Exploring The Northern Tradition: A Guide To The Gods, Lore, Rites And Celebrations From The Norse, German And Anglo-saxon Traditions (Exploring Series)

221 Pages·2005·1.11 MB·English

by  Galina Krasskova

Exploring the
Northern
Tradition
A Guide to the Gods, Lore, Rites, and Celebrations
From the Norse, German, and Anglo-Saxon Traditions
By
Galina Krasskova
Foreword by Swain Wodening, cofounder of the
Angelseaxisce Ealdriht
N P B
EW AGE OOKS
A division of The Career Press, Inc.
Franklin Lakes, NJ
Copyright © 2005 by Galina Krasskova
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This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written
permission from the publisher, The Career Press.
EXPLORING THE NORTHERN TRADITION
EDITED BY CLAYTON W. LEADBETTER
TYPESET BY EILEEN DOW MUNSON
Cover illustration and design by Jean William Naumann
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Krasskova, Galina, 1972-
Exploring the northern tradition : a guide to the gods, lore, rites, and
celebrations from the Norse, German, and Anglo-Saxon traditions / by Galina
Krasskova ; foreword by Swain Wodening.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.
ISBN 1-56414-791-6 (paper)
1. Germanic peoples—Religion. 2. Mythology, Germanic. I. Title.
BL860.K73 2005
293—dc22
2004060870
This book is lovingly dedicated
to my great, great, great grandmother,
Elizabeth Oberlander Runkle,
in gratitude for her care and assistance.
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Acknowledgments
Like any creative work, this book has been, in many ways, a collabo-
rative effort. It could not have been written save for the unwavering sup-
port and inspiration of a number of people, both within the Heathen
community and without. So many folks offered their support in the most
unexpected of ways that they deserve recognition here.
First and foremost, I would like to thank three people who have nour-
ished me spiritually and supported me in ways that leave me awed and
grateful: K.C. Hulsman, Fuensanta Plaza, and Jason Barnes. You’ve been
pillars of sanity in a mad, chaotic, and frustrating world. I don’t think I
would even have had the wherewithal to begin this project but for your
encouragement and support. Thank you.
I would like to thank the good folk of Neoweanglia Maethel and her
lord Brian Hlaford Smith for their encouragement. I’d especially like to
thank Wulfgaest, Heah Blotere of the Haligwaerstow, for his continued
support and translation assistance.
A special thank you to Lord Dan O’Halloran, Aetheling Lord of
Normanni Reiks, for permission to use his quote on the subject of Symbel.
I am deeply indebted to Rev. Sharon Breland, for her keen eye in
proofreading, and to K.C. Hulsman, for allowing me the use of her master’s
thesis as a resource.
I would also like to acknowledge, with deepest gratitude, the Ealdriht’s
Swain Aetheling Wodening and his lady Tee Hlafdige Wodening.
I am also grateful to Krei Steinberg, gythia of Whirling Wheel Kin-
dred; Raven Kaldera and all the “grouchy spiritworkers,” for being a
much-needed sanity valve; Ruther Skae; Aleksa Pacuska; Dave Ryan;
Hanshi Rico Guy and Kyoshi Penny Johnson; Ramodolc Ennovy
Enicnarf; Rev. Francesca Fortunato; Rev. Hal Shaw; MM (just because);
Christine Kulawas, Esq.; the entire team of the DB Microcredit and
Community Development Department (for tolerating my varying degrees
of insanity as my deadline drew near and for being the first to celebrate
my pending book); and last, but not by any means least, the editorial staff
of New Page Books. You have been a true pleasure to work with and this
book could never have taken form were it not for your support. Any
errors contained within this text are entirely my own.
Contents
Foreword by Swain Wodening 9
Introduction 11
Chapter 1: The Evolution of Modern Heathenry 17
Chapter 2: Cosmology 27
Chapter 3: The Gods and Goddesses 37
Chapter 4: Wyrd 121
Chapter 5: The Soul Matrix 127
Chapter 6: Heathen Ethics and Values 141
Chapter 7: The Basic Blót 147
Chapter 8: Symbel 159
Chapter 9: Personal Devotions 171
Chapter 10: Holy Tides 181
Chapter Notes 187
Glossary 197
Bibliography 201
Suggested Reading 207
Index 213
About the Author 219
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Foreword
Heathen—the word is used to conjure up images of savages without
deities, roughing it in the wild…impolite, with no manners and very low
technology. Yet the word Heathen once referred to a fairly technologi-
cally advanced people with a very complex religion not unlike modern
Hinduism. Today, Heathenry denotes the modern revival of the ancient
Germanic religions, once known as Asatru (although Asatru now only
refers to the Icelandic version of Germanic Heathenry). The revival of
the ancient Germanic religions (there were many different tribal varia-
tions and are many different denominations today) began more than 30
years ago, nearly simultaneously, in the Americas, Iceland, and Great
Britain. At first, these distant groups of worshippers did not know of
each other, but in time, they did learn of one another. Since then the
number of practitioners of Heathenry has continued to grow, both in
individual worshippers and in the different denominations that follow it.
There are now Heathens following Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Gothic, and other
Germanic paths, as well as several national and international organiza-
tions devoted to the furtherance of the religions as a whole.
All of this happened despite the fact that very few books have been
written on the modern practice of Heathenry and that what few have
been published have been in print for very short periods of time. Galina
Krasskova has, therefore, produced something very needed and longed
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