Old Gods, Modern Warriorship
The more the warrior ideals are forgotten, the more relevant they become.
The Warrior Pages
Welcome!
Warriorship is a timeless path unlike any other. Those who embody its qualities and seek its mysteries know that it is not confined by circumstance, or even by profession. Rather, it is a profound identity and holistic way of life.
The goal of the Warrior Pages is to explore, promote, and cultivate the warrior ideal, because warriors are everywhere. Some wear a uniform, some don’t, and all of them are making a difference in their life and the people they share it with. More specifically, the Warrior Pages discusses warrior spirituality, hoping to provide a modern spiritual fitness resource for the many practitioners of alternative faiths such as polytheistic traditions, pagans and ethnic religions who may not always have recourse to an exploration of warrior spirituality that represents their unique worldview. That is not to say the Warrior Pages excludes warriors of mainstream religious practices; the ideals of warriorship are both timeless and profound and can be found amongst all people.
True warriorship can unite and empower us, and so here (as the site develops) you’ll read about warrior practices, courage, philosophy, history, and spirituality.
Cultivate a Warrior Spirit
Warriorship has always been an endeavor of the spirit more than anything else. What makes you rise, when you have fallen? What keeps you in the fight, even in the darkest hour? There is a warrior spirit within each of us, should we choose to embrace it. The Warrior Pages takes a warrior approach to spirituality and a spiritual approach to warriorship, because circumstance doesn’t make a person a warrior, conviction does – and as any warrior knows, the true battle lies within.
See with the Eyes of a Warrior
What makes a warrior different from other people? What drives individuals, in the worst circumstances, to achieve the greatest feats? What does it truly mean to be a warrior, and to see the world through a warrior's eyes? Join me as we explore warriorship and the world by examining both the contemporary and the ancient, through the eyes of the world's oldest vocation.
Share Warrior Wisdom
One of the greatest sources of wisdom for warriors are their fellow warriors. The Warrior Pages aims to foster peer-to-peer mentorship, so that we may all learn from the stories of others. Share in their wisdom, insights and experiences - and should you wish, share your own with other warriors around the world. Your story can make a real difference!
Whether you chose the warrior’s path, or the demands of life have raised you up and made you a warrior, I hope you will find a home within these pages.
A Warrior's Triad
One of the ancient forms of learning amongst the Celts is a mnemonic device called a Bardic 'Triad', which seeks to capture the three essential principles that underpin any subject. In many ways, we are all accustomed to profound and foundational truths coming in groups of three: mind, body and spirit; upper, lower and middle worlds; intellect, emotion and self. Amongst the Celts, as well as many others, three is considered a deeply sacred number. Here is a triad which I composed to illustrate the three intrinsic values that underpins warriorship in all its many forms.
There are three things which make a warrior:
The wisdom to know what is right.
The courage to do what is right.
The commitment to see it through to the end.
Wisdom
The Torc
The torc symbolizes an oath, and so gains its name in Welsh: ‘Cae'.
It’s twisting bands, like the binds of bronze rope, remind us of the commitments we make, the oaths we swear, and the ideals we uphold. It is open at the front to remind us that our commitments are not imposed; they are chosen, and empowered by the indomitable sanctity of our own free will.
Our willing adherence to truth, service and wisdom is one of the key traits that sets warriors apart. Warriorship without wisdom, after all, isn't warriorship.
Courage
The Sword
The anthropomorphic sword is a traditional hallmark of Celtic warriorship, the ruddy God of war symbolically crafted into the handle itself.
The sword symbolizes our courage, and the enactment of our ideals and duties. Warriors cut through the noise, see past the illusions, and courageously seek into the vast unknown of both the world, and the Spirit. We face down the trials not just of our own life, but seek to overcome the obstacles which impose on those we love as well. The warrior is the sword, a self-willed weapon of honorable purpose.
Commitment
The Shield
Traditionally the shield is emblazoned with that which a warrior swears their devotion and loyalty to.
Behind the shield lies all that we love, and all that we defend. Before the shield is every trial and obstacle which threatens to hurtle itself against our beloved charges.
Warriorship is one of the most empowering paths a person can take, because it’s never just about us. A warrior is a shield - a shelter for their people.
Hey there, I'm Hunter
All my life I have pursued the Warrior Ethos. I was raised by warriors, with a cultural faith and living tradition hailing from the U.K. which espouses the warrior spirit. From my earliest days, my quest for warriorship has always been as esoteric as it is worldly. It has led me through martial arts, a four-year career as a U.S. Marine, across the world and back home again. But the quest for true warriorship is never ending, for any of us. So, I have set out once more to seek out the wisdom of the warrior path, and the many people who walk it.
I don't pretend to be an expert. But I can attest with utmost certainty to the validity, the power, the humanitarianism and the spiritual purpose that lay within the warrior ideal. Often unnoticed, it is one of the most profound, widespread, and misunderstood of philosophies. Yet there are warriors everywhere - every nation, every town, every era. These pages are written for them, those rare men and women who espouse one of the best expressions of the human spirit; the true, the defiant, the unyielding, the warriors.