tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56556252011-04-21T22:00:22.606-04:00Modern HeathenA Dash of Absinthe From the Mead Horn.Marinanoreply@blogger.comBlogger531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1127055523598247702005-09-18T10:57:00.000-04:002005-09-18T10:58:43.603-04:00Scandinavian Folklore page on Wikimirror.Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1120575542994306022005-07-05T10:55:00.000-04:002005-07-05T10:59:03.000-04:00Midsummer folklore
A big part of my practice includes being aware of local folklore. I am not a Heathen living in tenth century Iceland, but a Heathen living in twenty-first century New England. Doesn't matter if I read it in a book if that's not what the local wights are doing.
Of course, sometimes you have no local custom to go on and you have to go by what you read or what you intuit. But Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1118592126131067582005-06-12T12:01:00.000-04:002005-06-12T12:02:06.136-04:00Science vs. Religion
A cartoon for our times.Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1115304617814830852005-05-05T10:48:00.000-04:002005-05-05T10:50:17.820-04:00Walpurgisnacht
May 1 marks the final victory of Spring over Winter, but before departing, the witches and their cohorts have one last fling. The night from April 30 to May 1 is called "Walpurgisnacht", the night of Walpurgis or Walpurga. The festival is marked by numerous rituals to ward off evil. Legend has it that on Walpurgisnacht the witches would gather on the Brocken, the highest peak in Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1109949414345834612005-03-04T10:15:00.000-05:002005-03-04T10:16:54.346-05:00Sensuality and the Nude in Memorial Art
The females who cast their face into the wind as ship's figureheads, the "Flying Ladies" of classic automobiles, the women adorning WWII bombers and fighters and the beautiful ladies of the cemetery all serve a similar purpose. Each escorts a passage or a transition into the unknown, offering comfort in the face of mortality and a promise of rebirth, Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1107708193760496112005-02-06T11:42:00.000-05:002005-02-06T11:45:26.700-05:00Finland receives first PhD in trolls
Finland has received what appears to be the first doctoral dissertation on traditional forest trolls. Master of Philosophy Camilla Asplund Ingemark, 30, has researched the subject for six years. She will defend her doctoral dissertation, which is classified as a work on folklore, at the Åbo Akademi University in Turku on Friday. The study describes the Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1105723584277806212005-01-14T13:23:00.000-05:002005-01-14T12:26:24.276-05:00Way of Wyrd
The Way of Wyrd is back in print. The author's website is here. Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1103560684383683082004-12-20T11:29:00.000-05:002004-12-20T11:39:02.503-05:00I Kinda Suck
Did a terrible job following through on last year's Yule boasts. In all fairness, life got really weird and difficult through the latter half of the year, so I'm less distressed than I would normally be. But still, I suck.
Let's review. My boasts were as follows,
I will exercise regularly. Bwah! Didn't happen! I still want and need to do this though.
I will learn to knit.Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1098810559349290662004-10-26T13:00:00.000-04:002004-10-26T13:09:19.350-04:00I don't believe I'm doing this.
I've almost not quite made up my mind to attend a local Samhain ritual. I'm got a really strong urge to participate in ritual in other people. Also, I won't know anyone there and I'd like to expand my social circle a bit. It sure beats the bar scene.
Actually, somewhat unusually for a Heathen, I like participating in ecumenical Pagan events. I started out Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1097469876847038822004-10-11T01:37:00.000-04:002004-10-11T00:44:36.846-04:00Hi all
Look at who hasn't updated in way too long. (coughs)
My knitting is progressing. I've now made various scarves, an afghan sample and coasters.
I had the great pleasure of going to a local Wool Festival the other day. I bought some handspun, hand-dyed yarn and am now obsessed with a) learning how to spin and b) becoming sufficiently proficient at sock-making that I can do the Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1097471123404636742004-10-11T01:02:00.000-04:002004-10-11T01:05:23.403-04:00I forgot to tell you the best part...
Okay, I mentioned going to a local wool festival. Not only did I meet the nicest group of women that spin, but quite a few of them run (very small) local farms and some of them apparently harvest and sell local honey.
The prospect of learning to spin and making mead from local honey and having those two things intertwined just makes my little Heathen Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1088785760320437692004-07-02T12:18:00.000-04:002004-07-02T12:38:55.733-04:00On Being A Modern Heathen
The best thing that Asatruars could do would be to get over the idea that we're the direct inheriters of the "the Northern Way".
We're Reconstructionists. It's a perfectly honorable thing to be, and better yet, it's an accurate way of describing who we are.
We study, we learn, and sometimes we intuit. Some people are better at this than others, or at least Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1088532858120695972004-06-29T14:04:00.000-04:002004-06-29T14:14:18.120-04:00The Nine Herbs' Charm
Just doing some looking around.
Original text and facing translation from Beowulf in Cyberspace.
The translation from Leechdoms, Wortcunning and Starcraft of Early England, reproduced here at Habitat a online blog dealing with environmental news in the UK. Interesting that they include the NHC on their site, no?
Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1088518819600452542004-06-29T10:10:00.000-04:002004-06-29T10:20:19.600-04:00Yes!
I put the purling aside. Instead, I'm knitting the first project in the Stich'n Bitch book, a very simple scarf, just garter stitch, good practice for color changes.
The book has good basic instructions, I think I'm ready to try purling again with the next project.
I recently read Runes of Elfland and I was pretty disappointed. I was anticipating pretty faerie pictures, with some Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1086276787794683132004-06-03T11:29:00.000-04:002004-06-03T11:33:07.793-04:00Remember how I said I was going to learn how to knit? Well, I have knitting down. But the purling, oh the purling she makes me weep.
I just ordered this book. Let's hope it helps.
Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1084829152125914252004-05-17T17:17:00.000-04:002004-05-17T17:25:52.126-04:00Swedish Lake Monster
This is an article on the Swedish lake monster, Storsjöodjuret . On the surface, it looks like little more than a big fish story, but I thought this bit was intriguing:
The legendary creature, Storsjöodjuret, has fascinated people for hundreds of years. The phenomenon has made a deep impression on the people around the lake and there are a number of people who don´tMarinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1080571213767069022004-03-29T09:50:00.000-05:002004-03-29T09:51:41.246-05:00Repeat after me, "I'm so glad I'm not a Wiccan
Right now, I'm participating in a discussion on spellwork. It's on occasions like these that I can't help but view Wicca and Wicca-based Paganism as hopelessly superstitious.
Quite a few Wiccans view spellwork as dangerous for the poorly prepared, they fret over people who do spells without thinking things through or don't have the correct Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1080443111214112252004-03-27T22:05:00.000-05:002004-03-29T09:33:25.653-05:00Raven's Ring Pin
I was reading the latest Llewelly catalog (masochism on my part) and ran across this book description,
"Portal to an Ancient Norse World of Magic and Danger"
"Fifteen-year-old Samuel...decides to explore the creaky old attic. There he finds a ring pin engraved with weird symbols...The ring pin has mysterious powers that allow Samuel to communicate with Rag and Thokk, the Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1079902065818600132004-03-21T15:47:00.000-05:002004-03-21T15:50:51.686-05:00Ostara and Other Stuff
Did a little Ostara blot last night. A big part of it was taking my altar apart and putting it back together. Every time I look at the new set-up it gives me a lift, so I probably did something to energize the ond in the room. (The Nordic equivalent of chi, prana, etc.)
I asked for strength and aid. I feel dreadfully sluggish and tired. I think it's winter, I think Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1078242096630549572004-03-02T10:41:00.000-05:002004-03-02T10:45:43.403-05:00More Books
The early medieval section of David Brown Book Company.
Of particular interest to me, Glass Beads From Anglo-Saxon Graves.Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1077891738624428982004-02-27T09:22:00.000-05:002004-02-27T09:33:14.043-05:00Thoughts for the season.
An Ostara meditation that I wrote is here. I used to take it for granted, but these days I'm feeling my way through the notion of what's called pathworking or guided meditation, which tends to be the lighter version of shamanic style journeying. The lighter versions of it are very common in Neo-Pagan circles, while Asatruars usually don't do it unless they're doing theMarinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1077891702167911962004-02-27T09:21:00.000-05:002004-02-27T09:26:10.200-05:00From Angels To Aliens
Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the Left Behind series are but the latest manifestations of American teenagers' longstanding fascination with the supernatural and the paranormal. In this groundbreaking book, Lynn Schofield Clark explores the implications of this fascination for contemporary religious and spiritual practices. Relying on stories gleaned from Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1077809204687312302004-02-26T10:26:00.000-05:002004-02-26T10:28:47.670-05:00Work Being Done on Boasts for the New Year
As you recall, I made a number of boasts. Some of them I'm doing better at than others. But currently I'm doing the following:
I will learn to knit. (I'm going to the knitting store for a lesson this Saturday, woo hoo!)
I will aim to bake at least once a month. I'm making a sour cream and chocolate cake this weekend.
I will become more Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1077152731066138692004-02-18T20:05:00.000-05:002004-02-18T20:07:26.653-05:00Ideas All In A Jumble
I have a completely mad idea for a project, I want to make a blanket with a design based on the most famous Gotland Runestone. Surely I'm not in my right mind for even considering this, but for some reason I just can't step away. "I'm only happy when it's complicated..."
It's snowing today. One final "Hail Skadhi!" for the season.
I have been listening to a lot of Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1076554501006692862004-02-11T21:55:00.000-05:002004-02-11T21:56:48.950-05:00Archaeologists Display Saxon Artifacts
Read about it here and here. Isn't that blue glass luverly?Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1076523645689257392004-02-11T13:20:00.000-05:002004-02-11T13:22:33.733-05:00Way To Get My Attention
I was deleting spam out of my Inbox when I saw the following title:
"hailstorm loki"
I have to admit, the title DID get me to open the message, even though I could tell by looking at it that it was clearly spam.
Of course, it was just the usual garbage about "muti-orghasmic" and "Get stipff as a roxck!". Dunno what I was expecting, "hang it like Thor's Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1076463557278673342004-02-10T20:39:00.000-05:002004-02-10T20:41:18.796-05:00Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess
I can't decide whether this book looks intriguing or completely wack.
"Based on the first part of the 13th-century Icelandic Volsunga saga, this searing novel...combines a gory and incestuous revenge story with a futuristic premise that recalls The Island of Doctor Moreau."
"Two warring human gangs have dominated the city for years, and now attempt to Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1075591058763607402004-01-31T18:17:00.000-05:002004-01-31T18:19:15.996-05:00Historic Tale Construction Kit
"The Historic Tale Construction Kit is based on the tapestry of the Bayeaux, a masterpiece of the Middle Ages...You can create your own stories...with rich text and many categorized figures...It is like writing your very own comic strip."
Basically, you can use the tools at this website create new scenes using images based on the Bayeaux tapestry, add your ownMarinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1073241034792828642004-01-04T13:30:00.000-05:002004-01-31T18:05:31.936-05:00Boasts for the New Year
I will exercise regularly. (This means at least three times a week.)
I will learn to knit. (I have asked about lessons at the local yarn shop, and they sound like good folks.)
I will further develop my beadwork and take it to the next level. (Do more practice projects, work daily/near-daily on the projects that are current, start documenting my stuff with Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1072501621133464482003-12-27T00:07:00.000-05:002003-12-27T00:08:03.076-05:00Post-Modern Yule
Me: Hon? While you're mixing up the martinis, set some aside so I can make an offering.
The Spousal Unit: Spirits like martinis?
Me: I think they appreciate being included. "I'll have whatever you're having."
If I'm actually running an event, I make an effort to make the offerings more mainstream. Or, if I'm offering to a specific deity, I'll give some thought to Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1071496814897310852003-12-15T09:00:00.000-05:002003-12-15T09:08:44.233-05:00Fear
It's not something most people can see, but I suffer greatly from anxiety. Horribly so. I discount my own talents and abilities. I rehearse "what ifs". I fear poverty. I fear illness. I fear new undertakings. I cross my bridges before I come to them, and I've spent many a night lying awake, heart pounding, mind racing, over things that have turned out to be trifles. Or at least not Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1071158082591809272003-12-11T10:54:00.000-05:002003-12-11T10:55:29.293-05:00Heh
Some days you just can't get ahead. This cartoon sent to me by a friend sent me clearly illustrates that.Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1068959706875528172003-11-16T00:15:00.000-05:002003-11-16T00:43:39.780-05:00Hail the Einherjar!
I blotted to honor the Einherjar this past week. I had trouble finding the appropriate statues to put on my altar (wanted to put on both my Odin and my Freya), but I finally settled for my Valkyrie statue. It seemed appropriate somehow. I'm not and never will be numbered among those who have served in that way, but I know what it means to welcome someone home and give themMarinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1066873394053330252003-10-22T21:43:00.000-04:002003-10-28T21:19:57.560-05:00Make Your Own Trolls
Patterns for troll dolls. You can even make a troll fanny pack or a troll bag. I feel strange about trolls this...whimsical though. Sort of like those Neo-Pagans that insist on seeing faeries as being twittery little creatures.
Can I still be a Heathen and enjoy cute trolls? What about the Moomins? Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1066597306060197412003-10-19T17:01:00.000-04:002003-10-28T20:42:50.246-05:00Random Cornstalks
Decorative cornstalk bundles are now being offered for sale in my region and I'm not sure what to feel about that.
The first time I ever saw cornstalk bundles as a harvest decoration was when I moved out to western Massachusetts. Western Massachusetts is full of little farms, many of which grow corn. There, cornstalk bundles really are a harvest decoration. You see them Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1065923717941536062003-10-11T21:55:00.000-04:002003-10-11T21:55:18.116-04:00This and That
I've finished my jewelry project and started a new one. This one's going to be a beauty with two types of amber, real silver bits and a lovely art bead that was made for the amber. I need to post some of my jewelry projects...
I blotted Tyr and it was good. I tend to get easily out of touch with Tyr so that was very balancing, much more so than when I honor a God with whom I Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1065374492909772112003-10-05T13:21:00.000-04:002003-10-05T13:21:32.816-04:00I've gone slightly mad...
But it's all good. I'm reworking a jewelry project, and I'm currently drunk with the textures and colors of the beads I'm working with. Pearls, amber, swarovski crystals, Precious Metal Clay, it's all lovely and fine.
Color and hue and light murmur and sigh to me. I can be glamoured in a bead store or a fabric store or while looking at paints. I want to learn whatMarinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1064717419498429602003-09-27T22:50:00.000-04:002003-09-28T11:15:00.300-04:00Viking Heritage Magazine
Wow, what a cool magazine and website from Sweden. They're about to publish an article on Viking beads which is how I heard of them. Their site includes a searchable database, an image bank, maps, and other good stuff.
They have games on their website too. Meadshock, where you have to serve the Vikings mead. The Vikings get angry and smash the tables when the meadMarinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1064692531296723072003-09-27T15:55:00.000-04:002003-09-27T21:58:02.573-04:00Byzantine in the Extreme
I don't want to go into any details, because they're fundamentally unimportant. But, I came in on the tail end of a discussion on modern Asatru politics that would make your head spin.
How do we manage to have a smaller community and more politics of all varieties than anyone else?
I hate the Asatru community. There, I said it. I really do. We chew up and spit Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1064345889570097092003-09-23T15:38:00.000-04:002003-09-23T15:44:30.910-04:00My favorite depictions of ritual (not necessarily Pagan or Heathen) in movies.
The Wicker Man. I saw the Wicker Man first as a baby Wiccan, and it's not an exageration for me to say that this admittedly uneven movie opened my mind to imagine the joy and celebration that could be present in a heathen society. This seems so naive looking back now, but none the less this movie really had a Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1063754134142558372003-09-16T19:15:00.000-04:002003-09-16T19:19:38.280-04:00Eye Candy
Just for the fun of it, Jeff de Boer's work.
I want one for my very own.
Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1063330117448380862003-09-11T21:28:00.000-04:002003-09-11T21:28:44.883-04:00The 9/11 Memorial Cyber-Temple
Cyber TempleMarinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1062723691382968602003-09-04T21:01:00.000-04:002003-09-04T21:02:30.386-04:00I'm all ranty today.
I was browsing in another local Neo-Pagan forum. The subject of "are the Gods real?" came up. A local medium-sized fish in a small pond was quoted to the effect that he doesn't believe or worship in Gods or Goddesses, and people who admire him appear troubled by the the prospect that they actually want some sort of religious experience, but this local Pagan Leader doesn'tMarinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1062385469752864262003-08-31T23:04:00.000-04:002003-08-31T23:10:51.823-04:00My weird dream...
The other night I dreamed I did several people a big favor and they completely screwed me over. I was giving a bunch of very sleazy Neo-Pagans a ride in my car and the bastards carjacked me. They kicked me out of my car and left me on a rural highway that looked rather like I-95 in the Carolinas.
The only thing left to me were the clothes on my back, and a wand. I was Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1062024245733840442003-08-27T18:44:00.000-04:002003-08-27T18:53:06.623-04:00If I could be Huginn...
I know someone who has just discovered Heathenism at the same time she's become rather disenchanted with Neo-Paganism. I don't really care for Neo-Pagan fluffies, but the problem is people who are IDIOTS, not people that are Neo-Pagan.
I can't light on her shoulder and whisper that in her ear, she's not at the right place to hear me.
I wouldn't have been in the Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1061949384758499352003-08-26T21:56:00.000-04:002003-08-27T19:03:33.706-04:00The Phenomenon of Thingie Composed of Whosie and Whatsit
I just received through email one of the throughly incomprehensible essays that seem to circulate in the Recon and Psuedo-Recon Pagan community. These result when the author is intent on creating or describing some sort of reasonably common and described esoteric phenomenon while using obscure terms from the choosen tongue and a Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1061569860729100282003-08-22T12:31:00.000-04:002003-08-27T19:05:04.830-04:00Nice drinking horn pic.
"This book presents the carved decorations on the 37 surviving Icelandic drinking horns from ca. 1400 to the end of the 17th century. The that the decoration is carved distinguishes the Icelandic drinking horns from those of the other Scandinavian countries; the carving on the horns is a part of Iceland's rich heritage of minor art-work on horn, bone and walrus ivory. Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1060894337636678552003-08-14T16:52:00.000-04:002003-08-19T20:06:39.143-04:00Folks at the Cauldron turned me on to the funniest link.Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1060651065000438792003-08-11T21:17:00.000-04:002003-08-27T19:03:13.530-04:00Viking Models Strut Catwalk in Denmark
That catch your attention or what? It's the work of the Lejre Experimental Centre, where they take re-enactment in the service of education and archeology to a high art.
My favorite line from the article,
In the Bronze Age, women coveted a tight-fitting woolen shirt with a cinched waist. In the Iron Age, fashion changed to a more loose fit, with Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1060447247375546762003-08-09T12:40:00.000-04:002003-08-27T19:02:59.433-04:00On being a political Heathen
I was thinking the other night that I have certain strongly held political beliefs that aren't really...supported by my Heathen beliefs per se, but they give them a context, if you follow that distinction.
For example, I'm a very strong pro-choice advocate, pro-sexual health and education advocate. I would never say directly "Freya wants me to be pro-choice" or Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1060446719259879622003-08-09T12:31:00.000-04:002003-08-27T19:02:39.056-04:00Oh, I'm so scared. (snicker)
Someone purports to have "warlocked" members of the online forum of which I'm a part. Whether you call it "warlocking" or in Heathen terms "wolf's heading", "setting someone wretched" or what have you, it's all the same old bullshit. It's typically done for no better reason than someone's ickle feelings are smarting or their authority was questioned. Wha!Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1060349703710747482003-08-08T09:35:00.000-04:002003-08-27T19:02:19.866-04:00Runes of Elfland Part II
The spousal unit pointed out that while Brian Froud gets lumped in with the airy-fairie crowd, his work is actually surprisingly dark. The original Faeries conveys the danger of the Good Folk, it's all about folklore and menace and no matter what people have read into it, it's not about strawberries and crystals.
I'm absolutely not expecting the book to be Marinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5655625.post-1060263291904686432003-08-07T09:34:00.000-04:002003-08-27T19:02:06.176-04:00The Runes of Elfland
You wouldn't think someone would be able to airy-faerie the runes, but it looks like Brian Froud has given it a good try. This is from the book's editorial description:
In 24 never-before-seen paintings, best-selling fantasy artist Brian Froud interprets the ancient and mystical runes of Celtic and European origin through Elfland, a world of faeries and myth. EachMarinanoreply@blogger.com