Well, it’s taken only about 25 years, but I think I’m biting the bullet and getting some new tattoo work done, and I can think of none better then some of the folks here for advice on something… My particular heritage is primarily French from Québec, with both sides of the family having solid roots in Normandy. I fell into the DNA rabbit hole a few years back, and even invested in a few tests (while they were on sale) to compare… French was naturally prominent, but there were surprises.. Some Scandinavian traces were still there even from French communities where very few ever left the Saint Hyacinthe area.. To this day, my mother and I are really the only two of three in the family that left & speak English lol… Comparing it to archeological dna services like mytrueancestry has definitely been revealing, especially when it highlighted an ancestral link to Visigothic and Danish roots (with many other Germanic influences, including a smidgin of Norwegian).. In any case, I’ve always been fascinated with the Elder Futhark and all things proto-Germanic. I currently have a camel spider tattooed on one hand, and a scorpion on the other.. Due to a promise I gave to fellow soldiers after our 1992-93 Somalia tour that I’d “fight” them on a bar table once we got home to remind us of our only entertainment out there lol. The idea is to add runes on my fingers… I have tried to research the proto-Germanic inspiration for the Nordic influence of Huginn & Muninn.. These would be transcribed using the Elder Futhark, and figured these to be Hugiz and Muniz. Any thoughts by those with a bit of knowledge in this area? Once settled, I also have an itch to get the Visigothic Eagle on one side of the neck, and the well known Raven from Vikingtid banners on the other side… Both would be fair homage to two ancestral links.

This is for Veles (Ruler of the Realm of the Dead)...inspired by ᚲ︍ᚱᛁᛗᛊᛟᚾ ᛚᛁᛚᛁ´s post. I don´t know much about Slavic gods and goddesses but they are similar to the Germanic gods and goddesses. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/4uUtOaVYVZ4?si=LrVMGJG2XrESDG49

More info about the Dna article 'Norse Code' in Natue magazine. Prof Alice Roberts's (edited due to length) social media post: "My friend Pontus Skoglund and his colleagues have JUST published this incredible new piece of research into Viking-era migrations - using ancient DNA and a brand analysis called Twigstats. [......] This new analysis includes a new piece of information relating to [.....] the remains of 30+ individuals from a mass grave in Oxford, thought to have been slaughtered in the 1002 St Brice’s Day Massacre, [......]. Ancient DNA analysis is an incredibly powerful tool for understanding populations, migrations and families [.....]. This is really exciting science. And it’s really hard. First the archaeogeneticists have to take samples from ancient bones, then they extract DNA from the samples [......]. Ancient DNA might survive the ravages of time - but it’s usually broken up into tiny pieces, [......]. So the next stage is assembling those segments of code into a whole genome. It’s a mindblowingly huge puzzle which is only made possible with advances in computing power. But reconstructing an ancient genome is just the beginning. What the archaeogeneticists are really interested in is comparing lots of genomes - looking for similarities and differences. These are the key to understanding what was happening to populations in the past - and tracking migrations. Over time, genomes acquire new mutations. Those mutations will be inherited by descendants of the person in whom the mutation first arose. While most of the genome will be identical between two people, the pattern of these little differences is crucial for working out what happened to populations over time - and for tracking families. [.......]. Pontus told me that distinguishing different Iron Age Scandinavian groups, for instance, is MUCH harder. It’s not a perfect analogy, but imagine trying to tell if someone is Norwegian or Danish by the appearance - it’s hard. But Twigstats works by focusing on salient differences - and these are ones related to relatively recent mutations [......]. It ignores older mutations which have been sifted and sorted through populations over time, creating confusing ‘noise’. So it’s a bit like snipping a twig off a gene tree so you can focus on just those branches - ignoring the rest of the tree. Hence the name: Twigstats. This means you can now spot subtle but important differences between populations that are quite genetically similar. And then this also means you can spot when in time a population starts to look more similar to another one - implying that those populations have merged with each other. In other words: some people have migrated and settled in a new place and started to mix with the population already there. Pontus and his colleagues tested their new technique on simulated data to make sure it worked - which it did, very well. Ten times better than anything else they’d tried before. They used it to look at some real samples, looking at modern human and Neanderthal DNA - to test a criticism of the theory that these species interbred with each other in the Palaeolithic. Now this is something I’ve been following for years, ever since my first big landmark series for the BBC, The Incredible Human Journey. Back then, in 2008, there didn’t seem to be any evidence of modern humans (Homo sapiens) and Neanderthals mixing. At least, fossil bones weren’t providing a suggestion of interbreeding. But then ancient DNA came along - with the first Neanderthal genome published in 2010. And then it seemed there was evidence for interbreeding, around 60,000 years ago. But a few scientists have criticised this claim, saying that the patterns in the modern human DNA could have happened another way, just through genetic variants being sorted over time, creating a sort of mirage of an interbreeding event with Neanderthals. Most archaeogeneticists still thought that interbreeding explained the pattern. But there was an element of doubt. [....] Twigstats finally puts that doubt to bed. Neanderthals and modern humans definitely met up and swapped genes with each other (delicately put). [.......] The main focus of the study was the later first millennium - the Viking Age. And here, Pontus and his colleagues were able to use Twigstats to track migrations of different populations that have been difficult to ‘see’ before, they’re all so similar. They found evidence for migrations of Germanic people southward into Poland and Slovakia, as well as into south-central Europe and Britain. And then later, those people that ended up in Poland were themselves replaced during the Slavic period. They also found evidence of a previously unknown migration into Scandinavia, before the Viking Age - transforming the ancestry of Denmark and southern Sweden. Interestingly, this seems to coincide with a change in runic script and language - establishing Old Norse and the Younger Futhark."

https://youtu.be/-KroQ_rD-Q8?si=Heb1pcBnRgCtVU_v More koryos. Probably why my Germanic blood feels most connected to dogs and wolves, but not so much horses lol.

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

Younger and Elder Futhark Bone sets from Grim frost. Sadly Reið wasn't painted on in the younger set so I had to paint it on the bone myself, but no problem there! These came in some really nice leather bags, and are made from some pretty dense bone. Not too bad. I like collecting different rune sets, even if this wasn't how the runes were used by Nordic and Germanic people, I do like to carry pouches of these wonderful staves.

Episode #1 - Welcome to The Viking Age The story of the Viking Age is one of a collision of cultures. It is the story of what happened when Pagan Scandinavians, heirs to a long history of Germanic cultural tradition, expanded from their homes to interact with the Christianized peoples of Western Europe. #podcast

A good source for information on all things Germanic Heathenry from a guy who offers more references (so we can fact check him) than anyone I know. His focus is on the Heathen calendar from a historical reconstructionist perspective. Basically, we want to be able to connect with our Ancestors in a way that they would actually recognize. A lot of info is lost, I get it, and may be lost forever, BUT there is plenty we still have that can guide us to "do it right." https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzazFbcJN9xINelSKxK381A/videos

For those seeking to know the dates of our holy days, my recommendation is to study Robert Sass, who I call the Heathen Calendar Guru. Some might have other calendars they prefer, but Robert backs up his dates with more references from our primary and secondary sources than anyone I know. I will post the links to his blogsite and youtube channel. We have to do our best to get the Wiccan Wheel of the Year BS out of traditional Germanic Heathenry. 99% of Asatru also uses some version of this Wiccan/Christian-influenced Wheel garbage. Our ancestors would have no idea what you're doing if you're following this modern New Age cult. https://www.aldsidu.com/post/2025-heathen-calendar-for-old-ways-heathens