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"How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself and in no instance bypass the discriminations of reason? You have been given the principles that you ought to endorse, and you have endorsed them.

What kind of teacher, then, are you still waiting for in order to refer your self-improvement to him? You are no longer a boy, but a full-grown man. If you are careless and lazy now and keep putting things off and always deferring the day after which you will attend to yourself, you will not notice that you are making no progress, but you will live and die as someone quite ordinary.

From now on, then, resolve to live as a grown-up who is making progress, and make whatever you think best a law that you never set aside. And whenever you encounter anything that is difficult or pleasurable, or highly or lowly regarded, remember that the contest is now: you are at the Olympic Games, you cannot wait any longer, and that your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event."

— Epictetus

What Is FAFP?

What Is FAFP?

From Across the Fire Pit (FAFP) is a joint creative venture between writer and poet Edward England, and the Order of the Sacred Mannerbunde.

The purpose of the project is to share poetry, specifically made by England and members of the OSM, in both written and spoken format.

It is the belief of England that something is missed when poetry is simply read off the page, and in order to truly experience the depth of the furor poeticus, poetry must be spoken and heard.

A presence approaches from across the fire pit…

Substack: https://acrossthefirepit.substack.com

Check out what these good lads are doing, a principle worth spreading!
I believe it's essential for Heathens to know, explore and have a real connection to the land they inhabit.
https://t.iss.one/Wudufugol/8

Oftentimes, some Pagans have the idea that European history suddenly stops circa 1000 AD, and that modern Paganism is about picking up exactly where we "left off"—leaving a huge gap between us now and our Pagan ancestors then, and neglecting the thousand-plus years of culture, history, and ancestors in between. The truth is that Paganism didn't "die" or "pause" the moment our ancestors converted. In addition, neither did our culture or history vanish across time—which, in and of itself, is invigorating, fascinating, and deeply valuable.

Even going back as recently as four hundred years ago, we find ourselves in the Early Modern Period. Zoning in on England, the culture itself was rich—the manners, customs, ideas, and beliefs. In fact, almost all churches in England during this period had a Maypole. Small things like this, so recent in our history, are often overlooked by some Pagans who completely disregard the culture and ancestors of this time (and other times) simply because it wasn't stereotypically "Pagan" or was not "Pagan enough."

Interestingly, it was Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans during the English Civil War who pushed to have church Maypoles removed. Before then, most English people would not have thought twice about Maypoles, and they were therefore connected to a living Pagan tradition. The Early Modern Period—its history, events, and people—could be studied almost exclusively, and various modern people of English descent could devote themselves to revitalising the cultural habits and small traditions of that time by bringing them into the modern world. This could be applied to almost any cultural period in history.

Moreover, English culture from the Early to the Late Middle Ages (which was, to a substantial degree, ultimately Anglo-Norman) gives us our modern English culture, habits, and attitudes. To ignore this in favor of a revisionist historical viewpoint—that history "stops" when Europe becomes Christian and "resumes" now with us "picking up the pieces"—is to do a disservice to our entire cultural heritage over the past thousand years.

If Europe had not become Christian, the architectural, artistic, and technological innovations that occurred between 1000 and 1600 AD would still have occurred within a religiously Pagan context (e.g., observe Lithuania’s culture in the Middle Ages). It is therefore valuable to learn about and continue to preserve archaic aspects of our ancestral cultures from the High to Late Middle Ages, in addition to earlier Pagan times, as well as the Early Modern Period—and, of course, the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

NEW FILM on YouTube
🇮🇸🐦‍⬛️⚔️
'Sagas of the Raven Land' is a history documentary in which historian Tom Rowsell journeys to Iceland, immersing himself in the landscapes that inspired the Icelandic sagas of the Viking Age. He rides native horses across the fells, bathes in hot springs, and traces the footsteps of legendary saga heroes like Eirik the Red and Egill Skallagrimsson.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT NOW

I hope you all had a blessed and lovely Summer Solstice weekend. Our hearth here will celebrate the coming weekend due to our usual location being booked already.

Haven't been active here at all, but I've got some plans to get going again. Time is scarce, I hope you all understand. Just know that I certainly haven't stopped my studies or activities in Heathenry. Priorities are just more on real life activities right now. Thanks for sticking around!

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.