The Suppression Of Wyrd

Why is it that references to the Wyrd are so few in number? Why is it that the concept of Wyrd has all but been forgotten for well over one thousand years? In fact, we are very lucky to have an, references left at all.

The answer to this searching question is that Wyrd was deliberately suppressed by the Christ-people. Why? Because the Wyrd, as the Supreme Cosmic Mind or Intelligence, would not fit in with the idea of a Judaic 'God' who professes domination over all 'his' creation. Nor would it fit the idea of his 'son', Jesus, as the Messiah or Saviour of mankind. So the Wyrd, as the actual intelligence behind creation, had to be suppressed.

In written works of the Old English period the thought of Wyrd as woven by three Goddesses was consciously played down by writers and copyists. In 'Beowulf', where the word 'Wyrd' occurs nine times, the poet has imagined 'God' as the Weaver, thus giving a veneer of Christianity to a purely pagan idea. Two centuries later the Christian writers no longer regarded 'God' as being subject to Wyrd, for Wyrd becomes subject to 'God', or regarded as one of his attributes.

"What we call Wyrd is really the work of God about which He is busy every day." - Alfred the Great.

Then followed the virtual suppression of Wyrd altogether, though not quite! For the Wyrd Sisters surfaced again in Chaucer's 'Legend of Good Women' - "The Wyrdys that we clepyn destine", and again around 1450 in 'The Court of Love' - "I eons the three of fatelle dentine that be our Werdes,"

Again the Wyrd Sisters raised their heads in 1605 as the Weird Sisters of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. Most interestingly they are portrayed as battle-maidens. (Though perhaps not surprisingly in view of the name 'Shakespeare' - spear-shaker!)

"First witch: When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning and in rain?
Second witch: When the hurly-burly's done,
When the battle's lost and won."

Here we are reminded of 'Beowulf': "The Lord gave the people of the Waders webs to speed them in battle." It would appear that Shakespeare's source for the Weird Sisters was 'Holinshead's Chronicles', from which clearly the three sisters are associated with the time-continuum of Past, Present, Future: The first of them spoke and said: "All hails Makbeth, thane of Glamis!" (For he had lately entered into that dignities and office by the death of his father Sinell.) The second of them said: "Hails Makbeth, thane of Cawdor!" But the third said: "All hails Makbeth, that hereafter shall be King of Scotland!"

Interestingly, a woodcut from the first edition of the 'Chronicles' shows the sisters by a tree - obviously Yggdrasil! Despite the deliberate and systematic suppression of the Wyrd the concept arose from the Folk-soul at certain times. Of course the Cosmic Mind could never be fully suppressed and only fools would think that they could do so. The truth surfaces in the end! The Wyrd was at the beginning and is eternal, and the Sisters of Wyrd still weave the Web of Wyrd for Gods and Men and all things in the Nine Worlds.

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Pertho Rune

Pertho is one of the most mysterious Runes of the Elder Futhark. Before all it represents passing into the unknown or even initiation, but the term “initiation” can just as well be connected to Eihwaz as the Rune of death. This Rune can represent the female womb and the fertility cauldron of the mother Goddess. Its shape reminds one of a chalice, which is another association to the womb of the Goddess. The Rune itself signifies mystery, a mysterious event that changes one's life and leads him into a new state of consciousness or a new way of being. Because of this Pertho besides the womb represents a gate or a passage of every kind, but most often the one that leads into the unknown. By passing Eihwaz we have reached an unknown ground, a field we're facing to the first time, which can be caused by a change that has come to being in Eihwaz. But, Pertho can act independent from us and our facing ourselves, so the unexpected change can ensue, enacted by unknown forces. In which ever way you fall under the influence of this Rune, it will always signify a new beginning and a new life.

Divination:

Positive meaning: destiny, fertility, new beginning.

Negative meaning: unpleasant surprise, discovering an unpleasant secret, dangers in experimenting with the occult.

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Seidr Magic

Book: Seidr Magic by Ed Richardson

Of all the reconstructed systems of archaic magickal practice, Seidr seems to be one of the most misunderstood. This is partly because of its sinister reputation, and partly because of sexist notions that only women ever practised divination. All too often Seidr is mistaken for the craft of the Volva, where in reality (if such a notion is useful) the Volvas were only part of a far wider practice. In order to make sense of the collection of beliefs and practices which make up Seidr, some definitions shall be considered, followed by a look at some of the practices involved and their implications. This whole essay shall illustrate examples found in the myths of Northern Europe.

Seidr literally means 'seething' or 'boiling' and has much in common with shamanism and other forms of primitive magick. Indeed it is highly likely that Seidr is an adaptation of shamanic practices to suit the culture and times, when primitive society evolved discovering religion, agriculture and metallurgy. However, Seidr is not a religious practice; it is a magickal practice which is where some of its sinister reputation originates. Jan Fries explains that the Seidr magickians would sell their craft, which makes them something akin to occult mercenaries. Its use is always pragmatic and is reflected as such in the myths. The myths play a vital role in understanding Northern magick as they show how the Aesir, Vanir, Giants and Humanity used magick to deal with problems, hinting at techniques that may be useful today.

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The Oldest English Epic Beowulf Finnsburg Waldere Deor Widsith

Book: The Oldest English Epic Beowulf Finnsburg Waldere Deor Widsith by Francis Gummere

eowulf is often referred to as the first important work of literature in English, even though it was written in Old English, an ancient form of the language that slowly evolved into the English now spoken. Compared to modern English, Old English is heavily Germanic, with little influence from Latin or French. As English history developed, after the French Normans conquered the Anglo-Saxons in 1066, Old English was gradually broadened by offerings from those languages. Thus modern English is derived from a number of sources. As a result, its vocabulary is rich with synonyms. The word kingly, for instance, descends from the Anglo-Saxon word cyning, meaning “king,” while the synonym royal comes from a French word and the synonymregal from a Latin word.

Only a single manuscript of Beowulf survived the Anglo-Saxon era. For many centuries, the manuscript was all but forgotten, and, in the 1700s, it was nearly destroyed in a fire. It was not until the nineteenth century that widespread interest in the document emerged among scholars and translators of Old English. For the first hundred years of Beowulf’s prominence, interest in the poem was primarily historical—the text was viewed as a source of information about the Anglo-Saxon era. It was not until 1936, when the Oxford scholar J. R. R. Tolkien (who later wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, works heavily influenced by Beowulf) published a groundbreaking paper entitled “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” that the manuscript gained recognition as a serious work of art.

Beowulf is now widely taught and is often presented as the first important work of English literature, creating the impression that Beowulf is in some way the source of the English canon. But because it was not widely read until the 1800s and not widely regarded as an important artwork until the 1900s, Beowulf has had little direct impact on the development of English poetry. In fact, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Pope, Shelley, Keats, and most other important English writers before the 1930s had little or no knowledge of the epic. It was not until the mid-to-late twentieth century that Beowulf began to influence writers, and, since then, it has had a marked impact on the work of many important novelists and poets, including W. H. Auden, Geoffrey Hill, Ted Hughes, and Seamus Heaney, the 1995 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, whose recent translation of the epic is the edition used for this SparkNote.

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Francis Gummere - The Oldest English Epic Beowulf Finnsburg Waldere Deor Widsith

Asatru Faq Part 3

We Keep Talking About the Vikings. Does This Mean That Asatru is Only for People of Scadinavian Ancestry?

No. Asatru, as practiced by the Norse peoples, had so much in common with the religion of the other Germanic tribes, and with their cousins the Celts, that it may be thought of as one version of a general European religion. Asatru is for all European peoples, whether or not their heritage is specifically Scandinavian.

What are the Basic Beliefs of Asatru?

We believe in an underlying, all-pervading divine energy or essence which is generally hidden from us, and which is beyond our immediate understanding. We further believe that this spiritual reality is interdependent with us - that we affect it, and it affects us.

We believe that this underlying divinity expresses itself to us in the forms of the Gods and Goddesses. Stories about these deities are like a sort of code, the mysterious "language" through which the divine reality speaks to us.

We believe in standards of behavior which are consistent with these spiritual truths and harmonious with our deepest being.

How Does Asatru Differ From Other Religions?

Asatru is unlike the better-known religions in many ways. Some of these are:

We are polytheistic. That is, we believe in a number of deities, including Goddesses as well as Gods. We do not accept the idea of "original sin", the notion that we are tainted from birth and intrinsically bad, as does Christianity. Thus, we do not need "saving".

The Middle Eastern religions teach either a hatred of other religions or a duty to convert others, often by force. They have often practiced these beliefs with cruel brutality.

We do not claim to be a universal religion or a faith for all of humankind. In fact, we don't think such a thing is possible or desirable. The different branches of humanity have different ways of looking at the world, each of which is valid for them. It is only right that they have different religions, which of course they do.

Do You Consider the Norse Myths to be True?

The myths are stories about the Gods and Goddesses of Asatru. They are ways of stating religious truths. That is, we would say they contain truths about the nature of divinity, our own nature, and the relationship between the two. We do not contend that the myths are literally true, as history.

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Rehabilitating The Fylfot

ONE of the most venerable signs of our religion, one of the most universal symbols of mankind's spiritual aspirations, and yet one of the most passionately controversial, is undoubtedly the fylfot, more commonly known as the swastika. This emblem has been used from time immemorial in heathen temples, in Christian churches and, indeed, in Jewish synagogues.

Various interpretations of its symbolic use amongst our ancestors have been put forward. For some it is the symbol of the cosmos revolving round the universal axis, Yggdrasil. For others it is equivalent to the sign of Thor's hammer, more usually identified with thunder and lightning. The most widely accepted interpretation is that it is the sun-wheel, a variant of the so-called Celtic cross, which is an equal-armed cross within a circle, and that it thus displays the ever-revolving disc of the sun spinning in the heavens. The sun is revered because it is the guarantor of both order and life; order, because the sun's unchanging revolutions are the surest indicator that the cosmos operates according to regular and certain principles; and life, because the sun is the source of all warmth and light, without which the world would become a barren wasteland.

The fylfot therefore symbolises everything that is good and positive and hopeful in creation, and everything that makes life worthwhile or possible. It says in times of sorrow, 'Life mist go on', and in times of joy, 'Life is worth living'. The same idea is expressed in the Sanskrit word 'swastika', which literally means 'well-being' or 'all is well'. Armed with this knowledge, we shall be more able to explain the sacred meaning of this particular feature of our religion to those who know no better. Our people are steeped in ignorance of their origins and heritage. It is not our job to blame them, but to educate and restore them to their rightful inheritance. This daunting task can only be achieved if we act with tact, discretion and sensitivity. The fylfot, like the runes, assumes a secretive nature, helpful to the wise, unhelpful to the decadent and ignorant masses.

A symbol means, after all, whatever it is understood to mean. If for the war veteran it means the enemy he fought in the last war, if for the war widow it means the cause of her loss, then that is what it means to them, regardless of what it means to Odinists. Thus to flaunt it heedlessly instead of educating our folk to understand its original and spiritual significance, will only alienate those whom we wish to win over.

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Germanic And Celtic Religions

The only real differences between Germanic and Celtic religion seem to be the names by which the Gods are called. A viking of the tenth century would likely have felt quite comfortable in a Celtic ritual among the Gauls a thousand years earlier. Celtic religion deviates from the "Asatru norm" no more than do, for example, a priestess of Freya in Iceland and a warrior pledged to Wotan in Germany in Herman's time. Indeed, one is inclined to say that there is only "European religion" - and that the Germanic and Celtic beliefs are two expressions of it.

So what are the implications of all this? Well, it means that the Irishman need not feel out-of-place calling on Gods more often associated with Norway's fjords than the Emerald Isles hills and valleys. Ultimately all us Northfolk are spiritual as well as genetic kin.

Also Celtic-Germanic unity flies in the face of the sometimes-herard assertions that since Europeans often boast roots in different countries we're somehow mixed ancestry. How often have you heard someone say "I'm a Heinz 57 blend...part Irish, part Swedish, with some Englis h and German thrown in?" Clearly that's not mixed at all, because the Northern peoples are essentially one, in both their physical aspects and in their ancient relgiions. We musn't let people divided us on the basis of superficialities!

Thirdly, the catalog of our similarities measn we can use the one to fill gaps in our knowldge of the other.l As we reconstitute the tapestry of our ancient Asatru beliefs, there will be holes where the moths of time and persecution have done their work. But if we know the common pattern and how it's woven in the Celtic material, we can patch the holes with greater confidence.

Enough! All this scholarship makes thirsty work! I'm going to pour a fine bottle of Guiness into my mead horn, and toast all things Celtic/Nordic...Skoal, and Slainte, to you!

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Heathen Gods A Collection Of Essays

Book: Heathen Gods A Collection Of Essays by Mark Ludwig Stinson

The essays in this collection were written in the years 2007, 2008, and 2009. In their original form, they were written as blog notes, message board posts, and as answers to e-mail questions I received. They were never meant to serve as a unified message about Heathenry, and there has been no attempt here to tie them together into a well-ordered or all-encompassing vision for the future of Heathenry. The essays collected here have a conversational tone, like discussion you might have around a campfire...or over a cold pint of Guinness.

In collecting them, I have attempted to put them in an order that makes sense. To further this effort, I have also grouped them into categories. And to some degree, I have reworked all of these essays. Some required quite a bit of refining, while others required very little.

What you'll find within this collection is my approach to various topics and issues within our Folkway. The Folkway that is the ancestral way-of-life of the Northern European people. The scope of these essays is wide and far-reaching, but this collection does not provide a comprehensive examination of Heathenry. If that is what you are seeking, you should buy Our Troth, Volumes 1 and 2. And This collection does not serve as a complete introduction to heathery. Essential Asatru, by Diana Paxton, would better serve you as an introduction to our Folkway.

This book would not exist if not for Jotun's Bane Kindred. We are a strong and growing tribe. We work to support and advance each other, and I would not be the man I am today, without the incredible individuals of worth that fill my Innangarth. Their thoughts and ideas run throughout these essays, culled from our discussions and efforts together, and the lessons we have learned working together as a tribe.

The goal of this collection of essays is not to make money. The goal is to share information. So feel free to share or distribute this material however you wish, as long as you follow the restrictions described in the Open License on the inditia page. - Mark Ludwig Stinson

Buy Mark Ludwig Stinson's book: Heathen Gods A Collection Of Essays

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God Tyr

Tyr is one of the more important Gods because of his strong interest in law, order, and justice. He is renowned for his personal sacrifice to safeguard Asgard from the Fenris wolf. It is told that the wolf broke its original bonds so the Gods schemed to use another extra strong chain. The wolf wouldn’t let the Gods bind him unless one of them put their hand in the wolf’s mouth as assurance that there was no trick. Tyr, knowing the price he would pay, offered his hand, thus allowing the Gods to bind the Fenris wolf. In anger, the wolf took Tyr’s hand.

Who then was Tyr? In Old English he was Tiw or Tig, in German Ziu, in primitive Germanic Tiwaz. What little we know about the tribe(s) who spoke the Indo-European mother tongue(s) about 2,500 BCE suggests that they worshipped a chief god, the Sky Father, called Dieus (implying straightforwardly 'god') or Dieus-p'ter (meaning 'god(the)-father'), and an Earth Mother, putatively called Dieu-mater ('goddess-mother'). She gave her name to Da Mater or Demeter in Greek, which is cognate with Diu-no or Juno in Latin. Her name did not survive in Germanic, but of course the archetype of the goddess-mother did.

Even the scholars are baffled by Tyr. They trivialise our religion by suggesting he is a god 'who has come down in the world'. Brian Branston, in 'The Lost Gods of England', says that Tiwaz, which is Tyr's name in early Germanic, 'sank in the social scale and was no longer regarded by the North West European tribes in the later years as Sky Father but had dwindled to a lesser god, a god of war and soldiers'.

Tyr is said to be the bravest. A person who exceeds all others is thus called Ty-brave. He is also a very wise god, and so the highly intelligent are called Ty-wise. He is identical to Teiwaz, described by Tacitus in his study of the Germani. As such it seems he was the original sky-father, and ruler of the pantheon, and god of war before Odin took over these attributes. He is a god of social order, and of justice. He would be prayed to for skill in combat, for it was an art he was most skilled in. He would also be prayed to for victory in legal matters, though this is usually a matter of praying for strictly interpreted justice. He is not a god of peace and is said to be one who is not known to settle quarrels amongst men. He is a god of honor, sticking strictly to the word given. There is more on Tyr in the section on runes, under the Tyr rune. Tyr's men and Odin's men are famous for not seeing things eye-to-eye.

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Anglo Saxon Heathendom And Icelandic Asatru

Book: Anglo Saxon Heathendom And Icelandic Asatru by Eric Wodening

The ancient Germanic peoples essentially followed the same religion. Nearly all of them appear to have worshipped the major gods known to us from Norse mythology - Odinn, PorR, FreyR, and so on. They also believed in many of the same "spirits" or wights--elves dwarves, thurses, and so on. They held various festivals, rituals, and customs in common. This is not to say that there were not differences among the tribes in their religious customs and beliefs. There was always some variation in religious practices and beliefs among the Germanic peoples.

Perhaps the best demonstration of both the similarities and the differences which sometimes existed in the religious beliefs of the Germanic peoples would be to examine the respective beliefs of the Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic heathen.

It must be noted right away that the ancient Germanic peoples lacked a name for their religion or its branches. An ancient Anglo-Saxon heathen if asked about his religion would probably have referred to it simply as min beodisc gelefa, "my tribe's belief." The Icelanders may have responded along similar lines, although today this ancient and modern branch of the Germanic heathen religion is called "Asatru." For simplicity's sake, we will use "Anglo-Saxon heathendom" and "Asatru" for the faiths of the ancient Anglo-Saxons and Icelanders respectively..

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Germanic People Runes

Runes were known to Germanic peoples of the far North long before the Viking age began. The very beginnings of the use of the Runes are unknown, but the Vikings believed that the God Odin got them by hanging on the tree Yggdrasil. The name of this alphabet - Futhark, came to being by just taking the first letters of the first six Runes. Thousands of Runic inscriptions were uncovered on territories where the Vikings once roamed, sometimes even far from the borders of their lands. The inscriptions were most often engraved in stone, but there are examples of Runes engraved in metal, wood, bones and horns. Their use was varied: some were used just as road marks, while others would contain more serious texts. It's those inscriptions that hold invaluable informations for us about the life of the Nordic peoples. Most of them were made to honour the dead, however all these inscriptions also contain some other interesting information – founding of administrative centres, land ownership, oversea voyages, family relations, individual wealth, a person's status or even the beauty of a woman. Naturally, not all the Rune stones have survived to date. A lot of them were destroyed by Christian priests who thought these stones brought back memories of the pagan past. Others were destroyed by ignorants who didn't realize their worth and mostly used them as building material. Unfortunately, these cultural Heritage artefacts are destroyed even today, by various vandals; nevertheless, this happens a lot less than before.

There are three types of Futhark: Elder, Anglo-Saxon and the Younger Futhark. The Elder Futhark was used up to the 5th century A.D.; it consisted of 24 Runes divided into three groups called aettir(“families”). Anglo-Saxon Futhark was created in Britain during the 5th century A.D. by Anglo-Saxon peoples (Saxons, Angles); it was used until the 11th century. The Younger (Scandinavian) Futhark was used sporadically in Scandinavia, most of all Denmark and Sweden up to the 17th century. This alphabet was most often found engraved on jewellery, stones, weapons, wood, but very little on the discovered manuscripts. Here, we will explore the Elder Futhark, the oldest Runic alphabet used in parts of Europe populated by Germanic peoples, including Scandinavia; this is also the the Futhark we consider to be the most functional.

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The New Flesh Palladium

Book: The New Flesh Palladium by Robert North

Enter the realm of the New Flesh Palladium freely and of your own will. The author of this book, Robert North, is perhaps best known to the general public as the erudite translator and editor of the once obscure occult classic Sexual Magic by Paschal Beverly Randolph (1990). But there is a deeper side to the story. The author ... takes us on a dramatic adventure in the history of sexual magic.

The author of this work, Robert North,is perhaps best known to the general public as the erudite translator and editor of the once obscure occult classic SEXUAL MAGIC by P.B. Randolph. Now, in the form of a historical treatment of sexual magic, North introduces the world to the ideas of the New Flesh Palladium. the author takes us on a journey from the Heaven and Hell of Emanuel Swedenborg, through the realms of Mesmer and the Marquis de Sade, and into the worlds of aleister crowley and Wilhelm Reich. In the course of this journey we discover the philosophy of the New Flesh---a dramatic adventure in the history of sexual magic.

Buy Robert North's book: The New Flesh Palladium

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Kenaz Rune

Kenaz signifies a torch. It represents the light leading us in the darkness, helping us to rise from the dark depths of our spirit by knowing our selves. Seeing that fire is the element here, all aspects of this Rune are connected to physical and spiritual traits of fire. It can be the fire of creation, but also creative sexual energy. This Rune can also symbolize inspiration and understanding, that is every flash of light which can lead to enlightenment or understanding of something previously unknown to us; it can also signify the forming of a good idea in a creative sense. The inspiration Kenaz brings can be not only the creative kind but also the kind of inspiration that brings new motivation for life. Whenever your life becomes a routine Kenaz brings a breath of fresh air. The fire of artistic inspiration is strictly controlled, and the human passion must be the same; if it isn't, the relationship can become hell. Fire is connected to purification. One of the possible interpretations of this Rune is the association with cremation and it corresponding with Kano, the holy vehicle in the cult of Nerthus, Nordic Goddess of the Earth.

Divination:

Positive meaning: vision, creativity, inspiration, enthusiasm, passion.

Negative meaning: blind passion, destruction, loss of vision or inspiration

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Shamanism And The Image Of The Teutonic Deity Odin

Book: Shamanism And The Image Of The Teutonic Deity Odin by Asbjorn Jon

The Seidre were shamanic folk who travelled from community to community speaking with the Other-world on behalf of the townspeople they visited. They would question the recently-deceased loved ones and ask favors of the gods through the town's dead kinfolk. It was believed that they were also able to obtain special favors for individuals from their passed-on relatives. Such favors might be something like a priestess who may ask that her grandmother endow her with the family's power in her physical body in this lifetime, rather than waiting for it to be bestowed on her. Many of the Germanic and Slavic peoples believed the power was passed from family member to famlily member on the death of the preceding generation's head witch- but it sometimes skipped a generation or two, and the newly-deprived head honcho of the family's witchery would likely feel inclined to ask why. The Seidre could ask this question for them.

Also, as a group, the community might be inclined to ask for a particularly good harvest, protection from flooding in the spring, a light snow-fall during winter, or an easy freeze instead of a harsh and windy winter. In the event of some mystery, such as who committed a murder that had no suspect, they might also be able find this out by asking the deceased or a representative of one of the gods or Goddesses "who-dunnit".

The Seidre were also known as Bien-Sheidre. "Bien" is a French word meaning "excellent or beneficient"- now where does that fit in?? Was it a late-comer in the naming game? Or does it even matter here? So many questions. Most may not even be relevant, but I would not consider myself to have done very thorough research if I did not ask them all.

I believe the term to be a late addition from upper regions of France, since it is likely that by the time the Teutonic tradition was thoroughly rooted in Germanic cultures, they would have probably made contact and begun trading with French peoples from that region- indeed had probably done so for a thousand years or more. There is evidence of sea-travel up and down the coast of Prehistoric Europe- the routes from Italy to Gaul and the Rhineland areas (what would later be parts of Germany, via The Danube and Rhine Rivers) were travelled regularly in small boats. Even the occassional trip to Britain and Ireland was not unknown. It would certainly make sense to have a Seidre bless your trip, and then carry them across the water as extra protection!

Download Asbjorn Jon's eBook: Shamanism And The Image Of The Teutonic Deity Odin

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Germanic And Celtic Religious Lore And Practices

I referred to virtually identical warrior paradises in the scene which opened this article, but the overlap between Celtic and Germanic lore goes far beyond this.

Bogs throughout Northern Europe received sacrifices from Celt and German alike. Weapons and armor captured in battle, food and beakers, miscellaneous items - all were deposited in lakes and marshes in the same way, to the point that we can't even tell which finds are German and which are Celtic.

When the Druids sacrificed to the Gods, the blood from an animal was sprinkled with a sprig of greenery on the assembled people, so the divine energy inherent in blood could be directly transferred to them. In historical Asatru, our forebears did exactly the same thing in the course of a sacrifice or blot.. (Today, modern practitioners of both religions use mead or other fermented fluid in this role.)

Across the length and breadth of our European homeland, our ancestors honored the Gods in the open air, because we thought it inappropriate to shut them up into limiting, lessening structures like the Christian churches. Similarly, in the earliest days, our representations of the Gods and goddesses were simple indeed - often carved from pieces of wood to which Nature had already given the basic shape, awaiting only a few refinements from human hands.

These customs accurately describe Celts as well as Germans.

Tribesmen of both groups used intoxicating drink in religious ritual. Often this was mead, but it could be ale as well. And, while we're considering altered states of consciousness, let's remember the fit or frenzy of the Odin-gripped warriors, the berserkers. In old Ireland, essentially the same warrior's madness bore the name of "{\i ferg} ".

Readers of the Norse stories will remember how Sigurd the Volsung killed the dragon Fafnir and roasted its heart. When he burned his finger, he stuck it in his mouth and found that he could understand the speech of birds. The Irish hero Fergus gained the same gift when he singed his finger while cooking a salmon over a fire.



MAP OF THE UNIVERSE...

When we look at the cosmology of the Teutons and that of the Celts, we can't help but see the likeness. Both have the giant tree, the center of the cosmos and indeed the framework in which all the worlds are found: to Asafolk, it's Yggdrasil; the Celts call it Bile .

The other key component of the universe in ancient Germania was the Well of Wyrd, containing the deeds that make up the past. Drinking from its waters gives wisdom, and Odin gave up one of his eyes for the privilege. As it turns out, the Celts have an almost identical well; hazel nuts fall into it where they are eaten by the Salmon of Wisdom.

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Asatru Holidays February Horning

Horning 2,
Barri: This is the day we celebrate the wooing by Ingvi Freyr of the maiden Gerd, a symbolic marriage of the Vanir God of Fertility with the mother Earth. It is a festival of fertility, the planted seed and the plowed furrow. For those of you who garden, this is the time to plant seeds indoors, to later be transplanted in the summer garden.

Horning 9,
Day of Remembrance for Eyvind Kinnrifi: Olaf tortured him to death by placing a bowl of red-hot embers on his stomach until his body burst open. Eyvind’s crime was a steadfast loyalty to the Old Gods. A good day to reflect on kristjan kindness.

Horning 14,
Feast of Vali: This feast originally celebrated the death of Hothr at the hands of Vali. This late winter festival relates to the triumphant return of the light of the sun over the dark days of winter. Today it is traditional celebration of the family. A time for the customary exchange of cards and gifts with loved ones. It is also a time for the renewal of marriage vows and an occasion for marriages.

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What Are Some Viking Myths Or Legends

The Vikings had many myths, about their idea of creation, about the deeds of their gods such as Odin, Thor, Freya and others, and about the deeds of ancient Vikings. These stories were meant to be told around the fire to teach the young about the realm of the Vikings, and were handed down from generation to generation over many centuries. In about 1200-1300, some of these legends began to be written down. The written ones were called Sagas, and were mostly written down by Vikings in Iceland. These have been incorporated into later books and stories about Vikings. Other sources are the Eddas, or ancient folk tales. One important myth is the Viking story of creation, or how the world was made. In brief, the earth, named Midgard was formed from nothing. From nothing sprang the mists of Niflheim in the North. In the south there formed a realm of fire called Muspellsheim. When these realms met, water drops from the melting frost formed the first being, or frost giant named Ymir. Other giants then formed under his left arm, a man and a woman. From the offspring of these other giants were born three gods, Odin, Vili, and Ve. These three killed the giant Ymir and from his body they made the earth, or Midgard, between Niflheim and Muspellsheim. In Midgard, the gods set to work to build their palace, or Asgard, where they were joined by other gods. Later, dwarfs appeared, and the first two human beings, Ask and Embla, man and woman, were made by Odin from two trees. The three worlds of creation were held together at their axis by the great ash tree, Yggdrasil, with roots in Niflheim and branches spreading above Asgard. The myth goes on from there to describe the acts of the gods, their battles with giants and dwarfs, and the gigantic hall, Valhalla, where slain warriors were carried by the Valkyries to spend their days in bloody battles and be restored to health each night with laughing, drinking, and feasting. The chief god was Odin, who ruled over all others. He gave up one eye to receive all wisdom, and is always depicted with only one eye. Many myths describe the exploits of Odin and the other gods. There may be books in your local library about the Vikings and their gods and others are for sale in bookstores and on Amazon.com. Search on the Internet for "Viking Myths and Legends" and find much additional information. The Viking Age gods slowly gave way to the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia beginning about 950 A.D. By the 13th century, nearly all of the people of Scandinavia had become Christian. This greatly altered the world view of the people and was a factor in bringing about the end of the Viking Age. Vestiges of the Viking age remain in our modern culture, however, such as some days of the week, (Tyr's Day, Odin's Day, Thor's Day, and Freya's Day, or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), in midsummer and winter solstice festivals, and other cultural events.

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Gods And Goddesses Real But Different

To say that the Gods and Goddesses are real is not to tell us much. The next question is...what are they like?
Aside from the odd personal encounter and rare representations as statues or on old tapestries, the only descriptions we have of the Holy Powers are in the myths. When we look at the stories, we find Thor pictured as a muscular fellow with a red beard and flashing blue eyes. Odin is a tall, older man with a gray beard and one eye, and he sometimes travels in the company of his two wolves and ravens. Freyr - well, he's a fertility God, with the appropriate physical attributes.

Are we to take these vivid, dramatic images literally? That depends on how you want to think of the Gods and the myths in which they appear. Here are two possibilities:

We can think of myth as metaphor. In this scheme, the myths are symbolic ways of transmitting spiritual truths. They have multiple layers of meaning. On the most obvious and superficial level, they are entertaining tales that often make a moral point or illustrate virtues like the love of wisdom, sacrifice, and bravery.

Below this level, things get trickier. Some mythologists (not themselves followers of our ancestral religion) will say they are allegories describing natural phenomena such as lightning, or the warming of the land with the departure of winter, or the cycle by which vegetation grows, dies in the winter, and comes to life again in the spring.

Psychologists, particularly those who are students of Dr. Carl Jung, interpret the myths as depictions of psychic realities rather than external ones. In this model, the ancient stories tell us important things about the personal and collective unconscious. The heroic quest and the growth and maturation of the individual are typical themes. The Gods and goddesses are thought of as psychic forces in the person and in society, but are not considered objectively real.

We can admit the value of these viewpoints in a technical or analytical sense, while not conceding they represent the whole truth. Many Asatruar consider the myths to be true - not in the literal sense but in the sense of tales which tell spiritual truths, "those things which never happened, but always are." The tales of Gods become allegories, some of which can be deciphered by reason. Others cannot be interpreted in terms of logic, because they speak a deeper, non-linear "meta-language," the secret code of the unconscious. In this case, the myths communicate with us subtly, without words, influencing our mind and spirit.

For Asatruar who think of the myths as metaphor, the Gods and Goddesses are real, but the anthropomorphic images of them presented in the old lore are strictly symbolic. Thor is not really a gigantic, muscular, man-like figure with a red beard, any more than Jehovah is a human-shaped entity in a white gown sitting on a golden throne, surrounded by clouds. The description of Thor we find in the stories gives us a way to relate to the very real force in the cosmos that we call Thor, but it is not him.

The Gods and Goddesses are not limited by the constraints of flesh and blood. So while it is convenient for us to picture Freya as a beautiful woman wearing a shining necklace, or Heimdal as having golden teeth, these are allegorical. The Gods and Goddesses themselves are mighty spiritual powers, existing within us and without us, capable of manifesting to humans in any form they wish.

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Asatru Poem Svadi The Giant

There once was a giant,
Who lived on a Mountain called Blesanerg,
In the North,
His name was Svadi,
He was a son of the Thunder God Thor.

At one time there was a man named Val,
Val was the son of Agnar and Hildigunn,
He had a sword called Horn-Hilt,
It was heavily inlaid with gold,
And it never missed it's mark.

It happened that Val had heard some rumors,
That Svadi the Giant had more gold than could be counted in marks,
Val decided to take a journey to Blesanerg Mountain,
In search of the Giant's gold.

Val traveled until he came to Blesanerg,
He climbed up on to the mountain,
He searched until he found the Giant's Mighty Hall,
Hiding and watching,
Val studied the activities of the Giant.

One day it happened that Svadi went out of His Hall,
And down the mountain he went,
To do a little fishing in the Valley below.

Val seeing his chance,
Came from his hiding place,
He Ran to the entrance of the Mighty Hall,
Once inside,
Val searched until he found the Giant's gold.

Gathering up all he could take,
Val quickly ran out of the Hall,
Back to his hiding place,
Staying until Svadi returned from his fishing trip,
Upon the Giant's return,
Val made his way down Blesanerg mountain,
And journeyed with his gold back home.

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Potentialities Of Loki

Book: Potentialities Of Loki by Anonymous

The figure of Loki is as fascinating as he is problematic. Jan de Vries (1933), Hilding Celander (1914) and Folke Strom (1956) characterise Loki as a 'problem', while to Anne Holtsmark (1962) he remains a 'riddle'. To this day scholars are divided on how to categorise Loki. Some call him a god, others a giant, an elf (Karl Weinhold 1849:13) or a demon, and often they do not define what they mean by these appellations .i Is Loki a demon? Or, as according to Jakob Grimm (1835) (1953:199f.), a fire elf? Does Loki's alleged 'fire nature' (Karl Simrock 1887:99) imply that he is a 'destroyer' (Karl Simrock 1887:99)? Is he 'evil' (Hermann Schneider 1938:241), the Lucifer of the North (Sophus Bugge 1881:10)? The cunning trickster (Jan de Vries 1933)? Or death (Anatoly Liberman 1992:142)? Of course, a conference presentation cannot provide answers to all of these questions, but let us concentrate briefly on one of them, Loki as 'evil'.

Download Anonymous's eBook: Potentialities Of Loki

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