Woodburning.
The Bear is Artio and Artois.
Bear or Art is important to me.
So, it's a mix up of cultures.
I live in the chaotic U.S.
Most here know it's pronounced 'Arsht', and we get Arcturus from that.
I understand the name intimately through the runes and their meanings.

It's too long to tell all of it, but in a dream a small army of large bears pulled into themselves spells that were meant for me when I confronted something deep going on here.

It led to ongoing battles.

One of the best things I've ever done was burn the runes myself.
My next project with that will be on slices of fallen tree in my backyard.

Let's get a book thread going.
What are you favorite books on Norse/Germanic Paganism & Pre-Christian Culture?

For me,
The Viking Way by Neil Price,
and Runes by Michael P Barnes

text + link further down.

Bevarandet av vår Tro och Kultur.

I hjärtat av de nordiska länderna, där de snöklädda fjällen möter de vidsträckta skogarna och de djupa sjöarna, finner vi en rikedom av kulturell och jordnära arv. Det är här, bland de dramatiska landskapen och de uråldriga traditionerna, som Nordiska Asa-samfundet tar sin plats som en bevarare och stöttepelare för vår tro, vårt arv, vårt ursprung och våra traditioner.

Asatro, eller tillbedjan av de nordiska gudarna och gudinnorna, är en tro som har rotat sig djupt i den nordiska kulturen och historien. Den sträcker sig tillbaka till forntiden då våra förfäder, med sitt djupa band till naturen och kosmos, fann förankring i en tro på krafter som Oden, Tor, Freja och alla de andra makterna. Denna tro har överlevt århundraden av förändringar och utmaningar och lever idag vidare genom Nordiska Asa-samfundet.

Läs hela artikeln på:
https://asa-samfundet.se/bevarandet-av-var-tro-och-kultur/

The Preservation of our Trú and Culture.

In the heart of the Nordic countries, where the snow-covered mountains meet the vast forests and deep lakes, we find a wealth of cultural and earthly heritage. It is here, among the dramatic landscapes and ancient traditions, that the Nordic Asa-Community takes its place as a guardian and pillar of our trú, our heritage, our origins, and our traditions.

Asatru, or the worship of the Norse gods and goddesses, is a belief deeply rooted in Nordic culture and history. It dates back to ancient times when our ancestors, with their deep connection to nature and the cosmos, found anchorage in a faith in powers such as Odin, Thor, Freyja, and all the other mighty beings. This belief has survived centuries of changes and challenges and lives on today through the Nordic Asa-Community.

Read the full article at:
https://asa-samfundet.se/en/the-preservation-of-our-tru-and-culture/

Hello guys, I am new here pretty stoked to find such a cool community in one of my favorite cultures was hoping to do some research on Viking mythology and Norse Magic, not from the Wikipedia/Google BS but rather from a valid source. Would anyone help me with that ?

I don't usually have time for it, and I know it's pop culture/fantasy and in no way related to pagan spirituality, but one of my guilty pleasures (besides IKEA hazelnut chocolate) is the video game, Valheim. 🫣 Lame, I know. Why am I like this?

Hello Folkrealms
I am happy to see you all here and this community building.
Though with building theres always hiccups, and those hiccups the past few days are the reports I've gotten that were for Hate Speech and Antisemitic content.
I would like to kindly ask, keep the politics, racism, volkish, and white supremacist things off of Folkrealms.
This is a place of spirituality, a place where all walks of life can share their journeys, connect and be one. Let's honor that and stick to what this site was for with our content.
FolkRealms – A thriving community for seekers of culture, stories, and traditions. Connect, share knowledge, and celebrate the ties that bind us all.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in Scandinavian/Norse history and culture. It received it during our Jolabokaflod and absolutley love it!

This maybe controversial but.....one of the main reasons over the last year or two i've really got stuck into Nordic/Viking/Germanic history/beliefs is to get in touch with my ancestral roots and cultural heritage. All i see around me is a constant diluting, sense of shame(?) and historical revisionism of my culture and history. Because of this i'm all the more determined to immerse myself in my roots before its lost. Why do other cultures get celebrated while mine is denigrated?

For those Heathens in the Northeast of the USA, if you are interested in Traditional Heathenry (basically Germanic tribal "religion" for people descended from the Germanic/Nordic tribes) please look into the Irminfolk Odinist Community and their annual Folkish Summer Hallowing events in the late summer. It is an event held in NE Pennsylvania with members travelling from all over the US and world to attend. The universalist pagans will label groups like this "Nazis," because they don't want us to know the Truth about our culture and they want you to stay away from connecting with our Ancestors and Old Gods, Old Ways of life. Instead, they want you to believe our Ancestors were shield maidens and rainbow Vikings, full of diversity and inclusion, and all that modern jazz we know to be garbage and BS. In 2025, for possibly the first time anywhere in the world, all three of our main Gods will be reunited in Idol form when the Irminfolk unveil Odin and Thor, finally joined by Freyr. These deities are nearly 6 ft. tall and gilded in gold. It will be amazing to be in Their presence. Join me, my friends! If anyone has questions or would like more info, just ask here or DM me.

folkishsummerhallowing.com

This may be a strange post, and I'm not sure how to categorize it exactly. Its about Norse Paganism, and Being Danish. My own weird thoughts, emotions and so forth. That maybe others may relate to, or maybe you'll be like, man why would you bother posting this?

I'll start though for the record I believe that anyone, from anywhere can choose to follow and be apart of Norse Paganism, follow and honor the spirituality and culture. However, I've never been able to accept this for myself. I've had thoughts that I don't hold any validity as a Norse Pagan, because I am not Danish enough or not Scandinavian enough to follow Norse Paganism, because I wasn't born in Denmark, my family moved away from there and came to America, so nationally I'm not a Dane, I'm only a Dane in my blood.
I'm not sure how to explain this in a concise manner, but I shall try. But for some reason my brain likes to directly correlate my own amount of being Danish with how much that makes me a Norse Pagan, despite the fact I know better, and acknowledge the fact that anyone can choose Norse Paganism. Some days I just feel like an imposter in both. Aside from my slight accent, I only knew a few words in Danish and a song growing up, and didn't start learning the language until I was an adult, and didn't start really following Norse Paganism until I was 21 (I'm 25 going on 26 now.), plus my family never really wanting much to do with me because of my spiritual followings, and now the few family members I do talk to once in a blue moon in Denmark and Sweden, I at this time can't keep up as well in conversations using their language, a language I should be fluent in and know well... It all just makes me feel like an imposter. Here I am a "Dane" if I really can call myself that, studying the old history and spirituality of my heritage, and I can't even connect with my own family and people in modern Nordic culture. And it sometimes makes me feel like maybe I don't belong. However there's also the whole factor, that my family would accept me and see me as one of them, if I ditched paganism and converted to Christianity which of course will never happen. I'm very much rooted in my ways of Forn Seð, and my overall exploration of esoteric and spiritual topics and paths on my quest for knowledge. But man sometimes my mind betrays me with these thoughts of invalidation. Maybe it is the winter time, the depression that hits, as much as I love winter, it is the time I spend the most alone, especially with my job working nights, by myself I get plenty of time be stuck in my head and contemplate everything.

Anyways, I apologize for this jumbled mess of thoughts and feelings? I like posting about my thinking on these things in my life experiences and journey as a follower of Forn Seð, as it's something real, even if it's a bit weird, awkward, sad even? Because maybe you relate to it, maybe you also experience times of depression, disconnection and not feeling like yourself. As we are all human, and have strange thoughts, and feelings, that put us in strange places, and I think out letting and sharing these at times helps us connect, heal, and gain greater understanding, especially in the strange complexities of the human mind.

Also here's a picture of some deer I came across :)