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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Bad Heathens' LiveJournal:

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    Friday, July 11th, 2008
    6:33 pm
    [lwood]
    On "Saxon English"
    One of the fashions that has faded over the course of the current modern heathen revival is the use of "Saxon English".

    For those of you coming more recently to our party, I'll unpack that a little:

    Modern English mugs other languages in dark alleys and shakes them down for loose vocabulary--this, all men know. However, its primary roots are Germanic and Romantic, after the fashion of the latest tribes to have overrun Britain. The theory, as I know it, goes that if we're trying to reconnect to our Germanic roots, as thought is shaped by language then the obvious thing to do is to hew as near as possible to using the Germanic side of the languages, and away from the Romantic vocabulary. The result of this is "Saxon English", and aside from, say, older publications from the Troth, you're most likely to find anything like it in Hollander's translation of the Poetic Edda.

    Poul Anderson was no heathen--but he apparently wrote a dandy Saxon English, as evidenced by this gem that [info]lferion brought to my attention, apparently an essay excerpted from All One Universe. Herewith, a brief treatise on atomic theory--or, in Saxon English, "Uncleftish Beholding".

    ( Warning: brainmelty approaching. )
    Friday, July 4th, 2008
    12:04 pm
    [witchofnovember]
    What the cards are telling me
    Recently I bought the Runic Tarot by Caroline Smith. It combines runes, astrology and the Wheel of the Year in a general way. It's a pretty deck and after finding out that my favorite deck is no longer in print (and tripled in price) a new deck didn't seem like that much of a splurge.

    Last night I got around to opening up the deck and looking at all of the cards. There are two extra, two duplicated cards. The rune Grebo and one from the minor arcana labeled "Lughnagadh 11, freedom". I'm trying to decide what I think about it. Oh and when I went through it I pulled out the ace cards for each suit. Summer solstice, Fall equinox, Winter solstice but Spring was missing; until I turned over the stack of cards I had just paged through and it was on the of the pile. It should have been the very first card I turned over. I didn't see it when I went through the deck, I know I didn't see it.

    I thought I would come to you guys to brainstorm. Good heathens would tell me to go cut my own runes and quit messing with card. Good tarot readers would tell me to quit messing with fluffy new age cards and get a traditional deck. So, boys and girls, thoughts?

    Current Mood: mystified
    Saturday, May 31st, 2008
    3:18 pm
    [gullveigheid]
    just a bit about my being a badheathen
    gullveig is the witch with a shine-on for golden glitter, the one who keeps coming back.  this version prefers silver and has a problem with deity, except for odhin, of course.  (my left eye has been afflicted.  i must be careful.)  i see the gods as energies with names attached in order to personify them.  i worship not one and will not kneel before any.  skadhi is one of my favorites.  my favorite place is in reykjavik, at the top of the hill near hallgrimskirkja, which i call "the hill of the gods" because of the names of the streets.  i have stayed on thorsgata and strolled down lokisgata in snowstorms.  the place resonates deeply with me.  (i was an icelandic witch and spaekona and have come from a long line of warriors from many traditions, including samurai.)    i am disillusioned in this incarnation with all the fuss around ritual, although i have attended several blots and have the gift of poetry and inspired toasts and boasts.  a friend called on thor while looking up into tree branches, then a wind manifested and the leaves blew around.  i was impressed.  did i say i have a problem with gods?  yes.  energy, no.  and there is nothing like a long soak in a hot pool outdoors in cold weather while looking up at the aurora borealis.   frozen hair and frosty nostrils=my viking heaven, although warring and mead drinking come in close.  another of my names is "valdis."   i wonder why.  

    Current Music: flight of the walkyries - wagner
    Friday, May 30th, 2008
    6:51 pm
    [heathen_grrl]
    Hi I'm Alex and I'm a Bad Heathen

    *Rises form my chair and anounces to all* Hi I'm Alex and I'm a Bad Heathen.

     The reasons I am a Bad Heathen....

     1. I have been a Pagan for less than a year as of this post.

     2. I am a Lesbian with male energies (AKA as a Butch)

     3.  I vote Libertarian

     4. I am an Amazon

     5. I worship Gods outside the Norse Pantheon such as the Greek Gods and any Gods who want to teach me what I need to accomplish on my life path.

     6. I believe a warrior is someone who is willing to fight, bleed and die for what is right and true as well as to protect their kin (genetic or no).

    7. I do not belong to any particular Kindred and prefer mainly to work Solitary.

     8. I believe in the balance of Male and Female energies. Thor watches over my Male half and Freyja my female.

    9. I believe Loki is a "Devil's Advocate" who points out our flaws and exploits them to teach us a lesson much like Coyote or Raven.  Though I'm still trying to reason out "the Death of Baldur".  So far my verdict is  2nd Degree Manslaughter and not Murder One.

    10. I believe in Totem Animal Spirits. Mine are Bear and Horse.

    11. Ancestor worship: No. Ancestor reverence:     Yes

    12.  Never tried mead and will use wine or grape juice until I get my hands on some.

    13. I just joined Bad Heathens! :-)

     

    Current Mood: happy
    Monday, May 19th, 2008
    6:50 pm
    [calisasilvertai]
    Wedding ceremony finished
    Hello again!

    I just wanted to thank everyone for the help offered on here, in my efforts to write a wedding ceremony for my friend who is a Heathen. In case anyone is interested, or just curious, I thought I'd share the ceremony with you. If you're so inclined, any comments or questions that you may have on it are also welcome!
    ( Read more... )
    Thanks again!
    Sunday, May 11th, 2008
    4:40 am
    [morchades]
    Okay, I've an interest in equal rights/justice and an inclination to the Norse Tradition.  Thing is, whenever the books I've found touch on race they go in one of two ways: 1) It's a religion for white folks and 2) Racism doesn't fit with no delving too deeply into the matter.

    When you look online to discussions of faith and race, it seems to devolve into a "white people have it so damned hard" rant, which isn't very helpful.

    Now, does anyone know of any good resources (blogs, books?) on the politics of race in the modern world and how they interlock with Heathen philosophy, in regards to cultural appropriation, history, Ethics and concepts such as Orlog?

    Crossposted to [info]northerntrad
    Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
    10:36 pm
    [raenshadoe]
    Personal Gnosis Questionaire
    As I hadn't seen this in any of the heathen communities I'm a part of, I thought y'all might like to see it. Personal gnosis and its unverified nature are of great interest to heathens in general, and while not all of us necessarily get along with the greater pagan community, I think our input might make the book author's talking about writing more well rounded.

    Raen.

    ( Raven Kaldera's Personal Gnosis Questionaire )

    Current Mood: tired
    Current Music: Silence of the home and click of the keyboard.
    Thursday, April 17th, 2008
    7:58 pm
    [marius_98]
    Thursday, March 27th, 2008
    2:07 pm
    [calisasilvertai]
    Introduction and a question
    Hail to all! I'm Calisa, an eclectic Wiccan witch practicing for a little over eight years. I know a lot of Heathens would consider me to be fluffy for being Wiccan, but I know some that definitely don't, and was hoping I could find some more here!

    I have been a student of all types of mythos since... probably middle school. I unfortunately hadn't had much exposure to Nordic stories and deities until the past few years, though. I have done some study on my own, both in regards to beginning study of the Runes, and I've also been studying Freyja, because she is a goddess that I feel very close to.

    One of my very best friends is a Heathen, working most closely with Tyr, but also with a great fondness for Frigga, Skadi, and some of the other gods as well. That brings me to my question.

    My friend has asked me to perform her wedding ceremony. She doesn't know any Heathens personally (there aren't many in her area), and she respects me as a spiritual person, even though I'm not Heathen. Her man isn't Heathen, more like atheist, although he does respect my friend's beliefs, he just doesn't share them. A lot of their families are very Christian. And while my friend does not want a Christian ceremony, she does want a "traditional" wedding in a sense. She'll be wearing a white dress, she'll have bridesmaids, the groom and his men will be in tuxes, and her Grandfather will be walking her up the aisle. Even so, she wants to incorporate much of the Heathen traditions into her ceremony as well.

    I have been conferring with my friend on writing the ceremony. And I have found some ceremonies and resources online for this. I was just wondering if anyone here has ever been through or seen such a "fusion" ceremony, how it worked, and what you liked or disliked about it. Also, anyone who has been involved in, or is planning any kind of Heathen wedding ceremony, what do you consider to be the most important elements of such an event?
    Monday, March 17th, 2008
    6:05 pm
    [alagbon]
    Mildly amusing
    At the front of my local grocer, there are a number of vending machines strategically placed so children can coerce their parents into spending pocket change on shiny objects. One of these machines is stocked with dingy-looking and probably lead-based "Heavy Metal Jewelry." Right in the center of the display on the front is a humongous valknut pendant! I'm probably going to waste loads of quarters trying to get one...
    Friday, March 14th, 2008
    4:50 pm
    [hagazusa]
    Friday fun
    Because I am so very bad:

    Post your Bad Heathen Macros here! :D
    Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
    10:35 pm
    [vicskywalker]
    a tattoo design
    So I posted this design http://vicskywalker.deviantart.com/art/Knot-work-tat-design-77204822 that I've been working on and want as a tattoo, and I want to have something written in runes down the middle, but I'm not sure what. I've read through the Havamal, and the Voluspa, I've thought about just using the runes, or a blessing, like my favorite one that I admit I made up is 'Thor Ward you, and Heimdall watch over you.'

    Thoughts, opinions, ideas?

    x-posted
    Thursday, January 31st, 2008
    1:26 am
    [heartofmoon]
    Thor, Jord and Odin
    I have been reading the Prose Edda lately, and tonight I was reading the part that talks about all the different names of the gods, and for some reason, I couldn't get it out of my head that Thor is the son of Jord and Odin. Then I was laying in my bed thinking about it, and I had the following insight that I would like to share:

    Thor is the son of Jord, the personification of the Earth, and Odin, a deity very closely associated with ravens, often called "raven-god" and things of that sort. Ravens, being scavengers, are closely associated with death and blood and those things which go along with death, as is Odin.  Also because they are scavengers, they play a crucial role in decomposition, the process by which the elements of a body return to the earth, where they become a nutrients in the soil which then feeds new life, creating a life force, or strength, in another life. Therefore, Thor, being the son of the earth and the ravens is a symbol of the cycle of life and death, and his strength is the life force that gets passed from one life to another through decomposition and the Earth. In addition, it reminds me that Odin's darker side, having to do with war and death, are absolutely essential to the general cycle of life, and his ravens, in addition to being thought and memory, are also planting the seeds of life into the earth.


    x-posted.
    Saturday, January 26th, 2008
    1:04 pm
    [tepintzin]
    On line store question
    Does anyone know a reliable on-line source for a silver or stainless steel Mjollnir pendant?

    I think I need one for my dog tags.
    Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
    7:59 pm
    [winterlion]
    Celebrations of the ideal nature
    I was at a heavy metal concert recently (Amon Amarth - and I was on stage *heh* so I had a good vantage point) and since then have got to wondering...

    What DOES make an ideal celebration to one of the Gods/all/the Landvaeter/...

    The concert nicely fit what I'd think of for Odin:
    - Drunken revelry (the audience)
    - Ecstatic madness (the audience again)
    - Chants of "Odin" (both band and the audience - and us at one point)
    - battle (happy battle - mosh pit)
    - mood altering substances (again, the audience)
    - boasting, story telling and good songs (Amon Amarth)
    We were armed guards and weren't on stage much, but those bits were fun!

    It certainly fit the bill for me. Do any of you have interesting stories of celebrations or "worship services"? :)

    Current Music: Amon Amarth - The Pursuit of Vikings
    Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
    3:04 am
    [raistlynn]
    My friend made this, and another told me to share..
    I had posted this originally on my own lj, please don't kill me, this wasn't my idea to post this here. If you're offended, apologies, not my intention. If you enjoy, that is good:)




    Current Mood: amused
    Wednesday, December 26th, 2007
    4:07 pm
    [ranger_rick]
    *sigh*
    I'm such a bad Heathen I think I'm a GOOD Heathen!

    I always thought that the greatest tradition of the Heathen ancestors was that they were so innovative and progressive! But I find I'm always confronted by the dress-up Heathens that I'm trying to *blend* traditions. I'm trying to "Wiccanize" my Asatru or something. (and I never even knew I was Wiccan!)

    You can ONLY use stuff that is in the lore! I just wish there was anywhere enough lore to actually have a clue as to what they were really about...

    I really wonder what the Heathens of olde would think about our modern 'traditional' Heathens. I kinda think they would find them pretty goofy.
    Friday, November 2nd, 2007
    9:31 pm
    [svinfylking]
    question about Beowulf
    So, in the spirit of Bad Heathenry (TM), who is going to see that Beowulf movie on November 16th?

    Does the very idea make your head go 'splody? Or is it the coolest thing ever?

    I'm genuinely curious. Myself and my other half are going to see it, because... well, it's Beowulf. I know the Danish Beowulf movie is probably going to be far superior in terms of accuracy, but... it's Beowulf.

    So, to see, or not to see, hate the idea or love it? Discuss!

    Current Mood: cheerful
    Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007
    3:13 pm
    [overlord_mordax]
    2 questions
    Is there any real basis for calling Loki a fire god? As fire as I know, his losing the eating competition to the fire spirit kinda rules that out, right?

    Also, what color do you picture Loki's hair? I tend to picture it as black, but I see it red many places, and sometimes go with that. Is either more culturally/mythically appropriate in your opinion?
    Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
    4:59 pm
    [ormspryde]
    Fun with Loki
    So. Ahem. Pardon me for lurking so long, but I don't usually have much to say.

    Anyway, I'm, ah, making a sacrifice to Loki for some random reason or another. So, I made a little statuette of His-Royal-Freaking-Highness (did I really just say that?) and it needs to go to a Lokean, if one wants it. I'll pay shipping for the thing.

    First one to post who wants it, gets it. Whee? *runs away*

    Current Mood: easily amused
    Current Music: Typity type type
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