A hearth with room for the wanderer.
The Well & The Hearth Fellowship began in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and the surrounding area. Members may form local clans or meet virtually across the world. Wherever we gather, we honor those before us, learn what today asks of us, and leave something good for those who follow.
Mission statement
The Well & The Hearth Fellowship is a kindred taking root in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, with a simple purpose: to build a community where people can find belonging, honor their ancestors, and carry meaningful traditions into everyday life.
My vision is to bring people together through shared gatherings, learning, meals, and a commitment to showing up for one another. I want to create a place where questions are welcome, friendships grow into lasting bonds, and each person has something valuable to contribute.
The well represents the wisdom we draw from—our ancestors, our stories, and the lessons we continue to learn. The hearth represents what we build together: warmth, trust, fellowship, and a place to belong.
At its heart, this kindred is about putting our values into practice: living with integrity, caring for one another, serving our local community, and building something worth passing on to the next generation.
Proud partners with The Asatru Community
The Well & The Hearth Fellowship is a proud partner of The Asatru Community. We stand together in our shared Heathen belief and our commitment to welcoming fellowship, honest learning, service to our communities, and respect for every person’s dignity.
We support their call for Heathens to unite against hatred and intolerance, protect the people who seek belonging in our traditions, and reject the use of our faith and symbols to promote discrimination or supremacy. Through friendship, education, and care for one another, we seek to carry these shared values into everyday life.
Our support for Shieldwall
The Well & The Hearth Fellowship supports The Asatru Community’s Shieldwall call to stand together against hate and intolerance. We stand with people targeted by racism, discrimination, harassment, and intimidation, and we reject the misuse of Heathen beliefs, Norse symbols, runes, and ancestral traditions to promote hatred or supremacy.
Our commitment is to put care into action: speak against hateful conduct, support those harmed, teach honestly about our traditions, and serve our communities through fellowship and volunteering. We welcome allies across Pagan paths and beyond who share this commitment to dignity, belonging, and a safer future for those who follow.
Read Shieldwall: A Public Call to Action at The Asatru Community ↗
What holds us together
We draw inspiration from Norse and broader Pagan paths, and from the Hávamál's attention to hospitality, friendship, thoughtful speech, and learning. This charter is our present-day agreement about how we treat one another. It is not a translation of ancient law, a test of ancestry, or a demand that everyone practice alike.
Read historical context from the National Museum of Denmark ↗Offer a place at the hearth.
People who come with sincere curiosity are welcome, including newcomers and people who do not identify as Pagan. No one has to claim a lineage, identity, or belief they do not hold. We welcome members regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexuality, disability, or background.
Speak plainly. Listen fully.
Disagree with ideas without belittling people. Ask before assuming. Teach from your experience, name uncertainty, and make space for other interpretations. Harassment, threats, hate speech, intimidation, and supremacist ideology or symbols have no place here.
Respect each person's boundaries.
Participation in prayer, ritual, storytelling, photos, physical contact, and sharing personal experiences is voluntary. Never pressure someone to disclose trauma, join a rite, give money, or accept spiritual authority. Ask permission before sharing another person's words or image.
Seek knowledge without pretending certainty.
Share sources when making historical claims. Distinguish old texts, living traditions, and modern personal practice. No member or clan speaks for all Pagans. Leadership titles within the fellowship require review under the site's role process.
Receive, tend, and pass on.
Honor ancestors by remembering their stories and work without treating the past as beyond question. Learn from reliable sources and from one another to meet the needs of people living today. Share skills, preserve useful knowledge with permission, care for our gathering places, and leave room, resources, and a safer fellowship for those who follow tomorrow.
Make meetings safer and accessible.
Organizers should explain the place or virtual link, timing, expectations, and accessibility needs before a gathering. Honor privacy and consent in person and online. Do not post private addresses or meeting links outside the member space without the organizer's consent.
Local roots. Shared commitments.
Members can start local, virtual, or hybrid clans. Each clan may set additional practical guidelines for its activities, but none may weaken this charter. Founders organize their clan; founding one does not appoint them to the fellowship board or confer a religious title.
Repair harm where possible. Act when needed.
Raise concerns through a private report on the relevant contribution or clan page. Reviewers examine reports; disciplinary removal of contributions, account deactivation, demotion, or clan closure requires a recorded leadership council majority. Members should leave any gathering where they feel unsafe; immediate threats require local emergency help.
Ask for counsel without pressure.
Any signed-in member may ask an approved Goði or Gyðja for a private conversation. Choose whom to approach and share only what you wish. Counselors should listen with care, respect boundaries, and never use spiritual authority to demand disclosure, ritual participation, money, or obedience. The site shows each conversation only to its two participants; either may close it. Seek private counsel →
Build a clan where you are.
Begin with a purpose, a place or meeting format, and a clear promise to uphold this charter.