A Woman’s Place

IT HAS been said that Norse paganism is very patriarchal, giving rule and stress to the male in society and worship involved which mostly deals with Odin, Thor, Balder, Frey, etc.... But many fail to realise that the goddesses of the Aesir and Vanir played an important part in the life and worship of the Scandinavian peoples.

Reinstituting the Sacred: Cycles and Resonance in Our Lives

A talk by Eowyn OR at the 2004 Great Moot Last year, we considered the importance of rites of passage in our lives and the way in which they align our whole being in accordance with Natural Law, thus enabling us to skilfully navigate our…

Gealdor/Mantra as an OR practice

In the early days of this new overt resurgence of our glorious religion, the use of gealdor was somewhat overlooked in Blotar and personal practice. In fact some treated it with suspicion. Of course the fact that most (if not all) blot included hailing the Gods can be seen as practicing a mantra without consciously realizing it; for in a way these can be seen as a simple mantra. However it was not generally perceived as such and runic gealdor was only practiced by a few.

The Mead of Inspiration

Mead is mentioned frequently in Odinic myths and other bodies of writing related to Odinism, and as we know (and sometimes enjoy), it is also in evidence at Odinist gatherings etc. Many Odinists brew their own mead and in many ways it would be a fair observation to say that mead drinking has become a part of Odinist practice in some instances.

Creation

Every spiritual culture has a Creation myth. The reason for the Creation myth is based upon the establishment of one's identity. As Odinists, Creation is central to establishing our Identity and understanding the beliefs and practices which stem from our ancestral lore.

Runes – The Materials and Methods Employed in Rune Making

One of the ways of becoming acquainted with the Runes is to make a set for yourself, and there are a variety of materials that can be used for this purpose.

Runes – A basic intro to the Runes

The Runes are, at their most basic level, as described here. However, just as you are a unique individual, their relationships with you are also unique. If you wish to explore these relationships and how you interact with each Rune, then you must explore the Runes, one at a time, and have no regard for other people's explanations.

Increased hearing through silence

An important part of the practices which advance us along this path, is training our mind to be focused, to ``listen`` to the inner wisdom of true intuition and not be directed outward only so that we chase external stimulus and react to these with random thoughts.

Rigsthula: Evolution Of Spiritual Awareness

Often it is noticed that scholars look at our ancient texts as dry pieces of literature that relates historical information without any feeling or spiritual introspection. This is true of the Rigsthula.

Rehabilitating the Fylfot

(First published in ORB No.93 - January 1990) ONE of the most venerable signs of our religion, one of the most universal symbols of mankind's spiritual aspirations, and yet one of the most passionately controversial, is undoubtedly the fylfot,…

The Oath – Magical and Psychological Considerations

When we are professed in the Odinic Rite we take an oath. Let us just reflect for a minute or two on the inner implications of this. As we all know, we can come across the kind of situation when we might make a promise that we cannot keep. This is part of the human condition. But an oath such as we take in the OR as a professed member is quite a different matter.

MAY LOKI BE BOUND – Part 1

Within the Odinist / Asatru community as a whole, there is often a rampant misunderstanding and false perception of Loki. At its worst some would claim to be on the ``Lokian path``, some offer blot to this force or pay honour. To be blunt the ignorance displayed in doing such is staggering and to compound it, such individuals invariably think they are actually very clever. They chase further ignorance believing it wisdom, but such is the nature of the Loki energy, it deludes.