By the Hammer

News of Note

2011-10-15T23:02:00.002-03:00

Hi all!

It's been such a long time, I fear I do have my periods of "hermitness". However, this post is not about that.

I am just putting it out there to anyone who may be interested, I have written a couple book reviews that will be appearing in the next couple issues of Witches&Pagans magazine. The fall issue may interest some of you heathens- it will be entirely devoted to northern traditions :D My review will be on the book Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs by John Lindow.

My next review is in the upcoming winter issue, stay tuned :)

Hail to my ancestors and Almighty Kin!!!

2011-02-28T23:21:00.002-04:00

And to luck, of course :)

So today, at the shop I work at, I met a friend who offered up his jewellery equipment for me to use! So, long story short, I now can continue my jewellery making! I thanked all the gods, my ancestors and whatever else might have had the slightest hand in guiding this stroke of luck. Now, all I can hope for is that the luck continues :D

So, that's my update for now.

Frith!

Nightmares, suggestions?

2011-01-30T10:03:00.003-04:00

I have a very active subconscious when I'm sleeping. I usually have very vivid dreams at night which I can remember.

That being said, I've been having really gory dreams lately, and some of them are really disturbing. I had one such dream last night. In these dreams however, I most always come out victorious or unharmed somehow. I only died in my dreams one time, but I was brought back to life (and it was a pretty cool dream), but thát one was ages ago.

Anyway, I'm basically looking for some remedies you all might know of. I'm going to try and meditate while laying in bed before I fall asleep too. I'm really interested in herbal remedies.

Wish me luck!

Just randoms

2011-01-27T20:58:00.005-04:00

I took some pictures of the hof, mostly for fun. It's really evolved over the years. I believe there are some old pictures on here somewhere of it. Without further ado:

First one is my (rather large) statue of Freo (Freja) from Dryad Designs. Second is pretty much the whole hof, with Thunor on the very side. The picture is of my maternal grandparents. Third is another view. Incase you're wondering what the white circle is, it's a piece of plaster that I carved a valknot on a few years ago, unfortunately here it is overexposed :( I think it was on my old hof though.

Anyway, there's some fun pics for now!

Happy New Year and other news

2011-01-22T13:47:00.004-04:00

Hey all!

It's been a long time, I know. I had a lovely Midwinter, did a small blót by myself, nothing crazy. It was however a rather meager Yule, since I haven't had a lot of work lately. I did however just recently get a job at a local business in Halifax, so I am super excited about starting there next week! Not too many hours at first, but people are going away on vacation soon so as we get closer to summer, hours should really pick up.

So other than that, I'm planning to go back to Newfoundland this summer, hopefully I'll have the funds for when I wanna go (midsummer). Next summer will be even better since my friends there are getting handfasted :D Should be good times.

Hmm.. not much else I don't think. I'll try to blog more often though! I'll leave you with some wintry photos from December.

Another dream

2010-09-06T11:21:00.003-03:00

Interesting one I had last night, I'll put down all I can remember.

It started out that I was seeing Odin riding on Sleipnir with Huginn and Muninn flying beside him, almost exactly as he is on the Vendel helmet. He had a banner flying behind him saying "Odin"written in runes with what I thought was a number 2 behind it, but realised it was a piece of rope.

Odin rode to a certain spot (which seemed to be an open, hilly field.. the hills looked like barrows) and started digging huge amounts of soil and bringing them back (to where ever he had come from.. Asgard I think) on Sleipnir. This in the dream reminded me of the horse Grani bearing the gold from the hoard. Odin finishes and looks through all the dirt, searching for gold and realises he's been fruitless.

This is where it gets really hazy. At some point, Odin goes down to Hel to ask a seeress for advice. I see a knife stabbed into the ground and a ghostly figure start to rise but he either rejects that figure or ignores her and looks directly at me (I have been seeing this dream unfold from my own eyes) and asks me a question. I give him an answer, but I don't remember the details of it.

Something to think on!

Heathen Gathering...in the making anyway

2010-08-18T00:56:00.002-03:00

So me and some local heathens (here and in nearby provinces) are planning a meet next year and will have some workshops, possibly viking games as well :D I volunteered to lead a drinking horn making and "hedgewitchery" workshop. This would include cleaning and decorating horns along with curing and coating with beeswax (whatever is personal preference really) and making salves. I am pretty stoked about it :D

So, if anyone has any ideas for fun/educational things to do, I would love to hear your opinions!

Frith,

Hammerkast

Hey all!

2010-08-06T11:19:00.004-03:00

Midsummer blót bowl

I know I know, it's been too long.

So June was a busy month for me, I went to Newfoundland to visit some heathen friends and we had a Midsummer blót, which I conducted (I'll include pics at the end). All in all, it was a great time. Weather was nice too!

Hmm what else.. July, not much to say there. I worked, mostly. However, this month I started voice lessons! I am super excited about it and the first one was really fun. I have my next one on Tuesday. I am learning the classical methods of singing (think opera).

So this month is voice lessons, my birthday on the 30th (I'll be 22!) and working. I am hoping to get on doing security at the dockyards with some REAL hours. That'll be nice.

Ok, now for some pics!

Alright, onto other news.

So I posted on youtube some time ago this video about me leaving mormonism. Of course I have been getting all types of comments on it, so I think I am going to make a sequel to it about what "path" (I despise that term) I am now on rather than having everyone assuming I am still Christian or having people feel the need to "save" me, hehe. Expect brain storm blogs about this later. I think I am going to look over my wyrd post, and incorporate some of that in there.

Later folks!

Quick little update

2010-02-15T13:29:00.001-04:00

I was int he kitchen this morning and I look over at my little mandrake seedling and I see another one peeking out of the next pot over! It was exciting :D I was overwatering the first one for a little while, it was turning yellow and crispy at the leaf ends, so I'll be more careful this time around. Man these things are slow growers!

Small Update

2010-01-15T10:55:00.002-04:00

Well, to be honest, not much is going on.

I was out to Halifax yesterday just for some puttering around, and as I was leaving, I saw two navy ships headed out to Haiti (I was on the ferry back to Dartmouth). It was interesting in a way because everyone wasd out on deck lined up. I guess this is standard procedure? I really don't know a whole lot about how the ships operate. Anyway, it was interesting. I hope they're a lot of help down there.

Every day for the last three or four days (that I've noticed) there's been a dedicated few guys icefishing on the lake. I would love to try that some time. One fella has a whole "building" rigged up that he has out there some times.

Other than that, life has been pretty regular as usual. I am enjoying my new bookshelf dad made me for xmas though :D

Midwinter once again :)

2009-12-20T21:59:00.002-04:00

One of my favourite times of the year :D

Anyway, I don't really have a whole lot to post about it. I don't really have any firm plans, but I am going to visit a friend tomorrow before she leaves for China again :( Though, if any day is a good one to travel, I think tomorrow woul be it. The sun's coming back once more, I take it as a good sign.

What is everyone else doing tomorrow, if you celebrate/recognise Midwinter?

Back!

2009-12-11T20:52:00.001-04:00

Well, it was a little bit of a hiatus, but I am back home now, and things are as happy as they could be :) Just waiting for Yule, getting presents ready and stuff. Not too much to report!

Stuff and Things

2009-11-21T10:18:00.003-04:00

Well, I can't say much has really been going on. Did some much needed horseback riding lately. Fell off the other day though, haha. It probably looked really bad from Ashley's POV, but I wasn't seriously hurt at all . Back/side is a little sore still though.

Mom wants to go to dinner on Sunday with me, my brother, my grandfather (dad's dad) and Dad himself. She asked me if I wanted to go to dad's camp afterwards, but I said I didn't really feel like it, I kinda just wanted to go to dinner, and there was a clinic (horse) that Ash wanted to go to , but I didn't know what time it was. I dunno why though she would suggest that, after all the crap that her and Dad have been through, is it just a charade for Gramp? Dunno. I never thought about that until now. Gramp's memory has been on the fritz, since he has a tumour in his brain, so I think he's rather in the dark about all of what happened, which I am sure is for the best anyway. To be honest, I was never really close to him growing up (for several reasons), but it is hard to watch him go downhill like that. Anyway, that's a different story.

So I have (ashamedly) been reading Twilight since I have been here, mostly because Ash talked me into it. It's a decent enough story, and you want to know what happens in the end, so I kept reading it. I have to say though, I really don't like Meyer's writing style at all, and it's a rather brainless read the whole way through. Some important characters don't have enough depth, so it's kindof annoying at the same time. We were talking about it last night, and someone compared it to Harry Potter by saying "when I read HP, I feel like I am reading a book about kids. When I read Twilight, it's like reading a book for kids." I completely agree with this. It's like a harlequin for teenagers. To be honest, I was waiting for the smut, but smut never occured (and I was rather disappointed). She kindof avoided the whole sex thing altogether, even though it happened. All in all, it was ok. I'm still not a Twitard :)

Ummm, other than that, nothing much. I haven't really thought about Jeff, mostly because I have forced myself not to. I would miss him too much otherwise. I will be very happy to see him again though.

Edit: I just noticed the date and realised why we are going out tomorrow, it's Dad's birthday. Still, I don't know why Mom is, well doing this I guess. Anyway I am not gonna think about it.

I've Landed

2009-11-13T23:17:00.002-04:00

Well, made it to my friend's house tonight. It was a pain dragging all my clothes here and putting other stuff in the storage, but oh well. I gave my apt key to my neighbour, so Jeff can pick it up from her and give it to his friend that will be subletting the apartment for two weeks. Jeff is keeping his stuff there, though I can't imagine he'll keep all his clothes out like they are, there's quite a pile.

the cat hated the trip here, she was so freaked out. She's fine now, and quite herself. I am gonna keep her in the room here for a bit, my friend has two dogs and two cats, and I am not sure how they'll jive. I am more worried about the cats though.

Anyway, I had a brutal long shift last night, so now bedtime!

Plant Babies!

2009-11-12T19:54:00.005-04:00

WELL. I got an awesome surprise today.

I looked onto the kitchen table where I have some mandrake seeds in pots, and guess what? ONE OF THEM SPROUTED!!

Mandrakes can be notoriously hard to propagate, so I am feeling very proud of myself and it's like a small testiment to all the time over the years I have spent learning about and growing interesting plants. What do I have in the house right now? Here's the list:

One Christmas cactus (white, I'll have to find out exactly what variety)
Passion flower vine
Lemon/Orange hybrid tree (COMPLETE accident)
One spearmint plant
One sprouted mandrake (5 seeds all together)- mandragora officinarum var. vernalis

I did have a lemon balm, but its pretty dead now. Still outside in the pot, but its been snowed and frosted on. Oh well! Hehe.

So I am pretty excited. That, and I talked to Jeff today, and he doesn't have to go away on his "trip". I am pretty glad about that. Though we are still taking a break. I am starting to chill out more, which is what I need, not to mention I have pretty much been living at work the last week, and I came in tonight for 1700, so its gonna be a good 16 hour shift. Fuck! I didn't even really realise that. Oh well, money for me!!!

The only thing I am really worried about right now is that Jeff will slip into his old habits of dwelling on things too much. It prevents me from totally just relaxing this month because it's in the back of my head all the time. I'll see him tomorrow when he comes to clean up his stuff, so we'll see how that goes. I hope its relaxed. Today's his last day at his old work, he's pretty stoked about that. not sure when he starts his new job, I am guessing not til after the two weeks he was supposed to be away for. Anyway, I just hate having this small pit of worry in my stomach.

Either way, I will focus on having fun with my friend Ashley, whom I am staying with. I love the girl to death, and hopefully this month will be filled with horsey stuff :3

Well, that's it for now, I'll take pics of the little mandrakies (hahahah) when I get home tomorrow morning. I am so excited!!

Gods, Spirits and the like

2009-11-08T03:58:00.003-04:00

This is cross-posted from a topic I made at the Frithling Society of Newfoundland forum.

Well, I have been thinking about how people see the gods in heathenry. I suppose this is kindof my UPG plus an open question to all you folks as well.

I tend to have a very agnostic view of things when it comes to the spiritual nature. I am skeptical of the existence of true almighty and powerful "god type", so I don't really recognise any gods that way. I suppose in this case I am strictly talking about the Germanic gods, as I am not familiar with many others from other cultures.

I see the gods more as ancestral spirits, or some far back kin. My interpretation of how they came to be known as gods is that they started out as founders of a (in this case proto-germanic) society millenia ago and became deified with time. Of course, they all have their roles, whether they be chieftains, shamans and soothesayers, warlords and poet and then morphed into those roles as gods. If they were people once, why should I accept them as anymore "powerful" than someone who existed yesterday? Well, since I have a belief of the (or perhaps several?) afterworld(s) I think someone who has been there longer would have more wisdom about the workings of the universe than someone who just got there :D Who would you put more faith in, a child or someone thousands of years old?

How does this affect the way I honour my ancestors and the gods? Well, for example I believe that my "fate" is determined by my own choices rather than a predestined path, though I see no reason as to why my wyrd cannot be helped by any of my ancestors or the gods, such as through asking with sacrifice or oathmaking. I try to think of the gods, spirits and ancestors in a way that doesn't contradict anything in terms of scientific nature, and that includes origin of life etc. In this case I take a scientific stance, and the gods etc only come into my worldview when its a question of metaphysics (i.e afterlife etc)

This may beg the question, do I believe in landwights and the like? Perhaps not in a traditional "fairy" sense. Perhaps rather like a essence of spirit instead. I believe there are many forms of existence, many which can't be measured by any means known to man, and I guess these land spirits would fall under this category. Why do I believe "they" exist? Because I think anything that lives has some kind of essence or soul about it.

Anyway, that's enough for now, it's already gotten more complex than I thought it was. Any thoughts, suggestions or whatever are welcome. I would love to hear everyone's take on these ideas.

Thoughts, and I want your opinions!! (long post)

2009-11-07T22:29:00.006-04:00

Well, work has been somewhat surprisingly understanding of my situation with the boyfriend. Moreso than I expected. I had a lengthy talk with my branch manager this morning (plus he likes to tell stories, but I am not complaining there) and I told him pretty much all about what was going on, including that my boyfriend may have to go away to work on a ship for a couple weeks (its going to be a dangerous job, if it still goes through). I don't wanna go into too much detail about it, but my manager gave me some insight as to another reason why Jeff (the bf) might want a break. He suggested that Jeff may be getting nervous about his job and this is kind of a way to distance himself if anything does happen to him. To be honest, I never even thought of this, but it's plausible. By no means do I think this is the main reason, but all the same *shrug*.

On a related note, I know I was being a spazz when it came to Jeff and the little time I spent with him. I guess when I look back, there isn't really a whole lot of difference between now and before (there's a little, but I dunno, I was just more preoccupied with other things?) and the time we spent together. Anyway, I knew what I was getting into when I started dating him and the whole career thing. He is a very career oriented person and I just forget that I guess. Anyway, he only has 2000 more hours until his Red Seal and after that, he can pretty much pick his jobs, which will be awesome. That translates to about a year or so of working hard, so not much more time. I know I can hang in there and be more supportive if him, which I had been lacking, kindof only thinking of myself. Yeah, I think he could be a little tiny bit more inclusive of me in the day to day life, but still. When I feel myself starting to "slip" into doubt, I just have to remember our last conversation, it was good and dispelled a lot of my "fears" I guess. I know he wants a relationship with me and loves me etc because he's sincere when he says it. He made me promise "no one else" while we are on the break (which kinda make me giggle, I said "of course not!!") so I know he's still possessive of me, which I like, hahaha! There was a day when I resented that more, but not now.

Well, I am probably rambling at this point, but I just wanted to get that out, I have been thinking about all this since my conversation this morning. My manager said to not worry, I would be looked after in the company. I really am grateful for all of that, and I expressed by gratitude to him by saying so to him.

It's hard to explain this kind of thing to other people who aren't there to hear the actual words between me and Jeff. For example, I know my best friend is quite skeptical of him, but I know Jeff better than most people, and I know he is being honest with me about all this. Either way, I know that one of my main problems is also that I think I read too far into his actions etc. It must be the way my female brain works or something. Not trying to generalise, but I think I am just trying to complicate guy behaviour more than it has to be. I have been told by many men that men are simple and dont usually have ulterior motives or schemes behind their actions like women do. Maybe I am trying to read him like I would read myself? Not like I am some conniving crazywoman (Ooo, nice alliteration there), but I usually have more deepseated purposes to my actions than what may be visible on the surface. Now this seems to have turned into a speculation on male behaviour. Ah well, I guess that's really what I am dealing with in the first place.

Here's a thought. If anyone is interested, maybe give me suggestions on what you think about male behaviour. Am I right, or close in my musings about it?
I don't necessarily want an opinion about my situation specifically because it's hard to make a judgement on someone you don't know, but just in general. I would really love to hear your opinions about that!

Sorry for the epic post, but this has all been swirling about in my head :)

Well, here's a solution

2009-11-05T14:16:00.003-04:00

Today the boyfriend and I had a long talk.

In the end, we both decided it would be good to have a break. I know if we don't, it'll end up in flames because we are both getting to our end. I have been an emotional wreck and I am taking it out on the poor man. I am not at all usually like that and I realise how I was and I hated it, but I didn't know what else to do.

Unfortunately it couldn't have come at a worse time. I was just about to lease a horse (well, it's a good thing I wasn't already), so I had to cancel that. I was just offered a job in Newfoundland for the month, which I turned down and they are leaving today. My parent's relationship is pretty much dead and I need to move out for a while. Which means I need to reconcile my job somehow. I don't know if I have been there long enough to take a LOA (leave of absence) and I doubt there are any jobs in Truro I can take. I hope I can get a job there, anyway. I can think of a couple possible options.

Anyway, it's shitty, but it needs to happen. We both still love each other to death, we are just about to kill each other is all :P

Just.. ugh

2009-10-18T11:27:00.002-03:00

Don't you hate it when you make a solemn agreement with someone, and it just seems like their not holding their end up? I certainly do

>:(

Fuck sakes, I said to the boyfriend (of four years) that I to feel like he wants to spend time with me etc, this all spawned off of something I said this morning "Can't you just take one day off the gym to hang out with me?" to which he replied "no". Of course this, really stung. He goes on to mention (later) that he's a creature of habit etc etc and he tries to stay busy because of some stuff that has happened the last couple months or so. Yeah I get that, but that's not a good reason to neglect time with your girlfriend which you apparently love and want to spend time with. So you know what he suggests? "Oh, when we get home this evening, we can watch a movie together and on Tuesday morning (when I am off work) lets grab a coffee" like some fucking quick fix shit. I was like "yeah fine". Come on. I feel like if I was gone for a month he wouldn't give a shit. Maybe I fucking should go for a month, somewhere far away where I don't have to be depressed by him, my parents or any of that shit. I need a goddamn LONG vacation.

Stuff and Things

2009-10-07T02:00:00.002-03:00

Ok, so tonight I joined Ravelry, an online knitting/crocheting/etc community which I was previously unaware of! I am still quite new to this whole world of creating, and I finally learned to knit the other day! So now I am spinning, knitting and felting my way around. I still need to buy some needles, I will probably visit The Loop in Halifax, or Tangled Skeins, which I have not been to yet, though it's closer to my house :P

Tonight my dear beloved friend is coming over, then Thursday its off to the Maritime Fall Fair with her! Excited for that. THEN, hopefully I'll be off Friday or Sat morning to see a leasing prospect (a horse!!!), if I get an email back soon enough.

So, plan for the week: Buy knitting needles, check out some horsies!

Finally, real spinning

2009-09-30T12:30:00.005-03:00

So I finally got a drop spindle yesterday, and started spinning some wool. I am getting better, not so many uneven bits as before. I'll post pics later. I am going to try needlebinding here pretty soon, but I need a good needle for it (one of the big flat ones).

Edit: here's a quick snapshot

Amazing Article

2009-08-27T21:33:00.003-03:00

Came across an article linked to me by Æthelbera about a very small Finno-Ugric god called Peko:

The Littlest God

A shining beacon of hope for all heathen cultures :)

Ásatrú News

2009-08-21T18:03:00.003-03:00

Well, my dear friend Æthelbera pointed this article out to me today, and while I am very disappointed this had to happen to Raven's Folk Kindred, I am annoyed also by some of the people commenting. Of course, it is common belief that many/most folkish heathens are racist and bigoted, and there is a little bit of that in there. An example of such a comment:

mortimer · 2 days ago

Those guys might as well be saying they venerate their great ancestor Schmadolph Schmitler. Supporting them in any way is naive. No free speech for fascists.

Anyway, I posted my two cents in there. I just hate reading this same shit over and over again. Just because someone isn't Universalist, doesn't mean they are Adolf's twin brother *sigh*

Wow...

2009-08-13T15:31:00.000-03:00

Good note: Me and the boyfriend have made an agreement and sorted things out.

Bad note: Turns out my dream from a few posts back came true :O My father has been having an affair on my mother with a blonde woman. When I found out, I was somewhat unsurprised but still very disgusted that he would have done this. I hope he and mom work things out, but still one part of me will never forgive him for it.

sigh

2009-08-02T07:29:00.001-03:00

Me and the boyfriend are having issues.. no fighting.. he just thinks for certain reasons I can't be happy with him if we continue our relationship. Of course, I can't make decisions within a couple days, so I am going to put forward something for him that I hope (can't can't see how he couldn't) agree on. Everyone wish me luck today, I can't let one of the most important people in my life just vanish like that.

(in case you're wondering, this isn't a silly little 1 or two year relationship, I have been with him for nearly five years, through the most trying times of my life)

Restless Nights

2009-07-30T08:11:00.002-03:00

Just a short update..

The last couple nights have been terrible in terms of dreams. I have had related dreams of my parents divorcing, my father cheating and hooking up with some blonde woman. The one I just had a few hours ago was some strange wedding that he had to this woman (which weirdly enough was mom, but not at the same time? Anyway) I refused to accept her as a part of the family and I think I disowned everyone who was encouraging it. I woke up very stressed out and with a little tears. It was very strange.

I think this is all stemming off of something mom said, that she thought dad didn't wanna spend time with her (which I am not sure is entirely true), and that they are both stressed from some other unrelated family issues. Anyway, I hope this is just my (too) active imagination.

Vague Ingredients

2009-07-10T20:29:00.003-03:00

So we sell these "eco cleaning products" at work by a company called "Eco Mist". I rather like the idea of a whole range of economically friendly cleaning line, but the thing is is that they list their ingredients very vaguely such as "grass, tree sap," etc. I wrote them an email today saying:

While I applaud your effots in making eco-friendly products, I think it would add to the company's professionalism and the product's legitimacy to actually include the latin names of the ingredients you're using in your products. While I know the general population does not undertstand/care about these names, some of us -do-, and would rather like to know exactly what species of plants are in the products, rather than vague names like "grass, tree sap" etc. Please concider this suggestion, as I believe it would be beneficial to everyone curious about the products this company makes.

I hope they respond with something intelligent :/

Edit: Here's a link. Click on the product>Ingredients to see a list.

Home Solutions

Crappiest week ever

2009-07-07T11:27:00.004-03:00

First let me start with a story that happened at work:

This bitch at my counter. First some guy walks into the store with his dog (which we allow) and this woman's son goes "they didn't stop him, can we bring in (insert dogs name)?" and the mother replies " no you're black, they'll stop you".

... There was a white guy at my till paying who didn't say anything who I think they were with. My first reaction was a very small laugh through my nose. But soon after I was kinda pissed that she would say that.

Anyway, other than that, my brother did some really stupid things (like "borrow" / stole someone's truck and drove it home, mom thought it was a burglar, called cops, chasedown, never found out til he admitted it (which I am glad for) and to top it all off, my boyfriend cut his long, beautiful hair.

That last one, I am probably most upset about (I have a huge fetish almost, for guys with nice long hair, so you can imagine how shitty this was). I don't care if it's selfish (he did have one good reason for cutting, but it could have been avoided other ways) cause I fucking loved his hair. Now it's gone :(

Anyway, one good thing, I am getting a forefather shirt in the mail any day now. Yay!!!

Daily Deviation

2009-06-17T21:56:00.002-03:00

Cross-post from Facebook. I've done this like three times :P

Incase you're wondering what that is, on the site deviantart.com, where I post most of my jewellery, there exists an award of sorts where one of your pieces get's featured on the site for the day. Today, it was me and my Swamplings and Shroomlings ring (http://lykaios.deviantart.com/art/Swamplings-and-Shroomlings-II-116374133)

Here's how I found out:

Aodhan siger:
front page of Deviant eh?

-Fregnedyr- Ærra Líþa siger:
what about it?

Aodhan siger:
I'd imagine it's probably a tough feat :D

-Fregnedyr- Ærra Líþa siger:
I don't understand what you mean?

Aodhan siger:
your ring was on it it seems

Aodhan siger:
acc. to Wulfy

-Fregnedyr- Ærra Líþa siger:
it was?

-Fregnedyr- Ærra Líþa siger:
HOLY FUCK

Aodhan siger:
http://www.tyrforum.fraendar.com/viewtopic.php?t=1198&start=165

-Fregnedyr- Ærra Líþa siger:
that woud explain the FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY MESSAGES

-Fregnedyr- Ærra Líþa siger:
fuck sakes

Aodhan siger:
LOL

I am totally overwhelmed and shocked, but in a good way which makes me feel like this is what I was destined to do :D What a great feeling!

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Listening to: Shaman - Hunka Lunka

Moved in!

2009-06-16T17:20:00.003-03:00

Well, we moved into our new apartment yesterday! There are currently boxes and things everywhere, but it's slowly getting sorted (I'm on a lunch/supper break). The apartment is great. Nice and bright, beautiful wood (though pine) floors and a balcony for me to veg out on :D

Friday, I'm off to Newfoundland to visit Kayla :D

Pics of the apartment probably after I get back.

----------------
Listening to: Valravn - Krummi

Weird dream

2009-06-09T00:03:00.002-03:00

As far as I know we were boat racing to win a peacock we had found, but it was no ordinary boats or race.

I dreamt I was Thor, racing all the other gods for this damn bird, but for some reason, instead of Loki being there it was Lugh (an Celtic god, who apparently looked like Loki in my mind anyway). So we got in our boats and I had ONE paddle and it was the shittiest one on the face of the earth; it looked like a squarish stick and wood shingle that had been nailed together (in a flag shape) and left outside for 200 years. My boat was much the same. Anyhow, being Thor, I hastily started "paddling" with this thing and was soon ahead, but it was hard to keep my boat straight and the current was fast. All the while, Lugh was trying to sabotage my boat by bumping it from behind.

Anyway, the river somehow morphed into a warehouse (with a water floor for a river) and I manage to grab the prize at the end we had to catch. The floor suddenly morphs into cement and my boat comes to an immediate halt where I fly out and land on my face and hand, haha.

Needless to say I woke up at the alarm to a sore face and hand. I have no idea what I did to it, hahahaha.

Before I woke up, my dream morphed into me finding all these tiny gemstones and trying not to lose them all (and failing.. surprise, surprise, being a jeweller in training)

----------------
Listening to: Týr - Turið Torkilsdóttir

OH! I forgot :D

2009-06-07T17:49:00.003-03:00

... To update about the status of my membership within the church, I am finally out! :D

Here's what my letter said:

Dear Sister Fowler (lol):

This letter is to notify you that, in accordance with your request, your name has been removed from the membership records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Should you desire to become a memver of the Church in the future, the local bishop or branch president in your area will be happy to help you.

Not bloody likely :D

Anyway, that whole deal is done with finally, and I can rest easy once again.

Not much.

2009-06-07T17:47:00.002-03:00

Well, as per the title, not much going on. I'm kinda in a small lull right now, just working. Soon though things will explode into chaos because I am moving on the 15th (yay!!) and then off to Newfoundland on the 19th. I'll probably be updating this as I am over there cause I am bringing the computer (possible file-trading and picture purposes). So there will be lots of news etc then. In the mean time, I was just curious about the demographics of my blog-followers and your respective religions/folkways etc. Since I can't really make a poll with my current layout, just make comments about it if you like.

Moving

2009-05-26T12:09:00.006-03:00

(from left: Mint, Tomato, Lemon Balm and some Wintercress in the cup)

..Just upstairs though, but I am so excited! We'll have a balcony finally and be off the ground floor :D It's gonna be great.I'll take pics of the new place when we get up there. I guess we are able to move in on the 15th, but I hope they give us the go-ahead a little earlier. The current occupant is out on the first I believe, and the next two weeks are just for repairs etc.

Anyway, Jeff wants to get a barbeque, which will be awesome. I need to repot my plants I got from a friend, as they are growing very rapidly! I think I'll pot the mint and lemon balm together. The tomato gets it's own :P I'll take pics of them too when I get all moved.

Soon after the moving, I am off to Newfoundland to visit Kayla, Kevin and hopefully Chris as well. Going up for Midsummer, so it will be extra-awesome!

Oh, side note: I am getting five white mandrake seeds from a friend, so I will germinate them and plant! I am excited, but they are expensive (5 bucks for 5 seeds..) getting them from Alchemy Works.

Good Read.

2009-05-22T07:53:00.000-03:00

Who Controls Our Symbols, Controls Us.

Read on.

Spinning the threads of fate

2009-05-05T20:51:00.005-03:00

..Well not really :) But spinning yes!

I went down to the local yarn shop today and picked up some wool for felting and happened to ask if they had any books on spinning, which they did! It was a good price too:

Spin It, by Lee Raven

So it's a great book! I think tomorrow I will buy some wood and a screw eye hook to make a drop spindle. I did my spinning with a hook I made from some leftover copper tubing. At first it was really wonky, but my second skein (which is drying right now) turned out much more even :D

Well, I think Kayla and I wanna start a store on etsy for all of our craftings. This will probably include felted things, soapstone stuff (if she can find a supplier locally), tea, salve, tinctures etc. We'll see how it goes. Just need a name :D

Updates, ankle

2009-04-27T13:19:00.002-03:00

Well, not too much is new, spring is definitely here now, on her way to summer. It was 20 degrees out on Saturday, and I thought it would be a good idea to take a walk...

Well, as soon as I stepped out the door, I twisted my ankle on the edge of some broken pavement that maintenance didn't fix back up. I tried to stay standing, but the pain was so intense that I had to sit down. I stayed there for a good 5 minutes or more, holding my ankle in pain, and it occured to me that it might be broken. So, I got up (gingerly) and tried to unlock the back door, only to realise (and remember) that for some reason, my key doesn't work there >:( So, I hobbled around the buildings to the front where I called my boyfriend and he got his mom and sister (who were in town) to come up. We went to the hospital where I had xrays etc. My ankle wasn't broken, but it is badly sprained and I have some ligament damage.

That's what I get for trying to enjoy nature eh? ;)

Mormon Update

2009-04-16T21:49:00.002-03:00

Well, guess what I got in the mail today :-) ? An update on this whole "process", but not the actual "you're out now". Here's what it said:

It is with deep regret that I have received your letter asking that your membership be removed from the rolls of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. However, the Lord has given us our free agency to make decisions for ourselves.

I understand that for your request that you want no further contact from the church or its membership. However, the procedure required to have such an action taken requires that you have a thirty days period to make your final decision. If you have no contact is made then we will honour your request and your name will be removed from the rolls of the church and you will will receive a letter confirming this matter.

Sincerely,

Bishop Alvin Nieforth

Axe and Oak discussion forum

2009-04-11T10:46:00.001-03:00

Just wanted to post this:

Hey all, just wanted to post this:

Axe and Oak discussion forum
http://excoboard.com/exco/index.php?boardid=337

This is a forum dedicated to all recon types for discussion and debate. There are TONS of sections and resources for many types of recon traditions, including heathenry. The board is a little dead, but there are a couple posters (including myself). I really kinda want to help bring it back because it has tons of potential for information and discussion with other recon groups.

Check it out!

School!

2009-04-05T18:55:00.002-03:00

...is nearly done for the year :D

I have decided to take a leave of absense next year though.. I was gonna take the whole year off, but I think I'm only gonna a semester off. I need a break :P

I guess not really much other than that.. just working on projects like usual.

Heathen Humour

2009-03-20T20:59:00.002-03:00

Cute stuff, I viked this from Redblog

The Field Guide to Heathenry

Lore-Thumping Reconstructionist Heathen
You’d better pronounce that Old Norse properly, or the Gods cannot hear what you’re saying. If Snorri doesn’t mention it, it shouldn’t exist. Sniggers at the inaccuracies of Viking reenactors. Gets epileptic fit when someone mentions "horned helmets"

Liberal Modernist Heathen
Uses dishwasher-proof drinking glass for sumbel. Appears to blot in frayed jeans and baseball cap, Raidho pendant dangling from the car’s rear mirror. Favorite books include Joseph Campbell; is the only heathen in a room not to jump at your throat when you shout "Archetype!"

Back-to-the-roots Homesteading Heathen
Doesn’t really understand what the Aesir are good for since the Vanir are doing an excellent job for his fields and farm. Has personally developed 9 new yeast strains for brewing mead. Want to try the blood sausage from his latest animal blot?

Advanced Runester
Recognizable from the wood chips on his clothes. Has more carving tools than kitchen cutlery. Runic inscriptions on household items would fill a small novel. Clattering from his rune bag announces his approach; when you ask him how it’s going, he draws a tine.

Angelseaxisce Hæðen
No milord, Woden is not the same as Odin! Holds rituals exclusively in Olde Englishe. Was heathen before the term was around. Exercises his democratic right to follow a Sacral King.

Folkish Heathen
Inclusive criteria for being heathen interestingly match those of his kindred’s founding members. Good Gods, he’d never exclude you from joining, it’s just that you don’t qualify. Believes only people with certain European genetics, culturalization or ecological environment *can* be heathens, but is found living on every continent of the world.

Universalist Heathen
Believes everyone in the Nine Realms, including dwarves and fire thurses, may call themselves heathen and join the club…except the Folkish, of course. Watch him work himself up after mentioning "fluffy-bunny" or "Wiccatru".

Traditionalist German(ic) Heathen
What do you mean, I have no Southern Germanic sources? After translating all Norse ritual terminology into Old High German last week, it should be obvious to you that my tradition is the only way to do things right!

Solitary Heathen in Diaspora
Nearest living heathen is 1000 miles away, but so what? He’s founded several heathen forums, mailing lists and websites. Will invite you to his internet kindred’s virtual moot. Regular blots to Odin for communication and to Loki for sparing his system.

Icelandic Heathens
Quiet folks never heard complaining that everyone viked the term "Ásatrú" from them, or heard discussing who is allowed to worship their gods.

Scandinavian Heathens
Thought that becoming recognized by the state was a good idea until they had to agree on how to do ritual, and let all those strange new people join. Their day truly begins with the night, but it’s pure rumor that their parting toast is "Let’s mead again!"

I think despite my Angelseaxisce ways, I would fit in between the Lore-thumper and the homesteader, hahahaha :D

Heathen Lightbulb Jokes

How many Reconstructionist Heathens does it take to change a lightbulb?
None; if our ancestors managed without lightbulbs, so can we!

How many Fundamentalist Heathens does it take to change a lightbulb?
None; the light from the burning monastery is enough, thank you.

How many Scandinavian Heathens?
About a dozen. One holds the lightbulb and the others drink enough to make the room spin.

How many Lokeans?
Think twice. Do you really want a Lokean to handle your electricity?

Well, how many Lokeans?
*answer is lost in the wailing of the firetruck siren*

How many Theodish?
The whole tribe, but the performance will be lead according to custom by the Heogh Beolb Changere.

How many Folkish?
Just one, but it takes a while to find one with pure enough ancestry to be worthy to touch the lightbulb.

How many Universalists?
Lots. Each has got a differently sized bulb, and tries to make it fit.

How many Organized Heathens?
Seven. One to hold the Hammer Ritual and hallow the four walls, one to sing a galdr with Kenaz, one to perform Seidh on behalf of the deceased bulb´s spirit, one to write the newsletter report, and three to go off and found their own way of light-bulb changing.

How many Vanatru does it take to screw in a light-bulb?
"Screw is such a base word for Sacred Sexuality..."

How many Lore-Cracks?
Well, since Snorri didn´t mention lightbulbs, none were excavated and there´s no Old Norse word for it, I´m afraid we cannot say for certain whether lightbulb changing was an integral part of our ancestors´ faith.

How many Modernist Heathens?
I don´t know. Let´s call the electrician.

How many Homesteading Heathens?
"Now lightbulbs, you gotta plant them in spring..."

How many Odinists?
None. The death of the lightbulb is part of Odin´s plan for humankind. It will return from Hel after Ragnarok.

How many Soulmatrix Workers?
Just one. As the old lightbulb´s litr and önd seem to have gone out in a flash of odhr, he invokes the bulb´s disir and invites its fylga to settle into the new bulb according to wyrd, hopefully with better hamingja next time.

How many Seidhworkers?
A chorus of nine is chanting, while the Seidhworker accompanies the late bulb´s spirit to the Gate of Hel (hoping it will be reborn to its tribe later), then conveniently screws the new bulb in from his High Seat under the socket.

How many RuneVitkis?
One, but it´s really hard to scratch runes on the glass.

How many Christian-Bashers?
Lightbulbs are the product of a Christian culture. Good riddance!

New stuff

2009-03-18T22:33:00.003-03:00

So I got some work done in school. The project I was working on earlier, the ring as a small sculpture, has been passed in and completed. My teacher took great photos of all our work, so I'll post mine now :)

Materials:

Fine silver
Sterling silver (the wire bits)
Liver of sulphur for the brown colour
Tsavorite garnet (green)
Smokey quartz
Granulation, chasing and forging techniques were used to create the form.

Moving right along..

2009-02-28T11:44:00.002-04:00

Well, February is pretty much gone, which means school is soon done (in April) and a couple more holidays (heathen ones) are coming up. Just passed was the Charming of the Plough, but soon to come is the Sigrblót (victory blót) and Eostre. So I'm kinda excited about that.

Last year, I made a tea infuser inspired by spring, which ended up being an egg for the infuser, a spoon which was a tree with a little bird to go on it. I don't know if anything like that will happen this year though, but the fungus ring is kindof turning out that way.

Quick Project Update

2009-02-18T23:05:00.002-04:00

Just some stuff I am working on. This is for my "ring as a small sculpture" project due on March 5th. It's a "mushroom ring" which will have various fungi "growing" off of it. So far, this piece is fine silver (which is a dream to forge :D )

The form is what you would call "anti-clastic". The two axis of the metal are going in two opposite directions.

Resignation Letter Update

2009-02-18T21:15:00.005-04:00

Well, today I got a letter back from Member Records in Salt Lake City. Here's what it said:

Feb 4th, 2009

Dear Sister Fowler (lol)

I have been asked to acknowledge your recent letter in which you request that your name be removed fromt he membership records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I have also been asked to inform you that the Church considers such a request be to an ecclesiatical matter that must be handled by local preisthood leaders before being processed by Church employees. Therefore, your letter and a copy of this reply are being sent to President Gilbert A. J. Smith of the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Stake. He will have Bishop Alvin N. Nieforth of the Dartmouth Ward contact you concerning the fulfillment of your request.

In view of the eternal consequences of such an action, the Brethern urge (I was stifling laughter at this point) you to reconsider your request and to prayerfully consider the enclosed statement of the First Presidency. (This was a pamphlet basically regurgitating the above message, claiming the church needs me to come back to their legion of robots).

Sincerely,

Gregory W. Dodge
Manager, Member and Statistical Records

So, they are giving me a bit of a run around here, desperately hoping I'll come back to the fold. Which I already stated would not happen. Anyway, according to an ex-mormon site (which I used to help guide me in the steps to best resign) it states:

Once a copy of your resignation letter has reached your local Ward Bishop, the Bishop of the LDS Ward that you live in must fill out a request entitled, "Request for administrative action". This details your request to have your membership removed. The Bishop must then forward a copy of said letter to the Stake President.

The Stake President will fill out the necessary information on the "administrative action", and then place the form aside for a 30 day waiting period.

At this point you have to wait 30 days. No amount of legal threats will change the process. They will force you to wait 30 days regardless as they are following the "Church Handbook Of Instructions"

So looks like more waiting, but things are on the move finally. Despite their petty formalities, I am no longer a member because this is a confirmation that they received my letter, which, if you read it stated my resignation was effective immediately upon their receiving of it. Still, it will be nice to have that confirmation letter from them finally. I'll frame that shit :D

God is on 4chan! I knew it!

2009-02-15T23:39:00.002-04:00

So I was trolling around the deviantArt complaints forum for some lulz, and came upon this little piece of mastery:

Well, actually, I e-mailed him. Here's a transcript of said e-mail:

To: yahweh@4chan.org
From: a-s-m-i-t-h@deviantart.com
Subject: Wassup?

Hey, God, I've been feeling kinda lonely lately. It seems around every corner something horrible is happening to someone who doesn't deserve it. It feels like the world could be destroyed every morning I wake up, and in all likelihood by someone worshiping one of your names. I just need some assurance that being good actually has an upside anymore. Because if not, I'd really like to be a pirate. That'd be pretty sweet.
____________________________

Who puts a sig in an email? Honestly?

Well, just imagine my surprise when I got a reply back. No wonder God hasn't been answering my prayers, the bitch got an upgrade.

To: a-s-m-i-t-h@deviantart.com
From: yahweh@myspace.com
Subject: RE: Wassup?

Hey, A-Sm-i-t-h. Thanks for the e-mail. I'm a little busy at the moment, but here's my AOL screen name: xXg0dPwNsN00bSXx. Be online Sunday at eight-ish. It's my day off, and most people have stopped trying to talk to me by then. Seriously, man, give them my e-mail address. I don't do the prayer thing anymore.

So, sure enough, I log on to AIM and there's God, under the "Deity" section of my buddy list. Here's the convo:

God (8:00:00 PM): wats up?
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): nmu?
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): holy shit
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): did time just stop?
God (8:00:00 PM): hellz yeah, motherfucker. im god, for gods sakes.
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): good point.
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): so, bout my question...
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): why do so many bad things happen to good people?
God (8:00:00 PM): well, think of it this way
God (8:00:00 PM): the earth to me is really more like
God (8:00:00 PM): well
God (8:00:00 PM): a huge ant farm.
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): ...an ant farm?
God (8:00:00 PM): yep. and as the god of these little ants, i have only a few choices
God (8:00:00 PM): destroy them and everything they've made
God (8:00:00 PM): give them a helping nudge every now and again
God (8:00:00 PM): or absolutely nothing.
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): so you can only help a little? why not just fix everything?
God (8:00:00 PM): face it
God (8:00:00 PM): if i did that, you little dicks would cry about life anyway
God (8:00:00 PM): and with the crazy shit you guys manage to pull, i can barely help anymore
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): ...so, since i got you here and everything
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): are you a man or a women?
God (8:00:00 PM): im actually a pansexual black transvestite.
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): ... a/s/l?
God (8:00:00 PM): dont even try it
God (8:00:00 PM): im like chris hanson if he could fucking smite you
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): anything else i should know before i go?
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): can i like not touch myself at night? preach on street corners? shit myself?
God (8:00:00 PM): dude if you can make it through life without killing, raping, or fucking a dead guy you murdered, you'd have me impressed.
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): k.
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): ttyl, god
God (8:00:00 PM): kk, cya.
God (8:00:00 PM): oh i almost forgot
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): what?
God (8:00:00 PM): you lost the game.
ASmith (8:00:00 PM): FUCK YOU, GOD
God (8:00:00 PM): lol pwned.
God signed off at 8:00:00 PM.

tl;dr You may ask what inspired this complaint. Well, my brother was complaining about religion today, and how horrible it is and other drivel he IRL copy+pasted from television. He asked the standard questions that all pseudo intellectuals over-flowing with bullshit ask; why does God let things happen to good people, why doesn't he prove he exists, can he create a rock he couldn't lift yada yada yada, and me, being a relatively intelligent agnostic, answered them to the best of my abilities, using most of the examples shown above. He just ignored me (as always) and repeated himself over and over and over again. I've never met a religious person as completely ignorant and stubborn as him. I answered almost all of his questions, and still refused to even consider being slightly wrong.

Except for that rock question. Fuckin' Asop couldn't figure that shit out.

Well shit. I better tell my gods that Yahweh has one up on them by finally getting with the times and using the interwebs. I have to give him some cred' for hiding out on 4chan though :D

Suomen- Finnish Paganism

2009-02-12T00:24:00.003-04:00

Well, there is a blog I visit from time to time called Taivaannaula, which is about Finnish folk belief. I was reading one article on there by Anssi Alhonen about it. It was a good read and very informative, but this last little bit really got my attention:

I would like to end this piece with a positive example. As I stated before, the pagans in Finland's southern neighbor, Estonia, have already managed to restore their indigenous religion into a strong, living tradition. Estonia might be claimed to be most pagan nation in Europe. A survey made in 2002 found out that 11% of the Estonian participants said that they personally regard their indigenous pagan religion as the spiritual path most closest to them. In 2003 the Estonian president even proposed that there should be a pagan shrine, hiisi, build in the center of their capital Tallinn!

This is a great example by the Estonians, and I recently heard a rumour that the Icelandic PM suggested something similar, but I'll look into that further later..

Another piece was describing the mindset and the "living it" part of Finnish paganism. This is especially relevant to many heathens, including myself, as we often find ourselves caught up in the debate of universalism:

There are certain modern things that alien to our indigenous world view, but that can creep into Finnish neopaganism and slowly destroy it from within. One of these things is racism and overly politicized nationalism. Another is the instinct of people, who have been brought up in society where Christian ideas and values are repeated every day, to consciously or unconsciously project these foreign concepts to paganism. Just by changing the name of one's God to Ukko, while living and thinking the same way as always doesn't really make one a pagan. Third alien thing to Finnish paganism is universalism and mental "new ageism". One can't take parts of our ancestors spiritual tradition and mix them up with different things from different traditions and expect that the end product would be meaningful, functional religion and world view. It is my firm belief that any tradition should be studied, lived and treated as a whole. Not as collection of pick-and-choose -ideas for people to take and mangle as parts of their own supposedly deep copy-paste -religions.

For me, and some other heathens I know, this is where you get stuck in a hard place with other heathens with a more esoteric flavour. On one hand, you wanna have a state of frith between you and also want to keep doors open for meeting other heathens, but on the other you get these fluff that either "copypasta" from other beliefs or are too bent on contemplating theories etc instead of just living heathenism like it was meant to be.

Anyway, I'll add more later. Lemme know what you guys think!

Quick Update (I think)

2009-02-08T22:52:00.006-04:00

Ok, well, I've been working on this sample for a square tube setting for Advanced Tech class, and this particular one is a bitch to do (but it looks so nice!). I spent 9 hours the other day making the goddamn bezel, which I had never actually made a proper box like it before and I started out doing it wrong. Anyway, I got it right and as I was soldering it to the ring band I had made, the little "walls" inside of the setting shifted so I had to take it off the ring again to try and reconstruct it. WELL. As I was re-flowing the solder to poke out the little walls (I know, hard to imagine if you don't know what I am talking about), the whole damn box fell apart. I cried. So I threw it in the water to quench and put my stuff away and left. I kind of had a meltdown when I got home, mostly cause I was in the studio for 12 hours I think, and was hungry. But all is not lost!

I regained some vigor and reconstructed it yesterday, with success, and have pictures, albeit shitty ones, to prove it! No, the stone isn't set yet, but that's tomorrow's work. Once it's totally done, good pictures will be shown. In case you're wondering, a 5mm princess cut pyrope garnet is going in it..... :D

Recent works

2009-02-05T18:20:00.005-04:00

So school has been busy lately, and it is here I will post what I have been working on the last couple weeks.

This first one was a project that had to be centred around a plastic toy. It was pretty much free range, though we had to include a bezel set stone. This is what I came up with. Probably the most fucked up, but awesome, thing I ever made. The stone is jade, the metal is brass with silver bezels. It's like a bug tank/helmet with legs. It has wheels on the bottom, so it can go around. The finish is not the best cause my gluey fingers were all over it from the epoxy/crazy glue combination I used to attatch the wheels/legs.

This weird looking thing is a collaboration project for enamelling class. I did NOT make the form, but I did do most of the enamelling (all that you can see here, anyway) today for tomorrow's class. I am really pleased with the outcome so far. The form I made is currently undergoing the same process at someone else's hands. I can't wait to see what it's gonna look like :D

I have more coming up, including a "ring as a sculpture" project, and some stone settings. Hope they turn out well!

Good times in Dartmouth

2009-02-05T18:03:00.002-04:00

So, I was walking up the road today from school and just a ways up the road from my apartment there's a few paddy wagons and a couple cop cars. I asked a guy what was going on, and apparently the store down the end of the road (we call it "The Dirty Drugstore" or "The Dirty D" for short) got robbed again, and the idiots live up here. SMRT. Canine units and the whole bit (the pic doesn't really show everything)

Spring

2009-02-04T23:45:00.005-04:00

Despite the snow and sleet, I swear I smelled spring these last few days. Yep, I'm sure I did, regardless of what the picture might say! :D

(For the record, yes, that IS REAL FUR. REAL RABBIT FUR. If you're going to comment, no PETAphiles please. )

Niðings

2009-02-01T23:50:00.003-04:00

So, due to recent events (which I will explain later) have led me to ponder the meaning and social standing of what heathens know as Niðings, or nithings. So, what is a nithing? Dictionary.com says this:

Niding

Ni"ding\ (n[imac]"d[i^]ng), n. [Written also nithing.] [AS. n[imac][eth]ing, fr. n[imac][eth] wickness, malice, hatred.] A coward; a dastard; -- a term of utmost opprobrium. [Obs.]

He is worthy to be called a niding. --Howell.

So, basically a mean, sneaking cowardly person. This could be applied in many ways, such as petty thievery. These people were/are at the bottom of society, and often shunned because of their cowardly actions.

My question is: what are nithings to other heathens? It's a strong word and not usually used without good cause, though others may have a slightly different take on it. As for myself, I would agree with the general defintion given above, though of course it doesn't really convey seriousness of being named as such.

There is not really a lot of information about nithings themselves, at least not that I was able to find myself.

So, the events I was previously mentioning have to do with an incident that happened at school. I had lost a tool some days before (only a couple, at the time). I was in the studio room (there are four rooms in the jewellery department) and saw my soldering tweezers sitting on someone's desk. She was talking with an instructor, so I waited. I had picked up the tweezers with a rather incredulous look, thinking "what the fuck, these are my tweezers!" So eventually, the instructor asked if I had a question, to which I replied "no..." and was cut off by the girl (who I didn't like to begin with) who said "she's just touching stuff on my desk". This pissed me off so I asked her "yeah, where did you get these tweezers?" To which she explained she borrowed them from someone else who had found them. I explained I had lost ones exactly like them a couple days before. She said "well if they don't have your name on them.." and basically telling tough shit.

I was pretty pissed, and told a few people what happened. They all thought it was pretty stupid as well.

So I asked her later (a couple days) if she had put them in the lost and found box yet. She ACTUALLY asked "No, why would I do that?" . I explained that because someone had obviously lost them and might want them back. She told me "well I got them from ___ you can even ask her" to which I replied I already had and she just walked off and said "oh".

So this whole thing is retarded, and to me she is doing little better than stealing them, because she knows full well they aren't hers. I am even sure she knows they belone to me. I didn't like her to begin with cause of her attitude towards some other people, things she has said etc. My dislike has turned to near hate now though. I am not even that upset about the tool, but rather about the way she acted towards me and how she handled the whole thing. Not quite a nithing in my book, but very near now.

Anyway /rant for me, but I am making sure that people know what a douchebag she is :D

Bout that time..

2009-01-26T23:04:00.002-04:00

For a new post that is :P

I've been rather busy with school lately, but not too busy to post, I guess that's just out of my own laziness :P I read some sad news today though about Iceland's government collapsing, which is really unfortunate. Riots and everything.

I am working on stone setting right now in school. hopefully I'll have some pictures up soon.

Well, other than that, nothing interesting. Sorry guys! Although I would encourage anyone to check out the most recent Ravencast podcast. It's a discussion with Cat Burke about the goddess Eir. Rather interesting to listen to (the sound was messed up for me, but it's still ok)

Hammerkast

Nothing much

2009-01-16T18:54:00.003-04:00

Well, as the title suggests, nothin too crazy is going on. I am very near completion of a friend's valknot, I was going to finish it up today but forgot, but it's not a big deal. We learned a stone setting in jewellery class yesterday: the bezel set. I got one done, of which I am quite proud :D Something for the next symbel I guess :D

I am pretty pumped for tomorrow night though: small house party at a druid friend's place. Should be nice, I think it will be mostly pagan company there, as well as me and the other two local heathens :)

I am finally getting groceries tomorrow!!! YAY for food! I haven't gotten groceries since before the 20th of December. Reason being I went to my parents for the "Christmas week" and after that, I haven't had time or money. I got paid today though, and more than expected, so I am pumped about that. I needed it!

Also, I tracked my letter to the Member Records in Utah, and it arrived there on the ninth. By now they will have read it and are no doubt waiting the "obligatory" 30 day waiting period incase I change my mind (LOL). Even though I specifically requested it be waived. Only time will tell!!

Frith,

Hammerkast.

Snoooooow

2009-01-11T19:26:00.002-04:00

Yep, it's snowing once again. Other than that, not too much is going on really. I started school, which is so far so good. I just hope that travelling to school tomorrow won't be too much of a hassle. I gotta go there to get mny homework done, so yeah. I think tomorrow on the schedule is my enamelling samples. I gotta make a box catch (which is half done) complete with chain by the 22nd I believe it is. The box catch is kindof a bitch to make, but I think I know how I'm gonna complete it now, after I ran into a small problem yesterday with it.

In other news, thank fuck I get paid this week. We are in desperate need for groceries! all we have is oatmeal :( Though I got an email from the student loan peoples, and apparently it's been processed. I need to go on the website to finish it up, but in order to register, I need paperwork that they send me, which I have not recieved. What the Hel?! Hopefully it comes on Monday, cause this is ridiculous.

Battaaaallliooons of FEAR!!

2009-01-07T11:16:00.002-04:00

I'm listening to the sing, hence the title. Just random :)

Anyway, not much has been going on lately. School starts :O tomorrow wut!!! Jeeze, I didn't realise. I have class tomorrow at 830. Advanced techniques (jewellery). I also need to remember to drop my other class I was taking cause it's gonna be way too much with Adv. Tech and Enamelling all at once. I'll let you all know how it goes. I do have a meet with the local pagan community tonight. I didn't go to the last one, and I hope the regulars will be there! Weather is supposed to be shitty though.

Sweet fucking song

2009-01-03T21:58:00.004-04:00

Thought I would post the lyrics and the youtube video to it. Great Saxon energy to it:

Song of the Shieldwall

Words: Lady Malkin Grey
Music: Lady Peregrynne Windrider

Hasten, oh sea-steed, over the swan-road,
Foamy-necked ship o'er the froth of the sea,
Hengest has called us from Gotland and Frisia
To Vortigern's country his army to be
We'll take our pay there in sweeter than silver;
We'll take our plunder in richer than gold,
For Hengest has promised us land for our fighting
Land for the sons of the Saxons to hold!

Hasten, oh fyrdsmen, down to the river
The dragonships come on the in-flowing tide
The linden-wood shield and the old spear of ash-wood
Are needed again by the cold water-side
Draw up the shield-wall, oh shoulder companions
Later whenever our story is told
They'll say that we died guarding what we call dearest,
Land that the sons of the Saxons will hold!

Hasten, oh Huscarls, north to the Dane-Law
Harold Hardrada's come over the sea
His longships he's laden with berserks from Norway
To gain Cnut's crown and our master to be
Bitter he'll find here the bite of our spear points
Hard-running Northmen too strong to die old
We'll grant him six feet, plus as much as he's taller
Of land that the sons of the Saxons will hold!

Make haste, son of Godwin, southward from Stamford
Triumph is sweet and your men have fought hard
But William the Bastard has landed at Pevensey
Burning the land you have promised to guard
Draw up the spears on the hilltop at Hastings
Fight 'til the sun drops and evening grows cold
And die with the last of your Saxons around you
Holding the land we were given to hold!
Holding the land we were given to hold!

Alas, I've been tagged!

2009-01-03T18:36:00.003-04:00

THE RULES:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1. The person who tagged me was Anglo Stu from Hearth of Northern Wights

2. Done it (you just read them!)

3. Six random things about me:

I've been in school for 16 years straight! Time for a break o.O
I'll hopefully be spending Midsummer with my good friend Bjärn up in Newfoundland this June
I drink far too little tea!
If I was fluent enough, I would love to teach any future kids I have Anglo-Saxon as a first language
I curse those ugly croc shoes to a firey death!!
I LOVE buttertarts more than any other dessert in the world!! (though, blueberry grunt is good too)

4. Well, I don't think I know six people, but here we go:

Jaspenelle
Bjärn (if she ever visits her blog again!)

New Books!

2009-01-02T18:18:00.005-04:00

Well, for Christmas I got a gift certificate to one of the (couple) pagan stores around. So today I ventured forth and got myself a copy of Norse Mythology: A guide to the gods, heroes, rituals and beliefs" published by Oxford (so it's nice n' scholarly :D ) and a copy of the Henry Bellows translation of the Poetic Edda, which I have been looking for for a while.

Not bad!

Frith,

Hammmerkast

Gesælig Niwe Gear!

2009-01-01T14:37:00.001-04:00

Hey!!

It's 2009, how about that? Yes, yes, just so exciting, eh? ;)

Well, this morning, my boyfriend and I were greeted with a 4 foot snowbank in front of our window and front door, of which I should take a picture. We have more snow on the way accordning to the forecast. It's supposed to continue today on to tomorrow. I am not worried about it being another White Juan again (I'll put in a link for that when my interwub decides not to be crap again). Anyway, I'm just gonna enjoy the day, since I am sure the busses are hellish, and nothing's open anyway.

Frith,

Hammerkast

Follow up on letter.

2008-12-31T15:36:00.003-04:00

So my parents emailed me back last night in response to my breaking of the news to them. The reponse I got was pretty much what I expected:

We don't understand why you are doing this.we both find this very upsetting. Why are you taking this step, are you ashamed,or is their something else that you believe in? Did you come to this conclusion on your own or did you talk to someone else? We are very upset and disappointed but we love you very much of course.

I can't say who actually typed it, but it doesn't matter really. It seems they both know, so that's good. Here's my response:

No, I am not ashamed. I have done this because I have always had trouble believing that which the Mormon church teaches, and I have felt this way for years. I have certainly come to this conclusion well on my own, I am not that gullible to let someone else make up my mind. I felt like a robot in that church, struggling with what it taught me what was true and what I believed was true. That is the only reason why I have left. My heart and mind were not in it and I feel I would be doing myself a great injustice to keep pretending it was. I am sorry you're upset and I wish I could do this without disappointing you, but I know that is impossible. I love you very much and I hope you can find your way around this.

Anyone who knows me will know this is completely true. I have disliked the church from an early age. They responded with just that they love me and always will, which was conforting.

It was a little difficult to read, as I hate seeing my parents upset, but I knew it had to be done for my own sanity. I just wonder how long it will take for the rest of the family to know. I'm sure I'll either get emails or facebook notes. It doesn't matter to me what they think, I only care about my parents' opinion. So long as they don't disown me, I'd be ok. Even if they did, I would be happy at least that I was no longer a part of the church.

Peace!

Hammerkast.

Letter to my Parents

2008-12-30T17:22:00.002-04:00

I have finally done it. I emailed my parents to let them know I mailed my letter of resignation to the Mormon church. I am sure some kind of shit will hit the fan, if not with my mother, than with my extended family. My parents have always been respectful to me and I have always been honest to them, so I am sure it will work out in the end. Anyway, here's what I said:

Hey Mom and Dad,

I am emailing you guys to tell you I have mailed a letter today to the LDS church member records division about resigning from the Mormon church. I hope this does not come as too much of a shock to you, as I have never been enthusiasic about church and it was only a matter of time before I left. I felt it was best to let you guys know by email because it was easier to let you both know at the same time and in "one fell swoop" so to speak. I am sure you'll be disappointed, but I fully expect that. Anyway, I hope you will respect my decision, as you always have.

Love very much,

Kristin

The cat is now out of the bag. I'll update as to what unfolds as the story goes along!

Frith,

Hammerkast

Letter of Resignation

2008-12-29T20:31:00.003-04:00

I hereby formally resign myself from membership of the Mormon Church.

I have made my letter and am mailing it tomorrow. I have been wanting to do this for some time now. Here's my letter:

29th of December, 2008

This letter is my formal resignation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it is effective immediately. I hereby withdraw my consent to being treated as a member and I withdraw my consent to being subject to church rules, policies, beliefs and 'discipline'. As I am no longer a member, I want my name permanently and completely removed from the membership rolls of the church.

I have given this matter considerable thought. I understand what you consider the 'seriousness' and the 'consequences' of my actions. I am aware that the church handbook says that my resignation "cancels the effects of baptism and confirmation, withdraws the priesthood held by a male member and revokes temple blessings" I also understand that I will be "readmitted to the church by baptism only after a thorough interview".

My resignation should be processed immediately, without any 'waiting periods'. I am not going to be dissuaded and I am not going to change my mind.

I expect this matter to be handled promptly, with respect and with full confidentiality.

After today, the only contact I want from the church is a single letter of confirmation to let me know that I am no longer listed as a member of the church.

It is here I express that I will NOT participate in church court or disciplinary councils as I have done nothing wrong. I am exercising my freedom of religion and I am requesting the administrative procedure for membership removal. Therefore, I request that the word "excommunication" and any of its variants to not be used in my letter of resignation confirmation, as, again, I have done nothing wrong and am resigning of my own accord.

Once I get that confirmation letter, I will finally be free. This is the last step of severing ties with that which I have been wanting rid of since childhood.

Good Article- The Folkish Debate

2008-12-28T19:55:00.005-04:00

The Folkish Debate- Védís

Overall a worthwhile read, as stated in my comment to the author. It's a non-racist, logical explanation of what folkish should be described as and I believe anyone who thinks Folkish is bad should take another turn pondering it. I lean towards this view of heathenism more than anything.

Back to it (kinda)

2008-12-27T22:55:00.004-04:00

Well my week off is officially done today, and I am back to work tomorrow, though I still am not working much right now. My Christmas vacation from school ends on the 7th though. Christmas with the family was great, got my Nintendo Ds lite as well as THREE games! I was excited. I had bought the Chrono Trigger remake, but I also got Mario 64 from my brother and FF4 from my boyfriend. I was quite happy.

Dad and I went rabbit hunting, but we saw no rabbits or their tracks. We did, however see coyote tracks. We think their population must be up and is therefore affecting the rabbit one. I did get to shoot a can and a bag in a tree though! :P It was just nice to walk around in the woods. I really didn't wanna leave for home again :( I miss the country so much!

I look like such a dork :D The gun is a Remington 700 series (750, I think?), and yes, that hat IS fur. Rabbit fur. And I love it very much.

That's it for now, I gotta get ready for bed! Stupid work tomorrow ):

Vacation time and Fire

2008-12-22T18:48:00.005-04:00

Well, kinda I suppose. I am now at my parents house for the week, enjoying some peace and quiet (as well as baked goods :D ). Last night, Sunday, a snow storm started that was province wide. New Brunswick and PEI got some too as well. From what I remember, Southern NB got something like 25cms. There was a snow warning for Inverness, CB as well.

So far it's been good, although there was some bad news tonight. Dad got a call tonight from a friend that one of our neighbour's barns was on fire. Sure enough, we look out the window and there is a huge blaze down the road. From what I heard, it was the milk barn (parlour and adjacent cattle area) which is terrible and frightening. I really hope they got their cows out ok. I took a couple pictures, but they are pretty shitty. In the latter stages of the fire, it looked like creeping lava (after the barn collapsed) from my house. It was pretty terrifying to watch and it lit up the sky. I wish I could have gotten better pictures, but oh well. I'm sure I'll hear about what happened later. I believe the fire is out now.

I took some pictures, but they'll have to wait, as I am on dial up, and it takes forever for shit to load. I gotta wrap some of Mom's presents!

Frith,

Kristin

srs lulz and Thoughts

2008-12-21T00:29:00.009-04:00

Yeah.

Serious lulz in other words. A fellow heathen posted this woman's profile on our board today:

http://ca.youtube.com/user/FreyaTyra

I read her profile, which was amusing, but nothing really compared to her videos. Her pseudo-mystical voice and, above all, hailing so-called "indigoes" and "crystals"? This woman is more fit for Wiccatru than anything that claims any real heathen roots. Just... what the fuck?

Anyway, with that done, I thought I would make a post about some thoughts on the way I perceive Christian beliefs etc. I haven't struggled with any belief related issues in quite some time (read: years) but I feel some prodding from family is on the way about my heathenry soon, and writing helps me organise what is already in my mind anyway. This will be blunt, I think.

The Bible, to me, is a very large story book comprised of some good advise (not compared the Hávamál of course) and metaphors. In this day and age, just another mythology if you will. I do not deny that "God" as people know him may or may not exist, like I wouldn't deny that of any other deities of any other cultures. I guess in this way, I am slightly agnostic. The difference, however, is that I choose to follow the gods that I feel closest to and whom I feel are my native ancestral gods. This goes hand in hand with practise as well. Honour all ancestors, choose one path. This is why I am not a ecclectic, and honouring all my "inherited" folk beliefs at once. That would be entirely too confusing to me and them I'm sure. I very much feel that Christianity, as many likely do, is a usurper of ancient folk ways, and factually why we have lost so much of this important past. I do believe Jesus existed, but he was merely a man with a good message that inspired innumerable people.

In part, the Nicene Creed comes in here. It was at the First Coucil of Nicaea that this was created, in which many denominations of Christianity decided on which beliefs they were going to decide on a uniform doctrine. It was here the decision to make Jesus (uniformly) divine among Christians was made. It was also then that the council decided when Easter would fall.

In any case, most of us know (not enough, evidently) that many Christian holidays fall on what were and are pagan holidays, of course to make conversion easier. Honestly, I have to laugh when people celebrate Jesus's birthday on December 25th :D

I'll make another post outlining my heathen beliefs later.

In Frith, and happy Midwinter!

Kristin

(picture props goes to HeavyAtom on dA)

Ahhh a little R&R

2008-12-17T14:11:00.009-04:00

Finally eh? School is DONE. For a whole MONTH!

Finished on the 9th, which was grand. Nice to have no more work to do, really, other than Yule presents to make. We did blitz the apartment last night though, and it looks 1000x better. We (we being my boyfriend and I) even put up lights and decorations! It was kinda fun. We still wanna get a little tree though.

I'm just happy it's snowing outside. We have had it earlier in the season, but it's kinda been on and off. Quite rainy, actually. Looks nice and serene out there right now, though.
In other news, there's gonna be a blót/symbel on the 19th, which I am particularly excited about. Funny thing though, it's being hosted at a druid friend's house. (He's practically heathen, anyway). Food and drink for all :) So hopefully there'll be some pictures. Last, but not least, I revamped my harrow in my room. It's properly Yule themed now.

Holy fucking hell

2008-12-04T20:48:00.003-04:00

Ok

ok.

One hell of a day today. I guess I'll get right to it. So I was at the store with a couple friends buying some jewellery stuff and we separated cause they were going to get food and I went to get some stones for my piece. So I went to Little Mysteries, the local pagan/earth centred etc shop and there was this guy getting some beside me. He kindof was talking to me just noncholantly about the stones and about making stuff. I had mentioned I was in NSCAD for some reason and he asked what I was taking. I told him jewellery and metalsmithing and he suddenly seemed very interested. I noticed of course and asked him if he was into that kind of thing, and he then told me he was a blacksmith.

...

...

At this point I was absolutely stunned and overwhelmed, mostly cause of my sacrifice last night. So we talked and I explained abotu my (desperate) search over the last month or so to find one. We decided we needed to talk obviously so we went to get tea and had a conversation about anvils. Turns out I have seen some of his work before. He makes wands for the pagan shop, which are quite nice. He showed me his Metal Arts Guild card and either an ABANA (Artist Blacksmith's Association of North America) card or Maritime Blacksmiths Association card. So we went over to his forge which he showed me (homemade) which was neat and said he would teach me for sure. He (his name is Alex Levy I found out) also told me about these Thursday night gatherings of metalsmiths at this guy's house who is a goldsmith. They just get together and tinker around I guess, so he suggested I go sometime, which I fully intend on doing once school has effed off.

Anyway, thats the basics of my crazy day. My boyfriend though got hit by a car and was remarkably ok, though very sore. Asshole just drove off. I'm not meaning this to be a side note because I am still very shaken about it and worried, but I just wanted to chill and think about the other awesome stuff that happened.

S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E

2008-12-03T22:33:00.001-04:00

(Love that song)

Anyway, so I just finished my sacrifice to Odin and Wayland. It went well, though the oatmeal to Wayland didn't wanna burn, so I poured it in the lake. I feel good about the whole thing though.

Heathenish Foray

2008-12-03T21:10:00.000-04:00

Well yes, it's been a while, but that's partially because I forgot my password. Anyway, there are a couple updates. I'll start with the most recent.

Tonight I am thinking I need to get around to doing the sacrifice I have been meaning to do for the last while, since my thoughts on school (which is the second update, later). School, and some other personal things I need to have help with. People, mostly. Anyway, it was just going to be a small sacrifice to Odin and Wayland-smith. Odin for some help with "battling" personalities between myself and a couple people, and Wayland for my quest for a blacksmith that will teach me their ways :) I feel I really need Odin's cunning at this point though. I will probably make another sacrifice to Wayland later after school is done for the year. Something is just telling me I need to do it soon, though.

Now, on to the second piece of news... I'm just gonna copypasta this one, cause it's long and complex:

School has hit its all-time shittiest. Mostly just because I have this unpleasable teacher who is obessessed with researching our idea to death and leaves us (what I think) with too little time to develop the actual physical piece and work out its construction. I think most of the class is feeling a similar vibe, though. It doesn't help that I am more intrested in the technical side of things rather than a deeply conceptual idea.

Apart from that, my school is not turning out what I had hoped it to be. Its partially because I came right out of highschool and I didn't fully understand what an "art and design" school would be like. I do not regret going there though, I have learned many invaluable things and made many good friends. Despite this, I think this year will be my last.

I believe now that its's not for me because I am a person more geared toward technical learning, or what I call simply "learning my trade". That's me, I am a tradesperson. I am not a conceptual designer. I am also not a jeweller. I came to my school primarily to learn about smithing, rather than jewellery making. Unfortuately for me, there is little attention paid to smithing, and mostly on jewellery and design. I will finish this year with my advanced techniques and enamelling class. I am also interested in doing holloware 3 next year, but that is it. I loved holloware class, so I will finally be able to give it the attention it deserves next year when it is the only class I take.

Right now I am looking out for local blacksmiths I can learn from, which I have felt from the beginning three years ago was my true calling. So far I have just gotten my feet wet, but what I did, I loved. I think now though with my silversmithing background, I will be more successful with what blacksmithing I may learn in the future.

So that's it, basically. I don't like to think of stopping school as dropping out, because I am not quitting what I learned. It's not the right school for me, which I have gradually come to realise over the last three years. Therefore I think it would be a waste of time and money to continue. Not to mention unneeded stress.

So that's it basically. School shiz and the regular. On a very happy note, midwinter is coming and that means midwinter blót! Yay!

Frith,

Hammerkast

Religion vs Forn Sed

2008-08-08T22:55:00.001-03:00

A good blog to visit is that of Yngona Desmond's (link located at the bottom of the page in the "Hlenca" cat.). I was reading some of her posts and one caught my eye, 'Religion and Forn Sed'. One quote I really like is:

For my Self, I have Forn Sed.

Unlike religion, which is something you 'do', Forn Sed is who I AM. It is the way of my folk. I dont have to 'do' anything, but express who I am in remembrance of my folk.

I think this really sums it up for me, as I have the same thought on the subject. She goes to compare the etymology of the word religion, discussing its Latin roots and how she (like I) tries to either substitute the Latin word for an OE (old english) or similar germanic based word or just not use it at all.

Maybe it sounds a little strange to some people, but if you're practicing your folkway, isn't it appropriate to use the language and words that the ancient people did? Why should you even use 'foreign' words when you have perfectly fine native ones that work just as well? Ok, maybe I'm sounding slightly elitist there, and I know not everyone is as passionate about language and its uses, but I truly believe that the use of a language in its intended/original form (to the best of your ability anyway) will help you get into the mindset of the people who once spoke it, thus increasing one's feeling for true heathenism.

Seidhr is a spiritual path that possibly existed at the beginning of time. Rather than reflect the dogmatically inclined expressions of religious doctrine, which are recent in origin, Seidhr is an expression from the Great Void, the primal essence that naturally underlies all of creation. Seidhr is a mind that mirrors that vast creation, so that this forn sed, this ‘ancient way’, represents the glow of spirit and philosophy, and the willingness to embrace your higher troth.

That pretty much killed my soul right there ( in a good way). Primal essence is an excellent description. Seidhr to me is very much connected to Shamanism, and in a way is shamanism by a different name. It's a lot of meditation and reflection upon the world in which we live, and a reflection on that which is outside of us and outside of our world.

That's my thoughts for the moment. I encourage everyone who is interested to check out her page for some interesting perspective.

Wyrd and Heathenry

2008-08-06T23:03:00.000-03:00

Finally, some relevant content :P

My friend and I often have wonderful discussions of spiritual nature and one recent one was on the concept of Wyrd. Wyrd, for those who don't know is similar, but not synonymous to the concept of fate, though much more in depth and..complicated? I wrote a lot of things down in a physical journal I have, so lets see what I got out of it.

Wyrd is not inexorable or inflexible. One can change his or her own destiny by making choices, but not only will it effect that person, but also people and events in the future and perhaps even the past. What one decides to do will change their own "thread" so to speak, action or inaction.
Here's where it got technical. She pulled out the old "quantum mechanics" card on me, but in lamans terms, it's interesting:

"There is the uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics which says that there is a level of uncertainty to the placement and momentum of wavelengths. If you know the placement, you can't know where it's going, if you know where it's going, you can't know the placement and your intervention will change it's course"

I linked this to how Wyrd is everchanging, and our decisions change it's course. I don't know how she pulled that analogy out of her ass, but it was interesting. My comment in my journal was "If one equals the other and they are linked, even if it beyond human capabilities, there must be some way of knowing both placement and location?" Meaning also that there must be some way, whether by metaphysical means or godly means, there is some way to know what path Wyrd will take beforehand by making a certain decision?

Anyway, I know that could have been clearer, but it was all in all very enlightening. Hope to have many more of these conversations (with her, and other people of course!)

In Frith,

Hammerkast

New roommate!

2008-08-06T01:37:00.000-03:00

Yep! The old ones are out and the new one is in. It was totally random one day, my friend Aaron from work called me up and asked if I still needed one-- his friend Dianna was looking for a place and voila! She's all moved in now, she just needs her couch and bed in here which is happening Thursday. She seems like a nice person, albeit a little shy :P

So it's finally starting to cool down now! 13 degrees tonight, nice and cool outside, makes it good for sleeping :D I cannot wait until fall, my favourite ever season. Crisp air is the best. I like dressing up in layers too of course. Plus there's school. I will be happy once that starts again (I'll be eating my words come Yuletide, so much work is packed in there).

My friend sent me a Lughnasadh e card she made the other day to me. It was nice so I made one and sent it to her as well XD. Which reminds me, the lughnasadh newsletter from Little Mysteries came out and guess what was on it? An announcement for a rune class! So I signed up today, even though it's not til October, I was the first one on the list. XD . It's a beginner one though so hopefully it's not too n00bish, and I hope he knows his shit. I suppose being heathen makes you picky like that. I'm anal about being historically accurate about things like that, even though there is room to bend of course. I know the runes weren't originally used for divination, btu I am hoping that I can take some useful things out of this class and apply them. A new perspecive is always good. The guy teaching it, Steve Vernon, is (from what I have read) primarily a tarot and palm reader, which he does at the store in Halifax. Either way, I'm stoked for the class, and I have my only school class that day til 1230 or something, so I have lots of time. Pwn!

Happy Lughnasadh!

Roommates

2008-07-03T21:22:00.000-03:00

I can haz?

My roommates are moving this August, so I am in need of one! (or a couple to share the one bedroom). Hopefully this all pans out, because I would really hate to be fucked over, and end up in god-knows-what kind of living conditions (possibly moving apart from Jeff?? That would suck ass.) Hopefully Adam takes us up on the moving in, he seems to be the only one really interested, god damn. It's a lot to ride on one person, and he hasn't confirmed yet even. Gah, I hope this doesn't end up hellishly.

Happy Midsummer!

2008-06-21T18:02:00.000-03:00

To everyone :)

Last night I went to the multicultural festival on the Dartmouth waterfront, which was nice. The Scandinavian Society of Nova Scotia had a booth set up and a waffle stand in the food court part. Got some information about them, looks interesting. I wonder if there ar very many younger people in it though? It wouldn't really deter me from joining though, I think it would be a good opportunity for me to practice by Danish (Actually this blog would be too, but I would have to put a translation for everything, I suppose).

Tonight there was supposed to be a Blót for midsummer (yesterday) but I dunn o if thats happening anymore, the message board wasn't updated as to any location or time, and I know Jim had to go to his niece's birthday party, so who knows. I hope it still goes down though, the last one was fun.

Awesomes

2008-05-26T22:46:00.001-03:00

I am such a nerd, but I found this awesome Sailor Moon site (loved that when I was younger) with original manga paintings. Awesome artwork.

http://mangastyle.net/

Cob Houses

2008-05-19T11:23:00.000-03:00

I just discovered these today, and I am absolutely enthralled and in love with these houses! A good site I found was http://www.natural-villages.org/ which has some pictures, but a simple google search will get you some as well. The organic shapes you can get are awesome! I would love love LOVE to build one of these someday. I also would love to convert an old barn into a house, which would be a lot of work, but the results can be really amazing. Of course, I would have to be rich to pull off something like that :)

Grrhahhsgggg

2008-05-16T20:52:00.000-03:00

That's how I feel right now.

I'm in one of those moods where I don't wanna hear voices other than some tolerable music. This whole apartment search thing is going roughly and its discouraging. My work is in such an inconvenient spot for buses it makes trying to find one in the area very hard in the way that it's not going to take me more than an hour from the time I leave my apartment to the time I start my shift, so its really annoying. There was a place I liked today, but it ended up being a no-go and our price range is limited. All I want to do is just not even move and say fuck it right now.

AAAHFRHf!

Spruce up

2008-05-15T16:22:00.000-03:00

Not too much, I took some pictures of my altar again today, cleaned it and dusted it. I can't wait until I get a place of my own sometime though, I really wanna experiment in candle making (kitchen sink for that one I think) and a few other things I need more space to do.

Hopefully this summer I can find time to do some serious herb gathering. the coltsfoot leaves are out now, as well as dandelions. Actually, while i'm at it, I should post my list online, since I keep losing it all over the room. Ok, there it is..

Kristin's Summer Herb List

White clover- flowers dried (they have pale chevrons on them), for tea, or boiled fresh flowers for food.

Yarrow- leaves for tea (flowers also?)

Dogwood Berries/ Bunchberry- grows in forests near tree roots and logs (I think I saw some of this by the lake? Have to go back and check)

Coltsfoot- comes before dandelions, flowers before leaves. Cough supressant and can make tea from the leaves.

Dandelion- Pick young leaves, before the flower. Dried roots for tea, young roots before spring's last frost (still have time!)= good when peeled, sliced and boiled. Sap helps burns and stings.

Evening Primrose- Yellow flowers, tall and spiky

Fireweed- Raw stem (peeled) to be eaten or placed on cuts, young shoots to be eaten as greens. (NOT located in wetlands).

Wild Rose- Dried rosehips and flowers edible, either tea or food (both)

Wintergreen- Forest floor, coastal headlands, eat fresh or dried or cooked berries. Tea from fresh or dried berries. Leaves and berries can be used any time of year. Evergreen.

So there it is, I have sketches also, and of course online pictures. So now, if I lose the list, it'll be ok because I have a spare, finally.