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this will be the year I finally convince everyone to abandon New Year's resolutions in favour of Yule Boasting, the clearly superior tradition

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The darkest nights are over. May your new year be filled with guiding light and good stories.

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May your longest night be filled with treasure

[prints] 

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Yule Goat is here to greet you and wish you a merry solstice, may your winter festivities be joyous and safe ✨

[prints available here]

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Glad and Blessed Yule!

Glad and Blessed Yule, folks! May the Ginnreginn (Gods, Ancestor, and vættir) bless you and your loved ones with health, wisdom, and wholeness.

Ves þú heil!

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I've been really slack with my worship recently, so here's a reminder that you don't need to actively worship every day of the week! the gods will understand if you can't do much for them for a while

don't beat yourself up over it

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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.

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A Heathen Prepping -Short-Term SHTF and Long-Term Prep

The thing about prepping is that you can only do so much of it for SHTF scenarios in the long term. Even with freeze-dried prepackaged meals purported to last 25 years, in a SHTF scenario over a long enough time, these will get eaten too. Once we are out of an initial SHTF scenario or convergent crises, what happens next? Once you have your SHTF prep goals met, long-term planning needs to be a…

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The Galloway Hoard: Viking-Age Treasures Embark on International Tour

The Galloway Hoard, will open at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide on 8 February 2025 and run until 27 July 2025. This marks the first time that artifacts from the hoard will be displayed outside the United Kingdom.

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Some thoughts on the topic of cultural exchange, open practices and closed practices:

A ton of (English speaking) videos about the Swedish cake prinsesstårta has been popping up on YouTube lately.

The only problem with this is that many of the videos aren't making a prinsesstårta, despite claiming to do so.

Since the people in the videos aren't familiar with Swedish cuisine, they don't understand what makes the prinsesstårta unique.

They assume that the shape, colour and filling are the defining features. And that's how they end up with a cake that Swedes wouldn't recognize as a prinsesstårta.

You see, the fillings used in prinsesstårta is used in other Swedish cakes.

And prinsesstårtor aren't always green and round (even though that's the most common design).

What sets the prinsesstårta apart from other Swedish cakes is the use of marzipan, combined with a generous amount of whipped cream. That's what Swedish people expect from a prinsesstårta.

But the people in the videos don't realise this, so they use green fondant instead of marzipan. Because it looks neater. Because it's easier to work with. Because they don't like marzipan. Etc etc etc.

The issue isn't that they're adapting recipes to fit their needs.

But the fact that the majority of the English speaking videos about prinsesstårta is using fondant is a problem.

Because the marzipan is the whole point of the prinsesstårta. That's what gives it the right flavour.

Without marzipan, it's not a prinsesstårta. It's just a cake with fondant.

And the reason I brought this up is because I think it gives us a clear example of why you need to have a deeper understanding of the culture behind a practice to be able to change the practice in a way that makes sense.

Changing a practice or a tradition to fit your needs isn't bad. But taking a practice from a culture that you're not part of, and then changing it in a way that makes it unrecognisable to the people from that culture defeats the purpose of borrowing the tradition in the first place.

To quote my Lebanese friend:

"Using chickpeas to make a chocolate dip is fine, but why do they insist on calling it hummus?"

Going "ooh I looove the thing you've created, let me just change this and this and this and this and this...." is kind of insulting, y'know.

And while people misunderstanding traditional cuisines isn't a huge issue (imo), misrepresenting more intricate parts of a culture could cause a lot of damage very quickly. Especially if you're an English speaking person posting about it online. Because your posts about it will be read by more people.

Some years ago, I started learning a language that is kind of unknown to people outside of that specific cultural sphere. I really enjoyed learning about their culture and traditions, and they enjoyed telling me about it too. But I soon realized that this wasn't something that I could share with people who weren't already familiar with the culture. Because no matter how hard I tried to present things in a correct way, people almost always ended up remembering only the things that confirmed their preconceived notions about that culture.

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Nazis will never be welcome in paganism. They have no space in our communities, we will have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to nazis. You have no right to the cultures, gods and religions you hijack to spread your disgusting ideologies. You will find no refuge or comraderie amongst pagans.

Reblog to let nazis know they’re not welcome here.

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Crooked and far | is the road to a foe,

Though his house on the highway be;

But wide and straight | is the way to a friend,

Though far away he fare.

Hávamál - The Sayings of Hár, stanza 34

Hail Óðinn ❤️

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Poll: What got you into Heathenry/Asatru/Norse Paganism?

Or if you consider yourself eclectic, what drew you to venerating the Norse gods.

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I was wearing this chap yesterday when I got a phone call about getting the laser treatment for my posterior capsular opacification which is particularly bad in my left eye. The funds have been sorted (thanks dad) to get this done privately as the NHS waiting list is about 40 weeks. So turns out next Wodensday I'll be having laser treatment on my left eye. Lots of interesting symbology for me...

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🤔 Deny, Defend, Depose could be a powerful runic charm.

ᛏᛁᚾᛁ᛬ᛏᛁᚠᛏ᛬ᛏᛁᛒᚢᛌ

ᛏᛁᚾᛁ᛬ᛏᛁᚠᚾᛏ᛬ᛏᛁᛒᚢᛌ

ᛏᛁᚾᛁ᛬ᛏᛁᚠᚾᛏ᛬ᛏᛁᛈᛟᛊ

ᛏᛏᛏ

"Victory runes you must know if you will have victory, and carve them on the sword's hilt, some on the grasp and some on the inlay, and name Týr twice."

-Sigrdrífumál

*ᛞ could also be used instead of ᛏ. There's so many ways to represent the words with runes 💖.

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A Winter’s Prayer to Freyja

Freyja, Lady of warmth and gold,

In winter’s grasp, our hearts grow cold.

Beneath the frost, your light still gleams,

A beacon bright through frozen dreams.

Mistress of love, of hearth and flame,

We call upon your sacred name.

Wrap us in cloaks of your embrace,

And bless the weary with your grace.

Through snowbound nights and winds that bite,

Grant us courage, grant us light.

Let laughter rise and fires burn,

Until the sun and spring return.

For those who wander, lost and low,

Guide their steps through ice and snow.

For hearts that ache, for hands that freeze,

Bring peace and solace on the breeze.

O Freyja, Wild and fierce,

yet kind,In winter’s chill, your gifts we find

—A hearth, a home, a love’s embrace,

A promise of the sun’s sweet face.

Bless us now, through winter’s hold,

With strength as bright as your necklace of gold.

Hail to Freyja, through frost and storm,

Your blessings keep our spirits warm.

So may it be, this winter’s night,

That all find warmth in your radiant light.

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Prayer to Skaði on a Chilly Morning

Resharing a prayer I wrote to Skaði. As we just had our first snowfall of the year yesterday, and I can still see snow gently blowing on the wind today, it felt right x0x

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We praise you, Skaði, as the leaves of autumn relinquish their gold. We praise you, Huntress, and the skillful arrows you draw. We revere you, Skiing Lady, and your noble deeds manifold.

We honor you, Skaði, Avenging Jøtun Goddess of old. We honor you, Mountain Guardian, as the bitter winds gnaw. We celebrate you, Thiazi's Kin, enacter of justice and intentions bold.

We thank you, Skaði, when we find respite from the cold. We thank you, Winter Warrior, as the frosts of blizzards thaw. We hail you, Wife of the Sea-God Njord, He who is fair-soled.

May we be guided by your courage, you valor, and skill, May we find solace and warmth through this dark season’s chill.

Hail Skaði!