Odin’s byname of Hárr means old or grey and is cognate with the OE Hār, also meaning old or grey. The name evolved into the English word hoar and is the root of the term hoar-frost.

Logadóm - Part 23

The Black Cloud

Psychologically, we need positive reinforcement to maintain health. As with children, or animals, after a series of negatives, it’s imperative that we end on a positive. This enables us to feel good about our progress, providing optimism & hope. When we end on a negative, it lingers & becomes normalized. Unknowingly, negativity can become a habit; left unchecked, a way of life. Not openly or knowingly, the Black Cloud personality is a type of degenerate, being one who has lost the mental or emotional qualities considered desirable. Responses begin with negativity, lack constructiveness, & aren’t helpful. They usually begin with a put down, accusation, or gripe. Many pass this off as just being honest, but doubling down on pride & stubbornness never serves a healthy end. As individuals & a folk, we must self-analyze & purge the immaturities; not giving into that which tears down the goodnesses of life, for it only builds walls of exclusion.

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Priesthood in the Indo-European Tradition & the Anglo-Saxon Polytheistic Revival.

Part 9

It should be said that this is the account of a general opposed to the Celtic peoples. However his account of the Druids does not seem to be as inflammatory as later Roman authors, who were actively targeting the Druids with political motive to destroy them. In this they were successful, as they were wiped out by the Legions on the island of Mona (modern day Anglesey).

But what of the Roman priesthood? This is far better documented when compared to the Celts (or the Germanic peoples for that matter), so more can be said for certain regarding them. It certainly evolved over time, so I will try to stick to the older religious institutions, as this will have have more in common with our own Germanic religious structures.

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Logadōm - Part 24

The Open Degenerate

When one becomes apathetic for too long & allows the black cloud of negativity to linger to becoming a habit, the more forceful personality loses his sense of morality & normalizes degeneracy. They aren’t necessarily bad people who are out to get you, but they are always looking out for #1, i.e. themselves. Any semblance of folkmindedness is a foreign concept, as the hyper-individualism of hippiedom has fully corrupted. The Open Dengenerate openly defends pornography, never sees wrong in their actions & therefore never apologizes. He promotes drug use, engages in harmful fornication (at the expense of relationships), & plays the victim. The worst of these actions however is the pulling away of family & friends. It begins with the lack of attendance at family functions & ends with time passing without contact (that is unless one engages in their lifestyle). When a society tolerates everything, relationships are the first casualty.

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Priesthood in the Indo-European Tradition & the Anglo-Saxon Polytheistic Revival.

Part 10

One of the key institutions in Rome was that of the Flamines. These priests were those assigned to one of the eighteen deities assigned an official Cult in that city. Some of these were so obscure that they clearly go back to the time of Kings prior to the Republic. This opinion is widely supported by historians, and gives a little credence to the legend of the second King of Rome, Numa Pompilius. He is credited with founding the core of the religious institutions, and if there is any truth to this the Flamines would almost certainly be among those he established. This was claimed by Livy, who wrote that Numa established the three major Flamines Maiores to the deities Jupiter, Mars & Quirinus (Janus).

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Logadōm - Part 25

The Lost Cause

The problem one has, when living in the wulfyld is navigating amongst the Lost Causes; some are open Heathens; whereas, others like the aforementioned personality types, are not. One doesn’t have to be Heathen to be influenced by Logadōm. The Lost Case type is an Open Degenerate; however, they are skilled at the art of manipulation; often fooling their families into believing they’re the victim & need help. They pathologically lie, twist truths, & play mind games to create a system of control where those who love them fall under. They have the means & resources, but feign poverty or inability, but worst of all, they create drama for they’re own entertainment, not caring about the pain they cause. These are the Sociopaths, but when one looks closely, it become obvious, yet many cannot look past the relationship, as ofttimes, they are of our family. The majority of victims know the perpetrator, yet succumb to Stockholm Syndrome.

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Priesthood in the Indo-European Tradition & the Anglo-Saxon Polytheistic Revival.

Part 11

The closest etymological link to the Flamen comes in the form of Proto-Germanic “Blōtanan.” You read that right, Proto-Germanic. Blōtanan is a verb meaning “to Sacrifice,” and is related to the word “Blót.” A looser connection has been made to the Hindu Brahmin, but most linguists dismiss this.

To become a Flamen was not a simple task, and was a coveted position for its prestige in the Roman Republic. The highest position (Flamen Dialis, the priest of Jupiter) would be selected by the Pontifex Maximus (High Priest) personally. The man and his wife would both be under scrutiny. Once selected they would perform a ritual with an Augur (priest responsible for divination). Without the Augur’s blessing the position would not be filled, reflecting what Tacitus observed of the Germanic peoples back onto the Romans; “Augury and divination by lot no people practice more diligently.”

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Logadōm - Part 26

Within Heathendom, we often think of the Logisċ as politically-driven keyboard warriors or the Left-Hand pather who seems to be a well-studied authority, but many Logisċ aren’t even Heathens. He who elicits Logisċ character traits can fall under any religious or political ideology. The influence of Loga, Goldwǣġe, & their ilk, run deep; from antiquity. The openly Logisċ are the ones within the Heathen sphere, but the Eoten poison has infected the entirety of our modern world. From the Goldyld of the gods to the Wulfyld today, entropy has reigned. On the macro, we are dying; suffering from a thousand cuts. Within the micro, i.e. ourselves, we can survive; learning, teaching; passing truths to our folk & descendants. If only a remnant survives, we’ve not lost. Build yourself, build your families into clans, & your clans into a force that cannot be shaken. Learn from the past, reject the wulfyld, embrace the goodnesses & reject the wrongs. Hope prevails.

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Priesthood in the Indo-European Tradition & the Anglo-Saxon Polytheistic Revival.

Part 12

The wife being scrutinised was not a random act. In fact a requirement to be considered for the position of Flamen was to be married. Both had to come from Patrician families (Nobility). The woman had to be a virgin and unwed prior to this. The wife would hold the title of Flaminica, and would be expected to take part in her husbands duties. This marriage could only be separated by death, as they were considered the property of the Deity they were the representative of.

A Flamen had the authority to pardon a convicted criminal, and most poignantly they were one of the few people in Roman society to be immune to the Patria Potestas (power of the father). A serving consul (the rulers of the Roman Republic) was once put to death by his own father under this law. A Flamen also had prohibitions upon him, including a need to be ritually clean by avoiding contact with a corpse.

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Trúnaðarbók: The Loyalty Writings

By Folcweard Lārġyfa

With Foreword by Mark Puryear

Using the illustration of concentric circles, Trúnaðarbók is a series of essays discussing how we define and prioritize our levels of loyalty

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Priesthood in the Indo-European Tradition & the Anglo-Saxon Polytheistic Revival.

Part 13

They were also barred from touching, seeing or speaking of yeast, raw meat, goats, dogs, ivy or beans. The reason for these are mythological associations with death, the most obvious being the dog and the three-headed guardian of Hades, Cerberus. As was touched upon earlier the Flamen had to remain spiritually pure, and death was specifically seen as impure. A Flamen was also forbidden from all forms of bindings (oaths) aside from their oath to the Deity.

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Pagan Shoes?

Within the 72 clauses of The Latin Rule, written by Saint Bernard de Clairvaux & Grandmaster Hugues de Payens, is one specific clause regarding footwear that was forbidden to The Knights Templar.

“We prohibit pointed shoes and shoe-laces and forbid any brother to wear them… For it is manifest and well known that these abominable things belong to pagans.”

Live your beliefs

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Priesthood in the Indo-European Tradition & the Anglo-Saxon Polytheistic Revival.

Part 14

There were many other restrictions, such as being forbidden from leaving Rome overnight, to sleep outside of his own bed for three nights in a row, to touch a horse, to touch iron or to even look upon an army outside of the City limits. They could also not take on the Consulship, but this was not enforced later on in the Republics history, the most famous violator of this being Julius Caesar himself. There were many more restrictions than this, but we will leave the Flamens for this article.

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A Light Unto Our Folk

Imagine where we would be in our belief if we didn’t have the distractions of this modern world. Imagine what we could accomplish in our relationship with the gods, the understanding of the universe, and all things within ourselves; to have balance. As it is, we live in this world, littered with strife and the darkness; the cause of our imbalance. Many have become accustomed, or conditioned, to the darkness, in that they no longer recognize it as such; it’s become normalized. Many do not recognize how far off balance they’ve been. A light needs to shine in the darkness and reveal it’s vast presence and restore order to the chaos. May we be that light, empowered by truth and walking in service to our folk.

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Priesthood in the Indo-European Tradition & the Anglo-Saxon Polytheistic Revival.

Part 15

As we have touched upon women it is time to look into the most famous priestesses in Western history; the Vestals. Like the Flamens, this institution was set up by the legendary King Numa, however the Vestals are reported to have their origins back to the time of Aeneas and his city of Lavinium. King Numa merely legitimised this by making it an established cult. The Vestals were the priestesses of the virgin goddess Vesta. Her domain was the hearth, the home and family.

To become a Vestal you had to be female. They were all picked before puberty, and like the Flamens being given immunity from the power of their father while in office, the Vestals were freed from all legal ties to their birth family. They answered directly to the Pontifex Maximus alone, and in the Imperial era this would transfer to the Emperor.

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Tréow (Loyalty)

Love, without limits, cannot form Tréow. Without discrimination, there is no actual love and one becomes untréowfæst (untrustworthy). Establishing Tréow is how we grow as a folk. This act of extending our trust, begins in infancy and continues until we cannot extend ourselves further, as the human psyche can only love, and therefore remain true, to a finite number of people (before love downgrades to care about and denigrates into indifference and tréow downgrades to hope they’ll be ok to the denigration of not my problem. The further someone gets from your inner circles of tréow, the less they exist within your actual concentric circles. It’s through the trusting of others that we build relationships, which in turn create traditions, and it’s our traditions that hold us together. May we remain steadfast in our tréow, always aware of the concentric circles and how they fit into your life.

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As some of you may know, this Yule historically does not start until January 6th.

While historically attested tradition is crucial to a pagan, evolving traditions are inherent to every culture. The modern celebration of Yule would place it’s beginning on the Winter Solstice, December 21st. Evolved traditions are important to uphold as well, if anything, to keep our culture alive.

Priesthood in the Indo-European Tradition & the Anglo-Saxon Polytheistic Revival.

Part 16

They were sworn to 30 years of chastity, to devote all time to studying and carrying out Vesta’s rites for the benefit of the Roman peoples. The key role was to observe Vesta’s hearth fire, and one Vestal had to always be observing the fire to ensure its flames never died out. To allow the flames to die out would result in being whipped, and to lose your virginity while under the vows would have you buried alive, surprisingly this had to be voluntary. This was rarely implemented, usually to set an example.

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Orlæġ & Luck

Luck is the strength of our ability to change our environment, or at least our perception of "changing it"

Fate is a concept that is described as being fixed. Luck however, is the strength of each thread (within the greater web of orlæġ).

Our Fylġestre, i.e. our Fylgja or Hamingja, when assigned to us at birth, may be connected to our Hama (Hamr), if not be our Hama itself.

Now, fixed is a relative term. A raft is on a fixed course flowing with the current, but one may still steer; although, this doesn't change the fact that the raft is still on a fixed course following the river’s current.

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"It is a deplorable fact that the religion of our forefathers seems to be but little cared for in this country. The mythologies of other nations every student manifests an interest for. He reads with the greatest zeal all the legends of Rome and Greece, of India and China. He is familiar with every room in the labyrinth of Crete, while when he is introduced to the shining halls of Valhal and Gladsheim he gropes his way like a blind man. He does not know that Idun, with her beautiful apples, might, if applied to, render even greater services than Ariadne with her wonderful thread. When we inquire whom Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday are named after, and press questions in reference to Tyr, Odin, Thor and Freyja, we get at best but a wise and knowing look. Are we, then, as a nation, like the ancient Jews, and do we bend the knee before the gods of foreign nations and forsake the altars of our own gods? What if we then should suffer the fate of that unhappy people—be scattered over all the world and lose our fatherland? In these Eddas our fathers have bequeathed unto us all their profoundest, all their sublimest, all their best thought. They are the concentrated result of their greatest intellectual and spiritual effort, and it behooves us to cherish this treasure and make it the fountain at which the whole American branch of the Yggdrasil ash may imbibe a united national sentiment. It is not enough to brush the dust off these gods and goddesses of our ancestors and put them up on pedestals as ornaments in our museums and libraries. These coins of the past are not to be laid away in numismatic collections. The grandson must use what he has inherited from his grandfather. If the coin is not intelligible, then it will have to be sent to the mint and stamped anew, in order that it may circulate freely. Our ancestral deities want a place in our hearts and in our songs."

Prof. Rasmus B Anderson - A Norwegian-American in 1879