Wassail – A History, Ritual, and Recipe

The tradition of wassailing is old and very English. It took place in winter, usually sometime near the New Year or near Twelfth Night but the dates vary by region so there's really no one right night to wassail. It was and indeed is a folkloric custom that survived and persisted all the way into …

Blood Sacrifice

The blood is the least important part of a blood sacrifice. There is no inherent magic in the blood of an animal spilled for sacrifice. There is no inherent magic in the blood of anything spilled in sacrifice. Now that you’re listening and I have your interest piqued, because let’s face it that is not …

Climate-Change and Mythology

It is time we rethink our view of the myths of the North with the climate of the time in mind. For that matter, we should rethink the myths of Rome, Greece, Egypt and indeed Israel with the climate of the time as well.

Polytheism and Interpretatio

Something that comes up frequently in polytheist circles is how to tackle the issue of the nature of the gods when there is such a diversity of gods out there and yet upon examination many seem similar. Part of the discussion invariably turns to what is polytheism. Monism, otherwise sometimes called “soft” polytheism, is the …

Sibb-blot, a Blot for Sibb

This blot to Sibb is intended to be performed between September and February. It is a blot which was originally written to also be paired with the home-blessing ritual in such a way that the blot precedes the blessing of the house. I wrote this blot for Sibb in such a way that it encompassed …

Æcerbot – a Blot for Eorthe and a Field Remedy

This ritual is based on the Æcerbot, an ancient ritual from England that renewed the soil. This is based on about three different translations and so I unfortunately cannot piece together if I am pulling from Pollington or Wallis or someone else entirely. What I can tell you though is that this heavily Christianized and …

Get your Gehenna out of my Hell

Hell is not a Christian word. Hell is not a Christian place. The word Hell is derived from Germanic etymology and comes to our vocabulary through Old English.[i] And yet it is conflated to be the “bad place” for the Christians who speak English. Now it is not as though there is no “bad place” …

Home Blessing Ritual

This ritual is intended to be a home blessing as well as an invitation to form a relationship with a hearth god or goddess. I have known people who have utilized various goddesses for the role of hearth goddess so I am unwilling to place just one in the ritual so I leave it up …

Midsummer – Liþa

Midsummer, the summer solstice, the longest day and the shortest night of the whole year. For heathens, Midsummer is one of the most auspicious tides we can celebrate throughout the year. We follow a natural religion in many ways, one that concerns itself with the turning of the seasons and the flow of the year. …