Wane Wyrds

I wanted to write this post from the standpoint of someone who found heathenry while practicing a pagan/wiccan faith, to give those unfamiliar with the Norse viewpoint some tips and pointers in the process of deciding if heathenry might be  a path you are interested in. As most know, their is much eclecticism in the faith of Vanatru, as well as more universalist Asatru, so some of these options are inherently more friendly to those who are transitioning from another pagan path to this one. Heathenry is not a path unfriendly to outsiders in the general sense, unless one is a hard core reconstructionist or traditionalist, and today's mainstream heathen community does include this, but such exclusionary views represent the minority, rather than the majority in my experience. Most heathens are happy to welcome newcomers into the path, and more than happy to find that the old gods seem to be calling more and more of us to their wise ways in postmodern times. That being said, I do...

Real Love Doesn't Hurt: by Joana J. @deviantart I have a friend whom I had a long conversation with about this topic today. She is a friend like many of us have. She is young, a single mother, and also happens to frankly be one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. One of those women that either make you green with envy or fall in love instantly. The first time I met her her child was just a baby, and she was only eighteen. I remember simply being awestruck when I first saw her, even in today's superficially enhanced world it is very rare to find someone that is so physically beautiful in the natural sense. The dark, squirming angelic child she held on her hip, the little cherub man with her lovely face, charmed me beyond words. Most mistook her child for a girl, as his features (like hers) were so beautiful, it was hard to believe a little boy could possess them. Being the friend of a friend, we were in contact often, and soon we became close friends, and best ...

Freyr as he catches his first glimpse of Gerdr In going through my blog collecting notes the past week or so I noticed something odd. I noticed that in all my posts, I haven't really talked much about the Vanir God Freyr. I thought about this, and it seemed strange that the God that is perhaps closer to me than any other has gotten such a limited exposure here on the blog. I realized also that perhaps it is my own personal closeness that has caused an until now unrecognized reticence to speak about Freyr, perhaps I am a bit over protective of that relationship, as strange as it may sound. So anyway I thought perhaps this week's F post could be dedicated to Freyr, and encourage me to begin posting more information about him. Since this is the first, I will start with the basics. Freyr is the brother of Freyja, son of Njord and an unamed mother (sometimes speculated to be Nerthus), and is considered to be one of the foremost of Vanic divinities. The word "Freyr...

I have always been a firm believer in eclecticism when it comes to creating personal spell and ritual. As a Vanatru, I see the Norse mythos not as a literalist portrayal of the faith but rather as a guide for personal exploration, being that the Lore we have is often one-sided and very sparse on Vanic information. A big part of practical magic for me is personalization. Instead of being a stickler for tradition, using the lore as a play by play guide book for living, and spellcraft, as a Vanatru I am more focused on symbolic meaning and personal intent. The following ritual is an example of that, and one that came to me as I was thinking of what my plans are for Ostara and what I want my own ritual to accomplish. Though I am true to the heart to my Vanir Gods, I have always been interested in culture and humanities, particularly the eastern aesthetic. This is compatible with my love of the Vanir due to the the absence of divine judgement within both Vanic and Buddhist and Zen spiritu...

There was some good discussion recently on our Norse Women facebook group, regarding a heathen organization's website someone found online recently. Though I won't bother mentioning the name within this article, I will leave a link to the website at the end of this post if anyone is interested in looking at the website as well. This organization, a heathen/Odinist group, has a section on the site where they enumerate on what they call the supposed "Nine Roles" for both men and women. These roles generated much derision and anger on a unanimous level from the women in the group. As one women stated, she had been brought up in an extremely conservative Christian fundamentalist lifestyle, and the roles stated within this website echoed that to a significant degree. For example, the roles stated for men included king, warrior, builder, prince charming, hunter, etc. The women's roles were a bit different. Included in these was the fair maiden, the cleaner, the c...

Why did we outlaw the guillotine again?   It's not too often for me that a bad mood gets in the way of mental equilibrium, but it does happen. The last couple days have been more of a bother and a joy, and though my drop in happy juice was expected, it still has caught me off guard this time. So instead of explaining another bit of my practice and beliefs, I have decided that this week's Pagan Blog Project deserves a rant instead. Happy you...lol This rant includes my faith and religion, but many other factors and events going on lately that have made a negative impression on me. As some of you know I am studying towards my degree at this time, in humanities and social science. Which means that for about nine months now I have been turning out no less than 6 to 8 essays, critiques, research papers, etc. every two week for nine months. I am working harder than I ever worked before, absorbing information at a pace I never expected, and I will be the first to admit th...

Lust: Thoth Tarot  (reminds me of Gullveig) This is not a subject I often discuss when speaking about Heathenry and Vanatru, yet it is in my eyes one of the foundations of working with the Vanic divine. That is, the idea of ecstasy. Usually when one speaks of ecstasy, one of two thoughts come to mind, either religion or sex. The term ecstasy itself simply refers to the experience of a trance like state which ascends the normal level of our consciousness. As a Vanatru, through working with the Gods and learning of them, I have developed the belief that ecstasy is an important component in understanding the Vanir and their ways. Though I appall the labeling of the Vanir as earth gods, and the Aesir as sky gods, I do see that the Vanir are much more connected to the earth, grounded in it, and of a more sensual, physically motivated nature. It is this sensuality that I think shaped the belief that the Vanir are connected inexorably with sex, be it Freyja and her many lusty conqu...