Who is the Vinland Witch

So, a little bit about myself...

I am a young mom of a lovely little girl named Raphaëlle, and currently pregnant of a second child. I am engaged to a wonderful man who's very supportive of all my (many) projects. I live in Canada, in the province of Quebec to be more precise, which is why I choose The Vinland Witch as a name, even though Vinland would be more to the east of where I actually live. I'm currently working in retail, but planning to go back to school after our second child is born. In the mean time, I make natural soaps and other bath products for sale. I just started, so I don't know yet where it will take me in the future.

Now, about my path. Like many other, I discovered the existence of witchcraft during high school. I've also learned about Wicca at that time, and had my first contact with the Runes. I didn't really learn their meanings, but learned the Elder Futhark as an alphabet. But beside reading about all those things, I never really practiced.

It's only a few years after high school that I came back in contact with paganism. I found a book about the Runes (Runes: Theory and Practice by Galina Krasskova), and started reading it, again and again. It took my about one more year to start meditating about them, and really studying them further. It was also at that moment that I looked out about Wicca, and at first, I thought it my be the right path for me. There was one problem though. I didn't feel any connection at all with the God and Goddess. So I kept looking.

I've had heard about Asatru before, and a knew a few Norse deities well because of my studies of the Runes. I don't know why I didn't consider it as a path before. I started researching more about the Aesirs, the Vanirs and the Jotuns, and it just felt right. It felt comfortable. I felt like I was at the right place. It still took a while before I started calling myself an Asatruar. Just like it took me long enough before actually work with the Runes, and even longer before I agreed calling myself a witch.

It's only two years that I started doing Runework. I've started doing Rune readings for myself and invoke their power through talismans. About a year later, I started doing Galdr and Rune readings for others. Everytime, it feels incredible. Every experiences teach me so much. And it feels like I'm doing the right thing. So I keep going.

On the side, I also started studying herbs and crystals. I attended a Reiki class and loved it. I'm currently learning a bit more about Tarot. About astrology too. And I'm learning how to use my pendulum. It's only recently that I agreed to call myself a witch. For some reason, it didn't felt right before. I guess I had bad experience with witches, as the few I knew were exactly what I didn't want to be. But once I realized that calling myself a witch wouldn't shape who I am, and that I found witches that I really liked over the internet, I felt better about the name.

So here I am, starting a blog about my work, my experiences and my practices. Because if there is a lot of great blogs of eclectic witches or Wiccan witch, I have yet to find one about someone including their Asatruar beliefs into their witchcraft. And even if I still have a lot to learn (when do we stop learning anyway?), both about witchcraft and my religious path, I think I'll enjoy sharing it with you guys.

Blessings!