Oh, Behave! – Wyrd, Frith, and the Social Contract
One of the most common defenses people give for religion is that it brings order to society. People look to their faith to tell them how to be good people, and because of their fear of God, Hell, or even the punishing power of priests, people choose to behave...
Defining a Heathen
As a writer, specificity in the meaning of the words we use is important to me. I think a lot of miscommunication happens because people have a different idea of what a word means, which can lead to misunderstanding and even arguments. We should know what we mean when we use a word, and our...
Group Practice in Paganism: One size does not fit all
**Don’t forget our 1st Anniversary Happy Hour is this Friday from 5-7 at Butterfly Bar! Everyone’s welcome! RSVP here.** Jax has written about group practice a few times recently. This week, she wrote about us visiting a kindred this weekend, which I am excited about, and last month she posted about the challenges of celebrating...
Freyfaxi or Hlæfæst and Honoring Freyr
The month of August has a Heathen holiday called either Freyfaxi, Hlæfmæsse [say laugh-mass but stick an ‘h’ on the beginning: hlaf-mass; it means loaf-mass], or Hlæfæst [say hlaf-fast; it means loaf-feast] which celebrates the beginning of the harvest... In Heathenry, we dedicate this holiday to Freyr, one of the highest gods of the North...
How the Princesses Spent Summer Solstice
As many of you know, Jax and I spent Summer Solstice, also known as Midsummer, in my back yard. It was just us princesses, so our observance was intimate and personal.* We shared and offered a meal with wine. It was a lovely affair and I was glad to share it with one of my...
My Plans for Summer Solstice Ritual
Next Tuesday is the Summer Solstice and I am planning a ritual, or as Heathens call it, a blót (pronounced bloat). This will not be my first ritual (not by a long shot), but it will be the first blót have planned on my own. Jax usually takes care of the planning and the direction...
Frith in the Modern World
Frith is an obsolete English word meaning “peace; freedom from molestation, protection; safety, security”. – Wikipedia Frith is not obsolete to Heathens. We sign our emails, “In frith,†we wish it to each other when we part, and it’s a common blessing on the holidays. It was one of the first unfamiliar concepts I encountered...
The Right-Brained Viking
Not to brag on myself (okay, I’m bragging!), but I have many good qualities. I’m usually kind. I’m typically easy-going and great at forgiveness (well, for crimes against me anyway; I’m less great at forgiveness for crimes against my loved ones). And I think I’m pretty open-minded (sometimes I see so many sides of an...
Planning a Pagan Observance
Greetings Royal (and loyal) Readers! As you now, our Beltane celebration didn’t happen the way we wanted. Jax and I did break bread together on May 1st, but we did not ritual.* We firmly believe sharing time, wine, laughs and food (there must always be food!) is the best kind of “bare bones†observance of...
Thoughts on the Death of a Terrorist
Naming the Dead (and other Funeral Traditions) Heathens believe people live on after death when we speak (or write) their names,* which is why at blóts it is traditional to recite the names of our ancestors as far back as we can remember. Words can give life and power to the dead every bit as...
An Introduction to Different Pagan Paths
I’ve been searching for a site that provides an overview of the variants of paganism most widely practiced today, or at least most widely known. The Wikipedia site for Neopaganism provides great information, but doesn’t provide a useful way to categorize pagan faiths — a taxonomy of pagan paths, if you will. There are some...
Ostara: Chasing History in Myth
I’ve spent six months now actively pursuing a reconstructionist-style paganism, and it’s been both interesting and enlightening. I did it because I’ve always felt strong ties to my Scandinavian heritage, I love history and research, and I was growing a little tired of wandering through general paganism (not that there’s anything wrong with doing that,...
