English Old Norse Dictionary

Book: English Old Norse Dictionary by Ross Arthur

You could, of course, print it and then consult it just as you would consult any other Dictionary It might be more useful to you, however, to keep it as an electronic Reference tool For one thing, you'll find that it serves also as an Old Norse to English Dictionary.

If you are now viewing this document within your Browser, I’d advise you to save it and examine it later. If it’s now saved on your computer, try using Acrobat’s Find feature, with the “Match Case” option turned off. I’ve created a special font to make it simpler to search for Old Norse

- To search for a vowel with an accent, just type that vowel and then a slash /
- To search for a hooked o (o,) just type o and then a comma
- To search for ae type a and then e.
- To search for oe type o and then e.
- To search for T type th.
- To search for D type dh.

Download Ross Arthur's eBook: English Old Norse Dictionary

Books in PDF format to read:

Robert Ellwood - The Encyclopedia Of World Religions
Max Heindel - Teachings Of An Initiate
Aleister Crowley - Songs For Italy
Anonymous - Witchcraft Dictionary
Ross Arthur - English Old Norse Dictionary

Ask And Embla

"All men and women are descendants from Ask and Embla, the primordial man and women who were found, as tree trunks on the strand, by Odin, Hoenir and Lodur and given life. Thus, Asatru is the legacy of all humans."

This is part of the lore of the Northern people. There are thousands of such stories told by cultures both ancient and modern, from the Old Testament to the interior of the Amazon today.

Humans in their tribal state were extremely ethnocentric, and often their various groupings bear names that mean something like "the true people" or "the real human beings" to distinguish themselves from their neighbors. Likewise, their creation myths tend to be ethnocentric and to pertain only to themselves - not to all of humankind, with which they are not particularly concerned.

To argue that all humans are descended of Ask and Embla is to say that the myths of every other native culture are wrong, and that only ours is right. From the Australian Outback to the depths of Africa, groups have their own explanations for how they came to be. It is the
height of arrogance to assume that our stories apply to them, and that the sacred tales of their own people are false. Unless we assume that their lore is inferior and inaccurate, we are forced to the logical conclusion that each group is right - so long as it speaks to its own people, and no other.

Indeed, to say that our creation story is the only true one is to deny the existence and validity of other peoples' Gods - for it imposes Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur upon these other folk, shoving their Gods rudely out of the picture and negating their own religious explanations for the nature of things. Most Asatruar would not support such religious imperialism. To say that ours is the "one, true" story of human origin smacks not only of religious intolerance but...well, racism!

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Runecaster Handbook The Well Of Wyrd

Book: Runecaster Handbook The Well Of Wyrd by Edred Thorsson

This complete guide shows you how to: make your own runes; load the rune with harmonious power; prepare the optimum setting for a rune reading. Includes general rune meanings, divination tables, the positive and negative aspects of each rune, itslinguistic component and phonetic value, runic layouts, and sample readings. By the author of the best-selling, Futhark: Handbook of Rune Magic.

Edred Thorsson in my opinion is the best author for anything to do with Runes or Northern culture and magic. I have been studying Runes and Northern culture for 10 or so years now and his books are the only ones I have come accorss that strip things back to the beginning. The information in his books is probably the most accurate and truthful information you will get anywhere. I recommend his books to any and all, especially those starting out with this kind of thing as there are too many books out there to do with Runes etc, which are vague and misleading. Also there are too many books with Christian and new age (I Ching etc) twists which don't truthfully represent the Runes at all. Edred does!

A great book for anyone whishing to learn more about the runes. Offers a good starting point for beginners and also a great resource for the more advanced runester. I have all three of Thorsson's books in this series (Futhark, Runelore & the Well of Wyrd) together they are a fantastic resource and a great spring-board to the more advanced studies.

Highly recommend it!

Buy Edred Thorsson's book: Runecaster Handbook The Well Of Wyrd

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The Worship Of God Balder

One of the most important festivals was held at the summer solstice, or midsummer’s eve, in honor of Balder the good, for it was considered the anniversary of his death and of his descent into the lower world. On that day, the longest in the year, all the people congregated out of doors, made great bonfires, and watched the sun, which in extreme Northern latitudes merely touches the horizon ere it rises upon a new day. From midsummer, the days gradually grow shorter, and the sun’s rays less warm, until the winter solstice, which was called the “Mother night,” as it was the longest in the year. Midsummer’s eve, once celebrated in honor of Balder, was usurped by the alien Christian subjugators and was from then on called St. John’s day, that saint used to entirely supplant Balder the Good.

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The Eddas The Keys To The Mysteries Of The North

Book: The Eddas The Keys To The Mysteries Of The North by James Allen Chisholm

This is a practical manual of self-transformation. It takes the form of a working edition of the mythological poems of the ancient Norse Poetic Edda for modern “pagans” who practice the magic and religion of the North. The poems of the Poetic Edda form the most complete and authentic body of surviving pre-Christian Germanic religious and magical lore. The mythological poems of the Elder Edda hold the keys to the understanding and practice of the pre-Christian religion of the Germanic peoples. This book enables the reader to fathom the
mysteries of the Eddic poems so that the elder Troth of the Gods of Europe may again be rightly hailed in holy groves, and the hidden wisdom of the rune-masters rediscovered. This book is especially practical for those who wish follow the authentic pre-Christian religion and magic of the English and other Teutonic folk.

A new translation of the mythological poems of the Edda is the main component of this work. The religious content is revealed with accuracy and clarity. Earlier renditions have been artful paraphrases by scholars who valued the poems as literary monuments, but disregarded the religious and mythic content as the nonsensical but amusing folklore of a more primitive world. None of them ever imagined that their audiences would include practitioners of the Eddic religion. The inaccuracies of such translations have led many modern pagans astray. This is the truest translation for purposes of understanding the religious content of the Poetic Edda.

For the rune-magicians, poetry was a powerful form of magic. The Eddas hold the wisdom of the Erulian Rune-Magicians, and many of these poems may be fathomed to incredible depths and heights, by those who know how to ask. This book is about asking. These poems provide sufficient material for an accurate reconstruction and revivification of the Odian religious and magical philosophies. These poems hold spells, invocations, and lore from which rituals, sacred dramas, and initiatory rites can be reconstructed or authentically created, as well as the keys to understanding the soul and the nine worlds of Yggdrasil - the world tree of the ancient North. Many of the keys are provided also for unlocking the secrets of mysteries of the cults of Thor, Tyr and the Vanir, though much of this lore is filtered through an Odian lens.

The Eddic poems are spells, in which the mysteries of the old lore are encoded by word, rhythm, alliteration, idea, and rune. The words of a given stanza are not juxtaposed merely because the resulting rhythms and word plays are pleasing, but because of there are deep magical resonances among such words. The impact of these magical stanzas perhaps may not be registered consciously, but the magic of Eddic lines reaches far below the shallow waters of mundane conscious understanding into the depths of the collective unconscious, into the realms where our souls mingle with the realms of the Gods. The power of the Eddic verses can be used for invocations and magical operations. It is the task of the modern elders (priests) and vitkis (magicians) to gain a conscious knowledge of the meanings and powers of these combinations of word, meter and rune. The stanzas of the Eddic poems hold the secrets of our Gods. It is the task of this book to provide the modern seeker with the keys to understanding deeper levels of meaning and to encode these into modern English for fashioning invocations to the Gods and for shaping powerful poetic staves in magic.

Download James Allen Chisholm's eBook: The Eddas The Keys To The Mysteries Of The North

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Odin Owns Ye All

(actual song and album title by Einherjer)

I sit by the fires gleam all by myself
Four empty chairs & one’ve been kept warm
I drink to my kinsmen who sails now with Njord
I drink to my kin who’ll drink here no more

Odin owns ye all

I sing to them songs I wish their best on their way
I’m sure a valkyrie found them in the battle that day
I drink to my kinsmen who fought bravely at sea
I drink to my kin who’ll be missed not just by me

Odin owns ye all

To arms To arms - The kinsmen said
They’ve chosen to meet us in battle today
Fight Fight - The kinsmen said
If we show true Norse courage they’ll soon run away
Wrong Wrong - The kinsmen thought
You cowards are fourty men may you rot in Hel
Rise Rise - The valkyries said
Odin decided this day you would die

I drink to my kinsmen
Who sails now with Njord
I drink to my kin
Who’ll drink here no more
I drink to my kinsmen
Who fought bravely at sea
I drink to my kin
Who’ll be missed not just by me

Odin owns ye all

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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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As The Asatru Kindred Grows

Sooner or later, there will be the need for the kindred leader to share the responsibility and workload of managing the Kindred with others. Early on one finds that the many tasks necessary to produce a successful Kindred gathering are just too much for one person to handle. You should not be shy about asking for help from the members of the Kindred. In fact, many are looking for ways that they can help all you need do is ask. I know some kindreds who are very fortunate to have members quite willing to act as chairmen of the various committees necessary for successful Kindred management and functions.

Another important step for the Kindred as it grows, is to decide to incorporate in their state as a non-profit church, and eventually apply to the IRS for 501 (c) non-profit status. This will require for the membership of the Kindred to elect three officers to serve on the Board of Directors of the corporation. The requirements for incorporation vary from one state to the next, but basically the steps are: elect a president, vice-president, and secretary/treasurer and draw up a Constitution for the church/Kindred, and a set of By Laws. Other states may require credentials from the "National Church" granting so-and-so Kindred official recognition. This of course can be handled by the office of the Secretary/Treasurer of the Asatru Alliance. A simple request to the Secretary is all that is necessary to grant credentials.

Some states require that the Constitution, By Laws, and Articles of Incorporation be published in the legal ad section of a newspaper. Of course this takes money. When the Arizona Kindred incorporated ten years ago in Arizona, it cost us about $650.00 for all the fees, which included publishing our incorporation papers in the local newspaper three times. Then there are the incorporation fees themselves, which can run anywhere from $75.00 to $150.00 for non-profits, and some may have to seek legal help as well. So, it is obvious that this will take a major commitment from the Kindred, but those Kindred leaders out there who recognize the great importance of legitimizing Asatru know that it is worth the effort.

Once this is accomplished, and when your Kindred is serious about obtaining money and property, then it is time to file with the IRS for your non-profit status. You will find when you first go down to your local bank and want to open a checking account for the Kindred, that the bank will require you to supply them with what they call an EIN number. This is an Employer's Identification Number. It is the equivalent of a Social Security number, except for an organization. This of course allows the IRS to keep complete tabs on all people and organizations that use banking services. It is very important for the IRS to keep their super computers busy compiling data bases on everyone and everything.

Now, there is a gray area in the way that the IRS looks at non-profit churches. If your Kindred is only taking in and paying out a couple of thousand dollars a year, they do not pay much attention to you and leave you completely alone. It is when you reach the level where you are taking in over $5,000 per year that you must look for the 501 (C) status. Of course your Kindred may cruise along forever and not take in very much money, but what if you decided to acquire property, build a Hof or activity center? What if someone passes over the Bifrost Bridge and leaves the Kindred a nice sum in their Will? Or maybe a rich philanthropist comes along and likes what you are doing and donates $100,000 to the Kindred, then what are you going to do? Well, if you are not incorporated and have not received your EIN number, you can not accept the donation without having to pay taxes on it. And the person making the donation can't use it as a tax deduction. So, chances are, that they may go elsewhere to relieve themselves of their money or property. If your Kindred has completed the first two steps of incorporation and obtaining an EIN number, you could probably accept a large donation, but would be required by the IRS to immediately request for 501 (c) recognition.

So what is required of the Kindred to obtain 501 (c) status? First of all, the IRS requires for you to pay them $500 for the filing fee. You then have to meet their criteria of just what a church is. You also have to provide them with some type of Financial Report of just what kind of money the Kindred holds, where it came from, and where it went, so they can again see if it fits their criteria as a church. It's really not as hard to do all of this as it may sound. Other Kindreds have already completed all three steps, and they would be glad to advise anyone who is seeking information on how to proceed.

I must stress at this time, that the structure of the Asatru Alliance is nothing more than a confederation of independent Kindreds. The Alliance is not an organization. We do not have a Board of Directors, a membership list, or do we charge dues. So the Alliance itself is not incorporated. The true strength of the Alliance lies in the number of Kindreds that it has who have accomplished the three steps of legitimacy outlined above. Of course we stress this point in our By Laws where we urge Kindreds to incorporate.(Editorial note since the writing of this article the Asatru Alliance has become a 501(c) 3 corporation).

Asatru is poised on the threshold of tremendous growth. The infrastructure for the future must be in place first. I urge all Kindreds to proceed with the three steps as soon as they are able.

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The Younger Edda Also Called Snorre Edda Or The Prose Edda

Book: The Younger Edda Also Called Snorre Edda Or The Prose Edda by Rasmus Anderson

SNORRE'S EDDA, OR THE PROSE EDDA. AN ENGLISH VERSION OF THE FOREWARD; THE FOOLING OF GYLFE, THE AFTERWORD; BRAGE'S TALK, THE AFTERWORD TO BRAGE'S TALK, AND THE IMPORTANT PASSAGES IN THE POETICAL DICTION (SKALDSKAPARMAL) WITH AN INTRODUCTION, NOTES, VOCABULARY, AND INDEX.

All the poems quoted in the Younger Edda have in this edition been traced back to their sources in the Elder Edda and elsewhere. Where the notes seem to the reader insufficient, we must refer him to our Norse Mythology, where he will, we trust, find much of the additional information he may desire. Well aware that our work has many imperfections, and begging our readers to deal generously with our shortcomings, we send the book out into the world with the hope that it may aid some young son or daughter of Odin to find his way to the fountains of Urd and Mimir and to Idun's rejuvenating apples. The son must not squander, but husband wisely, what his father has accumulated. The race must cherish and hold fast and add to the thought that the past has bequeathed to it. Thus does it grow greater and richer with each new generation. The past is the mirror that reflects the future. (R. B. ANDERSON)

Download Rasmus Anderson's eBook: The Younger Edda Also Called Snorre Edda Or The Prose Edda

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Rasmus Anderson - The Younger Edda Also Called Snorre Edda Or The Prose Edda

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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What Is In A Word

'IN the beginning was the Word' , a statement found at the beginning of the Hebrew Bible, is a typical word-play used to subtly twist the truth. ' The Word ' is attributed to the god Jehovah, a wrathful and destructive demon, and so all of creation is attributed to the destroyer. In reality the statement has a far different meaning.

' Word ' in modern German is ' wurt '; but in Old High German ' wurt ' meant ' wyrd '; the Saxon for wyrd was ' word ', phonetically similar to ' word '. The Norse ' Orlog ' contains the word ' Log ' meaning ' layers ', which in turn may have the same root as the Latin ' logos ', ' words . ' Log ' is also a record of events and so implies ' past events '. So this phrase, in truth, should be, ' In the beginning was the Wyrd '. A very different concept:

And so it was, is and will be! The Wyrd was first; the cosmic mind that drives the wheel of fate and mysteriously hides a changing pattern of unfolding evolutionary destiny. The rune Perthro is a dice-cup, the container that throws the dice in the game of life of which we, the gods, elves and all beings participate. It is the opening womb of the Earth Mother, giver of life, and at the time of birth we begin to work out our fate. Behind the ' chance ' of the dice throw is a pattern of evolution of which we form a part. We are woven by the Wyrd Sisters into the loom of fate, on to the Web of Wyrd, in a pattern with all the other beings of existence and our own destiny appears upon the pattern. And what we do will affect what we are in the future: the past determines the future.

Interestingly, the Norse Orlog is very similar to a Flemish (Dutch) word ' oorlog ' which means 'war'. The word war appears to derive from an Aryan root-word having the following meanings:

1. to will/choose,
2. to speak;
3. to wind or turn.

'To choose' reminds us of the Valkyries, Choosers of the Slain, an aspect of the Wyrd Sisters. 'To speak' implies 'the Word'. 'To wind/turn' implies the cyclic motion of the cosmos and 'wind' can be applied to a spring/spiral. Is the cosmos not a constant 'war' of opposites, the eagle battling with the serpent on the World Tree? And are we not a part of this constant war? And from this struggle emerges the evolutionary drive of the Wyrd , the cosmic mind.

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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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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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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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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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Did Vikings Live In The Christian Age

Toward the end of the Viking Age, from about 1000 to 1066, the Christian Church became more of an influence on the Vikings and they became less warlike. Even Leif Ericson, the first European to set foot on the North American Continent, was an emissary of the church, converting his mother (his father staunchly remained a pagan) and others around him in Greenland.

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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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Victory Or Valhalla The Final Compilation Of Writings

Book: Victory Or Valhalla The Final Compilation Of Writings by David Lane

David Lane was a prolific writer who tackled all of the issues imperative to the survival of our race. Some of the material contained in these pages will be familiar to those who have read Deceived, Damned & Defiant. However, this book also contains newer writings, including his fictional story "KD Rebel" as well as his last interview.

The 14 words created by David Lane are immortal words. The White Race is in great danger. This collection of writings by David Lane is fantastic. He was a "MAN AGAINST TIME". In Germany a lot of people know David Lane's 14 words. We also enjoy his great writings. David Lane had been a competent author with wide-ranging knowledge of the world. We must unite our race to survive.

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