If you were to find the book “Saxon Wars: Battle Tales” (by author: Nipun Shukla) on Amazon, you would find the following description ..read more

A study of the historical sources of Germanic religion, especially the Norse Sagas, show fire as having an important ritual element in ..read more

This article will discuss pre-christian Heathen Saxony’s relationship with three of its Heathen neighbors: The Chatti (who had Donar’s ..read more

At the bottom of this article, I will give the 2025 dates for these historical Heathen holidays for modern practice for Old Ways Heathens ..read more

The Lex Saxonum are a series of laws issued by Charlemagne between 782 and 803 as part of his plan to subdue the Saxon Tribal Confederation. Some scholars believe the Lex Saxonum is a compromise between the laws of the Heathen Saxons and the laws of the Frankish Empire. As a lay scholar, I feel that the victors typically do not compromise with the defeated, and these laws are the harsh laws of the Franks pushed on to the defeated Saxons, who had no say in the matter, being the clear losers in a 33-year long struggle known as the "Saxon Wars. These laws are clearly punitive to a losing Tribal P ..read more

Did Santa come from Odin? Did pre-Christian Germanic Peoples use symbols of rabbits and eggs near the first full moon after the equinox? Did the Xmas tree descend from Donar's Oak, the Irminsul, or Yggdrasil? (etc etc etc.) There are myths and misinformation out there that many things in the church today have Germanic Heathen origins. Scholar Ronald Hutton states the following in regards to the Maypole: "There is absolutely no evidence that the maypole was regarded as a reflection of the Irminsul or Donar's Oak."  (Hutton, Ronald (1996). Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year i ..read more

Orthodoxy: dictionary.com defines "Orthodoxy" as "beliefs, ideas, or activities considered traditional, normal, and acceptable..." or as "following generally accepted beliefs or standards." Orthopraxy: Wikipedia defines orthopraxy as both "correct conduct" and "ὀρθοπραξία (orthopraxia) meaning 'right practice'." Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy: While orthodoxies make use of commonly accepted beliefs, orthopraxy focuses on adherence to common rituals, the transmission of tradition, sacrificial offerings, concerns of purity, and ethical systems. Dogma: Vocabulary.com defines "dogma" as "the doctrine of ..read more

Normally, I do not discuss Asatru's issues on an Aldsidu blog. Due to the number of IMs I have received about The Troth and Diana Paxon, I have decided to make this one response. Aldsidu is against all forms of bigotry and hate. Aldsidu is also against misinformation. I have written a blog article about historical Heathen Thing. I suggest my readers check that out. The Saxons had local Things, as well as Althings. Lebuini Antiqua 4, THE LIFE OF ST. LEBUIN, 9th Century CE: “In olden times the Saxons had no king but appointed rulers over each village; and their custom was to hold a general meeti ..read more

Aldsidu is against all forms of bigotry and hate.  However, I have realized that too many “Asatruar” are not actually Heathens having new ways or Old Ways as their faith.  Anti-racism is their religion, not Heathenry.  A true Heathen would not try to change other cultures.  Historical Heathens did not have beliefs of conversion. The world was fine being multi-cultural, and multi-religious.  When Saxon Heathens traveled in pre-christian times, they used terms like “landuuise” to describe the customs of the people living in other lands.  They did not try to change o ..read more

While this is not necessarily a topic of Saxon Heathenry, the Saxons did have trade and an economic infrastructure before forced Christianization which came along with the Saxon Wars. The Saxons, before christianization, did not mint coins. While they certainly came across coins minted elsewhere, metal was the common form of currency. The Saxon merchants had developed a so-called bullion economy. When paying, silver (sometimes other metals, silver was the most common) was cut into the form of ingots and weighed with scales and weights. The same was done with coins and jewelry. [Walther Haupt ..read more