The giantess knows her name. She calls Brynhildr the daughter of Buðli and accuses her of bringing death upon the children of Gjúki. But the dead warrior refuses to accept the accusation without telling her own story. On the last full day of Haustmánuður, as the Moon approaches darkness, a confrontation on the road to Hel becomes a dispute over betrayal, broken promises, and the destruction of a royal household.
Tag: Ancestors
Fjölsvinnsmál, Part 8: The Mountain That Heals the Sick
A woman who has long lain sick can climb the mountain and grow well. Today’s story gives healing a place in the landscape, while Kaun names the wound and Saint Faith’s feast recalls pilgrims seeking help for the sick.
Fjölsvinnsmál, Part 7: Loki Among the Hall’s Makers
The traveler asks who built the hall within the flames. Loki appears among its makers—a connection sharpened by the Norwegian birch verse’s reference to his deceit.
Saint Francis and the Sacred Family of Nature
With Francis, the most productive evidence is his own language. He gives us a medieval Christian expression of sacred kinship with the world. Reading him alongside the Norse material helps us examine how family language gives religious meaning to our relationships with natural powers.
His feast becomes an invitation to study—and to pay attention.
What Michaelmas Preserves of the Pagan Autumn
Seasonal reckoning: Michaelmas, Equinox and Vetrnætr Northern European Pagans often complain that we know almost nothing about the old religion, only to fill the gaps with shallow inventions or practices appropriated from other cultures. I think much of this problem comes from our unwillingness to scrutinize early Northern European Christianity and recognize the wealth of… Continue reading What Michaelmas Preserves of the Pagan Autumn
From the Autumn Equinox to Winter Nights: Ancestors, Stories, and Seasonal Practice
From the autumn equinox toward Winter Nights, preparing for winter brings us closer to death and the ancestors. Explore northern seasonal traditions, stories of encounters with the dead, and ways to work magically with the Norse Runestav calendar through offerings, remembrance, and protection.