May 26, 2017, according to multiple reports Jeremy Christian boarded the MAX light-rail train in Portland Oregon and promptly begins harassing two sixteen-year-old girls. Witnesses say he yelled racial slurs and anti-Muslim threats at length before three gentlemen stepped forward to try and put a stop to the abuse of the minors. Mr. Christian then made national news when he pulled out a knife and attacked all three of them, slitting their throats.
I wanted to write about a something a little different today. Over at Ranting Recon, I usually stick to exploring Lore, Tradition, and ancient history, but that’s not the ENTIRETY of Heathenry. So, since I have occasionally been accused of being little more than a dusty book-hoarder, I wanted to take a step back and talk a bit about how Heathenry impacts my life on an entirely personal level.
Written by: Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen
Dear Viking aficionados! I am very sorry to break the news to you, but here it comes. I have lived and worked in both Norway and Sweden, and if there is one thing in the world that I know about us, it is this. We are NOT Vikings!!
Latin American Ásatrú has grown a lot in recent years. Countries like Costa Rica have been on the radar of the worldwide Ásatrú movement on multiple occasions. The Central American country has been represented mainly by the Irminsul Kindred and most recently by the Ásatrú Yggdrasil Association (AYA), founded in 2015 as an umbrella organization for individual practitioners and smaller groups seeking legal recognition.
Every Heathen’s reasons for choosing Heathenry are different. Personally, I have a ton of reasons for choosing a Heathen path. That’s why my column at Patheos used to be called “Happily Heathen”, after all!
On Saturday, February 18th, a Folkish owned clothing company called “Tier One Viking Wear” made an official press release, in response to the featured videos; in which Mr. Borba uses a number of racial slurs and threatens to decapitate the owners of two separate Heathen organizations.
If you’re anything like me, or really the majority of primarily English speaking Heathens, figuring out the correct spelling and pronunciation for some of those Old Norse names can be tricky at the best of times. So with all of this confusion, what’s a Heathen to do? How are we supposed to know if we’re even pronouncing the names of the gods correctly? Well, here’s a handy guide to help you do just that!
A while back, John T Mainer wrote a great piece called “Women in Heathenry”, which nicely summarized some of the common shortcomings of the Heathen community regarding gender equality. The responses to this article were rather baffling…
I’ve been approached too often lately by friends and acquaintances about the blight on the Heathen community: hate groups. Unfortunately, even though I’ve been writing about this topic, and working with others to support the fight against hate in Heathenry, there are still lots of people I know who think that “Asatru” equals “neo-Nazi”. So I interrupt your normal Barn Owl Broadside broadcast to explain some important points on this topic, and to share some terminology that people might not fully understand.
The following is a 12-day celebration I created for my own family, that modern Heathens can celebrate during the Yule season. While I have drawn in part from traditional European customs, this is in no way a reconstructionist effort. It’s mostly just a fun way to honor the gods and wights during one of the holiest times on the Heathen calendar.
