Hearthside

So I have written about Land Taking rituals before, but something has been nagging at me for a while as an inclusive modern Heathen. The idea of Land “Taking” in Canada (and other countries with histories colonization by Europeans) is problematic in a post colonial sense, where the mantra is Landback. I am a supporter of the Landback movement, but I feel the name Land “Taking” is doing a disservice to the purpose of the ritual within the modern context. Other names can be used as well such as “circumambulation.” But what is the purpose of this ritual? Some sources seem to say it is to Hallow the land or make it sacred. This makes sense if you were land taking to create a Hof or Vé, but Land Taking was done to create homesteads as well. It was the creation of the enclosure. This is not the same type of enclosure as the Enclosure movement I talk about in my Forest Commons posts. Instead this enclosure was the land needed by a family for the purpose of subsistence. The land was for raisin...

Welcome back to my blog series on the Forest Commons of Northern Europe and how they can inform modern Heathen practice. My focus in this blog is on Canada and the wide-reaching effects of the Enclosure Movement on colonization here, and how to move past that in a sensitive and informed manner. If you are not from Canada (or other post-colonial places globally) this may not apply to you, but I encourage you to read on anyways as it will perhaps help to inform why Heathenry is different between Europe and other places. If you have not read my previous two posts Introducing the Forest Commons and then talking about the History of the Forest Commons , I would encourage you to check those out first to give you a basis of understanding for this post.  I am going to focus broadly on the Canadian landscape in this post, and then narrow to implications for Canadian Heathens in the next post, but I must still discuss the way modern Heathenry evolved differently in North America compared to...

  In the beginning, we came from the trees. Not the very beginning. This was after Ginnungagap and the formation of the rime. This was after Ymir emerged and Auðumbla licked Buri from the primordial ice. This was after Odin, Vili, and Ve tore Ymir apart to make the 9 worlds. There are many stories from around the world about humans descending from trees. This is the story of Ask and Embla. We are probably most familiar with the Icelandic version in which Ask and Embla (Ash and Elm) were driftwood found on the strand by Odin and his brothers. There is a continental version though, where Ask and Embla were found in a field. Then the gods gave Ask and Embla the qualities that made them into humans.  Trees are central to the Heathen story arc. Humans are often referred to using kennings involving trees in the Lore. We came from trees and to trees we return. Humanity survives Ragnarok because some of us hide in the roots of the World Tree. There it is… the World Tree, Yggdrasil. Th...

So I have not been posting any new entries lately, even though I have many in the works in various stages. Instead I have been going back through previous entries as I have time to make video versions for accessibility. I will link my YouTube channel below if that is easier to follow me that way if you are visually impaired or are trying to listen to content on your commute. I warn you I am not a very natural YouTube personality. I am also embedding all the video versions of the blogs right in the old entries. I may not be updating too much more for awhile now though. The next month I have some personal changes in my life and I may not have space to record video until the dust settles, or time. We will see. Anyways, I wanted to give you a new post at least before I disappear. This post is a  true story that I thought you might enjoy. You may know that I love hiking. I often have formed reciprocal bonds with Land Spirits in places where I frequent. One of these places is a trail in ...

Okay, I have been sitting on this one for quite some time because I just wasn't sure I was doing my best work with it, and I want to do it justice. That said, the issue is timely, so I am going to attempt to put it out there. I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Instagram if you have something to add or if you think I didn't quite get something right. Honouring the Land and building relationships with the landvaettir is an important part of heathen practice. The Book of Settlements provides examples of actual laws pertaining to the landvaettir, which emphasizes their importance.There are also numerous mentions of the landvaettir in the Prose Edda and multiple sages. It would seem on the surface level we should have some idea how to approach these beings with so many sources available to us, and we do, but there is room for improvement. Something I spend a lot of time thinking about in my personal practice is the correct way to honour the land in a somewhat traditional ...