Fyrnsidu New Zealand

23/07/2021

A small offering to the ancestors — sharing a meal with them as we feast and celebrate the Yule Moon tonight. To those who date their holidays according to the moons, Glæd Gēol (and a happy belated Yule to those who celebrate on the solstice)!

26/04/2021

Tonight we mark the beginning of winter (according to the traditional Germanic calendar) with the Idesablōt.

Hail the Idesa, and may the coming season be blessed! ❄️❄️❄️

25/02/2021

Just harvested a bunch of my tomatoes today, but left a couple for the Geardgodas.

Remember, it’s important as Heathens to engage in cycles of reciprocity with the spirits of the land. When they give us gifts, we give to them in return. Do ut des, as they say in Latin.

30/12/2020

A beautiful day to celebrate the height of the month of Thrilītha, with offerings to the Goddess Sōl. Have a blessed day everyone!

01/10/2020

With each new year comes a new dawn. Happy Easter to you all, and may the new summer be blessed.

21/09/2020

An interesting article on athletic cult, and one of many ways we can integrate the sacred into the “secular” aspects of life.

It’s no secret that many modern practitioners of Polytheism find difficulty in integrating religiosity into the already established, so-called “secular” aspects of their day-to-da…

13/09/2020

Hello all, hope you’re having a great weekend so far. You may have noticed that our name has changed, and I think this deserves an explanation.

The word Fyrnsidu is combination of the Old English words “fyrn,” meaning “old,” and “sidu,” meaning “custom.” Thus, Fyrnsidu literally means “old custom.” It is the Old English equivalent to Forn Sed, one of the names for modern Scandinavian Heathenry (which has the same meaning).

I feel Fyrnsidu is a more appropriate name for our religion for two reasons. First of all, Heathenry derives from the OE word “hǣthen,” meaning “one who dwells on a heath (open country). Because the majority of people these days live in cities rather than in the country, I feel a word with rural connotations (not to mention its derogatory usage for the past millennium) is not fitting for a religion in the 21st century. Secondly, I feel that Fyrnsidu better represents what we are trying to do: restore not only a belief in ancient gods, but also ancient custom, integrating the ways of our ancestors into our modern lives. We are living in the 21st century, but we practice the old custom. Thus, we are fyrnsideras and fyrnsidestran practicing Fyrnsidu, a complete spiritual tradition for the modern age.

03/08/2020

Tonight is the full moon of Solmōnath - the month of cakes! As the full moon is the best and most auspicious time for anything of importance, my group will be performing a small blōt tonight - but what actually is Solmōnath, and it’s associated sacrifice?

We know of Solmōnath thanks to the Venerable Bede, but aside from a name all we know of this month is that during it the Anglo-Saxons offered cakes (sol) to their gods. By cakes here Bede refers not to what we commonly understand as cakes, but hearthcakes, which is more like a type of bread baked on a hearth. Yet who these cakes were offered to, and why, we do not know. Thus, we must reconstruct this festival for modern purposes. Some have given this festival a naturalistic meaning, viewing it as a time to celebrate the approaching warmer weather, but I feel there is little historical evidence to support this.

We know that around this time (spring/end of winter) the Norse pagans celebrated Gói-blót. We do not know who these sacrifices were given to (perhaps a god/goddess named Gói?), but the Saga of Saint Olaf mentions the reason: in Sweden, they were done for the “peace and victories of the king.” The Norse clearly associated this time of year with sovereignty, then, and we can see a similar association among our Mediterranean cousins - in February (the month before spring), the Romans celebrated the Lupercalia, a ritual re-enactment of a myth about Romulus and Rome’s origins.

This, then, along with the fact that the approaching warmer weather represents a triumph of order over the chaos and unruliness of winter, leads me to conclude that it is appropriate to reconstruct the Solmōnath blōt as a ritual relating to sovereignty. Baked goods should be offered to whichever sovereignty gods seem most appropriate (Wōden, Tīw, and Ingui are some examples), and prayers should be made for the victory and peace of our Queen. Our group will not be giving hearthcakes, but will instead offer fresh-baked bread (and beer) to Easter for victory, to Lord Ingui for peace and prosperity, and to Wōden so that our leaders may be wise, and that the wise may lead (perhaps an appropriate time to be making such prayers, in light of the election next month).

Whatever it is you do tonight, have a good one!

11/07/2020

A short article about Mercia’s King Penda, a potential hero for Anglo-Saxon Heathens today.

Penda was a pagan and Anglo-Saxon. He was a follower of Wod. In the Historia Brittonum notes "he was not baptised, and never believed in God".

17/06/2020

According to Bede, the Anglo-Saxons celebrated Mōdraniht on the eve of the winter solstice - which for us in NZ, is this Saturday night! This festival marks the beginning of the Heathen new year, as from that shortest day the days get longer again.

Many Heathens today also celebrate Yule on the day/night of the solstice, but evidence suggests this may not have been the case for our ancestors, as this article argues: https://www.brutenorse.com/blog/2017/12/norse-yuletide-sacrifices-had-almost.html?fbclid=IwAR0lApvNwU2hn_4eybTativn8g2h16UgWXge3qm0SH-r16K0tL-Z0i7g6iI

Personally I will be celebrating Yule on the full moon next month, but this Saturday I will be making sacrifices for the Mothers as we enter a new year. As we enter the darkest phase of winter, and while we prepare for the coming festivals, it is important to reflect on the meaning of Yule. This is a time to remember and honour our ancestral dead, and propitiate the spirits that live locally or ride with Wōden in the Wild Hunt. It is also a time to remember - especially in the context of recent events - that even the bitterest winters come with the promise of spring.

Regardless of whether you'll be celebrating this weekend or at the full moon, I wish you all a happy Yule!

In imitating the exemplary acts of a god or of a mythic hero, or simply by recounting their adventures, the man of an archaic society detaches himself from profane time and magically re-enters the Great Time, the sacred time. – Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane Yule lads roasting on an ope

24/04/2020

Excellent reconstruction of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Hretha.

On my reconstructed Anglo-Saxon Calendar, today is the beginning of Hreþmonaþ (the þ letter is called thorn, and pronounced as ‘th’ in thin). Bede tells us that it roughly corresponds t…