About Me

I first began exploring paganism, divination and magick at the age of 13 as an eclectic self-taught Witch. This growing obsession was at least partly motivated by my attempt to solve a mystery: all of my life I had been aware of an invisible companion, a dark and immensely powerful Presence who made it clear that He had a claim on me but refused to reveal His identity. During my teens and twenties, I felt drawn to the Egyptian pantheon and made repeated attempts to work with Them despite Their repeated assurances that I was not Theirs and that no, Osiris was not my Mystery Man. And then in 2002 I discovered Heathenry and my companion decided to unmask Himself at last. That same year I took sacred marriage vows to Odin, and two years later was consecrated as His priestess.  My service to Him, while not free of struggles and challenges,  is a continual unfolding of discovery and joy.

My “official” involvement with Heathenry began in roughly 2002, and in 2006 I earned clergy status with the Troth, but decided for a number of reasons that continued involvement with that organization was not right for me. Shortly after stepping down as a Godwoman and as Pennsylvania Steward, I founded Odhroerir Fellowship, a devotional community whose members find inspiration within the Norse/Germanic/Anglo-Saxon pagan traditions.  These days, having spent years trying to conform to other people's ideas of community, I have finally resigned myself to the fact that it better suits my own nature and temperament--as well as Odin's plans for me--to remain an independent priestess, cunning woman, and seidhkona, offering my services and sharing my knowledge and insight with the public when needed but not being formally bound to any Heathen organization.

The two devotional books I’ve written for Odin thus far--Water from the Well and Other Wyrd Tales of Odin and Odhroerir: Nine Devotional Tales of Odin's Journeys--are both technically fiction, though that doesn’t make them not True. They draw on some lesser-known primary source material, such as Saxo Grammaticus, as well as my own personal gnosis. I’ve also written a number of articles that have appeared in various periodicals, including newWitch, Idunna, and HEX. Currently I am writing Walking with Woden: A Guide to the God and His Mysteries.  I am also managing editor of Wild Hunt Press, which only showcases my own writing at this point, although we are planning other releases and are potentially open to submissions from people whose writing and character we trust.

I’ve been given a number of spiritual names by Odin over the years, some of which are private, and a couple of which I have mostly retired from public use. In January 2009, as a gesture of thanks for the many blessings I’ve received at His hands, I began using a new name He had been wanting me to adopt for several years: Valgrind, which means “Gate of the Slain” and relates to my Work as a Valkyrie, oracle, and conduit for Odin and various other Gods and spirits closely associated with Him.  I plan to use Valgrind exclusively in the future to reflect the changes in my path as well as what Odin has shown me about its future direction.

A former denizen of the northeast, I now live in Eugene, Oregon with my life-partner and a menagerie of pets, most of them rescues. I am a perfectionistic, introverted and stubborn Virgo (with Cancer rising and Moon in Leo) and hold a B.A. in English Literature.  In addition to the above, my other interests include art, dollmaking, other fiber arts (knitting, spinning, sewing, felting, etc.), beading (making prayer beads/pagan rosaries and devotional jewelry in particular), and yoga.  I am also a fibromyalgia sufferer,and unlike many other fibro sufferers I know I am at this point employed full time, so my time and energy are always extremely limited.  This is one reason this blog is not updated as often as I would like, and my other projects sometimes don't progress as quickly as I'd like them to.

I provide free oracular seidh consultations on the eight holy days of the Wheel of the Year (which are incidentally Anglo-Saxon in origin). There is technically no charge for this, although I do ask that all querents make a libation to Odin, Mimir and the Well-Wight in thanks for Their guidance.  Donations are not required but are strongly encouraged, as I am not well-off and the supplies I use for seidh (candles, mugwort, charcoal briquettes, liquor for offerings, etc.) can get to be expensive.  If you would like to email me a seidh question, make a donation to support my Work, or just learn more about what I do, please visit this page.

I am also available to do rune and Tarot readings, but I do charge for this (on a sliding scale of $10-25, depending on the complexity of the reading) as it is more costly for me in terms of time and energy. If you are interested in a reading, please visit this page.

My writing, both in this blog and as a general rule, is based on personal gnosis informed by my own experiences and a fairly thorough and well-read grounding in the lore. That said, I’m sure there is a great deal here that you will either find strange or disagree with. As you read, keep in mind that I am not presenting myself as an expert on Odin, on the Aesir, or on anything else, particularly. All I am doing is sharing my own experiences and perceptions in the hope that they may prove useful or at least of some benefit to others. I’m aware that they may conflict with or directly contradict the experiences or opinions of other voices you’ve run into on the Internet or in offline life, and that’s fine; I’m not trying to win converts to my way of doing things or my own practice. Odin is a God of (among many, many other things) the expansion of consciousness and refinement of self-expression, and if all you take away from this site or my other works is the courage to begin talking or writing about your own experiences, or living your own practice with faith and conviction--however far from either mainstream religious practice or the dominant spirit work paradigm it may be—I will have served His purpose well enough.

A final note: unless otherwise noted all text on this site is copyrighted to me, Laure Beth Lynch.  As a writer, I take my intellectual property rights very seriously, and hope you'll show me the courtesy (as my guest here) of doing the same.

With Odin's blessings,

Valgrind (Laure Beth Lynch)

© Copyright 2009