When it comes to reconstructing the Anglo-Saxon pantheon , I’m ever wary of merely copying and pasting from the Norse sources. It’s not that I don’t think there was overlap, it’s just that I think cultural differences as well as the differences in time period should be carefully considered. The simple fact that Frīge was [...]
Tag: Heathen
“Prayer” in a Fyrnsidu Context
The following article is intended as a follow up to Prayer in a Heathen Context, which demonstrated Austfeld's three step prayer format (as demonstrated by H.S. Versnel) used broadly by pre-Christian Indo-European peoples. The aforementioned approach will be taken a step further and utilized for practical application in a Fyrnsidu context. The objective of this [...]
Reconstructing Frīge: Foreknowledge and the Spinning of Fate
Throughout Germanic folklore, Frīge and her epithets are connected to spinning and foreknowledge. These two attributes seem to be interwoven (pun intended), her spinning or weaving acting as a metaphor for her both knowing and thus being able to alter the fate of all beings, as alluded to in Norse sources. “Mad art thou, Loki, [...]
Wyrtlār: Stinging Nettle
*Disclaimer* Herbal treatments and history featured on the Lārhūs Fyrnsida are presented in a historic, folkloric, or otherwise informational context. No aspect of these entries should be misconstrued as providing medical advice. Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), is a herbaceous perennial endemic to North America, Europe (particularly Northern Europe) and Asia, belonging to the family Urticaceae. [...]
Concerning Arwald, The Last Pagan King of the Isle of Wight
Arwald is a character that has fascinated me for a while now. One of the main reasons for this fascination is because so little is known about him. Many modern heathens wrongly believe Penda of Mercia to be the final pagan Anglo-Saxon king, but that distinction lies with King Arwald the Jute. Nearly all of [...]
On Religious Reconstruction within Paganism: A Methodological Defense
It seems the winds of argumentation within the blogging sphere have once more swung around to the topic of Pagan reconstructionism. Again people are regurgitating the tired rhetoric about the failings of the practice of reconstructionism; the apparent unyielding, archaic, attitude that reconstructionists have towards proper religious expression, their quality and countenance as individuals in [...]
Wyrtlār: Stonecrop
*Disclaimer* Herbal treatments and history featured on the Lārhūs Fyrnsida are presented in a historic, folkloric, or otherwise informational context. No aspect of these entries should be misconstrued as providing medical advice. Stonecrops (Sedum spp.) are a hardy type of ground-cover succulent, native to Eurasia. There are also two species of stonecrop (Sedum lanceolatum and [...]
Land-taking and Creation of the Sacred Enclosure
Land-taking, in the simplest of terms, is the act of procuring land and making it sacred. It is in the act of land-taking that mundane space becomes separate, enclosed and therefore becomes sacred- an innangeard. The de facto method used to designate sacral space throughout the Indo-European sphere is through some form of circumambulation (nearly [...]
Finding Bēowa
Information concerning Bēowa is sparse, even by Anglo-Saxon standards. Modern polytheists and academics alike have to tried to link him to a several different characters , the most predominant of them being John Barleycorn and the Geatish hero, Beowulf. Most of the proponents of the Bēowa-as-Beowulf theory seem to be wading in dangerously speculative waters. [...]
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