Wane Wyrds

Yngvi Frey Ingvi is a historical and mythological figure that is considered by many to be an aspect of the Vana God Freyr. There are many indications that the connection between these two may indicate that Freyr himself was called by the name Ingvi, or atleast that Ingvi was a direct descendent of the God himself. Ingvi, or Ing, is considered to be the progenitor of a legendary dynasty of Swedish kings from which the historically documented lineage of Norwegian kings are descended. He is also the forebear of the Ingvaeones, one of the early germanic tribes which occupied coastal areas of the North Sea. It is important to note here that the Ingvaeones are a seperate cultural group from the similar sounding Angles, which would later colonized England (Anglo-Saxons). The Anglo Saxons did include Ingvaeones, as well as a blend of several other tribes. As the name Ingvi appears in such a variety of forms historically, it is often easy to become confused. Here is an exerpt from Wikip...

Weaving of Wyrd There has been some interesting discussion in the Norse Women group lately about the concept of fylgia, a Norse word which denotes several seperate concepts depending on it's usage. I decided to write this post, since the concept of haminjga is very similar to that of the fylgia, and also has several meanings. Like the fylgia, hamingja is often used to denote a guardian spirit, most often one who is particularly connected to the family line. It is also used to denote a person's "luck." One may wonder at first what a person's family line could have to do with their luck. Well I will try to describe why briefly. It starts with the concept of wyrd. Wyrd itself is a way of viewing time and events in a nonlinear way. It is often interesting to me how similar the ancient concept of wyrd has in common with many of the new ideas of modern physics and quantum theory. Especially striking to me is the obvious similarities between the Norse concept of ...

One of the best illustrations of the limitations of a myth centered practice, which relies solely on accepted historical sources (Edda thumpers), is that it negates a large part of lesser documented folkloric beliefs. There is a tendency in hardcore reconstructionism to ignore or demean folkloric references as they are often changeable,  unsubstantiated by historical evidence, or well not ACADEMIC enough I suppose. Yet in my opinion, it is in folklore that a tradition can reveal its truly human essence, as well as illustrate how a belief system translates into relevance in the average persons life. Not how the exalted, higher classes, nobility, or christian monastics viewed the Gods and related to them. Folklore reveals how even the poorest of peasants understood the Gods and the cosmos, and how they still found value in being heathen. This is why I chose to write this article about house-spirits. The Fairy folk, the Little People, the Sprites, or  the Alfa...

Instead of my normal post this week I am forced to take a break. Groan is the title of this week's post, since GROAN is close to the entirety of my activities this week. I underwent gallbladder removal surgery this past Tuesday, and since have done pretty much as little as possible while groaning continually with each movement. Pain and I have a longstanding and hateful relationship, and the fact that I am abysmally behind on my coursework had only added to the Groan factor. Gundestrup Cauldron So instead of the usual informative and thought provoking post, lol, I decided to post some informative links to different sites which detail the find of the Gundestrup cauldron in Denmark. The cauldron has long been a mystery due to it's Celtic imagery and artisan-ship, yet its found location is in the heart of Northern lands, aka Denmark. How did it get there? What does it mean? What can it tell us about blending of the Norse and Celtic people? I do not have the answers, b...

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...