The Sorceress – Film Review

This subtitled French film is about a “forest woman” in a remote rural medieval village. She uses her knowledge of plants to act as a healer. Villagers come to her for her knowledge of herbs to heal sickness.  She also has some “tricks” up her sleeve in terms of cures that are more for placebo affect.  So of course, when the Catholic Church sends a new priest to the village, he accuses her of witchcraft.

The priest is depicted fairly in this film. Rather than a purely evil figure, he does try to wrap his head around what’s going on. He’s from a more urban, and his mind a more forward thinking, town.  So these rural villagers and their folkways appear backwards and superstitious.  But, the priest sees practices that just do not jive with Church teachings and the forest woman finds herself in a prison cell.

The film is interesting because theories about pagan superstitions are explored through the dialogue between the accused witch and the priest. Also, many occurrences that are known to have happened are depicted, such as the priest ordering a sacred tree to be chopped down and destroyed (this is documented to have happened all over Europe, and even in Mediterranean areas).

I really enjoyed this film and highly recommend it. Anyone interested in Medieval history and pre-Christian folkways will enjoy this film. The entire film can be viewed online for free on YouTube!  We’ve also added the DVD to our shop 🙂

~ Aelfwynne ~

Comments on “Ten Things You Might Not Know About Christmas” by Addicting Info

All in all this article is pretty good. I support all efforts to resurrect Olde Yule, and get to the roots of many of our holiday traditions.  There are just a couple of items mentioned here, though, that I would like to address.

Influences that preceded Santa:

One great point in the article is something I have been saying right along, that Santa is an amalgam of many influences – BUT he is not simply Odin repackaged like a lot of Asatru bloggers keep saying.  There seems little doubt that the white bearded Odin/Woden/Wotin who flew through the air on his magical horse to participate in the Wild Hunt at Yuletide was certainly a major influence. However, there are many other influences to consider. The archetype of the wise man, magician, sorcerer was prevalent in Northern European society from Britain to Russia. Certainly Odin is a part of this tradition, as he is known as the Wanderer in pointed wide-brimmed hat, tattered robes, often carrying a staff or walking stick. He is associated with magic, bringing us the Runes and he is said to have learned the Norse magical tradition called “Seidr” from Freyja.

However, the image of the mage, the wise sage who is a wielder of magic is seen elsewhere in Europe.  Think Merlin, Taliesin, and Finnish sorcerers/wizards which are so common in old Finnish folklore.

Shamanic influences are also strongly theorized to be an influence on Santa. The Finnish wizards were affiliated with Finno-Ugric shamanic tradition.  Another FInno-Ugric group with a strong shamanic tradition are the Saami.  Their shamans were known to eat the red and white fly agaric costume and then journey to the spirit world aided by the beating of their drums. These drums were often adorned with jingle bells.

Other figures across Europe follow this same pattern of being influenced by “the wandering sorcerer” archetype. Ded Moroz is one such Christmas figure from Russia (pictured above). And the English Father Christmas is another (pictured below).  I do understand that other internet writers aren’t as well versed in European folklore, so they don’t mean to be dismissive of other cultures. But, I personally feel it is disrespectful to other Northern European cultures whose traditions have  a legitimate influence on Santa Claus to leave them out.

Saints were usually made up by monks to dissolve cults to local deities:

Another point of contention I have with the “influences” of Santa mentioned in the article, and this is no fault of the author as it is the common theory espoused about the “history” of Santa, is Saint Nicholas.

Now, a bit of nerdy Medieval explanation is necessary. When one is a student of Medieval Studies, one becomes familiar with a genre of writing not well known by the general public: hagiography.  Hagiography is a genre of literature dealing specifically with saints’ lives. However, it differs from biography because hagiographies were written with an agenda to spread the Catholic cult of saints. They were very popular during periods of conversion, when the church targeted locally venerated deities and attempted to replace them with Christian saints.  One such swap out is very well known – goddess Brigid to Saint Brigid.

In their campaign to build up the saint while diminishing the god, hagiographers literally made shit up.  Straight up inventions based on nothing but the imagination of the writer.  They bullshitted their way through it. Sometimes a real figure could be used as a model, and then merged with the god they were trying to erase.  But the lives were typically completely contrived, and all manner of miracles and benevolent acts were ascribed to the newly invented saint.

Therefore, it is my strong opinion that the Saint Nicolas theory is but more bunk that was put round by the Church to distract people from their traditional Christmas figures.  Many local Yuletide characters were unsavory to the church.  Italy’s Befana is a witch, and Germany’s Krampus is a creepy goat-man with likely roots as a Pan-like agrarian deity, just to give two examples! There may well have been one or more real life men who the story of Saint Nick was based on. But, more than likely, the story was purposefully devised to replace and distract people from Odin and the other figures mentioned above.

** Edit – Someone made a comment on Facebook that “the author is downplaying the real Saint Nicholas.”   Ahem. In helping a friend find scholarly sources for Valentines Day, I was reminded that it was yet another holiday rooted in a pagan past; the old Roman Lupercalia.  Saint Valentine was grafted on to the holiday in the SAME way as St. Brigid became the patron saint of Candlemas, which was formerly Goddess Brigid’s Imbolc.  If you don’t see a pattern here and want to continue to believe the tale of “real” Saint Nicholas, you go right ahead.**

Santa’s reindeer are not based on a horse. They are based on, erm, reindeer:

Another point of contention is the assertion that Santa’s reindeer are based on Odin’s magical horse Sleipnir.  As explained above, the bearded magic man flying through the air at Yule does have connections to Odin and his flying horse.  However, the reindeer are more than likely inspired by the Saami reindeer herders.

Although the Saami are largely unknown by the general American public today, they were referenced quite often in writings of the 19th century when the American version of Christmas as we know it today was formed.  Back then they were referred to as Lapps, and they were of great interest to folklorists and travel writers to whom “Lapland” was an exotic and fascinating foreign location.

Reindeer herding has been a traditional livelihood of the Saami for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.  The Saami live at the tippy top of Scandinavia reaching from Norway and Sweden to Finland and over to Russia. Most of this area is considered Arctic, and it is virtually undeniable that the Saami in Lapland (Sapmi is the politically correct term for this region today) were a huge influence on our image of “The North Pole.”

The Saami tie to Santa’s reindeer goes beyond simply the coincidence of them being affiliated with reindeer in the North Pole. As mentioned above, Saami shaman used the fly agaric mushroom to spirit travel.  Well, as we would have it, the Saami reindeer herders did as well. According to folklore and historical sources, the Saami herders would watch when their reindeer rooted out the mushrooms from beneath the snow. After the reindeer ate the shrooms, the herders would collect their urine and drink it to “fly” themselves.  And there you have it: flying reindeer. This is pretty straightforward and difficult to debate. Sorry, Sleipnir! Not that I don’t love you and your eight legs or anything, but I’m not going to make up a tenuous connection just to pander to what people want to read! Especially when the truth is equally cool! If you don’t believe me, maybe BBC can explain it to you:

Fly agaric was a super uber common motif in German, Norse, and Finnish Christmas, which in all likelihood is a hold over from old Yule  All you have to do is Google it and you will find numerous images like the one below which clearly demonstrate how Santa got his red and white suit (Sorry, Odin! No rags for Santa!):

** Quick edit with massive EYE ROLL and condescending sigh.  Yes, Coca-Cola made today’s image of Santa famous. Duh. We all know that. But this article is more about addressing the information given by the other article referenced at the top than an exhaustive meticulous history of American Christmas. However to address some comments made on Facebook… ahem, do you think the artists working for Coke lived in a vacuum?  Obviously they lived in the same culture as everyone else and were exposed to the same culturally pervasive motifs and imagery that were common to the time. As I said above, the fly agaric mushroom was a popular Christmas symbol and that pre-dated modern images of Santa.  Coke’s artists, just like everyone else at the time would have seen these everywhere. So when they were choosing colors for his outfit, there could be little question as to whether these images played a large role in their inspiration.**

Christmas Caroling began in Pagan Europe, not in the Christian 15th Century:

One last thing to mention. The article mentions Christmas “songs” going back to the 4th century in a Christian context, and that carols originated in the 15th century.  Again, no blame on the author as this information is very hidden and not well known. But Christmas caroling is a VERY pagan tradition!  It is yet another indigenous European pre-Christian custom that the Church literally rallied and launched campaigns against.  They finally decided to try to wipe out the pagan custom by replacing it with a Christian one, the same tactic mentioned above with the saints. Please read this article which explains it in detail: The Hidden History of Christmas Carols. 

And there we have it. ~ Aelfie

Please check out our section for Pagan roots of modern holidays in our shop. I will be developing and adding more great resources and recommendations to it 🙂

How the “War on Christmas” Made Me a Pagan

I’m going to share something personal with you guys. Maybe you’ve heard Christians give their “testimony” about how they “came to The Lord.” Well this is my story about how I came to discover my own ancestral indigenous religion.

Unlike some of the pagan stereotypes out there, I was never a goth chick, never obsessed with magic or “playing witch.” What I was, simply, was a deep thinker, inquisitive, curious, an avid reader, a history nerd, an animal lover, nature lover, and passionate about the things I care about.

Being raised in the church from birth, I was naturally very gung-ho about it up through my teenage years, and my thirst for knowledge lead me to learn a lot about the Bible and church history. But, there was always a frustration because it was clear from childhood that my Christian peers tended to be very shallow thinkers and I butted heads with them on their hypocrisy and sheer lack of logic. By my late teens and early twenties Christian dogma was just no longer jiving with my own ability to process information and what I knew to be true about the world at large. So I entered a period of what I might call “agnostic spirituality.”

As someone who avidly absorbed myself in history since I was a kid, I always knew about old Yule, and always had an interest in world cultures in general, but also my own cultural heritage which is generally British and Northern/Central European. So one year during the Christmas season, when I heard Bill O’Reilly launch into his “War on Christmas” tirade, something inside of me just snapped!

Now, this was nothing new. I was raised with this rhetoric. But after having been released from the brainwashing for a few years, it just really irritated me to hear this complete and utter bull. I sat there thinking “what about when Christmas warred on Yule?!” How ridiculous and hypocritical to bang on about your holiday being attacked, when your holiday attacked and hijacked another!

It led me to thinking on how much of Old Yule is still present in our current Christmas traditions. This spawned more and more research, and something inside me just clicked. To get to the truth, you must scratch away the facade. Christianity has been a veneer painted over Europe (and European descendants in the New World) which has separated and hidden us from our roots.

I don’t mean to leave out other ethnic groups because the same is true for many. Other ethnic groups experienced this assimilation and erosion of culture more recently so it is more well known. The attack on indigenous European culture is further back in time and very well hidden. By the time Christianity began assimilating other cultures, it had become ubiquitous with Europeans, so people saw it as “white man’s religion.” We had lost our own tribal and indigenous identities by then.

By emphasizing my ancestral roots, I make no claim on any kind of superiority what so ever. Every person should connect to their ancestral roots, and to all aspects of it if you are of mixed heritage. I do not mean to exclude anyone. But the fact of the matter is that American and European “Christmas” was stolen largely from Germanic Yule. There are many other winter solstice traditions all around the world, and I urge everyone to research solstice traditions from your own heritage, or simply embrace what speaks to you.

Yule has a special place in my heart because it was the moment I had an epiphany. It was my rational and knowledgable side that thought “um, no. Screw you and your fake war on Christmas! And screw your lack of knowledge of history. Screw your hypocrisy. Screw your idiotic lack of conceptual understanding that there was, indeed, a religious holiday preceding yours that your religion usurped and waged war on!” From that moment on I became a shield maiden. No, actually I always was a shield maiden, it’s in my blood! But it activated my inner warrior to stand up for what is good and right, for the truth, and for my heritage. It spurred my entire “Heathen awakening” if you will.

I hope to have the time to post more on Yuletide traditions and history this season, but life has been busy and I have been dealing with serious illness. The Northern Grove FB page will be sure to share informative posts in the upcoming weeks.

~ Aelfwynne ~

PS – UPDATE:

People have been asking where to find info on Yule, and Yule’s influence on Christmas. I’ve added some great books on this to our Amazon shop and created a new section for Heathen/Pagan holidays ! 🙂

Heathenism in Main Stream Society

By Ásfridr Godardsdottir

Heathenism in main stream society is often miscued as a religion with racial ties. When indeed it is quite the opposite. Yeah there are those few shall I say who bastardized the old ways. Ignorance is not bliss. Be aware and open minded, you might learn a thing or two

I myself find the biggest misconceived notion of Ásatrú is that it’s just a religion of what the “cool kids” are getting into. They to, like the Neo nazis will weed themselves out. My point may seem harsh, but I feel being called back to the old ways is just that, A Calling! A calling from our Ancestors to our true self. The mighty Tyr did not sacrifice his arm to the Fenrir wolf for no reason at all. He did it to bind the wolf until Ragnarok where the wolf will join the giants against the final battle of the gods

Heathenism here in America can be a very solitary thing unless you know other Heathens, which can be hard to find at times. I myself am self taught and and still learning everyday! I’ve been on my path for about 18 months. I’m an empath so I’m very “touched” with the gift of Spaë. My family doesn’t agree with my beliefs but as I always tell them, ” I wasn’t born to follow”!

The Belief in the Old Ways in The United States Military

The belief in the Old Ways in the United States Military

By Ásfriðr Godardsdottir

First I think the term Paganism should be defined.

n.
1. An adherent of a polytheistic religion in antiquity, especially when viewed in contrast to an adherent of a monotheistic religion.
2. A Neopagan.
3. Offensive
a. One who has no religion.
b. An adherent of a religion other than Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.

Now there are many branches of Paganism. It’s whatever you prefer to call yourself or what your beliefs are. Myself, I am a Heathen believing in Ásatrú which is the beliefs in the Norse-Germanic deities.

I was also a Veteran of the United States Army in a time that paganism of any form was not accepted. Upon my discharge from the Army , the Wiccan beliefs were just starting to become recognized by a very Christian military force. You were either deemed a satanist or atheist. Which in contrast is an oxy moron.
I personally did not find my path until I had been out 7 years (no time is right and no time is wrong).

Now I’m hearing that Paganism is becoming more accepted throughout all branches, which excites the hel out of me! In a Christian sense, Jesus taught religious tolerance for ALL religions. Let me say that it’s easy for me to put this together because I was a Catholic when I served. So me personally, I always have the counter response when asked questions. I think it would be amazing if the US Military introduced Pagan Chaplains in to accommodate ALL religions, not just those of accredited faiths by the Christian community.

I’ve taken accounts of a few service members who will be protected under the Stolen Valor act. I will not give names or ranks out. For our living heroes, it saddens me that no matter how many tours they’ve done or how many years they’ve done, they are still not accommodated in our faith. Sumbels in the Heathen/Ásatruar path are strongly prohibited but there’s ways around that while deployed. I believe ALL forms of paganism should be allowed to openly and freely practice. They’re all fighting for the same cause, why not let them pray to whatever god they choose?

One Marine told me he actually practiced more while he was deployed, stating that his subordinates would make sure he practiced before missions because they saw that it was working. Coincidence? I think not. Though not accomadated state side, I’m getting accounts of these brave men practicing on their own without fear or repercussions of practicing a non-Christian belief system. Heathens are often labeled Nazi’s because of the third riech bastardizing Ásatrú and just out of pure ignorance with a totally misconceived notion that not all, in fact, most Heathens are NOT racist in any way, shape or form. If the military were not so secular in their beliefs, I know a good amount of the boots on the ground would not be afraid to openly practice their faith and continue on their paths.

The Einherjar are those who have died in combat and rest in the Halls of Valhalla, preparing each day for the events of Ragnarok, then they rest each night feasting upon Sæhrímnir and having a plentiful supply of mead being passed to them by the Valkyries. I am of the belief that not just anyone gets to Valhalla (sorry to burst anyone’s bubble). Even then, half of the slain warriors go to The Goddess Freyjas hall, Sesrumnir. The Einherjar are our fallen ancestors, blood related or not. If it wasn’t for those who came before us, our personal paths now would be nothing but some “cool stories”

HAIL THE EINHERJAR!
HAIL ALL ACTIVE DUTY/RESERVE/NATIONAL GUARD!
HAIL THE GODS AND GODDESSES!

Thoughts on Wyrd – a Germanic concept similar to fate or karma

Wyrd is a complicated concept because we no longer have an equivalent in Western civilization. I am by no means an expert, but I will try to explain what I have learned and how it relates to my previous thought for the night.

In the old Germanic (meaning continental Germans, Dutch, Norse, and Anglo-Saxon) cosmology (meaning how the universe works), there was a concept called Wyrd. This is sort of like both karma and destiny intertwined.

Art credit: user Gut Monk on Wikipedia Commons

Think of it as a great web in time. It is your past and your future. It is all of your past decisions and how they might affect your future. But it is also subject to factors outside of your control. It is influenced by things such as your family and the decisions they made before you were born.

We like to think we are independent of our parents and grandparents and their decisions don’t affect us. We are our own person. But, that is simply not true. Decisions and actions made by our predecessors have a direct impact on us and weave patterns into the Wyrd of our lives.

But, unlike the Greek concept of Fate, it’s not set in stone. It’s not some predetermined thing that is inevitable. But things that came before us might be obstacles or complications that we have to work through in order to change the outcome of the future.

The good news is, at any one moment in time, we can change our destinies. Every decision, every action, every word we speak begins a new ripple effect into our future Wyrd.

Art credit: User Ganjalvi on Deviant Art

But, of course, the web you laid down for the past however many years, that is still there. So you can’t expect things to change immediately. What you can do, is start making every moment from this step forward a change for the better, and start weaving new Wyrd. Eventually the ripples from the past will taper off and the ripples stemming from the moment of change will be dominant in your web of life.

Earlier I posted that a leopard doesn’t change their spots, so don’t give second chances. Someone commented, and this is not to call that person out because many people respond with this, that “we shouldn’t judge because everyone screws up.”

This is true. And I would respond with this: One spot does not a leopard make. Two spots does not a leopard make. And so on. How many spots does a leopard even have? 20? No way, a leopard is covered by pattern.  One mistake is not a pattern. A bad decision here or there is not a pattern.  But the overall trends visible in a person’s life do create a pattern.  When you can see patterns develop and repeat over and over again in your own life, stop and assess your choices.  And if you see a loved one or friend generating destructive patterns, I’m not advocating turning your back on them.  Of course we should bring it to their attention and offer support, advice, and guidance.  But if they reject guidance, or continue to generate negative and harmful patterns in their life, it is up to you to decide if THEIR negative patterns are bleeding into YOUR life.

Image source: European Space Agency & NASA

We ALL screw up! One mistake is a blip on the radar, it does NOT define you.

But when you see someone who makes screw up after screw up, ruin relationship after relationship, who seems to have no stability, no sense of direction in their life… If you entangle yourself with them, you are inviting that dysfunction to weave it’s way into YOUR web of Wyrd.

This could be a romantic relationship, a friendship, a business partnership, and so on. Everyone has Wyrd, and it ripples with various levels. From that of a drop of rain, to a pebble, to a rock, boulder, to a full blown tsunami. But even the tiniest drop of water into a still pond will create a ripple that bleeds into the ripples of other drops.

Don’t judge a person by one screw up. Look at their character. Is their character that of someone who LEARNS from their mistakes, and grows, and evolves as a person? Or are they a dumb schmuck making the same mistake over and over again?

Wyrd is made by YOU, and unfortunately by those around you. As a child, you have no control over who is around you. Growing up, we gain more and more control.

So take control of your life. Over your own thoughts, motivations, desires, actions, and the words you speak to those around you.

But also, pay attention to those with whom you surround yourself. If someone else is bringing you down, change the level you allow them to influence your life. Or cut off harmful people before they can do serious damage.

~ Aelfie ~

Brian Bate’s “The Way of Word” is available in our Amazon shop. Highly recommended!

It is fiction, but the author put meticulous research into Anglo-Saxon history and indigenous spirituality before writing. Even though it’s a narrative, you learn so much through the story about a culture heritage so many of us are connected to but have been cut off from. Remember, a huge part of culture is language. If you are a native English speaker, no matter what race or where in the world you live, you are an inheritor of Anglo-Saxon culture.  Embrace it!

Regarding Kindred

As of lately, I have been asked many times, and as well received many emails from fellow followers of the heathen path/s in regards to the topic of kindred.

Usually wondering or asking my thoughts on this, or how does one go about finding one or forming one?

Well the answer to such a question is well simple, yet at the same-time complex.

Here I shall express my thoughts on the subject based on from what I know from my own path as well as others I know personally.

First of all: Like I mentioned the answer is in a way “simple”? Well I mean this in the sense that the root of it or foundation is “right under your nose” (so to speak.)

Well for one the truth of the matter is…… Everybody has/is apart of some type of “kindred.”

You have been since day one, and throughout your entire life! Who or what is this? It is your family, your community, that “network” of ppl that raised and nurtured you.

This is where you learned and were taught your social values and helped you form your concept of personal boundaries. These are the people one is obligated too and closest with first and foremost! They are the essential influences in your own “web of wyrd.”

Like I said this is our family, whether or not those who raised you or call “family” are related biologically. (as in today’s world there are many “blended” families and those “adopted.”)

Your “personal kindred” is the community that helped form and nurture your sense of identity. As many of you know one of the main, essential values of Asatru/Heathen culture is that of a sense of commitment to ones “folk” community, and most importantly family.

One of the key “virtues” or ideologies that is expressed through our ways, is that of the understanding that ones life and life itself is not just about “them” ones life gains it’s value meaning and merit through our deeds and actions, as well as how these things influence those close and dear to us! Or what sort of impact we ourselves make in those people’s lives, is what over all effects our personal “value” in this life. Our lives would be rather well…… Meaningless! If it was not shared with others, and without the ones we love!

This overall ties into the basic needs of human nature. Our species as a whole is that of a social-animal, these relationships are one of the most essential components of the human experience. Our social needs! So what better place to start other than realizing your core y foundation, those who you are most bounded to as of now. These are the ppl you owe the first and foremost obligation too. Here is where one of the essential aspects and values of Heathen culture is not just “theory but real practice!  (you gotta walk the walk, folks!)

For example, what better way to pay homage to beloved mother Frigg than showing your love and respect to your mother, and/or the special matrons in your life. What better way to pay homage to Freya and the Dis than by acknowledging and  showing appreciation to all the great, wonderful and inspirational women in our life. If one wants to truly understand our “gods” on a personal level, one must first truly understand and bond with one’s own personal ancestors. After all we see our gods as not just some “over-lords” ( or over-ladies) that we serve, we are not servants! Nor are they our “masters” We perceive them as our family we perceive them as   our ancestry! They are our “spiritual” family. Treat them and perceive them as such. When you make peace and build and/or affirm ties with your own family and ancestry you are doing so with the gods.

Often the issue comes up for many (especially those who are completely new and have no “background” in Asatru/ Heathen ways) “My family isn’t pagan or heathen?” Well the truth is that even those of us that do come from this sort background, are at least going to have a few relatives and ancestors that were/are of other beliefs or even ethnic backgrounds. So does this make this complicated? No, not at all! The point is they are still your folk. they are still those who play a role in one’s wyrd and orlog. They are all apart of the aspects that made you, you! You need to embrace them all! Even if one does not come from such a Germanic/Norse or pagan background, the truth is you may find those ethics and values held in high regard to us, all around in the people you hold dearest. Having such characteristics as honor, loyalty, courage, and hospitality is certainly not exclusive  to those of culture and path. Quite honestly I think our mighty deities care more about upholding these values than how many times you “Hail their name!” Besides another core value is “give and give.” Thus you give the most loyalty and love to those who have shown you the most loyalty and love.

When it comes to regarding  finding and/or forming a “Heathen” kindred/community.

Well my advice is before that one must have the previously mentioned in order and priority. With this, then one can further create new healthy and beneficial ties to add to ones “web.” Also commune and network with others that are on the same page and hold these same values. With this one can be certain you are building a healthy, functioning, as well as coherent social structure.

One of the things I love and admire most of my culture is the great value it places on community and social bounds and how it acknowledges the importance of these things in our lives, how they shape our boundaries and sense of identity. As well, we are encouraged  to grow as dynamic individuals, finding and contributing new and great things to our folk, family and kindred/s.

Much love &Wassail to you and yours! 🙂

~FreyaDis 

Follow Up to Easter/Ishtar/Eostre Silliness

When an article is rather lengthy, there is a tendency for people to skim and pick out bits and pieces out of context, and respond to what they think they just read, while missing the other points.

The previous post was in no way meant to insinuate that there are not many Spring festivals all around the world.  There are!  Many of them use some of the same imagery, eggs, rabbits, etc.   It was not to imply that Germanic culture corners the market on that.

The point was to address the meme going around the internet that states incorrectly that the word Easter derives from Ishtar.  So perhaps it’s my own error in not being more clear. (Incidentally, I am far from the only person taking issue with this meme, by all means read Megan McArdle’s article and the Belle Jar Blog).

The fact of the matter is, the word Easter derives from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. In Germany  you will find Ostern, deriving from Ostara.  Both were Spring Equinox festivals.

In old Celtic society you will find the Spring equinox festival Alban Eilir, celebrated by contemporary practitioners of Celtic Druidry and paganism today.  According to the Order of Bards and Druids, eggs are also a traditional symbol of this holiday.

I recently responded to questions and comments on our Facebook page about why I’ve been mentioning Brigid in conjunction with Ostara, and had to clarify that while they are not connected linguistically, and while their holidays fell at different times of the year, Brigid’s holiday Imbolc (usually celebrated between Jan 30^th to February 2^nd) is also a heralding of Spring.  Milk and dairy held significant meaning to the Celts who celebrated Imbolc, and symbolically they had a similar meaning as eggs do on Easter.  The milk and eggs functioned in the same way, to stand for new life, rebirth, renewal, as well as nurturing sustenance.

CLEARLY this happened all over the world! Duh! The point is not that Germanic culture as the one and only culture with a claim on Spring!  My point is just that all cultures deserve respect. Ishtar deserves respect within her cultural context.

People all around the world are attempting to reconnect with old ways that were often suppressed and hidden to history. It’s not just Germanic and Celtic descendants.  There are Hellenic pagan groups in Greece, Italian-American Stregheria practitioners, revivers of the Old Religion in Italy, Slavic Rodnovery, Lithuanian Romuva, and even people attempting to revive Canaanite paganism and Egyptian Kemetic pagan religion. 

So for non-pagans to whom all of this “pagan jargen” is foreign, as well as to Wiccans and eclectics who haven’t been exposed to this other heritage influenced paganism, here’s a newsflash: it is NOT  just the Germanic heritage that makes a connection between pagan religion and cultural heritage. It is happening all over the world with many cultural groups.

At Northern Grove, we support ALL of these people!  And while we do support  and would love to network with them, obviously every group has to have a focus, and ours is on the Northern European traditions. So our page attempts to explore and learn more about the Germanic, Celtic, Baltic, Slavic, Saami, Finn, and other groups in the region.

Anyway, the whole point about Ishtar and Easter was simply that Easter is an English word deriving from an Old English goddess.  Ishtar is a Babylonian goddess, who likely had her own festival. I did Google it and couldn’t locate one, though. So by all means if someone knows it, link me to some info 🙂

I don’t put anybody’s culture above anybody else’s. But I hope as the Pagan movement grows, we can be respectful of ALL the cultures we’re representing.

Sure cultures overlap and have connections. People attempting to “school” me on this point have obviously not spent time on my Facebook Page, where I continuously butt heads with white supremacists (who turn up hoping we support that and get very angry when they discover we dont!)  and I constantly point out that nobody’s ancestors lived in a vacuum. (Except perhaps those in harsh climates and remote islands, lol)

I have to roll my eyes at some of these comments, which yes, I am deleting.  I stand up for respect of other cultures pretty much EVERY DAY.  I continuously share articles with commentary about the way our ancestors interacted with other cultures, and explain that racial or cultural purity arguments are bogus.

But, there comes a point when the double standard has to be called out. Here I constantly say those things, but when I say “wait a minute, you’re taking an Old English word and attributing it to a Babylonian goddess, please respect my culture!”  People try to turn it into some kind of racial purity thing.  Ridiculous!

I’m also incredibly interested in Baltic paganism and Lithuanian Romuva and have discussed the connections and similarities between it and Hinduism. But look, there is an Indo-European background there. Not some long lost ancient connection from so many thousands of years ago that it barely makes sense to force a comparison.

I’m done with this rant, and hopefully now we can move on to more interesting topics!

~ Aelfwynne ~

Cultural Appropriation, Ishtar, Eostre, and Easter

this post is by Aelfwynne

Cultural Appropriation is defined by Wikipedia as follows:

Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture.It can include the introduction of forms of dress or personal adornment, music and art, religion, language, or social behavior. These elements, once removed from their indigenous cultural contexts, can take on meanings that are significantly divergent from, or merely less nuanced than, those they originally held.

This has been in the news a lot lately in both pagan and mainstream media. Groups ranging from fashion designers to practicing pagans have been scolded for handpicking bits and pieces from other cultures to use for things from aesthetics in fashion to neo-pagan ceremony.

(See this article from Jezebel)

In the US, this typically happens between the dominant culture and Native American culture. Native Americans then speak up and say “HEY! Give us our stuff back!” And more power to them. They have every right to do so. After having their culture nearly wiped out, I praise their efforts to safeguard their traditions and preserve their original meaning within their cultural context.

Most people aren’t fully versed in the history of the conversion of Northern Europe to Christianity. I delineate Northern from Southern because Southern Europe, being integrated into the Roman Empire and with more frequent interaction with the Middle Eastern and North African countries on the other side of the Mediterranean, has a completely different history and relationship with Christianity than does Northern Europe. My personal delineation between Northern and Southern Europe draws the line between Romance speaking and non-Romance speaking countries in the West, so I include countries often considered “Central Europe” in my definition, as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland. Granted England was under Roman rule, but for a much shorter time comparatively, and the pagan Germanic tribes took over after Rome left. So they have more in common with Scandinavia and continental Germans for our purposes here.

I can’t spare the space to give you a run down on the conversion process, but stay tuned for future blogs on that. If you aren’t well versed in it, please Google the following: The Northern Crusades, Charlemagne and Widukind or Charlemagne and the Saxons, and the Wendish Crusade. That’ll be enough to whet your whistle.

To get back to the point, much of the conversion of Northern Europe happened with armies and much bloodshed. In some cases, it led to the virtual genocide of entire ethnic groups (Google the Teutonic Knights and Prussian genocide). When these people were conquered, they were forced to give up their ancestral ways. From religion, to festivals, and folk traditions. They were oppressed by the new dominant culture; Christianity and the new systems of social control and governance. When caught practicing their ancestral ways, the penalties could be severe. Many victims of the witch hunts were, in fact, people caught practicing their traditional folk practices which were now outlawed.

Destruction of the Baltic Pagan Temples During the Northern Crusades

Fast forward to today, and we find the descendants of these people making great strides in reviving their ancestral ways. Through scholarly research and archaeology  we’re piecing together the puzzle of what our own indigenous faith looked like. Personally, I think this has great potential beyond the realm of our own self identity. For the first time in recent history, so called “white people” are connecting to a tribal past. By understanding our own indigenous roots, and that we too were victims of oppression and assimilation, we can better understand issues faced by indigenous people who have gone through this more recently, or are experiencing it now.

Incidentally, there are, in fact, still indigenous groups of Caucasian people today living very close to their ancient tribal ways and facing persecution of the same kind that other indigenous people around the world are facing. But we’ll explore that in another post.

Now what does all this have to do with cultural appropriation?

Well, by now, pretty much everyone is fully aware that holidays like Christmas and Easter were originally pagan and commandeered/re-purposed by Christians. This was clear cut cultural appropriation the first time around, but it was so many hundreds of years ago that most of us don’t consider it that way. However, in the case of Easter, it seems to be happening all over again.

Again, I don’t have the time and space to give you a run down on the historical evidence for the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. But before you jump in with the nauseatingly cliche comments like “there is little evidence for her,” please take a look at the rundown of the available evidence in our Facebook post, which I hope to expand and blog at some point.

The Goddess Eostre by by Jan Fibinger

 

So, we have established that there IS evidence for Eostre, and that she is the namesake of the Spring festival we know as Easter. Yet, there has been a recent movement to associate Easter with the Babylonian goddess Ishtar.

Ishtar is a goddess completely removed from the the linguistic and geographic region where Eostre reigned. Ishtar is related to Astarte and Inanna, all found in the Middle East area. 

For those who don’t know much about mythology, let me explain something. There are people who attempt to force connections where there are none. This goes back to the Romans who forced connections between their own gods and the gods of the North. These connections are often tenuous at best and completely erroneous at worst. In the old pagan world, mythologies were heavily influenced by geography, climate, society, and culture. So a society in a desert climate for example will have very different mythologies than people in a fertile green area. Defined seasons with harsh winters will develop different mythologies than temperate climes where seasons aren’t as extreme. Agrarian farming societies will place higher emphasis on fertility and Earth mother goddesses, and in hunting/nomadic societies masculine sky gods will dominate. So for cultures who are removed from each other both geographically and linguistically, it doesn’t make sense to force connections between their gods. 

I could go into a breakdown of Ishtar/Astarte/Inanna and why she is very different from Eostre/Ostara, but by all means, please look at each for yourself if you don’t take my word for it. They each have very well cited Wikipedia entries. Ishtar’s entry connects her to the goddesses I’ve mentioned, but make NO connection between her and Easter. Conversely, both entries for Eostre and Easter mention the connection to the other.

Yeah, it’s Wikipedia, I know. Again, see my post on the historical evidence on Eostre for more links.

But back to cultural appropriation. The idea that we are a cultural minority may come off as laughable to some. Sure, we’re part of the Caucasian majority who has gone around oppressing all the other minorities in the world, right? Well, not so fast. We are a religious minority. And we are a people making a legitimate attempt to reclaim and revive the part of our culture that was oppressed by an invading dominating foreign culture. And as such, it is important to recognize our holidays and the deities represented by them.

Now, Ishtar probably did have a fertility festival. I am in no way denying that. But it wasn’t called Easter. If you think this is a petty splitting of hairs, then consider this. Would you approach a Hindu and say, “well I like that holiday of yours, but I prefer St. Peter as my patron. So I’m going to use your holiday but insert my patron saint and parade around telling people the holiday is in honor of him.” That would be terribly rude and offensive. Similarly, would you approach a Hindu and say, “oh Ganesh is so cool! Well I’m going to make him the center of my Christmas celebration.” The Hindu person would probably find that offensive as well and would explain that Ganesh has nothing to do with Christmas.

The Goddess Inanna related to Ishtar, by pearlwhitecrow.deviantart.com

So why is it acceptable, when European pagans are only now reclaiming their indigenous religions, to pluck the patron deity of a particular holiday out and insert an unrelated foreign deity from a completely different culture, in a completely different part of the world?

It’s NOT ok. Eostre has been buried for centuries. People today are still denying that she was ever worshiped. Thankfully new research is coming to light showing that she, in fact, did have a wide following through continental German speaking areas over to England. When we are finally reclaiming this goddess it is offensive to our culture to disregard her.

And, hello? It’s offensive to the culture Ishtar came from to take her out of her own cultural context and insert her into a foreign one! So please, pagans, wise up! Do your research. Stop spreading false information.

I must also assert that what’s good for the geese is good for the gander. If stealing, perverting, and twisting other people’s cultures is offensive and wrong, well I’m here to say that I’m of Germanic and Anglo-Saxon descent, I practice a form of paganism that honors my ancestral heritage, and just as anyone else would be, I’m offended when the goddess that we only recently “resurrected” from the depths of hidden history is pushed out again. And just like anyone else in this world, I am within my rights to want to protect the integrity of my ancestral culture.

** Please see the FOLLOW UP to this post **