Concerning Hāma

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]