Why Theodish Belief?

Although our beliefs within Hammerhof are not fully based upon the Theodish belief I felt that this essay by Swain Wodening was an excellent example of why Theodish belief was important and vital to our ancestral heritage.

Why Theodish Belief?
by Swain Wodening

The reasons why anyone would want to follow Theodism are many. It seeks to get in touch with our ancestor’s spirituality by reconstructing as much of their society as possible. In ancient times, religion and culture were not separate. The … Continue reading →

Swain Wódening, one of the founding members of Englatheod and the Ealdriht, started his Heathen life back in 1984 along with his brother. He learned of Theodism, a solely an Anglo-Saxon phenomena, and joined the Winland Ríce in 1993. Swain has written several books and booklets and countless articles including Hammer of the Gods: Anglo-Saxon Paganism in Modern Times, Germanic Magic, and Path to the Gods: Anglo-Saxon Paganism for Beginners. Swain is currently a member of Wednesbury Shire of White Marsh theod (http://www.englatheod.org). He has one son, Oswin, and resides in Missouri.

Hammerhof: A Deeper Look at Our Beliefs

Ragnvold Thorsson

For those who have looked over our blog-web and read what we, Hammerhof, are all about you may have seen a somewhat disconnected fusion of mixed beliefs and ideas. Do not be alarmed, there is good reason for this. We are a Fokish-tribalist kindred with a Saxon-Norse Theodish base. Here I was thinking this was a simple concept! What I will attempt to do here is explain each of these parts in full, without rambling, to better explain what we are all about.

Hammerhof – a compound word of Hammer and Hof. Hammer being Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, and Hof being Old Norse for temple.

Let us take Folkish. - Folk; people descended from a common ancestor; used especially of the ancient clans – ish; somewhat, to a degree, in the nature or style of, approximately – Therefore Folkish would be; in the nature or style of people descended from a common ancestors. We are a group of people who have descends from a common line of ancestral people which collectively are known as the Germanics. The Germanic Tribes are composed of those peoples, who are of the Indo-European family of languages that were once spoken by the ancient peoples of Northern Europe including England, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Northern Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, North and central France, North and Lowland Scotland. Within the Ásatrú religion Folkish has other meanings. Folkish is the rekindling of the old ways, the reawakening of the Gods of our ancestors, and a revival of family, honor, cooperation, and community.

Essentially tribes are a group of like people living together who are related by blood or marriage. The idea of the tribe or being tribal comes out of the old ways where our Folk lived, worked, fought, and worshipped together in the same ways. They were bound by blood, oaths, marriage, and a higher sense of honor that anything we know today. Our goal is to try and build these bonds and bring back the old ways and values of our people. Though I may not see the results of this ambition in my life I hope that my children and their children will reap the rewords of our efforts.

This brings us to the Saxon-Norse Theodish platform of Hammerhof. Theodish Belief is the old world Anglo-Saxon religious system. It is the belief of the tribe and the triabal system of governance, religion, and life. It is as Garman Lord, the modern founder the Theoish religious tradition, says "the journey is not into the self... but community." This may sound a bit redundant after discussing tribes and tribalism; however there is a reason for this. For one Theodism was intended to be strictly Anglo-Saxon. The folk of Hammerhof are not all Anglo-Saxon but they are Germanic in ancestry. Secondly though we follow the Heathen Saxon ways we do not use the Saxon names for our Gods, Goddesses, and other wights, we use the Old Norse. Due to the nature of the Lore (Eddas, Sagas, etc.) being mostly Icelandic and from the Old Norse and that our Folk are a mix bag of Germanic decent we have opted to use the most common names found in literature to day. For example Thor would be called Thunar by Saxons and Donnar in Old High German. To some this who follow the Theodish way this would be wrong. They believe that a tribal revival should be a pure, a one tribe way. To the purist this could be Anglo-Saxon or one of the other Germanic tribes, but never a combination.

The Kindred Hall of Hammerhof is a kindred and a tribe. We have taken the different ways of our religion and ancestors and forged them into a way that works for our Folk. Our members span from associates who worship and socialize with us to those of the innergarth who have taken the oath to be a part of the tribe. We are not trying to re-create the past, we are trying to bring the past to life and make it one with our modern world. The ways of our ancestors are vital to our future.

Can We Build a Tribe?

Ragnvold Thorsson

There is been some debate over the validity of tribalism in this modern society we live in today. Is it even possible to build and maintain a tribe in today’s world? I will be he first to tell you that it not an easy task and that a modern tribe will never be the same as an ancient tribe. However it is possible to the build bonds and community of tribal society within a modern world.

Our biggest obstacle today is geography and logistics. Many of us Heathens are separated by distance making getting together regularly extremely difficult. We do not live in a Heathen community where we are surrounded by mostly other Heathen families and individuals. Like most Americans we live in neighborhoods with people we hardly know who have mostly Christian backgrounds and depending upon the region we live in we may find ourselves in a very Christianized area. As Heathens we are separated by vast seas of Christendom.

The second obstacle we have is time. We all have day jobs that take up a large chunk living hours. On top of that there are family obligations and duties that we all must perform whole heartedly. There are household duties, chores, and trips to the grocery store, the hardware store, and all those other odd jobs that need to be done to keep our lives in order. After all this we have very little time left over in which to gather as a community and build the bonds necessary for a trú tribe to grow and exist.

So what is a modern heathen to do? What so many of us do is to rely on cell phones, e-mail, social media networking, and other techno mumbo-jumbo in order to communicate and attempt to build bonds. Trú tribes and bonds cannot be built upon the internet, and thus we are forced into a modernist-tribal collision. Finding the balance between the modern and the old ways of our Folk; we need to become modern tribalists.

As we strive to find our way, our balance between the modern and the tribal, we build relationships. These relationships are through social network solutions and through face to face meetings and gathering. We strive to make time for each other on personal levels, levels that social networks cannot provide. We gather when we can and where we can to try and build the bonds of a tribe. I may never see the day when a true modern tribe comes to be, but I hope that as generations pass and my children and their children grow that they will create these bonds, thus bringing about a new golden age of the Gods and reviving the ways of our Folk.

Anglo-Saxon Heathenry

Ragnvold Thorsson

There are very few sources on the subject of Anglo-Saxon Heathenry. There few books, mostly by the same authors, and even few web sources. Although the Kindred Hall of Hammerhof is not truly an Anglo-Saxon Theod I thought it necessary to give a brief history and explanation of the practices of Anglo-Saxon Heathens.

Anglo-Saxon Heathenry is a modern religion based on the ancient heathen tribal religions of the Germanic tribes that moved into what is today known as England. In the 5th century after the Romans left Britain the tribes of the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons migrated from northern Europe to southern and eastern parts of the island. Their initial intent may have been plundering the island for its riches, but they soon began to settle on the island.

Anglo-Saxon Heathenry is a polytheistic religion, which is it has many Gods and Goddesses Anglo-and is closely related to the ancient Norse Heathen religion commonly known as Ásatrú. The ancient Anglo-Saxon heathens shared many of these deities with the Norse and Germanic peoples. Deities such as Odin (AS - Woden) and Thor (AS - Thunor) are commonly accepted as the same. Others like Eostre seem to have only been worshiped by the Anglo-Saxons. These Gods and Goddesses are not like those of the Roman and Greek pantheons. They do not have specific things that they are the deity of. That is while you may turn to Thor (Thunor for rain, he is not only the God of rain. Modern Anglo-Saxon Heathenism worships all the deities the ancient pagan Anglo-Saxons did with a few Norse additions. Anglo-Saxon Paganism has many beliefs that it shares with Ásatrú including wassailing, the rite of symbel, many of the Holy Tides (celebrations/holidays) and ways of worship. The belief in Wyrd and such concepts as frith, and codes defining social behavior are also a common thread between Anglo-Saxon Heathenry and Ásatrú, which are generally drawn from ideas of ancient Anglo-Saxon and Germanic culture.

Unfortunately there is a lack of information on ancient Anglo-Saxon heathenism, thus modern Anglo-Saxon Heathenism is a blend of Norse and Anglo-Saxon practices. Since the Norsemen and the Anglo-Saxons come from a common Germanic culture, such borrowing was deemed necessary to fill out religious practice. The beliefs of the Kindred Hall of Hammerhof also follow this practice. We use the Norse names of the deities and a blend of Saxon-Norse holy Tides.

History of Modern Anglo-Saxon Heathenry

Anglo-Saxon Heathenry was first revived by Garman Lord in 1976, and for years he remained its main advocate. After several attempts with groups such as the Witan Coven, he founded the Wínland Ríce which for several years remained the major Anglo-Saxon Heathen organization. In 1996, the Angelseaxisce Ealdriht was founded and it took the lead in Anglo-Saxon Heathenism and this remained so until 2004 when it dissolved. Today there are several Anglo-Saxon Heathen organizations, among them White Marsh Theod and Geleafawær Fyrnsida.

Wes þú hál!

Hale and be welcome! This is the official blog and web space for the Kindred Hall of Hammerhof, a folkish tribal kindred of Heathen faith commonly known as Ásatrú. Ásatrú is the commonly used word to cover a large area of Germanic Heathenism we are a Theodish Folk tribe of Saxon-Norse belief. Most Theods practice a strictly Anglo-Saxon for of Heathenry using Old English words and the old English names of the Gods and Goddess (e.g., Woden vs. Odin).

Theodish Belief or Þéodisc Geléafa in Old English meaning "tribal faith"; this is the "belief in the tribe." Theods generally hold certain beliefs in common (but not necessarily all of them). Amongst these social concepts are:  

• Sacral leadership, the idea of a sacral ruler that collectively holds the luck of the tribe. 
• A tribal assembly, a place where the folk can make law and discuss problems.
• A structured society, one which has distinct social classes in which one has to learn their position; that all have freedom of conscience, and finally, that folk can be bond together by oaths and blood into a tribe.

Theodism holds that the natural place for Germanic Heathenism and the worship of the Germanic Gods and Goddesses is in a tribal society. We hold a belief in Wyrd, the idea of giving to the Gods and getting gifts in return, frith and grith (peace within the tribe and between tribes respectively), and general thews concerning conduct of one’s self. Within Theodish Belief, there is the support network of the tribe. Every member of a theod serves as mutual support for the other members and help reinforce our Heathen view of the world .