Halettan min freond
'The foolish man thinks he will live for ever, if he keeps away from fighting; but old age won't grant him a truce even if the spears do.'
Sayings of the High One
This site is dedicated to those who want to learn more about the religion, and thereby heritage, of those people of Germanic origin. I use the term 'Germanic' for ease, as it covers a wide range of peoples. As we are of Anglo-Saxon descent we refer to our ancestors regularly, but bear in mind that like other 'Germanic' people, we share a joint heritage, therefore what is mentioned here is relevant to all such peoples (and vice versa). We prefer to concentrate on our similarities, not differences, our kinship and joint culture in which we should have pride.
The 'Germanic' peoples cover many tribes that went on to create, and give their names to, most of modern Europe, Germany, England, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, France, Denmark, Iceland, Nederlands, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, to name the more obvious. Their descendants also went on to influence and help shape the rest of the world, the Americas, Australasia, South Africa etc.
Most of the traditions and celebrations you practice, which you may of believed to have had their roots in other cultures, do in fact trace their origins to our ancient peoples. Christianity (like the other two main religions) has 'hijacked' virtually all its ceremonies and festivals from ancient cultures, particularly the Germanic, Celtic & Roman religions. These pages will hopefully open your eyes to the truth about why you celebrate what you celebrate, to the ways of your fore-fathers, to the Gods of your people, to your true spiritual roots and thereby lead you on the path back to your kindred.
What does Pendasfolc mean?
Literally, Penda's people. For those of you who have no idea who Penda was a brief explanation. Penda was a seventh century King of Mercia (an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom situated around the Midlands area of present-day England). He was one of the last great Pagan Kings, but not the last. He fought against the Christianised Kingdoms surrounding him and lived and died as a true Pagan leader should, falling at the Battle of Winwæd, sword in hand certain in the knowledge he would join his fore-fathers in Woden's great hall, to feast and carouse with other heroes awaiting Ragnarok.
As well as pagan heroes of the past it should be pointed out that there are many pagan heroes of today. They risk their lives for us in uniform on a daily basis, those in the military are our modern day 'Huscarls'. There are also those that wear a different uniform, the police and fire services, how often have they sacrificed their lives for others?
Links to other sites will hopefully educate, entertain, and who knows, awaken the 'pagan' within you. We can all honour our 'folc' and the Gods, earn our place among the honourable dead by our deeds and words.
Although the word 'Heathen' is probably a more accurate term to use I will, for ease, use 'pagan' as this seems a more easily recognised word. A word of warning though. There are out there those that claim to celebrate the 'pagan past' (the words Wicca/Wiccan, or Wyrd/Urd being paticularly abused), that upon further investigation are what could be termed as 'New-Age Hippies'. These, just like the established religions, attempt to 'hijack' other cultures for their own purposes. This is nothing new, this obsession with trying to live 'at one-ness with Mother Earth' has been around since Victorian times. Some walk around with outfits made of bed sheets calling themselves 'Druids', or run around naked with flowers painted on their bodies. They have a nasty habit of laying claim to and despoiling our ancient monuments. These are unfortunately the public face the media like to portray when the word 'pagan' is mentioned. However, if you ever meet one, please be polite, for they will at least have respect for your beliefs. The real threat, as it has always been through history, comes from the established religions. It is after all they who practice violence against their fellow human beings, just how many wars and deaths have the three main established religions been responsible for?
The Valknut, symbol of Woden
Take the opportunity to visit the sites on our links page and read some of the books recommended to learn more. For those of you interested in 'pagan' influenced music you could not do better than visiting Louciferspeaks.
Some recomended reading
bravenet.com