Presenter Biography:

Andy has been deeply involved in the North American pagan and heathen community for over twenty years. He is a member of the board of directors of Wic-Can Fest and Harvestfest – Canada’s longest running pagan festival – as well as serving on the board of the American Vinland Association. He is an Elder in the Ásatrú faith and a past High Redesman of the Ring of Troth. He is also a key organizer and board member of SiMuCoR (Simcoe Muskoka Coalition of Old Religions). Andy holds several advanced academic degrees including Bachelor and Master’s degrees in History.

Speaker Topic:

Modern Interpretations of Northern Religion, Faith, and Practice:

An exploration of the contemporary history and development of pre-Christian Germanic belief systems as expressed through modern Ásatrú, Odinism, Theodism, Seidhr, and Irminism. The discussion will focus upon evidence from the historic record and explore how that knowledge has been interpreted and utilized in the recreation of today’s dominant branches of the Northern Tradition. Emphasis will be places upon an exploration of the differences and similarities between those approaches, and then compared (in a general manner) to the practices of contemporary neo-paganism.

Sky Lore and the Northern Tradition:

When contemporary heathens and neo-pagans think about the night sky, astrology usually comes to mind first – but there is so much more. When the ancients looked up at the night sky, what they saw was the fundamental organizing principal of their early societies.

This discussion will focus upon the sky lore of Northern Europe. We will explore the basis of the ancient agricultural calendar and how the relative movements of the sun, moon, planets and stars were used to create extremely accurate time measuring systems. We will then explore how understanding that ancient knowledge can be used in our contemporary spiritual practices.