How Skadi Works, or a Dog Story

How Skadi Works, or a Dog Story

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This is a dog story.  This is also a goddess story.  This is what happens when a goddess thinks you need help.

I’m Telling You This Story to Tell You Another One

In the not so distant past, I had been working at home and heard a soft noise.  I looked out the window and there were turkeys in my front yard.  They were practically doing a chorus line on my porch.  My two (nonhunting) dogs were sleeping.  Without really thinking any of this through, I grabbed my shotgun and went out the front door.
They all scattered.  Shit.  I took some shots and ended up with two spent shotgun shells and a hurt pride.

Hunting for Birds

My husband and I decided to go hunting recently for mountain grouse in an area where we know there are some.  We also went looking for bears because he had seen a bear in the area.  I foolishly took a .22 in the hopes of bringing home a grouse.
We saw no bear and saw one blue grouse who played peekaboo behind some cover.  I took a shot, missed, and flushed the grouse.  So, now I’m hurting from two stupid failures.

Driving Home

So, we get in the car and drive home.  We were some four to five miles away when we passed some people with dogs.  One of the dogs who didn’t appear to be attached to any of them took off chasing our car.  None of the people looked concerned.
We continued to drive and the dog kept following us at a full gallop.  Once or twice she tried to become a wheel chalk by actually catching up to our car.  We avoided her and figured she would turn back to her “owners.”

Arriving at Home

No shit.  We arrived at home with a dog in tow. At this point, I hopped out of the car and went to her.  She was nothing but skin and bones.  I’ve worked with athletic dogs in the past–this dog was emaciated.  She was also dehydrated.  I scooped her up in my arms–she had no collar–and brought her inside.  At that point, I knew we had a third dog, especially when my husband said to wait on contacting shelters.
She was in bad shape, she’d devour anything we set in front of her.  We have to bait water to get her to drink because I think she isn’t used to drinking.  Her teeth suggest she’s between 6 months and a year.
For a week I looked through the lost notices and nothing appeared for her. Even if it had, I would’ve been reticent handing a dog in such poor shape to an owner who treated her like this.  People dump dogs up here all the time.  The dog had no collar and no tags.  Pretty much a dumped dog.

Skadi, Seriously?

Looking at her, I realized that I had a German Shorthaired Pointer.  A bird dog for finding, flushing, and retrieving birds.  Apparently Skadi is tired of my failures and sent me a bird dog.  And when I didn’t take the dog at first, she had her run behind my car until the dog ended up on my doorstep.
So, apparently Skadi thinks I need all the help I can get.  And apparently this little dog needs my help too.
And yeah, Skadi is right.
Thanks, Skadi.

This is a dog story.  This is also a goddess story.  This is what happens when a goddess thinks you need help.  READ MORE of my premium content for just $1

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More Conversations with Bob the Car Wight

More Conversations with Bob the Car Wight

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I was walking by the SUV the other day when I saw Bob the Car Wight sitting on the hood.   This time, he had a very mismatched red and green plaid coat, orange hunting cap (which suspiciously looked like the one I had lost last season), and a fuchsia scarf striped with purple.  He was rubbing his hands together and blowing on gardening gloves he was wearing that were way too big for his fingers.  Now, imagine this all contrasting with his blue skin.  Eeek.  All in all, a sight to make sore eyes. 

“Whoa, Bob!  Are you trying to blind me with your fashion sense?” I quipped.

Bob rubbed his hands together and blew on the gloves’ fingertips as if he were trying to get warm.  “Like you know anything about fashion, mismatched girl,” he snorted.  He rubbed his hands some more.  “These gloves suck.”

I let the jab slide.  “What, are you cold?”

“What gave you the first hint, Einstein?” Bob glared at me.

“Well normally I’d say the blue skin, but seeing as that’s normal for you, I’d guess the weird get-up.”  I grinned at him.  “Don’t like our weather?”

“The weather was fine until it went from summer to winter in one day.”

“Well, that’s the Rockies for you.  I’d thought you’d be used to it by now since you’ve lived up here for years.”

“I’m used to garages.  You know, like indoors?  When are you cleaning out the garage so I can have a decent place to live?”

“It’s a little cluttered,” I admitted.  “But you’re a wight.  You’re supposed to be able to live damn near anywhere.  Well there’s no reason why you couldn’t stay there now.”

“Herman the roof rat doesn’t like me.”  Bob held up his hands.  “Do you have some spare mittens?”

I pondered that for a moment.  “The roof rat has a name?”

“Of course he does.  Everything does.  You just might not know it yet.”

“And his name is Herman?”

“Well, that was his name in a previous life.”  He wiggled his fingers at me.  “Mittens?”

“I’ll see what I can do.  I might be able to find some for you next time I go into town.”  I paused.  “But Herman?”

“Yeah, Hel decided she didn’t want him in Helheim so she sent him back to live as a rat.  She does that a lot with people who she really hates.”

“You mean they don’t go to Nástrǫnd and get chewed on by Níðhöggr?”

“Well, some of the really bad ones were giving the dragon gas. You wouldn’t believe how much damage to Niflheim it was causing when those farts light off.  One of those set fire to Hel’s hall some years back.  She really wasn’t amused.”

I laughed.

“I’m not joking.  You wouldn’t believe the cussing.  I think Hel invented new words just for that.”  Bob shuddered.  “She’s scary when she’s angry.”

“I bet,” I said.  I certainly had no desire to get on Hel’s bad side.  “Okay, so Herman the roof rat is being punished for..?”

“I don’t know.  He won’t tell me.  But he tried to goosestep in your garage.”

“Great, I have a Nazi rat.”  I sighed.  “Guess Hel won’t be upset when I trap his ass.”

Bob shrugged.  “She’ll just send him back as another rat.”

“Great, well maybe this time he’ll go to New York City instead of here.”

“Then you’ll have no excuse for cleaning out the garage,” Bob quipped.

“I’ll get right to it.”  I said, walking back to the house.

“Oh, and don’t forget the mittens!” Bob called after me.

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The Gods and Goddesses of Autumn

The Gods and Goddesses of Autumn

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Now that the Equinox has passed, you can feel the changing of the guard, especially if you live in the northern states. This year, it’s almost as if the gods and goddesses have had enough of the fires out here.  It is as though we’ve gone from summer to winter in one day and then the actual fall settles in.

A Time of Change

Autumn is a time of change.  It heralds the coming of winter and the urgent need to prepare for it. For those of you who buy foods from the grocery stores, chances are the changes you’ll see is more pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween candy.  For me, it’s a time to search for upland birds, can my harvest, and run my dehydrator 24/7. I’m looking at my livestock and wondering who I’ll be slaughtering so I can have more meat in my freezer.  I’m considering how I’m going to keep the fresh stuff preserved so that I can enjoy it when it is cold and snowy.  And I’m waiting for general hunting season where I can hunt deer and elk.

I truly feel that our gods and goddesses are linked to the seasons. This makes a lot of sense because our planet is governed by the laws of physics — even at the tiniest level. This makes a lot of sense if you’ve ever contemplated the overall nature of the universe.

The Gods and Goddesses of Autumn

I did some basic research, and I’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t a lot written about what Northern gods go with what season. We can make obvious guesses for winter and spring, but fall may be a little bit questionable simply because it is a time of transition. Even so, I’m going to share with you my insights, and hopefully you have some insights as well.

Skadi

Probably the biggest goddess of autumn (and also of winter) is Skadi, the Norse goddess of the hunt and of winter. She’s the one I pretty much go to when it comes to hunting, and I feel more in tuned with her every year. She is not an easy goddess to deal with, but she is honorable and very powerful. The story about Skadi seeking retribution for her father’s death is a story which shows how far she is willing to go if you fail to heed her.

Ullr

 

Ullr is the god of hunting, of snow and skiing, and of snowshoes. Ullr was considered an important god among the Scandinavians, no doubt since snow plays a major part in their weather. I’ve read various claims that Ullr is Skadi’s second husband after Njord. The story goes that Skadi could not abide Njord’s home near the sea, and he could not accept the high

mountain tops and snow, so they divorced and Skadi married Ullr.

Tyr

 

Tyr is the god of laws, justice, and the sky. While it seems odd to associate Tyr with a season, I believe he has power over the solstices and equinoxes, given his role as the sky god and lawmaker. It has been my experience (and you can take this as an unverified personal gnosis) that Tyr governs the laws of physics. When we deal with the movements of our planet in relation to the sun, it is really all physics.

I also ran across an interesting point that in some heathen segments Ullr may be an aspect of Tyr. It seems far-fetched, but apparently Ullr was invoked during duels, which was often used to determine who was right and who was wrong. Furthermore, there is an episode in the Atlakviða which has the swearing of an oath on Ullr’s ring. I can sort of see how this might fit together, but unless I have another UPG, it’s unlikely, at least in my own mind that Ullr is Tyr.

Freyr

 

Although it seems somewhat out of place, I’m putting Freyr as one of the autumn gods. The reason I am putting him in the autumn gods is quite obvious: he is the god of the harvest. The final harvest usually occurs sometime around the equinox, or maybe just a little later. Sometime in the fall farmers tended to slaughter livestock that they were not keeping over the winter, and preserving them. It makes sense that Freyr would preside over all of this.

 

Frigg

 

It may seem to be another stretch to put Frigg as a goddess of autumn, but I don’t think so. Frigg is a goddess of the hearth and home, of the distaff, and the wife of Odin. She has ties to Frau Holle and appears to be important in all manners of the home. To me, it makes sense that as the weather gets cooler, people are more inclined to stay indoors. So, I’m likely to think that preserving food and caring for the home falls right into Frigg’s domain.

I hope you enjoyed this piece. No doubt, you can think of some other gods and goddesses of autumn. I’d be interested to hear what you have to say and who you would recommend.

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When the Muse is a Bitch, or Equinox, Chickens, and Flipping the Switch

When the Muse is a Bitch, or Equinox, Chickens, and Flipping the Switch

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It had been miserably hot and smoky here in the Rational Heathen’s neck of the woods.  With all the fires, no rain, and hot temperatures, the whole area could go up in flames with a spark.  That’s how tinder dry the Northern Rockies have been.  So, when the weather shamans at the National Weather Service said we were in for a change, it was none too soon…

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Wiccatru — Or Should We Take Another Look at the Other Pagans?

Wiccatru — Or Should We Take Another Look at the Other Pagans?

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I ran across this rather interesting post on Patheos entitled Wicca: A New Major Religion, and yeah, it got me thinking.  If Wicca could be considered a major religion, are we doing Heathenism a genuine disservice by not occasionally courting it?  Here are my thoughts and why we may want to consider a bigger tent when it comes to our religion.

The Article and Why the Numbers Might Be Important

If anything, the article reaffirmed my belief in the big tent model when it comes to Heathenism.  If the numbers are correct (and I suspect they might be), we need to treat our pagan brethren with a little more respect.  The tl;dr version is that Wicca may have, by low estimates, around 2 million practitioners in the United States, making it the third largest religion in the US, after Judaism.   (Atheists and agnostics make up a larger percentage than Judaism, but since they are not a religion, they aren’t factored in.)  Now granted, when compared to more that 300 million people, that may not seem like many, but the reality is that 2 million votes can sway an election quite handily.  Which brings us to Heathenism.

Heathenism by the Numbers

I’m not going to tell you that the numbers I give you are definitive. For one thing, no one has done a completely accurate census and counted every single Heathen on the planet.  The current census counts were done on a strictly volunteer basis and most required some sort of participation in social media.  That being said, the Norse Mythology Blog came up with a number 16,700 in 2013. This seems a little low to me, undoubtedly because I suspect that some Heathens, for whatever reasons, don’t bother answering polls.  I suspect the number is bigger because the piece I wrote, The Gods are Not Your Bitches, got a whopping 13,062 views.  Now, granted, some folks may have gone back and reread it, and some folks may have read it who were not Heathen, but the idea that one of my posts reached nearly all Heathens is ludicrous. 

I’ve seen likes on various Heathen groups on the web, and have seen numbers in the 60K to 100K.  That to me seems more likely with a guessimation of maybe 150K to 200K total Heathens in the world at the top end, when you count crossovers from Wiccans and goosestepping moron Odinist Nazis.

Why We Need to Ally Ourselves with the Wiccans, or My Big Tent Belief

So, for argument sake, let’s say we have about 100K to 200K Heathens worldwide.  Personally, I think it is around 100,000, but let’s go with that bigger number, for argument sake.  That means that we maybe have a tenth of the numbers Wiccans have, if Wiccans have a conservative 2 million in the United States alone.  And our numbers are worldwide, not the United States, alone.  So, we have 2 million people who could easily be on our side because they’re polytheistic.  Granted, they worship all sorts of gods and goddesses, but the reality is that they could strengthen Heathenism if we let them. 

I’ve proposed this big tent belief in an earlier post which has met with some derision from the recon segment. Wiccans are not our enemies here.  In fact, you’re likely to find allies from Wiccans who worship Freyja and Freyr, or any of our other gods and goddesses.  We can find more Heathens there who will help us politically when it comes to issues we have.  Plus, if we’re inclusive, we have a lot more Heathens who can help shape Heathenry. 

To Those Who Want to Exclude Wiccans

Those who want to exclude Wiccans, even though they worship our gods, are being shortsighted.  Heathenry should be open to bringing in others, not just those who are willing to do the homework and speak the gibberish some Heathens do. We need the Lokeans, the Rokkatru, and yes, even the Wiccatru. 

Why?  you may ask.

Do you really want Heathenry to stay small?  Do you really want it to be taken over by racists?  Do you really think it’s a good idea to stay exclusive and not inclusive?  Look at the Wiccans.  They really don’t have a lot of dogma, and thus have big numbers.  Maybe Heathenry could learn something from Wiccans.  And Hels bells, I don’t even believe in magic. 

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When the Muse is a Bitch, or Sickness, Wildfires, and Hurricanes

When the Muse is a Bitch, or Sickness, Wildfires, and Hurricanes

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I’ve been enduring the wildfires here in the Northern Rockies.  On top of that, I’ve gotten a summer cold.  So, life sucks for me right now.

But, I have nothing compared to the folks fleeing Irma.  I want to put that in perspective…  READ MY PREMIUM CONTENT FOR JUST $1…

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Understanding the Nazi Slogan “Blood and Soil” or “Blut und Boden”

Understanding the Nazi Slogan “Blood and Soil” or “Blut und Boden”

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One of the folks on Facebook didn’t seem to understand the context of “Blut und Boden” which is often the Nazi battle-cry at various gatherings across America. The term, “Blood and Soil,” is a particular extremist term when it comes to nationalism, and of course, racism.

What Do They Mean When They Chant “Blood and Soil?”

Those who chant “Blood and Soil” may simply be idiots who don’t understand what they’re saying.  Or, they may actually agree with the propaganda. Either way, the meaning of “Blut und Boden” appeared sometime around World War I and Hitler based his nationalism on Blood and Soil. What it means is that true Aryan came from the earth and tilled the soil, aka farmers, in Germany.  He tied the Nazis to the land, thus making themselves “rooted” the land. Those who worked the land were infinitely superior to those who did not.  And Hitler pointed to the Jews as the main oppressors of the farmers who worked the land. To add more bullshit on top of bullshit, they furthermore believed that eugenics was the way to create a master race that was free of disease.

via GIPHY

Why Blood and Soil is a Typically Moronic Idea

In the last 15,000 there have been three major migrations across Germany; two of the migrations actually came from the Middle East.  There have been a bunch of “minor” migrations, where, if you were living in that time, probably didn’t seem so minor.  Archaeology combined with genetic research has proven that Germany and other European countries were a melting pot of settlers and invaders from various lands.  Likewise, the Germans went and settled across Europe and Russia.  We know that Germanic tribes such as the Angles and the Saxons went to Britain.  We know the Celtic tribes invaded darn near everywhere, but eventually settled in Spain and Britain.

So, the idea of having one true nationalistic blood is moronic. The idea that someone is pure “Norse” or pure “German” or pure “Aryan” is wrong.  There is no purity.  There is only a hodgepodge of genetics which includes DNA from all over the world.

Lastly, the concept of having the Jews oppress the farm workers seems bizarre.  For one thing, Jews couldn’t own land in Germany, so the misfortune of the farmers occurred because of several factors which included the Treaty of Versailles.

Why Blood and Soil?

Why are Americans chanting “Blood and Soil?”  I mean, Americans.  I’m sort of at a loss to address why these morons chant “Blood and Soil.” That slogan points to the German land.  We know Americans of European descent have no prehistoric ties to North America, so shouting “Blood and Soil” is inherently stupid.  Okay, maybe your ancestors arrived on the Mayflower, which puts your claim around 1620 (and they were English, not German). So, you have about 400 years of history in America?  What about the Native Americans who have more than 10,000 years of history here?

Bad Ideas Heaped Upon Faulty Information

So, the Alt-Right are clearly wrong when it comes to their heritage and their claim to the land.  Nobody is “racially pure.”  Nobody.  We’re all a bunch of mutts.  Deal with it.

That being said, once you hear those idiots spout their ideology, you can smirk and know that they’re not just wrong,  but fucking wrong.

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When the Muse is a Bitch, or Asa-Popes and Nazi-Asshats

When the Muse is a Bitch, or Asa-Popes and Nazi-Asshats

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I’m tired of writing about Nazis.  I really am.  I keep thinking I should stop, but the numbers don’t lie.
 People want to hear and talk about them.

My case?  Talking about Harvest and the upcoming seasons garnered half of the interest as the Nazi post.  Sigh...READ MORE for just $1

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Freedom of Speech Versus Dealing with Nazis

Freedom of Speech Versus Dealing with Nazis

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Freedom of Speech versus dealing with the Nazi asshats: 
I have a  moral dilemma.  The situation isn’t cut and dried or black and white.  Like most things in a Heathen’s life, there are many shades of gray.

Let me explain.

Nazis and Antifa

I hate the Nazis.   I really do.  I’m against them 100 percent.  As a writer, I am pro First Amendment.  That means that I am all for freedom of speech. I believe that freedom of speech is necessary for a free society.  So, when the Nazis hold a rally or are met with the Antifa forces, I go into cognitive dissonance.  I really don’t know what to think. 

The First Amendment

As a champion of the First Amendment, I believe that everyone has their right to say or write whatever they want.  (I don’t have to read it or listen to it, mind you.  And I sure don’t have to agree with it.)  Now, obviously freedom of speech has even been limited in America, but for the most part, you can spout the most absurd rhetoric and no one from the Government is going to visit you in the dead of night and drag you from your home (yet). There are, of course, exceptions to this rule.  Threats made against the president, for example. But overall, you can be as stupid as you care to on the Internet, in a paper, or out on the street corner.

Suppression of Freedom of Speech

This brings up Antifa.  I agree that one needs to be anti-fascist. But I think they’re doing it wrong.  Antifa is aimed at suppressing the Nazis’ freedom of speech with violence. They are a leftist group who are also anti-capitalist and socially leftist.  Yes, they are pro-LGBT and anti-racist, but their leftist affiliations makes me wonder what their end game might be.  Suppressing freedom of speech, even from Nazis–and you have NO IDEA how much this pains me to say it–is wrong, if the Nazis leave it to only speech and rhetoric.  When someone eliminates freedom of speech, one eliminates it for all people.

When Do They Whittle Away Our Rights as Heathens?

Think of it this way: yes, we can ban fascist statements, but when does what you believe start disappearing as well because the prevailing view shifts?  Right now, our right to worship our gods are tied to the First Amendment in the United States. That means we have the right to honor Thor, Odin, Freyja, Tyr, and even Loki, if we wish.  We can also choose to worship nothing, worship the Christian god, or worship a snake in a bathtub.  This is a basic right guaranteed by the First Amendment. What’s also guaranteed in the First Amendment is that the government will not prevent you from expressing your beliefs, AKA, the Freedom of Speech.  It doesn’t stop individuals or corporations from trying to stop you from stating your beliefs.  Other laws that deal with physical violence are supposed to prevent that.

While Antifa isn’t the government, I’m truly wondering what their intentions are.  I’m as anti-Nazi as they come, but even I recognize the implications if we don’t uphold the freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, even for Nazi assholes. 

Are the Nazis a Clear Threat Yet?

Obviously the Nazis can’t handle peaceful demonstrations–are we all that surprised?–but the question of whether it’s right to attack Nazis shouting their bullshit is the question I’m going to ask.  I mean, it’s one thing to claim you’re a Nazi, believe their propaganda, and demonstrate; it’s another when you start beating people.

You could claim that every single Nazi gathering has been violent.  I haven’t paid that much attention to the Nazis until recently, but I’d imagine that is probably true. In which case, yes, cancel them on the grounds of violence.  But our Constitution and its Amendments guarantee that they are entitled to their opinions and beliefs, however awful they are.

I’m not sure if they’re a clear threat yet, but they could be. As a Heathen, I recognize violence against evil as being sometimes necessary.  For example, during war or when one is attacked.  But to instigate violence against a violent group seems to just incite them further.  I learned this training animals.  You don’t punish the dog when it does something bad.  You ignore it.  Eventually the behavior stops if you reinforce the behaviors you want. It’s basic training techniques, and one that work exceptionally well, even with human animals.  If we enforce the right behavior, i.e. tolerance, and ignore the bullshit rallies (and have an armed police presence that keeps them in their own little spot where they can’t harm civilians), fewer and fewer people are going to want to join up.

Han Shot First

We all know the argument in Star Wars that Han shot first in the original version.  Lucas edited later editions to have Greedo shoot first and miss.  In the first Star Wars, Han shot Greedo before he could shoot because we all knew what was going to happen if he didn’t.  We cheered over it, because not only Greedo was a debt collector, but he also was an assassin. Han acted in self defense over a clear threat.

I’m not saying that we should shoot first when it comes to Nazis, but there is such a thing as self defense given that someone is armed the same as you (or better) and makes a credible threat.  Still many states don’t recognize this as defense and consider it murder. Also, there’s a matter of showing up ready to fight. Legally, one could, I suppose, say you were there to incite more trouble.  (We Heathens are great at that, by the way.)

So, What Should We Do?

The violence is Charlottesville ended in a death of a woman and the Nazi is being tried for murder and attempted murder. (As he should be.)  I am saddened by the woman’s death and the injuries of people who were protesting these evil people.  I saw the video of the attack and was appalled, because it was apparent the injured and killed people weren’t doing anything violent. That woman should not have died, nor should the people who were protesting peacefully been injured.

Right now, I know that it isn’t in human nature to belittle and ignore Nazi rallies.  It’s in our DNA to want to fight the injustice and insanity.  I can’t tell you what to do, but by giving these Nazi morons someone to fight against, it validates their threat.  Let me ask you one question:  which is more insulting to an aggressor: acting like they’re not worth your time or fighting them on their terms?  Yes, you will get bigger noise, and even more outrageous behavior, because they want to call attention to themselves, but eventually, they’ll find it not worth their while if they aren’t given center stage all the time.

Just a thought.  Your mileage may vary.

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Celebrating the Autumnal Equinox, Mabon, or Winter Finding

Celebrating the Autumnal Equinox, Mabon, or Winter Finding

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Our next big seasonal date to look forward to is the Autumnal or Autumn Equinox in the northern

hemisphere.  Often called Mabon or Winter Finding by pagans, there are a lot of good reasons to celebrate the season.

Mabon or Autumn(al) Equinox takes its name from a Welsh god, rather than a Norse one, but seeing as many of the Northern gods are interconnected, I’m hesitant to dismiss the name or the celebration outright. A later name for Mabon is Winter Finding to make it more Asatru-like. That being said, our celebration may have “Wiccatru” roots, which if you’re a recon, you may simply disdain the idea of celebrating it and move onto something more “authentic.”  That’s cool, but holidays do shift around, and I suspect late harvest was also celebrated by our ancestors.

Plus, it’s as good of time as any to celebrate the end of the growing season and the arrival of fall.

What the Autumnal Equinox is

The autumn equinox marks the official beginning of autumn.  Never mind that you’ve felt a shift in weather patterns sometime in August or early September, we generally consider the equinox to be the beginning of fall. The equinox, for those curious, isn’t when the day is equally night and day, although it’s damn close and I’d say for all intents and purposes, we can call it that.  What the equinox actually marks is when the sun crosses the celestial equator for the first time since spring equinox.  The celestial equator is an imaginary line above the planet above the actual equator.  The sun doesn’t really move relative to the solar system–our planet moves.  Our planet is tilted so that when it reaches a certain point in its revolution around the sun, the sun dips to the south on the autumn equinox and moves to the north on the vernal or spring equinox. It’s at this point we start really racing toward less light, although the summer solstice marks the high point of the daylight hours and we begin decreasing light after that.

The earth is actually spinning like a top, only relatively slower because of the magnitude.  The pole actually wobbles and will be in a different place about 10000 years from now. 

So, Did Our Ancestors Celebrate Winter Finding?

If you want to be really picky, chances are Winter Finding wasn’t celebrated.  Instead, our ancestors may have celebrated Alfarblót which occurred around October 22nd.  Alfarblót was a more private affair for families, even though it was a harvest festival that honored Freyr and Freyja. Sort of a Thanksgiving for Heathens.

So, if they didn’t celebrate Winter Finding, should we ignore it?  Probably not.  It is, after all, the equinox, which means it’s a good of time as any to have a celebration.  It’s a goodbye to summer and hello to the autumn.  It’s also a good time to bid farewell to the harvest.  I read that it’s a good time to get mead started (yeah, I can see that) in time for Yule.  So, maybe the equinox is a time for a community harvest celebration and Alfarblót for a more private celebration?

Then, What Should We Do with Thanksgiving? 

Thanks to Magickal Graphics

The November Thanksgiving is an American holiday that has its roots in harvest festivals but has been co-opted by Christians to give thanks to their god. I suppose as a Heathen one could get stubborn and decide to not celebrate it since the fields are most likely fallow and the foods have been already put up. But at the same time, hunting season is mostly over, which gives us another bounty–game meat.  I actually delay having Thanksgiving because hunting ends that Sunday after.  Who says we can’t use it to thank Skadi and Ullr for a successful hunt?

It even makes a lot of sense, given that fall turkey puts some birds in the freezer.  So, maybe celebrate it as the end of hunting season and the start of preparing for Yule might be appropriate.

I hope I’ve given some good reasons to celebrate the autumn equinox.  Do you celebrate Mabon, Winter Finding, or the autumnal equinox as a Heathen?  I’d love to hear what you do.

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