Aldsidu (Old Saxon Heathenry)

A look at the passages mentioning beards in the Sagas and Eddas, one will find mainly men with the word “beard” in their names, like Sven Folkbeard. There is no evidence in the Sagas that beards were seen as religious, that growing beards were a religious expression or rite. I do not think Heathens felt all men must have beards to please the Gods and Goddesses. There are law codes like the Lex Saxonum forced on Germanic Peoples (the Norse are Germanic Peoples) who venerated

Most people who adhere to the practice of Asatru follow the Norse tradition. Therefore, most people have heard that there are three (or more) Norns (or Nornir) in Norse Heathenry. However, the Saxons (most of whom remained in Saxony and spoke Old Saxon), had the words “Uurd” and “giscapou” in their language. “Giscapou” is pronounced “yee-shape-ooo” and means “Shapers.” Simply put, Norse Heathenry had Nornir, and Saxon Heathenry had “Shapers.” The Nornir are not major "charac

As in all things, there is so much mis-information on the world wide web and with AI, that real research takes place in historical sources. This is a research article, not based on fantasy or movies. This being said, I am giving a shout out to J.R.R. Tolkien. While Tolkien is most remembered for the Lord of the Rings novels and movies, Tolkien was a scholar of Old English, Old Norse languages, and of Runes, and many of his academic books are forgotten due to the enormous p

At the bottom of this article, I will give the 2026 dates for these historical Heathen holidays for modern practice for Old Ways...

While I became a Heathen over 20 years ago, I was raised christian. I was searching for truth spiritually, and before I became a...

Disting, a Thing to/for the Disir, is celebrated two full moons after the first day of Yule. Dr. Andreas Nordberg: “The pre-Christian...

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

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

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

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

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...

Did Santa come from Odin? Did pre-Christian Germanic Peoples use symbols of rabbits and eggs near the first full moon after the equinox?...

Orthodoxy: dictionary.com defines "Orthodoxy" as "beliefs, ideas, or activities considered traditional, normal, and acceptable..." or...

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,...

Aldsidu is against all forms of bigotry and hate. However, I have realized that too many “Asatruar” are not actually Heathens having new...

While this is not necessarily a topic of Saxon Heathenry, the Saxons did have trade and an economic infrastructure before forced...

Widukind was a Saxon Heathen noble, without a doubt the most famous Saxon Heathen in history. Widukind was known as one of two Saxon...

The word "rune" (or "runes") occurs 40 times in the Elder Edda, as opposed to 2 times in the Younger Edda. Most scholars, like Dr....

Let me start with post by thanking Snorri for his Edda and his Sagas. We would know less if it were not for Snorri's efforts. Snorri...

Historical Pre-christian Heathenry, has the same weakness that modern Heathenry has. Historical Heathenry's Weakness The tribes in...