The Role of the Modern Hedgewitch within the Northern Tradition
from the forthcoming "Gods of the Wain, Gods of the Witches: A Guide to Working with the Vanir Year-Round"

There seems to be a common conception within the Northern Tradition, particularly Asatru/Heathenry, that one has to be part of a Kindred. If there's a Kindred in your area, you have to at least check it out. If there's not a Kindred in your area, you have to be the one to start it.

I mean no disrespect towards those who are active members of Kindreds in their locality. Furthermore, I think the Northern Tradition as a whole has to be at least somewhat community-minded, in that your actions not only bear on your honor, but affect other people whether directly or indirectly, and short of completely isolating yourself in the wilds you will have contact with others and are often interdependent on them for survival.  In the days of the elder Heathen it would be those who were "specialists" and did one thing well -- farmers, fishermen, weavers, weaponsmiths, herbal healers -- traded their services with the community, receiving other goods and services they needed but maybe couldn't do so well themselves.  However, with that in mind, there were no Kindreds in pre-Christian Scandinavia, Germany, England, etc. There were Godhar who led the Blót on the holytides, and served in the capacity of a spiritual advisor (as well as law-giver) to the people in their locality, that is at a city- or village-wide level.  The regular folk assembled together on the major holy tides and at the Thing, but people primarily did their religious activity at home (as in the Álfablót, and votive offerings to wights, ancestors, personal Gods), and other people were free to participate or not as they saw fit.  The primary Deities and wights of one family would not be that of another, and the way one Godhar did things in one village would be very different than the way Godhar did things in another.

There are some of us who are not joiners, and it's always been this way, but in the 21st century joiners and non-joiners alike have some unique challenges.  I have encountered at least one Heathen who insists "there's no such thing as a solitary Heathen", despite the sheer number of Northern Religionists I've encountered who don't have a group for whatever reason, and are OK with it.  In my own personal experience, I have always been on the fringe of the fringe of anything.  I have a number of nonconformist traits, some by choice, most by circumstance.  There was a time when I tried very hard to be a part of mainstream Asatru as it is practiced in the United States.  I don't try anymore, mainly because the times when I've tried to fit into whatever group, I fall outside of its accepted standards for membership and people want to start unnecessary and illogical drama. It's all about me falling outside any accepted paradigm of "normal", and finally coming to terms with who and what I am, and accepting myself.

I spent 7 years of Heathen practice thinking I was inferior because all of my group involvements bit the dust pretty hard, and I realize in retrospect, a lot of us get into it with grand schemes of making big important changes and being big important people.  Even if our intentions are good, and service-oriented to the people and the Gods, it's easy to get frustrated and be burnt out on the service ideal when the childish games of other people stand in your way.  It's probably safer for me in terms of privacy and avoiding personal harm (not to mention interpersonal drama!) to keep a low profile, and rather than wasting time trying to work with the unfrithful, and bang my head when it goes bad, to look at what I can do, realistically, with what I already have.

So where does that leave me?  In my research I've come across the archetype of the hedgewitch. You've seen it before: the word "hedgewitch" literally means "witch of the hedge", that is the witch who dwells in the borderlands between the village and the wild wood.

In a Jotun culture such as evidenced by Paleolithic/Neolithic life in Northern Europe, society was tribal.  By the time the Vanir predominated, there was the village model, which continued even past the rise of the Aesir cult into the conversion era.  While the Godhar were doing their priestly-leadership thing, the hedgewitch would stay in her cottage with lots of cats and a huge cauldron, keeping to herself, but people who needed her, would know where to find her -- including the Godhar when the crap hit the fan and the Divine luck ran out.  The hedgewitch is that remnant of Vanic society, and the one that people go to when they are either not comfortable talking to the Godhar, or the Godhar can't help anymore.

In the 21st century, the hedgewitch is likely not going to be living in the countryside.  And that poses an interesting problem.  When you are on the fringe of the fringe, you will either stand out in your locality as pariah, or fade into obscurity as an unperson.  In days of yore the hedgewitch might have been able to provide services for a village, and in return get things she might have a hard time obtaining herself (chopping firewood, for example).  Today, your neighbors are not necessarily going to be your kin, and may even be unfriendly and untrustworthy.  Your blood family may not be deserving of your allegiance, due to severe dysfunction issues.  It falls to the spiritual community to provide structure, and you may not be able to find compatible people for a spiritual community in your locality. 

Currently I live in a suburban area, but also by the woods, surrounded by nature if not necessarily "the wild" proper.  I have a close connection to the land.  I tend to be a bit wary of strangers, so I don't really advertise my Witchy services to one and all, but I have found a religious "community" through this wondrous device called the Internet, which operates very much like a Web of Wyrd inside glowing boxes.  Type and click, and you can be connected with hundreds and thousands of people at whim.  The Internet is a tool that many people use to find spiritual community, and it has served me well.  There are people in my life who come to me for advice, counsel, encouragement, and support all the time. In return for my words of wisdom, my spells and readings and journeys, these people provide me with friendship.  They are light and warmth to my life.  Just because they may mostly not live within driving distance to me doesn't mean they're not real, really in my life, and really needing what I'm able to give.  It of course doesn't take the place of fostering offline contacts.  But there are people who have become my friends, who I've met online and surprisingly have not turned out to be weird perverts. 

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I am not going to be Big Important Somebody in My Religion, and that's OK with me now. My religion should not be some kind of ego-pimping trip. It is between myself, and the Gods, and the ones who the Gods care to send into my life. Just as the Godhar probably came to the hedgewitch when ze needed extra assistance, whether for counsel/divination/healing, I believe that is part of what my practice is to be.

Therefore, if you're more of a solitary practitioner, don't let other people make you feel "bad" or "inferior". It's OK to be you. The Gods called you, not some fake version of you. If they want you to be in a Kindred, you'll eventually find a way to be there. Otherwise, remember that in the 21st century there are plenty of ways to connect with people, and the hedgewitch path IS acceptable.  What really matters is devotion to the Gods, and keeping Their Old Magick alive within you.  If you were stranded on a deserted island, would you still be honoring your Gods?  You might well be, even if you hollowed out a coconut for an offering bowl and it wasn't "proper Norse".

Since reclaiming the title of "Witch" for my own personal use, I have gotten some odd comments from people who do not think it is proper for a Northern religionist to call oneself a "Witch", let alone use words like "magick" (as in "with a k").

First of all, I would like to point out that I took all these things into consideration when Frey and Freyja began urging me to move away from the "mainstream Heathen community" and a spirituality that is more wholistic, something that may not be strict reconstruction but seems to be a Vanic cultus modified for the lifestyle and needs of the 21st century.  For a very long time I was defensive of being called Wiccan or having anything I believed or practiced being called Wiccan or that other favorite epithet of Heathens, "Wiccatru".  I had been accused of "doing it wrong" for things far less severe than etin worship and willing things to happen -- bending, shaping, and changing situations -- I was told I was "doing it wrong" if I mentioned I used something other than alcohol as an offering to the Gods, I was told I was "doing it wrong" if I casually mentioned I dreamed about a Deity the other night.

You get the picture.

The idea of Witchcraft rubs many modern Heathens the wrong way despite the words wicca, wicce, and wiccecraeft being found in historical Anglo-Saxon texts.  Clearly it was happening.  Witchcraft was a reality in Scandinavia, Germany, and Anglo-Saxon England.  Magick was much more common than armchair historians would admit to, saying it was only ever practiced by a handful of people.  It may probably be true that ceremonial types of magick, such as rune risting and seidhr, were only done by a few, but looking at Old English texts alone, it is clear that folk charms were widely utilized by the population, enough to get the Church's attention and incur penalties, whether the folk charms were used for healing, inspiring love-lust, protecting self and the home, or having luck and prosperity.  That the Church went after supposed Witches, and knew of specific folk practices and had them made illegal, should be enough to note that it was happening, and it was not a small amount of people doing it.

I think the main reason why more Northern religionists do not call themselves Witches, even if they practice some sort of magick, is threefold.  The most obvious reason would be a phobia and hatred of anything Wiccan -- many come to Heathenry fleeing from Wicca because of one problem or another, and later sneer at Wiccans for being "immoral" and/or "fluffy".  To many people, the word Witch means Wicca, although that is more of an erroneous assumption than an actuality.  The next reason would be anything from misunderstanding to outright scorn of what Witchcraft actually is.  To my personal understanding, Witchcraft is "low magick", folk practice.  Witchcraft is common and anyone can do it, although some are more adept at specific areas than others.  Things like rune magick and seidhr/spae are definitely "higher up" as far as the amount of power/energy pushed out, and the changes affected through the Web of Wyrd.  In contrast Witchcraft is much less about "power-over" and is more about "power-with" -- not so much about changing, but enhancing.  Witchcraft is magick worked for practical purposes, to enhance the quality of daily life.  That doesn't mean "major" spells can't be cast, but it tends to be much more of an everyday thing, whereas rune magick and seidhr would be once in awhile and only in time of great need.

The third reason is there are a slew of words in the Old Norse vocabulary, so why call yourself Witch when you can sound more authentically Nordic and impress others with words like Vitki, Seidhkona or Seidhmadhr, Spaemadhr, Volva, etc.  There is theoretically nothing wrong with calling oneself any of these labels, but I have a pet peeve with using random Norse words whether in ritual or as a self-identifier when not all Northern Traditionalists work from a Scandinavian context.  As someone who is technically more Anglo-Saxon focused, I don't see anything wrong with using English.  "Witch" is an English word.  Come to think of it, the Anglo-Saxons had the word wicca first, which meant... "a male witch".  Furthermore, it should be apparent that even seidhr and spae are two different types of workings and both are still yet different from Witchcraft: if we define Witchcraft as folk magick for enhancing the quality of everyday life, we can see that seidhr (whether in oracular or magickal context, both of which directly work with spirits outside ones' self) and spae (prophecy) are wholly separate things.  A Volva also does Witchy things, although perhaps in a more ceremonial-shamanic context, and yet not all Witches are Volven -- the Volva is a specifically Scandinavian role, specifically for females, and I personally reserve the term as an honorific for someone I would consider an elder.  (The word Vala, which some would argue is an elder Volva, actually means "slain", in other words a dead Volva.)  There are other words that come close to Witchiness -- hagazusa, haegtessa... but none have been so deeply ingrained in our subconscious as Witch.  The word Witch is a powerful word.

When I left behind the word "Witch" as a self-identifier around the year 2002 after I had been given enough grief for calling myself both a Heathen and a Witch, I felt like a part of me died.  I never stopped *being* a Witch.  That is inherently who I am, inside.  After leaving the label, however, I had to leave behind a regular magickal practice that was actually beneficial to me -- my spells worked, providing for my needs as well as some of my desires, and keeping me mindful of the interconnectedness of all things on the Web of Wyrd, keeping me mindful of Freyja Vanadis in particular.  It was Freyja Herself who finally spoke to me in 2007 about it being high time for me to take that label back and to Hel what the others thought.

Freyja is best known as being the Mistress of Seidhr, and the one who instructed Odin in much of His magickal knowledge, even requiring Him to wear skirts to do so.  However I believe that is just one of Freyja's magicks, and that She is a Goddess of folk magick -- Witchcraft -- as well.  A UPG I have had is of Freyja learning Witchcraft directly from Holda.  Frey is Witchy in His own way.  If you look at Frey and Freyja as being "Lord and Lady" (although I do not feel Gardner based his "Lord and Lady of Wicca" model on Them, necessarily), it could be said that beyond Frey's role as sacral King and Freyja's role as seidh-queen to the Aesir, both are very Earthy and "common" Deities who inspire Witches of the past and of today.  Freyja's Witchcrafts would be spells and charms for causing love-lust and protection, whereas Frey's Witchcraft would focus more on blessing and warding the fields and home, and giving luck and health to the individual and family.  The hedgewitch lives and breathes magick.  Magick is in everything the hedgewitch does.  She cooks food and throws a bit of magick in, for the health and strength of her friends and family, and the ill of her foes.  She weaves charms into clothing and jewelry.  She cleans her home and puts spells into it (the broom, usually) to make the place both cozy and protected.  She knows herblore, and is very attuned to the plant spirits, the land spirits themselves, the weather cycles, the animals, and the Deities of nature.  She lays on hands to heal, as she knows the touch is comforting and there is power within touch.  These things are very Earthy, and likewise very Vanic.

Beyond Freyja's obvious ties to Witchcraft, there is no dispute about Her being an independent woman, one who knows Her own worth well, and She would have a problem with me denying who I am to try to please others, and suffering for it.  Reclaiming the title of "Witch" as a self-identifier seems like a small thing, but it was in fact a very large thing.  Taking back that title not only reminded me of my own ability to make magick, to bend and change situations and make my world a better place, but also it was firmly severing ties with a toxic religious community as well as beginning to make shild for some of the nasty things I'd said about Wiccans over the years to try to impress my Heathen friends.  Freyja was the first Deity I formed a real relationship with, and has been in my life the longest, even though Frey and Gerda are my patrons.  Freyja has been not just a friend, but something of a coach.  She will tell me when I've done well... and She will most certainly let me know if I've messed up.  This is not to be cruel, but because She does care and is fiercely protective of those She cares about.  She would rather I get bitched out by Her than someone who doesn't care so much and is angry enough to make things difficult.  I can appreciate that.

Whether or not it is historically accurate or approved, the role of Witch in the Northern Tradition is sacred.  It is sacred to bless and protect the home, it is sacred to win love and keep love, it is sacred to have enjoyable sex, it is sacred to heal and to ensure good health, it is sacred to have one's needs met as well as some of the things that are wanted.  It is sacred to live a good life, to enjoy the gift of life itself and the bounty of the Earth.  Certainly magick should not be used in the place of non-magickal action (as in the classic example of doing a spell to get a job, and then sitting on the couch rather than filling out applications and going to interviews), but as an enhancement it works quite well because of the intent behind it, working symbolic/sympathetic magick on the Web of Wyrd, as well as "programming" the brain to make goals more tangible, or feel more secure, or loved, or whatever you like.  The word Witch speaks deep to the Western subconscious of magick, and being a Witch is to own the archetype and own one's power within -- to be empowered, having "power with" the ways of this World.  If more of us owned our personal power rather than giving it away to others to be used, abused, and otherwise not-appreciated, we would be a lot happier and healthier... we would know wholeness.

I am happy with my path.  I feel I have become a lot healthier since putting impossible and unreasonable expectations aside, and honoring and serving the Gods according to what is natural and good for me.  If I'm "doing it wrong", I am doing it wrong, ever so right.


A Vanic Hedgewitch's Manifesto

Since most Asatruar hold to the Nine Noble Virtues and many Wiccans hold to the 13 Principles of Belief, I've decided to write a list to describe my beliefs and practices in a concrete manner, without making it rigid and dogmatic.  This is a list by myself and for myself alone, and I sure as Hel do not expect everyone to do as I do, though if you agree with me... great!  If you don't, you probably have your own thing going on.  But I don't want to see hate mail saying "you made it up and it's not real".  The Nine Noble Virtues are a modern invention, as are the 13 Principles of Belief.  This list is just as relevant to my practice as these lists are to the followers of their representative religions.  Modern it may be, it works for me.


1. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch worship the Vanir primarily though not necessarily exclusively.  These are the Deities of the Nordic pantheon specifically pertaining to fertility, quality of life, and death.

2. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch am not at enmity with Aesir nor Jotnar, but see Them as necessary to maintain the balance of the Worlds and the Tree.  The Aesir are societal Deities, and the Jotnar more primal, elemental Deities.  The Vanir had alliances with both the Aesir and Jotnar, and as such, so do I.

3. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch am not opposed to the idea of dual-trad or multi-trad practice but feel it is up to the individual to make decisions about what is best for them spiritually provided they are respecting the Gods in question and not just doing "whatever feels good".  Respecting the Gods would include keeping mindful that though strict reconstructionism may not be possible in the 21st century, They are accustomed to being treated in a certain manner which usually means working with and gifting rather than simply "using".

4. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch will usually conduct rituals within a classically Heathen format, including faining/husel (drink libation/feast) to give the Gods, or sumble (toast/oath/boast) at Yule, and may well be inclined to participate in a swine Blot with proper resources and know-how.

5. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch am open to doing less traditional things including using candles and incense to contact and offer the Deities, small devotional rites as "extras" in a ritual calendar, and also working magick and ritual whenever there is a need or desire for connection or change.

6. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch embrace Witchcraft as my religion, not necessarily one and the same as Wicca.  Witchcraft for the Vanic Hedgewitch is not a sometimes thing but is a lifestyle, with magick worked into every fibre of being.  The mundane becomes sacred, as food and clothing is charmed, homes are warded, touch heals, orgasms bring Oneness with the beloved and the Divine, and the living things and spirits of the land are honored to be reverent of the cycles of nature and ecological balance.  Witchcraft is the Craft of the Witch, making life as an art, and fits in very well with the Vanir who are tied to everyday living.

7. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch use my Craft for improving and enhancing the life of myself and my loved ones, assisting those who ask sincerely and respectfully for aid, and protecting people and land if necessary.

8. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch believe that rather than everyone being made to work with this or that magickal system, the Gods will respect what innate gifts we have.  Some are better at divination, others have a knack for scrying, some journey, some have a talent for healing, others for charming.  Some may have multiple talents or just one in which they excel.  Such things are to be regarded as blessings and ways to serve the Gods and Their people, rather than things to hide or be ashamed of.

9. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch believe that there is no point seeking conflict unless it is already present, and then should be resolved as swiftly, safely, and sanely as possible.  The smart know how to deal with problems if they happen, and the wise know not to look for trouble, and where it might be hidden.  Most things are minor and not worth the work of hexing, cursing, and the like... but some are, and if it has gotten to that point there is no evil or sin in doing so.

10. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch fail to see what the notions of racial superiority, homophobia/transphobia, and sexism (either way) have to do with my spiritual path and the worship of the Northern Gods in general.

11. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch believe there is no One True Way to do things, but there should be respect to other paths even if they are not right for oneself.

12. I as a Vanic Hedgewitch believe that although having a spiritual community of one's peers is nice in theory, it does not often translate well in practice, and religion should ultimately be between oneself and the Gods rather than a social club.  Some may fit better in a more mainstream Heathen setting, some may be on the fringe of the fringe.  Neither of these are "wrong" but it is only "wrong" when all are expected to fit the same mold, as we are all individuals and the Gods deal with us individually.  As a Hedgewitch I know that my ideas and practices will not be considered mainstream, and yet I am here for those who need me, to find me.  Otherwise I am content to go about the business of the Gods and my charmed life.


(C) 2008 Sigrun Freyskona.