Feast of the Disir

The Disir are the ancestral mothers, the first of each of our ancestral line. There are around 400 votive altars raised all over Europe dedicated to ancestral mothers. Freya is considered the 'Queen of the Disir' due to her fertility and magical qualities, but Frigga could very well fill this role.

A Time for Remembering

EVERGREENS decorate the home at this time of year. The Victorians used just about everything that was available: rosemary, bay laurel, holly, box, yew, and mistletoe, even bilberry. When all outside is brown and dead they are manifestations of the abiding life within the plant world.

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,…

Let’s Say Grace

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CHARLES LAMB, the gentlest and one of the best loved of our English writers, once wrote an essay on the subject of saying grace before (or after) a meal. The tradition is probably as old as our religion for it is really an expression of gratitude to our gods for the fruits of the earth and to the animals that provide us, often ungrateful and unthinking, humans with nourishment.

The Irminsul and the Externsteine: From Yggdrasil to the Irminsul

Over the years, beside the Thor's Hammer or the Valknut, the Irminsul has become one of the most important symbols among the northern tradition groups and followers. And, in some places - particularly in continental Europa, it has largely replaced the Thor Hammer itself.

THE SPIRIT OF ODIN

WE regard Odin as the most important of our gods. For this reason, whatever one thinks of when meditating or pondering on the gods and goddesses and their differing powers, each aspect of that power is part of the great Allfather.

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.

The Sources of Thor’s Power

THOR has been much loved of the common folk and much maligned by the scholars throughout the ages. We see evidence of his cult in the statuary relics of the German mercenaries of the Caesars. The late medieval Icelanders were renowned for their enthusiasm for this most accessible god of our pantheon, the people's friend; and the Eddaic scholars could not easily ignore him.

TRIUMPH OF THE RAGNAROK

Even amongst Odinists the subject of Ragnarok can lead to a cloud of melancholy. Like all myths it can be applied to our personal experiences but I want now to deal with its epic aspect and why rather than allow a feeling of gloom to descend on us we ought to see it as an affirmation of our being and our direct contact with our gods.

TYR – Father, Protector, Provider

TYR has often been misunderstood and even more often misrepresented. The Romans simplistically equated him with their god of war, mars. Consequently Tiw, as the Anglo-Saxons called him, has the honour of giving his name to Tuesday, but is otherwise neglected by many as being embarrassingly militaristic.

Uruz in Physical Use

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THE power or energy expressed in the Uruz rune can be used in everyday life in tasks requiring a prolonged use of physical strength, particularly if it is of a monotonous nature.

What’s In A Word?

'IN the beginning was the Word' , a statement found at the beginning of the Hebrew Bible, is a typical word-play used to subtly twist the truth. ' The Word ' is attributed to the god Jehovah, a wrathful and destructive demon, and so all of creation is attributed to the destroyer. In reality the statement has a far different meaning.