Introduction to the Northern Tradition
Finding Your Fire. Building Your Practice.
Welcome to our Fire.
Stand strong like the mountains.
Reach as high as the mighty Ash & Oak.
Expand to the Depths of the Ocean.
Breath life into your world...as life was breathed into you.
Weave the spirituality of the Northern Traditions into your daily life.
Are you seeking a deeper connection to the world around you?
Do you want to explore a spiritual framework that supports your wholeness and helps you move through life with intention and clarity? This course is designed to guide you over the course of 9 months in building a personal practice rooted in the Northern Tradition and animism – one that empowers you to live fully, authentically, and in harmony with the living world.
Why are we teaching this class?
We believe that personal practice is foundational for navigating the world with purpose and resilience. This course is about orienting you to the paradigm of the Northern Tradition, while laying out the path ahead, including expectations, responsibilities, and norms of behavior. It’s about getting us all on the same page and creating a shared understanding of what it means to live in a connected, collaborative, and intentional way.
At its heart, this class is about building a life and spiritual framework that you want to live – one that supports your fullness of experience and helps you cultivate health, wholeness, and meaningful relationships with the world around you.
Who are you walking in? Who are you walking out?
Walking into this class, you may be seeking a deeper elemental connection, curious about the Northern Tradition, or simply looking for ways to root yourself in an authentic practice. Walking out, you’ll carry with you tangible, practical tools to establish a personal practice that connects you to your work, your relationships, and your journey through the world.
Is this class right for you?
If you are curious about inclusive heathenry, paganism, animism, or polytheism; if you are queer-affirming and open to diverse perspectives; if you are ready to work hard and engage honestly with the tools provided; and if you want to explore collaborative relationships with the living world and your Ancestors – welcome, this space is ready to receive you.
In this class, you will:
- Orient yourself to the paradigm and foundational principles of the Northern Tradition
- Explore animism and the Northern Tradition through focused, hands-on experiences over the course of 9 months
- Learn to visualize and understand your place in the world through the lens of wholeness – yours and the world’s
- Discover the importance of collaborative relationships within animism and what it means to be connected in your practice
- Emphasize respect for the natural world, your Ancestors, and the cultivation of personal health and wholeness
- Establish functional, embodied practices that you can carry forward, no matter where your path leads
Are you ready?
We’ve designed this course to pass on the resources we wish we had when starting this journey. If you’re ready to explore, connect, and build a rich, meaningful practice that supports every aspect of your life, we invite you to join us on the path.
What is the Northern Tradition?
Northern Tradition Spiritwork, as we practice it, is a contemporary dialogue with the traditional animist knowledge of Northwestern Europe to enhance our connectedness by renewing rejected knowledge and integrating that into our collective agreements. It is about engaging with our other-than-human kin, the spirits, ancestors, and landscape with deep reverence and respect. This spiritual tradition emphasizes a collaborative relationship with the natural world, respect for one’s Ancestors and the cultivation of health and wholeness.
FAQs
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Course materials each month will include pre-recorded videos (with transcripts), readings, exercises, reflection prompts, and practice building work. We will also be building a resource list of optional materials including podcasts, videos, articles, and book recommendations. New modules will be released monthly over the course of nine months. There will be opportunities to connect online with both HG and Kenn throughout the process for support along the way.
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There are four core books we will reference that it would be useful to have available.
- Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings. Penguin UK, 1996.
- Edwards, Kenn. Get Your Sh!T Together 101. Kenn Edwards, 2025.
- Kimmerer, Robin Wall. “Braiding Sweetgrass.” Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, Milkweed Editions, 2013.
- Larrington, Carolyne. The Poetic Edda. OUP Oxford, 2014.
HG Wyndell & Kenn Edwards
HG Wyndell
HG Wyndell is an activist, educator, and Spiritworker who is driven to facilitate accessible ritual spaces for folks seeking access to more deeply nourishing relationships with themselves and others. HG came to the Northern Tradition a decade ago, after years of seeking. They are committed to living life through a lens of wonder, and they don’t mess around when it comes to embracing the complex beingness of whoever is in their presence. They weave their lived experiences with intentional relationships, ceremony, creative arts, chronic illness, and embracing pleasure seamlessly with a whole lot of love and a good bit of magic into all they offer. www.HGWyndell.com
Kenn Edwards
Among many labels, Kenn is a published author, podcast host, rune walker, psychic medium, teacher, writer, artist, photographer, and spirit worker/shaman of the Northern Tradition. www.runewalker.com
Course Curriculum
Our goal with this intro is to help you get the lay of the Northern Traditions landscape. First, let’s look at the meaning of the word Orientation. According to Dictionary.com (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/orientation) orientation has the following meanings:
- an introduction, as to guide one in adjusting to new surroundings, employment, activity, or the like: New employees receive two days of orientation.
- Psychology, Psychiatry. the ability to locate oneself in one's environment with reference to time, place, and people.
- the ascertainment of one's true position, as in a novel situation, with respect to attitudes, judgments, etc.
We could not have put a better list together to describe this course. Let’s take a look at the journey ahead.
Module 1
When traveling or possibly moving to a new place, it is a good idea to get a map of the area and do a little digging into its background, cultural norms, and expectations. Often, we do not even know what we don’t know. In the first part of this journey, you will experience a bird’s eye view of the geographical, relational, and temporal maps of the North that can aid in orienting yourself: the things you need to know before you go!
Module 2
Make the most of your time and experience by completing a personal inventory. This analysis can shed light on habits and views to integrate for a good foundation, no matter where you are. This foundation will allow you to better acclimate to the North Traditions. It couldn’t hurt to learn a greeting or two, as well.
Module 3
Time to travel! You land in this exciting new place, yet it’s very familiar. What is the first thing you do? Where do you go? What do you do? Do you have a contact who can show you around? Grab your dictionary and a journal to start recording your experiences.
Module 4
Wandering the paths of the Northern Traditions, you have come in contact with various new images, sounds, and languages. Up to this point, you have been concerned with getting your sea legs and establishing a rhythm in this new place. You have all but forgotten about actually communicating more than a smile. It is time to converse with the locals, which means listening and being able to translate the sounds and body language. You got this!
Module 5
I hear you have a local favorite place to get your morning start and are making friends and acquaintances. That’s fantastic. Do you plan to stay in touch when you leave, or are you considering staying? Your intentions and plans, or lack thereof, are essential when considering these budding relationships. It is a very different exchange to support a business and community when on vacation than when you become a permanent member.
Module 6
The Northern Traditions are full of surprises and excitement. The concepts of self and community most likely differ significantly from those of your home. This exploration begins by looking at the difficulty of living there, especially for our predecessors. These difficulties catalyzed the development of the personal and interpersonal values you may have been experiencing during your stay thus far. What have you found most interesting about social customs and norms regarding relationships with others and self?
Module 7
Did your compass point to your true North? You have experienced daily life and culture. You have begun building relationships with the locals. Could you see yourself as part of this place? Have the adjustments made to your habits and worldview brought you into better personal alignment and joy?
Module 8
We are glad you came to visit! Was this a place where you wanted to put down roots? If so, welcome! If not, it has been an honor to offer you hospitality. We hope you take your experiences here and use them to review and revise your worldview to align with your recent experiences and discoveries. This is essential for finding alignment in the present.
Module 9
Engaging with life requires an awareness of things on a micro and macro scale. It requires us to explore connections and influences. Explore life from your updated worldview by looking at the timeless cycles directly responsible for life on this planet and the wisdom held there. Move forward by stepping back.
We hope this has given you some idea of what to expect on this journey with us. If you are ready to take this journey, please check out the link to the class.
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1Introduction
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2Module 1: The Big Picture
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3Module 2
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4Module 3
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5Module 4
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6Module 5
Contact Us
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