Hammerhof

For some time know I have tried to build a lasting Heathen community. Although I have met a lot of wonderful people and for a while we had a strong group of folks, it just did not last. That seems to be the nature of Heathenry in a modern world where Christianity is the norm. By nature, Heathenry is tribal. In the days of the Ancestors the tribe stuck together out of necessity and loyalty. Today, we are scattered across the lands and often are forced to leave our tribe to seek work and prosperity elsewhere in the world. What remains is the family. In some cases, fractured families. I have been raising two children as heathens for nearly 21 years. My son will be 21 in a few weeks and my daughter is 9. Although both of them have been raised since birth as Heathens, they still have trepidations and fear about the ritual and practice. It’s a little like watch a flashback form life. My son is a lot like me when I was his age ad he is caught between Heathenry and Mr. Cool so he’s not sure

Seaxnēat or Saxnot is a sword god or war god of the Saxons. Seaxnēat’s name is usually interpreted as “sword-companion”, or more precisely “companion of the long knife”. We know that Seaxnēat is specifically a Saxon god, but we know little else about him. In two Old English king lists, Seaxnēat appears as the founder of the royal line of Essex as the son of Odin, with his name spelled Seaxnēat. There has been a lot of speculation about Seaxnēat. Since we know so little about this Saxon God. Scholars have suggested that he is Tyr or possibly Odin. However, he has been specifically mentioned alongside there two Gods. While others argue Seaxnēat is Freyr. Some credit Seaxnēat as the creator of the world and Lord of Yggdrasil. This would put him squarely in Odin’s seat, but because the written record is sparse at best, this is not likely true. However, Seaxnēat most likely held a high place with the Saxon tribes. As a Heathen I can assure you Seaxnēat is a God and not an archetype for

There are theories on this question – Who can practice Heathenry? The problem is that Heathenry is a broad term, much like Asatru, and it encompasses different brands of the same basic belief system. Heathenry is a term used to describe Germanic Neopaganism which is based upon Germanic paganism, the ethnic religion practiced by the Germanic peoples from the Iron Age until Christianization during the Middle Ages. Here are the key words we need to pay attention to. “ethnic religion”. In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. This is different from universalism in which anyone can join in and be a part. There are far more Heathens out there that believe that Heathenry is an ethnic religion than there are universalists. Most of them will not talk about this because they will be labeled racists by the rest of you who do not feel this way. Here is where I start losing friends. I do not believe in the universalist idea

One thing about living in a bubble for a decade is that when you come out, you are not jaded or tainted by all the events that happened. You have a perspective that can see both sides of the coin and be objective. Havamal 127 reads, "Wherever you know of harm regard that harm as your own; give your enemies no peace.", this was basis for Declaration 127. The declaration condemned the Asatru Folk Assembly’s stance on ethnicity, sexuality, and gender. Heathens around the world signed a petition condemning the AFA and their actions. The AFA stance has always been that Asatru is an ethnic religion that should be mainly practiced by those with a Northern European heritage. However, the AFA had not stated that Germanic heritage was a requirement. In the past the belief was that you should be of Germanic heritage, but it was not a requirement to practice Asatru. When I was involved with the AFA we had many debates on this topic. Most of us agreed that having Germanic heritage may

As I made my reemergence into the real world and back to communal Asatru. I went back to the old standards looking at The Troth and the Asatru Folk Assembly. These two organizations had always been the standard for nationwide Asatru, and before the internet and social media, these groups were how you found fellow Asatruar. A lot, can happen in a decade. When I looked at The Troth I saw all the old familiar faces. Not much had changed, at all, ever, since 1987. It looked like everything was exactly how I left it. Then I went to the AFA. I have to say I was shocked but not surprised. Given how the AFA had such right leaning politics, it was not a stretch for them to go “Alt-Right” or I like to say Nazi. What I discovered was that in my absences a lot has changed in the Asatru world. For one, there are a lot more Heathens out there than ever before and they seem to be well informed. Also, Heathenry is a lot more liberal than it ever was in the past. As a bunch of heathens, we were all

In Heathenry we often refer to our ancestors . Who are these ancestors and just whose ancestors are we refereeing to? Most of the time when a Heathen says my ancestors , they are referring to the ancient Germanic tribes or the Norse peoples or maybe the Vikings. Here is the problem with that, while yes if you are of Northern European ancestry you might have something relation to these ancient peoples, but are they your ancestors? Heathenry has an element of Ancestor Worship . Some would say that this is a major part of Heathenry that cannot be overlooked. That is because of the idea of wyrd and orlog of the idea that, we are our deeds and the deeds of our ancestors follow us just as our deeds will follow the generations to come. Honestly, this is real and true. There are actions my Grandfather took that follow me, thing I had no notion of until I was told by my mother. There are skills he had that I have an uncanny knack for, without any sort of training. He died when I was thr

Clive Barrett, Norse Tarot Once again, the big incorporated Asatru organizations have failed me, and others. Over the past three decades I have been a member, and sometimes more than once, of one of many national or worldwide Asatru organizations. Every time I do, I leave in frustration. This may lead you to ask, then why do you keep joining? Well, because as humans, I am told, we are social animals who need other humans to be social with. I guess this is true, because I keep trying to connect with other Heathens. Here are the issues with these big groups. First, they often charge a yearly fee that goes towards whatever they want and you as the member see little from the money collected by the organization. Second, unless you live in California, Texas, or in the same state the organization is headquartered you may never see an event or have any members within 100 miles. Heathenry is not common, and we are all over the place mostly going it alone. Third, communication. This goe