Beltane is one of the 8 traditional Wiccan sabbats. It occurs on May 1, which is about the midway point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Like all Wiccan holidays, modern Beltane celebrations are inspired by older Pagan rituals and traditions. In the case of Beltane, it’s inspired by the historic May Day celebrations that occurred throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.

Beltane was first mentioned in an Irish text from the 10th century, where it describes how cattle were driven between two bonfires on Beltane as a magical means of protecting them from disease before they were led into their summer pastures. While this is the first written account of Beltane, it’s likely that Beltane was celebrated long before as Beltane is incorporated throughout Irish Folklore.

While the modern Wiccan calendar has 8 divisions in the wheel of the year, in Irish lore the year was divided into two main seasons, winter and summer. The beginning of the year and the start of winter was celebrated on Nov 1st, which is Samhain, and the beginning of Summer was celebrated on May 1st, which is Beltane. These two dates were viewed to be times when the veil between the human and supernatural world was thin and fairies and spirits could easily cross into our realm.

For Beltane decorations, people would adorn their doors and windows with yellow spring flowers, such as primrose, rowan, and hawthorn. Also, in parts of Ireland people would create a May bush, which was a thorn bush decorated with flowers, ribbons, and shells.

Fire is a huge component of Beltane. On this day all household fires would be extinguished and then re-lit from a big community Beltane bonfire. These special bonfires were believed to have protective powers and people would walk around, between, or even jump over the bonfires.

Like many Pagan festivals Beltane included much feasting, drinking, and toasting to the Gods and spirits. At these feasts people ate oatmeal cakes, and a drink called caudle which is made of eggs, butter, oatmeal, and milk cooked over a bonfire. During the process of making this drink some was spilled on the ground as an offering to the spirits.

The oatmeal cakes people ate for the feast were called the Beltane bannock. There is a simple folk magic ritual where the practitioner throws a piece of the bannock over their shoulder as an offering as a way to placate certain animals that might harm their herds, such as foxes and wolves.

So, how can we as modern pagans celebrate Beltane in a way that honors the history and traditions of this festival? Well in my opinion, the best way to celebrate would be to have a bonfire and invite members of your community to celebrate and feast with you. However, I live in the city so I’m not able to have a bonfire, and with the quarantine I’m not going to be able to celebrate with others.

So, instead what I plan on doing this year is getting some yellow flowers and making a display for my mantle. I’m also going to try out the recipe for Beltane bannock and caudle and save a little bit to offer to the spirits next time I go on a nature walk. If you’d like to join along with me definitely tag me on Instagram so I can see your Beltane decorations and food creations.

I know that this year Beltane comes at a really difficult time for many of us. One of the things that I found most meaningful in learning about Beltane is how the community would extinguish their personal hearths and relit them from the communal bonfire. To me that is a beautifully symbolic way of showing how a community is all connected and how we are all responsible for each other.

So while you and I can’t exactly all lite our hearths from one communal flame, I plan on lighting a candle at noon on Beltane and if you choose to do so as well, it can be a symbolic reminder that we pagans are all part of a community and that we’re all in this together.

How will you be celebrating Beltane this year? Share below in the comments!

Have you told your friends and family about your spiritual path yet? How did the experience go? Share your thoughts below in the comments!

Here's my 5 tips for making the process a bit easier:

1: You Don’t Need (or Should) Tell Everyone

For me personally, I only tell people who are close friends and family about my spiritual beliefs. I would avoid telling people like your boss or landlord about your spiritual path because it’s not usually relevant and it could negatively affect your life.

Now this is of course easier said than done for some people. If you’re living with parents that are extremely religious, you have two options: you can practice your spiritual beliefs in secret until you're old enough to move out or you can tell them.

I personally chose to keep my practice a secret until I became an adult and moved out but you should do whatever your intuition is guiding you towards. So before choosing to tell someone, make sure it feels right and that it makes sense to tell them.

2: Be Prepared for Questions

If you do decide to tell someone, be prepared for some of the questions they might ask even if the questions appear silly or insulting. I actually recently did a video on how you can respond to some of these common questions so I’ll link it here if you’d like to check it out.

It might also help to have some resources prepared so if they want more information you can direct them to your favorite book, article, or video about your beliefs.

3: Phrasing is Important

Let’s compare two ways of telling people about your beliefs. Imagine you’ve decided to tell your parents and you say “I’ve decided to be a witch so I’m no longer going to go to church with you or celebrate any Christian holidays like Christmas.”

Something that antagonistic is probably not going to go over well.

I would begin with a statement like “I’ve discovered a new spiritual system is really fulfilling and makes me feel more connected to the divine. I know you might have different feelings or perceptions towards Paganism so I’d like to answer any questions you may have about this belief system.”

This way you're setting up more of a two way conversation. Instead of just telling people about your path, you’re listening to their concerns and have an opportunity to assuage any fears they may have about your spirituality.

4: Don’t Let the Haters Get to You

As a pagan that has an online presence I definitely get a lot of haters. Sharing your beliefs and putting yourself out there means you’ll need a bit of a thick skin.

It’s unfortunate, but there are many religious people out there who will automatically assume you worship the devil or say that you are going to hell. For the most part, their negativity about witchcraft and paganism has been ingrained in their head from an early age and it’s unlikely you will be able to change their mind. Ultimately, haters gonna hate, so just try your best to ignore these hate comments and not allow that negativity into your life.

5: Don’t Thrust your Beliefs on Others

One of the best things about this spiritual path is we don’t proselytize. While spreading the word and converting others is a core tenet of Christianity, Pagans on the other hand don’t feel the need or desire to convert others.

We know this spiritual path is not for everyone trying to force others to accept or conform to our beliefs goes against our ideas about free will. So if you’re talking to a casual acquaintance at a party and the topic of religion comes up. You don’t need to lie - go ahead and tell them about your beliefs if you feel comfortable doing so. But there's no need to push those beliefs on others.

There’s a fine line between ‘coming out of the broom closet’ and insisting that your path is the best and that others should follow it as well. Paganism and witchcraft is not for everyone - and that’s ok. We’re kind of a small group when you compare us to other religious groups but in my view that can be a good thing.

You, me, and other followers of this path - we’re part of an amazing community. So if you’re ever feeling down about all the haters or worried about feeling accepted, remember that there is a whole group of like minded people out there to give you support and help you along this path!

Dionysus

He is the Greek god of the grape-harvest, wine, fertility, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre.  Wine played an important role in Greek culture, and the worship of Dionysus was the main religious focus surrounding its consumption. Wine was seen as not only a gift of the god, but a symbolic incarnation of him on earth. 

Dionysus was believed to have been born from the union of Zeus and Persephone, and to have represented a chthonic or underworld aspect of Zeus. However, it gets a little weird as many believed that he had been born twice, having been killed and reborn as the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele.

Dionysus is not really a god of drunkenness, as he was often stereotyped in the post-Classical era.  The religion of Dionysus centered on the appropriate consumption of wine, which could ease suffering and bring joy, as well as inspire a type of divine madness which was distinct from drunkenness.

Ninkasi

Ninkasi is a goddess of beer from ancient Sumeria. Her father was the King of Uruk and her mother was the high priestess of the temple of Inanna, a goddess of procreation.  There is a famous hymn to Ninkasi from 1800 BCE which both praises her and offers an ancient recipe for brewing. This hymn was most likely sung while the ancient Sumerians brewed their beer and was passed down by master brewers to their apprentices. 

Ninkasi was considered to be both the brewer of beer and the beer itself.  Her spirit and essence was believed to be infused into the beer produced under her guidance.  The priestesses of Ninkasi were also the brewers in the society. Most ancient depictions of brewers clearly show them as women in both Mesopotamia and Egypt although, once brewing became a commercial enterprise, males were shown supervising the female brewers.

Sucellus 

Sucellus is originally a Gualic deity who was eventually incorporated into the Roman Pantheon. He is usually portrayed as a middle-aged bearded man, with a long-handled hammer which may actually be a beer barrel suspended from a pole.  He usually also carries a urn or cooking vessel to store food or wine. 

Sucellus is a humble god and is above all a god of peasants.  He protects the areas that lie at the margins of society—woods and wild places—but also fields and vineyards.  Evidence of his worship is particularly common in an old Gallic region which in modern day is the region of Burgundy, France.  So next time you pick up a nice bottle of burgundy from the liquor store, give thanks to Sucellus for taking care of the vineyards all these years. 

There are so many different Pagan Gods and Goddesses associated with beer & wine.  Which one is your favorite? Share below in the comments! 

What is a Sigil?

A sigil is a symbol with a mystical or magical meaning. The term sigil derives from the Latin sigillum, meaning "seal" and it is the root of many other English words such as “signature,” “sign,” and “signal.”

Historically the term sigil referred to a type of pictorial signature of an angel, daemon, or spirit. For example, The Lesser Key of Solomon, contains the sigils for the princes in the hierarchy of hell. These sigils were believed to be a representation of the true name of the spirit and thus granted the magical practitioner some control over the being.

Most contemporary sigil crafting is a bit different so today I'll be showing you how to make a chaos magic sigil. A chaos magic sigil is different from these historic sigils because we’re not calling upon any particular spirit. Instead we are using a personal intention or goal to formulate and charge a custom symbol. Like many varieties of spellwork the intention setting is crucial and crafting a sigil begins by coming up with a sentence or phrase which best encapsulates what we’d like to achieve.

So why do we go through the trouble of creating a sigil and not just write your intention as a sentence on a piece of paper? Well we can get some guidance from Ray Sherwin, one of the founders of Chaos magic. He stated “The magician acknowledges a desire, he lists the appropriate symbols and arranges them into an easily visualized glyph. Using any of the gnostic techniques he reifies the sigil and then, by force of will, hurls it into his subconscious from where the sigil can begin to work unencumbered by desire.”

So the reason we transform the intention statement into a symbol is so our subconscious reads it as opposed to our conscious mind. Something similar occurs with tarot. You could just have a simple note card that lists the meanings of each card. But then we are using our conscious mind to read the words and not really tapping into our subconscious. By using images and symbolism, it’s easier to move beyond our conscious mind and tap into something deeper and intuitive.

How to Make a Sigil?

The sigil making process is composed of two phases: construction and charging. In the first part, the sigil is drawn and created as a physical object. In the second part, the sigil is given energy or “charged” and it becomes more than a simple drawing.

Step 1: Choose your sigil type

Sigils can be destructible, temporary, or permanent. How you create and charge the sigil may change based on which type you'd like to create.

Destructible sigils are activated by being destroyed. The act of destroying is what creates the burst of energy giving the sigil its power. This is usually done by writing your sigil on a piece of paper and then setting it on fire though you could also carve the sigil onto food and then consume it.

Temporary sigils are sigils that will eventually disappear with time. These types of sigils could be drawn on your skin with a marker or carved into a candle which will eventually be melted.

Permanent sigils are made to last and are meant to be active for a long period of time. Occasionally permanent sigils are recharged to keep the energy active. Sigils like these could be made into pottery as an art piece or you could write a sigil on a piece of paper to be placed behind a painting or under a piece of furniture.

In the video below I show you how to make a really simple destructible sigil. To make the sigil you'll need paper, something to write with, a matchbook, and a fire safe container.

Step 2: Draw the Sigil

Begin by defining your desire in one sentence. It helps to use the present tense “I am” vs “I will be.” Also, If your sigil focuses on one thing, it will have a better chance of succeeding so try not to be too broad in your intention setting.

Next, write your intention down on a piece of paper. For my example I’m going to use the intention “I am relaxed.” With the whole quarantine thing right now, I’ve definitely been experiencing more anxiety than usual so hopefully this sigil will help to bring in a calming energy.

Next delete all the vowels and repeated letters in you intention and start composing the pieces of your remaining letters one at a time creating an abstract symbol. Try not to focus too much on what the drawing looks like, let your subconscious guide you in this part. We’ll be burning this sigil anyway so there's no need to worry about the attractiveness of the sigil.

Step 3: Charge the Sigil

There are many different ways to charge a sigil. Since I’m making a destructible sigil the act of burning will be what charges it. Though before I burn it I like to spend a few moments placing my hands on the sigil and visualizing a warm light flowing through my hands and onto the paper. You can also charge a sigil by dancing, chanting, or clapping so choose the method you feel fits best with the type of sigil you are creating.

When you burn the sigil, make sure you're in a safe and quiet space without distractions. After the sigil is completely burned it is now charged and you can dispose of the ashes. At this point the work is done you can record the ritual in your grimoire and then just let the magic do it’s work.

This post and video is just an introduction to sigil crafting so if you’d like to see more in-depth content on sigil crafting let me know in the comments.

This year Ostara is on March 19. This sabbat always falls on the spring equinox, a time when the light and darkness is equal. Right now in the world there is a lot of fear and darkness we are facing with the coronavirus and I’m definitely feeling a little freaked out myself. I don’t want to speak for others but I think the lesson Ostara is bringing me this year is to find that equinox balance of light and dark within myself.

Ostara is a sabbat of life and joy. The colors are bright and the symbolism is all about fertility & life. While everyone's altar may look different, I personally created my Ostara altar with the purpose of reminding myself that there is always life and beauty to be found - even in dark and difficult times.

The main feature of my altar this year is the flowers and greenery. While we don’t yet have fresh Spring flowers here in Chicago but it’s only a few more weeks away before the city is covered in daffodils and tulips.

Candles are always a great feature for altars. While spring pastel colors are best for this sabbat, white candles are multipurpose ‘magically speaking’ so there's no need to buy a bunch of new pastel candles if you have white ones lying around. This year I’m also adding an amethyst and a quartz crystal to amplify the positive energies of this equinox.

I picked up a chocolate bunny to represent the fertility aspect of this holiday. And as a bonus it will be a nice treat to eat on the day of the Equinox. I’ve done a previous video on Ostara symbolism and why bunnies are associated with this sabbat so I’ll link that here if you’d like to check it out.

I’m also adding a small bowl that I will fill with water on Ostara morning. This will be dedicated to Eostre, the Germanic Goddess of Dawn and Spring, who is often associated with this holiday. I also have a video I did a couple weeks ago about this Goddess and different ways to give offerings to her for the Equinox. You can check that out here.

As a tarot reader the sacred archetypes featured in tarot are a large part of my spiritual practice so I always choose a card or two to feature on my altars. Originally I was going to use the Empress card as she is a good representation of the fertility and beauty of spring. Though the more I thought about it I felt that there was another card that would be even better for Ostara this year - and that is the Star card.

In tarot the star card is number 17 and comes after right after the most dramatic card in the deck - card 16 - the tower. The star card represents the hope and healing that’s needed after a traumatic time in life. She is the card I rely upon anytime I personally feel fearful or anxious and she has always been a calming and beautiful presence in my life.

I hope you enjoyed this video and post. Comment below what your plans are for Ostara this year. If you also set up an altar for the sabbats, I'd love to hear what kinds of items you like to place on your altar for Ostara. I'm looking forward to reading all your comments. 

Ostara Blessings,
Scarlet

Here in America St. Patricks day is a holiday of Guiness-drinking, corn-beef-eating, and raucous parades. But, did you know this holiday replaced a much older, pagan one?

But before we get to that let’s review a few myths and legends about St.Patrick. Firstly, St. Patrick himself was not actually Irish. He was born in England or Scotland, then was enslaved by Irish raiders at 16. They transported him to Ireland but he escaped back to England, which is where he received his religious instruction, and then eventually came to Ireland to serve as a missionary.

Even though St.Patrick was born in Britain, he wasn’t really British as the British Isles were occupied by the Romans at this time. Some documents also show that he and his family may have been part of the Roman aristocracy.

One of the main stories attributed to St. Patrick is that he banished the snakes from Ireland. Well, Ireland has never had snakes either before or after St. Patrick - so what does this mean? It's likely that the “snakes” in this case refer to the Irish Pagans.

It is said that St. Patrick stood on an Irish hillside and delivered a sermon that drove the island’s serpents into the sea. So what do you think they’re really saying there?

In my view there are two ways to think about St. Patrick. You can believe in the miracles and mythos of St. Patrick; that he was a powerful and fearsome leader of the Christian faith. Looking through that lens we can surmise that the phrase “Patrick stood on an Irish hillside and delivered a sermon that drove the island’s serpents into the sea” means that St.Patrick forcefully drove the Pagans (or “snakes” in this case) towards the hillside and those that refused to convert were tossed off the hill to their death.

Or, we can look at a more historical version of St.Patrick's story. Documents state that while Patrick began the process of introducing the Irish to Christianity, it does not appear that he had nearly the phenomenal success that later writers would attribute to him. The historical Patrick was not remembered as an enormously successful missionary and at the time of his death Ireland was still predominantly pagan.

So for March 17th this year instead of celebrating St.Patrick's Day I’m going to celebrate another holiday that occurred on March 17th - I’m talking about the ancient Roman festival of Liberalia.

Liberalia celebrates Liber (a god of wine and fertility, similar to Bacchus) and his consort Libera (a goddess of agriculture and also wine). Liberalia is celebrated with feasting, processions, and the singing of lewd and inappropriate songs. So with Liberalia you still get all the fun parts of St.Patrick's Day. 

Now beyond the feasting and drinking of Liberalia, there was a deeper meaning to the holiday. It was a coming-of-age festival celebrating the transition of boys into manhood. Roman boys, usually at age 16, would remove the bulla praetexta (a hollow charm of gold or leather) which parents placed about the necks of their children. At the Liberalia ceremony the young men would place the bulla on an altar and dedicate it to the Lares, who were gods of the household and family. This symbolized that they were no longer boys but were now men.

The young men also discarded the toga praetexta, which was decorated with a purple border and donned the clothing of adulthood, which was a white toga. The new toga identified him as a citizen of Rome, making him an eligible voter. The fathers then took their sons to the forum to present them as adults and citizens of Rome.

So, how can we as modern Pagans celebrate Liberalia? Well the writings of the Roman poet Ovid might give us some ideas. In talking about Liberalia and the God Liber he states:

“Liber, before your birth the altars were without offerings, And grass appeared on the stone-cold hearths. They tell how you set aside the first fruits for Jupiter after subduing the Ganges region and the whole of the East. You were the first to offer up cinnamon and incense from conquered lands, and the roast entrails of triumphal oxen. Libations derive their name from their originator, And cake (liba) since a part is offered on the sacred hearth. Honey-cakes are baked for the god, because he delights in sweet Substances, and they say that Bacchus discovered honey. Father Liber loves honey: its right to offer its discoverer glittering honey diffused through oven-warm cakes.”

So, personally I think I’m going to skip the roasting of Ox entrails that Ovid mentions, but I do plan on creating a honey cake to honor the God Liber. There are several ancient roman recipes for honey cakes. Here's the recipe I'll be trying out next week: https://www.howtocookthat.net/…/2000-year-old-cake-recipe-…/

What are your thoughts about St.Patrick’s Day? There is so much to the story of St.Patrick that I couldn’t include it all in this video. There’s also a fascinating lecture by Thomas Sheridan that goes in-depth about the story of Irish Paganism in case you'd like additional context. I’d also love to hear if you’re thinking about doing anything to celebrate Liberalia or if you'll be celebrating St.Patricks day this year. Comment your thoughts below. 😊

Eostre is the Germanic goddess of dawn who is celebrated during the Spring Equinox. On the old Germanic calendar, the equivalent month to April was called “Ōstarmānod” – or Easter-month. As a holiday, Easter predates Christianity and was originally the name for Spring Equinox celebrations.

The date of the Christian celebration of Easter changes each year and the reason the date changes is because it is based on a ‘Pagan’ solar calendar. Easter occurs on the Sunday after the first full moon occurring after the Spring Equinox. So for example this year the Spring Equinox is on March 19th, the first full moon after the equinox is on April 7, and the first Sunday after the full moon is April 12, which is the date of Easter this year.

Most of the symbolism around this holiday actually comes from the pre-christian Pagan celebrations of the Spring Equinox. For example, we paint Easter eggs with bright colors at this time of year. The bright colors are a reflection of the spring flowers blooming and egg itself may be linked to chickens’ return to laying after the long winter months where chicken’s lay very few, if any, eggs. The Easter rabbit symbolizes fertility. We all know that bunnies get pretty busy if you know what I mean ;) so they are a perfect animal to symbolically represent the fertility of springtime.

Returning to the topic of Eostre, the evidence for her as an actual goddess people worshipped is a bit uncertain. She’s mentioned in the writings of an 8th century monk known as Venerable Bede, who reported that pagan Anglo-Saxons in medieval Northumbria held festivals in her honor during the month of April. Other than this text, we don’t have much information about how she was honored by the Pagans. Whether Eostre was really worshipped as a goddess or not, by the 19th century she had become an important part of German culture and she was added into German literature, paintings, and folklore.

Jacob Grimm, one of the two Brothers Grimm, wrote
“Esotre seems therefore to have been the divinity of the radiant dawn, of upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing, whose meaning could be easily adapted by the resurrection-day of the Christian's God." It makes sense that the chosen date to represent the rebirth of Jesus was based around a time(the Spring Equinox) that was already being celebrated for light and life.

In describing German Pagan traditions, Jacob mentions “Bonfires were lit at Easter and water drawn on the Easter morning is, like that at Christmas, holy and healing - here also heathen notions seems to have grafted themselves on great Christian festivals. Maidens clothed in white, who at Easter, at the season of returning spring, show themselves in clefts of the rock and on mountains, are suggestive of the ancient goddess.”

By reviewing his writings about German Pagan traditions, we can derive a few ideas on how we as modern pagans can celebrate the Goddess Eostre for the Spring Equinox. For example, In terms of ritual wear for the Spring Equinox I plan on wearing a simple white dress and creating a crown out of local spring flowers. As Eostre is the Goddess of the Dawn, I plan to wake up early on the morning of the Equinox to greet the new day. As Jacob Grimm attests to the healing power of Equinox water, I plan on collecting morning dew from the local grasses & flowers and putting it in a jar to place on my Ostara altar as an offering to the Goddess Eostre.

To me Pagan reconstructionism is figuring out how to stay true to the ideas and traditions behind the ancient rituals and festivals even if we can’t celebrate them exactly as our Pagan ancestors would have done. We really don’t know that much about the Goddess Eostre and how the Pagans celebrated her, so the best thing to do is collect the information we do have and stay true to the underlying spirit of the traditions to best of our ability.

Will you be celebrating the Spring Equinox this year? Share your Equinox plans in the comments! 🌸

The Green Man is one of the most visible Pagan references you’ll see in our society. You may have seen the Green Man throughout your city or local church, or even as the name of your local pub. So who is the Green Man, and why does he appear everywhere?

The Green Man is primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, represented in the cycle of growth each spring. He is most commonly depicted as a sculpture or face surrounded by, or made from, leaves. He’s often seen in decorative architectural ornamentation and is frequently found in carvings on both secular and religious buildings. Derivatives of The Green Man are found in many cultures from different time periods around the world.

The Green Man is related to what is called a vegetative deity - a nature God whose life, death and rebirth represents the growth cycle of plants. The deity typically undergoes dismemberment, scattering, and reintegration into the land. The cyclical pattern plays on themes such as immortality, resurrection, and reincarnation.

Vegetation myths also have a resemblance to certain creation myths in which parts of a primordial being's body generate aspects of the cosmos, such as the story of Ymir in Norse Paganism.

The green man often appears as decorative carvings in churches across Europe and is a perfect example of how paganism never fully disappeared. The Pagan perspective of the world persisted side by side with Christianity - it just became expressed in more hidden ways.

To me the Green Man doesn’t represent any one specific Pagan deity, instead he represents the desire to maintain a spiritual connection to the land and the cycles of nature. He is a part of the Pagan psyche, an archetype representing the fertility of the natural world and a way to bridge the gap between the Pagan and Christian worldview.

In many Pagan societies it was believed that Man was born from nature, and was thus directly tied to the fate of nature. In the Green Man we see this fusion of nature and Man represented. This is definitely an important metaphor for us today as we grapple with the effects of climate change. The Green Man reminds us that our fate is forever entwined with the fate of the wider natural world.

The Green Man doesn’t just appear as an architectural feature, he is also woven through European Folklore and traditions. Some people associate the Green Man with "Jack in the Green" which is an English folk custom associated with the celebration of May Day. It involves a wicker or wooden framework that is decorated with foliage and is usually worn by a person as part of a procession.

The Green Man is also a recurring figure in literature. Robin Hood, Peter Pan, and the Green Knight in the story of Sir Gawain are all examples of the presence of the Green Man archetype in English culture.

The Green Man regained a lot of popularity as the wider New Age Movement came into being and many artists continually use this figure for inspiration. For example, The Green Man was the theme of Burning Man in 2007 and the most recent season of Sabrina features The Green Man prominently in the story line.

So, next time you’re walking around your town or visiting a local religious building, keep an eye out for the Green Man - you might just find him.

Comment below your thoughts on my video about The Green Man. I’d also love to hear if you’ve seen any representations of the Green Man in your own city. 🌿

Heathenry, also called Heathenism or Germanic Paganism is a modern Pagan religion. It was developed in Europe during the early 20th century and its practitioners model it on the pre-Christian belief systems of the Germanic peoples of the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages.

Heathens work to reconstruct these past belief systems using surviving historical, archaeological, and folkloric research from this time period. Among the historical sources used are Old Norse texts associated with Iceland such as the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda and Old English texts such as Beowulf. Reconstructing religious practices from texts like these can be very tricky as they were written by Christians and only discuss pre-Christian religions in a fragmented and biased manner.

Heathenry does not have a unified theology but in general it’s polytheistic and centers on a pantheon of deities from pre-Christian Germanic Europe. Some of the main deities in Heathenism are Týr, Odin, Thor, Frigg, and Freyja from Scandinavian sources as well as Wōden and Ēostre from Anglo-Saxon sources. Some practitioners also adopt the belief from Norse mythology that there are two sets of deities, the Æsir and the Vanir.

Many practitioners blend the different pre-Christian religions of the Scandinavian & Germanic peoples and use a mix of Old English and Old Norse names for the deities (such as Odin vs Wotan), while others keep them separate and only venerate deities from a particular region. Those who focus more on the Scandinavian regional deities and traditions may refer to their practice as Asatru or Norse Paganism instead of Heathenry or Germanic Paganism.

When it comes to faith, most heathen practitioners are "hard" polytheists and believe in the literal existence of the deities as individual entities. Others express a psychological interpretation of the divinities, viewing them for instance as symbols or as Jungian archetypes.

Like the Greek and Roman pantheons, Heathen deities are not seen as perfect, omnipotent, or omnipresent, and are instead viewed as having their own strengths and weaknesses. Heathens view their connection with their deities not as being that of a master and servant but rather as an interdependent relationship akin to that of a family. This concept is very different from the Abrahamic religions, which view God as an omnipotent master that demands faith and service.

Along with honoring the Gods, Heathens have an animistic view of the cosmos in which the natural world is imbued with spirits. In Heathenism the deities and spirits are honored in sacrificial rites known as blóts in which food and libations are offered to them. Some practitioners also engage in rituals & practices designed to induce an altered state of consciousness and visions, such as the seiðr, with the intent of gaining wisdom and advice from the deities.

Like many Pagan religions, beliefs about the afterlife vary and are rarely emphasized. There’s more of a focus on your actions here and now instead of where you may end up after death. In fact, ethics are considered to be an important aspect of modern heathenry and heathen groups emphasize honor, personal integrity, and loyalty.

Now, I do want to take a minute to explain that some of these beliefs have a dark past. Heathenry's origins lie in the 19th- and early 20th-century romanticism which glorified the pre-Christian societies of Germanic Europe. Groups actively venerating these deities appeared in Germany and Austria during the early 1900s and there was a connection between the veneration of these European deities and the rise of the Nazi party. However, these groups known as the Volkish movement largely dissolved following Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II.

In the 1970s, new Heathen groups started to become established in Europe and North America and a central division within the modern Heathen movement has emerged surrounding the issue of race. Some heathen groups known as "folkish" within the community view Heathenry as an ethnic religion with inherent links to a Germanic race. They believe it should be reserved for people of Northern European descent, and often combine the religion with right-wing perspectives. A much larger proportion of Heathens instead adopt a "universalist" perspective, holding that the religion is open to all, irrespective of ethnic or racial identity.

So, what are your thoughts about Heathenism? Do you see yourself following this pagan path? Share your thoughts in the comments.