Norse myth with both feet on the ground.
Wayward Wanderer is a measured Heathenry show built around Norse Pagan sources, practical ritual life, and modern spiritual politics. It moves from stags, wolves, ravens, and oathbreakers to guided meditations for protection, anxiety, and self-worth.
PRESS PLAY
Wayward Wanderer is a careful, modern Heathenry show centered on Norse Pagan practice, mythic interpretation, and spiritual life in the present tense. It does not treat symbols as quick correspondences. A horn, hoof, wolf, raven, stag, or shield is given room to carry myth, animal behavior, ritual imagination, and social consequence at the same time. The pacing is deliberate. Episodes often begin with a plain map of the topic, then move through caveats, source limits, examples, and practical meaning. That approach gives the show a grounded texture, especially when it connects Nordic myth to ecology or to the daily realities of religious practice. In the explainer episodes, the show considers figures such as Freyr, the four stags that gnaw at the world tree, and the darker imagery around Naestrand, oathbreakers, murderers, venom, and serpents. It is not sensational about those materials. The point is interpretation. The show asks what the old images can and cannot support, and where modern practitioners should be cautious about overclaiming. Alongside the essays, Wayward Wanderer offers guided meditations built around breath, visualization, self-esteem, anxiety relief, and protection. Those episodes are direct and practical. A shield can be a 10th century wooden round shield, an improvised modern barrier, a field of runes, or something closer to science fiction, depending on what the exercise needs. That flexibility is part of the show’s appeal. It is spiritually committed without being vague. It is informal without becoming careless. The recurring frame of inclusive Fire and Ice Heathen practice gives the work a community-facing edge, with teaching, divination, and patron-supported practice appearing around the main episodes. The show also has a political and ethical undertone, especially when it makes a case for Paganism as part of a shared future. Wayward Wanderer is best for listeners who want Norse Paganism handled with patience, skepticism, and lived religious seriousness. It has room for animals, gods, breathwork, grim myth, and ordinary human repair.
Made for: For listeners interested in Norse Paganism, Heathen practice, mythic animals, guided meditation, and inclusive religious community. It especially suits people who like spiritual material handled with context, caveats, and practical consequence.
What sets it apart: Wayward Wanderer stands apart by refusing to flatten Norse symbols into easy meanings. It connects mythology, ecology, meditation, ethics, and inclusive Fire and Ice Heathen practice in the same measured frame.
Your friendly neighborhood Radical Heathen podcast! Join "The Way of Fire & Ice" author Ryan Smith for discussions on Norse Paganism in the 21st century, episodes come out on Wednesdays every month. Follow me on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rysmi... Like my work? Then please check out my Patreon for bonus episodes and more: https://www.patreon.com/waywar...
Based on 4 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Ryan Smith connects modern pagan practice to ethical choices, community care, and the political conditions shaping everyday life.
Wayward Wanderer treats spiritual practice as something lived in public. Ryan Smith moves between solo explanation and guest conversation, connecting belief with personal choices, community responsibility, and political life.
Runes become causal maps; public faith becomes a democratic problem you cannot solve with tidy secularism.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded look at mutual aid, safety training, and community response under pressure.
The episode tracks how people in the Twin Cities are responding to ICE operations through raid-response training, mutual aid, and a steady focus on keeping people safe without putting them at more risk.
A clear look at runes, agency, and what a reading can change.
Explainer 22 - Runecasting treats rune reading as a way to sort out causes, conditions, and likely outcomes, not as a fixed script for the future. That gives the piece a steady, practical feel.
A grounded look at pagan clergy, community care, and the messy work of staying connected.
Ron Padron's conversation stays close to the practical work of pagan clergy: finding safe places, knowing who can help, and building trust in a scene that has no central office. It is strongest when it treats community as logistics and local knowledge, not a slogan.
A steady case for moving beyond Christian hegemony.
This episode argues that Christian nationalism cannot be addressed by pretending religion and public life belong in separate lanes. Ryan Smith returns to the overlap of conviction, politics, and power, and the discussion stays grounded by pointing to broad coalitions and shared…
Plainspoken Heathen practice for modern Midgard.
Masha Gessen narrates her own cousin's murder-for-hire arrest and custody battle.
Rich Roll interviews recovery and endurance guests, plus 'Roll On' segments with Adam Skolnick.
Peter Attia evaluates longevity science, from CETP inhibitors to protein debates, through evidence.
Rhonda Patrick translates NAD, vitamin D, and coffee research into daily health protocols.
Ryan Smith explains how the Eddas, Sagas, and Histories form the main written source categories behind modern heathen practice.
Odin, Vili and Ve give Ask and Embla soul, sense, heat and hue, and nothing else: no purpose, no commandment.
This episode discusses wild animals like boars and stags, following a promotional segment for Patreon support, divination services, and online classes on inclusive Fire and Ice heathen practice.
This episode is a guided meditation called 'The Raised Shield' designed to help listeners cultivate mental protection and focus through mindfulness techniques.
This episode makes a case for why paganism will be a key part of our shared future, exploring the modern pagan movement.
This meditation episode focuses on enhancing self-awareness and self-esteem through guided mindfulness practice.
This episode features sponsor ads for Brightview Senior Living and Ashley Madison, followed by a call for listener support through Patreon and information on readings and classes.
Ryan Smith invites listeners to support his work on Patreon and introduces a meditation exercise focused on Norse Pagan practice.
Ryan Smith invites listeners to support his work and then begins discussing wolves and ravens in heathen tradition.
Ryan Smith invites listeners to support his podcast and discusses Norse Paganism, offering divination services and online classes.
Wayward Wanderer turns to ICE operations in the Twin Cities and the community response gathering around them.
A Norse Pagan podcast host invites listeners to support his work and leads a meditation called the Focused Mind.
The episode begins with ads for whitewater rafting and American Military University, then transitions into a host introduction and Patreon pitch for a Norse Paganism podcast.
The host spends this episode on divination and the logic behind runecasting.
Ryan Smith discusses Norse Paganism in the 21st century, including a Patreon pitch and a teaser about pagans and UFO worship.
This episode features an interview with Elizabeth Sandifer discussing 'The Pagan Threat' as part of a series exploring pagan topics and practices.
This episode promotes the host's Patreon and services while introducing a discussion about the modern pagan and witch movements as rebellious causes.
The conversation stays with the practical side of pagan clergy work.
Ryan Smith opens with support notes, then turns to Christian nationalism and the question of what life after Christian hegemony might look like.
This episode introduces the Vaettir, animistic beings from Nordic mythology, while promoting the host's Patreon, divination services, and online classes on inclusive heathen practices.
Ryan Smith discusses Norse Paganism and heathen practice, promoting his Patreon and teaching collective.
The host promotes his Patreon, divination services, and online classes on inclusive Norse Heathen practice before starting the main show.
Ryan Smith introduces his podcast on Norse Paganism, promotes his Patreon and classes, and begins a discussion about the god Odin.
Ryan Smith invites listeners to support his work and introduces an interview with Mahara Starling about Norse Paganism.
Ryan Smith discusses Norse Paganism and heathen practice, including folk magic, and promotes his Patreon and online classes.
Ryan Smith discusses Norse Paganism in the 21st century, with a special Star Wars Day episode on the mythic power of Star Wars.
Ryan Smith promotes his Patreon, divination services, and online classes on inclusive Norse Paganism before starting the episode.
The host promotes his Patreon, divination services, and online classes on inclusive Norse Heathen practice before starting the main show.
Ryan Smith discusses the concept of 'save' in modern Nordic and heathen practice.
Ryan Smith discusses Norse Paganism in the 21st century, including Patreon support, classes, and a topic on revenge.
Ryan Smith invites listeners to support his work on Patreon and introduces guests for a discussion on Norse Paganism.
A podcast about Norse Paganism and heathen practice in the 21st century, hosted by Ryan Smith.
The host promotes his Patreon, divination services, and online classes on Norse Paganism and runes before starting the main episode.
This episode introduces the topic of law and justice as a counterpart to violence, while promoting the host's Patreon, divination services, and online classes on Nordic paganism and runes.
This episode explores the nature, misconceptions, and significance of myth in a conversational format.