A Case for Pan-Germanicism, Part 5

Despite regional and tribal variations, the Germanic peoples shared a deeply rooted cultural foundation, as evidenced by key archaeological finds across Anglo-Saxon England, Scandinavia, and the continental North Sea regions. Ship burials like those at Sutton Hoo and Oseberg, the widespread use of runes, and the presence of similar helmet and weaponry styles across these areas highlight common ritual practices and ethos. Gold bracteates depicting shared mythological symbols, consistent burial goods, and artifacts like the great square-headed brooches further illustrate a unified material culture. These finds collectively reveal that, while their expressions differed, the Germanic tribes were linked by a shared cultural heritage that transcended geographic boundaries harkening back to a time when they were one folk.

~ Folcweard

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The Frithstead Fireside

"Óðinn, Investing in Happiness, and Q & A, Part 4"

00:00 Pre-Show Thoughts
01:06 Fireside Intro
07:48 Intro to Happiness
13:49 Óðinn
32:26 Investing in Happiness
53:42 Tying it all together
1:04:41 The Crux
1:07:08 Q & A, Part 4 Intro
1:09:53 Q & A, Part 4
1:20:16 Closing

Catch all the latest Frithstead Fireside episodes

A new episode recorded live on The Frithstead Telegram channel on the 9th of each month and posted on Spotify, YouTube, & Rumble soon after!

For more info and links:

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People talk about how we’re living longer, how modern life has increased our lifespan, but no one talks about healthspan, the years we’re actually healthy & functioning well. In earlier generations, barring a cidemts or infections, their healthspans tended to be higher. Many people stayed capable, mobile, & independent for more of their lives, & then declined closer to the end

Today, it’s often the opposite. Yes, we’re extending lifespan, but our healthspan hasn’t kept pace. A bigger chunk of life gets spent managing chronic illness, pain, medications, & slow decline

So, the real issue isn’t just “How long do we live?”, but “How well do we live?” In too many cases, we’re not adding actual life to our years, but we’re adding years to the part of life where we’re sick & hurting

We’re living longer, but we’re also dying longer. Rise above the toxicity of this age & put in the time & effort, the blood, sweat, & tears, & begin the journey of a thousand miles by taking the first healing step

~Folcweard

You can have the best message in the world, but if you cannot explain it in a way others understand, it will be forgotten.

What cannot be explained, cannot endure.

I just finished three documentaries about the early English & Norse & highly recommend them

‘Roots of the Saxons’ travels to Lower Saxony (northern Germany) & looks at what life was like for the Old Saxons, why they moved to Britain, & what their connection was to the Romans. Tom talks with a local archaeologist, providing good information

‘Roots of the Anglos’ focuses on the Angles & what they believed, using artefacts, symbols, stone circles, & wetlands as evidence. Filmed in Germany & Denmark, it explains why bogs & wetlands was important to the Angles before they migrated to Britain

In the third, “Sagas of the Raven Land,” Tom travels around Iceland to connecting the land with the sagas. He visits key places, rides Icelandic horses, performs rituals, & follows the stories tied to people like Eirik the Red and Egill Skallagrimsson

All three are solid connecting history to real places instead of just narration & reenactments

Check them out at here.

~Folcweard

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🜨 Raven Folk Revival 🜨

In just one hour we will go live with the founder of Raven Folk United about their amazing work to make Pagan Revivalism inevitable!

This is a show you will not want to miss, as we go over Raven Folk's founding, their beliefs, practices and why so many folk are flocking to this rising star in Heathenry!

We will be hosting a brief Q&A after the interview so you can ask any questions regarding Raven Folk, their work or how to get involved!

The link to the livestream is: https://news.1rj.ru/str/Pagan_Revivalism?livestream
We look forward to seeing all of you there!

Gods love you!

A Case for Pan-Germanicism, Part 6

The literature of the Anglo-Saxons, Norse, & Germans, e.g., Béowulf, the Poetic Edda & the Nibelungenlied, reveals a shared parent culture binding these tribes into a broader cultural family. This connection is evident in their common heroic code & warrior ethos, where values like strength, courage & loyalty to one's lord and kin are of great importance. These texts also share similarity in alliterative poetic forms, rooted in oral traditions, which reinforce the transmission of cultural ideals. Furthermore, the widespread belief in the inevitability of fate, within Germanic literature, illustrates a shared worldview. These elements point to a unified Proto-Germanic tradition, passed down the generations & preserved despite tribal fracturing & migration; thus, serving as the foundational culture from which the Anglo-Saxon, Norse, & German tribes share, with each tribe maintaining these core principles within their distinct identities

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I’ve been composing a prayer to Seaxnēat Frēa, Ingwine. It’s an Old English galdor in traditional poetic diction, but composed in the Norse Eddic galdralag. A perfect daily devotional and fitting for our those of Anglo-Saxon heritage.

Excited to debut it soon!

~ Folcweard

The Mead of Poetry Myth:

After the truce between the Æsir and Vanir, the gods created Kvasir, the wisest of beings. The dwarfs Fjalar and Galar killed him and brewed his blood with honey, creating a mead that grants poetic skill.

The giant Suttungr took the mead and hid it within the mountain Hnitbjörg, guarded by his daughter Gunnlöð. Óðinn sought it out, bored into the mountain, won three draughts, and escaped in the form of an eagle while Suttungr pursued him.

In Hávamál of the Poetic Edda, Óðinn speaks of winning the mead through risk and hardship. In Skáldskaparmál of the Prose Edda, the full account is preserved.

This myth explains the origin of poetry itself and why inspired speech was regarded as something earned, guarded, and carried with responsibility.

Artwork by Rúnar Hall

Mead of Poetry Myth – Black Hills Heathenry https://share.google/dbELAoprNHPD6Epzr

Norse Timekeeping

How did the Norse measure time without a clock? The simplest way was to follow the path of the Sun across the sky and measure how long it takes the Sun to move. The Scandinavians divided each sun-cycle (sólarhringr, "sun-ring") into eight sections, called an átt or eykt: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest. A place on the horizon that lay center in any of these eight directions was called a Dagsmǫrk (Daymark). Midday was the most important daymark, since it divided the Sun's path in half. Most lived in isolated farms or villages, so they used geographical features on the horizon (as viewed from near their homes) as guides to the Dagsmarkar.

The Norse Eight Day Stundir:

Náttmál (9pm to midnight)
Miðnætti (midnight to 3am)
Ótta (3am to 6am)
Rismál (6am to 9am)
Dagmál (9am to noon)
Hádegi (noon to 3pm)
Eykt (3pm to 6pm)
Miðaftann (6pm to 9pm)

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Anglo-Saxon Timekeeping - Part 1

In structuring the day, the Anglo-Saxons, similar to their Norse brethren, divided the 24-hour day into eight tides

The Anglo-Saxon Eight Tides

Nyht (9pm to midnight) - Night

Midnyht (midnight to 3am) - Midnight

Úhta (3am to 6am) - The last part of the night, the time just before daybreak

Morgen (6am to 9am) - Morning

Undern (9am to noon) - The third hour of the day, nine in the morning

Middæġ (noon to 3pm) - Noon

Ġelotendæġ (3pm to 6pm) - The latter part of the day

Ǽfyn (6pm to 9pm) - Evening

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Anglo-Saxon Timekeeping - Part 2

The Anglo-Saxons measured time using Dæġmǽl (Day-Mark) devices, such as sundials, water clocks, or candles

In 893CE, Asser mentioned King Alfred inventing a candle clock consisting of six candles; each burning for four hours:
“By his plan those six candles burned for 24 hours, without fail, but sometimes they wouldn’t continue to burn a whole day & night, till the same hour that they were lighted the preceding evening, from the violence of the wind, which blew day & night through the church doors & windows …the king therefore considered by what means he might shut out the wind, & so by a useful and cunning invention, he ordered a lantern to be beautifully constructed of wood and white ox-horn, which, when skilfully planed till it is thin, is no less transparent than a vessel of glass. … By this then, six candles, lighted in succession, lasted four and 20 hours, neither more nor less, &, when these were extinguished, others were lighted”

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Anglo-Saxon Timekeeping - Part 3

The Anglo-Saxons used Dæġmǽl, or Daymarks, to divide and measure time. 12th c. chronicler William of Malmesbury spoke about how King Alfred used these to provide structure and routine to his day:

“He [King Alfred] so divided the twenty-four hours of day & night as to employ eight of them in writing, in reading, & in prayer, eight in the refreshment of his body, and eight in the business of the realm. In his chapel a candle consisting of twenty-four divisions, & an attendant, whose province was to admonish the king of his duties by its consumption”

An interesting use of the candle dæġmǽl was how they were used as alarm clocks. nails or metal beads were embedded into the candle at one or more interval markings. As the the candle shortened, the melted wax released the nails or metal beads, which dropped onto a metal plate; thus, waking the person.

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Vafþrúðnismál

1. Óðinn: “Give me your advice, Frigg. I really want to go visit Vafþrúðnir. I have a strong desire to challenge that very wise jötunn in ancient knowledge.”

2. Frigga: “My advice, Herföðr Óðinn, is that you stay at home among the gods. I don’t think there’s any jötunn as powerful as Vafþrúðnir.”

3. Óðinn: “I’ve traveled a lot, I’ve seen a lot, and I’ve gained a lot from the mighty gods. But I want to know what it’s like in Vafþrúðnir’s hall.”

4. Frigga: “Then may you travel safely and come back safely. Stay safe on your journey, and may your wits help you when you, father of men, speak with the jötunn.”

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This short on the Nebra sky disc explains briefly how it works as a lunar solar calendar