The Hamingja Podcast

Let's explore the symbolism & importance of the ring among Indo-European pagan peoples. How it became the vessel of oath, loyalty & obligation. This episode provides the context and background for the consecration of rings in ritual practice: how objects were set apart as sacred, why the spoken oath was so dangerous and binding, and how the ring came to embody eternal obligation across Indo-European cultures. The ring consecration & oath-swearing rituals will be found on the Hamingja pagan streaming service, among hundreds of other rituals, and also courses, masterclasses, documentaries etc. Sign up for our newsletter on www.hamingja.foundation/membership

Feeling discouraged, disconnected, or stuck in a rut on your spiritual journey? You may be experiencing spiritual fatigue – a common yet often misunderstood challenge on the spiritual path, especially at its onset. In this episode we're answering a fellow pagan's 'headache' – taking a look at what spiritual fatigue is & how to deal with it. We've all come (or will come) to a point in our learning curve where we feel overwhelmed, weighed down, confused, even frightened by everything that 'has to be learned' and taken in. We sometimes come to a blocking, or it might feel like we're actually losing insight rather than gaining it. You know the feeling: you've just discovered something meaningful — maybe it's your native spirituality, or a path that finally speaks to your soul — and at first, it feels like everything's falling into place. You're reading, learning, practicing… and then? Suddenly, it's too much. Too many opinions. Too much content. And you start to wonder if you ever really understood any of it at all. This is bound to happen when you're trying to unlearn a foreign worldview and (re)discover your own ancestral one later in life, instead of being raised with that understanding from childhood, as is normal. A lifetime's worth of information being crammed in over the course of a few years will no doubt burn someone out at some point.

Curious about the Hamingja pagan membership? In this episode, I answer your most common and important questions about the platform — from how it's different from a course or social media group, to who it's really for, what it includes, and why now is such a powerful time to reconnect with our Indo-European roots. We'll talk about: Why modern people are craving purpose, structure, and ancestral wisdom How Hamingja blends ancient spirituality with real-life integration What members can expect each month — live events, content, community & more How both beginners & advanced practitioners will thrive Why this isn't just "neo-paganism," and how we honor each Indo-European tradition's unique identity ...and how even 10 minutes a week can change everything Whether you're practicing solo or looking for a deeper sense of belonging, this episode will give you a clear picture of what Hamingja is — and how it can support your spiritual and personal journey. 🎧 Tune in and see why this is the sacred space you've been waiting for. #pagan #paganism #ModernPaganism #IndoEuropeanPaganism #AncestralWisdom #EverydaySpirituality #SpiritualJourney #PaganCommunity #ReconnectWithYourRoots #SpiritualAwakening #HamingjaMembership #hamingja #IndoEuropean #ProtoIndoEuropean #FolkTraditions #PaganLifestyle #SpiritualGrowth #PaganPodcast #heathen #heathenry #celtic #norse #anglosaxon #vedic #slavic #slavicpagan #druid #druidry #hellenism #hellenismos #spqr 

Have you ever wished you could remember long prayers by heart? Or recall every step of a ritual, smoothly and confidently? Then this episode's for you. Today you'll learn a very simple and powerful memory technique that can make that possible – facilitating spiritual growth and making you a better spiritual leader. What if you could step into a ceremony knowing every word, every step, every blessing — not from notes, but from within? What if remembering long prayers wasn't a struggle but second nature? One of the challenges that both new and experienced pagans often mention as the main thing holding them back in their spiritual growth and making it hard and awkward to perform and lead ritual, ceremonies and even domestic worship, is that they simply can't remember the words and steps. Introducing the Memory Palace technique!

The boy must die, for the man to live. As the storm rages and the past refuses to stay buried, a young man stands at the threshold of his final trial. There's no more running. His life spent without purpose, without direction, without the fire that once burned in the hearts of those who came before him, he must now reckon with stagnation, doubts and everything he has feared to become. The storm is building. The choice is his. The Wrítros Algorithm is a modern serpent-slaying myth, an ancient struggle reborn in the modern world. We have lost our rites of passage and coming of age traditions, leaving young people directionless, disconnected, struggling with lack of purpose and poor mental health. This battle was never erased, only forgotten. The Wrítros Algorithm is a confrontation with fear, stagnation, and the self. A story of myth and psyche, of sacrifice and transformation. You'll find part 2 & 3 on https://www.hamingja.foundation/membership/    #pagan #paganism #heathen #heathenry #norse #norsepagan #anglosaxon #celtic #druid #druidry #hellenismos #indoeuropean #ancestors #viking #mythology #spirituality #witch #sacredspace #slavicpaganism #paganlife #runes #roman #vedic #thor #striker #vritra #jörmungandr #ouroboros #storytelling

Listen to part 2 of a new pagan story! The young warriors are now lost out on the moonlit steppe, after their first real challenge. As if it couldn't get worse they now also smell smoke. Smoke means people, and people might mean threat. The importance of storytelling in Indo-European spirituality and culture cannot be overestimated. Here you get the luxury to relax and listen to a story about raids, coming-of-age rites and the spirits of the land.  The soon-to-be-launched Hamingja platform will be filled to the brim with stories, prayers, rituals, guides, pagan documentaries etc, so we recommend you sign up for our newsletter on www.hamingja.foundation/membership

Within Indo-European spirituality, cow goddesses occupy a unique and venerated position, symbolizing fertility, prosperity, and the nurturing aspects of nature. They play a central role in the mythologies and religious practices across various Indo-European cultures. Their symbolism extends beyond the realms of agriculture and animal husbandry, intertwining deeply with concepts of marriage and the life-giving forces of rivers. This episode is about how the plethora of Indo-European cow-associated and -depicted goddesses all belong together, represent the same functions and constitute a category or classification of goddesses throughout the IE world. It also shows that this group of cow goddesses are intimately related to and a sine qua non for river goddesses, and vice versa – helping the reader understand the Indo-European worldview, social construction and perception of (parts of) feminine divinity. To understand the original concept of the Indo-European cow goddess, the functional classification of later cow deities it gave rise to, why they all belong together, and the close bonds between the cow as symbol and Indo-European river goddesses, we must first take a closer look at the Proto-Indo-European and early Indo-European lifestyle, society and worldview.

Listen to a new pagan story! On the moonlit steppe a young war band is making offerings for success in their first raid. An unexpected encounter turns the reward into something more precious than what they've come for. The importance of storytelling in Indo-European spirituality and culture cannot be overestimated. Here you get the luxury to relax and listen to a story about raids, coming-of-age rites and the spirits of the land.  The soon-to-be-launched Hamingja platform will be filled to the brim with stories, prayers, rituals, guides, pagan documentaries etc, so I recommend you sign up for our newsletter on www.hamingja.foundation/membership

Celebrate an authentic Indo-European pagan wedding!  What does a honeymoon really mean? Would you let six of your relatives watch you & your spouse consummate the marriage? Why mustn't you see the bride before the wedding ceremony? This highly requested episode dives deep into genuine Indo-European pagan wedding & marriage traditions so you can avoid the new-age social media make-belief & get married honoring native pagan customs.

Slavic paganism is perhaps the least well-known of the Indo-European spiritual branches. It is unfortunately also heavily distorted by new-age and other modern influences. This episode will remedy that! A great resource for those who seek their native Slavic roots and for those who want an even broader understanding of Indo-European culture and spirituality.

Hear the story about how Thor the Striker changed this young British man's life at young age. Are you new to paganism? Young? Lost in life? We continue our pagan journey, our portraits of how some of our members found their ancestral spirituality and their true nature. That's exactly what us at Hamingja help people do – finding and practicing their Indo-European spirituality in an authentic way.  Here we meet Elliot, a young man from the UK telling his story about how he came to Indo-European paganism, how Thor changed his life and about the importance of finding one's way back up on the ancestral path. A story about how he found Anglo-Saxon paganism, or Fyrnsidu as it's also called.   Follow the channel and our portrait series #paganjourney for more guidance and lessons.

We help people find their true Indo-European spirituality, nature & purpose. We often see people who really want to deepen their Indo-European pagan spirituality, but don't get going since they feel they don't know where to start, how to do things in an authentic way and that they lack words. We'll do something about that now. This is a guide to an authentic and well-attested morning prayer ritual aligned with Indo-European paganism. This is a bonus episode where I go through an authentic Indo-European morning ritual step by step. It's so important that we don't just talk about our native spirituality, but that we actually practice it. It's originally a YouTube video, so for you who also want to see me perform the ritual I recommend you to go over there. But I know many of you love to listen to podcasts, so I'm posting it here too. And you'll understand perfectly well just by listening here. At the end of this episode you'll also hear the two prayers or mantras I offer to Dawn and Sun, but in a much better and melodic version, so stick around for that.  And what better place to start than in the morning? As the title suggests this video is about how to perform an authentic pagan morning ritual – getting into a healthy and spiritual routine.  A spiritual and mindful start of the day that definitely will make you feel that the day has begun in a meaningful way, and that you've already seen beauty. For this morning ritual you'll need water, a candle, incense and some barley. As you'll see, one bowl of water will be used for purification, and a smaller amount will be used as a libation. If you have an altar at home it's a good idea to always have holy water standing there. I sometimes add on some more beverages as libations to the All-gods – like milk, wine or juice – but libations to the Sun and Dawn should be non-alcoholic.   So let's begin! Before you'll see me perform the ritual and say the prayers there are some preparatory steps that are just as important and just as much part of the ritual. First of all – wake up early. 6 o'clock at the latest. Already by doing that you'll feel that you've done something good. Stretch a little in bed before getting up. As soon as you get up, try to get 2-10 minutes of sunlight or daylight. There's great health benefits of doing that. That's of course not always possible depending on what time of the year it is and where in the world you are, but do your best. Be mindful of that the Sun represents our highest consciousness and the higher self. Now drink one or two glasses of warm water. This kickstarts your metabolism, and activates your body's fuel. Take a really cold shower or bath. Start with 30 seconds. Cold showers and baths give both health benefits and a sense of uniting with nature. Be mindful in the cold water. You'll feel connected to nature, and this purification also makes all that society forced upon you the day before. It's of course even nicer if you can get out in the garden or nature and pour cold water over yourself, connecting to Mother Earth.  After that – meditate for as long as you feel you have the time for. Studies show that 15 minutes of meditation has the same physical and psychological effect as one full day of vacation! But if you only have two minutes, that's great too! When I open my eyes after the meditation I often think of things I look forward to or things I'm grateful for.

Young? New to paganism? Lost in life? Here's a very important message from a young Swedish pagan. Everywhere around us we see the decline of the west and the purposeless, rootless and lost people living there. But there's hope for the future, not the least with youth like this. In the first episode of our new series of portraits of a #paganjourney you get to meet one of the members of the Hamingja Foundation – Niilo – who has a very important message to young people, new pagans and to those searching for purpose and direction in life. Leave the Empire of Nothing and start connecting to your roots!

Pagans drink mead, celebrate Odin for sacrificing an eye to drink from the Well, and pour libations in rituals. But why? Why did the sacred drink become integral to the religious beliefs and practices of Indo-European peoples? It is one of the most enigmatic mysteries and at the same time perhaps the most central phenomenon in Indo-European myth and spirituality. This episode takes a deep sip of the sacred drink of our ancestors – the elixir that keeps the gods immortal and conveys divine insight, inspiration and fertility.

Happy Solstice & God Jul to all our listeners! Here's a winter solstice poem written by our founder Björn Ekdahl. The Hamingja Foundation works hard to make sure that people who want to practice Indo-European spirituality won't lack words. Text: In the heart of winter's chill, When shadows cloak the land so still, Amidst the longest, darkest night, We seek the glow of inner light. Oh, radiant sun, your golden rays, Chase away the night's hidden maze. Illuminate our hearts, shine ever bright, Banish darkness with your warming light. In the quiet of the longest night, Where shadows stretch and dim the light, We yearn for dawn to break the hold, On this hushed eve, so dark and cold. Oh, radiant sun, your golden rays, Chase away the night's hidden maze. Illuminate our hearts, shine ever bright, Banish darkness with your warming light. So let us welcome the growing light, With open hearts, dispelling night. In the solstice's glow, our spirits soar, Embracing the light forevermore.

Listen to the prayer to river goddess Dā́nu! (By Björn Ekdahl) Few things are as Indo-European as Dā́nu. She is one of the oldest Indo-European deities there is. In fact, the term Danu or Danava (plural of Danu) appears to form the very substratum of Indo-European identity per se. Note how Homer continuously refers to his 'Greek' people as Danaans in the Iliad and Odyssey. Those who know the Celtic mythology know that Tuatha Dé Danann (the people/tribe of Danu) is what the Celts called the original mythical race they were children of. The construction Don- or Dan- is an extremely common name of rivers all over Europe. We have giant rivers like Danube (Donau in German and Scandinavian), Don, Donets, Dniepr, Dnjestr and Dysna. Several rivers in Britain called Don. We have the city of Donetsk, we have the whole country of Denmark (Danmark in Danish) and the nationality Dane. And so it comes as no surprise that the Vedic river goddess is called Dānu in Rig Veda, that the Brythonic had goddess Don, the Romans called the god of river Danube Danuvius, that the Irish had Danan/Danu, mother goddess of the Tuatha dé Danann and so on and so on. Dā́nu is the mother of primordial waters – a goddess of rivers, all holy waters and of fertility. The giver of life and of fertility to the land. This is why all Indo-European pagan peoples worshiped by rivers and gave votive offerings in rivers and springs, for fertility and health. Dā́nu is holy water personified. Listen to this prayer while contemplating your own roots and identity!

The importance of poetry, hymns, prayers, mantras and chants within Indo-European paganism can't be overestimated. It's possibly the most important spiritual expression – to all the divine kindreds. The Indo-European love for beauty manifests itself in poetry and songs – words for ritual, stories of the works of the ancestors, for feasts and meetings, all passed down in an oral tradition. To us pagans, singing and chanting has always been associated with spiritual practice and with the connection to nature and its spirits. This episode is about pagan poetry, the high social status of the skald or bard and about the wonderful Dawn goddess.  Remember to participate in our new poetry competition – the Weaver Award!

Groves, temples, frithyards, wells, stafgardr, vé. Pagan rituals and worship take place within sacred space. But what do they really mean? Why are they used? And do they have to be these magnificent, pompous halls and walls?  Learn more about pagan sacred space in this episode of the Hamingja Podcast.

Pagans don't pray! We'd never kneel down for anyone! Or would we? In this episode we discuss that prayer is the most common pagan spiritual expression and about the importance of prayer in daily pagan spiritual practice. We also guide you through a structure of Indo-European pagan prayer so you can integrate it into your daily life.

Purushartha is the four aims of human life. An ancient system to follow for a purposeful and honorable life. In this Kali Yuga – where most things are confusing and where true meaning to life is blurred out or forgotten, and where leaders and role models are few, Purushartha means valuable guidance to what our Indo-European ancestors claimed was the meaning of life. Discord: www.hamingja.foundation/contact