Wane Wyrds

It's been awhile since I had a giveaway. I planned on having one when my followers list reached 100, but never had the time. I am now at 108 followers and couldn't be happier that so many of you actually enjoy my little blog, so its time to give back. I have recently acquired some items that are Celtic in nature, and relating to Celtic spirituality and myth. I am definitely fascinated with the European mythos, and have thumbed through a couple books. But as I focus on the Norse tradition, these items are not particularly relevant to me at the present time. Rather than have them collect dust, I decided they would make a wonderful giveway for any of my readers who might be interested in a Celtic path or are interested in exploring the culture and spirituality of the Celts. Items included in Giveaway as Follows Celtic Women's Spirituality by Edain McCoy  Celtic Magic by DJ Conway 366 Celt: A Year and a Day of Celtic Wisdom and Lore by Carl McColman *...

                 There is much debate and misuse of the term frith in the heathen community. It is a word that has different meanings for different people, in the modern age. Some extend frith to no one, others to any individual whom they like or gives them a friendly word. Even I use the words, In frith to close my blog posts. But if I want to make clear the meaning, one must understanding that such a greeting is not an extension of my own frith, but rather an expression of hope that my readers may enjoy the blessings of their own.           Frith is often translated as “peace,” which in truth is an extremely vast oversimplification. Frith in truth is a term which indicates an immersion in a psychological type of unity experienced with those who are one’s kin. In anthropological terms, one could argue that frith in its historical representation cannot be experienced by modern individuals. Our social society si...

I belong to several online groups and forms dedicated to heathenry or Asatru in general, even though as a Vanatru most of my belief and practice is not very "acceptable" to more hardcore types. Anyway I wish I could remember the conversation and place, but not long ago someone was discussing blots and how,when,why etc. they should or should not be performed. Hyndla and Freyja by Hanz Frolich, public domain In the simplest sense of the words, a blot is a ritual sacrifice to the gods. Once upon the time these sacrifices could have been the sacrifice of an animal or in some cases even human sacrifices. Other precious objects such as gold, food, or drink were also common offerings to the gods, along with other things of great number. Today's sacrifices can take any number of forms similar, minus the human sacrifice part of course. At any rate, a blot to the gods or a particular god is a fairly common modern day heathen ritual. In this particular conversation, there s...

( I wrote this for an assignment in one of my new classes, spirituality and medicine. I thought it would make a great blog post as well, since this is at the core of my beliefs. Hope you enjoy.) It is my belief that for human beings of different religions to peacefully live and work together, there must be a collective human recognition of the individual right to self-determination. This would require a letting go of doctrines of absolute truth, and negate the existence of a religious code of morality which asserts the concept of moral duality, right versus wrong belief. We need to be rid of doctrines which harm the human dignity of anyone, or attempt to enforce the beliefs of one group on another. Though my own spiritual beliefs are pagan in nature, I always say I am a humanist first and foremost, particularly when it comes to the social relationships between human beings. Ultimately belief requires individual action, and this leads me to believe that spiritual matters should be...

It seems my mind is being pulled in so many directions, I feel like I can't focus it on just on topic, and when I try my mind strays towards something else of equal interest. I'm trying to get back in the groove of working again and I just can't focus on anything for more than a few seconds. So maybe I will just post some things of interesting and updates on what's happening. A recent offering to Nerthus for helping me with a spell to relieve pain I'm back to school, this time for my last semester. In December I will FINALLY be finishing my Bachelor's degree and HOPEFULLY finding a decent job which is close to home. Fingers Crossed. I am now working on a couple electives, both of which focus on religious topics, as well as starting the first draft of my final Study-In-Depth project for degree completion. The topic is on Ritual kinship functions in Geisha life. I chose this topic because of my love for Japanese art as well as my own fascination with the ge...

Today something interesting happened to me. I do a lot of thrift shore shopping, and today I went to one of my fave shops to have a look. There were several people browsing about the store. I happened to start looking through a rack of clothes, when suddenly someone whispered in my ear. A distinct yet unintelligible whisper. I turned to ask the person what they had said, but found myself staring into thin air. I looked around but there was no one anywhere near me in the store. I shrugged it off and went back to shopping. For me, such things are a fairly regular occurrence, though being outside my home it is a bit unusual. Some people might call me crazy, and that's ok. These whispers in the air have been happening to me since I was a child, along with the appearance of fleeting figures scurrying about corners or unexplained momentary bursts of light in darkened rooms. Once upon a time it terrified me. At times I was sure I was crazy. But I honestly don't believe I am. The ...

Instead of arguing about what reconstructionism is or isn't, I am posting about my own personal definitions of it, as it is something that is on my mind. Like the word heathen, the term reconstructionist is one that is quite ambiguously defined within the heathen and pagan communities. I have gotten flack in some corners of the webz for calling myself a non-reconstructionist. So I feel that the best way for me to address this is by simply explaining my views on reconstructionism and why I do not consider myself a recon. Reconstructionism has been defined and redefined and discussed to death by many in the heathen and pagan world. There are any number of articles, posts, and other such personal definitions out there that I won't bother addressing them. The point is that there simply isn't one true definition that everyone agrees is universally accepted for the term reconstructionist. So for me personally, I go with the bare bones approach. Reconstructionism, for me, i...