A Heathen's Day | The Life and Thoughts of a Modern Day American Heathen

Posted by Hrafnkell on Apr 14, 2013

Protecting Your Children from Proselytizing at School

Recently, my 9-year-old son, who attends public school, became a victim of proselytizing. He was approached by a fellow student in his class, in the classroom no less, and asked if he attended church. My son answered, quite honestly, that no, he did not, and he did this without volunteering what his own religion was. The boy then told him, “You should.” Another boy, not from his class,...

Posted by Hrafnkell on Dec 20, 2012

Sacred Biomes

I drove across country this past weekend, from central Illinois to the suburbs of Washington, DC. I passed through many types of terrain on the way to the nation’s capital, from the temperate prairie to broadleaf forest and into the mountains, where pines still rendered the winter slopes in green. On my way east, I passed suburbs and cities and farms and small towns. From the Great Plains to the...

Posted by Hrafnkell on Nov 29, 2012

Does it Matter What Our Ancestors Would Do?

There is a difference between exhaustively researching the past to find out how our ancestors lived and what they believed, and exhaustively researching the past so that we can live how they lived and believe what they believed. This is a critical difference and for one reason: the past is gone. We are solidly in the present. Yet the attitude of WWOAD (what would our ancestors do?) is also solidly with us...

Posted by Hrafnkell on Nov 27, 2012

Demon Rape?

Oh hell no, not demons again, you say. Yes, I’m here to tell you, it’s demons again. And Satan too. It’s demon rape, in fact. And no, it’s not dark fantasy fiction. Can you be raped by the devil, conservative Christian magazine Charisma asks? Their answer is yes. You can. The Devil can rape your ass. So says Contessa Adams, author of Consequences As bizarre as it sounds, those who...

Posted by Hrafnkell on May 2, 2012

Odin’s Ravens!

Every Heathen worth his hammer knows Huginn (Old Norse ”thought”) and Muninn (Old Norse “mind”) and Odin’s Day seems a good day as any to bring them up. They are ravens, a bird that still inspires an air of mystery in the modern world. These particular ravens daily fly all over the world and return to Odin with up-to-date information, keeping him informed as to the facts on the...

Posted by Hrafnkell on May 1, 2012

From hlautbolli to Chocolate Bowl

We can deny the modern world or somehow accommodate it. Heathenism has changed quite a bit from the turn of the first millennium of the Common Era. This probably comes as a surprise to some very staunch traditionalists but it’s evident to many. The world – and our religion – used to be quite a bloody affair, full of death, both of animals and of men. We are informed of the configuration...

Posted by Hrafnkell on Mar 20, 2012

Welcoming Ostara

I n the long history of Pagan religion, the reclaiming our ancient beliefs and traditions will not be least of the tales to be told. Ostara (Eostre) stands out in this regard, a goddess we still celebrate but know almost nothing about. Most people remember this time of year for the Christian Easter, and it is through a Christian author, Bede, that we know of this connection. But when should we celebrate...

Posted by Hrafnkell on Mar 12, 2012

Heathens and the Culture War

A s a Heathen, I have been doing a great deal of thinking about the “culture war” being waged in America. What is a Heathen to make of all this culture-war rhetoric arising from the so-called right of the political spectrum, of culture warriors like Rick Santorum? Marriage equality is presented as religious by Republicans, anxious to keep it from being understood as a human rights issue, but so much...