The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/author/karl/page/2)
Karl E. H. Seigfried is a Theology and Religious History Faculty at Cherry Hill Seminary, Adjunct Professor in Humanities at Illinois Institute of Technology, and goði (priest) of Thor's Oak Kindred. In addition to his award-winning website, The Norse Mythology Blog, he has written for the BBC, the International Journal of Indic Religions, Journal of the Oriental Institute, Newberry Library Digital Collections for the Classroom, Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue Series, Religion News Association's Religion Stylebook, Routledge Inform Series on Minority Religions and Spiritual Movements, Sightings of the Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion, and many others. He has degrees in literature, music, and religion, and he is the first Ásatrú practitioner to hold a graduate degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Spurred by FBI Director Kash Patel’s unexpected invocation of Valhalla following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Karl E. H. Seigfried asks: if, as Heathens, “we are our deeds,” how should we view the life and death of Kirk?
Karl E.H. Seigfried reflects on his 15 years of running the popular Norse Mythology Facebook Page and offers advice to new Heathens, including why you shouldn’t advertise your faith like a brand and why you should start making interlibrary loans.
Karl E.H. Seigfried examines the role of duplicitous counselors in Norse mythology, looking at sources from Volsunga saga to Sörla þáttr to puzzle out what lessons these figures can tell us about our situation today.
Fáfnir is not born a dragon. He is a man who kills his own father to steal his wealth, then turns into a dragon to embrace the gold he hoards without ever using. He symbolically represents the negation of values belonging to the culture that produced him.
As a professional musician, I’m brought right into the heart of the service on the holiest of holidays. It’s a great vantage point to learn about things I would never otherwise be exposed to.