My good friend the Wessex Nomad visited, so of course I had to take him to see some dolmens and other cool places.

Been an absolute pleasure having you here! Until we meet again.
https://t.iss.one/TheWessexNomad/1239

***New video***

I embark on a fifteen mile hike in eastern Holland exploring the lands ancient past and beautiful landscapes. Coming across barrows and dolmens, and being in the deep wilderness, I connect to a side of the Netherlands that only a few do.

https://youtu.be/f4R59MR5gSo

Check out the second video the Wessex Nomad made whilst he was here. We had a great time and put quite some effort into the videos, so please show the good man some support!

I’d like to give my two cents on the discussion stemming from this post by Sagnamaðr Stark and this post from Chad Pastoralist, and further contributions from the Hearthfire Radio community.

Beyond the particularities (how isolated were the Germanics really? Are forests really barriers when long distance traveling was done by water? ), the main question here is one of relevance: how relevant is the “original” Indo-European religion to us today? Besides the obvious thrill of wanting to discover the earliest origins of our language, culture and folk, does it have a use for nowtidely Heathendom?
I think we can all agree modern Heathenry is largely an Indo-European religion, but how do we determine which parts are “originally Indo-European” and which ones originate from the Early European Farmers or European Hunter Gatherers? Do we have evidence other than linguistics? Is this reconstructing even possible or useful?

In the original post by Stark, it sounds as if the “original Indo-European religion” is some higher, sacred truth that we want to approach as closely as possible. Why?

My view is that our Heathen Germanic ancestors are our most important source for shaping our modern folkway, simply because they are closest to us genetically and culturally. The Indo-Europeans, though they might make up the majority of our ancestry, underwent many different cultural and genetic changes before they became us, modern Europeans. Unless we want to fragment into nauseatingly specific categories of Heathen tribes based on haplogroups and scientifically estimated ancestry, this Indo-European reconstruction business seems to me like a side quest of sorts. Most definitely interesting and honourable, but perhaps not the most relevant.

If this is a matter of complicated ancestry (many North Americans are of mixed European heritage), I’d say it is much more powerful to trust your knowledge and intuition; genealogy goes a long way, and we know which paternal/maternal lines were most important to our ancestors. If you are an honest seeker, the right way will be evident.

Of course this message is written in good faith and with much respect to both Stark and Chad, and all the other folk who contributed to the conversation. All thoughts are very much welcome on this topic.

The Silvatici were the last Anglo-Saxon freedom fighters who refused to submit to Norman rule after 1066. The name comes from the Latin silvaticus, meaning “of the woods” - the Normans’ way of describing the English who retreated into forests and wild country to continue the fight.

After the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror seized the throne, but many Englishmen would not yield. They took to the forests, hills, and fens - living rough, striking from the shadows, and vanishing into the wild. These men were the Silvatici - forest-dwellers and outlaws, but patriots in the truest sense.

They came from all walks of English society: dispossessed thegns, soldiers, and common men who would not swear loyalty to a foreign king. They saw themselves as the last defenders of their land, law, and blood.

Eadric the Wild (Eadric Silvaticus) was a proud Anglo-Saxon noble from the borderlands whose resistance began soon after Hastings. He led raids on Norman outposts and fought fiercely for years, earning his name as a man of the woods.
Hereward the Wake, the best-known of the Silvatici, led the resistance based around Ely. He and his followers turned the marshes and forests into a fortress, waging guerrilla war against the Normans long after others had surrendered.

The Silvatici fought with ambushes, sudden attacks, and sabotage. They struck quickly at Norman garrisons, tax convoys, and collaborators, disappearing again into the woods. They lived off the land, using England’s forests and fens as their shield - sleeping under trees, eating what they could hunt, and surviving on courage, cunning, and loyalty to their kin.

By the early 1070s, Norman rule had crushed most open rebellion. Yet the Silvatici lived on in English memory - the last free men of England, who chose hardship over submission. Their defiance became the seed of the later English outlaw tradition: men who lived in the greenwood and resisted tyranny.

They were not mere bandits, but warriors of the old Anglo-Saxon realm - the wild men of the woods who kept England’s spirit alive when its crown had been taken. Though their names faded from record, the Silvatici embodied the unbroken will of the English - free men who would rather live wild in their own land than kneel to a foreign crown. Their spirit still whispers through England’s woods, where freedom once took refuge among the trees. Their blood is in our veins. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

We've just passed the third night of the sacred Twelve Night period. A bit late for me to share this but it might be interesting to some of you.

During the Twelve Nights, there are certain taboos and certain things we should do more of. The following are the most important ones.

- Keep it tidy inside and outside the home. The Norns might visit indoors and the Wild Hunt rages outside. We are in a critical period now: the Sun is in a standstill as the forces of chaos work against all that is good and holy. Align yourself with cosmic/Aesiric order by being as orderly and clean as possible. Any stray items left outside may be seen as offerings to the Wild Hunt so keep that in mind!

- do NOT hang out any laundry. Since loose items could be seen as offerings, your laundry should be done before this time of year. Your clothing is a part of a whole, which in this case is you, so unless you want to die in the coming year or be taken away by the Wild Hunt, don't hang out your laundry.

- avoid spinning, weaving or any other threadwork. The Norns haven't yet woven the new year's thread, avoid any sympathetic magical acts such as this.

- in the same vein, avoid spinning wheels as much as possible, since the Sun is in standstill. During the Midwinter feast we spin a fiery wheel to help the Sun conquer the darkness and lengthen the days again.

- try to avoid foods that can sprout such as beans. Time is at a standstill, fertility must wait until the Sun and Moon are aligned again. In the same vein, don't make any babies during this time ;)

- decorate the house with evergreen branches to keep some part of living nature in the home.

- leave out offerings for the Wild Hunt/house spirits/Norns.

- cast your lots and take heed of dreams. Some will divine runes every day/night during the Twelve Nights, which might also say something corresponding to the months to come. (First night=January, second=February, etc. same for dreams).

Of course some are stricter and some are less so. If you don't want to spin any wheels, good luck walking to work. So it's a bit of custom work for everyone. But the tidying of house and property is very important and well attested.

In general, I wish you all a merry Yuletide. Spend time with family, play games, slow down a bit and enjoy these darkest days of the Year!

Text below

Saint Knutsday, 13th of January
Saint Knut, patron of Saint Knut’s Guild Netherlands

For the Knut’s Guild, today is the naming day of his patron Saint Knut. In Sweden they say “tjugondag jul”, the feast on the twentieth day after christmas. But the actual Knut’s day is on January 7. It was moved to the 13th in 1680, the background of which is complex and for now irrelevant.

Saint Knut was killed on January 7, 1131, by his rival during the conflict for the kingdom of Denmark, which at the time encompassed much more Scandinavian territory than modern day Denmark.

Important to mention is that during this duke Knut’s lifetime, society was in a transitionary period from serious Heathenry to christianity-light. The Heathen men-bonds (männerbünde) were forbidden, the cult of Wodan was actively suppressed, but followers of Donar were tolerated and allowed to assemble, if they did so whilst wearing a christian ‘coat’. They chose the coat of Saint Knut but kept their goat-horns and goatees until the present day, when they showed themselves during the Yuletide.

As Saint Knut’s Bucks, and likewise the men of Saint Knut’s Guild Netherlands show themselves.

The guilds would become superpowers during the medieval age, and the most powerful of them in the north was the Saint Knut’s Guild.

Not only in Scandinavia did Donar’s bucks retain their role of importance with the guilds. In the Netherlands the medieval guilds lived on through the so called “Oldyears associations”. This new year's one of them made the news: the Âldjiersklup of Haskerhoarne in Fryslân, called “Geitefok Witte Sik”, stole all the village name signs of Moerdijk and swapped them with the signs of their own village Haskerhoarne. They did this to call attention to the housing issues the youth in their own village are facing, and to the issue that Moerdijk is planned to be completely demolished for industry.
Oldyearsclub “Witte Sik” (“white goatee”) shows they are still presently a “fifth power” outside of the established legislative, judiciary, executive and civil service powers of government. And they are actively using their cultic right-to-steal, which originates with the Heathen men-bonds!

A much older guild that used to take assembly rituals seriously is the Antonius guild from Brabant. The men of Antonius wore buckskins (goat) and held a “goat-fair” yearly on a Wednesday after Saint Knut’s day. At this winter fair the main event was the “goat-meal” which included a lot of beer. This was originally a sacrificial meal for a successful harvest the coming year. The leader was called the “upperbuck”.

The cultic right-to-steal was here applied to the goats which were to be eaten (sacrificed). The sacrificial meal took place on Wednesday night, so traditionally the start of the Thursday, and was dedicated to Donar.

Saint Knut’s Guild Netherlands emerged in 2021 within Swesaz, initiated by the men of the group. From 2026 going forward we intend to make ourselves known and to take steps towards becoming a fifth power. We want to reinstate the sacred ritual assemblies which survived among the medieval guilds and originated in Heathen times. But above all we want to promote the shared bonding experiences of men amongst each other, which has become extremely rare these days. Until we meet again.