Pollack saw miracles in the world, and she was someone who taught other people to see them. Most famously, she did this through the Tarot; she was a world-renowned expert on the cards, consulted and cited by authors like Alexander Chee and Neil Gaiman. Her book on the Rider-Waite, 78 Degrees of Wisdom, is the go-to text for anyone trying to learn the cards. Yet the number and diversity of Pollack’s accomplishments make it hard to sum her up: She was an activist. She was an award-winning science fiction novelist. She was a comic book writer, who created what is widely cited as the world’s first trans superheroine, Coagula, for DC Comics’ Doom Patrol.

“Rachel Pollack’s vision of spirituality may be her greatest accomplishment” by Jude Ellison S. Doyle

This article is a great tribute to an amazing writer and wonderful human.

Today in “Heathener Than Thou”, let’s look at the practice some heathens insist one must do if one is a “real” heathen: eat Ancestrally, aka, only eat what a Viking Era Scandinavian would have eaten.

Setting aside that “ancestrally”, while technically correct, grates on the ears, let’s look at “eat as your ancestors did”.

I’m not going to use my own family as an example. My ancestors are not particularly good role models in terms of healthful habits—moderation was something that happened to other people. If I insisted on dining as they did, I’d be carrying even more weight than I already do, and spend a small fortune on food.

There’s also that whole cooking thing—unlike my forebears, I do not have full time kitchen staff whose sole function is to create dishes to please my palate. Left to my own devices, I find turning on the oven to make some toasted cheese bread is about as much effort as I care to make most days. If I’m feeling really ambitious, I’ll do roast chicken and potatoes (cover bottom of baking dish with chunks of potatoes, slather with butter, garlic, rosemary, and oregano; add chicken pieces on top of potatoes, slather with butter, garlic, rosemary, and sage; bake one hour at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, basting every 20 minutes), and have real food to eat for a few days. But I really can’t be bothered to cook on a regular basis, so if my spouse doesn’t feel like cooking, then breakfast cereal also serves as an acceptable evening meal. If one of us is inclined, a can of soup is opened and heated, but PBJs are also an option. Or, if we are working late at the office, food delivery solves this problem (and I think my ancestors, with their myriad of servants, would approve of this).

Most people, however, aren’t quite so casual about their eating habits, and aren’t descended from people who couldn’t make scrambled eggs if their lives depended on it. If your ancestors are from an area which experienced famine (hello, 13th century Japan, 16th century Ethiopia, 17th century Russia, among others), or were too poor to eat well, or lived in an area where food was not particularly abundant (vegetables were not a big part of the Icelandic diet in the Viking Era), eating as your ancestors did is a key to malnutrition—not to mention a limited and repetitive diet.

You don’t have to use a great deal of imagination to figure out what those hungry ancestors would say to the notion that we must eat like them in order to share their spiritual heritage. Take any tenth century Icelander and turn them loose in a modern grocery store, even a moderately sized one—filled with piles of produce, fresh meats, fowl, and fish of all varieties, more bread than a village could eat in a week—and they would not to judge you for eating any of these things. They would be amazed at the abundance and variety of food, and encourage you to eat what makes you happy.

If you enjoy cooking and want to experiment with recipes from other times and places, do so, and enjoy! I took a Medieval Cookery course in college; it was great fun, and also the most delicious credit hour on my transcript. A few years ago, I ventured into making some Viking Bread based on a historical recipe (I’m not much for cooking, but I do enjoy baking). It was fun, and more than edible, and I’m glad I did it. Would I make it the only bread I eat? Not in a world where focaccia exists!

While family recipes and cultural mainstays can be quite good for us, both in terms of physical and emotional nutrition, limiting ourselves to just one type of food or one particular era is not going to do much for us. If you want to explore food as a means of connection to your ancestors, there are resources aplenty in books and on the internet to help you locate recipes and suggestions. But no, you do not have to eat only what your ancestors (physical, spiritual, or otherwise) ate in order to walk your spiritual path.

Pre-Thanksgiving sale? Black Friday? Plaid Saturday? Cyber Monday? That’s too much to think about when you could be thinking about pie!

TMC has started our holiday sale today to cover all of those days, and the rest of the year! It’s our year-end gift to you, regardless of which holidays you do (or don’t) celebrate! Use the code “gift” to take 15% off any merchandise purchase of $25 or more, now through January 15, 2024!

The fine print: the discount does not apply to Gift Certificates, Consultations, Workshops, items in the Rare and OOP category, or sale items (since they’re already on sale!).

This means you can pick up my book, Painting the Soul: The Tarot Art of David Palladini, for only $29.70! Or the video I did with James Wanless, 21st Century Tarot, for only $16.99!

Include your name (and any desired text—keep it polite, please) in the shopping cart note, and I can write a dedication to you in the book!

Click through to the store, and happy shopping!

Mark your calendar! The Seidhjallr Team of Hrafnar Kindred presents a ritual of Oracular Seidh on Sunday, November 26, 2023. The November event features a journey to Helheim, to ask the Ancestors questions for the people. Given the time of year, we expect the dead will be quite active and ready to speak!

Hrafnar is a Troth-associated Kindred.

Would you know more prior to attending? Check out “The Hrafnar Seidh Ritual” at https://seidh.org/articles/seidh/

Disclosure: I am a member of the Seidhjallr Team, and will be the Cyber Warder for the event.

It will be a hybrid event:
*in person at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU) at 1924 Cedar Street, Berkeley, CA.
*via Zoom for those unable to attend in person.

Doors and the Zoom meeting will open at 5:00 PM PST for set up, and the pre-ritual information talk will begin at 5:15.

DM me for the Zoom link.

There is no set fee, but for those who can, we will pass the hat to help defray the cost of the hall.

Bring your questions and our seeress will seek answers….

The amazing Seo Helrune will be teaching “The Völva and the Witch: Spinning, Seiðr, Knots, Luck, and Elves” on October 7, 2023 at 12:00 PM Eastern! Live online, and also it will be recorded so you can watch it later if you can’t make the live event.

Description: Ever read Ynglinga saga 7 and wonder about the seiðr that seems to have existed beyond the high seat? If so, this class is for you!

When modern Heathens and other interested magical practitioners think about seiðr, the image that most commonly comes to mind is that of the völva (seeress) on her high seat as depicted in Eiríks saga rauða/Eric the Red’s Saga. It is this image as interpreted via early 20th century scholarship arguing for seiðr as a form of shamanism and Harner’s “core shamanism” that has largely shaped modern recreations of seiðr.

However, when we look at the following section from chapter seven of the Yngling saga, it’s clear that there was much more to seiðr than the high seat:

“Odin knew and practised that craft which brought most power and which was called seid (witchcraft), and he therefore knew much of man’s fate and of the future, likewise how to bring people death, ill-luck or illness, or he took power and wit from them and gave it to others. But in promoting this sorcery, lack of manliness followed so much that men seemed not without shame in dealing in it; the priestesses were therefore taught this craft.”

(trans. taken from here)

Well, would ye know yet more?

In this class, I’m going to take a look at seiðr beyond the high seat. We’ll scrutinize the association with shamanism, consider the connection between spinning and seiðr, leap into the matter of luck, vent about the Vanadís, meet with some mound priestesses, get egregious with ergi, pour over possible survivals of seiðr in Early Modern witchcraft accounts, and ask the question so many have asked before: What is up with the elves?

Along the way, we’ll also talk staffs, gandr spirits, weird magical experiments, and so much more!

Caveat: Please note that this class will include discussion of adult themes. Please do not sign up if you are underage or prefer to avoid such topics.

Live attendance not necessary. All ticketholders receive links to attendee packs/recordings after the event.