Spirit Writer

Winter sunrise is the theme of my  Sigdrifa prayer video. Credit: Wolfgang Dietz/Pixabay I created a new video for contemplation and/or meditation using a version of Sigdrifa's prayer from the Poetic Edda.  My goal is to create four videos, one for each season with a different version of the prayer.  I hope you enjoy it.  My channel is not monetized at this time, which I believe fulfills the requirement Wyrd Designs, the author of this version of the prayer, states on their Patheos post here . Please also check out their blog post offering free bookmarks with the prayer for U.S. veterans and active military members here . Also, please bear with my audio skills as I'm still learning how to smoosh all the elements together in the different editing software I use.   Trish Deneen

Cover of my copy of Polytheistic Monasticism: Voices from Pagan Cloisters I'm working on a longer review of this book to publish elsewhere and will post a link to that when it's finished, but I wanted to share my Goodreads review for this excellent book.  Polytheistic Monasticism: Voices from Pagan Cloisters by Janet Munin My rating: 5 of 5 stars A fascinating intro to the concept of polytheistic monasticism from different viewpoints. While the book is slim, its essays from different authors pack in a lot of information to contemplate. Off the top of my head, some of the ideas covered are: 1. Addressing the stereotypes that come up that may be a kneejerk reaction by some when they hear the words "Pagan" and "monasticism" in the same sentence, i.e. celibacy, rules, prayers, devotion. 2. Acknowledging the difficulties of this path while being optimistic about its present and future. 3. Acknowledging that there are good resources out there from other faiths ...

I created this short, 10-minute video of the sound of snow falling against the backdrop of a garden gnome in my back yard which I consecrated as a symbol of the land wights for offerings. My goal is to create these short pieces for when I need a visual and audio focus during a prayer break during my day (or night).  I hope you find it helpful in your practice.

First of Sunwait, a meditation on Fehu with a surprise appearance by Ansuz. Sunwait is a newish tradition some Heathens are following that welcomes the season of Yule. It begins six weeks prior to Yule and focuses on meditations of the first six letters of the Futhark, one per week. Thursdays have been a popular day to do this, with that day being holy to many of us.  I've chosen Sunday because that's my most relaxed day, and I can focus more fully on the rune during the day and evening.  It's so new though that nothing is set in stone. From my understanding, this originates from this FB user (though don't quote me on that): Vantjusstaken .  You can find more info at Huginn's Heathen Hof .  Its roots are I believe from the advent tradition (again, don't quote me).  I grew up Protestant, so I didn't have this tradition, but my evangelical grandmother had another one.  We would make a chain of construction paper loops for every day in December up until Christ...

This will take me days to get through, but after listening for only several minutes I can tell it will be well worth it.   "The long process of reclaiming pride in having many gods reaches a new stage with this gathering."  ~ Dr. Edward P. Butler  

Helping hands. Credit: GDJ/Pixabay If you're an Amazon shopper, you can easily donate to a pagan organization you care about with qualifying purchases. I am an Amazon affiliate, but this isn't an affiliate post. The AmazonSmile program allows you to designate the charity of your choice among their program member charities to receive 0.5% from your eligible purchases. What is eligible is explained on the AmazonSmile program About page : "Tens of millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations. You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages. Recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals are not currently eligible." I've seen pagan organizations such as Circle Sanctuary, ADF, and The Troth listed among the options. There may be others, so be sure to search through the list for pagan or another charity that's close to your heart. Check out the sign-up page to learn how to g...

I recently did a quick review for a short but info-packed book at Goodreads. Looking for the Lost Gods of England by Kathleen Herbert My rating: 5 of 5 stars An excellent little book that is actually a transcript of a lecture given by the author. Small but packed full of info on the given topic of Anglo-Saxon pagan belief and practices that can be gleaned from the sources she cited. Her speculations are an interesting starting point for those looking into the topic, and the long list of footnotes provides grist for further research. The author was also a novelist.  After attending a lecture given by J.R.R. Tolkein, she was inspired to delve deep into Old English lore for her writing. A short bio can be found at Lesser-Known Writers . View all my reviews    © Trish Deneen