Hearthside

One thing I have noticed is that beginner Heathens often have a vision of how their practice should be based on things they have seen online or in books, but it doesn't match what they are able to do at that moment in time. Instead of problem solving they get stuck and get frustrated. I have a few beginner Heathen hacks that have helped a surprising number of people. Today, I would like to share my hacks for altars. First of all, you don't need the big fancy altar. I know it is shiny, perhaps someday you will get there, but no one starts there. All you really need for an altar is a candle and a cup or bowl to hold a liquid offering. (Some people would argue you don't even need that much, but for the sake of this article we are going with my opinion.) A few other things that might be nice on you altar include: incense and an image or depiction of a deity, or of an ancestor.  Beginner Heathen Problem: I live with people who I am not comfortable knowing about my practice You ...

Happy Winter Nights, all. I have not been posting much lately, and I am working on some more complex posts that require more time and research, but I am not quite there yet. My day job recently changed and I am still settling into my new role. However, I do have a bunch of other ideas typed up, mostly edited, which I could stick on here whenever. (If I remembered.) The following is one of them. Hopefully, my schedule will even out a bit more soon, and I can spend the necessary time to get more complex content out as well. If you have been following along for awhile you may have a burning question about the deities I choose to examine in this blog. Why am I focusing on male deities so much if this is supposed to be a blog about female perspective? And the answer is (clap with me) I. Don't. Care. For. Your. Judgements.  But more seriously, this blog is a female perspective. As in I am female and I am giving you my perspective. And which deities I choose to talk about come at a whim, ...

Loki had been away from Asgard for some time. He had been with the Jötunn woman Angrboda. When he returned to Asgard to Odin's hall he had with him 3 children. There was Jormungandr, a great serpent. The gods saw him and were fearful. They cast him into the sea and there he grew ever longer until he wound his scaly body around the world. It was said that Jormungandr would defeat Thor at Ragnarok. The second child was Fenrir, a great Wolf. And again the gods had a foreboding, for they had heard that he would kill Odin at Ragnarok. Unlike Jormungandr, they wished to keep him close so they could keep an eye on him as he grew. But only Tyr was brave enough to go to him and be in his company. Only Tyr would bring him food and watch him tear the neat with his terrible teeth. The third child was a girl, Hel, who was beautiful and fair to look at until she turned her head, and then you saw into death. Odin felt pity for her, and was not as afraid of her as the other two. Still, he reasoned...

Depending on your background, you may be familiar with the omnis. (Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnibenevolence). Back when I was just an itty bitty pagan in college I first got introduced to these concepts in my 2nd year Philosophy course on Metaphysics. Now, my understanding from the content I have come across is that the omnis are a christian concept, or at least a monotheistic concept. That makes sense, because they really only fit into a monotheistic worldview. However, I really found building my understanding of the omnis helped me to understand my own worldview better and to express my thoughts about it.  So the basics, in case you aren’t familiar with these concepts: Omnipotence - The belief that gods are all powerful Omniscience - The belief that gods are all knowing Omnipresence - The belief that gods are all present (everywhere at once) Omnibenevolence - The belief that gods are all good In my philosophy course my professor posed the argument that god ...