In January we honored Woden and his two brothers in our “Creation of the World” rite.  A breadman was created as a simulacrum of the giant Ymir.  The kindred and its guests ritually dismembered it in recreation of the primordial sacrifice that begat the world.

In February we honored Ing-Frey at Charming of the Plow.  We did a seed exchange, and gardening tools were ritually blessed.

Just recently, this month of March, we paid tribute to the dimly understood Hretha.  We had ritual outside and fired up the grill for potluck!

The kindred conducted its quarterly business meeting.  Pursuant thereof, we would like to announce a change to our monthly observances.

Hretha and Eostre seem to be quintessentially Anglo-Saxon goddesses, and we adopted them as part of our identity and local thew.  However … there is little that is known about them, and what is known is subject to debate.  We have decided to recast March and April holidays.

• March will hereafter be dedicated to the earth mother, Eorthan Modor. If “The Charming of the Plow” in February is about blessing seeds and gardening tools in anticipation of spring, the March holiday will be about blessing the land itself in preparation for gardening. Yes, bring  a sample of land from your home and garden to rite, and we will ritually bless it for you take home!
• April will be a combined holiday for Hretha and Eostre. The emphasis in ritual will be the cycle of the year and the burgeoning earth as it transitions from the dark half to the light half.

Finally our Midsummer celebration, Litha, had heretofore been dedicated to Baldor.  No one in the kindred had any connection to Baldor, and he seemed not well attested in the Anglo-Saxon sources. Forthwith, we are dedicating the June holiday to the sun, Sunna.  We intend to have sun-wheels and bonfires to celebrate the goodly light from the heavens. It will also be dedicated to the landwights,  those forces Seen and Unseen who tender the land.

Our tribal thew is always evolving.  But in general, we have always been peaceful sorts. These changes to our holidays place us closer to the cycles of the land, where we wish to be.

While much of “Heathenry” seems obsessed with Viking warrior prowess and admission to Valhalla, we have carved our own niche away from it.  Tending the land, holding down a job, raising families, being good neighbors – and exploring the mysteries and magic of Midgard – is the version of Heathenry we care to articulate.   We practice ”inclusive Heathenry” – if we discriminate, it is based on your character, not on your ancestry.

And most importantly we do it, not as a church, but as a family and tribe.  Come bask in the warm smiles of friends, where you are known and welcome.   Come enjoy the hospitality of our hall, where laughter resounds over the gurgle of the beer cup, and above the delectable smells of the dinner plate.  Sit by our hearth fires, among the gods and ancestors, and enjoy the peace of our grithstead.

Hail the Folk.  Hail our friends.

 

—  Jeremy and GVK

(edited 3-14-16 regarding holidays)