Vidar's Gothi

Spring is coming in the northern hemisphere and that means the possibility of severe weather. Who would know more about weather and severe weather than a bunch of Heathens like ourselves? There's more than just noticing the severe weather, you can actually do something to make your community safer thereby being a responsible Heathen.

In a recent letter from a concerned mother, she expressed worry that her Heathen son was not being allowed to practice his religion while in prison. It occurred to me that this may be fairly common in our world. Here is the advice I gave to her, in the hope that it may help others as well.

You may have heard stories that February 22, 2014 is the end of the world as the Ragnarok begins. This is based on the idea that we've had three very harsh winters in a row and there are strange things from the ocean depths washing up onto shore. Those things may be worrisome, but we are not at the end yet.

In the northern hemisphere, the winter has been particularly cold this year. Though, historically, there have been much colder winters, it has been a while for most people. When the winter starts to give you come concerns, you know that you can turn to Ul, God of Winter.

Now, half of this year's Yule celebration is over. It is typical to spend the first half thinking of the things that you have done in the previous year and how those things have gotten you to where you are now. For the second half, it is time to plan for the future.

This is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. What does that mean for those of us who know the Old Gods? To us, this is Mother Night.

The Saxon form of our religion uses different pronunciations for the names of the Gods and Goddesses, and often emphasizes different aspects of the faith. This is fine, of course; Saxons speak a western Germanic language and Scandinavians speak northern Germanic languages. However, the Saxons do seem to be missing Vidar from their known pantheon.

For those who are not Christian, there is one concept from their religion that is always perplexing. They chat about it, sing about it, and fight amongst themselves about it. One can easily sum it up in their question, "Have you been Saved?"