Latest / Random Heathen Ramblings / Random Heathen Ramblings: S4, EP37 - Shadowmoot 2023 Highlights!!!

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Random Heathen Ramblings: S4, EP37 - Shadowmoot 2023 Highlights!!! · Random Heathen Ramblings

0:01
Hello everyone and welcome to the Random Heathen Ramblings
0:04
podcast where we discuss all sorts of things Germanic heathen
0:07
re related. My name is Jesse and I'm your
0:10
host. Let's get into it.
0:35
All right, everybody. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome.
0:41
Hail. Hello.
0:42
How are you? How was your week?
0:46
How's things going? Just in general in your life?
0:49
Hope everyone is doing well out here in the Internets, in real
0:53
life and everywhere abroad. I just want to say it's a very
0:59
special thank you to my patrons on Patreon for helping make this
1:02
content possible. If you're watching this, then of
1:06
course you are already a patron on Patreon because only those
1:11
who are willing to drop a very small coin, a dollar is all it
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takes to get access to the video podcast.
1:20
And if you're watching this podcast, you've already done
1:23
that. So a very, very special thanks
1:26
to all of you folks and if you're listening to this podcast
1:30
and you are still capturing it that way, I still want to say
1:33
thank you because you're helping, you know keep this,
1:38
keep this training moving. If you do want to check out the
1:42
video version as you used to catch it all the time on
1:45
YouTube, then head over to my Patreon link for that is going
1:48
to be annotated in the show notes of this podcast in that
1:54
link tree link that's over there.
1:55
So if you want to become a patron on Patreon to see the
1:58
video format continuously, then it's much appreciated.
2:04
There is going to be some stuff, especially on this episode and
2:07
likely on almost every episode that you'll definitely want to
2:09
have that visibility to the visual, you know, video format
2:14
of things. So we're going to be sharing
2:17
some stuff today from Shadowmoot and that's what today's podcast
2:19
is about. I know some folks who are
2:22
watching this or listening to this that were there this past
2:27
weekend in Springfield, TN to attend the annual Shadowmoot
2:31
event hosted by Raven Moon Hearth.
2:35
It's a basically a three day long celebration of of of the
2:43
winter nights, time of year. You know where we're getting
2:45
into that settling in of of long nights, you know, darker days,
2:52
shorter, shorter days and longer nights.
2:55
And for the Raven, Moon, Hearth, Kindred, they they have this
2:59
public event every year which is open to everybody.
3:02
It's family friendly. It's primitive camping style.
3:04
You guys have heard me talk about it for quite some time,
3:07
but yeah, that was, that was just this past weekend and my
3:10
wife and I were there. We got there, we got into into
3:14
town late Thursday night, you know, because we wanted to get
3:17
settled into a. We ended up opting for a room.
3:19
We opted not to go the primitive camping route this time for a
3:25
number of reasons. And it turned out to be good
3:27
reasons. But yeah, we got into town late
3:31
Thursday night and showed up early Friday morning right when
3:37
the gates open basically to set up our respective vending
3:41
canopies or vending tents. My wife has a bunch of wood
3:45
burning projects that she's been you know worked on over the
3:49
years that she was selling various like Norse and Pagan
3:54
themed items. And I was there doing rune
3:57
readings and rune casting. So I wanted to just kind of give
4:01
you guys those of you that maybe have been listen listening and
4:03
and watching and we're curious about what it was like you know
4:07
what the, what the 2023 Shadow Mood event was like.
4:10
Figured let's go ahead and and share with you guys some things
4:15
about it and just kind of open up the the floor for you guys to
4:19
know. Hey, if you ever wondering or
4:20
curious what you were missing and if you want to come out next
4:25
year, maybe maybe what I talked about today will help solidify
4:30
your attendance for next year. I always recommend that if you
4:33
can plan ahead and make all of the preparations necessary for
4:37
you to come out and enjoy Shadow Mood every year, then you really
4:41
should. You know there's people that
4:43
come from all over, not just Tennessee.
4:44
There's people that come from Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, and
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other places too. I'm not exactly sure how far the
4:54
the furthest, you know, distance people came from to attend this
5:01
year, but I do know that this year's attendance was the
5:05
highest amount that Raven Moon Hearth has has seen for
5:10
Shadowmoot since it's it's since it's been going on for the last
5:14
decade. I don't know exactly how many
5:18
people showed up, but I was in and near certain conversations
5:22
and I think I heard the number 7580 people, you know which for
5:32
their size group and and and for the property and everything that
5:35
it was on. I mean it was great.
5:37
There were, there were tents, there were canopies of vendors.
5:40
There were, there were bodies, There were people.
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Again, just filling the property that this was hosted on.
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It was really wholesome and it was really great, great to see.
5:51
Most of the people that were there did come out on Saturday,
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which is expected, you know, because that's when most of
5:56
everything is happening. Fridays for the event are
6:00
usually like a you know, arrive, get your camp set up, vendors
6:04
can come and set up their respective areas.
6:06
That way they have it set for the weekend or for however long
6:10
they're staying. So the majority of the folks
6:14
that were there in attendance arrived on Saturday.
6:18
But my wife and I got there Friday morning.
6:20
We got set up. I get I did a rune reading
6:23
Friday. My my wife sold a bunch of
6:27
pieces of jewelry that she makes because she does the wood
6:29
burning stuff, but she also makes, you know, nice jewelry
6:32
and other little accessories. It's a real big hit with the
6:35
kids. She's got like this treasure
6:38
chest full of of stickers and things that the kids love.
6:42
So you know, we did, we did, we did, we did fairly well for the
6:45
weekend. But the most important thing I
6:47
think I wanted to talk about was just the, the sense of
6:49
community, you know that we were all able to share in.
6:53
And before I get into talking about it, I will show you guys a
6:59
short video that I put together of some highlights of the event.
7:04
So these are going to be like still images but kind of done in
7:10
a in a in a slideshow or presentation sort of format with
7:13
a little bit of music in the background just to kind of help,
7:17
you know give you something nice to to to listen to while you're
7:19
watching. And here we go again for those
7:21
of you that are listening on the audio platforms, all you're
7:24
going to be hearing is some wardroona playing in the
7:26
background. So if you want to see what I am
7:31
seeing and what everybody here on Patreon is seeing, then
7:34
please head on over to to the Patreon, you know the Midgard
7:37
Musics Patreon page link for that's going to be annotated in
7:40
the show notes. And then you can have access to
7:44
all the videos that have already uploaded on this on this
7:47
platform. Right now it's just this, this
7:49
past week's episode. So I think that would be like
7:52
episode what like 36, The one on Dogma.
7:56
Yeah, just go down through there and and and check it out.
7:59
But here we go, We're going to go ahead and check this out.
8:03
And then again these are, these are some pictures that some of
8:06
which I took. I didn't capture a lot of
8:08
content myself of much of anything going on.
8:12
So like you know there wasn't any video of the games that are
8:15
usually taking place on Saturday to do a bunch of like you know
8:19
fun like Viking games like tug of war and hammer toss and spend
8:24
may I hit you and all kinds of fun things.
8:27
So but you're going to see some pictures of those things that
8:29
are that that happened. So here we go.
8:32
Without further ado, here is a short little video collage that
8:37
I put together to share with you all of some of the people that
8:40
came to Shadowmoot. Most of the pictures that are in
8:43
this are courtesy of I believe it's John.
8:48
I believe it's decent. But yes there were some pictures
8:55
there that I took but most of them were from were from John.
8:58
So thank you John for your contributions and sharing those
9:02
those with us. So here we guys.
9:04
Here we go guys and gals. Enjoy.
9:11
Can't. The.
10:28
The. The
11:31
So there you have it. I also want to mention the some
11:35
of the pictures in there that you guys saw, like with myself
11:38
and Greg, their Chieftain, where we were, we were kind of sitting
11:42
together facing each other. There were some shots of us in
11:45
an embrace with with Don, their Thule, who was also Don and his
11:52
wife Lakeisha. Their property is where the
11:55
event is held. So big shout out to Don and
11:58
Lakeisha for hosting the event Raven Moon Hearth as a whole,
12:02
but those pictures that you saw was an oathing ritual.
12:06
An oathing ceremony I guess you could say between Greg and I
12:10
I've known Greg for for many, many years.
12:14
We've been friends now for for quite some time and I first met
12:20
him I believe it was at a Nashville Pagan Pride Day PPD
12:25
right around the time I started Mid Guard Musings.
12:28
You know when I first started the channel, I started sharing
12:31
content about N seasonry and and stuff and I met him and Don at
12:38
the event and that's. I think that's that's safe to
12:42
say it was like 20-17 maybe. I guess it was right around the
12:46
same time I started the channel. I've known him for that long and
12:51
we've shared in ritual together. Of course we've broke bread
12:55
together. We've hosted events together.
12:57
We've entered into other oaths between each other, him and I,
13:02
in the past. And this one at Shadowmoop was
13:07
our oath of kinship to one another, which was pretty
13:12
amazing And it was, it was really exciting to solidify our
13:17
relationship at the kinship level.
13:20
You know, for many folks that listen and and and have watched
13:23
my content over the years, you've heard me talk about the
13:26
importance of bestowing kinship titles on people in the, you
13:33
know, I don't play around with stuff like that.
13:34
Neither does Greg, you know? And for the many years that him
13:38
and I have known each other, we've never bestowed kinship
13:42
titles upon one another. It's it's never been like, hey
13:44
brother this, hey brother that just because we've, you know,
13:47
shared in ritual and stuff over the years, we've proven worth to
13:51
one another over this duration. And even though his tribe he is
13:55
oath to his and my tribe I am oath to mine, we are now oath to
14:01
one another in a kinship bond. And it's really amazing to think
14:06
about the the things that come along with things like that.
14:10
You know, we we are obligated to one another in a way that we
14:16
haven't been before. It's exciting to think about
14:20
that for at least, you know, at least for me and I know for him
14:22
too, just the way we've talked over the, you know, recent time
14:25
about planning this owhing ceremony, you know, and getting
14:32
our fools involved, you know. So Don is their fool.
14:35
Patrick is my fool in that picture where the four of us are
14:38
kind of embracing and holding their holding that that that big
14:42
oath ring. You know, we all took oaths on
14:45
that ring to solidify Greg's and my kinship.
14:49
You know, our our fools were the officiants of the ceremony.
14:52
Basically they kind of oversaw it but as the, you know, the
14:56
gods and our ancestors being witnesses to that was that was a
15:01
big thing for us to to solidify. So I'm excited for that and it's
15:05
not just a big thing for him and I, you know, it's I think of it
15:10
as a way of uniting the clans, uniting the tribes of our area
15:16
or at least moving towards that, you know that effort or in that
15:21
direction. Every tribe is sovereign.
15:23
Everybody does their own thing the way they do it, but having
15:26
allies and unifying one another, you know, in, in a sort of way
15:32
to know that we can rely on one another is a huge thing,
15:35
especially in the heathen community, you know?
15:39
So very excited to announce that officially now, you know, I
15:42
haven't alluded to that. I haven't mentioned it.
15:45
I've kept it tucked away and kind of secret for a reason.
15:51
But now it's officially out there and we can say that I can,
15:54
you know, we are brothers. We are officially brothers now,
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in the truest of senses. So aside from that, you know
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that was a big kind of auspicious thing to have happen
16:08
at Shadowmoot. We did that on Saturday, right?
16:14
Before I say right before it was still daylight but it was it was
16:17
prior to us going down to the ritual space for Raven Moon
16:23
Hearth's auspicious and and infamous hell bloat.
16:27
You know, So for those of you that are watching or listening
16:30
that were there, you know what I'm talking about.
16:34
You know how, how powerful and and what an amazing ritual it
16:38
is. It's honestly the the events
16:41
that Raven Moon Hearth puts on every year that are open to the
16:45
public that is one of my favorite ones.
16:49
It it probably is it I would have to say it's my favorite
16:53
time of the year. It's my favorite ritual that
16:55
they do, you know. And so like I said, for anybody
16:59
that you know isn't sure if they want to come or or was maybe
17:05
thinking about it and like, well, I don't know.
17:07
Hopefully some of the images that you've seen from those
17:10
pictures that were taken, if you didn't, if you didn't already
17:12
see them shared on on on other social media platforms, you
17:16
know, hopefully something like this helps kind of again
17:19
solidify it for you in the future.
17:21
Nothing about the ritual is ever recorded, so none of the
17:24
pictures that you saw had anything to do with the the
17:27
ritual itself. Prior to the ritual and after
17:32
the ritual is what some of those pictures are.
17:34
So like the the Othello rune that was lit on fire, that was
17:39
lit at the community bonfire area away from the ritual space,
17:46
the ceremonial attire, the ritual guard that I'm wearing
17:50
and and and embracing the spirit of the Heron with the mask and
17:54
the the shawl and then the robes and everything like that.
17:56
Like, that was leading before a ritual, and then by the othella
18:03
rune there in the community bonfire area, it was right after
18:08
ritual and we were coming back. And they're really great about
18:13
keeping that ritual sacred space defined and separate from
18:18
profane space. They don't, they don't really
18:21
even want electronic devices going down there into the ritual
18:23
space. Or if you have electronic
18:26
devices, they want them off. And so there's no interference,
18:31
there's no interruptions, there's no nothing going on down
18:34
there except us, the people and those who are presiding over the
18:41
ritual. You know, Jared and Michelle
18:44
there, Gothi and Voiva respectively, and Max, they're,
18:49
they're scald And the Valkyries and any other participants of
18:53
the of the ceremony. It's a beautiful ceremony.
18:57
It's a beautiful ritual. And I can only do my best to
19:01
describe it in this way without sharing too much and without
19:04
over sharing. So that's about as much as I'm
19:06
ever going to say about it. You want to know more, you're
19:09
going to have to come. So come out next year.
19:12
Yeah, for for next year's Shadow move.
19:14
So aside from some of those highlights, you know, you saw
19:17
some pictures in that kind of presentation slide there of
19:21
various games. There was a tug of war.
19:22
There was the hammer pause. You saw some folks, you know,
19:27
blindfolded. That's a game that, best I can
19:31
call it, it's called Sven May I hit you.
19:33
And the the object of the game is you got, you know two people
19:38
opponents, blindfolded down on the ground.
19:42
On this you know about a foot and a half 2 foot tall block
19:49
usually like a cooler or something and like a pillow or a
19:52
sack of, you know, filled with soft things.
19:54
You know it's not like a a bag of bricks or anything that's
19:57
going to hurt you or the object of the game is to try and hit
20:01
one another by just listening to where you are and you can't
20:04
leave the area of that block. Like you have to keep your one
20:08
hand on the block. You have to listen.
20:10
You can say things like if I was, you know, pitted against or
20:14
you know, matched against Greg, let's say, for example, you
20:17
know, I'd say Greg may hit you and he would respond or Greg,
20:23
you would say yes. And I would listen for his
20:25
voice. And of course being blindfolded,
20:27
I would have to try and calculate where my swing would
20:29
go to hit him. And then same thing he would do.
20:33
And you know I guess it's you know best of three, best of five
20:36
whatever. And that's another fun game and
20:39
they have this other one. I forget like what the the
20:42
proper name for it is if there is one.
20:44
But like you saw some pictures of folks they're kind of like in
20:48
this wrestling you know group or whatever is a bunch of people
20:54
all like huddled together seemingly like in a tussle.
20:59
And basically it's you've got everybody gets that one hand and
21:03
one hand only on a piece of of of skin of animal skin deal like
21:09
buckskin, deer hide, something like that.
21:12
And the object of that game is to overpower one another to
21:18
where there's only one person left holding that piece of skin
21:22
or that cloth or whatever it is. And so of course as it as it is,
21:26
you know as you're pushing, tugging, yanking on the skin,
21:31
you know people fall, people stumble, you're you're kind of
21:35
tussling and wrestling around. It's a real fun time.
21:37
I didn't participate this year but I have in the past it's a
21:40
great it's a great fun time and see what else they do.
21:46
They do course to do like tug of war and there's usually other
21:51
you know game type things going on and they usually have like
21:53
archery and the hammer toss. You know who can throw the
21:56
hammer the farthest, the hammer that they have.
21:59
You might have seen Max, the bald guy Beard kind of heavier
22:02
set guy, holding this this. Big hammer.
22:05
I think, if I remember correctly, that hammer weighs
22:08
every bit of of 15 pounds or more, if I'm remembering
22:12
correctly. It's like a a metal pipe with a
22:15
concrete or cemented, you know, block at the end of it in the
22:21
shape of a hammer. And then the object is to see
22:24
who can throw it the furthest underhand, who can throw it the
22:27
furthest overhand. It's really just for bragging
22:32
rights, right? There's really no there's no
22:33
prize to win. For the games per SE, they do
22:38
raffles at the end of at the end of one of the evenings they do.
22:44
You know, everybody can buy a raffle ticket and the the
22:48
vendors and folks that come that that are vendors offer or
22:53
contribute things of their wares to the raffle, you know.
22:56
So however many raffle tickets you buy, you know increases your
23:00
chances of winning, you know various various crafted items.
23:07
Maybe some meat if there's somebody wants to offer a bottle
23:10
of meat, you know as as the prize or whatever.
23:12
If there's there's also meat making.
23:13
Speaking of meat as as a prize, there are meat tasting.
23:20
I shouldn't say not meat making, but meat tasting contest and
23:24
various meat makers that that attend, you know bring their
23:27
best meat to the competition and whoever wins the competition I
23:33
guess as you know. I forget if there's a prize for
23:36
the winner, but Daphne, she, she makes Mead and she's won.
23:41
This is her second year in a row that she's won first place for
23:45
best Mead overall. So all kinds of fun stuff, you
23:50
know? And again, most of all of that
23:51
is happening. The games are happening on on on
23:55
Saturday. But I think the the, Oh yeah,
23:57
the Mead competition I think is on Friday.
24:01
I think that was on Friday. But anyway, which way it happens
24:04
during the weekend. Oh, and then this other thing
24:09
that I'm about to show you, You want to talk about a really
24:12
awesome good time. If you're not participating,
24:14
just watching it happen. And you guys about to watch this
24:18
happen. The the Irish Car Bomb drinking
24:22
contest. OK, now this is a again.
24:25
This is a repeating theme. This is something that happens
24:28
every year at Shadowmoot, and it's done in honor.
24:31
Of one of Raven Moon Horse founding members.
24:34
His name was Cam Eubanks and Cam passed away years ago.
24:42
His wife Beverly just passed away this past year.
24:46
So they've been reunited in the halls of their ancestors
24:49
together with one another. So this this this year's
24:52
Shadowmoot was a real special one with regards to that.
24:56
But the The Irish Car Bomb contest is something that Cam.
25:00
Again, he was one of the original founders of Raven
25:02
Moonharth. He was also the the harsh fool
25:06
prior to his passing and Don has taken the mantle of fool in his
25:10
stead since then. But Cam is the one who started
25:14
this Irish Car Bomb drinking contest.
25:16
He was, from what I understand I never met the man, but he was a
25:20
veteran. He was the the most big hearted
25:23
person. Just a mountain of a man, they
25:25
say, and he originated this. This Irish Car Bomb drinking
25:31
contest So there is a prize for whoever can drink their Irish
25:36
Car Bomb The quickest, right The the the fastest time earns a
25:40
prize. And So what you're about to see
25:43
here is this year the 2023 Irish Car Bomb contest.
25:50
So it's 2 bottles of Guinness, two shots of Jameson, two shots
25:54
of Bailey's. And again, the the object of the
25:58
game, the the object of it, is to drink it as fast as you can.
26:05
And the person who drinks all of their drink in the fastest time
26:10
wins. So let's go ahead and take a
26:13
look at that now, because this is something that if you guys
26:17
love to just watch people have a rip roaring good time.
26:21
This is one of those rip roaring good times.
26:26
So let's see here. Where is it?
26:29
Yeah. All right, here we go.
26:33
Steak man. Drinks.
26:36
Hold on. All right, so I can say this is
26:42
an honor of, I guess after this, let's watch this original
26:44
founder, veteran and a brother. Every year we do this, this was
26:50
invented by him. And of course, the winner will
26:53
get that. Or picture.
26:57
Move it. It actually changes picture.
27:00
So I I got it going on right here.
27:04
I'll be counting down from three.
27:05
Well, hail Cam, baby. Hail Cam.
27:07
Hail Cam. Pick it up.
27:18
Get close to your mouth. Relax the jaw.
27:21
Open the throat. Swallow.
27:24
Don't spit. Listen to the expert.
27:37
Who's the new guy? Come on, man.
27:43
Everybody ready? What do we do with the drunken?
27:49
Sailor, who's going to keep this a question?
27:52
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go.
28:00
Oh, look at the old boy. Yeah.
28:10
All right, that's honorable. He showed up.
28:48
I don't know. 11 seconds? That ain't the record.
28:55
But that's a fucking badass effort, dude.
28:58
You did it. Yay, 11 seconds.
29:03
That's that's that's that's badass.
29:06
All right, Don. Show him how it's done.
29:07
Baby does. He's enjoy enjoying it.
29:32
How you doing over there, Dan? How you doing over there, Dan?
29:53
Yes. Yes, it fucking does.
29:59
Get them out here. Look at your cheeky Irish ass.
30:09
Just enjoying that. Hey Dan, is that a cheeky pint
30:15
or is it not? Is that a cheeky pint?
30:21
That's a chunky pint. What he's saying is he likes
30:23
some chunky. Oh.
30:30
Oh, oh damn. Encore.
30:33
Encore. Encore.
30:39
All right, Don. Let's get it.
30:42
Guess Go Sunchez. Go 34567891011120.
30:53
You still fucking lost? So I think the lesson we learned
31:03
here is Don here is the second best Deep Throat.
31:08
I don't know. I think he's too high.
31:11
He's time to be. You missed out, they hollered in
31:35
man. Alright, give me a picture.
31:41
I'll wash it out. You might, You might.
31:45
You might have a chance of redemption.
31:48
But you got to beat 8 seconds. You don't got to.
31:53
I mean 11 seconds. Yeah, you got 12 and you kept it
31:59
down this time. Why is this happening?
32:22
He's enjoying it. How you doing there, John?
32:45
John Dorsey, How you doing there, John?
32:48
No, no, no. Is that shine?
32:58
Yes. Shine is Yeah, I know, but
33:01
tastes way better. What is that?
33:14
Oh, look at that. Shake it again.
33:18
Shake it again for the camera. Oh, yeah, that's proper right
33:24
there. That's proper Creek water right
33:26
there. You got clear and you got apple
33:31
Ohk. OK, that'll that'll tickle your
33:36
whiskers. What does the Irishman think?
33:47
Look at that face. What is that, Dan?
33:49
Give us an Irish, give us a proper Irish rating.
33:58
What does he say that sounds like?
34:07
He said. Yeah, they got a little red
34:12
right there. Rudolph the red, the regret
34:15
reindeer, he said. Let me see, he said.
34:22
Let me see that. Clear.
34:23
All right, Brandon, show us how it's done.
34:27
Clear. Clear.
34:29
Learn the whole. Hey man, got it.
34:45
Got to get it done. Red cup in the picture and kill
34:52
it. What do you think, Brandon?
35:00
Take a whip. Come on baby, come on
35:11
89101112131719 chunky anus. One regret later.
35:36
There you go, Smurf. There you go.
35:44
There you go. There you go.
35:51
There you go. All right.
35:53
Hey, that's commitment right there.
36:00
He's over there. Still.
36:01
He's over there. Look at it.
36:02
He's got half of a pitcher left. This is a problem.
36:19
This, this right here is a problem.
36:20
This is delicious. It looks like it doesn't cost
36:23
like anything. No, it doesn't taste like
36:27
anything. Rubbing alcohol.
36:30
It smells like rubbing alcohol, but it didn't, it didn't burn.
36:32
Well then let me tell you something guys.
36:40
First of all, this is an adult only a thing.
36:45
So all of the kiddos, right? Shadow Mood is a family friendly
36:48
event. And yeah, we we make sure the
36:53
kids are in their tents, you know, in adult time.
36:58
So that whole thing, right, It's such good fun.
37:03
You know this is this happens Friday night.
37:06
So as you can see it's dark the the ritual takes place Saturday.
37:10
So nobody's doing any of this prior to ritual.
37:15
Nobody's getting messed up, nobody's drinking eggs.
37:18
Nobody's doing anything irresponsibly prior to the to
37:23
the ritual taking place. You know, in this context, it's
37:25
all done Friday night, first day.
37:27
Shadowmoon, it's done that way because hey, you know, we're all
37:30
gathered together. We're all, you know, set up for
37:33
the day. We're getting ready to, you
37:37
know, welcome more people on the Friday night is when they do
37:41
this every year. So for the future, when you're
37:44
thinking of coming, if you want to be a part of this, I think
37:47
it's like, you know, at least this year it was about a, it was
37:49
a $10 buy in to partake in the contest, which you know again
37:55
for 2 bottles of Guinness. Two shots of Jameson and two
37:58
shots of Bailey's. That's you can't get that at the
38:02
bar, you know what I'm saying? Not by far.
38:06
Not by far at the bar. And as you can see also there
38:09
they were passing around jars of Creek water, as I called it,
38:15
proper Creek water, moonshine, don't know where it was from.
38:19
But that's the kind of thing that if you've lived in
38:21
Tennessee or anywhere in the South, you know, people that
38:23
bring them big, you know? Mason jars of shine.
38:26
You don't ask about where it's from.
38:28
You know, unless it's freely told you where it's from.
38:30
But even then it's not even told you you know told to you exactly
38:32
where it's from. It's just you know somebody got
38:34
me this or I know a guy who knows the guy kind of thing.
38:38
But that clear that clear moonshine man when I said it
38:42
didn't taste like anything that you know, it was so smooth.
38:47
When I said like this is a problem, it's because it has
38:51
that like rubbing alcohol aroma but it doesn't like.
38:53
Send your nostrils. It was so smooth, right?
38:56
Whoever made that, wherever it came from, it was done, right?
39:00
The apple pie, moonshine. Like Dan said that.
39:03
The guy who is literally full blooded Irish, I mean, he's
39:07
lived here in the country, in the United States for most of
39:10
his life, but as you can tell from him talking, you know, like
39:14
straight up Irishman, he said about the apple pie.
39:17
Moonshine. This is a night of bad
39:19
decisions, is what he said. Because you could do, you could
39:23
do a whole, you know couple of shots of those things and and
39:28
not even know that you're drinking alcohol and then it's
39:30
going to creep up on you. And it does.
39:32
It does. Let me tell you, Friday night
39:36
was a was a rough night for a lot of people.
39:38
I'll just say that myself included.
39:42
But hey that's, you know nobody got hurt.
39:45
You know, nobody did anything to, you know, put into, in
39:49
detriment anyone's safety. So that's part of the fun of it,
39:53
you know. Now what other types of things
39:57
are we talking about, right. This isn't just a big party.
39:58
This isn't just, you know, let's come here into, you know, the
40:01
boondocks of of of Middle Tennessee or or you know, close
40:06
to the Kentucky State line. Right.
40:08
Let's not just, you know, this isn't the thing that let's let's
40:10
gather together and get all messed up and and out of our
40:13
minds stupid drunk or or whatever.
40:15
There's purpose for this, and part of that is ritual, part of
40:20
it's ceremony. This particular year was was
40:23
really special. There was a family who attended
40:26
and that actually came out late Thursday night to get their camp
40:31
set up and help Raven Moon hearth with some of the final
40:36
preparations the final set up. But this family had a member of
40:41
their family taking part in a coming of age ceremony.
40:49
So this this young this young person was was transition
40:54
transitioning from childhood to adulthood and they wanted to
40:58
have a ceremony dedicated to them for the event and and and
41:05
to make it a thing you know which I find very important.
41:09
You know, there's not, there's really nothing like that at
41:12
least not here in the States on a, on a, on a scale that we know
41:15
of to to to to say that, you know, children that are no
41:20
longer children, right. They they are entering into
41:23
their adulthood years or their young adult years.
41:26
Their their youth, their they are no longer children.
41:28
They are learning the responsibilities of what it is
41:31
to be an adult. And you know, men, you know,
41:37
boys going into manhood, girls going into womanhood, you know,
41:40
this coming of age ceremony is not very much a thing that we
41:45
hear of or see. It was a thing for a lot of
41:50
ancient cultures, you know, and because this was something
41:54
closed off to the family, I don't know a lot of the
41:57
specifics or the details of it. I know as much as what the
42:01
parent divulged. And I'm not going to in respect
42:06
of the ceremony and and in respect of their the privacy
42:10
that they wanted. I'm not going to talk about what
42:14
they told me, OK, But what I will say is that prior to the
42:18
ceremony happening I was asked to perform a a land hallowing, a
42:23
land blessing song which I performed in Old English.
42:28
I sung it in Old English and it was a invocation to Thor and it
42:32
was a banishment of baleful whites and a welcoming inn of of
42:36
of that which is good. And I blessed the land around
42:40
where this, this, this person transitioning from childhood
42:45
into a adulthood where they were holding their their ceremony all
42:50
night. So it was a really honorable
42:53
thing. I I was, I was I was deeply
42:55
honored to to be asked to to do this and to be allowed to do
42:59
this. And I've never done anything
43:03
like that before. So as much of an honor as it was
43:06
for this family to have the. Space to do it.
43:10
You know, I know that they're going to be watching or
43:12
listening to this. So I'll just say, you know, Adam
43:15
and your family thank you for giving me the opportunity to
43:20
perform this, this, this land blessing and to and to set that
43:23
sacred space for you and yours. It was a high honor.
43:29
So things like that are, are, are also things that are
43:33
happening. Some of the classes that took
43:34
place, although I wasn't able to attend the classes where where
43:39
it sounded very interesting, I was busy with with rune readings
43:43
and and manning our respective canopies.
43:46
You know for being vendors right.
43:47
We have to kind of be there for when people come and want to
43:50
either get a rune reading or shop right?
43:52
So I didn't get a chance to go and like do things like attend
43:56
any classes, but there was a a class what's it called food
44:02
preparation class. There was a a class on how to
44:06
create like a a bug out bag on a budget right So survival food
44:13
prep type stuff really good important lessons life lessons
44:18
you know practical things you know not just about well what is
44:21
winter nights and what are the gods and the goddesses and all
44:25
of this which is very important stuff.
44:27
I know Friday night there was a class that Jared and and
44:31
Michelle kind of led the hearths go the and Volva as I mentioned
44:36
earlier they did a class on winter nights and what that's
44:39
all about and right getting getting the community and
44:43
getting people there in the frame of mind to become prepared
44:47
for the upcoming rituals and and and things that are happening.
44:53
So one of the other really awesome things that happened for
44:57
me while I was there was talking well first of all was presenting
45:03
the gift I had. I had done some wood burning on
45:09
the handle of an axe for Greg to present as a gift to to someone
45:15
who had presented him a gift or or the hearth.
45:18
A gift. I can't recall exactly what it
45:21
was specifically or who it was for, if it was for the hearth as
45:24
a whole or if it was to Greg you know directly.
45:27
But Greg had commissioned me to burn this, a stanza of the
45:33
havemal into this axe handle, an axe that he had, that he had
45:37
bought and I wanted to present. So I burned in English of
45:41
course, but and kind of like a runic font onto the handle of
45:46
this axe stanza 41 of the of the Hava Mall.
45:53
And so I got a chance to meet the man who received this axe as
45:59
as the gift. He goes by different names in
46:03
the community. I believe he is known as Lord
46:09
Soleron and or Wolf. He's 70 years old, former Force
46:18
Recon, marine and of Icelandic descent.
46:25
He has learned, he has studied the runes I should say since the
46:30
late 70s and he was familiar with some of my content and he
46:39
we talked briefly when when I, you know of course presented the
46:44
axe. First of all I gave the axe to
46:46
Greg and then Greg gave the axe to him and then I was asked to
46:49
come in and meet meet him. But then after I initially met
46:53
him and you know he said this is really great, thank you know
46:55
thank you for your work. It's beautiful and and all that
46:58
which you know I'm humbled just by that alone.
47:01
But later on he came by my canopy where I was reading runes
47:03
and he said, so if you have time, I'd like to talk with you
47:08
kind of one-on-one. Here's my camp.
47:11
It's over there, right? You want to come and and talk
47:13
with me for a bit, he said. Because I've watched some of
47:16
your videos and I've seen some of your content, he says.
47:18
I'm just going to be honest with you.
47:19
I don't agree with some of your with some of your stuff.
47:24
And don't I never take offense to stuff like that.
47:27
You know when people tell me whether it's in person or online
47:32
that they don't agree with certain things.
47:34
I'm. I'm fine with that.
47:38
Tell me why right. And and maybe I can learn
47:41
something. You know maybe I am off on on
47:43
some things or or maybe I've missed certain things or or at
47:48
least we can have a discussion about it right.
47:50
And but he said you know I'd like to to to talk with you and
47:53
and and maybe you can teach me some things.
47:55
When he said that, of course, I hadn't really even known the
47:58
degree of who this man is and in his status in the community and
48:03
just his, his reputation. Right.
48:07
So I was like, yeah, sure, I'll come by.
48:10
And so when I went out there and and sat and talked with him, you
48:14
know, he, he starts telling me his history and his background
48:19
and that he, his, his studies of the runes where when it started,
48:23
right. He was taught rune magic and he
48:26
was taught how, you know, to to read runes and a method of rune
48:31
reading. He was taught by his great
48:33
grandfather, who's from Iceland. Now, keep in mind, right, this
48:40
guy, Wolf, he's, he's 70. He turned 70 this year.
48:44
His great grandfather was alive in the 1700s, the late 1700s.
48:53
All right. I think Wolf said that he passed
48:55
away when he was 10. So 1963, when Wolf was 10, was
49:02
when his great grandfather died. The man was over 100 years old,
49:11
well over 100 years old, his great grandfather and he learned
49:15
the runes and and how to read runes from his great
49:18
grandfather. He confirmed with me right like
49:22
these are things that are taught orally.
49:24
And the things that I was told by Wolf on how his great
49:28
grandfather taught him Runic divination was nothing that I've
49:34
ever read in a book, saw in a video, saw anybody else do learn
49:40
from anybody else. Nothing.
49:41
If I had never talked to this man, I would never have known
49:44
this information, right. He passed on the tradition of
49:50
telling things orally, the oral tradition of passing information
49:53
down, right. How things were taught weren't
49:56
by writing in things down in a book.
49:57
They were passed down orally. And he continues in that
50:01
tradition when he told me some things, right.
50:04
And so we start talking, right. And I start telling him about
50:07
the way that I read Runes and how I do my castings and the
50:10
reason why. And he what's wild is I don't
50:13
know if you maybe noticed or or saw in any pictures.
50:18
I can't remember if any of those pictures.
50:20
But the guy is, is he's got one eye.
50:21
He's got a patch over his eye and on that on that patch is a
50:27
is the helm of Awe an agasyomer right.
50:31
An Icelandic charm staff. But anyway he's so I'm telling
50:37
him about how I read runes, what my methods are, why I do with
50:41
the way I do it and he's just kind of staring at me with that
50:44
one eye. Just why, You know just
50:46
listening and and kind of expressionless just listening to
50:51
what I had to say and you want to talk about a bit of you know
50:55
intimidation. You know, I've, I've, I've
50:57
learned this stuff about him and then I'm telling him about what
51:02
I do. And I, you know, when he asked
51:04
me, he's like, how long have you been?
51:05
How long have you been doing? How long have you been on this
51:07
Teutonic path? How long have you been doing
51:09
runes and all this? And I'm like, well, I've been on
51:11
this path for almost 10 years, but I've been only, you know,
51:14
I've been reading runes, studying runes, you know, for
51:16
about seven of those ten years or so.
51:19
And so when he's like listening to me, watching me just kind of
51:22
staring expressionless at me the whole time, I'm talking you
51:25
don't talk about intimidation a bit.
51:28
You know, I was like, so anyway, I just go through it tell him
51:31
everything. And at one point I saw I say,
51:36
you know it does any of this anything that I'm saying here
51:40
does this does it sound like it's just a bunch of new age BS
51:44
who hockey whack a Doo any is it?
51:46
Does anything that I'm saying make sense to you with the
51:53
amount of years and the amount of knowledge that you have?
51:56
He paused for a second, looked away, he looked back at me.
51:58
He goes, so I said, you know, does this, does this, does it
52:01
sound like a bunch of hockey? I think it was my exact words.
52:04
He stopped and says no and we talked more a bit and he went to
52:10
some more. You know, we we start breaking
52:13
things down and and and talking about things but.
52:16
To hear, to hear me express all that and just say it as as as
52:21
plainly as I could have read. I wasn't trying to make anything
52:23
up. I'm not like, well, let me try
52:25
to impress this guy or anything like that.
52:27
No, I was just saying like this is exactly how I do it and I was
52:29
fully prepared to hear him fire back at me and go, you are out
52:35
of your freaking mind. What are you even doing with
52:38
this stuff? I was fully prepared to hear
52:40
that was kind of a response and but he said no, it's not doesn't
52:46
sound like a bunch of hockey or you know and so we talked more
52:50
about it and I spent a good hour or so at his campsite going into
52:54
other things and and talking more about things and we want to
52:58
or he wants to. He's like we, we, we should talk
52:59
more, you know. So we want to continue that that
53:04
dialogue, you know, But again, having never, if I had not gone
53:08
to Shadowmoot, right, if I wasn't there, if I wasn't there
53:13
the day that I got there, this opportunity probably wouldn't
53:17
have presented itself, at least not as far as I as I can tell,
53:21
you know. So again, going back to if
53:25
you're thinking about coming to Shadowmoot, or if you had
53:28
reservations about it before, you know you will make
53:34
connections at this event that you would have not ever made in
53:40
your life had you not gone. You're going to establish
53:45
relationships, you're going to have experiences, You're going
53:50
to feel things that otherwise would never have happened, you
53:56
would have never felt. You would have never
53:58
experienced, not come to Shadowmoat, you know?
54:02
And that's just one example of what I mean by the importance of
54:08
grassroots Heathenry, OK? The stuff that I'm talking about
54:14
when it comes to the games, the the rituals, the conversations,
54:23
the contests, right? The fun, the the sense of of fun
54:28
you know that people have together.
54:30
You will never experience that online only.
54:35
You can have great conversations back and forth with people.
54:38
You can learn a lot of things on the Internet and over social
54:43
media platforms and over virtual message boards and all these
54:47
types of things. You will never experience the
54:50
things that I'm talking to you about today in that way unless
54:57
you go and put your boots on the ground with other folks.
55:02
And that's the beauty of this, right?
55:03
This isn't just a heathen event. The Raven, Moon, Hearth, Shadow
55:06
Mood event is open to everybody. There's folks here that came
55:13
this year that are heathens. There are folks that attend this
55:19
year and every year that are eclectic witches, other types of
55:24
Pagans. There are even folks that have
55:26
come, and I believe there were some there this year that aren't
55:28
even Pagan themselves, maybe don't have a religion, not be
55:32
agnostic, etcetera, right. And they come and they
55:36
experience things and and and walk away and and and leave the
55:41
event, right. Whether it's the first night
55:44
that they come for one night and they leave the same night, or
55:46
whether they stay from opening ceremony on Friday till closing
55:52
ceremony on Sunday for however long they stay, they come there
55:57
having not experienced anything quite like that before.
55:59
And they leave with a brand new experience under their belts.
56:06
You know, feeling so enriched, feeling so rewarded to be in the
56:15
company of people that are welcoming, right, that are
56:20
willing to talk. What's great is like when you
56:23
first, when we, when we watched the video earlier of the the
56:26
the, the picture slides, you know, one of the first several
56:29
images that are up, there are people standing in this field
56:32
and this flag is being erected with a glove, a gauntlet on it
56:39
and that is a ceremony. That is their opening ceremony.
56:41
And when that glove is raised on that flagpole that indicates
56:46
that the grounds are open and that we are all gathered
56:50
together in grith and and Frith can happen.
56:56
Frith can be established there. When that when that happens I I
56:59
think they may have even said that you know we are we are
57:01
gathered here in Frith. Not going to break down
57:06
semantics when it comes to the meanings of the words but the
57:08
the the idea of it is that when this happens when this pole is
57:13
raised when the glove it's got a tear room to you as ruined on it
57:17
right. When, when, when?
57:19
So it's a representation of Tier, right?
57:20
He's kind of presiding over the thing, presiding over the
57:23
assembly, which is just the thing that Tier does or or or
57:28
has been known to do, right? He God of the thing, God of the
57:31
assembly. But it's an indication that we
57:36
are all here in peace and that if, if, if anything
57:42
uncomfortable happens, right that you come and you talk to
57:44
people and we'll handle it. We want people to feel welcome.
57:47
We want people to feel comfortable.
57:50
People need to respect others boundaries, be responsible, all
57:53
these types of things, right? And as many people I was as as
57:56
were there this weekend, like I said, upwards of 70 plus or
58:00
more, you know, individuals, all ages, all genders, all walks of
58:06
life gathering together and coexisting peacefully for two or
58:10
three days, you know, amicably, peacefully enjoying one of this
58:15
company, not just enjoying it, you know, amicably or
58:17
peacefully, but but experiencing things that they would not have
58:21
otherwise experienced had they not come.
58:24
And for everybody listening, watching, whatever that that is
58:29
in a 500 mile radius of Springfield, TN or maybe even
58:35
further, right, if this is reaching ears on the West Coast
58:37
or wherever, right distance doesn't matter.
58:40
You got a whole year ahead of you.
58:41
Now to plan to come out for this.
58:44
This is again, this is one of those things where I I, I
58:46
wouldn't be talking about it in this way if I didn't think that
58:50
you could have. You would and you will have
58:55
something of benefit to come from from attending this.
58:59
You know I wouldn't be talking it up just because they're my
59:02
friends. If I hadn't experienced things
59:07
myself, if I hadn't seen things for others happen myself.
59:12
You know I wouldn't be. I wouldn't be saying it if I
59:17
didn't mean it, you know. And I want others to experience
59:20
this too. So there's my wrap up of
59:25
Shadowmoot 2023 from from Raven Moon Hearth.
59:30
You know thank you to Greg. Thank you to Don Lakeisha.
59:35
Thank you to Max Chastity Rebecca.
59:39
Thank you to Jared, Michelle, thank you to Brandon.
59:48
Thank you to Isaac. Thank you to all of you that
59:54
took place and presided over the ritual.
59:58
Thank you to the neighboring communities that came out.
1:00:02
I know the Clarksville Hoef, Brandon and and some others
1:00:09
believe it's Brandon, right? Bernard sorry Bernard over the
1:00:15
Clarksville Health and and I think it's, I think it's Josh,
1:00:19
Joshua. You guys came out from
1:00:22
Clarksville area to represent your community.
1:00:25
It's great to see you all again new friends, new faces.
1:00:30
Thank you John. John Deeson, it's great to meet
1:00:33
you look forward to our conversation.
1:00:36
John wants to get on this podcast but we want we have to
1:00:39
plan something of an in person sort of thing because of the
1:00:42
nature of what he wants to talk about.
1:00:43
We want to we want to do this in person.
1:00:45
So more to come on that hopefully soon.
1:00:52
Yeah. You know a very special shout
1:00:55
out to leave his name is Jason. So Jason, I don't know if you
1:00:59
listen or watch this podcast, but if you catch this, thank you
1:01:03
for being there for me and my wife this weekend, particularly
1:01:07
Friday night that. That says a lot.
1:01:10
You know when, when you don't know somebody and you meet them
1:01:13
for the first time and there's a need and somebody comes to your
1:01:18
aid having not known you before, but just out of the goodness and
1:01:21
kindness of their hearts, wanting, you know, and being.
1:01:24
Available to to be there to help.
1:01:28
Again, you don't. You don't come across.
1:01:29
Stuff like that by just chatting with somebody online, you know.
1:01:36
So thank you Jason, and thank you everybody who came by our,
1:01:41
our, our tents. For those of you that got rune
1:01:44
readings from me this past weekend or last weekend, I
1:01:47
should say. You know, I hope that the rune
1:01:50
readings were helpful for you, that you got something out of
1:01:54
them. I certainly do.
1:01:56
You know it is. And that's the thing about
1:01:57
reading the runes is, you know, there's there's as much for me
1:02:02
to learn in the process as it is for the ones wanting to get the
1:02:06
runes read for them. You know, I'm a conduit.
1:02:09
I'm a facilitator of what I see, right?
1:02:12
My ancestors speak through me. And they're not just speaking to
1:02:16
you, but they're speaking to us. We're connected in that way at
1:02:19
that time. Thank you for the support that
1:02:22
you've given to my wife and I by purchasing the things from her
1:02:26
that she's taking the time and effort to craft or to make or to
1:02:30
provide. So thank you to everybody for
1:02:37
really showing up, you know, and and proving that community means
1:02:42
something and it means something special.
1:02:46
And that this isn't just a bunch of, you know, crazy people
1:02:52
getting together to to get drunk and to get stupid and and that
1:02:56
we don't have any values. That we don't have any morals,
1:03:00
that we're, you know, ethically bankrupt or anything like that,
1:03:04
like everybody that I encountered, you know, and I
1:03:09
didn't encounter everybody, but I'm just saying everybody that
1:03:12
he did encounter really showed up with the best of themselves.
1:03:22
And I want to thank you all for that.
1:03:25
So for anybody that's listening and unsure about missing Shadow
1:03:29
Mood, or, you know, not coming to Shadow Mood or wanting to
1:03:32
make plans for Shadowmoot, this is an annual event.
1:03:35
Please stay tuned. Again, this is usually announced
1:03:39
on on Facebook on the Friends of Raven Moon Hearth Facebook page.
1:03:43
They usually announce it well a year in almost a year in
1:03:46
advance. So usually in the coming months
1:03:50
there will be an event page created for Shadowmoot 2024.
1:03:58
But I hope that for anybody who thought of coming this year that
1:04:01
wasn't able to come, that whatever you need to do to make
1:04:05
it happen next year that anything that I said today helps
1:04:09
again kind of solidify it all for you.
1:04:12
So I hope you enjoyed today's video podcast.
1:04:15
Those of you that are patrons on Patreon, thank you for being so.
1:04:19
Thank you for helping support me in this venture of keeping my
1:04:23
video content out and being published on a regular basis.
1:04:27
You're Patreon support is greatly appreciated.
1:04:29
For those listening on the audio platforms, thank you for
1:04:33
listening and thank you for keeping those platforms going
1:04:37
with your listenership. If you do want to support me on
1:04:40
the video platform through Patreon, then check the link
1:04:43
tree link in the show notes. I mean, I'm a Patreon today.
1:04:47
You only have to spend a dollar a month, and you don't even have
1:04:50
to spend it every month, but it's just a dollar to get you
1:04:52
access to those videos and it is greatly appreciated one way or
1:04:59
the other. Don't forget to follow me on all
1:05:01
of my socials. That'll be Facebook, Twitter,
1:05:03
Instagram, and YouTube. Yeah, I do still put stuff out
1:05:06
on YouTube occasionally, so don't forget to subscribe to me
1:05:10
there. But yeah, that does it for this
1:05:14
week's episode. I hope you all enjoyed it.
1:05:15
If you did, please upvote or react to this in whichever way
1:05:18
possible that you can. Until we see each other in the
1:05:22
next episode, may the gods continue to notice you, and may
1:05:26
your ancestors smile upon you, see you in the next one.