Before I proceed, in this post I am in NO way justifying the act of breaking oaths. Anyone who takes their word seriously should be very careful what oaths they take and to who they make them to. And that is the point of what you’re about to read.

When we think of an oath we think of a bond that is made between two conscious beings.
Usually these beings are humans or Gods.
The one giving the oath Is usually the one who carries the most angxiety of breaking their bond. However, an oath is a two (or multiple if there are many individuals/beings involved) way street and the reciever of an oath can also fail the one who is giving it. Unless they are a God or divine being of course.

The Gods are perfect and require nothing from mankind. Therefore an oath made to them is strictly dependant on the human/lower being who made it because the Gods are incapable of failing an oath due to their divine nature. The oath made to a God(s) is strictly for the benefit of the one who made it. Because no matter what you could offer as a human through your pledge, the Gods are above it and have no need for it. The same can be said for offerings.
The Gods only wish for the one who gave the oath to succeed and align themselves more with their divine nature.

On another hand, when an oath is made between humans, it is two (or multiple) ways in terms of the oath being kept. An example would be when one is sworn into a specific line of work. Such as a member of the armed forces or a police officer, you take an oath. Because of the nature of the realm we live in, these organizations may fail you in one way or another that may result in the loss of your job, and further, the breaking of your oath. But not because of *you* of course.

Should you be the one who bears shame and receive divine punishment for an oath broken that you had no responsibility for its end? Of course not. And I don’t believe the Gods see it this way either. We live in a wolf-age full of rats, con artists, and liars of all types.
It is easy to be deceived into swearing yourself to someone (or some people) who will indeed fail you and will not serve you in your path of growth.

We as Germanic Pagans are relearning the nature of our ancient sacred practices. One of these practices are oaths. Heed these words well and learn from the mistakes of others.

The Heathen Frisian king Radbod refuses to be baptized by bishop Wulfram.

He refused to convert because he "preferred spending eternity in Hell with his Pagan ancestors than in Heaven with his enemies."

By Iwobrand

Thor’s bow beside a waterfall I saw today.

The Eyrbyggja saga mentions another form of sacrifice to Thor…

“The circle where the court used to sentence people to be sacrificed can still be seen, with Thor's Stone inside it on which the victims' backs were broken, and you can still see the blood on the stone.
Though this assembly place was held to be highly sacred, people were not forbidden to ease themselves there.”

Makes one wonder how many stone circles were used in a similar manner.

Offerings made to Thunor and Hrethe today.

Prayers, olive oil, and lavender incense were given on this beautiful Easter’s day.

Hail Eostre, Thunor, and Woden Who is most high!

“Safe mayst thou go, safe come again,
And safe be the way thou wendest!
Father of men, let thy mind be keen
When speech with the giant thou seekest.”
~ Vafþrúðnismál 4, Bellows
Painting by Kara Malikova.
ᚬ
“Heill þú farir!
heill þú aftr komir!
heill þú á sinnum sér!
æði þér dugi, hvars þú skalt, Aldaföðr,
orðum mæla jötun.”

Another Odin idol is taking shape. I used a wind-felled tree, suitable for Viðrir. The face is based on an Anglo Saxon artifact.
ᚬᚦᛁᚾ × ᚢᛁᚴᛁ

Heathenry (or Paganism/Natural Religions) as a whole is one’s connection to the divine through logical observances in the natural world. I am of the belief that if you follow an ancestral tradition, yet are disconnected from your ancestral lands, that doesn’t mean you can’t worship the Gods your forefathers called upon.
Even if you don’t live somewhere a plant sacred to Thunor, Woden, or Frigg may grow, that doesn’t mean you can’t use substitutes. The Gods have domain over the whole of the cosmos. Not just places our ancestors dwelled. Their essence is within all things.

Impressive Frēa - Thunor - Woden weoh godpoles.

image source

"𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕽𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖗"

"𝔉𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔞𝔶
𝔣𝔞𝔠𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔢,
𝔚𝔬𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔯𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔰
𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔟𝔦𝔯𝔡𝔰 𝔯𝔬𝔞𝔡.
𝔏𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔟𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔩𝔶
𝔩𝔞𝔶𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔪𝔢𝔫 𝔩𝔬𝔴,
𝔰𝔦𝔤 𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔲𝔰 𝔰𝔬𝔴𝔫
𝔟𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔩𝔞𝔶𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔣𝔬𝔢𝔰."


A thula I wrote in honor of Woden-Atríðr ("Charging Rider").

“When I was a child, we were always told not to whistle at night.
‘Otherwise Joen's (Odin’s) hunt will come,’ my parents said.”
~Collected by Evald Tang Kristensen in Vokslev, Jylland, 1893.
𐃏
Painting by Yana Kharchenko.

A leed (poem) I wrote in Anglish playing around with skaldic speech. In it, Woden brings a man back from death to question him about what death is like for those that are tired of life, those that fear death, and those that accept and even risk death for the chance of a better life. I wrote it in a similar form to the Old Norse ljóðaháttr verseform.

"Galder galed ¹
the gallows' Lord
as the lich ² He sung from sleep.
Runes He raist ³
to read the lips
of the man there cold as clay.

The man then moved
to meet the one
that sung him from his sleep.
'Who hails me?
Who bears me
from Hel's halfhearted care?'

'Tis Waytame, me,
that welcomes thee
to the land of living men.
For runes and rede
to raise from thee
I dragged thee from the dead.

I raised thee up
to understand
what wisdom have the dead.
Now answer me
what I ask of thee:
what awaits all wayworn men?'

'Tis bitter cold
and blinding dark
on the winding way to Hel.
No sweetness waits,
nor sleep's embossom, ⁴
in the dreary hall of Hel.'

'I raised thee up
to understand
what wisdom have the dead.
Now answer me
what I ask of thee:
what awaits those death do dread?'

'Hel's cold will
awaits all things,
this the earg ⁵ shall share.
She sees not place
nor purse's weight
but kills without a care.'

'I raised thee up
to understand
what wisdom have the dead.
Now answer me
what I ask of thee:
what awaits those death would dare?'

The dead man faltered,
meeting the eye
of the wight that 'Waytame' hight.
'Thou know it well
great on'eyed one
I see Ygg within thine eye.

Deathlessness wins
the one dares death,
for he knows what thou too know.
He lives full well
with wisdom won,
Yggs eye he gladly holds.
Deeply spake the dead,
now sink I back to sleep.' "

¹ galed = "chanted, sang spells"
² lich = "corpse"
³ raist = "carved, scored"
⁴ embossom = "embrace"
⁵ earg = "coward, man without honor, complete outcast"

Folklorist Aamund Salveson recorded a folk tale from Torvastad in which St. Olaf strikes a mountain with iron gloves to draw forth spring waters for his soldiers, taking Baldr’s place.

St. Olaf was conflated with Thor post conversion; in the earlier versions, it was very likely Thor using Járngreipr to create this sacred spring.

The water from St. Olaf’s Spring in Torvastad reputedly has healing properties, and was used for baptisms. If it was historically associated with Thor, these waters could have been used for Ausa Vatni, invoking Thor’s protection.

Painting by Johannes Gehrts, 1901. ᛚ

"NOT UND MANI"

Tapestry by August Wilckens, 1901