Wane Wyrds

This post was written as part of a series on Elemental Earth Witchcraft. The term Earth Witch is used within the post, but can apply to any person who works with nature and the earth on a spiritual/magical level, and most definitely can include both Vanatru an other heathens.  Tree Magic   Yggdrasil, The World Ash            The tree is a natural living object which is perhaps most symbolic of the earth and its elemental energy. In myths from around the globe, the tree is depicted as a structure of support for the cosmos and the realms which reside within it. It is also deeply connected to the concept of fecundity and the flow of energy and life in the natural world. The image of the split section of the tree illustrates the cycles of the earth, and the cyclical movement of creative energy from dormancy to full bloom, life to death.           Outside of the potent ...

I feel like I have been posting more sort of exploratory stuff here and on my various social profiles, so I decided to do this post on the Vanir God Freyr. In the following post you will find a list of symbols or objects associated with Freyr, and the context within his lore. Such symbols can be used in a variety of ways, be it in ritual, prayer, art, or simply as a concrete means of connecting with the god Freyr. Symbols of Freyr The Boar The boar has far reaching connections within Vanir myth, and is connected to both Freyr and Freyja. Most notably, one of Loki's gifts to Freyr is the boar Gullinbursti, or Golden Bristles. With his glowing mane Gullinbursti is mount of Freyr, and allows the god to travel safely throughout even the darkest of realms without becoming lost. His glowing golden bristles light the path safely to the destination. The Antler The Antler is the weapon of Freyr, with which he used to slay the giant Beli and will used during Ragnarok in ...

Hey everyone, I have been working on the Vanir Glyphs book steadily and it is almost complete. This week I have been sort of beta testing the glyphs for divination using the cast or spread I created based on the Nine Ways of the Vanir listed in the Alvíssmál, translated by Henry Adams Bellows. In this question and answer series between  the dwarf Alviss and Thor. Alviss describes different concepts in terms of how they are named by different groups of wights, One of these being the Wanes (Vanir). The nine subjects attributed to the Vanir are as follows, how the Wanes refer to it, and the second being what it is Thor asks Alviss to describe. For example Thor asks what the wights call earth, and to the Wanes it is called "the ways," etc. etc. These nine subjects are commonly referred to as the " ways of the Vanir." The Ways = Earth The Weaver of Winds = Heaven Kites of the Winds = Clouds The Hush of Winds = Calm The Wave = Sea Wildfire = Fire The Wan...

Hey everyone, UPDATE!!! Cinnabarys had now created a contact page where you can contact them in reference to the freelance writing jobs, or speak to them about if you are a wholesaler or an artist with pagan wares you might like to show them to see if they are interested in stocking them.  Contact Cinnabarys at this lin k:  http://cinnabarys.com/contact_us.php I have spoken to Rebecca and she says they are still looking for 5-7 freelance writers for the current year, so plenty of spots still available!  I apologize for not posting in the last week or so, I have been very busy lately. I have been working feverishly on the Vanir Glyphs book again after letting it sit for awhile. For some reason I have felt very inspired about the past several weeks and have been working on it daily. I am very happy to say that it should be completed by the end of the week, fingers crossed. Then I begin editing and formatting...yay. I also have been working on some others th...

I'm usually not much for pagan devotionals, mostly because there are alot of them out there of varying states of quality or lack therof. It can be hit and miss when you are a creating a devotional work by various authors, many of whom are amateur writers and poets. I was interested in this work however, for a couple of reasons. The recent release of FIRE JEWEL: A Devotional for Freyja by Gefion Vanirdottir piqued my interest, I have been waiting for its release. Mainly because one) there is so little devotional material available geared specifically to Freyja and 2) I have know of its release for some time and the author is familiar to me. She is someone I know from a few different forums online and I have always found her to be a very open-minded and knowledgeable person when it comes to the practice of Vanatru. Book Information Title: FIRE JEWEL: A Devotional for Freyja Author: Various, Compiled by Gefion Vanirdottir Publisher: Asphodel Press Publication date...

FREJA   John Bauer (public domain) What is Vanatru?...it is a question that popped into my mind tonight. I mean I obviously know how to define it for the layperson, but what does it mean to me? What would I consider the core tenets, or beliefs of Vanatru, for myself? What differentiates Vanatruar from a Vanir focused Asatruar? I thought perhaps it would be interesting to write a post about what I believe is the core of Vanatru. {{{{TENETS}}}} of Vanatru 1. a belief in the Vanir gods, and a pledge of loyalty.          To be Vanatru, I believe it is essential to believe in the "realness" of the gods. You may conceptualize this in any number of ways, but a belief in the Vanir is essential. To be VanaTRU you are pledging yourself as true to them, it is a Prioritized relationship. This does not bar the belief in other gods, but rather expresses your loyalty to them as metaphorical kin. UPDATE: Due to some secondary feedback (thanks for leaving ...

Detail from THE HAY WAIN: John Constable  The wain is an item that often appears within the Vanir myths. It has been connected to many of the major Vanir gods, including Freyr and Nerthus. In the simplest terms, the wain is a drawn cart. It was usually pulled by horses or oxen. At some point in history, the term was modified by its exposure to Anglo Saxon and Old English languages, which explains the introduction of the guttural g, changing the term into one more recognizable, wagon or waggon. The wain was a cart used predominantly for agricultural products and other cargo, rather than the transportation of human beings. This makes sense in relation to the Vanir, given that they are beings associated closely with the earth and agriculture. The interesting thing about the wain in the Vanir myths is that it is often depicted with a ritual or religious function. For example, the only mentions we have of Nerthus come through the works of Tacitus, a Roman historian in the 1st c...