Hearthside

I was rabbit-holing a bit lately on what deities are associated with Yule, and Winter, and the Dark Time. Holda, Ska ð i, Ullr, Odin, Frigg, Thor… perhaps Freyr? Sol? Baldr? … Hel?! We right away stumble across the same issue I addressed with Skaði, is Hel worshipful? Hel does not seem to be named among the Asynjur, although many modern heathens seem to place her among them anyways. This doesn’t necessarily mean she was not worshipped or at least appeased by the elder heathens.  In the Lore, Odin does not let Hel remain among the Æsir, but the gods are not afraid of her in the same way as her brothers. She is given Helheim as her own realm to rule over, so it seems the gods respected her even if they considered her “other.” They even try to negotiate with her for the return of Baldr, and she makes them a deal, even if it is not one they are able to collect on.  Some scholars think she is more of a personification of the grave, than a deity, much in the same way that Sol and Ma...

Tonight is Mother’s Night, or at least it is when I celebrate it within my hearth. Bede recorded it as being the Eve of December 25th, or Christmas Eve. However, it likely shifted to that date after the introduction of Christianity. Some modern heathens celebrate Mother’s Night on the Eve of the Winter Solstice, and some celebrate it on December 24th. Others don’t celebrate it at all. So what is Mother’s Night? It is the celebration of the female ancestors, or Disir. It is similar to, or may be the same celebration as Disting of Disablot, which doesn’t seem to have a set date in the sources. Some modern heathens celebrate both separately, with Disting usually falling somewhere between January 31st and mid-February. Others celebrate one or the other, and some celebrate neither. The truth is modern heathens don’t really agree much on what holidays to celebrate other than the major 3: Sigrblot, Winter Nights, and Yule. (And often with the addition of a 4th at Midsummer.) It is up to the t...