September 2017 — The Rational Heathen

The Gods and Goddesses of Autumn

September 29, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

Now that the Equinox has passed, you can feel the changing of the guard, especially if you live in the northern states. This year, it’s almost as if the gods and goddesses have had enough of the fires out here. It is as though we’ve gone from summer to winter in one day and then the actual fall settles in.

A Time of Change

Autumn is a time of change. It heralds the coming of winter and the urgent need to prepare for it. For those of you who buy foods from the grocery stores, chances are the changes you’ll see is more pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween candy. For me, it’s a time to search for upland birds, can my harvest, and run my dehydrator 24/7. I’m looking at my livestock and wondering who I’ll be slaughtering so I can have more meat in my freezer. I’m considering how I’m going to keep the fresh stuff preserved so that I can enjoy it when it is cold and snowy. And I’m waiting for general hunting season where I can hunt deer and elk.

I truly feel that our gods and goddesses are linked to the seasons. This makes a lot of sense because our planet is governed by the laws of physics — even at the tiniest level. This makes a lot of sense if you’ve ever contemplated the overall nature of the universe.

The Gods and Goddesses of Autumn

I did some basic research, and I’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t a lot written about what Northern gods go with what season. We can make obvious guesses for winter and spring, but fall may be a little bit questionable simply because it is a time of transition. Even so, I’m going to share with you my insights, and hopefully you have some insights as well.

Skadi

Probably the biggest goddess of autumn (and also of winter) is Skadi, the Norse goddess of the hunt and of winter. She’s the one I pretty much go to when it comes to hunting, and I feel more in tuned with her every year. She is not an easy goddess to deal with, but she is honorable and very powerful. The story about Skadi seeking retribution for her father’s death is a story which shows how far she is willing to go if you fail to heed her.

Ullr

Ullr is the god of hunting, of snow and skiing, and of snowshoes. Ullr was considered an important god among the Scandinavians, no doubt since snow plays a major part in their weather. I’ve read various claims that Ullr is Skadi’s second husband after Njord. The story goes that Skadi could not abide Njord’s home near the sea, and he could not accept the high

mountain tops and snow, so they divorced and Skadi married Ullr.

Tyr

Tyr is the god of laws, justice, and the sky. While it seems odd to associate Tyr with a season, I believe he has power over the solstices and equinoxes, given his role as the sky god and lawmaker. It has been my experience (and you can take this as an unverified personal gnosis) that Tyr governs the laws of physics. When we deal with the movements of our planet in relation to the sun, it is really all physics.

I also ran across an interesting point that in some heathen segments Ullr may be an aspect of Tyr. It seems far-fetched, but apparently Ullr was invoked during duels, which was often used to determine who was right and who was wrong. Furthermore, there is an episode in the Atlakviða which has the swearing of an oath on Ullr’s ring. I can sort of see how this might fit together, but unless I have another UPG, it’s unlikely, at least in my own mind that Ullr is Tyr.

Freyr

Although it seems somewhat out of place, I’m putting Freyr as one of the autumn gods. The reason I am putting him in the autumn gods is quite obvious: he is the god of the harvest. The final harvest usually occurs sometime around the equinox, or maybe just a little later. Sometime in the fall farmers tended to slaughter livestock that they were not keeping over the winter, and preserving them. It makes sense that Freyr would preside over all of this.

Frigg

It may seem to be another stretch to put Frigg as a goddess of autumn, but I don’t think so. Frigg is a goddess of the hearth and home, of the distaff, and the wife of Odin. She has ties to Frau Holle and appears to be important in all manners of the home. To me, it makes sense that as the weather gets cooler, people are more inclined to stay indoors. So, I’m likely to think that preserving food and caring for the home falls right into Frigg’s domain.

I hope you enjoyed this piece. No doubt, you can think of some other gods and goddesses of autumn. I’d be interested to hear what you have to say and who you would recommend.

When the Muse is a Bitch, or Equinox, Chickens, and Flipping the Switch

September 21, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

It had been miserably hot and smoky here in the Rational Heathen’s neck of the woods. With all the fires, no rain, and hot temperatures, the whole area could go up in flames with a spark. That’s how tinder dry the Northern Rockies have been. So, when the weather shamans at the National Weather Service said we were in for a change, it was none too soon…

Wiccatru — Or Should We Take Another Look at the Other Pagans?

September 17, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

I ran across this rather interesting post on Patheos entitled Wicca: A New Major Religion, and yeah, it got me thinking. If Wicca could be considered a major religion, are we doing Heathenism a genuine disservice by not occasionally courting it? Here are my thoughts and why we may want to consider a bigger tent when it comes to our religion.

The Article and Why the Numbers Might Be Important

If anything, the article reaffirmed my belief in the big tent model when it comes to Heathenism. If the numbers are correct (and I suspect they might be), we need to treat our pagan brethren with a little more respect. The tl;dr version is that Wicca may have, by low estimates, around 2 million practitioners in the United States, making it the third largest religion in the US, after Judaism. (Atheists and agnostics make up a larger percentage than Judaism, but since they are not a religion, they aren’t factored in.) Now granted, when compared to more that 300 million people, that may not seem like many, but the reality is that 2 million votes can sway an election quite handily. Which brings us to Heathenism.

Heathenism by the Numbers

I’m not going to tell you that the numbers I give you are definitive. For one thing, no one has done a completely accurate census and counted every single Heathen on the planet. The current census counts were done on a strictly volunteer basis and most required some sort of participation in social media. That being said, the Norse Mythology Blog came up with a number 16,700 in 2013. This seems a little low to me, undoubtedly because I suspect that some Heathens, for whatever reasons, don’t bother answering polls. I suspect the number is bigger because the piece I wrote, The Gods are Not Your Bitches, got a whopping 13,062 views. Now, granted, some folks may have gone back and reread it, and some folks may have read it who were not Heathen, but the idea that one of my posts reached nearly all Heathens is ludicrous.

I’ve seen likes on various Heathen groups on the web, and have seen numbers in the 60K to 100K. That to me seems more likely with a guessimation of maybe 150K to 200K total Heathens in the world at the top end, when you count crossovers from Wiccans and goosestepping moron Odinist Nazis.

Why We Need to Ally Ourselves with the Wiccans, or My Big Tent Belief

So, for argument sake, let’s say we have about 100K to 200K Heathens worldwide. Personally, I think it is around 100,000, but let’s go with that bigger number, for argument sake. That means that we maybe have a tenth of the numbers Wiccans have, if Wiccans have a conservative 2 million in the United States alone. And our numbers are worldwide, not the United States, alone. So, we have 2 million people who could easily be on our side because they’re polytheistic. Granted, they worship all sorts of gods and goddesses, but the reality is that they could strengthen Heathenism if we let them.

I’ve proposed this big tent belief in an earlier post which has met with some derision from the recon segment. Wiccans are not our enemies here. In fact, you’re likely to find allies from Wiccans who worship Freyja and Freyr, or any of our other gods and goddesses. We can find more Heathens there who will help us politically when it comes to issues we have. Plus, if we’re inclusive, we have a lot more Heathens who can help shape Heathenry.

To Those Who Want to Exclude Wiccans

Those who want to exclude Wiccans, even though they worship our gods, are being shortsighted. Heathenry should be open to bringing in others, not just those who are willing to do the homework and speak the gibberish some Heathens do. We need the Lokeans, the Rokkatru, and yes, even the Wiccatru.

Why? you may ask.

Do you really want Heathenry to stay small? Do you really want it to be taken over by racists? Do you really think it’s a good idea to stay exclusive and not inclusive? Look at the Wiccans. They really don’t have a lot of dogma, and thus have big numbers. Maybe Heathenry could learn something from Wiccans. And Hels bells, I don’t even believe in magic.

When the Muse is a Bitch, or Sickness, Wildfires, and Hurricanes

September 11, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

I’ve been enduring the wildfires here in the Northern Rockies. On top of that, I’ve gotten a summer cold. So, life sucks for me right now.

But, I have nothing compared to the folks fleeing Irma. I want to put that in perspective… READ MY PREMIUM CONTENT FOR JUST $1…

Understanding the Nazi Slogan “Blood and Soil” or “Blut und Boden”

September 7, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 1 comment

One of the folks on Facebook didn’t seem to understand the context of “Blut und Boden” which is often the Nazi battle-cry at various gatherings across America. The term, “Blood and Soil,” is a particular extremist term when it comes to nationalism, and of course, racism.

What Do They Mean When They Chant “Blood and Soil?”

Those who chant “Blood and Soil” may simply be idiots who don’t understand what they’re saying. Or, they may actually agree with the propaganda. Either way, the meaning of “Blut und Boden” appeared sometime around World War I and Hitler based his nationalism on Blood and Soil. What it means is that true Aryan came from the earth and tilled the soil, aka farmers, in Germany. He tied the Nazis to the land, thus making themselves “rooted” the land. Those who worked the land were infinitely superior to those who did not. And Hitler pointed to the Jews as the main oppressors of the farmers who worked the land. To add more bullshit on top of bullshit, they furthermore believed that eugenics was the way to create a master race that was free of disease.

via GIPHY

Why Blood and Soil is a Typically Moronic Idea

In the last 15,000 there have been three major migrations across Germany; two of the migrations actually came from the Middle East. There have been a bunch of “minor” migrations, where, if you were living in that time, probably didn’t seem so minor. Archaeology combined with genetic research has proven that Germany and other European countries were a melting pot of settlers and invaders from various lands. Likewise, the Germans went and settled across Europe and Russia. We know that Germanic tribes such as the Angles and the Saxons went to Britain. We know the Celtic tribes invaded darn near everywhere, but eventually settled in Spain and Britain.

So, the idea of having one true nationalistic blood is moronic. The idea that someone is pure “Norse” or pure “German” or pure “Aryan” is wrong. There is no purity. There is only a hodgepodge of genetics which includes DNA from all over the world.

Lastly, the concept of having the Jews oppress the farm workers seems bizarre. For one thing, Jews couldn’t own land in Germany, so the misfortune of the farmers occurred because of several factors which included the Treaty of Versailles.

via GIPHY

Why Blood and Soil?

Why are Americans chanting “Blood and Soil?” I mean, Americans. I’m sort of at a loss to address why these morons chant “Blood and Soil.” That slogan points to the German land. We know Americans of European descent have no prehistoric ties to North America, so shouting “Blood and Soil” is inherently stupid. Okay, maybe your ancestors arrived on the Mayflower, which puts your claim around 1620 (and they were English, not German). So, you have about 400 years of history in America? What about the Native Americans who have more than 10,000 years of history here?

Bad Ideas Heaped Upon Faulty Information

So, the Alt-Right are clearly wrong when it comes to their heritage and their claim to the land. Nobody is “racially pure.” Nobody. We’re all a bunch of mutts. Deal with it.

That being said, once you hear those idiots spout their ideology, you can smirk and know that they’re not just wrong, but fucking wrong.