Welcome to Northeast Wineland Freedom!

Mike Hidinger
in upstate New York

Some interests of mine are...
Brewing beer, gardening, playing music, Germanic-Celtic traditions (specifically Pennsylvania German ways and their tribal roots).

The Pennsylvania Germans are a branch of the Germanic-Celtic peoples; they settled in northeastern America in colonial and early American times. Pennsylvania was the region settled most heavily by these folks who hailed from the Rhineland, the Black Forest, and German areas of Switzerland. Most of these people are of German ancestry, others are Swiss German, and some are French Huguenot refugees who settled in southwestern Germany and intermarried with the local Germans. The tribal roots of these people is mostly a mix of Germanic tribes (Allemani, Franks, Swabians, Bavarians, etc), and Rhineland Celts (akin to Gauls).

Also worth noting, only about 10% of Pennsylvania Germans are Amish ("Plain People"); the majority are "fancy" Dutch.

Suggested Readings:
"Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine" by Lewis Spence.
"HexCraft" (also published as "American Folk Magic") by Silver RavenWolf.
"Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book" by J.George Frederick.
"Persephone's Quest" by Wasson, Kramrisch, Ott, and Ruck; contains a small but interesting section on mushroom folklore of the Pennsylvania Germans.
"Northern Magic" by Edred Thorsson; has a chapter on Pennsylvania German hex signs and their ancient origins.

The Pennsylvania Germans were expert farmers and gardeners; check out this site for traditional heirloom seeds: HEIRLOOM SEEDS

Hex Signs: WILL-CHAR - Hex & Country Woodcraft Signs

Pennsylvania German Herbal Healing: Heathen Herbal Resource Page
(Check out the article "Germanic Herbal Medicine in the New World.")

Pennsylvania German Wicca: Silver RavenWolf

Germanic-Celtic Words For 'people':

Teuton='people'
Irish:tuatha='people'
Cymry(Welsh):tud='people'
Ancient Germanic:tiutsch='people'
German:deutsch='people'
Dutch:dutch='people'
Pennsylvania German:deitsch='people'

Germanic-Celtic traditions have two families or clans of Divinities: Milesian and Danaan to the Celts; Aesir and Vanir to the Germanic and Norse peoples.

Those interested in Germanic-Celtic herbology and brewing should check out German anthropologist Dr. Christian Ratsch's "The Mead of Inspiration and Magical Plants of the Ancient Germans"; it's an appendix in Ralph Metzner's book "The Well of Remembrance:Rediscovering the Earth Wisdom Myths of Northern Europe". See also Christian Ratsch's book "A Dictionary of Magical and Sacred Plants". Another good source on brewing is Stephen Harrod Buhner's book "Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers".

Germanic-Celtic Connections:
ASATRU FOLK ASSEMBLY - Welcome page
Ancient Northwest Europe
Celts & Saxons Homepage
Irish Soma - by Peter Lamborn Wilson
Hallowed Halls of Northern Tradition
The Germanic Heritage Page
THORSHOF
Irminsul Aettir - Asatru Worldwide Index
Odsmal - Book about profound theosophy of hea...
Hyperspace Celtics

Gardening And Herbal Connections:
HEIRLOOM SEEDS
WoodPrairie Farm's Maine Potato Catalog: Catalog
Heathen Herbal Resource Page

Other Connections:
My friends' band in Montana Dr. Gravy
Deep-Thinking Pages: E=±mc²=Thé Ðëòxÿríßøñµçlëìç HÿÞêrdïmèñsîøñ
Serendipity Home Page (CH)
Terence McKenna Land

Vikings may have invented the pizza