Hearthside

I have been on a bit of a hiatus because of the intensity of the course I have been taking. It was getting progressively more intense the past few months, but the last two weeks, my residency, was so intense I was barely sleeping and not eating very well. I was a pile of exhaustion after my final exams and final presentation. The residency really opened my eyes to ways we tell time. When we talk about History in the Montessori classroom it is steeped in Timelines and Mythology from various traditions. We start with the first Great Story. This is the story of the Big Bang and the creation of the Universe, right up until the point just before the first life appears on Earth. This was the time before time. The second Great Story is the story of Life, from the first single cell organism, right up until just before humans appear. This is still the time before time. Because humans created the construct of time. A day is the time it takes Earth to rotate on its axis and a year is the time it ...

I was recently talking about Spring traditions in Modern Heathenry with some other Heathens from different regions. One of them had a question about lunisolar reckoning and I stepped up to answer it, since that is what I use in my own practice. In the process it came out that I celebrate Sigrblót but not the Vernal Equinox. This prompted a question I was not prepared for, which was, “What do you celebrate instead of Ostara?” My mind did a slight cartwheel, “...instead of?” It didn’t seem to me that I required a replacement for this holiday to make my practice meaningful.  Let me be clear, I do recognize the Vernal Equinox as a scientifically significant date. I just don’t perform ritual around this date. Lots of Heathens do celebrate Ostara or some other incarnation of the Vernal Equinox, and that is perfectly fine too. I don’t expect anyone to copy my practice. I don’t have the answers any more than the next person. The important bit is that your practice is meaningful to you. Now...

What is Var, and what does it have to do with Heathenry? Is there such a thing as the season of Spring in modern and historical Heathen practice? I want to explore these questions a bit further with you. Some modern Heathens follow a sort of wheel of the year model for reckoning seasons and holidays, so this lends itself to a 4 season year. Other Heathens tend to follow a more historically based lunisolar model. The majority of scholars seem to think this year model had 2 seasons. However, there is some evidence of a possible third season, called Var, which coincides with the modern concept of Spring. Now, I personally see the Heathen year as divided into 2 seasons, Summer and Winter. However, I think there is value in exploring the idea of Var, its history, etymology, and modern practice.  The three part year is described in Andreas Zautner’s The Lunisolar Year of the Germanic Peoples as follows: "From the bronze age and the early La Tene period we already have the first hints o...