PaganSquare.com - WitchesAndPagans.com My personal experiences, including religious and spiritual experiences, community interaction, general heathenry, and modern life on my heathen path, which is Asatru.
These holidays are drawn from various Slavic traditions and nations. Some of them are reconstructed and some of them are continuously celebrated in their countries of origin. Some of the continuously celebrated holidays are also celebrated by Christians.
April
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The valknut or "Knot of the Fallen" is used by contemporary heathens as a symbol of Odin. Those dedicated to Odin, most but not all of whom consider themselves warriors, wear a valknut to indicate their dedication. Some heathens say that wearing a Valknut means you are willing to die in battle and hope to be chosen to become an Einherjar, one of Odin's warriors in Valhalla.
Odin and his brothers are a trinity (or triple god, depending on how you see it.) The brothers Odhinn, Honir, and Lodhur sculpted the world out of the body of Ymir, the primal giant, and sculpted the first humans out of driftwood. They are creator gods. The trinity has three sets of names: Odhinn / Honir / Lodhur, Odhinn / Vili / Ve, and Odin / Honir / Loki. In other languages, these names have slightly different forms. For example, Odin and Wotan are basically the same god, although one could have different experiences with the different cultural variations.
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Frequently Asked Question: How do I deal with a family member in hospice care?
My answer:
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A Frequently Asked Question about Asatru is: "Should I be doing devotional practices every day?"
My answer: "Should" doesn't get one very far, in my experience. If what you feel like doing is the standard holidays, do that. If you feel like doing no more than occasionally thinking about the gods and other powers, do that, then-- and if 30 years later you suddenly are excited about sharing joyous times with them, then there you go, change to that. "Should" makes things into church-on-Sunday boredom and obligation, and who wants to be somebody's boring chore? Not the gods, as far as I know.
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Here's another story of abundance made manifest. When I made the Northern Lights Goddesses Brew, I included dried linden flowers and leaves to honor Frigga. I still had some after making it, and I decided to use some to make a brew specifically for Frigga. The Frigga Brew flavor was linden and vanilla. When it was ready, I raised a toast to Frigga with it. I also brewed tea with the dried linden, and raised a toast to her with hot tea.
Frigga is a mother goddess and the queen of Asgard, but the aspect of her with whom I relate best is her aspect as patroness of fiber art. I first connected with her fiber art aspect while I was spinning at a Renfaire, but after that I have been connecting with her when I do hand embroidery and when I make quilt tops and turn my hand embroidery into finished projects such as bags.
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This is how abundance manifests in my life. It's a story about something that happened in my life, and how I chose to interpret it. This is the kind of story that this blog, Gnosis Diary, was created to share, because it's about my personal gnosis.
I lost weight this summer. When the weather turned cold, I dug out my winter gear, and most of it didn't fit. I told my god-husbands I needed money. They asked me what I needed it for. I said, I need clothes in my new size. Not long after that, a lady I'd never met died, and her daughter (whom I know through one of my family members) gave away all the lady's clothes. Four big boxes of clothes in my new correct size arrived on my doorstep.
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Frequently Asked Question: I want to translate or tranliterate a phrase into runes. How do I do that and how do I make sure it's right?
My answer: There are some decisions to be made:
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