Thirty Days of Devotion Day One: Introduction

  Let me start off by saying that pretty much everything I have to say about Frijjo Birkijoniz falls into the category of UPG.  This is because she belongs to a reconstructed Proto-Germanic pantheon.  This pantheon is the antecedent of the historically attested Germanic pantheons (e.g. Norse, Anglo-Saxon etc).  What is known about this pantheon is derived mostly from linguistic evidence of a common Germanic language spoken prior to the development of the various Germanic languages known to the historical record.  There is no Proto-Germanic mythic cycle which I may rely upon for information.  I must therefor acknowledge the possibility that there was never a point in (pre)history when the gods I worship were venerated according to the names I know them by.  My reasons for coming to Proto-Germanic religion are multifarious and complex.  Perhaps they will be the subject of some later writing.  For the time being, however, understand that what I know of these gods derives from the experiences I have had since I began calling out their most ancient names.  These experiences are mine and mine alone.  I make no claims to their historicity.
  One further note on my use of Proto-Germanic:  when writing in English about Proto-Germanic topics I leave out the many diacritical marks present in the reconstructed written language.  They are a pain in my ass, so I only use them when writing in Proto-Germanic for devotional purposes.

  The name, Frijjo Birkijoniz, would translate to something like Frigga-of-the-Birches in English.  This title connects her with both the Norse Frigg and the enigmatic "goddess" present in the rune Berkano.  I generally avoid equating her with any historically known goddess, but she called me to her in part through a study of Frigga, and to the best of my knowledge they are the same (at least to the same degree that Wodanaz "is" Odhinn, for example).  There are, however echoes of her presence in several later Germanic goddesses such as Frau Holle and Perchta.
  Frijjo Birkijoniz is the guardian and instructor of siduz.  Siduz refers to custom or tradition, and is the term I use for my faith/religion/devotional practice.  She is the goddess present in the sweat bath and the birch grove.
  Although Frijjo Birkijoniz is the goddess of the home and the domestic arts, I chafe when I hear Frigg relegated to a kind of divine June Cleaver.  My goddess is not sitting at home cooking, cleaning, and watching the little ones while Wodanaz, Thunaraz and the other men are out doing the really important stuff.        Her lessons about maintaining family, home and tradition are the really important lessons.  She is the maintainer.  She is the teacher.  She raises up the generations in siduskapaz.  She maintains spiritual discipline among men and gods  alike.  Yes, women and children are her natural constituents, but she really seems to like it when men seek out her lessons.  As a man, I have ever felt as welcomed by the male gods as I have felt by her.

I suppose that should suffice as an introduction.  See you all on day 2.