As a farmer, it is understood that if I tend these animals and gardens I’ll gain a means to sustain myself in return. They take care of me as I take care of them. A gifting cycle of sorts. I keep this tradition alive and take time on a regular basis to be grateful for this land that feeds me and mine and the line of ancestors that got me to this place.
A farm is not an example of Self-reliance. I depend on a network of neighbors, customers, farmers, shopkeepers, repairmen, farriers, shearers, butchers, and more. Just this week a neighbor from a Christian Commune down the road happily bartered a used pony harness for 2 loads of first cut hay. Their flock of sheep came from my stock. All of us around here living an agrarian life need each other, and I feel this is an important part of being a Heathen.
When asked to consider a column for this website, I thought that writing as a Heathen Woman from a farm she tends alone would be an interesting voice, and hopefully a worthy one. I do not write as any sort of authority, historian, or academic. I write as a practicing Heathen, a Farmer, a Woman, and a Tribe Organizer. My loftiest goal is to give you a taste of my experiences here at this farm as an Ásatrúar close to the soil.
