Why Disting
In pre-Christian Sweden, people gathered at Uppsala in late winter for three things at once: a sacrifice to the Disir, a market, and a Thing, the assembly at which law was made and disputes were settled. Together they were called the Disting.
Heathen Women United was formed on February 19, 2017, in that same season. When we held our first annual assembly the following year, the name chose itself. Our Disting is a Thing, where the members govern the fellowship. It is a gathering, where we see one another's faces. And it is a holy tide, at which we honor the Disir: the mothers and foremothers who stand behind us.
How it is held
Disting takes place over a weekend in late February. Because our members live on five continents, the assembly itself is held online. Talks and workshops are offered twice, so that no part of the world is always asleep. The Thing and the Naming of Deeds are held once and recorded for members, and the ballot stays open for a full day. Hearth circles that meet in person gather in members' homes to take part together, and to share a feast afterward.
What happens
Friday: the opening
The assembly opens in the evening with a welcome to new members and a rite of hallowing. The Chair gives an account of the year.
Saturday: the Thing
The working groups report. Proposed statements and changes to our rules are debated and put to a vote. Candidates for the Council speak and answer questions, and the ballot opens. In the afternoon and evening there are talks and workshops given by members.
Sunday: the disablot and the Naming of Deeds
On Sunday we hold our disablot. Each member, wherever she is, sets out an offering for the women of her own line and for the women who have shaped her. Names are spoken.
Then comes the part of Disting that members say they value most: the Naming of Deeds. One by one, members stand to name another woman and say plainly what she did in the past year. She organized the feast. She translated the Standard. She sat with a member whose mother was dying. She wrote the essay that changed how the speaker understood Frigg. Nobody may name herself, and nobody is thanked in general terms. Friends of the Hearth who have given their work are named too. It takes a long time. It is meant to.
The election result is announced, the new Council is welcomed, and the assembly closes.
Disting 2027: Ten Winters
Our tenth Disting will be held from Friday, February 19, to Sunday, February 21, 2027. It opens ten years to the day after our founding.
- Members will vote on the third edition of the Frith Standard, which has been open for comment since August 2026.
- Five Council seats are up for election. Nominations opened at Winter Nights and close at Yule.
- Maren Hollis, a founding member, completes her final term as Chair, and the new Council will choose her successor.
- The theme, Ten Winters, invites members to look back at what has been built since 2017 and forward to what the next ten should hold.
Disting is open to all members, and Friends of the Hearth are welcome as observers. If you are not yet a member and would like to attend, join us before the end of January.
Past assemblies
| Year | Theme | Of note |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Kindling | First assembly. First Council elected. Statement on Inclusion ratified. Statement on Women in Heathenry adopted. |
| 2019 | The Quiet Ones | First edition of the Frith Standard adopted. The Distaff launched. |
| 2020 | Keys and Thresholds | Statement Against Extremism adopted. |
| 2021 | Far Apart, One Hall | The Fostering Program approved. |
| 2022 | Five Winters | Second edition of the Frith Standard adopted. |
| 2023 | The Well and the Tree | Statement on Women in Heathenry revised. |
| 2024 | Word-Fame | Lore Circles made a regular program. Statement Against Extremism reaffirmed. |
| 2025 | The Loom | Statement on Inclusion reaffirmed. |
| 2026 | Nine Winters | Third edition of the Frith Standard commissioned. |