In the musical Bedknobs & Broomsticks, Angela Landsbury sings:

“You must face the age of not believing

Doubting everything you ever knew

Until at last you start believing

There’s something wonderful in you”

Some of the most passionate beliefs of the 21st century are actually disbeliefs.  It seems that we have collectively taken skepticism to a new level; to a point where people are willing and eager to disbelieve anything.  There’s nothing new about monotheists desperately disbelieving in all but one deity, or about atheists disbelieving in that deity as well.  Now, though, we appear to be conditioned to disbelieve all sorts of things, no matter the contrary evidence.

There are people – intelligent, educated people – who have told me they “disagree” that there were Saxon druids.  As if their disbelief somehow obliterates the records of the Anglo-Saxon dryas that have survived in Old English documents.

There are people who do not believe the Holocaust ever took place.  Most of these are young people who never knew the men, now dead, who opened the concentration camps and released the surviving victims at the end of WWII.

Just the other day I received a letter from a man who has been wrestling with his “rational doubt” in respect to the old gods.  The gods have called to him, but he has been having trouble believing in them.  So…you know what I told him?

DON’T BELIEVE IN THEM!

And by this I meant, also, do not disbelieve in the gods, for disbelief is just another form of belief.  There is no evidence I’m aware of that belief (and disbelief) are especially significant in any indigenous European religion.  What matters are your actions, not your beliefs.  Piety is a pattern of behavior, honoring the gods and giving them their due.

Some Christians will claim that their forebears were persecuted in Rome because of their “beliefs”.  This is a lie.  Why would the Roman government care what they believed?  Rome acknowledged literally countless gods and goddesses; one more was like adding a grain of sand to Daytona Beach.  No, the early Christians were prosecuted – cruelly, because Rome was often cruel – for their actions.  It was their beliefs that they used as an excuse for an assortment of crimes, and their polytheist neighbors were understandably unimpressed.

Yes, I believe in the old gods, but not in the sense of “blind faith”.  I believe in them because it’s the only thing that makes sense, given my experiences - and the experiences that thousands of other people have had for thousands of years.  It might be more accurate to say that I do not disbelieve in the old gods, because my “belief” is simply acceptance, nothing more or less.

Belief is not necessary or even especially desirable in polytheist religion.  What matters is that you set aside disbelief, which, as I have pointed out, is itself a form of belief.  Once we get past that “age of not believing”, we really do find that there is something wonderful, not only within us, but in the universe around us.

In November, 2005, I became a member of the international Neo-Pagan religious organization Ár nDraíocht Féin.  ADF defines itself as a druidic organization and, in fact, its name is Irish for “Our Own Druidry”.  Sometimes ADF seems to have a bit of an identity crisis, as if trying to decide whether it is a Celtic path or if, as it presents itself, it truly does include all Indo-European spiritual cultures.

So far the inclusive identity has always won, and so ADF druids include Pagans from all Indo-European paths: Hellenic, Norse, Irish, Roman, Welsh, Vedic, Slavic and so on.  This is why, as a Saxon Pagan, I felt comfortable joining ADF more than six years ago.

However, with or without ADF, I would still identify as a druid.  The Celts themselves never used the words “druid” or “druidry”.  These came into Modern English from the French language.  The Pagan Celts used cognate Gaelic words to describe their priestly-magician caste.  Likewise, the Saxons had cognate words for their own druids.  In Old English these people were known as the drýes, or drýmenn.

Surviving Old English texts give no reason to believe that the drýes followed a Celtic religion or were of Celtic descent, something that surely would have been mentioned.  The drý or drýmann (female, drýicge) was clearly a Saxon druid.  We do know that their druidic practices were considered “devilish” by the Christian scribes who mentioned them.  One scribe openly described the Saxon druid as ðæt deófles drý (the devil’s druid).  We also know that the Saxon druids practiced magic.  An Old English text warns, Ðýlæs-ðe se deófol us be dríum máge (lest the devil have power over us by druids), and another, Hí sædon ðæt hío sceolde mid hire drýcræft ða men forbredan (they said that she should overthrow the men with her druid-skills).

“Druid” can mean several things.  Today it can refer to any member of Ár nDraíocht Féin, or to at least some members of other modern druidic organizations such as OBOD or AODA.  It can also refer to an Irish, Welsh, Scottish or Gallic Pagan who serves his or her community in some way as a priest/magician.  And finally, it can refer to a Saxon Pagan who serves his or her community in a similar way.

As a Saxon who has studied and practiced magic for more than forty years, I am proud to be a druid.  Proud to be a 21st century drýmann.

Occasionally I am asked what, if anything, is different between what I do and the Seax Wica tradition.  There are superficial similarities, and I am on a couple of Seax Wica e-group lists.  I can understand the confusion, however there are fundamental differences between my own praxis and that of Seax Wica.

The primary, critical difference is that Wicca is a duotheistic religion.  Many Wiccans will deny this – just as the majority spell their religion with two c’s, even though Gerald Gardner and later Buckland spelled it as ‘Wica’ – but Wicca or Wica, as defined by its founder, adheres to Mary Violet Firth’s assertion that there is only one goddess and only one god.  With no central authority, there is nothing to stop a self-professed Wiccan from worshipping a dozen distinct deities or from worshipping only one all-encompassing Great Goddess, but neither of these paradigms are truly Wiccan.

Buckland himself emphasizes this in Buckland’s Book of Saxon Witchcraft (p. 21):  “Everywhere in Nature is found a system of male and female; because that is the way of the Gods – a God and a Goddess – believe the Witches.  No all-male or all-female deity.  It is, then, a duotheistic religion.”

I could explain in depth why I am one Witch who does not believe this, but the relevant fact is that I simply do not.  I believe in the very real existence of countless gods and goddesses – sovereign spirits – some who I worship, most who I do not.  For this reason alone, and for this reason before all others, I cannot define myself as a Seax Wiccan.

The rest of it is more superficial.  I do not cast a magic circle before worship, nor do I celebrate esbats.  Many of the differences are semantic rather than substantial.  On another level, I think that I am less eclectic than the average practitioner of Seax Wica, although that is of course a generalization.  Buckland freely admits that Seax Wica is first and foremost a tradition of Wicca and not a reflection of authentic Saxon tradition.  In the introduction to the 2005 edition of his book, he says (p. xi): “I was not trying to reconstruct the ancient religion of the Saxons, nor the magic that they employed…What I set out to do was to create a modern form of Wicca…and to make it something with which I, personally, would feel comfortable.”

In contrast to this, I have tried to create a modern, relevant form of Saxon religion…with which I, personally, would feel comfortable!  I may have been influenced by Wicca, in the same way that I may have been influenced by my parents’ Presbyterian Christian religion and everything else I have been exposed to over the years, but it is not the foundation of my own Saxon beliefs and practices.

To be honest, it is not beyond imagining to see me someday practicing Seax Wica.  It is a positive, life-affirming path.  But if that were to happen, I would be something of a heretic, if the Seax tradition can be said to recognize anything like that.  I would revere “Freya” by her English title, Fréo, and would acknowledge her and Woden not as the ONLY two deities – not as “the Lord and Lady” – but as the two deities among the Saxon gods who take the most interest in wiccecræft.

In that sense, I could indeed define myself as Seax Wica (or Wicca).  But at this time, at least, I do not.  Seax Wicca can be said to be a variety of Saxon Paganism, but not all Saxon Pagans are Seax Wiccans.

Well, I have done it.  I am now the Grove Organizer for a new Ár nDraíocht Féin protogrove.  Our mission is to nurture spiritual community in our local area.  We plan to hold our first “open” rite next month.

I believe that Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) is the future of Paganism in America.  ADF will not have a monopoly on polytheistic religion any more than Catholicism has a monopoly on Christian religion, but its concepts will surely influence our culture as more and more people become aware of this international Pagan fellowship.

For decades contemporary Pagans have been faced with a choice of two extreme movements.  At one end of the spectrum is the if-it-feels-good-do-it philosophy; a Paganism with little respect for the cultures and traditions of our ancestors, where the only thing that matters is that everyone is having fun at the party.  Those at the opposite end of the spectrum are so put off by this that many of them insist on identifying by a term other than “Neo-Pagan”, although, of course, it is what they are.  (Neo-Pagan simply means a contemporary, 21st century polytheist.)  The reaction has been Icelandic Pagans (Ásatrúar) who will only associate with other Icelandic Pagans, Roman Pagans who only associate with other Roman Pagans, and so on.

ADF has found the balance between these two opposing perspectives.  An ADF ritual has a format that does not fit exactly with any specific Pagan culture, but is instead a satisfactory compromise for all Indo-European Pagan cultures.  Within the parameters of this format, ADF recognizes and respects cultural integrity.  Rather than chopping and dicing Paganism into eclectic hash, each ritual addresses a specific hearth culture: Irish, Norse, Roman, Hellenic, and so on.  Including, of course, Anglo-Saxon. 

When I join in a ritual honoring a foreign god, the format recognizes this also, and during the ritual a celebrant welcomes the “High Ones” or “Shining Ones” – where I can connect with Ing Fréa or Woden – in a way that does not clash with the liturgy.  In ADF, I can join in worship with my neighbors – be they Hellenes or Welsh or Slavs – and still be proudly Saxon.

I have been a member of ADF for six years now.  During those six years I have worshipped with Sassafras Grove, which is an awesome group of people, but which is a distance from me, down in the city of Pittsburgh.  I am still a friend of Sassafras and will be attending some of their events, but it is my hope that Cranberry will grow into a viable, thriving group here where I live.

To be as inclusive as possible, we plan to hold rites with two hearth cultures.  Not simultaneously, of course.  At solstice and equinox we will hold Anglo-Saxon rites to honor the gods of the English.  At the “cross-quarter” high days we will hold Romano-British rites honoring Celtic gods and goddesses.

These efforts may very well bear fruit.  Cranberry Protogrove was officially recognized only two days ago, and already we have two people interested in joining us for our Yule rite in December.  By “us” I mean Scott and me.  Hopefully “us” will soon grow into a larger group.

If you know of any Pagans who live in Pennsylvania, in Butler County or northern Allegheny County, please send them our way!  They can email us at Cranberry@alaricalbertsson.com, or connect with us by subscribing to cranberrydruids@yahoogroups.com.

In the autumn of 1972, I moved across the state of Missouri and soon lost touch with the Pagans I had known.  It was a different time – without the internet, without cell phones – when it was much more difficult to stay connected with people living hundreds of miles distant.

For many years after that, one god in particular watched over me.  Some might call him my “patron god”, although the term patron traditionally refers to a deity’s role as a protector of a group (city, nation, tribe) or conceptual area of life (archery, blacksmiths, animals).  I presume the idea of a patron god for an individual person has crept into Paganism with recovering Catholic Christians who have been raised with ”patron saints”.

By then I had heard of Wicca, although all I knew was that it was a word used by Gardnerian witches to describe themselves.  And I was not entirely sure what a “Gardnerian” witch was.  But after the move it seemed like everyone I met was using the word Wicca or Wiccan, so I began doing the same.  I was soon initiated by an Osirian Wiccan.  I could relate well enough to the “Great Goddess” as the Earth Mother, who I knew as Herthe.  In 1974, Buckland’s The Tree was published, and his Seax tradition seemed to confirm that the old gods were indeed a part of the Wiccan movement.

And so, after a time, I began to think of all gods as a mash-up of one Horned God, even though most of the gods were never depicted with horns or antlers or anything of the sort.  And all goddesses, from all cultures, became (in my mind) facets of Herthe; herself but one more name for a single Great Goddess.

This became more difficult to hold as the years passed, and I had also come across other falsehoods – some innocent errors, others blatant lies – in the beliefs I had once accepted.  It became more and more difficult to ignore how little the “old religion” of Wicca resembled any pre-Christian spirituality.

During this period of disenchantment – which continued for well over a decade – I grew aware of an entity or presence observing me at times.  I was not sure what this was.  At first I was not willing to accept it as a deity, since there was only One Lord and One Lady; distant principles of Yin and Yang, of Fire and Ice.  The presence I felt was a “person” of some kind.

My visitor had some connection with or interest in the vegetable kingdom: trees, grasses and crops.  This was one thing I was sure of.  I thought of him as the Harvest Lord, although I was aware that the presence could be near me at any time of year, even in deepest winter when green growing things were encased beneath ice and thick layers of snow.  The presence did not fit into one “archetype”.  He was my Harvest Lord, but he was just as easily the Green Man or even Jack Frost.

I knew him, this presence, but on another level I did not know him at all.  It took another move – this time a move across the continent – for me to cast off the concepts that kept me from seeing the Harvest Lord for who he was.  After the move I met some true polytheists who spoke of the gods as I had once known them.  After hearing these people out, I knew that my Harvest Lord – the presence that had observed me, had guided me, had inspired me to build a scarecrow each year as his effigy - was Ing Fréa.

I went into our back garden late one evening and gave Lord Ing an offering of ale.  When he responded it was with such intensity that I could understand why a monotheist might believe his god to be the one and only god in the universe.  Ing was in me, flowing through me, around me and above me.  He was in every flower and herb, he was in the breeze and the night sky.  It was difficult to breathe.  “I am,” he said.  “I am not one small part of something else.  I am not one name of a distant power.  Know that I am, and that I am nothing less than myself.”

He was not angry.  I had the feeling that my dear Lord understood how I had come to wander away from the gods.  Now I was back again, and could know him for who he really is: the Lord of this World, the Lord of the Elves, Battle Wise and Bringer of Peace.  My Harvest Lord.

Gehæl Ing Fréa.

If you live in or anywhere near Ohio, you owe it to yourself to check out the Summerland festival coming up August 18th-21st.  I will be a presenter there again this year, giving a workshop on making wyrd stones (from my book Wyrdworking: The Path of a Saxon Sorcerer).

http://www.6thnight.org/summerland.html

This gathering is an Ár nDraíocht Féin event, but you do not have to be active in ADF Druidry to attend.  In fact, if you are not ADF this gathering can be an excellent introduction to one of the largest Neo-Pagan organizations in the world.  And don’t be put off by the word “Druidry” if your spiritual path isn’t Celtic; ADF welcomes and embraces all Indo-European faiths.  (“Druidry” isn’t so much of a linguistic stumbling block for us Anglo-Saxons, since we have our own drýlic tradition.)

Summerland is very affordable, only $65 if you pre-register, or $75 (for adults) at gate.  You must be 18 or over, or accompanied by an adult legal guardian.  If you want to spend more for amenities, you certainly can, and these are worth looking at.  You can rent a cabin that sleeps up to eight people for $45, dividing that up with your friends or fellow híredmenn, or just ask for a single bed for $15 if you don’t mind bunking with strangers.  Of course by the end of the gathering those strangers may be new friends who you’ll cherish for years!

The festival also offers a meal plan, available by pre-registration only, for only $40.  If you get the meal plan and cabin space there is very little you’ll need to pack other than clothing, a pillow and sheets or a sleeping bag.

6th Night Grove determines who presenters will be, so you can be assured of interesting, quality workshops throughout the festival.  Friday evening will feature a bardic circle, followed by drumming and dancing at the fire circle.  An ADF Unity Ritual will be held on Saturday.

I have attended Summerland for a number of years now, and I have always had a good experience.  I hope some of you can be there.  If you do go, be sure to look for me and say wes hal!

One thing I have always liked about living in western Pennsylvania is the acidic soil that allows me to grow fruits and vegetables that are more difficult to raise on Missouri’s bedrock of limestone.  At the top of the list are blueberries.  We only have half a dozen bushes, but they have faithfully produced for us over the years.

Some years, of course, are better than others.  Last year saw a bumper crop of blueberries.  Scott put a cup of the berries on his cereal every morning, I munched on them sporadically throughout the day, and we still had enough for Scott and Taren to brew some delicious blueberry meads.

We can already see that this year’s crop will be much smaller.  We’ll have a couple of pies, and maybe a few blueberries to sprinkle over oatmeal.  For us, this is only a mild disappointment, but I am keenly aware of how devastating it would be to our ancestors.  Of how devastating it would be to me now if I were wholly dependant on the food I grew myself.

Pagans today sometimes approach their spirituality as if it were a vending machine, and I confess that I am not wholly immune to this syndrome.  We quickly turn to our gods when we want something from them: a romantic relationship, more friends, prosperity, improved health.  And while this is not altogether wrong, we are not so quick to give thanks for the many blessings we enjoy.  We tend to take those things for granted.

How blessed are we who have something to eat each morning!  How fortunate to have a day with no war in our immediate vicinity.  What a miracle it is even to arise, our hearts beating, our lungs taking in fresh, life giving air.  Gehæl þa godas!  Gehæl þa ylfe!  Éala!

Take time to consider the good things in your life.  Give thanks, and open your heart to receive even more blessings.

It’s only a couple of weeks away now!  I am so excited to be returning again this year as a featured speaker at this long running (since 1985) annual Pagan gathering.  Heartland is held every spring outside of the Kansas City metropolitan area at a Pagan owned and operated camp.  It has one of the best merchant areas I have seen at any festival, and over the years has hosted people like Starhawk, Christopher Penczak, Stewart Farrar, Leo Martello and author Marian Zimmer Bradley.

For those of you who will be at Heartland, I have three workshops and one ritual planned:

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A BOOK

You are thinking of writing a book on Paganism or magic, or perhaps you have already done so.  What do editors look for?  What mistakes can you avoid that would otherwise kill your chances?  Author Alaric Albertsson will discuss book publishing, using his acquisition editor’s personal notes.  Get an inside look at how it all works.

(In February I participated in a panel discussion on this topic at Pantheacon.  Obviously I will be speaking alone this time, rather than with a panel of other Llewellyn authors, but my acquisition editor has given me permission to use her own notes for the presentation.) 

WYRDWORKING

Runes, galdor, wortcunning, scrying and seething.  The Anglo-Saxons had magic traditions as rich as any other culture.  Learn about the magic techniques discussed in my book, Wyrdworking: The Path of a Saxon Sorcerer.  What is Anglo-Saxon magic?  What sources do we have as evidence for these old practices?  If English is your first language, Anglo-Saxon magic is your cultural heritage.

 (At this presentation I will be talking about my book, why I wanted to write it, the sources I used and where I hope to go on from here.)

HERB MAGIC AND THE DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURES

One idea discarded in medicine long ago was the Doctrine of Signatures.  We will look at this theory and see how it still applies to the practice of traditional herb magic.  Learn how to enhance your own work with herbs using the Doctrine of Signatures in a safe and creative way.

 (This is my first time doing this presentation, and I’m excited about it.  I will be discussing an intuitive approach to working with herbs, including a simple ritual for use in herb magic.)

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

You and your animal companion are BOTH invited to this ritual!  We will give thanks to our gods, to the local animal spirits and to the animal companions who have passed over the Rainbow Bridge.  You paid fifty bucks to bring your companion here; let him or her receive the blessings of Spirit.  All animal companions must be restrained as per Heartland’s rules.  One animal per adult human, please.

(Facilitating this ritual is very important to me.  I don’t think everyone who attends Heartland realizes what a privilege it is to be able to bring their animal companions to the festival.  The animals themselves should have a wonderful experience participating in a ritual designed just for them!)

At each of my presentations I will have copies of Travels Through Middle Earth: The Path of a Saxon Pagan, copies of Wyrdworking: The Path of a Saxon Sorcerer, some Martin Rune Decks and (just for fun) a few copies of the new Kingdom of Arlond role playing game setting that Taren Martin and I have jointly published.

At some time during the festival, Aquarius Books will be hosting a visitation and book signing for me.  I don’t know when this will happen, but I am sure there will be announcements posted at the festival – or just stop by the Aquarius merchant booth and ask!

Hope to see some of you there.

I ask everyone reading this to pray for my friend Christopher Penczak and his family.  Christopher’s mother, Rosalie, is preparing to enter the halls of her ancestors.  There is nothing to be done – no hope that the journey will be postponed – so our thoughts must be for Rosalie’s easy, gentle passage, and for strength for those who will miss her the most.

Most Pagans today celebrate Eostre/Ostara at the spring equinox.  Earendel Inhíred did the same when our local ADF grove (which some of us belong to) held its Germanic vernal rite.  We brought offerings to Eostre and to the Earth Mother, we sang and danced, and we joined in the feast that followed the rite.

But Earendel follows a traditional lunar calendar.  The moon now grows full, marking the Eostremonath, or Eostre’s Moon.  It is our belief that the feast of Eostre (or Ostara, as she was known on the continent) was not celebrated at the equinox, but at the first full moon following the equinox.  We offer two reasons.  First, it would have been almost impossible for pre-industrial English villagers to know exactly when the equinox fell, but a trained eye can easily discern the night of the full moon.  Second, the Christians celebrate the resurrection of their god Christ on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the equinox.  In England this celebration took on the name of Eostre, our lady of springtime and new beginnings, which strongly suggests that people who remained faithful to Eostre were feasting in her name at roughly the same time.

Some indigenous European cultures – such as the Hellenes – observed lunar calendars that began each month with the new crescent moon, but it seems far more likely that the English month began at the full of the moon.  Again, the evidence is in Eostre’s feast, which was almost certainly celebrated at the full of the moon, within a few days of the Christians’ most important feast.  (Only English speaking Christians call the feast of the resurrection “Easter”.  In languages that evolved where Eostre was not worshipped the holiday is called Pascua, Paques, Pasen, Pasqua, Paske, or something similar.)

The goddess of spring must have been very dear to the early English people.  The long pre-Easter fast known in other languages as Cuaresma, Careme or Quaresima, was called in Old English lencten, which simply means “spring” and evolved into the New English word “Lent”.

We Earendel folk are pragmatic.  Living with 21st century work schedules, we celebrate our húsles on the first Sæterdæg following the full moon.  And so our húsel honoring Eostre always takes place on the day before the Christians’ Easter.  This weekend we will dye eggs, and the wéofod will be adorned with spring daffodils.  There may even be “peeps” somewhere in the celebration.  The one certainty will be our offerings to the lady Eostre – to our own Reason for the Season – as we praise the renewal of the world.

The moon is full.  Eostremonath has come.  Gehæl Eostre!  Sing praises to our Lady!