pagan religions, blood played an important role in the spiritual process. I wanted to take a moment to talk about a couple of the spiritual rituals of heathenry that involve blood, as well as blood as a symbol. To the Norse, the blood is a sacred. Sacred in that it possesses the vital energies which constitute life. And this possession of life extended not only on a personal level, but a cosmological one as well. One's blood was not only a personal power source. One's blood contained both ancestral as well as divine powers. The Norse believed that their people were the actual flesh and blood descendants of the Gods. The God Heimdall was believed to have fathered the races of man, and many royal houses claimed that they were the children of specific Aesir and Vanir Gods. This was not a symbolic belief, but an absolute truth for the Norse. One's blood was a blending of...

It is widely believed in Norse mythos that women as a whole are naturally gifted in magick and prophecy. I won't go into detail here because that could be a book in and of itself, but suffice to say even a skimming of the Eddas and Sagas will illuminate the reader to this view. I am more interested in speaking about my own experiences and how the process of birth created a fundamental change in my spirituality. There was much horror involved in the process, and in some ways I felt as if there was a rift created in my spirit whenever I became a mother. I think this process explains some of the reasons that females in the northern tradition have traditionally been assumed to be naturally prophetic. In shamanic cultures worldwide, there is evidence for a traditional process of "facing death" in order to become a true shaman, and in turn create the ability to communicate with the spirit world. A ritualized or ceremonial death on both the physical and astral plane unloc...

The Death of Baldur by Christoffer Eckersburg First of all I would like to state that this post is in no way intended as a representation of the personal values or beliefs of Vanatru as a community. The following is simply my own explanation of the way THIS Vanatru sees the Aesir Gods, and a bit of explanation as to why their is at times conflict between Asatru and Vanatru beliefs. It is much easier to understand the difference between Asatru and Vanatru if one views them in much the same sense as one views different sects of Christianity. The same basic cosmological system, yet viewed from two different perspectives or viewpoints. Not always in agreement on certain aspects of divinity or practice. So, let's start with the facts, or atleast the things most of us can agree on. The Aesir are race of Gods that are best known to the layperson. Odin, Thor, Frigga, Baldur, Sif, Tyr, all these Gods are traditionally Aesir. Most of the Eddic Lore that has survived is directly conc...

"Freyja Wandering" Amber is an organic gem, which is created over hundreds of thousands of years. Amber itself is actually simply solidified tree sap, which is why one often finds inclusions and organic objects and small creatures such as insects inside. It is the softest gemstone on earth in its solidified state, and if place in fire will eventually melt, releasing a fragrant scent which is common enough that most would recognize it immediately. For a Vanatru like myself, the gemstone of Amber is also connected to the Goddess Freyja herself. Baltic amber is some of the most sought after amber in the world, often washing up on the Baltic shores, in a myriad of colors such as cherry, green, yellow, and the commonly known traditional buttery copper color we call amber. Though the etymology is uncertain, both amber and gold are known as Freyja's tears, and many modern day followers of the Goddess Freyja choose to wear this stone in honor of her. Amber is called Fre...

While looking for some translations of the Skirnismal for an upcoming post on Freyr, I stumbled upon an amazing collection of resources I just had to blog about for all my heathen and Vanatru friends and followers. Apparently the author of some self published translations of Beowulf as well as other Norse derived writings made available to the public on his website some of his personal pdfs created while doing research for his new novel. The author himself is R. Scot Johns, who has written a Beowulf translation/novellization as well as a comprehensive study guide to the Beowulf epic, and is now working on a book called the Ring Saga, also derived from Norse sources. Anyone interested in the author can check him out here at  http://authoradventures.blogspot.com/   his personal blog. I have personally not read any of his work, but I was thrilled to find a whole page of free downloadable comparative study sheets of some of the most well known of Norse Myth and S...