Skald Crafter Replacement

Nearly ten years ago I set up a Geocities web page to express my pagan rantings. This month Yahoo is declaring eminent domain on the Geocities servers. I had not updated Skald Crafter for some time and kept the page mostly as an archive. I have now saved the original and put it in the vault as Disney might. I have blogged for a few years on the blogger format writing blogs on my differing interests. My spiritual rantings can now be found here in this format. Thanks for reading.

Threads of Life

Luck is the gold of Fools,
For when things do not go
the way the of the fools wantings
it is bad luck.
When things go well to the fools desires,
it is good luck.
Luck is an excuse that
people make to justify their existence when
they have no true spiritual base,
or have lost the way.
Luck is the sibling of coincidence.
Learn to see the patterns of your wyrd,
and you will not have to rely on the vices
of luck and coincidence,
and can live by synchronicity which is to follow
the pattern of your life.
If your life doth not please you,
change the pattern
and when this life is done
you will have a most beautiful
tapestry.

Modern Heathen II?

I started this particular blog after I started a new spiritual awakening. I have been wondering in a period of apathy and hibernation. Over the last couple of years I have been feeling the call of self improvement. It has been 16 months since I smoked a cigarette. It has been 6 months since I have had a mountain dew. I used to drink at least two liters a day. I was consuming a pound of sugar each day just by drinking this poison. I have started eating healthier. I have started fulfilling other goals. One of my goals is to practice my word craft regularly. So I write four or five blogs. I don't write all the time, but I write.

Back to my new spiritual awakening. I have been opening myself up again to that which is greater than ourselves. I have been trying to define my spirituality. Eventually that is what I hope to accomplish with this blog. I choose the label Heathen for myself, but my pantheon is not dedicated solely to the Aseir. I try to live my life with the ideals held by the nine noble virtues. I am a member of several online Heathen groups, and often I find that most of the conversation is stuck in the past. It is rehash of lore and mythology. It is debate about ancient lore and its relation to modern Heathen life.

I think though that my ancestors would have been a bit more realistic. I believe that deeds are better than debate. They would of said there is work to do. I spend my time working my trade to support my family. My wife and I run our "Urban Farmstead." When the work is done we enjoy life. We home brew. We are working to start our online retail business with products we make by hand.

I guess my definition of modern heathen has come down to living my life by ancient values such as courage, truth, honor, fidelity, discipline, hospitality, self reliance, industriousness, and perseverance, while acting in a responsible manner towards the planet and humanity. I honor my ancestors and my many gods, including my modern deities such as Score, goddess of free cycling, dumpster diving, and good deals.

I think I am going to ask in online heathen groups what most people think a modern heathen should be. I will report results here later.

Modern Heathen?

I am a modern heathen.  I find myself living in a fast paced world that increasingly sickens me in many ways and yet awes and inspires me in so many more.  I ask myself often what it means to be a modern heathen.

I live fully in the modern world.  I have a nice house in suburbia.  I have a career in the auto glass replacement industry.  I have a twenty foot circle in my back yard for doing ritual.  The circle is marked by tall post stones in the quarters and smaller cube stones in the cross quarters.  We recently planted slow growing mugo pines in between the stones.

I live on the internet and tivo all my favorite shows and news.  Yet I spend hours working in the garden.  I love working with the soil and plants.  It is relatively cheap therapy.  For me, being a modern heathen is as complex as it was to be a heathen in earlier times.

When a person asks me my religion I usually throw out Asatru.  This is the pantheon of human deities I feel the closest too.  I was raised in a Christian background.  In my late teen years I fell of the mainstream path and wondered lost.  I once told a jail official that I was a paranoid agnostic.  He said, "What the hell is that?"

I replied that I didn't know if there was a god or not but if there was he was definitly out to get me.  He chuckled and asked me to move on.  My late teens and early twenties were a heavy mix of drugs, alcohol, and bad decisions.

I went through several years of searching before I found Wicca. I studied and practiced Wicca for awhile and then I discoverd Asatru.  While I am not as devout as I once may have been I am still close to several members of this pantheon.

It was approximatly nine years ago that I found the Aseir and Vanir. They suited my personality.  I have also since found some more modern dieties such as Score.  She is the goddess who helps find good deals or freebies.  She is prominently found hanging out on Craigs List  I have a basic understanding of runes and tarot cards.  I do energy healing work.  I have a broad general knowledge of writing ritual and performing it.  Did I mention I love gardening and cooking.  My wife and I will be soo raising rabbits for meat and fur.  My wife and I are working to live a more simple and self-sustainable lifestyle.  I work to pay for it all. She keeps the hearth.  We both tend the garden and other household projects.  We try to live one day at a time.