Hammerhof

Part Two: American Gods In the 1970s there was a revival of the “old ways” in Iceland, the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, and Australia (All places that people of Germanic ancestry ended up by the 20 th century). The cropped up pretty much independently of one another. This independent development meant that there was no basic structure, outline, or anything for what would become Asatru. From the get-go in the United States Heathenry was giving out mixed signals. There were neo-Nazi groups that built on the old Nazi stereotypes and there were some legitimate Heathens trying to make a difference. Stephen McNallen In 1976 the first legitimate Asatru organization emerged; the Asatru Free Assembly founded by Stephen McNallen. The AFA, formally the Viking Brotherhood, sought to make Asatru a legitimate religion. McNallen was not alone, Edred Thorson, James Chisholm, Michael J. Murray, along with all the other old faces in modern Asatru work together to make Asatru...

Introduction In this multi part series I want to give a brief history of Asatru in the United States from my perspective. American Asatru really got its start in the 1970s and it took decades to take root. I started on the True path in the early 1980s and have followed it thought to today. I am raising the two children in the Heathen ways, the first generation of true heathens who have not been Christianized first. I started writing this months ago. With the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the country and around the world, I have had to put my focus elsewhere. I have had very little time to write, but I hope all that will change. Thank you for you patience and I hope you all are well.  Part One: My History Me in 1987 I have been around the Asatru, Heathen, community going back to the early 1980s. In those days if you rediscovered yourself as Heathen you did not have a lot of options. In the 1980s, we called ourselves Odinists. As far as we knew there was no Heathe...

February 9th, is another day of remembrance, on our Asatru calendar. Today we honor Eyvind Kinnrifi who was tortured and killed, for no other reason than the ancestral faith of his Germanic Gods. Eyvind Kinnrifi was a farmer of noble birth and a leader in Trondheim, Norway. His only crime the love and devotion he wanted to freely show to the Gods and Goddesses that his ancestors honored and worshipped. His life taken from him for refusing baptism and for not accepting the mono - God of the Christians and his son the white Christ savior. Eyvind Kinnrifi was captured, tied to a table, and tortured to death in a most horrible of ways. A brazier filled with red - hot coals was placed on his stomach until his body, it is said, literally burst open. This unforgiveable act was perpetrated by that evil Christian King Olaf. Cattle die and kinsmen die, thyself eke soon wilt die; but fair fame will fade never, I ween, for him whom wins it . - Havamal

Whole may you be [Be well] earth, mother of men! May you be growing in God’s embrace, with food filled for the needs of men. For many heathens, this is the time of year where they honor and celebrate the Charming of the Plough or Disting one of the eight holy tides that comprise the Wheel of the Year. Many Heathens at this time of year are celebrating the Charming of the Plough. According to Bede’s De temporum ratione , the Anglo-Saxon month of February was known as Solmonad, and meant month of mud. Most likely mud month refers to the act of ploughing the fields. According to Bede, this was a time celebrated by people offering cakes to their Gods. Heathens today take inspiration from the Anglo-Saxon land ritual the Æcerbot to help form part of their celebrations. While the Æcerbot as it is recorded references Christian belief, many believers and scholars believe it was adapted from pre-Christian practices. The daylong ritual was intended to act as a means to restore fe...

What is mythology and why do we as Ásatrúar use the word to describe our religion? The word myth has come o represent a body of lies, a tall-tale like Paul Bunyan and his blue ox or Johnny Appleseed. This is not to say that myths are just stories devoid of any truth. Oral histories passed down for generations, long before they were written, tend to become exaggerated and a bit skewed over time (I think we have all played the telephone game as children.). This does not mean that they are any less valuable to the listener than the 100% truth. The ancient orators who told the histories to the people used poetry, artistic license, and other means in order to educate and entertain. The Eddas of Ásatrú were written in the 13th century by Christians. Based upon this they are corrupted with Christian influence and we must take that into account when using them. They are NOT an Ásatrú bible. The 13th century was not a time when Christians were kind to heathens and "devil" worshipe...

Frigga (Frih-gah) is the matron goddess of the home and of the mysteries of the married woman. She is the goddess of motherhood, fertility, love, marriage and housework. Particularly concerned with keeping social order. She is called on for blessings when women are giving birth and for help in matters of traditional women's crafts (spinning, weaving, cooking, sewing) and the magic worked thereby. Mothers who want to protect their children can also call on Frigga. In olden days, this was especially the case with sons going out to battle, for whom their mothers would weave or sew special protective items. Matron of good, strong marriage, childbirth and child rearing, as well as the various necessary crafts of the home- spinning is especially attributed to her care, hence the distaff/spindle are long-held symbols of the beloved Goddess from Heathen times. She is also a seeress, who knows the destiny and fate of all, although she seldom reveals it. While Freyja seems to enjoy the gr...

There are very few sources on the subject of Anglo-Saxon Heathenry. There few books, mostly by the same authors, and even few web sources. Although the Kindred Hall of Hammerhof is not truly an Anglo-Saxon Theod I thought it necessary to give a brief history and explanation of the practices of Anglo-Saxon Heathens.  Anglo-Saxon Heathenry is a modern religion based on the ancient heathen tribal religions of the Germanic tribes that moved into what is today known as England. In the 5th century after the Romans left Britain the tribes of the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons migrated from northern Europe to southern and eastern parts of the island. Their initial intent may have been plundering the island for its riches, but they soon began to settle on the island.  Anglo-Saxon Heathenry is a polytheistic religion, which is it has many Gods and Goddesses Anglo-and is closely related to the ancient Norse Heathen religion commonly known as Ásatrú. The ancient Anglo-Saxon heathen...