ELVES ON THE SHELVES:
GNOMES and MISNOMERS
The Nature of the Germanic Hearth Cult
William P. Reaves © 2021

The Nature of Heathenry: Part 6

Ritual brings us into the living order of our Faith. Heathenry is made real through ritual. It’s what connects us to the divine order in a tangible way. The sacred order given by the Gods is not held only in belief, but acknowledged through rites that shape reality and life itself. Each type of ritual serves a specific religious purpose.

Blóts stand at the center, maintaining reciprocity between Gods and folk through offering and thanksgiving. A gift for a gift.

Veizlas provide structure and order the year; structuring time through the seasonal festivals.

Rites of passage mark the transitions of life: naming, coming of age, marriage, death, etc., placing each of us within the religious order of the family and community.

Hallowing and boundary rites, such as friðhelga and griðasetning establish peace-holy spaces and protection.

Purification rites prepare the folk and places to approach the sacred in a state of readiness and reverence.

Protective rites guard the folk, the land, and the household against harm, disorder, and misfortune.

Oath and vow rites bind words into sacred obligation, witnessed by the Gods and woven into fate.

Rites of restoration repair broken frith and make right what has fallen out of order.
Assemblies and sacred governance rites hallow law, judgment, and communal decision-making within divine order.

These rites show that Heathenry is neither occasional nor symbolic, but lived, performed, and maintained through ordered structure at every level of life, from the hearth to the holy seasons and from personal transitions to the fate of the folk.

Through ritual, the sacred order endures.

Through ritual, the Gods are honored rightly.

Through ritual, the faith remains alive.

Hail doers - so go forth and do.

~ Folcweard

My upcoming research article on the soul finished its peer review process, so I’m able to begin final edits. I’m hoping for a Spring release. Pretty excited about it; it’s the most thorough paper on the soul ever put out. It’s going to be a real game-changer.

~ Folcweard

Live now

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1GGqRk4Dbn/

Setting a Higher Standard:

How we present ourselves to the world reflects how we see ourselves and the ancestors who came before us. Set a higher standard. Don’t glorify degeneracy or thrall culture. Carry yourself with respect, discipline, and dignity.

The Nature of Heathenry: Part 7

Rituals place us in direct relationship with the divine order and therefore, is neither casual nor lackadaisical, but carries the weight of seriousness. The Gods are not approached through spontaneity, but through intention, preparation, and proper form. This is why our rites are structured, measured, and deliberate.

Ritual is an act that changes the state of things -

~ A hallowed space is no longer ordinary

~ A ritually-marked moment is no longer mundane

~ Ordered actions sanctify a gathering

~ Words become power when aligned with the divine pattern

Ritual is the means by which the unseen is made present.

Ritual demands attention: stillness, focus, discipline. When the horn is raised, when the offering is given, when words are spoken, we stand within a sacred moment that deserves our full presence.

Ritual is participation in the sacred order, so go, be doers and let’s start living the faith.

~ Folcweard

On our first episode of Heathen Perspectives, I interviewed a panel of women from across the heathen community to talk about the roles of women in heathenry and how we can bring more women and families into our culture.
Thank you to Alison, Hrafna, Awsmom, Saxa, and Moss for sharing your time, insight, and experience.

https://news.1rj.ru/str/GermanicFaith

According to the Lunar-Solar reckoning,

Yule is determined to be on the full moon after the new moon after the Winter solstice.

Winter Nights, the start of Winter, is three full moons prior and …

Sumarmál, the start of summer, is three full moons after.

… & Midsummer being three full moons after Sumarmál.

~ Folcweard

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

The Wild Hunt, known as Herlaþing among the Anglo-Saxons, Wilde Jagd across Germania, & Ásgarðsreið in Scandinavia, takes place following the Winter Sunstead. Wóden leads the procession as the Allfather, while Frigg brings fertility & prosperity; together, they’re accompanied by the Æsir, Alfar & Einherjar. With the cold winds & ghostly hounds, the Hunt clears the land of evils & protects the folk from harm, hunger, disease, & misfortune.

As winter blows in, the Hunt drives away harmful forces, ensuring the land & folk are prepared for the returning light. Escaping the cold, the folk remain indoors during during much of this time, honoring the divine work & seeking the gods’ favor. Witnessing the Hunt is rare & dangerous, often carrying the weight of either blessings or doom.

The Wild Hunt moves across the lands even now, cleansing & protecting; a direct & undeniable act of the gods, ensuring order through the dark season.

~ Folcweard

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

The Wild Hunt: an ‘oft forgot time of year

Known today as the Wild Hunt, in days of yore, the Anglo-Saxons called this Yuletide procession the Herlaþing, or Herla’s thing (assembly).

A native Briton, Walter Map, from the Welsh Marches, wrote of Wóden as the King of the Britons who became the leader of the Wild Hunt after a visit to the underworld, only to return some three hundred years later after the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.

Herla, another name of Wóden, is thought to derive from the Old English *Herela Cyning, from the Old French Harlequin, a demon or malevolent spirit; likely of (post-Christian) Frankish origin. Possible connections include Old Frisian helle kin, Old English helle cyn, Old Norse heljar kyn, each the kindred of Hell. Related to Middle English Hurlewain, a mischievous sprite or goblin.

The pan-Germanic Wild Hunt reminds us of why we blót: to ask the gods for their protections, sustenance, & keeping Jötnaric forces at bay.

~ Folcweard

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

Although not a day we recognize within our beliefs, Christmas, in its secular form, can still be a day filled with love, laughter, & all things family. Enjoy the day & the memories created. Happy Holidays!

~ Folcweard

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

The Nature of Heathenry: Part 8

Religion is not lived in isolation, but practiced with others. We are bound together by the unseen, but tangible force that is the pattern, that is örlög, natural law. Recognized or not, it’s this shared law that draws us and places us where we’re meant to be, belonging to a particular family and folk.

Religion, law, lore, ritual, ancestry, family are words we hear often, yet they’re words that carry the weight of our faith. We carry a duty-bound obligation to participate in the sacred structure of existence itself. Through keeping the holy seasons, honoring the rites, knowing the stories of the gods, honoring our ancestors and strengthening our bloodlines, upholding frith amongst our kin and kith, and living rightly among one another, we strengthen our threads within the divine order known as the web of Wyrd.

Duty gives form to community. It teaches that faith is not only what one believes, but what one does: how one shows up for ritual, for kin, for the Gods, and for the continuity of the tradition itself. Through shared duty, we move together, rather than apart, strengthened by our common purpose and expressed through our inherited folcsida.

Embracing our sacred duty is accepting that we are connected: to those who came before, to those who stand beside us, and to those who will come after. This understanding shaped our ancestors and it remains the foundation of a living Heathen faith, Sedish faith.

Through sacred duty, we’ll endure, but through the modern perversion of hyper-individualism, we’ll surely perish.

Be like Woden and never give up.

~ Folcweard

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

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~ Folcweard

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