Survival: A Heathen's Prospective-Shelter

Before I start this section on shelter I would like to edit my previous statement about the order of importance Fire, Water, Shelter, and Food come in. Previously I stated that Fire is number one on the list, then Water, then Shelter. After doing some serious thinking, I want to edit my statement and place Shelter as number one on that list.

In any survival situation and during any time of the year, shelter is the most important key to survival. It is possible to suffer from hypothermia in the middle of the summer. You have to think about keeping your core body temperature when out in the wild. Your clothing will only take you so far; and especially in winter conditions, too many layers can contribute to hypothermia when traveling on foot in the wild. This is because regardless to how cold it is, your body still generates heat during strenuous activities like walking, running, building a shelter. Your body will produce sweat, and if you have too many layers on, that sweat gets trapped and your clothing will be wet. Once that happens, your bodies core heat will begin to drop and hypothermia can set in. One way to prevent hypothermia is to build a shelter.

A shelter can be anything from a house or cabin, tent and sleeping bags, tarp and space blanket, to some basic brush and forest debris. The first in this list is pretty obvious; a house or cabin is the best form of shelter to get you out of the elements. A tent and sleeping bag is great for campers to keep warm and out of the elements. Tents are waterproof and great to use in a survival situation. They can be erected pretty much anywhere (though you may want to think of a strategic place when setting it up). Next on the list is a tarp and a space blanket. These are what most backpackers and survivalist taking a back country hike should carry with them. The tarp is light weight, waterproof, and pretty cheap ($15 for a 12X16 feet piece). The space blanket can run you about $5 and can fit in your pocket. It is also made of a reflective material that can be used as a signaling device (remember to find multiple uses for you gear).

The last thing on the list is a last resorts method- using brush and forest debris. If you are ever in a situation where you you have become stranded in the wild with no camping equipment, tarps, sleeping bags, ect; this is a neat trick to learn. The best type of shelter you can find will be in the brush or wooded area. If you can find a hanging branch (not a broken branch, but one that has grown in a hanging position), cave (beware of bears) or some other shelf that has potential to place brush and debris on, you should be in business. You can then take a few branches (shown in the link below) and create the frame of your shelter. Bush brush and forest debris can be used as insulation and roofing material.

The key to building a shelter is to get yourself out of the harsh elements and to keep yourself warm.

Next time I will be discussing water.
Thanks for reading.
In Frith!
Ragnar

Here are the Youtube links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-xxmNzlCdc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4o7Z2pD4iI

Survival: A Heathen's Prospective-Fire

There are four basics one needs for survival in the wild
1. Fire
2. Water
3. Shelter
4. Food

Today I will talk about the first thing on the list. It may be argued that Shelter should be the first thing on the list, and in may ways it it should be. I've decided to place fire at the top of the list because of all the various uses for it. I'll talk about how to start a fire, what materials you should have on you to start one, and the uses of fire.
So what should you carry. In an wilderness setting you should have various ways to start a fire. I believe in the five step plan when it comes to starting fires. They are:
1. Lighter
2. Matches
3. Fire steel
4. Magnifying lens
5. Knowledge of how to make fire with Two pieces of wood.

Lets start with the lighter. A lighter has fuel that when introduced to the spark caused by the flint and steel ignites. This is the simplest way of starting a fire. What is needed is tinder to catch the flame from the lighter and fuel (other pieces of wood) to feed the fire. Lighters are cheap and easy to obtain in an urban setting. Even if you don't smoke, having a lighter on you is quite useful. The problem with the lighter is that eventually, your lighter fluid will run out. Even if this happens, keep the empty lighter; the flint and steel still works and can still aid you in making a fire. If you don't have a lighter then you should have...

Matches! Matches are easier to obtain and in most cases are free. There are several kind of matches that you can use, but the worst kind are the cardboard match sticks. These are terrible to try to light anywhere but indoors. However you can harvest the sulfur tips which can act as tinder. You have the box of wooden stick matches. These are better than the cardboard matches, but still may be difficult to light up outdoors. Also if they get wet they will be rendered useless. If you have any of these, put them in a ziplock bag to keep them dry. The last type of matches are the military grade waterproof matches. For about $5 you can get a box and they will light up even in the rain. Okay so you didn't but the waterproof matches, your books of wooden ones are soaked, now what to do?

Well if you don't have one of these handy you may be screwed. It's called fire steel or flint and steel. They can range from $8-$30 and is your best friend in any survival situation. I personally like to use something that doubles as a multi-tool like Tool Logic's Knife, fire steel, LED signaling light, and signaling whistle in one (see image in the upper right hand corner of the article). Using a fire steel requires you to have a tinder (including sulfur heads) to start the fire. You strike down upon your tinder with the fire steel which will cause sparks that will ignite your tinder. You then feed your small fire fuel. Tinder can be anything from saw dust and wood shavings to Trees bark and brush; hell you can even use the lint in your pocket as tinder. Improvise when you have to. Use anything that you have on you and around you to survive. I also learned that digging out an "X" in the ground(several inches deep, and maybe a foot across) allows the flow of air to feed the fire. Doing something like this will give you a healthy fire.

The last two are the most difficult ways of obtaining fire. Both require skills, and the right conditions. The first of these two is using a magnifying lens to bring a beam of concentrated sunlight to ignite the tinder. Obviously you will need sunlight to do this. If you have an overcast, this will not be an option. The second, and last resort on my list is the Native American way by rubbing to sticks together. There are various methods in doing this and I will have a post dedicated on these methods. The reason why this would be a last resort for me is because it is the hardest way of starting a fire. It expends energy (energy that you need to conserve especially if there is a lack of food), and you will need relatively dry conditions in order for this to work. You will need dry tinder, two dry pieces of wood to start the friction, and a dry surface to work on. It also takes patiences and skill to succeed in doing this. The basic idea it to conserve the energy that you have when you are in a survival situation.

Now that you have your fire, I will explain why it is number one in my list. If dressed appropriately you will be fine in the environment for a while so shelter gets bumped down to number three on my list. What you need is a water source and a way to purify your water. Without iodine or chlorine tablets, you are taking a risk by drinking water from a wild source like a river or stream. Boiling your water is the best way to purify your water. You can't do that without fire.

Fire will keep you warm and help prevent hypothermia. A lot of people don't know that you can die from hypothermia in the middle of the summer. Without shelter or a heat source the elements can claim your life (I'll get more into that when I talk about shelters). Although you will have a shelter up in and around the same time as you have a fire going (especially if there are others with you) Building a fire first will help you to place your shelter strategically.

Fire is also a way to cook your food once you get it. Fire can also be used to sterilize material used for first aid, and can cauterize wounds if necessary. Finally, fire can keep predators away and can be used in defense against a predator.


All in all, Fire is one of the most important tool to use in wilderness survival.
In Frith
Ragnar

(As a side note to my readers: I know I said that I will have these articles strictly for Mondays, but I have a lot of information to put out there. Until further notice, I will be doing the Survival tips and guides five times a week. Thanks for reading!)

Survival: A Heathen's Prospective-How useful are these tips really?

So the question came up: How useful are these survival tips anyway?

The answer to this question is pretty simple; VERY! I don't claim to be a master of survival, but I do pass on the knowledge I gather from various sources. As explained in the first post about survival; having this knowledge can save your life.

For example, lets say you are coming back to Philadelphia from Virginia. You are driving down a dark road in the middle of the night, with no traffic around you. Out of the tree line a 300 lbs Buck hops in front of your car, you hit it at 70 mph, skid off the road and into a tree. The air bags deploy and you sustain minor injuries. Your passengers however are worse off and unconscious. What do you do? What do you have that could be useful in your car? Is your cell phone fully charged? Do you have a signal out there? Was the phone damage? How far were you from the nearest town? These are some of the questions that you need to ask and have answers for if caught in that situation.

I just believe in being prepared, and I want other people to get into that mind frame. Hope for the best but prepare for the worse.

Survival: A Heathen's Prospective-The Essentials

When thinking about the essentials one needs for survival, what comes to mind? Food and water, a place to stay,a heat source (especially during the winter seasons). What else do you think you need? In this post I will explain some of the essentials that you will need to survive.

The first thing that tends to happen during a survival situation (Urban or Wilderness) is that we panic. It's a natural human emotion. We are taken out of our relatively safe condition and placed into a situation we are not use to; and more often than not, unprepared for. Because of this we, will have one of three reactions: Fight, Flight, or Fright. Those who fright will freeze up, do nothing to preserve their lives, and end up seriously hurt or dead. Those who take the flight approach to the situation could run into a more dangerous situation and also end up seriously hurt or dead. Those who choose to fight are the ones with the higher chance of surviving the crisis.
So the first essential in survival is not to panic. You need to have a clear head when faced with a survival situation. Observe your environment, take inventory on what you have, what's useful in your situation, do you have means of communication, how are you conserving your resources; these are some of the things you have to think about. You will be able to better organize these things if you are thinking clearly and rationally. Lastly, having a stable mind is key to survival. Morale can make or break a person. Those folks how keep a positive attitude are the ones who tend to survive.

The second essential when found in a survival situation is a compass. Having an idea where you are, in a wilderness setting as well as an urban setting is key for survival. I would also add a map and a GPS locator to this list. The problem with a GPS locator is that it requires power to operate it. If the battery is dead, the GPS locator becomes useless. It can however give you your current location, and can be used along side your map and compass. Learn how to read a map and a compass, and again conserve the battery life of your phone or GPS device. Use your head, make sure that any electronic devises you have is insulated from the weather. It's also a good idea to have your maps laminated.

The third essential you should have is a first aid kit. I will have a separate post dealing with first aid, but I will touch on it now. Injury can occur and to survive, you have to be able to treat that injury. Infection will be your number one enemy in these type of situations. In the wild, you will be away from any immediate help, and in an urban setting the quicker you are at treating the injury, the more likely the chance of survival will be. In a later post I will talk about what items you should have in your first aid kit.

The fourth essential you should have is a shelter. This can be anything from a sleeping bag, to a tent, to gathering brush and forest debris and making a shelter out of that. A shelter will get you directly out of the elements and will keep you relatively warm and offer some safety. Being in constant rain or snow, or being in an open plain where the temperature drops; especially when you're sleeping increases the risk of sickness and eventually death. Find means to keep yourself dry.

The fifth essential is water. You need to find a good source of drinking water, and you need to have a way to purify the water. You can buy iodine tablets that with purify the water, but makes it taste like shit (It'll cost you about $10). The second option is getting a water purification system that can cost up to $400. The other option you have is to boil your water. One interesting thing I seen on Survivorman, was how Les Stroud used a soda can to boil his water. If you have some items like this, make sure to save them. Having clean drinking water is one of the most important essentials. You may be lost, you may not have shelter, you may not have a food source yet, and you could survive a few days without that; but without water your body could shut down in a 48 hour period. Clean water is a must because if your water is polluted, your survival rate will drop considerably.

The sixth essential is fire. Fire will serve as a heat source, a way to cook your food, a deterrent for wild life, and a way to boil your water if you lack the iodine or water filtration system. I would suggest the following: learn how to build a fire, carry matches or a lighter, and when that fails or becomes expended have other means of starting a fire. I once seen someone use a cotton ball and petroleum jelly as kindle. You could carry something like this in a small ziplock bag and use it and flint and steel to start your fire. The idea is to have a multi-layered plan to start a fire. For example if you have a lighter or matches and the lighter fluid is used up, or the matches got wet, you'll need to have an additional plan to get things working. Always prepare for the worst.

The seventh essential is food. MRE's or Made Ready to Eat are military rations that provide the nourishment you would need, especially in a wilderness survival or state of emergency situation in an urban setting. For about $70 you get a twelve meals pack, from anything like beef stew and soup, to cheese steak sandwiches and chicken. This however is only a limited resource, and you will have to find food on your own. I would suggest that you learn how to hunt, trap, and fish. I would also suggest that you find books on flora (plant life) and see what's eatable, and what is not.

These are a few things that you will need to survive. Education is the primary tool that you can acquire. Learn now while you are in your comfort zone, and if the occasion arises, you will be prepared.

Runes: The Heathen way vs The Wiccan way

So yesterday I was surfing through Youtube when I came across a few videos on Rune reading. Two of these videos stood out for me. One was done by a heathen (User Lurch579) here's a link to his channel:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDpHZbFAWM8&playnext=1&videos=jzKjQouR7sk. In his videos he explains what each rune means, the pronunciation of the runes, the numeric order and what ætt the the rune belongs to. He describes what value it will have in a divination reading (if you're into that) and how it can be applied in everyday life. I found his videos to be helpful in explaining a complex subject such as this.

The other video on the Runes was done by a Wiccan (User CharmingPixieFlora) here's the link to her channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/CharmingPixieFlora#p/u/238/_z5xPWWf8IE . In her video she struggles to explain what the Runes are, how to use them, and even butchers the pronunciation of the word Futhark (I actually cringed when I heard her). She had no experience with or understanding of the Runes, and pretty much picked them up as a plug and play system of divination. She suggested "Rune Cards" which are like Tarot cards for those interested in trying it out. She used some chart that was suppose to have the meaning of each Rune listed, but it was more like a poor mans job at best. With little to no understanding of the Runes how can she use them efficiently?

That brings me to my point, and perhaps the issue many heathens have with Wiccans in general. Heathens do a lot of homework; many of us jokingly call it the religion with homework. Research is a large part of what we do. If we don't have enough information on a particular subject we won't present it to others. We don't believe in the plug and play method either. To say that the Runes are interchangeable with the Tarot is not only wrong, but insulting as well. Wiccans can't seem to grasp this, thus the rift between modern heathens and neopagans exists. The young woman in the video may not have intended to insult Heathens; she may have been seeking alternative ways of divination. Seeking alternative ways of divination is fine, but please know what it is that you're getting into. If you want to use the Runes, learn about them, know where they come from, know about the lore. To simply Google the work Rune, pick up some Cliff note meanings, and work it into your Rune casting won't work.

I for one am still learning about the Runes. I have yet to do a Rune reading for anyone besides a sample reading I did for myself. I have always approached Galdr with reverence and caution, much like the way I approach the use of a gun or bow when hunting. Such tools must be use with extreme caution. The way Wiccans approach power is quite reckless. Now not all Wiccans are this way, but many of them are. I view many of them like children who get their hands on their parent's gun, and way it around like it's a toy. Folks please know what you are getting into!

I don't know if this young lady will ever read this, but if she does I will suggest that she should pick up a few books on the subject, learn about the Runes, and shoot a follow up video.

Well that's my little rant for the day. I will see you next time.

In Frith!

A Year of Viking Rituals by Scott Mohnkern

This is my review of Scott Mohnkern's book "A Year of Viking Rituals". Every Tyr's day (Tuesday) I will try to review a book, movie, or video game. Some of the reviews will be none heathen. You have been warned. Now to the review:


I few months back I was listening to Raven Radio's Podcast(http://www.ravenradio.info/) and tuned in to a conversation with Raven Radio's cast and Scott Mohnkern. Scott was promoting his book: "A Year of Viking Rituals". Listening to the podcast I thought that the book would be full of fluff. I decided to pick up the book to judge for myself.

In this book there is a brief description of the Gods, a hammer rite to set up sacred space, the invocation, and the libation in each section. The book has 172 pages broken down into twelve sections. Each section deals with a individual God, and has recipes and feast ideas for each blot.

Lets start off with the cons of this book:
Each section deals with a month in the year, and a God that corresponds with that month. Each section has a very brief summary of the God/Goddess in question. I would have liked more of a description on each God/Goddess, their attributes and domains, and samples of what one might blot to the Gods for.

The second issue I had with the book is that it is too short. I would have love to get more information on the blot structures, more examples and stories on blots that he participated in, and more Gods and Goddesses.

The third issue was with his sources. I notice that he referred to Wikipedia a lot in his foot notes. In the heathen community, using Wikipedia as a source is laughable. I couldn't take his sources very seriously.

The last issue is a preferential one. It has to do with the hammer rite. To me, the hollowing of space, making the sign of the hammer, calling the corners seem more like a Wiccan or Christian rite than a Heathen rite. This came across as a little fluffy to me , and I know that other heathens will see it that way.

These issues are something that will stop your educated heathen from picking this book up to add to their book hoard.

The pros to this book are minor:

Although this book comes across fluffy, it will give new members of the heathen community ideas for performing their own blots and sumbels. There is also a brief section in the back of the book that talks about the structure of a heathen wedding, and professing yourself to the Gods.

The other good quality of this book are the recipes that are found in each section. However if you are looking for recipes for your blots and sumbels, look no further than here: http://www.tjurslakter.nl/viking%20recepten.pdf

Overall the Cons outweigh the pros for this book. If you are looking for an okay starting point, or are stumped for blot ideas, pick this up; it may spring board some creative ideas. If $15 isn't a lot for that, then feel free to pick it up. Otherwise don't bother with this title.

I will be posting some ideas for blots on this blog, so save your money. This book gets ** out of ****.

Survival: A Heathen's Prospective

I have decided to make Monday's theme on survival. Each Monday I will go into the how's and why's on surviving. I'm writing out my opinions on general survival for both an urban and wilderness setting from a heathen prospective. I am new to the survivalist lifestyle, and as I gain knowledge in this, I will share it with my readers.

Why should someone want to learn this?

Good question. The best answer I can come up with is: it's better to know how to survive on limited to no means and not need it, than to need these skills and not have them. We as a modern society are so use to running around the corner or down the road to the grocery store to pick up our necessities. Are minds are so far removed from providing for ourselves that we wouldn't know what to do if said grocers were destroyed or flooded (Think Hurricane Katrina). How would you survive if your food supply was gone, your gas and electricity (things we take for granted) cease working? How would you apply first aid? Do you know CPR? How do you start a fire (A very important part of survival) without a box of matches, lighter,or gas? How do you obtain clean drinkable water when your main water source is contaminated? These are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself if you are ever in a survival situation. Not having the answers to these questions during a survival situation will increase your chances of not surviving.

Some of you may say "I'll never be in a situation where these skills will come in handy". Think again! I'll give you an example: A few weeks ago in Philadelphia a Duck boat was hit by a freighter in the Delaware river. Two out of twenty died in the river. Each passenger on the Duck boat didn't think that they would be fighting for their lives when they entered the boat that day. Eventually they did, and two of them died. Having the skills to survive, knowing what to do when you have to abandon ship, or knowing how to perform CPR on someone who has taken water into their lungs will not only help you, but others to survive as well.

Let me bring this from a less dramatic angle. Right now or economy is bad. The job market isn't recovering as fast as we need it to, the price of gas, and other essentials are increasing, and the number of lay offs is still too high. We are looking at another great depression soon. How does one survive this? My father once told me that he had family in the south who, during the great depression, didn't feel the effects of it. These folks had farm land, and ended up living off the land while folks in the large cities were struggling to survive. My point is that one of the best ways to survive during these times is to buy land. Depending on where you're looking, acreage is pretty cheap. In Wyoming you can purchase 32 acres for around $19,000 (An acre is about 100 yards-size of a football field). Multiply that by 32, and you've got yourself your own land to grow crops; raise sheep, pigs, and cattle, and build an house on; dig a well, put in a septic tank, and have a propane operated generator. You'll be living off the grid a bit, but you'll have what you need for you and your family to survive.

Survival skills in my opinion is a must! Never fall victim to your own ignorance!


Next Monday's topic will be on Hunting. I will talk about some of the necessary tools for the trade, and the how's when's and why's.

In Frith!