Ostara inspire us!

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By Asrad CG As the wheel of the year turns and the days grow longer and nights shorter our spirits start to lift. Without knowing darkness we cannot love the light and without experiencing the cold long nights of Winter we surely could not love the Spring and Summer as we do. Knowing and experiencing the harshness of winter means we make the most of the lighter nights and warmer days just as our folk have since the very beginning.

Myth Analysis: The Poetic Mead

By Hariulf OR For this article I will try to analyse the Myth of Odin and the Poetic Mead. I will focus particularly on the part where Odin goes in search of the Mead. I’m far from being a specialist on mythology but here are my thoughts…

Hyndluljoth (The Poem of Hyndla)

By Einar Randall AOR This is a myth I have never before really contemplated on. I will begin with a summary of the myth and then discuss my own views and interpretation.

Odinic Vision

By Shawn E AOR - ORBriefing 221 - Spring 2261 It has been accepted by many practitioners of Asatru, Heathenism, and Odinism that Odin, All Father of the Folk sacrificed his eye at some point in Mimir’s well. However, personally I have yet to find any evidence of this sacrifice for myself in the lore we generally accept as the Prose and Poetic Eddas... or logic. It is the intention of this article to explore what I have been able to find and share it.

An Understanding of the role of Loki in Odinic Mythology

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By Heimgest DCG
In the myths, the figure of Loki is present throughout the cycle and is only vanquished at Ragnarok. Viewing the myths on the level of our own personal evolution and self realisation, the Ragnarok is representative of our final overcoming of that which stands in our way to attaining that higher evolution, so we see that it is only by overcoming that “enemy” that we are successful in that.

Meditations on the Black Sun – Part 1

By Volksieg AOR The sole intention of this piece is to provide food for thought and, perhaps, to act as a launch pad for further discussion and exploration. None of the writings below should, of course, be considered “Holy Writ” or any such dogmatic nonsense but should be treated as they truly are: mere threads of thought collected as they became apparent. Therefore, I leave it up to you, dear reader, to ascribe any objective value of truth as is deemed necessary.

Getting to know your Fetch

By Volksieg AOR The Fetch, as many of you may know, is an entity who is with you, throughout all your incarnations, acting as a guide to greater spiritual development and, when the relationship between Odinist and Fetch is fully developed, it is entirely possible that it can act as a protector in this realm also.

Yggdrasil – Interconnections and Dependency

By Ulfhethnar Odinsen AOR The tree is a common motif in our sacred mythology as well as in that of various cultures world-wide. Yet nowhere does it seem to have left such an indelible mark as it has in the Nordic cultures of Europe. From the mighty ash tree Yggdrasil to our progenitors Askr and Embla, the Ash and Elm.

The Runic Era: Some History of the New Awakening

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By Heimgest DCG We receive many enquiries about OR practices and questions/misunderstandings about the Runic Era are not rare. Here then are the facts.

Winter Nights and the Healing of the Soul

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by Hyndla OR For the past 10 years, Donar’s Hearth and the Odinic Rite Vinland have hosted a Winter Night’s party that was open to the “public”. We have always combined the spiritual with the fun. We have the traditional games of…

Wights and Our Folkway

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by Juliegh Howard- Hobson AOR The care and keeping of landwight relations is underemphasized in the many writings on Northern European folkways. Yet, it is the wights, (disir, alfar, house wights, land wights, tompts) who actively strengthen—even more than our ancestors, and more than our gods--our vital link, our holy bond, to Nerthus, the earth, this place we occupy day and night until we leave.

Spirit: Instinct, Intellect and Emotion PART 1

By Tyrsegil Bloodketil

Spirit is the vitality of being, the essence of existence without which life would not be possible. Conversely, spirit cannot exist without matter, marking the reliance of the physical body and spirit upon one another as integral. In the purest Pan-Aryan spiritual systems the significance of the spirit comprises the core of sacred teachings from the Old Norse önd and odh (Germanic wod) to the Sanskrit prana and atman (Germanic athem) representing the Breath of Life and Self respectively.