broomsick

[broomsick]

Just discovered this gold mine of a website page making a comparative study of Carolyne Larrington’s original edition and revised edition of the Hávamál. Truly a find!

[broomsick]

Two of my favorite poetry bits from the Haralds saga Sigurðarsonar (saga of Harald Hardrada)

"Norsemen, who stand the sword of foe

Like forest-stems unmoved by blow!

My hopes are fled, no peace is near,

— People fly here and there in fear.

On either side of Seeland's coast

A fleet appears -- a white winged host;

Magnus form Norway takes his course,

Harald from Sweden leads his force."

Chapter 20

"Where battle-storm was ringing,

Where arrow-cloud was singing,

Harald stood there,

Of armour bare,

His deadly sword still swinging.

The foeman feel its bite;

His Norsemen rush to fight,

Danger to share,

With Harald there,

Where steel on steel was ringing."

Chapter 95

[broomsick]

i am begging people to stop treating this religion like a fandom

[broomsick]

I love your blog, thank you for all the information. You've one of the most helpful Norse blogs I've come across. :-)

Thank you so much, this means a lot to me. It's so good to know the effort I put into my research can benefit others as well. Have a good day my friend, and take care of yourself!

[broomsick]

So not a pagan but I have an interest in norse culture and I have heard of disir and landvaetir and all that. but never of Rökkr? I'm curious what is that?

Rökkr is the name that neo-pagans have chosen for a sub-group of jötnar among which are Loki, Fenrir, Hel, and Jörmungandr. Some also include Níðhöggr, Surtr, Skaði, and Angrboða among the Rökkr. The concept is quite modern and its name fits pretty loosely, as this sub-group doesn't comprise a specific list of divine beings. There are pagans who identify as practitionners of "Rökkatru", meaning they mainly work with this particular group of jötnar. While I don't consider myself a Rökkatru practionner, I worship them like I do the Æsir and the Vanir.

[broomsick]

The December night is long and cold but Christmas is almost here. Värmland, Sweden (December 10, 2021).

[broomsick]

Hi again, I’m the anon from yesterday!! Thank you so so much for all your advice, I appreciate it more than I can put into words. I wasn’t expecting such a long response but I am so grateful for how much detail you went into with it. I’m going to follow along, try and figure things out a bit more on my own and build a better connection/understanding, and almost definitely stop by and ask some more questions when I get stuck again :)

Ps you don’t have to respond to this one if you’d prefer not to <3

Hey! I'm glad you appreciated my answer, and it would be my pleasure to help out in the future! Thank you for the ask, and good luck on your journey!

[broomsick]

10 quick activities you can do today to prepare for the winter solstice

Find a recipe that you want to prepare before the solstice comes, either drink, dessert or meal!

Set out into nature at least once and gather fallen evergreen branches to bring inside the home.

Discover some Yule, Christmas, or winter solstice songs that you enjoy!

Write up a prayer to recite on solstice night.

Reflect on a spirit or deity whom you associate with this time of year. What can you do to honor them before the solstice comes?

Find some winter-themed pictures to use as your phone wallpaper.

Browse the lore that relates to this time of year.

List some animals, plants or natural phenomena that you associate with this period.

Own a lot of candles? On a given night, wait until sunset and leave all the lights turned off. Light all your candles to symbolize the imminent return of the sun, and spend the night without opening the lights.

Make wassail, hot cider or mulled wine!

Artist: Sebastian McKinnon

[broomsick]

Winter here, I miss it very much. We get less and less snow with each year and it harms my mental health more than I can say. Is anybody experiencing this as well?

I live in a nordic country, in an area that’s known to be extremely cold and snowy. I’d never seen rain in the winter before, but we have seen it multiple times in the past two years. When this happens, home doesn’t feel like home anymore.

[broomsick]

My rendition of Odin riding atop his 8 legged horse Sleipnir. Hand carved in slate 30 cm x 30 cm.

[broomsick]

Hnnggg I'mma just?? Casually freakin' the eff out bc I discovered Jen's art aaaanddd her depictions of Loki are just??? Chef's kiss?? 😭😍😍

[broomsick]

Beautiful Yule-themed art by Darkspire Design on Etsy

[broomsick]

Teachings that I've personally learned from the Gods, in one sentence!

Freyja: Your fears are not you, so never act on them: act on what drives you.

Baldr: Kindness is strength.

Óðinn: The world is great and beautiful, and you will always be your own home.

Freyr: Your closeness to the earth is your greatest treasure, and the way to find peace within yourself.

Thórr: There are things that you can't do alone: asking for help is brave.

Hel: Everything is a cycle.

Heimdallr: The Gods are always listening, they are always with us.

Týr: Finding compromise is harder than fighting, but if it can be done, it absolutely must be done.

Jörmungandr: Hold onto your roots, because it's the one place you can come back to no matter what.

Frigg: The people around you are more precious than you know.

[broomsick]

Hello!!! Im just starting to properly get into the world of paganism as a whole, and I was wondering if you have any advice on being able to tell if there is a deity reaching out to you? There have been a lot of little things happening and I really just. Don’t know where to start. With any of it. I really, really want to, it feels like there’s something calling me towards it, the norse side especially (I think Loki?) and so if you have any advice or guidance to offer I’d appreciate it tremendously

Ps, thank you for everything you do here!! I’ve been scrolling through your blog and it’s an absolute well of knowledge and insight

Hi there! I'll first tell you welcome to paganism! I wish you so much fun and happiness on this journey! And I'm quite flattered that you came to me with your question. I'm truly touched to know that you enjoy my posts. Fair warning: this post is pretty long—I'm sorry for writing so much, but I hope my answer can help you!

Now, I wish I could tell you without a doubt that a deity has reached out to you, and if so, which has. However, I'm sorry to say it's generally impossible to be certain of these things. It's often a matter of leaving it up to faith and telling yourself, "Well, I'm not sure if this deity has reached out to me, but it feels very much like they have, so I will act accordingly". Either way, your instinct is telling you to look into this deity, and to me, instinct is reason enough.

You've told me you don't know where to start, so I'll advise you three steps to start off. The first, do some research! And I know, I know, just the word "research" tends to turn some people off. But research doesn't have to be boring! Especially since you're only getting started. Begin with the basics, read up on norse mythology, learn about the surrounding culture, really immerse yourself in and try to get a feel for this branch of spirituality as a whole. To help you out, here's a post where I listed some of my favorite resources! The second step sounds a little stupid but it's something that's helped me tremendously when I was first getting started with paganism: learn about the Gods individually. Don't let yourself form your opinion of them based on 1-2 myths that you loosely know. Really get to know them, what they're associated with, how you can work with them, what their role is in myth, how they're perceived by scholars and by worshippers alike... You might develop an interest in a deity you'd have never thought to work with initially! And my third advice is to pray, plain and simple prayer. Just close your eyes and reach out to the deity genuinely. Ask for something that you want help with, or simply praise them and explain why you're interested in them, or both! It's all perfectly OK, even if it's your first time praying to them. It'll help you get a feel for what their presence is like, and if praying to them feels right to you.

Now, enough with the introduction, let's dive into what really interests you: how to tell if a deity has reached out to you, and how to tell which? Healthy skepticism aside, it's safe to say a deity will generally manifest themselves through recurring patterns or ideas. Look for symbols that stand out to you regularly, and that seem to draw your attention for no apparent reason. For example, if a deity's name keeps showing up around you in your life, by which I mean in real life, not on social media (algorithms will always show you what you want to see after all). I find that half the time, when you ask pagans how they started to worship this or that deity, the story often goes "I couldn't seem to get this deity out of my head for some reason, like a tugging at the back of my mind or an itch that I needed to scratch." Whether or not this is the deity's direct doing is up to your belief. And to me, this sort of occurrence often results in your looking up the deity, and things seem to click into place almost instantly. You'll see a picture of the deity, or read this or that piece of information about them, and suddenly, it feels right. As if your mind was telling you, "This is what I've been waiting for, this is a deity who's going to help me." Don't be looking out too much for this feeling, however. As long as you're interested by the deity you're looking into, even if you don't get this moment of sudden realization, there's no need to doubt that they're right for you.

And how do you tell which deity is reaching out? More often than not, all you need to do is listen to your gut. It tends to be quite obvious, especially once you've looked into the symbols that seem to turn up around you. Examine what they mean and what God is associated with them. My advice to you is to expect that a deity you don't know much about might reach out to you. This is your sign to look into them! Open yourself to the possibility of working with deities and with aspects of the divine that you'd never considered before. It can be such a fulfilling move, spirituality-wise. Explore and discover what feels right to you!

I hope my answers have helped you, and I wish you the best of luck on your journey. Please don't hesitate to ask further questions if you have them, it would be my pleasure to help in any way I can!

[broomsick]

Skaði is important to me for many reasons but one of them that I think the community underutilizes is her status as a transplant. She is Jotnar, living amongst the Aesir Gods. Skaði lives in a world she is not native to, in a culture that is not her own. She intermarries a Vanir God, whomst is also living in a land that is not his own. Many of us living in North America are not native to it, and find ourselves in somewhat of a disconnect with the land. Skaði is a phenomenal teacher of this lesson; connecting to land you are not native to. Learning to respect, honor, and live harmoniously with a place that our ancestors are unfamiliar with. Though we are not indigenous here, it is vital that we learn to care for the land we occupy, to love it as if we are native to it, out of respect and reciprocity. Skaði is versed in this, and I think that this facet of hers is overlooked.

[broomsick]

Fenrir and Tyr don’t feel at odds to me, at least not in the way many people may assume.

To me, they are the sides of the same coin. Both representing the same thing, just in different ways.

Fenrir’s binding and betrayal is not just about oath breaking but the loss of the social contract and the rage that wells up from it, to me at least. Depending on the telling of the tale, Fenrir can come across as already suspicious that the Aesir are going to trick him and thus it is why he asks for Tyr’s battle hand. Because he senses something afoot. And depending on the telling, Tyr readily accepts the loss of his hand. He knows that which must be done and to do so requires not only sacrifice but consequence of his actions. The Aesir trick Fenrir into being bound, Tyr offers his hand in recompense, and Fenrir rages.

While in a previous post I noted the consequence and fairness of Tyr losing his hand in order to bind Fenrir, we can’t overlook the trickery in the first place. Fenrir was only viewed as a threat because Odin had visioned it, but in turn trying to prevent Fenrir from becoming a foe Odin seals his fate by tricking Fenrir into being bound.

Maybe it’s just the 3 am thoughts, but Tyr and Fenrir feel like two sides of the social contract conundrum.

[broomsick]

Thank you so much for the tag! Let’s all work to make a welcoming and warm community for norse pagans! (^-^)

See what I did there with the emote?

Hey there! This is kind of a weird ask, sorry. (⁠‘⁠～⁠`⁠;⁠)

My Norse pagan friend is having a hard time find nicer people in the Tumblr community. I'm not sure what it is, but they seem to run into a lot of highly critical people who are constantly "correcting" their devotional posts and historical claims. My friend constantly links their sources (which are historically attested and often from historians directly), so I'm not sure why these people are constantly feeling the need to argue (my friend speaks with a very kind tone and is harmless about it; I know it sounds like I'm bullshitting, but I promise you, it makes no sense how these random people keep finding them). Do you know what circles of Norse pagan Tumblr are the best to be in? Do you have any blogs you'd maybe recommend my friend check out? I'm really concerned for them, but I'm not a Norse pagan myself and don't really know how to help. (⁠٥⁠↼⁠_⁠↼⁠)

Thank you in advance! Have a lovely day or night. (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

Firstly: I love your emotes--so cute!

Secondly: I'm sorry your friend's been having that experience. In my opinion, correcting another person's relationship with the divine is so bizarre, intrusive, and arrogant. (I'm glad your friend has someone like you in their corner to help offset that negativity!)

As for blogs to follow, I've had the good fortune to find many excellent and inclusive Norse pagan blogs operated by kind and talented people. I will undoubtedly leave some out by accident, but a few blogs I frequently visit are:

@broomsick

@skaldish

@poeticnorth

@jackalopewitch

@bowldrips

@whiskeyterrafoxtrot