The Norse tradition versus black book magic: Each tradition focuses on different aspects. When practicing within a specific tradition, it is crucial to follow its rules. If you choose to practice another, you must respect its guidelines, and it is generally best not to mix the two. Where these traditions cannot be integrated, it is wise not to force a blend. You must thoroughly understand both mythologies and be able to discern where they align and where they clearly do not.
The Norse tradition and black book magic rest on entirely different principles. The Norse tradition is the tradition of free individuals, a tradition of warriors who were never subjugated. In contrast, black book magic is rooted in Christianity. It is a fusion of Christianity and paganism, but more specifically, it represents the darker aspects of Christianity.
At its core, black book magic remains a form of Christianity, albeit its underground, shadow side. Because it is based on Judeo-Christianity, it stands in direct opposition to the Norse tradition.

https://youtu.be/UmGxOGo8Ugw?si=T0TMfVPA7lgzKUMZ

Hey everyone, I'm happy to share you this album I made with Askemåne (pagan folk) last year
https://youtu.be/F8wsRabMujU?si=auRMLGyq6GkcDPtr

The "blank" rune, or "Wyrd rune," was added to the classic Futhark by Ralph Blum as the 25th rune, but it is a modern invention that doesn’t belong to the original structure. This addition is unnecessary, as the Elder Futhark is already a perfect and self-contained system. However, in modern divination, the "fate rune" has gained popularity and is sometimes used in readings.
The Northern Tradition school rejects the blank rune, as it disrupts the balanced design of the Elder Futhark, which could mislead the practitioner. For ancient Scandinavians and other pagans, belief in fate (wyrd) was absolute, and every rune in a reading was seen as a manifestation of fate. The Perthro rune already represents fate, so there’s no need for another.

Ksenia Menshikova

This is a repost as we get closer......

Some history on the changing or standardizing of the Yule celebration.

Hákon the Good (c. 920–961) was the son of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and was raised in England, where he converted to Christianity. When he became king of Norway, he sought to convert his people to Christianity as well, but this was met with resistance from the pagan Norse population. He worked to integrate Christian practices with traditional Norse customs to avoid conflict, which is where the idea of "moving" or adjusting the timing of Yule might come into play.

Hákon the Good is known to have issued laws that required the Christian observance of certain Christian holidays, while also allowing Norse traditions to continue, including aspects of the Yule festival. One of his key moves was to decree that the feast of Yule should be celebrated at the same time as the Christian holiday of Christmas, which was closely tied to the Winter Solstice. This alignment helped to ease the transition for the Norse people, as they could continue celebrating at the same time as they had before, but now under a Christian framework.

In this sense, while Hákon the Good didn't technically "move" the date of Yule (which already had Solstice associations), he helped standardize the timing of the celebration with the Christian observance of Christmas. His efforts contributed to the Christianization of the Yule festival, making it more in line with Christian customs while preserving key elements of the older pagan tradition.

Dr. Andreas Nordberg: “The pre-Christian Yule feast occurs at the first full moon after the first new moon following the winter solstice, while the disting took place at the third full moon according to the same method of calculation.” (Jul, disting och förkyrklig tideräkning Kalendrar och kalendariska riter i det förkristna Norden Uppsala 2006, P.4)

Runes are the legacy of the Northern tradition. Along with the runes, a deep pagan quality of honesty and inner strength will awaken, as well as the ability to perceive reality as clearly as one's own flesh, and, consequently, a careful and attentive attitude toward everything that surrounds you.

Ksenia Menshikova
“Runes: A Warrior’s Weapon”
Available on Amazon

Paganism: What does it mean to truly live It?
Comment, discuss and I will list the top five!

With permission from Ryan Smith, I am posting this here from FB. Please share with others.
Hey everyone,
I have some exciting news! I am going to be presenting a talk at the Harvard Divinity School this April on heavy metal and Paganism. This talk is based on an ongoing study that asks Pagans, metalheads, and Pagan metalheads to share their experiences, opinions, and feelings on heavy metal and their spirituality. The presentation will also be livestreamed and available to the public!
If you or someone you know would be interested in sharing your experiences with heavy metal and Paganism then please fill out this survey:
https://forms.gle/yfKkFh2UNeAfb4HV7
And share it far and wide!
Thank you all again for your support and participation, I am looking forward to presenting your stories at Harvard.

With more members here on Folkrealms I would like to ask is anyone here in Colorado, preferably Western Colorado?
I run a Forn Seð organization called Úlfung, and I like to extend invitations to the Norse Pagans of Colorado to check it out if they are interested in connecting with a local group. We cover the whole of Colorado, having members from all over the state, and have just recently got up to 200 members!
Our main operations and where we run the organization is in Western Co, and sadly things are still lacking for the East side of the state members, but we are working on that, unfortunately building this sort of thing is a bit difficult.
We also love partnering with other Forn Seð organizations and Norse Pagan groups around the world to help expand the heathen community and continue the growth of our spiritual following.

-Photo by our friend here on Folkrealms Úlfason ...

Check out "Neue Deutsche Folksmusik Vol. III" featuring 55 tracks, including many unreleased gems, from the realms of German Dark, Neo, and Pagan Folk. https://houseofinkantation.bandcamp.com/album/neue-deutsche-folksmusik-vol-iii

#𝓦𝓸𝓭𝓮𝓷 #anglosaxons #anglosaxon #anglosaxonhistory #anglosaxonrunes #anglosaxonreenactment #anglosaxonpaganism

Got my copy, I am excited to read it.