Bad Heathens of Midgard, Unite!

On "Saxon English"

2008-07-12T03:04:26Z

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 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".

For most of its being, mankind did not know what things are made of, but could only guess. With the growth of worldken, we began to learn, and today we have a beholding of stuff and work that watching bears out, both in the workstead and in daily life.

The underlying kinds of stuff are the firststuffs, which link together in sundry ways to give rise to the rest. Formerly we knew of ninety-two firststuffs, from waterstuff, the lightest and barest, to ymirstuff, the heaviest. Now we have made more, such as aegirstuff and helstuff.

The firststuffs have their being as motes called unclefts. These are mightly small; one seedweight of waterstuff holds a tale of them like unto two followed by twenty-two naughts. Most unclefts link together to make what are called bulkbits. Thus, the waterstuff bulkbit bestands of two waterstuff unclefts, the sourstuff bulkbit of two sourstuff unclefts, and so on. (Some kinds, such as sunstuff, keep alone; others, such as iron, cling together in ices when in the fast standing; and there are yet more yokeways.) When unlike clefts link in a bulkbit, they make bindings. Thus, water is a binding of two waterstuff unclefts with one sourstuff uncleft, while a bulkbit of one of the forestuffs making up flesh may have a thousand thousand or more unclefts of these two firststuffs together with coalstuff and chokestuff.

At first is was thought that the uncleft was a hard thing that could be split no further; hence the name. Now we know it is made up of lesser motes. There is a heavy kernel with a forward bernstonish lading, and around it one or more light motes with backward ladings. The least uncleft is that of ordinary waterstuff. Its kernel is a lone forwardladen mote called a firstbit. Outside it is a backwardladen mote called a bernstonebit. The firstbit has a heaviness about 1840-fold that of the bernstonebit. Early worldken folk thought bernstonebits swing around the kernel like the earth around the sun, but now we understand they are more like waves or clouds.

In all other unclefts are found other motes as well, about as heavy as the firstbit but with no lading, known as neitherbits. We know a kind of waterstuff with one neitherbit in the kernel along with the firstbit; another kind has two neitherbits. Both kinds are seldom.

The next greatest firststuff is sunstuff, which has two firstbits and two bernstonebits. The everyday sort also has two neitherbits in the kernel. If there are more or less, the uncleft will soon break asunder. More about this later.

The third firststuff is stonestuff, with three firstbits, three bernstonebits, and its own share of neitherbits. And so it goes, on through such everyday stuffs as coalstuff (six firstbits) or iron (26) to ones more lately found. Ymirstuff (92) was the last until men began to make some higher still.

It is the bernstonebits that link, and so their tale fastsets how a firststuff behaves and what kinds of bulkbits it can help make. The worldken of this behaving, in all its manifold ways, is called minglingken. Minglingers have found that as the uncleftish tale of the firststuffs (that is, the tale of firststuffs in their kernels) waxes, after a while they begin to show ownships not unlike those of others that went before them. So, for a showdeal, stonestuff (3), glasswortstuff (11), potashstuff (19), redstuff (37), and bluegraystuff (55) can each link with only one uncleft of waterstuff, while coalstuff (6), flintstuff (14), germanstuff (22), tin (50), and lead (82) can each link with four. This is readily seen when all are set forth in what is called the roundaround board of the firststuffs.

When an uncleft or a bulkbit wins one or more bernstonebits above its own, it takes on a backward lading. When it loses one or more, it takes on a forward lading. Such a mote is called a farer, for that the drag between unlike ladings flits it. When bernstonebits flit by themselves, it may be as a bolt of lightning, a spark off some faststanding chunk, or the everyday flow of bernstoneness through wires.

Coming back to the uncleft itself, the heavier it is, the more neitherbits as well as firstbits in its kernel. Indeed, soon the tale of neitherbits is the greater. Unclefts with the same tale of firstbits but unlike tales of neitherbits are called samesteads. Thus, everyday sourstuff has eight neitherbits with its eight firstbits, but there are also kinds with five, six, seven, nine, ten, and eleven neitherbits. A samestead is known by the tale of both kernel motes, so that we have sourstuff-13, sourstuff-14, and so on, with sourstuff-16 being by far the most found. Having the same number of bernstonebits, the samesteads of a firststuff behave almost alike minglingly. They do show some unlikenesses, outstandingly among the heavier ones, and these can be worked to sunder samesteads from each other.

Most samesteads of every firststuff are unabiding. Their kernels break up, each at its own speed. This speed is written as the half-life, which is how long it takes half of any deal of the samestead thus to shift itself. The doing is known as lightrotting. It may happen fast or slowly, and in any of sundry ways, offhanging on the makeup of the kernel. A kernel may spit out two firstbits with two neitherbits, that is, a sunstuff kernel, thus leaping two steads back in the roundaround board and four weights back in heaviness. It may give off a bernstonebit from a neitherbit, which thereby becomes a firstbit and thrusts the uncleft one stead up in the board while keeping the same weight. It may give off a forwardbit, which is a mote with the same weight as a bernstonebit but a forward lading, and thereby spring one stead down in the board while keeping the same weight. Often, too, a mote is given off with neither lading nor heaviness, called the *weeneitherbit*. In much lightrotting, a mote of light with most short wavelength comes out as well.

For although light oftenest behaves as a wave, it can be looked on as a mote, the lightbit. We have already said by the way that a mote of stuff can behave not only as a chunk, but as a wave. Down among the unclefts, things do not happen in steady flowings, but in leaps between bestandings that are forbidden. The knowledge-hunt of this is called lump beholding.

Nor are stuff and work unakin. Rather, they are groundwise the same, and one can be shifted into the other. The kinship between them is that work is like unto weight manifolded by the fourside of the haste of light.

By shooting motes into kernels, worldken folk have shifted samesteads of one firststuff into samesteads of another. Thus did they make ymirstuff into aegirstuff and helstuff, and they have afterward gone beyond these. The heavier firststuffs are all highly lightrottish and therefore are not found in the greenworld.

Some of the higher samesteads are splitly. That is, when a neitherbit strikes the kernel of one, as for a showdeal ymirstuff-235, it bursts into lesser kernels and free neitherbits; the latter can then split more ymirstuff-235. When this happens, weight shifts into work. It is not much of the whole, but nevertheless it is awesome.

With enough strength, lightweight unclefts can be made to togethermelt. In the sun, through a row of strikings and lightrottings, four unclefts of waterstuff in this wise become one of sunstuff. Again some weight is lost as work, and again this is greatly big when set beside the work gotten from a minglingish doing such as fire.

Today we wield both kind of uncleftish doings in weapons, and kernelish splitting gives us heat and bernstoneness. We hope to do likewise with togethermelting, which would yield an unhemmed wellspring of work for mankindish goodgain.

Soothly we live in mighty years!

What the cards are telling me

2008-07-04T21:07:36Z

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?

just a bit about my being a badheathen

2008-05-31T19:49:13Z

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.

Hi I'm Alex and I'm a Bad Heathen

2008-05-30T23:50:06Z

*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! :-)

Wedding ceremony finished

2008-05-20T03:29:16Z

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!

The Wedding Ceremony
(Priestess blesses both bride and groom before the ceremony. Cleansing and consecration of space and self will most likely be during "setup" before the "ceremony" begins. No one has to know if I mentally sweep the area, and do no more "mysterious" preparations for the ceremony than a priest would.)

Processional
* Seating of the Parents
The processional music begins with the seating of the honored guests:
o Seating of the Groom's grandmother
o Seating of the Groom's mother
o Seating of the Bride's grandmother

* Bridal Processional Begins
o Minister and Groom enter usually from stage right, but in our case, Priestess will already be at the altar.
o Bridesmaids enter, usually down the center aisle, one at a time. Groomsmen are escorting the Bridesmaids.
o Maid or Matron of Honor enters. If she is being escorted by the Best Man, they enter together.
o Flower Girl and Ring Bearer enter.

* Wedding March Begins
The Bride and her father enter. Typically the Bride's mother will stand as a signal for all of the guests to stand. Sometimes the Minister will announce, "All rise for the Bride." (only if needed)

Opening Remarks - "The Call to Worship" (summons)
We gather today to witness, celebrate, and honor the blending of two lives and families into one. Let all of us be here of our own free will, with open hearts and joyous spirits.

The Opening Prayer (invocations)
Here we stand, upon the Mother Earth, lifting our hearts to the Gods above. We come to celebrate a love as boundless the windswept sky, as warm as the summer sun, as deep as the vast ocean, and as strong as the towering mountains, that hold firm against the tides of life. Let the Gods and the Ancestors smile upon this love, as it joins together these two people and their families.

Presentation of the Bride
Who presents this woman tonight, who chooses to be joined with this man? (Opa says "Her family and I do.", or some such)

Congregation is Seated

The Charges
As in ancient times, we honor Thor, the Great Advocate of the people, and thank him for his presence in these procedings. We also thank the people who have come to witness this rite. Does anyone here know of any reason that these two should not be joined in marriage? (Presumably, no one will.) Then we all can lend our support to them, in their new life together.

We also honor Tyr, the Lord of Honor and Sacrifice. He reminds us that while marriage is a joyous occaison, it also a serious change in our lives.
Are you prepared to make the solumn committment to honor and support each other in all things, and to uphold each other in difficult times? Are you ready to celebrate the joys of your lives together, and to protect each other from the perils of our world?
(couple says, "I am.")

Are you prepared to sacrifice involvement with others, keeping yourselves only to each other? Are you also prepared to sacrifice your lives as only individuals and make way for the beginning of your life as one?
(couple says, "I am.")

The Pledge
Then we shall next honor Frigga, Lady of joy, love and marriage. She and her handmaidens, Sjofn and Lofn, have nurtured this love, from a tiny seed, and we hope they are pleased to see how it has grown and blossmed. As in ancient times, the bride presents the groom with a sword, to protect and sanctify their home, and the groom presents the bride with the keys to his home, trusting her to help him make wise decisions for the good of their entire household.

(Priestess takes the sword from the altar, presents it to the bride, and says:)
Tanya, Sjofn has ignited the spark between you and John, so powerful a love that you both felt the need to pursue it, despite any difficulties. Do you now acknowledge her blessing and accept this man to be your husband?
(Bride says, "I do." Priestess hands the sword to the bride, and the bride says:)
John, I present this blade to you, a symbol of our committment to protect our home, to make it a place of security and peace.
(Groom takes the sword from the bride. He either sheaths it or puts it back on the altar.)

(Priestess takes the keys from the altar, presents them to the groom and says:)
John, Lofn has blessed your relationship with Tanya, indeed. It was not an easy road that the two of you had to walk, to come together, and be able to stay that way. Do you now honor her effort and take this woman to be your wife?
(Groom says, "I do." Priestess hands the keys to the groom, and the groom says:)
Tanya, I present these keys to you, a symbol of our committment to make our home a place of beauty, love, and prosperity.
(Bride either takes the keys from the groom and puts them back on the altar, or groom puts them on her wrist, as a bracelet.)

Wedding Vows
(Priestess says:)
And now, Tanya and John shall recite their vows of love to each other in their own words.
(Bride, then groom, say their vows, then turn back to the priestess)

The Bindrune
(Priestess makes the sign of the bindrune over the couple and speaks it aloud:)
tiwaz jera berkana
(Bride repeats:)
tiwaz jera berkana
(Groom repeats:)
tiwaz jera berkana
(Priestess says:)
Thus are you bound, one to the other.

Exchanging of the Rings
Tanya and John have chosen to symbolize their marriage with a small token of esteem for each other. May I please have the rings? (Priestess retrieves the rings from ring bearer, best man, or whoever is carrying them, then continues:)
The ring is often used as a symbol of marriage because of its shape. It is unending, unbroken, like the love it represents. It is also the rune Othala, which is the rune used to sanctify oaths, such as the oath these two make today.

(Priestess gives the bride's ring to the groom and says:) John, present your token and repeat after me (which the groom does, line by line):
I present this ring
as a daily reminder
of the oath I make tonight,
and my devotion to you
for the rest of our lives.

(Repeat with the bride.)

The Blot
Let us now prepare the blot, a sacred toast to celebrate the marriage.

(Bride and Groom pick up their cups from the altar. Priestess picks up the center cup and says:)
This is the cup of Frigga, sacred Lady of love. But there can be no enduring love, without two people working together to fill it. Both must add their own spirit, time, and effort to keep love alive. (Bride and groom empty their own cups into the center, which the priestess is holding. Priestess raises the goblet she holds, while the couple set down their goblets.)
May the Gods taste of this union of spirits and be pleased. (Priestess pours some into an offering bowl.)
May the Ancestors look fondly upon this union of kin. (Priestess pours offering again. Priestess drinks a sip, hands it to the bride, who gives the groom a sip, then hands it to the groom, who gives the bride a sip, then hands it back to the priestess, who puts it back on the altar. While they are sipping, priestess says:)
Ye who drink from this cup shall never thirst and your lives will never be empty, for your spirits will be quenched by this love that you share.

(Priestess places the cup back on the altar and picks up the plate of bread with the hammer on it.)
This plate of bread bears the Hammer of Thor, who, as told in ancient legends, sanctifies the vows of men and of women. May he, and all the Gods be pleased to receive this offering, and bless the couple with prosperity. (Priestess places a bit of bread in the offering bowl.)
May the Ancestors be pleased with this offering, and bless the couple with health. (Priestess places another bit of bread in the offering bowl. Priestess takes a bite, then hands the plate to the groom, who holds the plate at chest level. He feeds a piece to the bride, then hands the plate to her. Bride holds the plate at womb level, and feeds a piece of bread to the groom. She then hands the plate back to the priestess, who puts it back on the altar. While they are exchanging bites, priestess says:)
Ye who eat from this plate are joining both households and lives. Your home will never lack for comfort and joy, for your love will sustain each other.

The Closing Prayer and Pronouncement (thanking, releasing)
In the name of the Gods, the kith and kin that stand with us, our ancestors who have gone before, and the family that has not yet set foot upon this earth, I bless you both, and the life that you shall now live together. We thank Frigga for her blessings of love, Tyr, for giving you both strength in adversity, and Thor, for overseeing this ceremony.
May your love have the strength of the earth beneath your feet. May your sorrows be carried away by the tides of life. May you always be able to see the flame of desire for each other in your eyes. And may the winds carry your combined laughter throughout the ages.
Before your kith and kin, before the Gods and the Ancestors, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

John, you may kiss your bride!

It is my privilege to present for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. John and Tanja Berengue!

Recessional
The wedding party exits the platform, typically in the following order:
o Bride and Groom
o Maid or Matron of Honor and Best Man
o Bridesmaids and Groomsmen
o Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
o The Ushers return for the honored guests who are escorted out in reverse order of their entrance.
o Ushers may then dismiss the remaining guests, either all at once, or one row at a time.
The wedding party normally lines up for the receiving line after this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks again!

badheathens @ 2008-05-11T04:40:00

2008-05-11T19:06:37Z

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 northerntrad

Personal Gnosis Questionaire

2008-04-23T05:55:57Z

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.

Call for Submissions

"The Personal Gnosis Handbook: Inspiration In Pagan Religious Practice"

This book will be a handbook for Pagan religious groups as to how to
cope with the issue of personal gnosis in your religion. How do you
tell what's really a divine message and what's not? Who decides, and
what's fair? Is fair even relevant when the Gods are involved? How do
you figure it out anyway? This book will tackle all those hard
questions, including how to turn UPG (unverified personal gnosis) into
PCPG (peer-corroborated personal gnosis), and when you shouldn't.

Basic assumptions of this book:

-Personal gnosis is desirable and valuable, and a side effect of
having actual real Gods, not just archetypes.

-Personal gnosis, when applied to group practice, needs to be judged
by a variety of criteria.

If you aren't down with both of those, don't answer this
questionnaire. I am looking for deep and thoughtful discussion on the
subject, not just Captain Obvious points like "we can't prove the Gods
exist in a laboratory setting anyway."

If you have written an essay on the subject, and would like to submit
that, feel free to do so instead of or in addition to filling out the
questionnaire, but be advised that I may use it, not use it, or only
use quotes from it (as I would with the interview questions).

Please send your questionnaires as attachments in Word or Word Perfect
(not WordPad, I hate WordPad) or in the body of the email. Send them
to cauldronfarm@hotmail.com with PGH in the title. The deadline for
submissions is October 1. Circulate this freely! If you don't speak
up, your voice will not be heard.

Questions for Personal Gnosis Handbook:

1. What's your current religious tradition? What religious tradition
were you raised?

2. How do you define the terms: gnosis? Personal gnosis? Unverified
personal gnosis? Peer-corroborated personal gnosis?

3. How do you feel about personal gnosis?

4. How does the religious tradition that you are now a member of feel
about it? (If applicable.) How do they judge what is valid and what is
not? What does "valid" mean to them - objectively and provably true,
intuitively true, or whether it's applicable and useful to them?

5. How do you judge it? According to what criteria? What standards do
you think should be applied to it?

6. Have you had any conflicts with people over your personal gnosis?
Please describe.

7. Have you ever felt ashamed or afraid to share your personal gnosis
for fear of being attacked?

8. Have you ever seen something accepted as personal gnosis by a group
that then went horribly wrong? Please describe.

9. Have you seen the addition of personal gnosis handled well by a
group? Please describe.

10. Please describe what personal gnosis comes to you. Do you
experience it as a direct message from the Gods, or something more
subtle?

11. Who, in a group, gets to decide whose personal gnosis is valid? By
what authority?

12. How should disagreements over personal gnosis be mediated in a
group? Is there any social engineering that can be done in a group's
culture to better prepare people to be able to handle the process of
discrimination?

13. How trustworthy do you find ancient texts/primary sources?

14. How important is personal gnosis to your personal path? Does it
define everything you do? Is it not really a big deal? Is it something
you keep private? Could you be part of a group that didn't accept it -
or are you now? Would you give up everything for it? How many life
decisions do you make based on this?

Thanks,

-Raven Kaldera

badheathens @ 2008-04-17T19:58:00

2008-04-18T01:25:55Z

Introduction and a question

2008-03-28T00:01:21Z

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?

Mildly amusing

2008-03-18T00:13:48Z

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 fun

2008-03-14T16:51:49Z

Because I am so very bad:

Post your Bad Heathen Macros here! :D

a tattoo design

2008-02-13T08:37:42Z

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

Thor, Jord and Odin

2008-01-31T07:38:21Z

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.

On line store question

2008-01-27T05:23:16Z

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.

Celebrations of the ideal nature

2008-01-09T05:02:49Z

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"? :)

My friend made this, and another told me to share..

2008-01-02T15:17:43Z

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:)

sigh

2007-12-27T00:17:42Z

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.

question about Beowulf

2007-11-03T15:30:05Z

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!

2 questions

2007-10-23T22:10:18Z

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?

Fun with Loki

2007-10-17T01:00:21Z

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*

Theological thoughts on Loki

2007-10-06T17:09:13Z

Okay, I've been thinking about this theology for a while. Right now I've had a few, so perhaps I'm in the right frame of mind to wax intellectual about The Trickster:

Common wisdom is that Loki is a prankster who grows steadily more and more malicious until his actions culminate in the murder of Baldr.

I don't buy it. Every one of his acts contains either a gift or a purpose. For when his purposes seem obscure, as with Baldr, I invite those performing exegesis on the texts to take this concept with them: Loki is the random act that restores order.

Let's look first at the cutting of Sif's hair. While on one hand this is reflective of Loki's overall philosophy, "But it was funny, wasn't it?" it also brings things into proper order. If Thor represents the rains that cause the crops to grow, the golden harvest being represented by Sif, we must realize that the new crops CANNOT grow unless the previous crop has been cut (harvested). I would submit that this story is shorthand for the necessity of the previous crop being cut and harvested so that the next one can grow.

In the same story, after Loki cuts Sif's hair, he goes to the dwarves and brings back Frey's boar, Sif's hair, Odin's spear, and nothing less than Thor's hammer.

Moving ahead very quickly to the death of Baldr, consider the circumstances. Baldr's time to die had come. It was known in the Underworld, and Hel was preparing a very lovely party to welcome him to the Underworld. Frigga, with an understandable mother's desire to save the life of her child, exerted a promise not to kill Baldr from all creation, except for the mistletoe.

So we have Baldr, whose time to die has come, living past his deadline. What might this have meant for reality? Loki came along and with his prank, sent Baldr to where he needed to be.

As just_sigrun pointed out, not only that, but the Underworld is the only place *where Baldr will be safe during Ragnarok*.

There are other examples, such as Loki's insistence on the builder of Asgard leading to the birth of Sleipnir, but these are the major examples that come to my mind.

Outrage! Atrocity!

2007-08-15T02:13:41Z

Why is it that even the kettle in which mead is brewed has a name, but Freyja's cats don't? Odin's horse does, Frey's boar does--okay, Thor's goats don't, but I bet he calls them Lunch and Dinner.

Equal time for Freyja's cats!

Things people miss

2007-08-08T14:13:41Z

Steve walking around singing, "My little Sleipnir, pretty Sleipnir..."

trickster shrine

2007-08-01T18:19:04Z

heilsa the hall! hello and howdy!
this is my first post here. so i'm an unknown voice to many of you. others i know from hither and yon. i'm a truar of something like 6 years and forever. my interests in shamanism and seidr (among other things) have led to me being termed a bad Heathen at times in the past.

i've an experience i'd like to share. which seems to me ideally suited for this forum.

i live in Idaho Falls, ID. there is a place to walk here that runs along the Snake River. along that walkway, off some 8 feet or so beside a scrub cedar, is a half hollow rock. the hollow of which looks much like a seat. in this seat someone has spray painted a bound and horned figure. since my first sighting of this i've felt a connection there to Laufeysson. at times when i walk past if i make acknowledgment of him i have more energy and strength for the walk.

perhaps whomever placed the shrine there has no knowledge of Slipnirsdam. perhaps they had some other trickster in mind. or some other being or kind of being entirely. but as i said i get a sense of the bound one there.

today as i walked by i was thinking of a friend's husband whose just had to go to dyalisis(sp) for his kidneys. on a whim i asked for aid for him there. as i left a young jack rabbit ran across the trail in front of me, which i felt to be an affirmation. i've always seen jacks as tricksters. to my way of thinking they could easily be friendly to Sewn Lips.

i had nothing with me for an offering today, but will make a point of taking one for a deliberate blot there soon.

so that's my sharing.

frith and bliss,
Crowfuzz

Altarproject.org is Up & Running

2007-07-30T05:58:40Z

(X-Posted)

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to drop a quick note to those who might be interested that the web domain for the 30 Day Altar Project is up and running (at about 80% live) at http://www.altarproject.org

The 30 Day Altar Project is a devotional art experiment dedicated to the Northern Gods & Elemental Deities. The way it works is that every contributor spends a few minutes every day meditating on a deity and one aspect of their influence and then looks around and collects owned, given, found, or nominal cost items that make up the items that will go on an altar to be erected in a public place. At the end of the 30 day period, the altar is set up, photos are taken, and the contributor records their experiences. Its both a creative and spiritual exercise, and by seeing others' altars it teaches us how others view the high ones. The project is intended to be international in scope, so if you don't see your country represented, please think about doing a piece. One of the goals is to increase mindfulness in worship and to expand practitioners' understanding of the High Ones through art. From July 2007-July 2008 altars to the Northern Gods will be erected in public all over the world.

We are actively seeking submissions from those who work with and honor the Gods of the North. All of the information for submitting projects can be found on the website or on our blog at http://altarproject.livejournal.com

A bunch of projects have been promised and the site will be updated frequently. Please set your bookmarks and check back often. The project is intended to represent a diversity of belief and is not relegated to the Heathen community.