5 Things that Sound Gross But are Eco-friendly
I’ve been thinking about eco-friendly habits lately. Or maybe I’ve been thinking about how to justify lazy habits as eco-friendly. I’m not sure, exactly. But I thought I’d share my ponderance with you. Here are five things you can do that sound kinda gross, but are actually green. Most of them will help conserve water....
‘Tis the Season: Celebrating Yule
Thanksgiving is over, so I can legitimately put on the holiday music, pull out the garlands and set a date for getting a tree. (This weekend. Because why wait?) Yule (Jul) is the most important holiday of the Heathen calendar. It’s multi-day celebration that can last up to twelve days (“On the first day of...
In Honor of Veteran’s Day: The Einherjar, Warriors of the Apocalypse
**On a completely unrelated note, my book launch for How Beauty Met the Beast will be at Bar Congress on November 20th from 5:30-7pm. There will be specialty cocktails inspired by the lead characters and much fun to be had. Come join us! (The book itself releases on Novemeber 19th. I can’t believe it’s really here!!) Now...
A Study of Stillness: Algiz/Elhaz
Algiz (also known as Elhaz, said as all-yeese or ale-hawz) is the fifteenth rune. I know it would make sense to start at the beginning when talking about runes, but this one’s been on my mind lately. I once long, long ago promised to talk more about runes, so I’m starting with this one. I’ll talk...
Winter Nights and the Elf Blot
One of the big challenges of a reconstructed faith is taking a religion that varied through several centuries and creating a single system out of the mix. The faith of the Teutonic peoples was practiced for hundreds of years from Germany to Iceland and almost everywhere in between. It’s no surprise the tribes of first...
Should You Pay to Learn About Your Faith?
A friend of mine who is a solitary witch once said to me, “You should never have to pay to learn about your religion.” I was a bit of a fluffy bunny at the time, so I took her words to heart. For a long time after that, I made a squinchy face whenever I...
Walking the Talk: Explaining Heathenry to an Adoption Agency
We spend a lot of our time in The Realm talking about Pagan interactions in the real world, and I have, in the past, encouraged people who are able without intense repercussions to come out of the broom closet. My convictions tell me that being open about who I am and what I believe is...
Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy
Orthodoxy – Correctness in doctrine and belief (from Greek orthos “right” + “doxa” belief) Orthopraxy – Correct practice or action (from Greek orthos “right” + praxis “action”) A couple folks on a Heathen listserve I belong to started throwing these words around, and while I was pretty sure I knew what orthodoxy meant and I’d...
Here Comes the Sun: Solar Flares and Sun Worship
You’ve probably heard that starting March 6th, the sun will experience active solar flares. This will be the most flares since 2006, but likely not the most volatile flares in the current solar cycle. We are in solar cycle 24, which is predicted to have the lowest solar peak since 1928. A solar peak is...
Heroes and Magic and Gods, Oh my! Recommended Readings on Heathenry
Last week in the comments a reader asked for reading suggestions for those interested in learning more about Heathenry. I realized I had a lot to say about this topic, so I made a post out of it. Please know I am not a scholar and while I have been a Pagan for a long time...
Bragi and Iðunn
Now that I’ve gotten engaged in a regular practice of ancestor veneration, I’ve turned my attention to learning more about my ancestral gods. One particular pair that’s caught my attention as being particularly apropos to my life are Bragi and Iðunn. Bragi and Iðunn (pronounced EE-thuhn, sometimes Anglicized to Iduna) are two gods of the Æsir (EYE-zr),...
Hamingja – The Embodiment of Luck
The Norse embodied the idea of personal luck in a spirit called a hamingja. (It’s pronounced HA-ming-yah; thanks to Alda Villiljós for the correct pronunciation!) Each person has their own hamingja following them around, and just like some people have stronger muscles than others, some people’s hamingjas are stronger than others. Nobody’s hamingja wishes them...
