HUGINN
Interview: Mist of Kenaz Kindred BY MARIS PÁI
It was only March when I began corresponding with Mist, the gyðja of Canada's Kenaz Kindred (kenaz.ca), and quite by accident. I am in the process of slowly compiling a devotional for Frigga, spanning several years of my work with Her, when Mist emailed me out of the blue to offer her contributions. Mist's own debut book, Fulltrúi: Patrons in Ásatrú, was gearing up for release and we bonded over Frigga, writing and the challenges of group ritual. It felt only natural to interview her for the 'Work' issue of Huginn. Mist is warm and intelligent, very chatty and excited to discuss leadership and the priesthood. While Fulltrúi is a piece that can stand on its own, the difficulties and rewards of her personal experience running Kenaz Kindred have largely remained private until now.
FULLTRÚI Patrons in Ásatrú By Mist 172 pp. Megalithica Books. £10.99 print. Available at ImmanionPress.com.
Mist explained that the founding of Kenaz Kindred evolved accidentally out of a pagan coven that she'd been elected to lead. "I am still really unsure why I was chosen," she admitted, "but I suppose it helps that I have a very outspoken personality, and no one in the group wanted to be that ‘public’ about it." Things would never be the same after she met Odin. "At first I did not know who or what He was, but I do remember Him saying to me, 'Go home now and become heathen.' I don’t remember much else, but I remembered that. Well, I went home and researched oneeyed gods, and that is how I found my way to heathenry. Within three months we threw our pagan format out the window and I brought Ásatrú to the group."
Unfortunately, with Odin's arrival came conflict. Not everyone was happy with the change of focus. "We did lose about half of our group because of it. They did not understand why I would change things, but I had to. I was driven like a mad person to absorb everything I could about heathenry. ... In my first three years, I ate, slept and drank heathenry. It became a strong obsession and I felt compelled to find more." "The name was changed to Kenaz Kindred when I took my vows to Ásatrú and left paganism behind," Mist explained. "We decided on the name Kenaz, because in my research I found that one of its many meanings was knowledge, and that is what we were going to strive to give. We wanted to make a place for study but also to pass on what we had learned, where we came from and how this journey got us here... I truly felt like I was ready to forge this new path for myself and hoped that everyone else would come with me." Predictably, Kenaz lost some of the original members but gained some fresh voices. As she began to speak about her personal mysticism, she found a receptive audience: "It really brought some quality members to our group. We went from four members in 2004 to ten members currently and still expanding." It's been nine years since Mist first came
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