Tales from the Ironwood

As I explain in the opening of "Swearing Oaths," the text for this article formed in its entirety during my dreams on 6 May 2018 and were recorded upon waking. Recalling what seems a rather odd phenomenon, I realize that I have had articles, songs, speeches and even solutions to complex problems at work form in my dreams. Upon its completion, I became more certain than ever that Snorri was purposefully deceptive when composing his Edda . ********* While I often have vivid dreams, they are rarely useful or revealing especially with regard to my spiritual faith, Ásatrú. It was therefore strange and exciting when I awoke one morning with a clear and practical explanation of a key story from our lore. I have long believed that the authors of the Eddas obscured important messages through their use of poetic form.[1]  The mysteries that lay hidden beneath the surface of the texts are however difficult to discern. Authors who recommend that we not only read the lore, but familia...

"The Tale of the Krampus" was written on 12 October 2017. It was originally intended to be read to attendees of the Krampusnacht celebration held by my fellowship. That celebration never occurred due to inclement weather. The work was rewritten shortly thereafter in poetic form by Gothi Joseph and served as the script for a dramatic presentation that was held during the Yuletide in January 2018. ********* Listen now to a tale, a tale of winter’s past. It is a tale as old as our common memory; a tale handed down by our Folk of an ancient journey. On a cold winter’s night, beneath the grey of the frigid sky, the God Thor set out to travel to the East, to the land of his greatest foes, to Giantland—to Jotunheim . He set off in a chariot pulled by his powerful goats, Tooth-grinder and Tooth-barer. On this journey he chose to allow Loki to accompany him. In these days Loki was often mischievous but was renowned for how clever he could be. He had not yet become the archenemy of...