One of the primary goals of Jotun's Bane Kindred, is to acquire tribal lands, build a Hof and Hall, and establish an area for heathen burials. The Heartland Hof and Hall will be a regional resource for heathens here in the Heartland of the United States. It will be a gathering place, available for fainings, symbels, marriages, and funerals.
We have estalished a Heartland Hof and Hall Fund, that we actively contribute to as a tribe. We contribute our own money on a monthly basis, as well as contibuting the profits from the Lightning Across the Plains gathering, Temple Library Collection book sales, and our other fundraising efforts.
If you see the Heartland Hof and Hall as a worthwhile goal, and wish to contribute, you have two options using the buttons below. You can contribute any amount you like whenever you'd like...or you can sign up for a set donation amount ($5, $10, or $15) automatically contributed each month by subscription. Every donation helps, and every subscription-donation helps even more to make the Heartland Hof and Hall a reality.
Jotun's Bane Kindred is legally incorporated as a "church" in Missouri, and the IRS recognizes all donations we recieve as tax-deductable. Our incorporation information will be sent to everyone who donates for tax purposes.
Absolutely NONE of the money donated will be spent on admin or operational costs. 100% of the money donated will go toward establishing a Heathen Hof and Hall here in the Heartland.
CLICK HERE to go to the new Heartland Hof and Hall Fund page....
Mark Ludwig Stinson
The Open Ostara gathering was a great success. Thanks to everyone from around the region that came to the gathering! There were right around 70 in attendance, with a third of them being kids. Below are the public-links to three albums of photos we've posted. Anyone should be able to access and see these Facebook albums...
Getting Ready for the Open Ostara Gathering - Getting ready to host a large gathering is a lot of work. Especially Ostara. We boiled 28 dozen eggs...and our kids colored 8 dozen of them. There was food to buy and stew to cook. And Volkshof Kindred came early to help us out.
JBK's Open Ostara Gathering 2010 Photos - This past weekend 70 heathens from across the region gathered together for an Ostara Gathering...and a third of them were children! Jotun's Bane Kindred. Volkshof Kindred. The Franks. Tyr's Helm Tribe. Hammer Tree Hearth. Rheinwood. And quite a few newcomers where in attendance.
Over 336 eggs were eaten or destroyed in egg-games. There was a faining, a feast, and a symbel. Established friendships were strengthened and new friendships formed. Hail Heathens in the Heartland!
The "Old Man" Gets a Hammer - Forn Halr, "the Old Man," is a venerable oak tree and wight that stands over Jotun's Bane Kindred's Ve. On the anniversary of our kindred's 2nd year as an oathed kindred, we gave the Old Man his own hammer. A hammer Craig Winkler made, that we call Skullsplitter.
Mark Ludwig Stinson
&indexHeathens should gather together...bring their families together...and get to know each other. Its through this regional communication, cooperation, and bonds that our strength will grow. The following are gatherings in or around the Heartland. All of these events are worth attending. And they all lead up nicely to Lightning Across the Plains on Sept 24-26, 2010.
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OPEN OSTARA GATHERING - March 13-14, 2010 - near Kansas City
Info on this Message Board & Facebook
Last year's Ostara brought out 32 heathens. This year's Ostara Gathering has a more regional focus. Volkshof Kindred, Tyr's Helm Tribe, JBK, and Hammertree Hearth will all be present. And other groups in the region are looking at attending. There will be eggs, egg games, an Ostara Faining, and a Symbel. Jotun's Bane will be hosting this event.
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MIDWEST THING 4 - Sept 3-5, 2010 - near Minneapolis, MN
Yahoo E-List & Facebook
Hosted by Volkshof Kindred up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Last year's event was attended by about 35 people, from several kindreds. There's a folk symbel, a faining, and a more formal symbel, as well as Viking Games, and great conversations. This year all meals are included with the fee for admission. Jotun's Bane Kindred will be attending this event.
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LIGHTNING ACROSS THE PLAINS - Sept 24-26, 2010 - near Kansas City
Main Website & Facebook
Last years event gathered 120 heathens (80 adults and 40 children), with many
kindreds and hearths represented, including Jotun's Bane, the Franks, Volkshof,
White Wolf, Tyr's Helm, Hammertree, MHS, and others. We're hoping for an even
better turn out of quality folks from around the region this year. Jotun's Bane will be hosting this event.
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Good strong kindreds attend all of these events, so you can expect that leaders and representatives from kindreds in our region will be meeting and talking at all of these events. At Lightning Across the Plains 2010, we should be in a good position to hold our first Heartland Thing with kindreds and tribes from across our region.
If you know of a gathering not mentioned here, please feel free to post about it. We will add additional gatherings as we learn about them.
Mark Ludwig Stinson
“Heathen Gods – A Collection of Essays Concerning the Folkway of Our People” is a 216-page-book of Asatru/Heathen essays written by Mark Ludwig Stinson, Chieftain of Jotun's Bane Kindred and a AFA Folkbuilder in the Heartland. Chapters cover essays for new heathens, how to start and maintain a kindred, living a heathen life, as well as poetry and a journal of Mark's journey to visit Iceland in 2009.
The book is completely free and was produced under an Open License. You may download, distribute, or share the book anyway you'd like as long as it remains intact and you do not profit monetarily. A print version of Heathen Gods should be available in January of 2010.
CLICK HERE to go to the download page, where you can download the book from heathengods.com or lulu.com.
Mark Stinson
We've added a new section to our website, called "Useful Downloads."
http://heathengods.com/temple/modules/wmpdownloads/
There are currently 5 books and 4 videos available there for download, as of this posting. We'll be adding additional files over time. This will not in any way replace our Temple Library. Essentially, its a place we can provide quick links to important books, our various videos, event registration forms, as well as workshops & educational materials.
Thanks!
Mark Stinson
We've added some additional pieces of artwork to the Asatru Artwork Archive...
Heimdall...about 40 images:
http://heathengods.com/temple/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=33
Baldr...about 20 images:
http://heathengods.com/temple/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=11
Enjoy!
Mark
Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG) and Experiential Knowledge
This article containes two short essays on Unverified Personal Gnosis and Experiential Knowledge, one by Rod Landreth and the other by Gerd Forsta Axenthowes. The essays examine what is UPG, what isn't UPG, and how the term is often misused.
To read this new article, click here...
http://heathengods.com/temple/modules/articles/article.php?id=36
Mark
On January 3rd, 2009...after months of getting to know the members of Jotun's Bane Kindred, and then completing a six-month Applicant Process...Adam and Tracy Culver were welcomed into our Kindred and took Kindred Oaths.
We are extremely happy to welcome Adam, Tracy, and their three boys Bodhi, Lance, and Zane into our family. Words cannot express it.
They took their Kindred oaths at the foot of an ancient oak tree named Forn Halr...and if you'd like to see the photos from that weekend, follow this link:
http://www.heathengods.com/events/01032009oathing/
Mark Stinson
We have so much going on as a Kindred, that its fairly easy to get behind on posting our Event Photos. But I've just added 4 events, in an effort to catch up. Check them out:
Winternights Faining - October 5 , 2008:
http://www.heathengods.com/events/10052008faining/
Nordic Festival in Kansas - October 4, 2008:
http://www.heathengods.com/events/10042008nordicfest/
Mark & Jamie's Birthdays - September 20, 2008:
http://www.heathengods.com/events/09202008birthday/
Sterling Kemp Memorial Gathering - September 13, 2008:
http://www.heathengods.com/events/09132008campout/
Check our Kindred Event Photos Page now and again to see what we've added. 
Mark
We've added a new article to our website written by Rod Landreth. It describes from the accounts of various sources, the conversion of Iceland to Christianity. It examines both the internal and external forces at work on Iceland before this decision was made, as well as the actual politics of conversion.
To read the new article in our Stories & Articles section, click here.
Mark
