21 Mar 2011
Dreams, visions, and portents have been guiding us through untold millennia. The nature and source of these forms of communication is enigmatic – indeed, it allows our conscious linear thoughts to tap into the vast mysteries of our world.
Whether you feel that dreams or visions come from other-worldly or divine origins, or merely our own stew of unconscious thoughts, it is undeniable that many of our greatest achievements as well as small personal breakthroughs have been sparked by these strange …
[read the full article]
21 Mar 2011
More than any others in my piece these lines unify and express the theme of genius loci – spirit of place – and they do so, significantly, both in terms of the central Victorian landscape and my Northern European spiritual heritage. For if Germanic Heathenism, the religion of the god Woden, originated in one land, Northern Europe, then naturally it will be a religion replete with Northern European associations. Indeed, natural and desirable spiritual evolution notwithstanding, the entire form and content of the religion are ideally derived from this source. How far can we, or should we, nativise our religion in Australia? There is something complex, problematic, and interesting when North meets South. What happens when opposites meet? When fire and ice clash and intermingle is there creation or destruction, or both? Is there a possibility of a marriage …
[read the full article]
21 Mar 2011
The sauna was not only central to rites of passage, it was itself a passageway. Many Finns were (and still are) born in sauna and brought there to die. As a temple it was a place to worship and honor the dead. We see in Kalevala how Marjatta, who is with child, cast out by her father, must find a sauna in which to give birth. She finds one on a clearing with a stable in the pinewood. In this primitive sauna she gives birth to the new king of Finland, helped by horses that create the steam by breathing vapor on the hot …
[read the full article]
21 Mar 2011
We grow an organic vegetable garden which means that we rely heavily on companion planting. Companion planting brings balance to the garden, as plants help each other to repel bugs, encourage high yields, and attract garden allies. Edible flowers are indispensable companion plants. They serve their ecological purpose, while at the same time, they are beautiful to gaze upon and good to …
[read the full article]
21 Mar 2011
We are 100% addicted to kefir in this household. If we miss drinking it for some reason, the whole rest of the day feels “off.” Dairy or milk kefir is a delicious probiotic, a cultured milk drink that has over 2,000 years of history. The story of Kefir takes us back to the Caucasus Mountains, located between Europe and Asia. Shepherds there noticed that milk carried for long periods of time in leather pouches or animal hides would sometimes ferment to create an effervescent …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2010
The prescient H.G. Wells once wrote that human history might soon become a “race between education
and catastrophe.” I would add that this race started a long time ago, for criticism of the Industrial Revolution has accompanied its viral growth since its inception. And now, in 2010, amid a (supposedly) flourishing “Green” movement and increased awareness about the environment, we face one of the largest environmental disasters in human history. …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2010
I get very inspired to cook Norwegian foods at this time of year. When I lived in Norway I really enjoyed all the special foods that were served and enjoyed during the Yuletide season. So when I came back to the US, I decided that I would celebrate the Winter Solstice by feasting on Nordic cuisine. …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2010
Just last week I accidentally bought an unusually large squash, weighing close to 2 kg (4 lbs. 6 ½ ounces). It was a butternut, obviously coming from a healthy vine, with beautiful colour and shape and just perfectly ripened. What to do with it? A giant pumpkin soup was the obvious …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2010
In Scandinavia, drinking spiced wine during the holiday season is a celebrated event. Norwegians have special holiday parties dedicated to drinking spiced wine during the winter holidays. The most common wine is called Gløgg. Here is a different version called …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2010
[This article by Siegfried Goodfellow is a companion to or amplification of "Forming a Mythic Response to the Deepwater Catastrophe," an article by Siegfried featured in Issue 7, Winter 2010, of Hex Magazine – Ed.]
Heiti of the Gods: Fridlef as Njord, Amundus as Volund, Bjorn as Hodur, and Helgi as Halfdan
An explanation by Siegfried Goodfellow, with special research help from Carla O’Harris.
There are many in modern times who may not be familiar with these identifications known in ancient days, and candor requires bringing people to the sources from which they are derived so each may make up their own mind as to their solidity and validity. The explanations here may seem Byzantine, but such is the fate of tracing polynyms amongst the skalds, who loved labyrinthine foldings, and once you grasp the gestalt underlying these different variations, the logic becomes crystal …
[read the full article]
21 Mar 2010
Not long ago I was directed to a story in Gylfaginning where Thor, while staying at a farmer’s house, kills his goats to make a meal of them for himself, his companions, and the family who dwell there. In the morning he waves his hammer over the goats’ skin and bones to bring them back to life. What a strange vision! I ask him to try this on me sometimes when I am feeling out of alignment. His hammer, like a giant magnet, seems to pull me into balance again. I can literally feel my muscles relaxing, my vertebrae shifting, life-force freely coursing from sacrum to …
[read the full article]
21 Mar 2010
The figure of Volund has held fascination for me since I myself nearly lost the use of my legs at a young age. The accident itself was a powerful transformational experience, and as a result I have been given an artistic vision best conceived as a lifelong endeavor. To say nothing of myopic and impatient instructors in art school, following this vision has put me at odds with the very structure of modern society, as any contemporary self-employed artisan can understand. Yet this struggle is one of the central endeavors that I perceive for Heathenry if it is to have any meaningful impact on putting Midgard to rights – what we do to survive daily must be both meaningful and honorable if we are to escape the banality of the dominant consumerist culture. For me this has meant exploring and truly living as a …
[read the full article]
21 Mar 2010
After only four days in Iceland, four days out of the five weeks that I will spend in Scandinavia, I can already tell you that I have seen too much. Rob, my traveling mate, and I have just returned from a three day road trip around Iceland’s Highway 1, affectionately nicknamed the “ring road” by locals and tourists alike, which lines the circumference of the country. In these three days I have seen things most will only read of. I have walked the grounds of Reykholt and dipped my hand into the pool used by Snorri Sturluson; I have stood at the edge of Goðafoss and peered into the waterfall of the gods; I have wandered the paths of Dimmuborgir and stood inside the church of stone, or perhaps even looked into the entrance to Hel; I have seen Bergþórshvoll, the site of Njal’s burning; and I have climbed upon the law rock at Þingvellir and looked over its fields. …
[read the full article]
21 Mar 2010
I would like to share some traditional Swabian recipes associated with the seasonal period from Landsegen (“Land-Blessing” or “Charming of the Plow”) to Ostara, together with some of their associated customs. Seasonally, the time between these two tides is marked at the beginning by the soil being ready for sowing and at the end by the start of crop growth. After Ostara, Walpurgis marks the point when grain begins to sprout from the new crops, and summer is the time of grain growth and maturation. While the outward festivities of Fasching, i.e. the revelries more commonly known as Shrovetide or Carneval, are the better-known public face of the season leading up to Ostara, it is also privately and inwardly a time of meditative self-examination, moderation, and purification. Some mistakenly believe that this is a Christian custom associated with Lent. It is not, for it was part of the agricultural rhythm of life in Swabia long before there were Christians. Why is this the …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2009
With this issue of Hex, the magazine’s slogan has been changed – no longer is it “For the Heathen Household,” but rather “Old Ways for a New Day.” The change represents a refinement of, and rededication to, the magazine’s essence.
“Old Ways For A New Day” invites us to go beyond literalism. Our folk heritage is more than dusty museum pieces: this slogan reminds us that Heathenry is a living force that embodies a much more fertile world view than those that reign in this modern age.
The world view I have in mind is called optimism. I think optimism – choosing to look for and live out the positive story lines – was essential to the flourishing of the premodern European peoples and their traditions. Living so much closer to nature, to death, and to mystery must have demanded it. Optimism must have carried many generations of folk through the hardships of harvests, migrations, winters, and …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2009
This is not a scholarly work, although I’ve read and researched quite a bit. My purpose is to share the insights and thoughts in my path from a childhood in Buffalo, New York to the Heathen way of life. This may help others identify similar dormant yearnings in themselves or others who are moving towards Heathenry. I also want to document the awakening process of coming home to our ancestral religion and culture.
The title started out, Returning to the Gods of Our Ancestors. But in writing this article, I saw that my return was two-fold. My first step was to acknowledge the importance of ancestors in our lives. Through them, I was able to take the second step towards a relationship with our Gods. This article explores my first …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2009
My Opa, Pierre Repping, was an inarticulate Dutchman whose hands created marvellous gadgets, could fix anything, were pretty skilled at painting, and crafted elaborate grandfather clocks. He had been an instrument maker for most of his working life. When I was a child we spent hours and hours in his garage, making wooden swords, go-carts, and half a hundred other …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2009
My grandparents came from Sweden. As both my parents worked full time, I was practically brought up by them. They were Lutheran; she (Hulda) very much so, he (Nils) not so much. But they were still both very Heathen by American standards. Standard fare for bedtime stories was Grimms’ Fairy Tales – Copyright MCMXLV Grosset & Dunlap, Inc. (I still have the book), along with stories about Trolls, Giants, and the Gods. They still spoke Swedish and delighted in teaching me, an only child at the …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2009
Although both of my grandparents are resting within the Earth, their spirits, and their lessons, walk beside me every …
[read the full article]
21 Sep 2009
Besides making the best spaghetti I’ve ever had, the overwhelming memory I have of my Grandmother is that she was kind and accepting. She never treated me like the black sheep that I am. I remember a Christmas when I was 16 and she confided in me that she finally figured out how to shop for me. “I can get you a skirt, but it has to go with combat boots.” No judgment. No lecture about how young girls should …
[read the full article]
|
|
