Using the Magic in Nature and the Seasons
Oh my god! I said the “M” word! Does that mean I’m going to talk about…GULP…Magic? Well, yes, and no. I want to talk about changes in the seasons and how you can recognize them long before most people do. Which means maybe not magic, but more observation and perhaps a bit of empathy.
Let me explain.
Recognizing the Rhythms of Your Land
Regardless of whether you live in the country or the city, in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, or in the Americas or “across the pond,” the land you live in has its own rhythm, its own wights (and I use that term loosely), and its own timing. Back when I lived further south in the Rocky Mountains, it took me forever to recognize this–mainly because I wasn’t a Heathen then and I had other concerns which took up a good deal of my attention. Back when I was younger, the weather, the climate, and the land were simply distractions from day-to-day living. Now, I realize that day-to-day living is a distraction from the weather, climate, and the land.
Look, you don’t need to become a tree hugger or run around naked in the forest to connect with nature. (However, if that’s what you do to get your rocks off, that’s none of my business.) It involves changing your viewpoint and paying more attention to the natural occurrences that surround you (even in the city.) Changing your viewpoint isn’t that hard, but it does require mindfulness. This is why I often recommend mindfulness training to those who are getting started in Heathenry.
Mindfu
lness as Magic
If there’s a form of magic I do believe in, it has to do with mindfulness. Seriously, it’s something everyone can do and it will help discipline your mind enough to deal with the stress of modern life. I recommend a book called Mindfulness for Fidgety Skeptics if you’ve never done this before. I get a small stipend from Amazon if you buy it through the link. You support this website if you use the link, so I would appreciate it if you use it. Even if I didn’t get some money through this, I’d still recommend the book.
What You’ll Discover Paying Attention to the Land
Being mindful and paying attention to the land opens a whole new world of experiences you never knew existed. You start noticing not only the cooler temperatures of autumn setting in, but also the increase or decrease in humidity that follows the change. Maybe you start seeing stratus clouds and high cirrus replace the fluffy cumulus. Maybe you see a shift in the bird population, the increase or decrease of certain insects, or even the shift in the quality of light you get. Instead of noticing the latest fall fashions creeping into people’s wardrobes, you notice how the squirrels are moving from tree to tree to gather food. You may see different species of birds. If you live in a place with deer, you may see a shift in their foraging.
At night, you may see a change in the constellations–if the light pollution isn’t too bad. If you live in wildfire country like I do, you can actually see if there are new wildfire starts nearby just by the color of the moon, often before the news picks it up.
How This Makes You a Better Heathen
At this point, you may be wondering how this makes you a better Heathen. Let’s think about this a bit: our gods and the landvaettir are nature entities. Even Odin, who is our creator god, deals with natural forces. (How much more natural is the creation of life?) So, we’re looking at gods who reside over nature. By paying attention to things not human made, we gain a deeper understanding in the world around us. You become a better Heathen, and you even open yourself up to the wights and gods. It may or may not be a type of magic, but I know it works.
How to Communicate with the Gods
That’s one thing about being a Heathen a lot of Heathens miss. You see, you can get close to the 
gods without all the mumbo-jumbo. In fact, I suspect it’s the best way to get in touch with the gods. You don’t get a conversation with the gods from mumbling prayers or sacrificing goats usually. You get that from opening yourself to them and seeing who pops up. That requires paying attention to them and listening to what they have to say.
If you’re not receptive to the gods unless Thor takes a hammer to you and smacks you silly, you’re unlikely to hear them. That does happen to the most dense of us and it is quite unpleasant. Trust me when I say you will really get shaken out of your reality when the gods do that. It will make you question your overall sanity, unless you’re already bat-shit crazy. Now, it’s a lot easier to deal with because I’m more in tuned with them, but for a while it was fucking nuts.
I hope I’ve given you some things to think about. Let me know what you think.
Charlatans Don’t Deserve Money
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Shamans and Charlatans
I ran across a person who is making money hand over fist with her “channeling” archangels. Now, you might tell me that I’m just bitter because I don’t make tons of money like she does. Okay, you might be right there. But I think charging a lot of money for a “gift” from a supernatural entity smacks of charlatanism. Here’s why I think that they might be a charlatan.
What are Angels?
Of all the Christian constructs, I’m more inclined to accept angels and archangels over other 
supernatural beings. The concept of the angel, that is a messenger of the gods, goes back a fairly long ways in history. The concept isn’t linked just to the Abrahamic beliefs. The word, “angel,” comes from the Greek word, angelos, meaning “messenger.” The Sumerians were the first to have angels. They even worshiped a type of personal angel, similar to our Fygia that were, in essence, guardian angels. The Babylonians continued with angels and demons, which no doubt influenced the Jewish belief system, and thereby Christianity.
A UPG warning ahead (so you know). I believe that the so-called angels of Christianity are actually gods from earlier religions, and that our gods have occasionally taken their forms (as well as forms of the Christian god) to appear to people who eventually become Heathens. This is my experience, and you can take that with a grain of salt. I know, in my case, Tyr has done so, and I suspect Odin has as well. I also suspect other spirits and supernatural entities have taken the guise of a Christian angel to get their message heard.
Charging for Communing
The concept of communing with angels and archangels doesn’t seem that farfetched to me, as I’ve noted. But the concept of charging people a monthly fee for their insight sends off warning bells as being a charlatan. They claim that people won’t believe their message if they don’t charge something, but getting rich off advice given by the minions of a poor Jewish carpenter seems a bit hypocritical. Okay, a lot hypocritical.
I remember being in a panel at a SF convention and using runes on someone else, rather than myself. I was stunned to find people all around me who charged for doing that sort of thing with their Tarot cards. Never mind that I ended up being more accurate than they were. That’s really not a boast. I felt so out of my league with those people, that I ended up being stunned at my own accuracy.
Occasionally I have charged for my rune draws, but it’s a nominal fee — like $5. I am very cautious about it, because I really don’t know if it works well enough to change people’s lives. And quite honestly, the gods are the gods. The gods are not our bitches. They don’t come running when we call to them, nor do they do things we ask of them, unless they think it’s a good idea. I suspect angels–if they really do exist–have better things to do than counsel people on their day-to-day lives. Yeah, and if I recall archangels seem to have lots of things to do besides talk to our silly asses day-to-day. The gods do, I know that.
Yes, the runes are the runes. They may or may not tap into a god’s psyche. And one could claim, I suppose, that you spent umpty umpty bucks becoming a channeler. You know how much training I had with the runes? Zilch, other than books. You know how much training I had contacting gods? Yep, zilch, nada, none. And yet, I’ve gotten some interesting contacts.
Communing with Angels
So, do I think the people actually commune with angels and archangels? Probably not. In most cases, as much as I hate to say it, they’re charlatans like those people who did toll-free Tarot readings and advise people of their love life. Maybe a few of them were actually legit, but most were just trying to make a buck off of incredibly gullible people.
Of those who are actually legit, I don’t think they’re talking to whom they think they are talking to. 
For one thing, I don’t believe in the Christian god, and if he does exist, he’s not the god the Christians think he is. So, the angels and archangels could be damn near anyone or anything. Hels bells, it might even be a malevolent spirit. If I hazard a guess, I think they’re probably talking to a wight, if they’re talking to anything.
So, How Does this Relate to Heathenism?
For those getting into Heathenism, and for those who have been in Heathenism some time, it’s important to recognize when someone is blowing smoke up your ass. (As an aside, this term actually comes from an attempted “cure” by blowing smoke up someone’s ass. I know, TMI.) Basically if someone is demanding lots of money for something that isn’t particularly well defined, such as prognostication, you may want to ask a lot of questions. Questions include:
- How do I know that you’re really talking to <name that entity or god> and not just ripping me off?
- What do I get in return for my money?
- Who made you the Asa-Pope and why should I believe you?
I know, I know. I’m a wet blanket here. Look, there are plenty of major religions out there begging for money who have amazingly gilded churches. The Catholic Church is just one of them.
Where Does the Rational Heathen Fit in?
At this point, if you haven’t read a lot by me, you’re probably wondering what the fuck am I doing and what am I selling? Look, I know I’ve mentioned that I’ve had several conversations with our gods, but I give the information I think is pertinent freely. Yeah, yeah, I do have a premium version of this site and a pay wall on some pieces, but I’m pretty up front when I’m telling you that what you’re paying for is to keep me writing about the stuff you like to hear about.
I’m not lying to you and saying that Tyr has a special message for you if you only pay me $29.99 a month. (He doesn’t, by the way.) I don’t tell you I’m taking the money and saving souls while lining my pockets with the cash. (You’re going to Hel, by the way, if a god doesn’t claim you or if you haven’t died in battle.) What I tell you is that I could use some help monetarily and if you like what you’re reading and want to support my endeavors, I’d appreciate if you could at least pitch in a buck or two to at least keep the blog and the Internet up.
Maybe I’m not thinking big enough on this whole archangel thing. Maybe I need to channel those, charge people $25 a month, and have my own videos…
Nah. I’d probably get Weeping Angels. In which case, we’re all screwed.
When the Muse is a Bitch: Dealing with Doubt
I go through bouts of doubt and despair in my writing, largely because, well, I’m a writer, and we seem to be programmed for for such things. I swear, just about every job I’ve been in has, as one person so aptly put it, had the largest number of unmedicated personalities I’ve seen. …
Living in an Age of Censorship
Like many people on the Interwebs, I read the opinion piece in Forbes, Amazon Should Replace Local Libraries to Save Taxpayers Money. (Thanks to the magic of the Internet and cached content, you can 
see what was supposedly “deleted.”) Now, before we get into the discussion whether or not I agree with the piece, let me state emphatically that I think it’s wrong on a multitude of levels. That being said, I also think that Forbes should not have pulled the article in response to the shitstorm that ensued over it. Yeah, it is a form of censorship.
Living in a Land of Confusion
Forbes caved to pressure from the masses, pure and simple. Whether the piece was well-researched or not, was completely immaterial. Why do I say that? Because it is a fucking opinion piece, folks. That article is the opinion of the writer, who may or may not have the same opinions as the Forbes magazine. It may not be a popular opinion; it may not even be a valid opinion. But it is an opinion, nonetheless. It doesn’t mean that the person is right or intelligent.
The opinion piece brought up something unpopular. Oh well. Does that mean that magazines and news outlets should cave when someone objects to something they wrote? Does this mean that they should censor their opinions for fear someone or something is going to call them on it or make such a fuss that they look bad?
The “C” Word
Yeah, I just used the “C” word: censor. Granted, it’s not the government cracking down on free speech, but it might as well could be. You see, just because an idea is unpopular doesn’t mean it should never be talked about. I mean, if this guy wants to talk about shutting down libraries in lieu of coffee shops and Amazon bookstores, who the fuck am I to prevent him from talking about it? It’s his idea and if Forbes thought it was good enough to print, they should just stick with it and take their lumps. They’re not inciting violence, nor are they talking about doing something illegal. The author just put his unpopular opinion out there.
Whether you think Forbes should not have published something like that is immaterial. Forbes published it. They needed to put on their big boy (or girl) pants and deal with the fallout. Because not everything everyone publishes is going to be popular with people.
Where the Line Needs to be Drawn
At this point, you’re probably wondering what I think about other more controversial views, such as racism, Nazism, slavery, or child pornography. Obviously, I’m against those things that exploit innocents, and I am sure as shit against things like slavery, racism, Nazis, and child pornography. That being said, there is a lot of gray when it comes to freedom of speech. Writing a racist blog is one thing; inciting people to riot or to kill other ethnicities because you don’t like the look of that person is another.
I have to draw the line at harm and things that exploit other people. If it causes harm, or intends to cause harm, I have to be against it. If it is just a bunch of trash talk, then while I don’t like it, I certainly tolerate it, because not everyone is going to agree with my point of view.
Destroying Freedom of Speech Destroys Your Right
One thing I have never understood is why people are so quick to give up their freedoms when their 
own group is in charge as if it will never affect them. In America, at least, nobody’s party is in charge forever. When you deny freedoms for the other groups, you’re denying yourself freedom when the other groups get in charge (which inevitably happens). It’s like you think the good times are going to keep on rolling forever, and you can’t see beyond the next week, let alone four years from now. One thing is for certain: you give up a right, even if you aren’t using it now, and you will regret it.
So the morons who goosestep in their mom’s basement want to march? Okay, let them. If they get out of line and break the law, throw their asses in jail. If you don’t let them march, then when you want to march to promote Heathen awareness or something like that, the Christians may decide you are too controversial to march. After all, you offend them with your pagan gods.
Censorship Doesn’t Make the Ideas Go Away
One of the big problems with censorship is that ideas that are censored simply go underground. In the face of overwhelming opposition, people don’t change their minds, they look for other people to validate their beliefs. When Christianity came into power, the pagans went underground. Eventually, many of them converted just to avoid the consequences, but paganism never went away 100 percent. Many people simply adopted the appearance of being Christian while still keeping with their pagan traditions. We can see that even today.
Being Tolerant of Other’s Ideas
You’re not going to agree with everyone. Some people are going to say things that in your mind are positively stupid and unenlightened. Get over it. Let them say their piece and present a rational argument against them. Don’t turn it into a shouting match, because you’ve lost the argument and the discussion. Why do you think I frown mightily on ad hominem attacks? It’s not because my feelings are hurt — it’s because it is a form of bullying that turns people off to the conversation. When you start attacking the person rather than discussing the idea, it becomes obvious you don’t want a conversation. You just want to shout me down.
That doesn’t work. Never has.
I hope I’ve given you something to think about. Maybe something actually clever. Let me know what you think.
Blood Sacrifices Revisited
I had reposted an article on Facebook about a “German Stonehenge” that had evidence of human sacrifice. I had a number of responses to the post, no doubt due to the interesting topic, but I did get a few responses that apparently rationalized, if not outright condoned, this gruesome and terrible behavior.
You’re Not a Racist — You’re Just a Fucking Idiot
Welcome to the Rational Heathen’s hour of Racist or Not-a-Racist! Here you can win snarky comments backed by science and logic, plus either an overwhelming urge to agree, change your point of view, or fly into an uncontrollable rage and smash your computer all to Hel. Wanna play along?
You’re Not a Racist, Unless You Hate Vulcans
Let me start out with the fact that race is a construct. Unless you’re hating a wight or extraterrestrial sentient species, you’re hating a member of your own race. You see, you’re homo sapiens and the person whom you think is another race is also homo sapiens. The differences between you and that person is just ethnic variation. Some tens of thousands of years and multiple generations cause adaptations for a particular climate. Humans had dark skin when they came out of Africa and their skin became lighter when it became advantageous to have less melanin so they could absorb more sunlight and produce more Vitamin D. This was important in northern climates where the amount of sunlight is less due to the tilt of the earth’s axis.
So, there’s no way you could be a racist, if you hate someone who has a different skin color than you. You are, however, a bigot, and a fucking idiot to boot.
Your Ancestors Were Black Even If You’re White
For those bigots who think their ancestors were lily white from the moment they existed, I’ve got news for you. Your ancestors were dark skinned at one time. You want proof? Check out the Cheddar Man (not named that because he liked cheese, although he could have) who had blue eyes and brown or black skin. And his tribe is responsible for 10 percent of those Brits who live in England today. And yes, those modern day Brits are white even though their ancestors had dark skin 10,000 years ago. This is not a particular aberration either. Archaeologists found the skeletons of two men who lived some 6000 years ago in northwest Spain. Genetic testing proved that they had blue eyes and dark skin. These men are most closely related to Scandinavians and Finns, thus proving that the white skin became an adaptation to the environment and not something that humans had at the moment of their inception.
It’s kind of funny too, because at one time our ancestor hominids most likely all had white skin. Of course, that’s when our ancestors were as hairy as chimpanzees. (Chimps, who are some of our closest relatives have white skin, due to the fur covering.) When our ancestors started losing their fur, the skin had to make up for the protection against the African sun and our ancestors’ skin darkened.
Genetically, We’re All the Same with Some Minor Differences
Humans nearly went extinct not once, but three times. Each time, we were tenacious enough to hang on, but it seriously narrowed our gene pool. Then, we had the stupidity to reduce our gene pool further by having only certain males and their dominant lines mate with women some 7000 years ago when humans switched from hunter-gatherers to agrarian cultures. So, we’re a bunch of hormone-driven, inbred hominids who push the feeder bars to get our shots of dopamine. Yeah, it’s amazing we haven’t gone extinct.
We already know that there is only one women ancestor whom everyone now living has her mitochondrial genetics. Unfortunately, she has been nicknamed Mitochondrial Eve, which has unhappily been associated by Bible thumpers to be the “real” Eve of the Bible. Likewise, there is a male counterpart, which has been nicknamed Y-Chromosomal Adam. (Like we don’t have enough issues with the Bible thumpers already?)
This shows you just how screwed up we are as a species. Sure, we have differences genetically, but we all have the same ancestor somewhere at some point. That makes every single human on this planet related to each other. Talk about banjos.
So, What About Those Who Can’t Figure This Out?
At this stage, if you’re really set on believing your lily-white ass is better than some other ethnic group because of your skin color, you’re a fucking idiot. You’re not even hating someone of a different race. Instead, you’re hating someone who is your not-so-distant cousin just because they look a little different. So, if you’re intent on hating people based on what they look like, you’re what’s wrong with our society.
Don’t Thank God for a Rescue…
And for that matter, don’t expect your god to perform a rescue either.
Read on if you want to know why I’ve got my panties in a wad today.
I read the Patheos post, For the Thai Boys: Thanks Be To God! For the Hispanic Refugee Children: Please, God, Bring Deliverance, and I did the typical facepalm.
Searching for Idunn’s Apples: The Secret to Eternal Youth
It’s Hel getting old. As one who is now considered “middle aged” (assuming I live to 100), the quest for Idunn’s apples in the form of immortality, or at least eternal youth, interests me. It probably interests you too, even if you’re young and have many years ahead of you. After all, we can’t enjoy life if we’re dead. Funny, scientists have that very same opinion. I just wish they’d work harder at it, seeing as we’re not getting any younger.
Do We Really Have an End-By Date?
I read a piece in the New York Times recently about a study that suggests that humans haven’t reached the top end of their expiration date. They studied a bunch of really old people (older than me!) who lived in Italy. The researchers found that the death rate increases up to the age of 80 (duh!), decreases until 105 (what?), and then plateaus after 105. This contradicts the announcement made by scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine that the human lifespan is fixed and that the upper level is 115.
The reason why this new study suggests that we have an end-by date further than 115 years, if we indeed have such a date, is the plateau in the death rate after 105. If there was really an expiration date of 115 years, we should see an increase in deaths as people get closer to it. That doesn’t mean that people don’t die; it just means that the percentage is stable.
That Which Does Not Kill Us…
Never mind that the scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine are a bunch of killjoys with their prediction, I tend to think that they may be close to the truth. Human experience suggests that we all have an expiration date of some variety, although what kills us is purely up to conjecture. If tomorrow we were to eliminate all disease, how long people would actually live before they simply fell apart? And then, the question remains is — do we really want to live longer if we’re infirm or decrepit?
Aging and Telomeres
The problem with getting older is that we’re not just “shorter of breath and one day closer to death,” as Pink Floyd so aptly put it. The problem is we’re not as robust as we were when we were younger. We don’t bounce back quite as quickly. Living a long life is great — if you have the youth to live it. Otherwise, you could spend your last years in a nursing home getting fed through a tube.
But could we actually stop aging? Scientists are getting closer every day to unraveling the secrets. We know that at least part of aging is due to the length of the telomeres in our DNA. Telom
eres are the little end caps on our chromosomes. The longer the telomeres, the younger our cells remain. The shorter the telomeres, the more aged our bodies become. People can lengthen their telomeres through diet, exercise, and other healthy habits and can shorten them by doing unhealthy things like smoking. Some pills are purported to increase the telomere’s length by increasing telomerase (an enzyme), but there may be some serious side effects. Basically, telomerase may be Idunn’s apples, but like Idunn’s apples, we don’t know if she needs to pick them and hand them to everyone to get the full effect.
Let’s Talk About Idunn’s Story
Everything ages in our world. Our gods would age too, if it weren’t for Idunn (Iðunn) and her apples. Loki the master trickster was tricked by the Jotunn, Thjazi (Þjazi), to steal Idunn and her apples for him. Loki obliges, but also rescues Idunn from Thjazi.
Some experts believe that the apples are the symbols of fertility, given that apples show up elsewhere in Norse and Celtic stories as just that. To add more to this theory, Loki turns Idunn into a nut during his rescue (he’s in falcon form) so he might carry her safely. Nuts were often a symbol of fertility in Anglo-Saxon England. Eternal youth could easily be linked to fertility, because, let’s face it, younger people do fuck like rabbits. So, it’s not a surprise that Idunn would be linked to fertility as much as Freyja is.
So, is this a story about the stealing of fertility and the recovery of it? Or is this the story of the loss of youth and the recovery of it? Maybe it’s both.
I look at Idunn’s apples now as the telomeres in our chromosomes. Thjazi steals them away with time, but maybe, like Loki our scientists will figure out a way to increase our telomerase and get back Idunn and her apples.