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 clear. …
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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 metalsmith. …
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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 step. …
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21 Sep 2008 Recently, I re-read an early twentieth century presentation of Norse Mythology in the form of H. A. Guerber’s Myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas. While this book presents the myths themselves in quite an aesthetically pleasing and thorough manner, the typical late nineteenth century interpretation of myth that it displays is a little grating. The main reason for this irritation comes from the trend of that era to only interpret myth from the viewpoint of what Georges Dumézil would term the “Third Function”—a function that is equivalent to the societal role of the farmers, peasants, and thralls. Although Third Function interpretations can help form a basis for the understanding of myth, ultimately, they are not complete, as they only account for the functions of the natural world to explain its meaning. And myth is far more complex than that. …
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21 Mar 2008 “If we don’t turn around we’ll end up where we’re going,” has no truer (nor more frightening) an application then to the current state of our food production and consumption. An average meal takes a voyage of 1500–2500 miles from the farm to your fork. An average food calorie, after the fertilizing, processing, packaging, and transporting, takes 7 to 10 ‘calories’ of fossil fuel energy to produce. The implication of these statistics and how they reflect pollution, global warming, and the all around destruction of the earth, should make us more than a little uncomfortable. Trumpeting is a wake-up call to ‘turn around,’ reestablish our connection to the land, revive the self-sustaining ways of our past, while, as Alisa Smith, co-author of Plenty explains it, “We [can] immerse ourselves in the here and now, and the simple pleasures of eating [will] become a form of knowing.” Choosing to reduce our impact on the environment by the way we eat, is an important (and delicious!) place to enact change. But you don’t need to take our word for it. Here is a collection of lists, suggestions, excerpts and quotes from those who have taken up the shovel to create a better tomorrow. …
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21 Mar 2008 In our culture, most basic living skills have been forgotten. There is so much confusion surrounding even simple life choices, that people look more and more to ‘experts’ to assist them. What should I eat? How should I raise my children? How can I have healthy relationships? How do I take care of myself? The problem is, experts all have their own agendas—which are often at odds with what is best for you and your community. Until recently, our ancestors answered these questions through cultural traditions, passed down without much fanfare, generation after generation—which is, unfortunately, an inheritance we don’t always have access to. But where did their ancestors learn them? The common belief seems to be that they learned through trial and error over time. But the idea that people would systematically test all of the plants of a new terrain, to see what was edible—or that they would stumble upon a vast knowledge base of plant lore (with many varied cultures coming to the same conclusions) by accident—seems a bit absurd to me. In fact, the people themselves tell quite a different story… …
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21 Sep 2007 Our thresholds have a strong bearing, spiritually speaking, on our entire house. What we do at this entry to our InnanGarth, our private sanctuary, is of vital importance to the strength of both ourselves and our surroundings. …
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21 Sep 2007 This second issue will attempt to uncover some of the roots buried in our Heathen Kitchens, for use in Medicine and Magic…at least the roots of underground vegetables. Roots were certainly well known kitchen ingredients before the age of fast foods and frozen dinners, but as Odin will tell you…“…no man knows from where…the roots run.” …
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21 Sep 2007 To those already immersed in neo-Heathen culture, Diana L. Paxson hardly needs an introduction. To those just dipping their toes in, we are pleased to bring you a leading woman in the traditional Pagan movement. …
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21 Apr 2007 I have been thinking about the days of the week. In Western cultures, the week commonly consists of five weekdays and two days of weekend. The Germanic gods, runes, and myths have left their traces in the very names of the days. This tells something of their enduring, Hidden power. …
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21 Apr 2007 In each issue, this column will explore commonplace medicinal/magical foods & tools in our 21st-century kitchens—many of the very same resources found at heathen hearths a thousand years ago. By investigating history, Norse sagas, and other folklore, we hope to rediscover some of the lost ancestral knowledge and power in our own kitchens. This section hopes to deepen our spiritual connections to, and enhance ritual workings of, Heathenry as a folk religion as well. Our premier article introduces three elements found in both cooking and creation lore, with ideas for their use in your spring rituals—fire, water, and salt. …
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