Lebanon Valley College analyzing Colonial-era Deitsch/German documents

From the Hexenkunst Yahoo Group:

Students are assisting the Lebanon Valley Historical Society in translating and archiving documents from the colonial era written by the early German and Swiss settlers in Pennsylvania, many of which were written in dialects and scripts of German which are no longer used. WGAL has a report on the students's work, the video of which can be viewed here.

Scientists find runes on ancient comb

Thanks to Hex Magazine for this item:
"Archaeologists have found the oldest engravings of letters ever to be discovered in central Germany, officials from the area announced on Thursday.
The ancient letters, called runes, were scratched onto a 12.5 centimetre-long comb by Germanic settlers in the second century, scientists working on the site in Saxony-Anhalt believe." The complete article may be read at The Local.

Danes vs. Somali Pirates

All I could think when reading the headline was, "Don't mess with the experts, guys. Danes were a-viking long before you young men got the idea." Story courtesy EagleSpeak:
"The Danish navy captured 16 Somali pirates and freed 12 captives when it intercepted a "mothership" vessel off the Horn of Africa, it said on Thursday.

The Danish warship Absalon, serving in NATO's counter-piracy mission Ocean Shield, stopped the vessel off the east coast of Somalia on Wednesday, boarded it without resistance, arrested the suspected Somali pirates and found the hostages."

The full story may be accessed via Reuters.

IHF Heathen Cookout Pictures

 Here are images from the Heathen Cookout hosted at Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury, North Carolina by Irminsol Heathen Fellowship on 31 March, 2012. About 20 Heathens and like-minded folks from various locations in North and South Carolina were in attendance. A blót for Eostre and Sunna was held, with a small effigy of Old Man Winter burned on one of the grills. Good food and a good time was had by all. To learn more about IHF, visit their website.

Three Approaches to Ancestor Worship in Modern Heathenry

New essay by Mark Ludwig Stinson:
"I was writing back and forth with Kari Tauring today about ancestor worship and cultural identity, and this brought to mind three different approaches to honoring our ancestors that exist within modern Heathenry.  Most heathens actually use all three approaches, but most focus in on one (or perhaps two) of them as their primary approach to honoring their ancestors.  I think there is value to examing all three approaches and discussing the benefits of each one.  I'm going to progress in order from the least personal to the most personal in nature."
Mark's full essay can be read on Facebook.

Just for fun ...

Free Kindle Download: The Isle of Many Gods

The Isles of the Many Gods - An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Britain worshipped during the First millenium through to the Middle Ages, by Sorita d'Este and David Rankine. The Kindle edition of this work is currently a free download at Amazon UK. 

The Pagan Roots of Easter

"All the fun things about Easter are pagan. Bunnies are a leftover from the pagan festival of Eostre, a great northern goddess whose symbol was a rabbit or hare. Exchange of eggs is an ancient custom, celebrated by many cultures." Read the full article by Heather McDougall at the Guardian.

Easter and Its Pagan Origins

"The word Easter itself seems to be a cognate of Ēostre, the name of a Germanic dawn goddess. Ēostre is attested by a Northumbrian monk named Venerable Bede  in his book “Temporum Ratione” or “The Reckoning of Time.”" Read the full article at Death and Taxes.