[backlogbooks]

"In the Western tradition there is a recognized hierarchy of beings, with, of course, the human being on top--the pinnacle of evolution, the darling of Creation--and the plants at the bottom. But in Native ways of knowing, human people are often referred to as "the younger brothers of Creation." We say that humans have the least experience with how to live and thus the most to learn--we must look to our teachers among the other species for guidance. Their wisdom is apparent in the way that they live. They teach us by example. They've been on the earth far longer than we have been, and have had time to figure things out."

-Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer

[michaelnordeman]

Roe deer/rådjur. Värmland, Sweden (March 7, 2026).

[joelpersels]

[clear-water]

[panjackdaw]

Prayer to Freyja, Weaver of Magic

Lady of gold and falcon’s wing, Whose heart beats with fire and moonlight, I call to You, Freyja, Mistress of seiðr and the deep currents unseen.

You walk between the worlds, Threading fate with hands both tender and strong, Teaching the wise to bend the wind, To speak the language of root and stone, To hear the hidden pulse of all things.

Goddess of desire and fierce will, You remind us that love is not weakness, That beauty can be a blade, And longing a lantern in the dark.

Grant me the courage to shape my own thread, To weave with skill and truth, To call forth what is mine without fear, And to release what binds me in shadow.

Let Your magic fill my breath and my bones, So that I may see the secret paths, And walk them with grace and wild power, As one who honors You.

Hail Freyja, Vanadis, Giver of magic, I stand in Your light, And in the deep knowing You awaken within me.

[thedruidsforest]

Hello all! It's been quite awhile, so it's about time I did another spring giveaway! This will be featuring items from my Etsy shop (LINKED HERE) especially since it's been sooooo slow lately - I was laid off from my second job, so I need to focus more time on this to make ends meet. I'm also running a sale, now through the end of Feb!💚

Giveaway ends on Feb 28th, and the winners will be selected via random number generator. 3 winners total!!

Rules are: -Reblogs count for entry (please don't spam!) -18+ only (or with guardian permission) - you must be willing to share your shipping address with me -US only please, our current international shipping situation is rocky at best -Don't tag this post as "giveaway"; doing so will alert the tumblr gods and cause the whole giveaway to be invalid

Contents are: -1 wire-wrapped crystal pendant -Creativity spell bottle (larger than what I have in the shop!) -Custom pentacle necklace -A jar of my Ostara casting herb blend -A surprise (but labeled) mix of seeds that would be found in a witch's garden -Depending on your location, your choice of Michigan/midwest native wildflower seeds (a small amount), harvested by yours truly from my gardens -A few surprise witchy bits & bobs!

[c4m4t4rydollll]

[sioltach]

colors and textures in a ditch beside the highway

[vintagewildlife]

Sambar deer By: Unknown photographer From: Wildlife Fact-File 1990s

[cashmerecrow]

.*•~°"*"°~•*.

[morganathewitch]

Sun streaked forest, Sweden.

[carnalreincarnated]

Curak creek, Gorski kotar, Croatia

[lokean-shrine]

A New Year Prayer to Loki

Hail Loki, Fire-walker, world-shifter, You who stand where endings burn and beginnings spark.

As the old year falls to ash, I set it before you— its mistakes, its lessons, its laughter and its scars. What must be broken, break. What must be burned, burn clean.

Loki, mover of fates, Teach me to walk the changing road with open eyes and quick wit. Grant me the courage to unmake what no longer serves, and the wisdom to laugh when the path bends unexpectedly.

Let this new year be forged, not given. Let truth be sharp, not cruel. Let change be chosen, not feared. Where I stumble, teach me to rise altered. Where I cling, teach me to release.

Fire in the hearth, fire in the mind, fire in the blood— stand with me as the year turns.

Not as master, not as servant, but as companion in becoming.

Hail Loki, and hail the year that comes.

[brigitte-poetry]

I was thinking about controversial it is, even in pagan settings, to worship tricksters like Loki and Sutekh, and I think that I described it pretty well with

"Tricksters are inherently transgressive figures who literally embody what it's like to live in a socially unacceptable or taboo way, which is why members of marginalized communities flock to them while more privileged people find them distasteful. They are the personifications of chaos and social unrest, which includes how much strife surrounds people who are deemed socially unacceptable; they are literally the gods of minorities and people who suffer under bigoted unjust systems.

When tricksters do something bad in a myth, marginalized groups see a complex rebellious figure with their own motives while privileged people see a bad person doing bad things. And when tricksters are punished, privileged people just see a bad guy getting their comeuppence while marginalized groups see the harsh realities of living as a socially unacceptable person.

It's no wonder then that queer people, the mentally ill and other minorities have flocked to Loki's side, since he embodies the realities of their lives, even when others can't understand it."

[vitterdotter]

often with love-associated, beautiful goddesses like Freja, I see such a push among followers to strive towards conventional beauty under the guise of devotional acts.

I love growing out my body hair and leaving my eyebrows unplucked. I love cutting my own hair (even when it looks bad) and even shaving it all off. I love gaining muscle and feeling stronger when I work out, I don't just want to look toned. I love my bare face and messy makeup. I love body modification. I have no desire to conform to a rigid standard of what beauty looks like in the same of a goddess who is beauty in every form.

[rain--goblin]

Anyway, Fenrir is great but too many people are villainizing him just because they were told to by the eddas and then straight up never did any further digging.

He's a deity you can go to who will understand your feelings of betrayal and deep rage and won't shame you for them or tell you to "just think positive and forgive". Who tf wouldn't want that?

Also, they tend to villainize him because he is justifiably angry at being betrayed and having his freedom stolen from him.

And if you're villainizing someone for that...

Well.....

[cheerfulomelette]

Children do not go to Valhalla

I saw one of those "Valhalla does not discriminate against the type of battle you lost" posts go by my dash. I really want to say something but the notes are full of people grieving and saying how much comfort this re-interpretation gave them and I'm not that much of a bastard.

This story of the littlest cancer patient going to Valhalla is kind of upsetting but I struggle to articulate why. It's like Christianity wearing my faith like a costume.

I don't want to call it cultural appropriation because, you know, Norse Paganism/Heathenry/Ásatru is a reconstruction of a dead faith - a (more or less) historically-informed best guess based on scanty surviving evidence (much, if not all, of that Christianised). It's public domain mythology, reuse and remix as you like, etc, etc.

But...

Valhalla is not and has never been a place of rest and healing, and to say it is is to fundamentally misunderstand the mythology. Valhalla is where Odinn is building an army to fight the war at the end of the world. It is not a place for children or victims of domestic violence or cancer patients or anyone like that.

If you're drawn to Norse mythology, if you're grieving and you want to believe that your loved ones are in a better place, let me give you a different story.

It starts with a little girl, a child whom the gods deemed monstrous. Her name is Hela and she's the daughter of Loki, so she every right to claim a home in Ásgard. But, as I said, she was called monstrous for her appearance and her heritage and all but cast out. She was given her own realm, far away from the gods, and tasked with caring for the dead that Odinn (etc) have no use for.

The charge that the gods give this outcast child was considered shit-work. Un-honourable, if not actually dishonourable. An insult for a goddess.

But Hela took that duty with solemnity and made Helheim a home for her wards. It's not a hall full of warriors feasting and drinking and fighting. It's quiet; a rest at the end of a hard life. A place full of children and grandparents, mothers and fathers, farmers and shepherds. You and me.

Helheim, like its mistress, is misunderstood and maligned. When we, who have no place in war, die, Hela will accept us into her hall, care for us, and let us to rest, instead of demanding we keep fighting forever.

It's where most of us will go, and that is not a bad thing. There are no entry requirements. It's not heaven, it's not even The Good Place, it's the default - to be with our people, to be cared for and looked after, to be free from pain and struggle. Helheim is a place of acceptance, care, peace, and rest. It's not paradise, but I don't think it sounds that bad.