Æhtemen

Hāl wes þū, Mōna!

It’s the Æftera-Geol-monaþ full moon tonight – the first full moon after yule (Æftera-Geol) if you follow an English calendar and the Jól moon for our Nordic friends. A Wassail to all those celebrating Jól tonight.

Our family hearth will be honouring Hār tonight, who is Woden Grey-beard. But we will also be holding a rite and lighting a bælfýr in memory of a family member who passed away this weekend. Life Death Rebirth.

This copper alloy mount was found in Cambridgeshire in 2009. It is dated to around 650 AD and depicts Woden carrying two ritual spears and wearing a ritual horned headdress.

The widely used artwork is by Lindsay Kerr whilst the wooden carving is by Valgaut.

Hāl wes þū, Woden!

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Strangely, I read @Æhtemen post just before walking to a client's hives to give them a quick check over. It's wonderful to learn the word 'Beoceorl', which I hadn't known before.
Still easily one of the best pages on here!
🐝
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Some OE bee related words-

Pollen collected by bees was known as bēobrēad (bee bread) whilst the queen bee was the bēomōdor (bee mother). A swarm of bees was known as a bēogang. They were all looked after by the beoceorl (beekeeper).

The name Beowulf can mean Bee-Wulf, perhaps a kenning for Bear.

And finally, Beoley (pronounced Beeley), an English village near Birmingham was recorded in the Domesday book as Beoleahe - a name which in OE means 'bee meadow'.

Bee hives.

My own opinion is that the Irminsul more likely resembled the above image. The ‘T’ shape Irminsul we see carved into the Externsteine is widely credited to Wilhelm Teudt (1860-1942). As a ‘Mighty Pillar’ the Irminsul was likely the same as our god-poles, called a stapol in OE, only far larger.

Irmin is cognate with the Eormen in OE and Jǫrmun in ON. Odin himself used the name Jörmunr, suggesting Irmin is Woden and not Tiw.

Image source

Merovingian brooch, 6th century

Merovingi or Merohingii ("sons of Merovech") were one of the establishing Frankish dynasties.
Merovech was the King of the Salian Franks.
They were a Germanic tribe who originally worshipped Woden.

👆🏻'Woden, Id est Furor'. Adam of Bremen (11th century).

Woden, who is the frenzy

Not far from my home is this ancient track and pond. The pond is documented as being the village pond (one of two) for a now lost Anglo-Saxon village called Welei, whilst the track is nowadays known as the Wayley Green road. Both Welei and the latter Wayley both come from the name Weoh-leah, a clearing where a heathen shrine or idol once stood. A local historian claims the village was also once recorded as Wedelee and suggests the name may have meant Woden’s leah.

'It's no bad thing to celebrate a simple life' -Tolkien. 133 years old today.

An interesting early Anglo Saxon bronze mount found in Taynton, Gloucestershire, 5-7th Century, possibly a depiction of Woden. Similar examples have been found in Denmark. The back is curved, which suggests it may have been attached to a staff or similar. ᚩ

Hāl wes þū, Þunor!

'This species of stone is called by the country-people thunder-stone, but upon what authority seems a matter of much doubt. I have heard the inhabitants assign two reasons – one, that the stones have fallen from the clouds during thunder-storms; and the other, in consequence of their giving out sparks of fire when struck against each other, at the same time emitting a faint smell of sulphur. But in fact the great majority of the people would not be able to assign any reason for so singular a name, not trougling themselves to inquire into the origin of names.'

From ‘The Druid Stones near Shap, in Westmoreland’ (1840).

The Shap Thunder Stone, part of the Shap Stone Avenue. Photo Anne Tate.

A happy 2025 to you all!

These are the dates (and UK times) for the full moons in 2025. I don’t use the common Strawberry moon / Sturgeon moon names etc as these are derived from American Indian culture. Instead these names are derived from Anglo-Germanic sources.

Full Moon date and time

13 January (10.27pm) First moon, Winter moon
12 February (1.53pm) Sol moon, Horning
14 March (6.55am) Spring moon, Lent moon
13 April (1.22am) Easter moon, Grass moon
12 May (5.56pm) Milking moon, Pasture moon
11 June (8.44am) Sailing moon, Fallow moon
10 July (9.37pm) Hay moon, Summer moon
9 August (8.55am) Weed moon, Harvest moon
7 September (7.09pm) Holy moon, Wood moon
7 October (4.48am) Winter moon, Vintage moon
5 November (1.19pm) Blood moon, Blot moon
4 December (11.14pm) Yule moon

Sixth-century Anglo-Saxon sword found in Kent!

Today is Wren Day in Ireland and parts of England, where folk dancers and mummers such as the Wren-boys dance and perform songs like ‘hunting the Wren’ and ‘the Cutty Wren’. In Irish lore the Wren is called dreoilín derived from ‘dreán’ or ‘draoi éan' meaning the ‘druid bird', whilst other names for the bird include ‘Drui donn’ – the brown druid. There are different Irish, England and even Norse traditions all given for the origin of Wren day, many of them associating the Wren with paganism.

Wassail is a common toast made during Yule, from the OE Wæs þu hæl, ‘be thou whole’. The Norse used ‘ves heill’ meaning ‘be healthy’ and the phrase was even adopted into Welsh as gwasael.

The reply to this gesture is the attested ‘Drinc hæl’ drink hail.

Hit is the wone
Ine Saxe-londe,
That freond saith to his freond,
Wan he sal drink
“Leofue freond wassail,”
The other saith “drinc hail.”

It is the wone (hope, expectation)
in Saxon land
That friend says to his friend,
When he drinks in the hall
‘dear friend wassail’
The other says ‘drink hail’.

(art Joseph Feely)

This mural by Hermann Hendrich is called Der Wolkenwanderer - Gebirgkskamm or The Cloud Wanderer - Mountain Crest, is one of my favorite depictions of Óðinn.

A happy and sacred Sunstede to you all. Wæs hæl! Drinc hæl!

Our Family-hearth will be celebrating Mother’s Night tonight, on the eve of the sunstead. Dís or Dísir (according to Grimm cognate with the OE Ides) is from the proto-Germanic *dīsiz meaning ‘goddess’, whilst OE ides comes from the Proto-Germanic *idisiz meaning woman or goddess.

Burning a yule-log is a well known yuletide tradition, but there is a West Country variant on this in a tradition known as the Ashen Faggot. Instead of a log, nine green Ash poles are bound together with kindling and slowly fed into the hearth. Depending on the region this rite was performed on various nights – however most sources agree that this was an old English custom.

Picture - Cutting the ashen faggots; Devonshire. English wood engraving, 1854

The English observation of Mōdraniht appears to share its origin with the Disaþing of the Norse. The Matres and Matronae (Latin for Mothers) worshipped across northwest Europe by Celto-Germanic soldiers were also referred to as ‘genii loci’ in Latin – Spirits of a specific place, known in Norse as Landdísir. These are the Sacred or Ancestral Mothers who were often depicted in threes, perhaps connecting them with Wyrd.

On Mōdraniht and Yule;

Part 2.

Another problem with the modern heathen celebration of Midwinter is Yule itself and how long it lasted. The short answer is that Yuletide itself is two months long, but the celebration around it is another matter.

It has been argued to last either three days or twelve days according to one's interpretation of the sources.

The Second Council of Tours (567 CE) set Cristesmæssetīd (Christmastide) at twelve days;
"From the nativity of the Lord (Dec. 25th) to Epiphany (Jan. 6th) there are festivities and feasts on every day but those three days in which, to tread down pagan custom, our elders set aside at the kalends of January for private prayer."
And later King Ælfrēd made it law in 893 that;
"these days are given to all freemen but servants and hirelings: twelve days at Yule."

So the problem here is whether traditional heathen Yule celebrations lasted the entire twelve days, and therefore co-opted by Christianity during the time between Nativity and Epiphany, or whether it lasted for those three sacred days. Another issue is which culture was being described here which the Second Synod attempted to stamp out, whether Roman paganism, Celtic druidry or Germanic Heathenry. It may have been all three.

However we see the three nights of Yule held also in the Norse in the 'Saga of Haakon the Good' in Heimskringla, where it is said explicitly that "Jól began on Hǫkunott, that is Midwinter-night, and held for three nights was Jól." It may have been that this was shared by the Franks of Tours who were described by the synod above.

However while it is common to look to Norse traditions to help reconstruct lost Anglo-Saxon traditions, it is important to know that, despite their similarity, they were not interchangeable cultures. In the 12th century, post-Norman 'Anglo-Saxon Prognostics' we find a list of twelve days of Yule used for soothsaying, where the presence of wind on each day can predict certain outcomes such as danger, sickness, failed harvests, death of clergy, aldermen or livestock, strife and warfare.

In addition the Yoole-Grithol of York, drawing from the 16th century abolition of the York Yule Riding, was recorded by the antiquary, Francis Drake, in 1737, describes a grith (granted peace) from the beginning of St. Thomas Day (December 21st, the date of the Heathen solstice, rather than Christian Christmas) that;
"We command that the peace of our Lord the king be well kept and maintained by night and by day. Also that all manner of whores, thieves, dice-players, and other unthrifty folk be welcome to the town, whether they come late or early, at the reference of the high feast of Yoole, till the twelve days be passed."

Furthermore the twelfth night of Yule culminates in the wassailing tradition of honouring trees with toasts of cider and offerings of bread set in the branches that they may be fertile with harvest in the following year.

(Research credit to Þórbeorht Cyning of the Ealdríce, By The Sun, The Stars And The Moon and To Hold The Holytides)

Under the Full moon of Ærra Géola I gave worship to the holy mothers, from the great mother and queen of heaven to my own ancestoral mothers. May the great ladies ride with their troops through the wild nights of winter.
Offerings of beer and incense were given.
Wassail to the mothers.

It’s the Géole-mónaþ full moon tonight so our family hearth will be holding the first of our yuletide rites. We also hold rites on Mother’s Night. Bede claimed this was celebrated on christmas eve, however as our heathen ancestors never recognised xmas the date was more likely to be the solstice eve.

Grīmaz, Hrabnagudaz, Wegatamaz, Draugadruhtinaz, Sidahattuz. *

Helmaberandz, Hlewedafrawjaz,
Fangiz, Brūnaz, Frōdaz, Wakraz,
Hwatamōdaz, Hariblindijandz

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A reminder to all Heathens to give your christian neighbour, church, community & society on whole a friendly wink.
;)
We are rising!
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Jölfaðr or Yule-father is one of the names used by Odin.

Grimm recorded an interesting folk tale about Woden and the Wild Hunt from Mecklenburg. 

In it, a peasant hears the Wild Hunt in a forest, and Woden appears riding a white horse. Woden threw him a chain and challenged him to pull against him, warning that he’d pull him up into the clouds if he wasn’t strong enough, but the peasant won by wrapping the chain around an oak. Woden gave him a stag’s hind leg and told him to take his boots off and walk home barefoot, and when he reached his house, he found his boots were filled with gold, and the leg was a pouch filled with silver. 

This may very well have been the origin of leaving gifts in stockings on Christmas.

Painting by Max Friedrich Koch, 1906. ⴲ

The Pliezhausen Disc
Valsgärde helmet plate
Sutton Hoo helmet plate
Valsgärde helmet plate

All these seem to depict an Odinic Warrior or even Woden himself, guiding the warriors spear.

In this artwork by Graman, King Rædwald's spear is being guided by a manifestation of Woden. This motif is depicted on several Germanic artefacts and is encapsulated
in the words of a Gothic king who said:
'láti svá Óðinn flein fliúga'
"may Odin let the spear fly as I say"

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.

Only he who has travelled far and has journeyed much
can know the mind that each man has,
he who is wise in his wits.
-Havamal St.18

Names used by Woden as the Wanderer

Ânstapa - the lonely wanderer
Wîdfarend - Wanderer
Sîdhæt - Broad-hat (ON Síðhǫttr)
Wegwēriġ – Wayweary
Wegtam - Way-tame

Swa þes middangeard
ealra dogra gehwam dreoseð ond fealleð;
forþon ne mæg weorþan wis wer ær he age
wintra dæl in woruldrice. Wita sceal geþyldig,
ne sceal no to hatheort, ne to hrædwyrde,
ne to wac wiga, ne to wanhydig,
ne to forht ne to fægen, ne to feohgifre,
ne næfre gielpes to georn ær he geare cunne. (62-9)

So this earth declines and falls, every single day;
And so a man cannot become wise
before he has his share of winters in the world. A wise person should be patient,
should not be too hot-hearted, nor too hasty with words,
neither too weak a warrior, nor too reckless,
neither too fearful, nor too quick to rejoice, nor too greedy,
nor ever too eager to boast before he knows for sure.

The Wanderer (Old English) from The Exeter book

Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.

~J RR Tolkien.

In Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, he wrote that Blōtmōnaþ sacrifices continued post-conversion, offering animals to the Christian god instead. He noted that before the sacrificial feasts, they’d build huts from the boughs of trees around their temples which had been converted into churches; possibly a remnant of building demarcation fences around weohs.
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It’s the Blot-month full moon today, so tonight my family hearth will be honouring the gods with offerings of ale and meat. Traditionally this was the time of year when the last of the cattle were slaughtered for winter meat. The name Blōtmōnaþ (OE name for the month that fell around our November) suggests these killings were made in the name of the gods.

Wesaþ hāle!

The darkness of night was when the woodland filled with spirits and otherworldly beings. But, there were those who didn’t fear the darkness! The OE nihtwæcce was a name used to describe a night-witch. The nihtgenga (male) was a night−goer, whilst the nihtgenge (female) was a night−prowler. Finally a name some may recognise, the sceadugenga, the OE word for someone who wandered the darkness.

Today is St Martins day (11th Nov) and traditionally the last day cattle were slaughtered to provide meat for the winter. We can assume this was a continuation of heathen rites celebrated around the full-moon of Blōtmōnaþ or Blot-Month.

It’s still the Bonfire season here in England. Bonfire comes from the ME bonnefyre (lit. fire for bones). Bones were burnt and the ashes spread on the field as a form of fertiliser. Potash was (and still is) used in the same way. The Need-fire (OE nýd-fýr) was ritual fire started with a bow drill or by friction. Both the OE Nyd and the OG Not come from PGmc *naudiz which has two meanings, ‘need or necessity’ and ‘force or compulsion’. Fire is a living entity and the nýd-fýr was a sacred fire which the christian church tried to ban. In 734 CE Wynfrið of Wessex (who became known as St. Boniface) included the need-fire in his list of 'Heathenish Observations' calling 'fractum lignum' (friction fire) a sacrilegious fire.

Hāl wes þū, Woden!

Hāl wes þū, Þunor!

Prayer to Þunor

Grant us Great Glory, O Thunor!
Strength we Seek from Thee, Serpent Slayer, to win victory in contest and war!

There! The goat-drawn Wagon, thundering Wheels of Woe, driven to Combat the Creators of Chaos.
Defender of man, God of Good Gifts! Look upon us with divine favour.

Ēse-lord, Hallower and Hammer-Holder, hear, thee of Magnificent Might, our call.

Husband to Sif of the golden Hair, bring Fruitfulness to our Furrows and Fields.
Storm-rider, rain upon Our Orchards and Bring Brilliant Bounty to our hearths.

With Wide eyes, Ettins do Wilt before Thee, and scatter, and die!
Truly, thou art Terrible when you rage.
Lend us thine Awesome Anger, but also thine Ability to inflict great Anguish upon our enemies.

Ēse-lord, Wyrm's bane and Wagon-master, hear, O friend of man, our Reverent Requests.

Happy bonfire night!

A bonny fire is a blessing to man,
(and also the sight of the sun)
his hearty health, if he holds it well,
and to live one's life without shame.

(Havamal stanza 68)

Ale is an option for making offerings to the gods (a libation) – especially for Woden the Alugod. Ale is associated with the runic formula ALU (though this is debated), but is believed by some to be connected with the OE Ealu (ale) and perhaps the PGmc Aluh – an amulet for protection.

further reading here and here.

Two month names are recorded for November. Bede writes November was called Blōtmōnaþ (Blot-Month) 'the month of blood-offerings'...'for it was in this month that the cattle which were to be slaughtered were dedicated to the gods.'

The Old English Martyrology recorded the month as Blōdmōnað (Blood-Month).

Both names are linked as Blōt was a 'blood sacrifice' and is where the christians get their word 'blessing' from, as the Old English word for blessing was bletsian / bledsian, from the Proto-Germanic *blōdisōn 'hallow with blood'.

Some of Woden’s bynames reveal his darker side, for he is also known as the Gallow’s Burden. Hangaguð and Hangatýr are his titles as God of the Hanged. His name Bǫlverkr means Evil-Doer. Woden also gave himself the name Sváfnir, after one of the Serpents who dwell at the roots of the Great Ash – Sváfnir meaning Sleep-bringer.

An image of a witch from a 1643 print called VVitch, that shared the news of a Cornish witch trial. The word ‘witch’ comes from the OE wiċċe (female witch) and wiċċa (male witch), both from wiċċian – to dowse, divine or cast lots. Unfortunately the term is used today by ‘wiccan’ groups, many of whom bear little-to-no resemblance to any true form of heathenism.

Twilight on the Hill.

'Fairies dancing in a ring' woodcut from the booklet Round about our coal fire, 1734 (first published in 1730)

Calling the gods according to our heritage. These aren’t all, but to name a few…

Óðinn (Odin) = Wóden
Þórr (Thor) = Þunor (Thunor)
Freyr = Fréa (Seaxnéat) (Ing)
Frigg = Fríġe
Freyja = Frówe
Baldr = Bældæġ
Heimdallr = Háma
Völundr = Wéland
Mímir = Mimor
Urðr = Wyrd

Animated version of Richard Wagner's 'The Ring' for children.

Part one Part two

The Long Man of Wilmington by artist Alfred Robert Quinton (1853 – 1934).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-NpbuhfhQo

So whilst Woden’s byname of Þundr resembles the word thunder but means ‘to swell’, we still might associate Woden with thunder through another of his bynames. Grim means hooded or masked but this also referred to the clouded sky – we still describe the dark and cloudy weather as ‘grim’.

Grim is connected to the OE Grīm and ON Grímr, both from *grimmaz ‘fierce’, ultimately from *gʰrem- ‘to thunder’.

One of Odin’s names that is often posted about is Þundr. Jackson Crawford translates the name as meaning ‘stretched’ from the verb þenja. However Stephen Pollington translates Þundr as ‘swollen’ which is more likely. There’s an OE cognate in the word þindan ‘to swell’. The name is found in the term ‘Þundr oc Uðr’ or the ‘Swell and Wave’ and is suggested that the name refers to Odin swelling the stormy sea.

Hétumk Grímr, hétumk Gangleri,
Herjann ok Hjalmberi,
Þekkr ok Þriði,
Þundr ok Uðr, Herblindi ok Hár.

Scenes from the Gundestrup cauldron.

A storm has set in in this part of England. And whilst I’ve sometimes connected the gale-winds with Woden's song, these wet and windy storms are connected with the thunder god Thunor. There are lots of images and depictions of the gods holding their beards (see STJ post here), but one of the more famous is the bronze Eyrarland Statue showing Thor parting his beard. One name used to describe Thor and no doubt connected is Skegghöss or Beard-voice or Beard-speech. Another name is Skeggraust, Beard-voice or Beard-flow. Both carry the idea his voice is the source of the storm.

The name Hörn (used by Freya/Frēo) is thought to come from hǫrr / hörr meaning flax and both Frēo and Frīge are associated with flax through weaving. Hörr is cognate with the word har – becoming harl (flax) in modern English. Har is also connected to the word hair – a connection strengthen by the fact that ‘flax’ – from *pleḱ means to plait, hence why plaited hair is sacred to Frēo and Frīge.

There certainly seems to be a connection with plaiting hair and weaving flax. Flax, also called dise, which is ready to spin resembles hair and gives its name to the distaff – the staff for holding dise – which is the tool associated with seiðr.

Possible depictions of seiðr and the striking similarities of the Lejre idol and the Skellerup woman.

Älvalek (The Dancing Elves) by August Malmström 1866

An absolutely incredible interactive map of hillforts throughout Britain and Ireland.

It’s the Winter-finding full-moon tonight and the first full-moon of the winter season, which in English lore started after the equinox last month. As usual my family-hearth will hold a ritual to honour the ancestors and the changing of the season.

As Bede stated ‘The old English people split the year into two seasons, summer and winter, placing six months - during which the days are longer than the nights - in summer, and the other six in winter. They called the month when the winter season began Ƿintirfylliþ [Winterfylleth], a word composed of "winter" and "full moon", because winter began on the first full moon of that month.’

It is important to remember that the Elves of Germanic tradition were not the faery or pixie creatures by which more recent folklore has interpreted them. The Elves are the spirits of the ancestors who could influence the world of the living, much like the Roman manes. Their name, from Proto-Germanic Albiz, cognate with Latin albus, means White and shining, they are beautiful and radiant.

Under Christianity their negative influence was emphasised, as illness, disease and madness was attributed to elf-shot. Positive outcomes however were held to be under the weaving of Wyrd by the Meotod, God as meter or measurer of fate.

Survive the Jive and Maria Kvilhaug have both arrived at similar conclusions that one of the most fundamental elements in the origins of Hallowe'en is not just the Celtic Samhain, but the Germanic Alfablót (Old English Ælfblōt) where a sacrifice was given to the Elves on the Winterfylleth (winter-fullmoon) of October.

This veneration of the spirits of the dead is a tradition which, as mentioned in Guyenót's article above, has been cut off from us. The honouring of our ancestors and the preservation of our bloodlines is something that is fundamental to the Racial Weltanschauung and thus on Hallowe'en, I believe it is more important than ever to bring this connection to our ancestors back into our lives.

Edith the fair was said to have identified the body of Harold Godwinson from his tattoos. The custom of tattooing was described by William of Malmesbury in 1125 who writes in his book ‘Gesta Regum Anglorum’ (Deeds of the Kings of the English) that ‘In fine, the English at that time wore short garments reaching to the mid-knee; they had their hair cropped; their beards shaven; their arms laden with golden bracelets; their skin adorned with punctured designs’.

An excellent song above by English band Forefather. The tune is based on the English folk song Robin Hood and the Tanner.

A very important date today

https://youtu.be/y8-_BVJiRAo

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. Be sure to pour one out for the brave and noble dead who fought arduously for their homeland, before and after the battle was over.