Tyra Ulfdottir, Author at The Rational Heathen

Honoring the New Year

January 1, 2018 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

I started doing research about New Year’s celebrations and ended up laughing at Christian pages that talk about how pagan celebrating the New Year is and how “good Christians” shouldn’t celebrate it. Whatever, bro. Tell that to the millions–if not billions–of partiers who are happy to ring in the New Year.

Holy Days of Obligation and the History Behind New Year’s Day Celebrations

Technically, New Year’s Day is a Christian celebration. Granted, a co-opted Christian celebration, but one just the same. The Roman Catholic Church couldn’t get past the Roman tradition of celebrating Saturnalia and the the first day of the month honoring the god, Janus, so it co-opted the celebrations and made New Year’s Day the celebration of Jesus’s circumcision. Vatican II made it a holy day of obligation in 1969 to venerate the “Virgin” Mary. Just so you would go to mass with a hell of a hangover and hear the priest rail against those who indulged the night before.

But to a large degree, those Christian web pages are right. Celebrating New Year’s Day is technically pagan. The first celebrations of the New Year happened during Mesopotamian times some 4000 years ago on the vernal equinox (that being their new year.) The Romans celebrated New Year’s on the Ides of March (remember Julius Caesar?) The Romans eventually switched their calendar over to January 1st since that was the day when they inaugurated new consuls and tended to keep track of years by consul terms.

A Holiday for the World

You look at just about any civilization that kept a calendar and you’ll find some sort of New Year’s celebration or observance. The Hindus recognize New Year during different times depending on the region. We Heathens recognize December 21st as our new year where the veil between the worlds are at their thinnest. The Wiccans recognize Samhain as being their new year. The Chinese and Vietnamese celebrate their own version of New Year’s sometime between January 20th and February 20th, depending on when their year ends. That’s a lot of non-Christians celebrating the beginning of a new year.

Why Celebrate the Ending of an Old Year and the Coming of a New One?

I think the reason why the new year is so appealing is to turn over a new leaf, as it were. It’s a time to reflect on the past year and hope for a better year ahead. It’s as if we collectively want to step back and take a breath from what we’re doing to celebrate the possibilities that lie ahead. We, as humans, need a time to say good-bye to the old and hello to the new. Hence, we celebrate the coming of the new year.

Happy New Year, my friends and readers! I hope 2018 is filled with wonder and magic for you.

The Darker Side of Heathenry [Premium Content]

December 30, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

Image of Hel by Tara Ryzebol . Used under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
and the GNU Free Documentation License

I read an interesting post about the dark deities recently and it got me thinking about why the darker gods and goddesses have become more popular in recent years. Rokkatru with its many members is a viable part of Heathenry and Loki has grown in popularity, certainly in part due to the popularity of the Marvel character and the actor who plays him. Even I am technically honoring a Jotunn when I honor Skadi. And yeah, Loki does come by from time to time to annoy me, if nothing.

That being said, one pagan witch (yeah, I read Wiccan blogs, get over it) thinks that the popularity of the dark ones seem to coincide with the times we live in and something big and tranformative coming up. I can’t say anything of that magnitude, but I do have some thoughts and theories…

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Being Chosen by a God or Goddess

December 28, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 10 comments

Happy Yule Folks! I hope you’re having a wonderful Yule season.

I’ve talked about being bitch-slapped by the gods and being chosen. Apparently there are a couple of posts that talk about toxic relationships with deities and how one shouldn’t call it chosen, but called.

Semantics.

So, let’s talk about what I think is happening, as one who got a rather loud and sudden cho…ahem, calling.

My Own Experience (tl;dr: If you know the story, skip to the next section)

I was a deist/agnostic going on atheist. I am a skeptic, which made the following story a bit hard to deal with. I had rune sets before I became Heathen (long story, that), have had dreams that have come true, and have an unnatural power with animals. (My husband swears that 500 years ago I would’ve been burned at the stake.)

So, one night several years ago I was casting runes (okay, yeah, it seems odd that an agnostic would do this) and after getting an answer, asked who was telling me this. The first rune I pulled out was Tyr’s: ᛏ. Then, I pulled out three more. They spelled: ᚦᛟᚱ.

I was stunned. I knew all about the Norse gods and goddesses from my study of the myths and legends, but have not one, but two talk to me? Seriously? That night I did some soul searching. Was this a joke? Did I read into something that didn’t really happen? I felt confused. Then, I started hearing Tyr in my mediations and dreams. Boy, howdy, did that confuse me even more. Eventually I turned to other Heathens who were able to help me sort it out.

When You Don’t Pick Up the Phone When a God Calls You

My experience with the gods wasn’t something that I was particularly looking for. (Although someone might successfully argue why I was asking who was sending me messages, let alone playing with runes.) I now recognize that I received “callings” in the past, but I was too clueless to recognize them. And even if I had, at certain parts of my life when I was younger I was a serious Roman Catholic.

When a god or goddess really wants you, calling just might not be enough. Humans are notoriously dense sometimes and sometimes it takes one grabbing the person by the scruff of the neck, picking him or her up, and shouting “look at me!” If you’ve had that experience, after you’ve changed your pants, you know the god or goddess has chosen you. You’ve maybe received “calls,” but apparently you’ve never made the connection.

Abusive, or Something Else?

Those of us who do have gods who have laid claim to them can probably attest to the suddenness of the encounter. In some cases, the gods are bullies and should be avoided at all costs, but in many cases, that isn’t the situation at all. It’s not that the god or goddess is abusive or bullying, it’s just that they haven’t gotten that person’s attention, for whatever reason, aka cluelessness. So, being deities, they do things in big ways when the small ways don’t work.

That being said, I never advocate entering a relationship with a god or goddess until you understand what they want from you and figure out how they’re going to treat you. I set ground rules with Tyr from the get-go and he was fine with them. I understand that it reduces my contact with him, but at the same time, it is a safe relationship.

Ground Rules for Dealing with Relationships with Deities (and

Anything Else)

Never enter into a relationship with an abusive being (deity, human, or supernatural)
If a deity tells you to do something against your morals, something that harms you or other people, or something that puts you or others in peril, don’t do it and break off communication.
If a deity tells you to do something against the law, don’t do it and break off communication.
If the deity hurts you physically, spiritually, or emotionally, get out of that relationship.
If a deity bullies you, get out of the relationship.
Set ground rules immediately. Don’t get yourself lost in a relationship with a god/goddess.

Obviously there might be exceptions, but these are good guidelines. For one thing, you might not be talking to a deity but may be dealing with a mental illness. In this case, seek psychiatric help. Even if the deity lays claim to you, you can refuse the claim and get out. Sometimes seeking another, more benevolent deity who is willing to intercede on your behalf will protect you.

My point to all this is that just because a deity chooses you, it doesn’t necessarily make it a toxic relationship. What I’ve found is that quite often being chosen is simply a way for the god or goddess to make themselves known. You have to choose back, too.

For years I didn’t understand/trust Skadi. I knew her as a dangerous goddess. But I didn’t understand that for as dangerous as she is, she is also kind in her own way. We have a bond that goes back decades (gods, I just admitted I’m old) but it took work to establish a — dare I say it? — friendship. Tyr and I are closer because of my very nature, but Skadi is becoming a goddess I speak to more and more.

I hope this helps anyone chosen by a god or goddess. Let me know about your own encounters.

When the Muse is a Bitch, or How I’m Surviving the Holidays

December 21, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

People have been asking about my insights into the Heathen life on board the Facebook page, so I’d like to give you some ideas how I celebrate, or don’t celebrate. Taking a breath here…

When You Can’t Get in the Yule Spirit

December 15, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

I have a confession to make: I am not in the Yule spirit. Or the Christmas spirit. Or any other fucking spirit. I know the holidays are around the corner, but I can’t really feel the part yet. Hels bells, I don’t even have the tree up.

When She’s Not in the Mood

This time of year reminds me how lonely being the lone Heathen of the Apocalypse can be. What’s more, life has a way of shoving you back into reality. If you’re going through difficult times, you probably understand what I’m talking about. Life doesn’t always hand you roses, so as the saying goes, when handed lemons, you make lemonade.

I think part of the reason has to do with the end of general season hunting. Sure, we can still hunt for grouse and turkey, but both are being wily and frustrating. Recently I lost my two goat kids to weird shit that happened two days apart. And work has hit a slow down, and I need to figure out ways to fill in the ample gaps. I’m concerned over the shit that I have to deal with every winter, which means I should expect this, but sometimes I just don’t.

It’s enough to piss off Spiderman.

It’s Times Like These…

It’s times like these where the gods and goddesses get an earful from me, but surprisingly, all I’ve been asking for is strength to put myself back on track. Okay, that’s bullshit. I don’t lie well. I do ask for help, but honestly, I know better than to expect handouts. So, I look at what I can do to make things happen more positively this season.

Remember, Tyra, the gods aren’t your bitches. <deep breath>

So, how do you handle the holidays when your life isn’t making you jolly?

Center Yourself and Take Care of Yourself First

Thanks to Magickal Graphics

As a Heathen, it’s important to understand that you are responsible for your life, despite all the curve balls the Wyrd throws at you. You cannot fix things if you’re sick, exhausted, or emotionally spent. You’ll spend your time digging a deeper hole rather than filling it. Even if you don’t want to be honest with everyone else (which you should be), you need to be honest to yourself. You have to take care of yourself first. I learned this lesson when Tyr — and then, Loki — showed up in my life. Even now, I remind myself (often in Loki’s nagging voice) to self-care. I remember to exercise, eat right, and yeah, try to get enough sleep. And I try to meditate, even if only for minutes at a time.

Consider New Options

A huge failure I see with people is refusing to step out of their current situation. I’m as guilty as the next party with that. Sometimes we don’t take the next step because it will shake up the status quo, which may not be comfortable, but is often more comfortable than dealing with change and the unknown. Eons ago when I was younger, but not wiser, I went from job to job when I really hated the corporate culture or the people I worked for. As one gets older, the change gets to be a hassle, but sometimes you’ve got to do it. I would look at people who worked at a company for 10 to 15 years, even though they hated it. Some actually died at their desks from heart attacks. Don’t be like them.

Remember: there are always options. Understanding this will help you make your decisions.

Thanks to Magickal Graphics

Lastly, Force Yourself to Enjoy the Season

I insisted that my husband help me take out the Yule/Christmas tree now. With much fussing and fuming, we got the tree and the ornaments out tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll be so fed up with the damn box, we’ll put up the tree. Which will make both of us feel better.

Yeah, it sounds weird, but by doing things that should make you happy, they make you happy. Even now, as I write this, I feel better that I got that done. I should probably bottle that cherry mead that has been waiting for me patiently…
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Aesir, Vanir, or Jotunn — Looking at the Gods from a Clan Perspective [Premium Content]

December 10, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

My last premium post seemed to open up a can of worms — at least for me. As I was writing about
the Rokkatru, I realized that historians may have it all wrong when it comes to the gods. The Aesir, Vanir, and Jotunn aren’t different races. They’re different clans. Which means that how they treat each other has implications for how we should treat each other.

Let me explain…READ MORE for just $1...

The Yule Goat Sneaks Heathen Tradition into Christmas

December 6, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

If you’re new to Heathenism, or even if you’ve been a Heathen for a while, you may or may not have seen the Julbock or Yule Goat as part of the Yule celebration. The Yule Goat or Julbock is a pagan Scandinavian tradition that predates Christianity that sneaked into Christmas celebrations in Scandinavia. It’s an interesting tradition that we can easily incorporate into our Yule festivities.

What is the Julbock?

You may be wondering what the Yule Goat is and what significance it has for Heathens. After all, a goat is a goat, right? Well, maybe.

The Julbock is associated with the last sheaf of grain harvested, which in the past was considered to have magical properties. Called the julbocken, it was associated with proto-Slavic beliefs with the god of the harvest and the fertile sun, Devac, represented by a white goat. It was common for someone to dress up as a goat and demand presents as offerings. In this way, Yule was part of the harvest festival that has been carried into the winter solstice, perhaps as a way to entice the sun to return by paying tribute.

Historians think the Yule Goat may be linked to Thor’s goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr in many respects. Given that Thor provides rains and Sif, his consort, is the goddess of grain, you can kind of see the relationship and symbolism.

The current Julbock appears in Scandinavian tradition as straw tied with red ribbons in the shape of a goat. The Gävle Goat is Sweden is probably the best known Julbock since 1966. Not surprisingly, it has been vandalized by arson at least 36 times and has been hit by cars, kicked to pieces, and stolen. Apparently it is too big of a temptation to not offer it to the sun.

Julbock Festivities

In the past, the Julbock kept watch to ensure the Yule, and later Christmas, preparations were done correctly. It seems to be a benevolent Krampus in that respect. In medieval times, the Julbock was associated with wassailing, playing pranks, and performing plays. Youths in costumes would go house to house singing and performing plays for food and spirits. These plays would often feature a Julbock in them.

In the 19th century, the Julbock was the bringer of presents before the whole Santa Claus thing took hold in Scandinavia. An adult male relative of the house would dress up as a goat and hand out presents. This eventually faded out as the Santa Claus tradition took hold in the latter half of the 19th century. Even so, there is at least one piece of art showing a rather pagan Santa Claus riding a goat. This artwork is entitled “Old Christmas” which gives us an interesting mix of the two traditions.

How to Add the Julbock in Your Heathen Celebrations

Julbock for sale at Amazon

Now that you know a bit about the Julbock, you may be wondering how to add it to your own Heathen celebrations. Unless you’re a farmer, chances are you don’t have the last bundle of wheat from the harvest, so you may have to be satisfied with your own Julbock decoration or even these nice Julbock Yule tree ornaments.

But you don’t have to stop there with relegating the Julbock as a Yuletide decoration. If you have a large party on Yule, you can add your own Yule play which includes the Julbock. Celebrate Yule by wassailing. When it comes time to handing out Yule presents, who says you wouldn’t look marvelous in horns and a goat hide? Many cool possibilities here.

So, those are my thoughts on the Julbock. Maybe you have some ideas for celebrating Yule that I haven’t mentioned. Let me know how you incorporate the Julbock in your Yule.

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Disclaimer: I’ve included some links to my affiliates in this post where I may receive a small percentage of compensation from your purchase. If you’re planning on buying ornaments or your own Julbock and enjoy this blog, I would encourage you to use my affiliate links. The money helps support this blog. Thank you.

Rokkatru — Or the Other Side of Asatru

November 30, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

I read a post over on Huginn’s Heathen Hof and that made me think about Rokkatru, that is, the worship of the Jotunn and other denizens which are not part of the Aesir or the Vanir. I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit, since once of my gods is the goddess Skadi, who has been included in the Rokkatru faith. For this reason, I’d like to explore the Rokkatru side of Heathenry and whether it fits in with Heathenry….READ MORE of my PREMIUM CONTENT for Just $1.

Is Thanksgiving Dying?

November 28, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

I was reading a blog post on Patheos about society and merchants killing Thanksgiving. I found it an interesting read and I had to sit and think about the idea a bit. The blogger, I think, got it right in some ways and wrong in others. Since I am most likely older than the blogger (I painfully admit this), I can probably add my two cents as to what is happening to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

What Thanksgiving was in Relation to Christmas

Before I get some push back, let me state that even though I’m Heathen, I recognize that the “holiday season” is largely the Christmas season. That’s because the majority of people in the US are still Christian, and even those who aren’t Christian still celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday. So even though Christmas is just a hijacked Yule, I’m going to be a realist here and talk about what the majority of Americans celebrate.
Thanksgiving was born out of the traditional harvest festivals. It became an official American holiday in 1863 thanks to Abraham Lincoln. Before that, it was mostly celebrated in New England, although presidents before Lincoln would often declare a day of Thanksgiving. If you want the whole story, you can read my post on it.

Thanksgiving, due to its proximity to Christmas, was a natural start of the holiday season, once Christmas became popular, thanks to Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria. (Christmas, by the way, was not that popular of a holiday in the New World, thanks to our Puritan founders.) Even in Europe, Christmas was unpopular by the 19th century, requiring Dickens to give it a facelift. In Medieval times, it was a time of communal feasting and playing games. Much of that stopped abruptly when the Black Death hit.

So, by the time World War II came along, Christmas had enjoyed enough popularity to have President Franklin D. Roosevelt tinker with the date of Thanksgiving to be the last Thursday of the month so that merchants could plan their holiday sales. Seriously.

Thanksgiving and the Christmas Buying Season

The blogger bemoaned the fact that Thanksgiving is being run over by black Friday sales that start on Thursday in the hopes to lure more shoppers to buy. And in truth, the holiday season is often a make or break time for many merchants. But should it mean that the stores should be open for you to buy stuff when people should be staying home with their families?

As old as I am (old as dirt, I reckon), I seem to recall that the Christmas buying season started around Thanksgiving, but I don’t remember Black Fridays until at least the 70s, but the term was coined in the 50s because cops had to pull 12 hour shifts to deal with the shoppers. Since I didn’t live in Philadelphia, that’s probably why I don’t remember it much when I was a kid. This Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving is a headache and one either people will embrace or decide to skip. It depends on how popular it will be for the trend to survive, but I’m counting on people to use their smartphones and buy online on Thanksgiving.

What I’m More Concerned With

As depressing as Christmas shopping taking over Thanksgiving is, I’m more concerned with the lack of association of the Thanksgiving and Harvest festivals. Sure, kids learn to draw turkeys and pumpkins and corn, but in most cases kids don’t see turkeys other than in books and in videos and have never stepped foot in a field where corn and pumpkins are grown. They and probably their parents look at the world through their extremely urban or suburban living. Sure, they might get a chance to visit a farm on a school trip, but that really is about the extent. So when they have their highly processed bird at Thanksgiving, they haven’t really had a connection to the harvest. Instead, it’s an excuse to eat and then sit on the couch and play video games or watch football. And yes. we look at Thanksgiving as the beginning of the Christmas buying season. Yay.

There’s a town I enter when I hunt in a certain area which has an honest-to-gods harvest festival annually. That’s because it’s a farm town. When I saw the signs, I was delighted and intrigued. If it wasn’t hunting season, I’d be there just to watch what went on. Unfortunately Skadi has not gifted me an elk this season thus far, so I’m busy looking for those.

Understanding harvest, which is where Thanksgiving comes from, is important. Knowing where our food is from. Actually growing crops and tending livestock. Thanking Freyr for the abundance. Saving the last sheaf of wheat for the wights and gods. Remembering ancestors. That’s what I believe is endangered.

Thanksgiving will undoubtedly morph into something more commercial, if Madison Avenue has its way. But hopefully as Heathenism grows, perhaps more people will pay attention to its roots and recognize the importance of Harvest.