The Rehabilitation of Loki, the Shadow of Odin

Loki, is He a God or a giant? The scholars argue that the Eddas appear to be ambiguous about this. My argument is that His status is no less ambiguous than many of the other major Germanic deities. We know that his father was Farbauti (ON 'dangerous hitter'), a giant. The etymology of Farbauti`s name is associated with lightening or the storm (See Rudolf Simek's Dictionary of Northern Mythology ). His mother was Laufey (ON 'leaf island'-a rather incredulous interpretation). Her alternative or additional name was Nal (ON 'needle) because she was so slender and nimble. Simek suggests that Laufey may have been a tree Goddess. She is generally considered to be a Goddess and listed as such in the Eddas and we have no reason therefore to doubt that She was one. The Eddas are replete with stories of matings between Gods or Goddesses with giants and the giants should be considered as an earlier race of Gods which the Aesir and Vanir displaced. Odin Himself was of giant parentage via His mother Bestla, a frost giantess. Thus we may conclude that Loki had as much Aesir blood flowing through His veins as Odin. However Loki's attitude towards the Gods is ambivalent. Early on in the mythology He is portrayed as a positive member of the Aesir, often coming to their aid in times of crisis. It is only with the beginning of Ragnarok and the events that precede it that we see a markedly different side to Loki. Causing the death of Baldur and preventing His early release from Hel and His slandering of the Gods in the Lokasenna He hastens on Ragnarok and shows Himself as an apparent enemy of the Gods.

That is how people superficially see Loki's role. However like life He is more complex than that and in my opinion He should be viewed as being the Shadow of  Odin. Loki and Odin are said to be 'blood brothers' and often journeyed together in Midgard. There is some suspicion that He is in fact the God Lodur who along with Odin and Hoenir gave life to man. Both Odin and Loki are half giant in extraction but Loki as Odin's Shadow has his giant inheritance from His mother's and not His father's side. Usually it was the Gods who mated with giantesses and not the other way around. My inkling is that Laufey may have been raped by Farbauti and hence the apparent shame and lack of identification with the father. This may account for why some are tempted to see him more in the light of being a giant than a God. Curiously He is named after His mother, not His father for in the Eddas He is referred to as Loki Laufeyjarson. Perhaps He was anxious to bury his giant heritage, maybe even ashamed of it for the reason stated above?

Scholars point out that there is no evidence for any cults of Loki in the pre-Christian past. However this betrays their lack of understanding of His role. If Loki is Odin's Shadow then it is unlikely that we would expect to see any such evidence for the common people were highly unlikely to worship such an apparently negative deity. Additionally as Odin`s Shadow He in effect IS Odin, His darker and seemingly more destructive side. However it is the Loki side of Odin's personality which grants the All Father such naked intelligence, cunning and at times seeming duplicity. Loki is a catalyst, an agent of change and transformation. Whilst He is responsible for hastening on Ragnarok He was not responsible for the loss of the Golden Age. In His seeming 'evil' deeds He is in fact providing a solution to the Wolf Age in which we find ourselves in. Through His actions the new Golden Age will arise after Ragnarok. He is the ultimate problem solver but His motives are not always clear.

Loki represents the ultimate Left-Hand Path Germanic God. He stands alone. He is independent. He cares not for worship, adulation or approval. There is no consensus over the etymology of Loki`s name and this does not surprise me for there is no consensus at all about Loki who is the ultimate enigmatic God. My interpretation of His name is one that suggests 'light'. I am reminded of Lucifer (an Indo-European, not a Semitic name) who shares a similar personality and name. It is likely that Loki derives from the PIE word *leuk. George William Cox in his The Mythology of the Aryan Nations volume II states:

"The name Loki, like that of the Latin Vulcanus, denotes the light or blaze of fire, and in such phrases as Locke dricker vand, Loki drinks water, described the phenomena of the sun drinking when its light streams in shafts from the cloud rifts to the earth or the waters beneath. The word thus carries us to the old verb liuhan, the Latin lucere, to shine, and to Logi as its earlier form, the modern German lohe, glow; but as the Greek tradition referred the name Oidipous......., to know and to swell, so a supposed connexion with the verb lukan, to shut or lock, substituted the name Loki for Logi, and modified his character accordingly."

The Eddas know of an Utgard-Loki and a Logi, a fire giant. Wagner in his Das Rheingold conflates the two characters of Loki and Logi together in the form of Loge and it would appear that there may be good grounds for doing so. It is interesting to note that the Old Norse equivalent of Saturday is Laugardagr, the Swedish logerdag and the Danish loverdag. Clearly originally before the pernicious influence of Christianity Loki had a much more revered role in the Germanic pantheon but like many of the Gods He was demonised and this demonisation continues amongst many modern day 'Asatru' and 'Odinists'. We need to view Him as the Germanic Prometheus who has brought the light of intelligence to man rather than the Christian imposed idea of being a 'devil'. To understand Loki we must try and free ourselves of our 20th century thinking and Christian indoctrination which I believe is the root cause for Loki's perception as being a type of heathen 'devil' or even as the 'archetypal Jew' which some heathens consider Him to be. It is clear to me that Loki represents those repressed parts of Odin's Self, those parts which both He and His followers have disowned (especially in modern day American inspired Odinism which owes much more to Christianity than genuine Germanic heathenism). By embracing this concept we will be able to understand Odin as a personality far better than the current one dimensional thinking allows. At the same time we will be able to understand Loki far better and appreciate His contribution to the Norse mythos. Those parts of our Self, those drives which we have that are deemed to be unacceptable by one's parents, teachers and society at large we disown but this act of repression does not make them go away. Instead they become repressed in the personal Unconscious and take on a life of their own, becoming the Shadow. We must learn to accept the Shadow, to integrate it as far as possible but NOT to be controlled by it. This is the process of Individuation taught by the great father of analytical psychology Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), the 'Aryan Christ' (see Richard Noll).

Denn die Todten reiten schnell

Many years ago whilst reading Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) I encountered for the first time the phrase Denn die Todten reiten schnell which is translated to mean 'for the dead travel fast' and is traceable to an earlier work by Gottfried August Bürger called Lenore (1773).

"In the carriage, Harker notes: As he spoke he smiled,and the lamplight fell on a hard-looking mouth, with very red lips and sharp-looking teeth, as white as ivory. One of my companions whispered to another the line from Burger's 'Lenore'. "Denn die Todten reiten Schnell." ('For the dead travel fast.') [ Dracula ] “Sieh hin, sieh her! der Mond-scheint hell. Wir und die Todten reiten schnell.” [Lenore]

This concept is familiar to those of who have experienced what is commonly known as astral travelling, when the spirit is temporarily loosened from the physical body and one is capable of travelling anywhere at or beyond the speed of light. It is conjectured by some that if we exceed the speed of light then we can experience time travel. I believe that this is perfectly possible and unlike the world of Science Fiction it does not require a special device. The secret is to be found within. For some this is an art which must be mastered and to others it is a gift. By the click of an internal switch one may experience an altered state of reality. This is something which I practiced as a child and as a young man but which I am no longer comfortable doing for there is always the lingering doubt that one may not be able to return from this altered state.

During astral travel or projection one experiences no limitations. All things feel as if they are possible. One is able to travel so quickly that one feels composed of light itself and this should not surprise us. The human body and indeed all forms of life are expressions of energy at different vibrational levels. Science tells us that energy can not be destroyed-only transformed, and this is what death is all about-a change of vibrational frequency when one being freed from a dense physical body which operates at a lower frequency level to becoming a being of light. Essentially our Gods are advanced beings of light who operate on the highest frequency levels. As such they are able to move freely throughout time and space. The Wild Hunt is one expression of this idea and is to be found not only amongst the Germanic peoples but also among other closely related Aryan peoples. As Claude Lecouteux pointed out in his Phantom Armies of the Night. The Wild Hunt and the Ghostly Processions of the Undead (1999) the 'troop' is made up of either human beings in ghostly form or animals or often a combination of the two. It can be both silent or noisy. Most accounts refer to how noisy the apparition is. Depending upon the country and the region the Wild Hunt may be led by Wode (Woden), Mother Hulda, Dame Holla, Percht and many other deities or supernatural beings. Mr Lecouteux stresses that "the Wild Hunt undoubtedly had an Indo-European origin," and makes reference to similar occurrence in India. Indra and the Maruts take the place of Woden in their equivalent of the Wild Hunt. Indra is often compared to the Germanic *Thunaraz. The Rig Veda likens the human body to a chariot whilst the eternal Self (the I) is the lord of the chariot (the Me). The lord of course may unlink himself from the chariot is he so wishes. This concept is also found in the Hindu Upanishads.

Modern Germanic Heathenism and its Corruption by Political Extremism

One of the obstacles to the growth of Germanic heathenism is the divide between those who perceive heathenism to be a purely ancestral religion (folkish) and those who regard it as wholly inclusive (universalist). This divide is then further reflected in the political divide between the 'left' and the 'right'. These are both barriers and unnecessary ones at that which impede the growth of Germanic heathenism and place pressure upon individuals to 'choose' a particular path. Those who are on the periphery of heathenism, people who may have an interest but are nor participants may be deterred from exploring heathenism further if they are exposed to the extreme end of either of these factions.

When I say the 'extreme' end I am referring to the following:

1. In folkish heathenism this is best represented by (predominately) American Wotanism, an extremely racist interpretation of heathenism which has and does act as an impetus for extreme political activism, criminality and even terrorist activities. This must not be confused with folkish Odinism or Wodenism (a form of heathenism found primarily in England).

2. Universalist Asatru which minimalises the importance of race and ethnicity and thus of ancestry itself, downgrading heathenism into an eclectic 'pick and mix' religion along the lines of 'Wicca'.

The animosity felt by both extremes to each other does a great deal of harm to the perception of heathenism amongst outsiders. Both extremes denigrate the faith of the other and each claims to be the only genuine interpreter of modern heathenism. This is a form of religious supremacism and reminds me of the centuries old conflict between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, both claiming to be the only valid interpreter of the Christian religion. This should not surprise us as the people engaged in the revival of modern heathenism are mainly products of 20th century thinking and have not yet learned to shed themselves of centuries of Christian intolerance.

The 'intolerance' that I speak of is to be found in both extremes of heathenism. The 'Wotanist' contingent intermingle a false interpretation of National Socialism (Hollywood uniform fetishism) with heathenism and a dash of Italian fascism. This unholy concoction damages our religion and marginalises it in the minds of the public, playing straight into the hands of those who would see our revival fail. Heathenism is thus viewed as being the religion of 'neo-nazis' and 'white supremacists'. The extreme universalists by engaging in neo-liberal politics also damage our religion as many outsiders who do not share their political views then dismiss heathenism as a tree hugging religion intended only for feminists, lesbians and those who seek an open border policy allowing our land to be flooded by yet more third world immigrants, thus creating the conditions for our eventual biological displacement. The universalist interpretation is largely revisionary as they project their western neo-liberal values onto an age and people who would deem their worldviews to be alien and inimical to the welfare of the folk.

Both the 'neo-nutzis' and the neo-liberals at both extremes of heathenism endanger it by their blending of it with their own personal political views. Both extremes make a laughing stock of our religion and cause many to keep their distance from it. Politics dilutes the religion and causes it to have a nasty 'smell'. We must strive as individuals to separate our political ideals from our heathen practices and beliefs. We must be aware that many people not only do not hold extreme political beliefs but may not be interested in politics at all.

It is unfortunate for us that Germanic heathenism first started to really grow in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s and thus our concept of it in England and in northern Europe generally is to a large extent framed by American thought. I have already commented many times in the past on my previous blogs that North Americans, especially those in the United States are inflicted by a strange neurosis, almost a pathology of sorts which I have termed the 'Pilgrim Fathers Complex'. For a country which is supposedly secular by constitution unlike northern Europe it is a hotbed of Christian fanaticism and fundamentalism and this to a certain extent is reflected in American Wotanism and Odinism. How much of our practices are actually Germanic in nature and how much is simply a 20th century American Hollywood view of 'Viking' religion, heavily coloured by Christian morality?  A very early heathen movement started by Stephen McNallen in 1969 was given the rather embarrassing name of the Viking Brotherhood. Fortunately this eventually became the more appropriately named Asatru Free Assembly.

Often in England Germanic heathenism is given the appellation of 'Odinism' or 'Wodenism'. This again is an Americanism and it should be recognised that our ancestors never called their religion by these terms. In all honesty we do not know what our ancestors called their pre-Christian religion and it may not have even had a specific term as to them religion embraced all stages and aspects of life and was not considered to be something which was kept separate. Whilst there undoubtedly was a 'cult of Odin' or Woden this did not embrace all of heathenism but was just one aspect of it. It is a fallacy to term Odin or Woden as the 'father of the Gods'. This is a rather late development and there is no evidence at all of any early primacy of this deity. Indeed in Norway and in Iceland (largely colonised by Norwegians) it was Thor who was regarded as the most popular and older of the deities.

By focusing almost exclusively upon the cult of Odin or Woden we are in effect cutting ourselves off from the great richness and diversity of heathenism. As with the Celts the Germanic peoples had many deities, some of whom were specific to a certain tribe or a location such as a mountain or river. Thus by naming our religion Odinism or Wodenism we are giving the outside world an impression that we are simply just another brand of monotheism as opposed to polytheism. I believe that this is in large part due to the American genesis of Germanic modern heathenism which is in my opinion heavily tainted by Christian monotheism. If one wishes to give a further name to Germanic heathenism then Asatru ('faith in the Gods') is as good as any. However it could be argued that even this term is not all inclusive if one takes a particular interpretation of who the Aesir are. For those who follow the Vanir deities there is of course the term Vanatru. My preference is just to call it heathenism. The fact that very few females are drawn to Odinism is no doubt down to the male-centric nature of the religion. There is far too much emphasis placed upon the male Gods and lacks a perception of balance. We need to see a little less of the 'warrior' emphasis and more of the nurturer and the mystic.

An example of Christian influence upon Odinism is the formulation of the 'Nine Noble Virtues' which owes more to the North American pioneers of the 'wild west' and the Judeo-Christian 10 commandments than it does to our ancient Germanic ancestors. The codification of belief is not Germanic but Judaic.

Dagenham Woden Idol from the third Millenium BCE

A replica of the Dagenham Idol on display in the Museum of London, by Ethan_Doyle_White , is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagenham_idol No changes were made to this image and the image owner does not endorse this blog.






Our knowledge of the Germanic deities is too tightly bound up in the public mind with Viking Age Scandinavia and consequently discussion of the Gods tends to focus too narrowly on this small geographical area in the latter stages of historical Germanic heathenism. My quest over recent years is to uncover evidence for and information about our deities over a wider northern European area and from a much earlier time period.

An interesting example of archaeological evidence for the cult of Woden is to be found in the Dagenham Idol, found in Dagenham in 1922 and carbon dated to 2250 BCE. This is a staggering 3,000 years prior to the early Viking era and significantly from what came to be England. Fortunately the idol was found buried in peat just under 10 ft below ground and near to the skeleton of a deer which is thought to have been a votive offering to the Gods. I understand that the idol is 'owned' by Colchester Castle Museum and is on indefinite loan to Valence House Museum in Dagenham with a copy on display in the Museum of London.

The idol is carved out of Scot's Pine wood and is 18 inches in height. Like many such idols found to be dated to the late Neolithic to the early Bronze Age this idol has two legs but no arms. What identifies this idol with Woden is a damaged left eye.

In an edition of the British Archaeology magazine in 2014 the Dagenham idol was identified to be similar to other idols of this nature found at Seahenge at Holme Beach in Norfolk. The wooden circles at Seahenge have an identical carbon dating and interestingly the Dagenham idol is said to originate from East Anglia as well. The fact that there should have been a cult of Woden in East Anglia in the third millenium BCE should not entirely surprise us we now know from DNA analysis and the study of the origins of Old English that there has been migration from the Germanic north of Europe to eastern England for many centuries prior to the 'Anglo-Saxon invasions' of the mid 5th century CE.

The Grim Reaper, an Aspect of Grimnir the Hooded One

For a number of months now I have contemplated writing an article on the 'Grim Reaper', a figure which has preoccupied my thoughts in recent years as I get older. Indeed I have struggled to get an article under way in the last couple of weeks until to my amazement I encountered this rather interesting post on the Inglinga blog: Wr.Alda & The Black Sun Wulf Ingessunu makes a connection between the Grim Reaper and Woden. For a long time now I have come to the belief that the Grim Reaper is a post-heathen manifestation of Woden in the Collective Unconscious of the Germanic peoples, especially in the Middle Ages when plagues were rife in Europe which owe their origins in part to the perpetuation of ignorance by the Christian Church. Wulf also makes the connection with the relatively unknown Saxon God, Krodo whose cult was centred in the Harz Mountains of north-central Germany, shared between the German lands of Lower Saxony and Thuringia. I have written about Krodo many times on my blogs. He provides new information about Krodo which supplements that which may be found on my blogs. I would encourage people to read his article in full.

What are the connections between the Grim Reaper and Woden? First of all both Woden and the Grim Reaper act as psychopomps for the dead. A psychopomp is an entity who acts as a spiritual guide for those who have recently died. In some cultures a psychopomp may take the form of an animal but in mediaeval Christianised Europe the most common form is that of the Grim Reaper. He takes the form of a man appearing in dark robes or a shroud with a skull face and carrying a scythe. Clearly the skull represents death. Th scythe is symbolic of the cutting down of the living in the form of crops to be reaped. The scythe also cuts the invisible chord that joins the physical body to its ethereal counterpart. When this cord is cut death ensues. In the same way when a baby is delivered its umbilical chord is cut and it begins a life independent from its mother's body. When the Grim Reaper comes for you there is no escaping that meeting and it would benefit us all that we prepare ourselves individually for that meeting which we can only do alone.

In the Eddas Odin and His messengers, the Valkyries have the function of being psychopomps. One example of Odin dealing out death to one of His followers and descendants is that of Sigmund, the father of Sigurd:

"But now whenas the battle had dured a while, there came a man into the fight clad in a blue cloak, and with a slouched hat on his head, one-eyed he was, [1] and bare a bill in his hand; and he came against Sigmund the King, and have up his bill against him, and as Sigmund smote fiercely with the sword it fell upon the bill and burst asunder in the midst: thenceforth the slaughter and dismay turned to his side, for the good-hap of King Sigmund had departed from him, and his men fell fast about him; naught did the king spare himself, but the rather cheered on his men; but even as the saw says, "No might 'gainst many", so was it now proven; and in this fight fell Sigmund the King, and King Eylimi, his father-in-law, in the fore-front of their battle, and therewith the more part of their folk." (Chapter 11, Volsunga Saga, translated by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson)

Woden reminds me of the ferryman in Greek mythology who ferries the souls of the newly deceased to Hades, the equivalent of the Norse Hel (not to be confused with the Christian concept of Hell). In the Eddas Odin on one occasion appears as a ferryman in the Harbardsljod in the Poetic Edda where He takes the name Harbard and engages in a flyting contest with Thor and naturally He wins the contest! Harbard has the meaning of 'grey beard' and Odin is always pictured in this way in the Eddas and Norse poetry. Whilst some scholars in the past have conjectured that Harbard may in fact be Loki (a view that occurred to me as well) Harbard is listed as one of the by-names of Odin in Grimnismal 47. Whilst Loki may be viewed in Jungian terms as the Shadow of Odin this article is not the place to explore that theory. Whilst Harbardsljod does not portray Odin as a psychopomp it is nevertheless important to point out that He occupied this role and it does have an association with death in Greek mythology.

Like Woden the Grim Reaper is often portrayed as wearing dark clothing whether this be a robe or a cloak. He is certainly a veiled figure, his face almost inscrutable until close up a skull is revealed, just as one of Odin's eyes cannot be seen as it has been placed in Mimir's well. One of the most compelling arguments for a comparison is that of the name itself: Grim. Grimr or Grimnir are by-names for Odin. Grimnismal 46 and 47 record this by-name and it has the meaning of 'the masked one' as does Grimnir (see Northern Mythology, Rudolf Simek). Odin is masked or hooded, His face not clearly visible. Often a floppy hat takes the place of a hood, all with the intention of masking Him.

It is believed that the earliest accounts of the Grim Reaper are from 14th century Europe when plagues started to decimate the population. By then Christianity had obtained an iron grip on most of northern Europe (apart from the Baltic lands) but Gods can never be truly repressed and will often manifest as Archetypes in the racial Collective Unconscious. I believe that this is what happened in the 14th century. Odin may have been largely forgotten by name but his image, His Archetype persisted. Indeed when certain aspects of the Self are repressed they reappear at times in the Shadow. Woden/Wodan/Odin was repressed in the Consciousness of the Germanic peoples so in my opinion His Shadow form reappeared a few hundred years later as the Grim Reaper in the Collective Unconscious. There are accounts in many cultures of the dying being visited by the non-living prior to death. Sometimes this is in the form of dead relatives as was the case with my maternal grandfather Hermann August Wilhelm Bock who died between 1932-1933. In that case his dead relatives took the place of the Grim Reaper psychopomp. However for those of us who do not fear death He will come I believe in His true form. Instead of fearing Him we should welcome Him as an old friend about to take us home.

The image at the head of this article is that of the 13th card of the Major Arcana of The Tarot, depicting death as a personality.

Some Reflections on the Norse God Lodurr

The God Lodurr is a rather mysterious deity. On the one hand He had an important role in the animation of the first (Germanic) human beings but on the other hand His name occurs only once in the Elder Edda and not at all in the Younger Edda.

"Until there came three mighty and benevolent Aesir to the world from their assembly. They found on earth, nearly powerless, Ask and Embla, void of destiny.

"Spirit they possessed not, sense they had not, blood nor motive powers, nor goodly colour. Spirit gave Odin, sense gave Hoenir, blood gave Lodur, and goodly colour."(Voluspa 17-18, Benjamin Thorpe) 

Carolyne Larrington in her translation uses the terms 'breath' instead of 'spirit', 'spirit' instead of 'sense', 'vital spark' instead 'blood' and 'fresh complexions' instead of 'goodly colour'. The Old Norse terms are Ond (Odin's gift), od (Hoenir's gift) and la and litu goda (Lodurr's gifts)

Ond has since the 19th century taken on rather mystical connotations thanks to the research of Baron Dr Karl von Reichenbach (1788-1869) who published a number of works on his discovery of Odic force. (See The Odic Force: Letters on Od and Magnetism) Ond is the vital life force or energy that Odin gave our Ur-ancestors.  I do not wish to dwell on this as I intend to write an article more specific to Ond in the future. The focus here needs to remain on Lodurr and His identity.

According to Rudolf Simek (Dictionary of Northern Mythology) aside from Volupsa Lodurr's name also occurs in the 10th century Haleygjatal (Eyvind) and in the 12th century Islendingadrapa (Haukr Valdisarson) as a kenning for Odin-"Lodurr's friend".

A number of scholars have attempted to identify Lodurr with Loki (Gras, Krogmann, Philippson, Schroeder, Thorgeirsson, de Vries, Dumezil, et al). Simek is not convinced by their arguments. In the Gylfaginning of the Younger Edda Snorri instead has Odin, Vili and Ve in the place of Odin, Hoenir and Lodurr:

"'One day', replied Har, 'as two sons of Bor were walking along the sea-beach they found two stems of wood, out of which they shaped a man and a woman. The first (Odin) infused into them life and spirit; the second (Vili) endowed them with reason and the power of motion; the third (Ve) gave them speech and features, hearing and vision." (Blackwell)

Vili and Ve are said to be the brothers of Odin but it could be argued that they were hypostases of Odin. The concept of a God revealing Himself as a trinity is a very old Indo-European idea, plagiarised by the Christian church. This helps to explain why Vili, Ve, Hoenir and Lodurr only occur infrequently in the Eddas and other Old Norse poetry.  In Proto-Norse the names of this triad of Gods alliterates: Wodinaz, Wiljo and Wiha.

If Lodurr was ever considered by the ancient Norse to be a genuine independent deity then it is quite possible that He may have been considered to be a God associated with fertility as Simek points out that Lodurr is related to the Gothic verb liudan which means to grow. The Old Norse lod also means 'fruit' and to 'yield' (Simek) and there could also be a link to the Old Norse ljodr, meaning 'people' and 'community' (Simek).

Armanen Runes and the Black Sun in Modern Heathenry Volume 1-a Review

Recently Aelfric Avery published a three volume set on the Armanen Runes. Some time ago I completed my first reading of volume 1, published by Lulu Books. I have not yet purchased the other two volumes in the set but I will do in due course.

Mr Avery is better known for his works on Gothic mythology and religion so it is good to see him turn his hand to the more esoteric works of the early 19th century. There is very little material which has been translated into English on the Armanen Rune masters. Thus far the most noted translators and reinterpreters have been Dr Stephen Edred Flowers (Edred Thorsson) and the 55 Club. I have occasionally translated some extracts of the more obscure literature on my blogs, most notably by Friedrich Bernhard Marby.

Mr Avery sets the groundwork for Armanism in volume 1 by giving a history of it and its main thinkers and pioneers, being Guido von List, Friedrich Bernhard Marby, Rudolf John Gorsleben, Siegfried Adolf Kummer, Karl Maria Wiligut and Peryt Shou as well as post war rune masters such as Karl Spiesberger, Adolf Schleipfer, Karl Hans Welz and Edred Thorsson. It may be argued that Marby was not an Armanen rune master as he did not work with the Armanen Futhorkh but the Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-Frisian Futhorc but nevertheless he was a rune master and had a deep influence on the Armanen tradition and was the originator of rune yoga or rune gymnastics, later developed by Kummer. Mr Avery does emphasise this point in his book. So for these reasons it is valid to include this great man within a work on Armanism.

Mr Avery discusses the relationship between Wotanism (von List) and Armanism, the thorny subject of National Socialism and the Armanen runes, the use of the term 'Aryan', Irminism, Aryan Kristianity, Hyperborea, Atlantis, the Midnight Mountain, ancient civilisations, Root Races, Vril, alchemy, the Holy Grail, Isais, the Black Sun, the Swastika and even  Zoroastrianism. As far as I know Mr Avery is the first and thus far only published writer to link the Black Sun with the runes and to introduce the religion of Zoroastrianism in connection with Armanism. It should be noted that in recent years Dr Flowers has researched Zoroastrianism and published several books on how this religion may be adopted by modern day Indo-Europeans and magical practises within this tradition.

Volume 1 contains a great deal of hitherto untranslated material which is essential reading for all latter day Armanen and I have to say that Mr Avery's work is both old in the sense of the source material but at the same time refreshingly new with his ingenious interpretation. With this 3 volume set and his recent translation of Siegfried Adolf Kummer's Heilige Runenmacht (Holy Rune Might) this young man has established himself as someone to follow in the coming years. It is very rare to find a modern writer who is not shackled by false notions of political correctness and who is both a practicing heathen and an Armanen. This book may be purchased on Amazon, Lulu Books and ebay. Without the least hesitation I wholeheartedly endorse and recommend this incredible book to my readers.

The Fylfot (Swastika) in Anglo-Saxon England

We are told repeatedly these days that the swastika symbol has 'nothing to do' with the German or Germanic peoples and belongs originally to Hindu civilisation etc. This of course is a bare faced lie for there is ample evidence for the use of this symbol by many pre-Christian Indo-European peoples outside of India. For this article I intend to focus exclusively on its use by the Anglo-Saxon and Norse peoples.

Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson refers to the use of the swastika or fylfot in Anglo-Saxon times in her remarkable Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (1964) and points out that it is to be found on funeral urns in pre-Christian England, especially in cemeteries in East Anglia. She points out the great care that was taken when carving the symbol with a high degree of precision so this symbol clearly had particular significance for our ancestors. She associates this symbol with Thunor, the Anglo-Saxon variant of the Norse Thor and by inscribing the fylfot on urns our ancestors were asking for Thunor's protection of the dead person. Likewise David Wilson comes to the same conclusion in his Anglo-Saxon Paganism (1992).

It needs to be remembered that Thunor or Thor is a God who is most closely associated with protection and the wearing of the hammer or axe amulet gives the wearer a feeling and consciousness that He walks before, behind and along side us. It is clear from the Eddas that Thor was invoked on at least three special occasions in the lives of His followers: birth, marriage and death. We know that many children were named after Thor in pre-Christian Iceland and Scandinavia. Often names incorporated 'Thor' as a prefix. It must be pointed out that probably no one would have been called 'Thor' but 'Thor' was included as part of a given name, e.g. Thorolf, Thorbjorn, Thorgrim, Thorgeir, Thorkel, Thormod, Thorsten, Thorvald, etc. Davidson points out that the hammer was "used to hallow the new-born child who was accepted into the community" (page 80).

Thor presided over marriage rites. A hammer would be placed on the lap of the bride which symbolically was a request for Thor to bless the woman with fertility. In the Lay of Thrym (Thrymskvida) in the Poetic Edda we have the story of how Thor won back His hammer from the giant Thrym by presenting Himself as the giant's bride. The hammer is placed into the hands of Thor as part of the wedding ceremony so what we have here is the mythological origin of this marriage ritual. Some scholars have drawn analogies between this and the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale recorded by the Grimm brothers. Bronze Age rock carvings in Bohuslan in Sweden show an axe wielding God standing over a couple which could be a very early pictorial depiction of a Thunder/Sky deity blessing a marriage.

Thor also presided over funeral rites. We already have evidence for the association of Thunor with funerary urns but there is also a story in Gylfaginning in the Prose Edda which relates the death and funeral of Baldr. Thor uses His hammer to consecrate the funeral fire.

In addition to the appearance of the fylfot on funeral urns the symbol also appears on Anglo-Saxon broaches, bronze belt mounts, sword hilts and Saxon sceatta coins. Germanic bracteates from Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Hungary also feature the fylfot, sometimes in association with the God Woden/Wodan/Odin. Many items recovered from the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo ship burial also feature the fylfot.

* The image at the head of this article is that of an urn found in North Elham, Norfolk and dated to the 5th-6th century.

The United Kingdom and its Orwellian Advance Towards Mass Slavery

The subjugation of the English people is almost complete. CCTV cameras are everywhere, whether they are operated by private companies such as shops, shopping centres, local authority street cameras or mobile ones that are operated by the police. London itself is the most spied upon city in the world, even one place ahead in the rankings above Bejing in China. See: The Most Spied Upon Cities in the World As far as the United Kingdom as a whole is concerned 20% of the world's CCTV cameras are to be found in this country and yet the United Kingdom is only the 21st most populated country in the world, taking up a mere 0.87% of the global population.

Earlier this year there was a controversial case of the police stopping a  man who refused to show his face to a mobile police recording camera. After stopping him the man continued to refuse to have his face filmed and he was consequently issued with a £90 fine for allegedly 'swearing' although the last time I checked there was no law on the statute book that outlawed swearing and I dare say he only swore when he had been unjustly stopped to begin with! This appears to have been an incident entirely initiated and provoked by the police. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of that particular case we have seen in recent years a tendency by the police to view ordinary members of the public as 'guilty' until proven innocent and an even more worrying tendency for certain forces to make up their own laws on the hoof!

An example of the police creating de facto as opposed to de jure laws is Nottingham Police in 2016 taking it upon themselves to classify wolf whistling as a 'hate crime'. Behind all of this is of course a group of feminists. Police forces have a statutory duty to uphold the law and apart from common law, law is made by Parliament, not by the police!

The now leader of the Liberal Democrat Party (a feminist with a shrill voice) is one of those politicians campaigning for 'misogyny' to become a 'hate crime'. You will note however that these feminists have little to say about misandry which is far more common. One only has to think of the stereotype of the 'nagging wife' to realise that there is some truth in what I say. Likewise a man is more likely to be a victim of 'domestic violence' than a woman and yet very little is said about this. For many years now I have been saying on my blogs that Aryan man must grow balls and take back mastery over his own hearth and bugger political correctness!

Returning to the issue of CCTVs and their ubiquitous presence, one only has to recall the novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, originally published in 1949 but completed in 1948. In his work we have the infamous telescreen which operated both as a television and a security camera. A couple of years ago it was revealed that 'smart' televisions had the capacity to spy on you and indeed so does your laptop computer which is why I suggest that people disable the camera and microphone functions when they are not needed. Like the telescreen modern television is full of propaganda, whether this be overt such as the 'news' or more covert such as the social conditioning that we find not only in mindless soap operas for adults but BBC children's programmes. The CBBC channel is rife with this with bedtime stories telling toddlers that some families have two 'mothers' or two 'fathers'.

With the introduction of the Crime and Disorder Act in 1998 for the first time in England, Scotland and Wales judges had the power to imposer longer prison sentences and larger fines if it could be established in court that an offence was motivated by 'hate' of the victim's race or religious affiliation. This went one step further than sections 3 and 3A of the Public Order Act of 1986 which outlawed for the first time 'hate speech'. Now we have the criminalisation of thought and THIS is Orwellian. We have moved from the criminalisation of an act to the criminalisation of words to the criminalisation of the thought. This was predicted by Orwell in his novel and the term that he coined for this was crimethink, although those who have not actually read the book refer to this as thoughtcrime. The terms crimethink and wrongthink are the ones actually used in the society portrayed in the novel.

Many years ago when I went through a  phase of reading some of David Icke's earlier books I encountered Icke's use of the term 'internal policeman'. He talked about his theory that people do not always need the actual police to police their actions, words or thoughts for we do this ourselves. Social engineering and social conditioning have created one vast prison, a prison without bars in which we are as individuals so terrified of having unorthodox thoughts that we act as our own internal or psychological policeman and monitor and control our own thoughts lest we say or do something which would be frowned upon by society as a whole. The State no longer merely outlaws the act but our inconvenient and rebellious words and now our thoughts, with judges punishing us for having unorthodox thoughts. Crimethink has now become a reality and is on the statute book.

The organisation in Orwell's novel that enforced laws concerning crimethink were of course the Thought Police or to use the more correct term which appears in the novel, Thinkpol, and they used the surveillance systems of the day, not so much as to catch real criminals but to look for any deviation in behaviour or appearance from the masses. This is the main purpose of CCTV in the United Kingdom today. It is largely impotent in detecting or preventing crime. Instead it is a system that is being used (along with the Internet and 'smart' phones) to amass data on the whole population. The prime mover in this are the 'intelligence' (unfortunate use of the term-it reminds me of that other oxymoron 'military intelligence') agencies, in particular GCHQ whose main task is to not just monitor foreign and hostile 'enemy' communications but to spy on the general populace, something which they have been doing illegally for decades and yet no one has been taken to court over this. The courts are there merely to punish the masses who do not conform to the expectations of the (largely invisible) elite. Their love of fining people is an excellent way to raise funds for the Treasury instead of compensating the victim. As an aside when Woden's Folk appeared in most mainstream news outlets the other week this new blog of mine experienced a spike in visits as did those of my folk comrades. I am well aware that GCHQ and/or MI5 visit our blogs for their presence is detectable in the corresponding spike in Linux users in my blog statistics, an operating system which is used by less than 2% of the population but is standard for GCHQ! I do hope that their visits were not a  complete waste of time and that they did learn something about Indo-European mythology!

Like the modern day police and 'intelligence' agencies Thinkpol orchestrate false flag operations and as part of this they infiltrate what they regard as 'subversive' organisations and influence others to commit offences. Usually the most suspect ones are the 'fanatics' who have very little if any prior history that can be checked. Undercover reporters who earn their living from lying to others and duplicity are often used by the authorities for purposes of infiltration and subversion and I have no doubt that they share information with them either willingly or under duress.

Returning to David Icke's theory of the internal policeman this in essence is the same thing as the Orwellian concept of doublethink, the ability to hold two contradictory opinions at the same time. This is essentially cognitive dissonance and ultimately it can result in only one thing-psychosis. This may help in part to explain the sharp rise in mental illness in recent decades. People en masse these days engage in doublethink without necessarily always being aware of it. With this kind of mass sociological and psychological control one can see why the government does not need to spend greater sums of money on expanding the 'intelligence' services.

The official term for the language of Oceania, the fictional superstate in which the novel is set is newspeak, an artificial language deliberately constructed in order to control the thoughts, words and ultimately the actions of the masses. It is no secret that this is the very same aim of political correctness which made its public appearance in the west in the 1970s and has gained a firm foothold since then. This ideology, initially promoted by Marxists is now mainstream and has infected every aspect of our lives. It effectively legitimises homosexuality, same-sex 'marriage', miscegenation, feminism and any other act or movement that harms Aryan society. Any prevailing lunatic theory gaining currency such as 'gender dysphoria' and people being allowed to 'choose' a gender is not only legitimised by the State and its institutions but those who oppose it are treated as social lepers or even criminalised. Even once rational people who like myself are old enough to remember a slightly saner world are infected by this neurosis and neurosis is exactly what political correctness is.

Newspeak is not only an artificial language created by the State but the size of its vocabulary shrinks every year, giving people less options for the words that they can use. This effectively limits freedom of thought as well. As with political correctness and Icke's internal policeman newspeak starts off with controlling our words and then our thoughts with the ultimate aim of discouraging unorthodoxy and rebellion against the State. This is why the laws introduced since the mid 1980s should cause us to speak out against this encroaching totalitarianism.

Propaganda was a central feature of how the party of the State, Ingsoc (English Socialism) operated. The primary means of disseminating propaganda (or lies) was via the telescreen and the press. We see the same methods used today by the State. Where the State does not own or control the media (e.g. the BBC) it works in cahoots with rootless millionaire media owners who likewise have a personal vested interest in preserving the lie so the same crap is turned out regardless of who owns a particular 'news' paper, television or radio company. The same type of people are recruited for these positions who have undergone the same type of education (brainwashing) in the cultural Marxist universities of the day and like paid whores will follow the 'party line' and not deviate from what they are told to write or speak. There is very little real journalism to speak of these days. More often than not a 'journalist' to save time, energy and work will simply copy and paste what they read on the Internet  without any critical examination or any genuine right of reply when someone has been defamed by these creatures with their lies and slurs.

What is the purpose of all this brainwashing? To what end are we being manipulated? One of the aims is to create a compliant population, a compliant workforce, a nation of slaves. This process in England was initiated by William the Bastard and the Norman invasion and conquest of 1066 where most of our native nobles were deposed (apart from the traitors) and century after century of social conditioning has occurred since then. The extension of basic education and literacy to the masses was for two reasons and neither were altruistic. The first reason was that the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century required a greater number of skilled people and educated people who could function in administrative positions. Secondly with the emergence of 'news' papers in the 17th century the elite of the day realised that mass propaganda could very quickly be disseminated to the population as a whole but that this was contingent on mass education as well and this started to develop in the mid 19th century. My great great great grandfather was originally a schoolmaster in the 1830s and 40s prior to becoming a minister of religion. Being born in the 18th century he could only have received an education if his father, a Gentleman, paid for it. The vast majority of people at the time had little if no literacy and this no longer suited the economic system of the time or the elite. With the gradual extension of the electoral franchise in the 19th century there had to be a means of influencing the masses politically. This of course was the role of the press and eventually in the 20th century the radio and then television. For this reason the Internet is seen as a threat to the State for it has no regulatory control over it. Consequently many police forces will spend thousands of pounds in Council Tax payers' money 'policing' the Internet, searching for 'subversives'! Likewise GCHQ and MI5 will have teams of people engaged in checking what people like me write on our blogs and websites.

We have seen this week the publication of a report by The Centre for Social Justice (another oxymoron) titled Ageing Confidently-Supporting an ageing workforce. This piece of propaganda from an organisation which is chaired by that famous social justice warrior, Iain Duncan Smith (the Secretary of State who introduced the now infamous Universal Credit) and proposes (surprise, surprise) that the State pension retirement age should be increased first to 70 in 2028 and then 75 in 2035. This in effect would turn the entire country into a workhouse, a slave population where only a minority of people such as Duncan Smith could afford to retire whenever they wanted and I can guarantee that the likes of him will not be flogging their guts out on a building site at the age of 74! Any political party which attempts to support and adopt this insane and inhumane policy will be severely punished at the next general election and the Conservative Party effectively is supported by people who have already retired or are close to it. As the Americans say "do the mathematics"!

For a number of years now we keep hearing the mantra that 'we are all living longer' which in itself of course is a lie for we are not "all" living longer. As I have commented on other blogs before now, people are not living any longer than they ever used to do-they are simply not dying in infancy any more. This has extended the average life span but NOT the life expectancy which are two separate issues. Anyone like myself who has spent several years in ancestral research can tell you that nothing has changed in terms of life spans apart from the near eradication of infant mortality. We are being sold a lie and many are foolish enough to believe it. There may be more old and older people alive now but that is due to the spike in births after the war and extending to the early 1960s and the consequent reduction of births since then with the introduction of contraception and legalised child murder. Once these 'baby boomers' start to die off as we will, the population will begin to stabalise. In terms of 'affordability' of pensions if the HMRC were to pull their finger out and chase millionaires and large corporations for the tax that is owed to the Treasury instead of agreeing cosy deals behind closed doors then this recovered tax would more than offset the cost of old age pensions. However the Conservative government prefers instead to offer tax cuts to its rich financial backers than look after its elderly. The recent fiasco over the withdrawal of free television licences for the over 75s is indicative of that. Regardless of whether people are 'living longer' or not they are certainly not getting any healthier as the BBC keeps telling us about the burden that the elderly place upon the NHS! So there is a clear contradiction (cognitive dissonance) and a  flaw in the arguments of these social justice warriors such as Duncan Smith. Likewise we are continually bombarded with propaganda that people actually want to work themselves to death. Everything you see is by popular demand!

I really do urge my readers to obtain a copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four and to analyse it in depth for this is the blueprint of modern western government.

The Triquetra-a Symbol Common to the Germanic and Celtic Peoples

The symbol known as the triquetra is generally assumed to be a Celtic or solely a Celtic symbol and often a Christian one at that. Whilst the symbol became ubiquitous in early mediaeval Celtic inspired art in the British Isle its origins reach back into pre-Christian times and are not confined to just the Celts. A form of this symbol may be found on Scandinavian rune stones and a photographic example of this is attached to this article. The rune stone in question is catalogued as U 937 from Funbo in Uppsala, Sweden, now situated in a park at Uppsala University.

A triquetra also is to be found on the 7th Anglo-Saxon frith stool in Hexham Abbey, Northumberland. I have seen the stool but I cannot recall now after more than 20 years whether at the time I noticed the symbol or not. The presence of a triquetra on an Anglo-Saxon stone chair or 'throne' points to the possible use of this symbol by the Anglo-Saxons. It certainly remained as a spiritual symbol with the transition from heathenism to Christianity when it became known as the 'Trinity Knot', symbolising the triune Christian god as 'Father, Son and Holy Ghost'.

The triquetra is often compared to the Norse Valknut but I find the comparison to be quite superficial although I would argue that stylistically it is similar to the triple horns of Odin symbol, an alternative Odinic triple symbol. The symbol does appear on early silver Anglo-Saxon coins although it must not be assumed that at the time that this was intended to be depicted as a heathen symbol. The form of triquetra on this coin: Anglo-Saxon coin does strongly resemble the form on the U 937 Funbo rune stone. A form of the symbol also appears on English Viking era coins and here is an example of one from York: Viking Coin My readers will notice that this form of the triquetra strongly resembles the triple horn of Odin symbol. I have provided links to the website which feature images of these coins rather than posting their images on here as I am unsure of their copyright status.

Walther Blachetta briefly discusses the triquetra in his Das Buch der Deutschen Sinnzeichen, 1941:

"The triquetra is likewise an old Germanic form of the trefot and the sign for the threefold duty, which God, the world and mankind place on every life. " (My translation )

Please note that the German term for the triquetra is Die Dreierschild. Of course the interpretation by Blachetta must be regarded as a personal opinion as we cannot possibly know after so many centuries how our ancestors viewed the symbol and its meaning for them but there may very well be a certain overlap in meaning with other Germanic, Celtic and Indo-European symbols which are triple in nature.

Folkish Wodenism: Daily Press - Smears and Lies

Folkish Wodenism: Daily Press - Smears and Lies:

Our supporters will no doubt have seen the sensationalism of the press in action, starting with the Daily Telegraph. An article about Woden's Folk was full of smear-by-association, distortion and downright lies. It went as far as to try a smear-by-association with terrorists from overseas who were labelled 'Odinist', even though one claimed himself to be a 'Christian' and the other I know little of to comment. 

• We are not a 'neo-nazi' or 'fascist' group, both of these being politically orientated: we are a Religious Movement. In fact we are a Religious Movement that is recognised in English Law through a tribunal case.
• We have never stated that Adolf Hitler was the 'Second Coming of a Norse God', merely pointed out the archetypal symbolism brought up by Carl Gustav Jung, the Swiss Psychologist. 'Second Coming' is not a phrase used within Wodenism, it is a Christian concept. We have also gone into the archetypes of Hengest, Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan. 
• In regard to the carving of 'Swastikas' at the site of Wayland's Smithy no Wodenist or Northern Heathen would ever do such a thing, this being a Sacred Site. If there are 'Swastikas' carved into the trees there I suggest that these be investigated for criminal damage as this is not the first time a Heathen Sacred Site here in England has had this done in order to smear Wodenism or Odinism. We have never done damage to this or any other site; indeed on one occasion we cleared THREE bin-bags full of rubbish from the site and took it home with us. Contrast this with the tons of rubbish collected from Stonehenge each Midsummer!
• Even where individual supporters (we have no membership) may involve themselves in political action, we do not do so and have always stuck to our Folkish Religion which has its own rites and rituals. We hold Folk-Moots which are concerned with rituals and religious rites (as can be seen from the photos in the press). 
• We are most certainly not a 'racist' group since on many occasions I have stated clearly that we are willing to work with other peoples of the world who oppose globalism and the destruction of nations and lands. We have never espoused 'racist' views nor any form of 'race hatred' - we uphold a love of our own folk.
• Most of the conversation between myself and the 'undercover reporter' concerned gardening, but this was completely ignored in favour of attacking us for our interest in the Martial Arts, Bushcraft and Survivalism, things done by millions of people today. Our work as a Nature Religion and concerns with ecology and our Sacred Land were ignored, even though this forms a great part of our work. Our work within the sphere of Bushcraft and Survalism is not done through the Wodenic Hearths (not 'cells' as stated by the press) but by individuals doing this on their own initiative. This work has actually been justified by the headlines in the same issue of the Telegraph which told of power-cuts due to outdated generators, and floods around England. This is the reason we do these things, as clearly stated in our work. 

We shall make a full statement later on this subject.

Wayland the Smith

"Wayland's Smithy", by Ethan_Doyle_White , licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayland%27s_Smithy This image has not been changed and the image owner does not endorse this blog.






Wayland to me is a curious entity for He does not rank amongst the Aesir in the Eddas and yet there is a tendency to consider Him as a divine personage. He is certainly a pan-Germanic entity as He appears right across the ancient Germanic world from the Anglo-Saxons to the Norse and the Germans.

The relevant sources are Volundarkvida (Poetic Edda), Thidrekssaga (based on original Low German material), various  German legends concerning Theodoric the Great and Deor, Waldere and Beowulf  (Old English). I would encourage my readers to read the aforementioned sources to get a fuller picture of Wayland (Old English Welund) who is known as Volundr or Velentr in Old Norse, Wieland in Modern German and Wiolant in Old High German. The Proto-Germanic has been reconstructed as *Welandaz, meaning 'battle-brave' (see Der Name Wieland, Beitraege zur Namenforschung, Hellmut Rosenfeld, 1969).

The legend of Wayland appears also in sculpture, eg the Franks Casket, a small chest made from whale bone and dating to the 8th century. It features scenes from both Germanic and Roman mythology as well as the Bible and is covered with Anglo-Saxon runes. It is certainly culturally and religiously a hotchpotch! The onset of the Viking Age in England also reintroduced this figure to the  Christianised English. A panel featuring Wayland holding Beaduhild above His head is to be found on the 10th century Leeds Cross found in the now demolished Leeds Parish Church. The cross is now housed in Leeds Minster.


In England Wayland is better known for his association with a Neolithic long barrow-Wayland's Smithy in the Berkshire Downs. Archaeologists have dated its construction to around 4500-3800 BCE. Curiously this is used as an argument to state that as the barrow predates the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons it must therefore have nothing whatsoever to do with either the Anglo-Saxons or their Gods. This is an ignorant and ill-informed 'argument' that flies in the face of the facts that there has been two way migration between England and continental Europe for millennia and that a form of English or Germanic was spoken in England many centuries before the official date of 449CE given in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles for the arrival of the English tribes. Regardless of this even if they were correct that does not gainsay the sanctity given to the site by our Anglo-Saxon ancestors and this is why it is still sacred to us heathens today.


There is a well known legend attributed to the site referred to in A Letter to Dr. Mead Concerning Some Antiquities in Berkshire by Francis Wise, 1738:

"At this place lived formerly an invisible Smith, and if a traveller's Horse had lost a Shoe upon the road, he had no more to do than to bring the Horse to this place with a piece of money, and leaving both there for some little time, he might come again and find the money gone, but the Horse new shod."

Curiously in 1921 during an excavation two iron bars were discovered which is an indication that at some point in the distant past this burial chamber was indeed used as a smithy.


Whilst the Viking settlers certainly breathed new life into the Wayland legend His memory had not been eradicated by a couple of centuries of Christianity for even the Christian King Alfred the Great makes reference to Him in his translation of Boethius:

"Where now are the bones of Wayland the wise, that goldsmith so glorious of yore? Who now wots of the bones of Wayland the wise or which is the low where they lie?"

In the Thidrekssaga it is revealed that the father of Wayland is a giant called Wade. Wade was the son of King Wilkinus and a mermaid. Wade's Causeway in the North York Moors is a 6,000 years old monument which is associated in folklore with the giant Wade and its more ancient name is Waddes grave. It is tempting to draw a link between Wade and Woden, whose most ancient name was Wode, a storm giant. I am also reminded of Merovech who according to legend was the son of the Quinotaur, the beast of Neptune and the wife of Chlodio, King of the Franks. There is a recurring theme in European mythology of great heroes and kings being born from otherworldly creatures or Gods. Sometimes the Gods would take the form of a beast. We have the example of the birth of Alexander the Great who was according to legend conceived on his mother Olympia by a snake who was Ammon, the Egyptian form of Zeus. Alexander identified closely with Zeus-Ammon and certainly seemed to be convinced of the veracity of the legend of his descent from Him.

The sources make it clear that Wayland was made lame due to being hamstrung by King Nidhad and this provided the motivation for His revenge. I am reminded of the Greek Hephaestus (possibly a son of Zeus) who was made lame following His fall from the heavens. He was of course the smith of the Gods and also like Wayland of apparent divine parentage.

Meritocracy, the Enemy of the Traditional World and the Indo-European Caste System

Some time ago I read read some suggestions that the revived Germanic caste system should be based on a meritocracy, something which I cannot agree with and in essence is a contradiction of the concept of caste. Meritocracy is defined according to the Collins Concise English Dictionary as:
"rule by persons chosen for their superior talents or intellect." In effect this is the system which is used by democracy which the aforesaid dictionary defines as: "government by the people or their elected representatives."

It is clear to me that we cannot have both; a caste system and a meritocracy. The caste systems of the Indo-European peoples were no doubt a reflection of the original Aryan caste system, something which I have discussed many times on this blog and on my previous blogs. I do not intend to repeat the same arguments here. There was originally no mobility between the various castes. Only gradually with the onset of degeneration and intercaste miscegenation did this happen. This eventually caused the breakdown of the caste system and the loss of racial consciousness and blood memory. People were born into the caste which was fitting to their non-corporeal essence. There was generally no desire to be different to the station and caste that one was born into. This is a very modern and western notion and has no place in a traditional Aryan world view. Julius Evola in his Revolt Against the Modern World argues that traditional man was able to develop his own nature within the caste system and the said system was regarded as a "natural, agreeable institution" with no thoughts of 'social injustice' or 'oppression' which are modern political concepts. A man recognised his relation towards his superiors and inferiors according to their inner nature which the caste system was a visible expression of. The modern concept of 'social mobility' in antithetical to the traditional Indo-European concept of caste. The castes defined functions and ways of being. In essence they were a microcosm of the divine order of the Gods.

Professor Jean Haudry makes the observation in his The Indo-Europeans that "Celtic society has three function-classes.....but only two birth-classes." By this statement he is arguing that there was a certain degree of mobility between the priestly and warrior castes but not so with the third. In ancient Germanic society the descendants of a man that had been freed from the condition of thraldom were only recognised as freemen from the third generation onwards.


This point regarding mobility is important as the first two castes-sovereign/priest, warrior/noble are clearly distinct from the third caste which relates to either production or trade (the mercantile or middle classes). The difference is most apparent when we consider the Rigsthula in the Elder/Poetic Edda. The third caste here is not that of the producer but that of the thralls and it is very clear from the description of this caste that they bear no physical (an in my opinion, genetic) resemblance to the jarl or karl castes:

"Edda a child brought forth: they with water sprinkled its swarthy skin, and named it Thrael. It grew up, and well it throve; of its hands the skin was shrivelled, the knuckles knotty, and the fingers thick; a hideous countenance it had, a curved back, and protruding heels." (Rigsthula 7-8, Thorpe translation)

By comparison the karl is described as being a 'ruddy redhead' and the jarl as having 'light' hair. Clearly the higher Germanic castes were of Nordic race whilst the thrall is by definition a slave and is clearly of inferior physical, mental and spiritual disposition. As I have mentioned before the thrall has no place in the true Aryan caste system for the Germanic is a degenerated form of the Aryan. If one studies Rigsthula one can see the original Aryan tripartite system: Kon (son of Jarl), Jarl and Karl. Thus the kon (priestly/royal caste is biologically related to the jarl (warrior/noble) and rules over the related  karl caste. The introduction of the thrall caste only occurred in my opinion when the Germanic peoples encountered, conquered and enslaved alien peoples. One lesson that history teaches us is that imperialism and slavery rebound upon the conquering elite with the pollution and watering down of the Aryan blood. We are seeing this sad state of affairs all around us today. It is of course likely or at least possible that the physical descriptions in Rigsthula are an exaggeration to emphasise the difference between the castes, no doubt to help maintain caste boundaries.


Let us now read what Caesar had to say about the caste system in Gaul:

Throughout all Gaul there are two orders of those men who are of any rank and dignity: for the commonality is held almost in the condition of slaves, and dares to undertake nothing of itself, and is admitted to no deliberation. The greater part, when they are pressed either by debt, or the large amount of their tributes, or the oppression of the more powerful, give themselves up in vassalage to the nobles, who possess over them the same rights without exception as masters over their slaves. But of these two orders, one is that of the Druids, the other that of the knights. The former are engaged in things sacred, conduct the public and the private sacrifices, and interpret all matters of religion. To these a large number of the young men resort for the purpose of instruction, and they [the Druids] are in great honor among them. (The Gallic Wars, Book 6:13, McDevitte and Bohn translation)

Clearly the only castes which mattered among the Gauls were the Druids (priestly) and the Knights (warriors/nobles). Unfortunately he does not give us a physical description of the various castes. The Irish caste system is also worth examining in this context. Peter Berresford Ellis states that Irish society was divided into various sub classes of druids, a 'warrior nobility' and 'free peasants' called 'cow-herds'. He makes the interesting observation that the Irish term for 'cow-herds' is bo aire. He also states that the 'Chief Magistrate' of a tribe was known as the Aire Echta. (See page 194 of The Druids)

It is becoming increasingly clear to me that it was the highest castes of Indo-European society that were clearly Nordic in race and descended from the ancient solar Aryan race, semi-divine beings who brought culture and order to a chaotic and primitive world. With the onset of the Kali Yuga these semi-divine beings degenerated from their godly condition and thus many of their European descendants today behave little better than the beasts of the field in their lechery and drunkenness. The masses have become degenerate both physically and spiritually. They have become as thralls and  are acting according to type. This is why a meritocracy can have no lasting benefits. As a final point  I would ask my readers to consider the fake knighthoods and peerages are today doled out to political sycophants and wealthy donators to political parties. These modern day 'lords' and 'knights' are fake plastic impostors and undeserving of titles which once belonged to those of superior noble blood and those who through courageous deeds in warfare were elevated to the status of knighthood. Even those families with ancient titles no longer deserve the station that they hold. How many of these newly knighted parvenus can mount a horse and fight with sword and lance? This is just another example of life in the Kali Yuga in the degenerate 'western world', the epitome of which is that enemy of all nobility, the United States of America, a capitalist cess pit  which is viewed by many British politicians and the masses in general as worthy of emulation!

Heathen Elements in Wagner's Lohengrin

The tension between Christianity and the old Germanic heathen faith is present in all of us of Germanic ancestry and this is the consequence of the forced conversion of the Germanic peoples to this alien desert religion, often the result of the lack of faithfulness and downright treason of their kings and chieftains. Those of us who have children and raise them in the spirituality of our ancient Gods will thankfully not transmit this inner tension onto our sons and daughters who will grow to become genuinely free heathens, not exposed to the direct or indirect Christian indoctrination that more often than not occurs in schools. By home schooling children or failing that, taking them out of worship assemblies and Religious Education classes we protect them from the tyranny of monotheism.

This inner tension as I term it may be found in the operas, or more correctly, the music dramas of Richard Wagner. Whether this tension between the two religions was consciously or unconsciously woven into the fabric of these works, I am unsure. One particular work that has occupied my attention and meditation in recent years is Lohengrin. This is one of his earlier works, first performed in 1850. This was during Wagner's revolutionary phase; revolutionary in the political sense of the term. Of course we know that Wagner was a music revolutionary as well!

Lohengrin unlike some of his other works was grounded in history. It was a skilful blend of German history and elements of Germanic mythology although one must look beneath the surface a little bit to understand this. In Act 2 Scene 2 we have a scene which focuses on a confrontation between the heroine of the work, the obviously Christian Elsa who was to marry the swan knight Lohengrin, the son of Parsifal. Ortrud is portrayed by Wagner as the scheming wife of Friedrich von Telramund, Count of Brabant. In essence in this scene we have the conflict between the new and alien religion of Christianity and the heathenism of the pre-Christian Germanic peoples as Ortrud calls upon the ancient Gods:

"Entweihte Götter! Helft jetzt meiner Rache! Bestraft die Schmach, die hier euch angetan! Stärkt mich im Dienste eurer heil'gen Sache! Vernichtet der Abtrünn'gen schnöden Wahn! Wodan! Dich Starken rufe ich! Freia! Erhabne, höre mich! Segnet mir Trug und Heuchelei, dass glücklich meine Rache sei!"

Ortrud invokes the Gods Wodan and Freia. It should be noted that Wagner chose the Wodan form of Wotan, quite possibly because the Duchy of Brabant is situated in modern day Belgium and is mainly Flemish. It was part of the First Reich or the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The First Reich included within its borders all of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, parts of Eastern France, northern Italy, Slovenia and western Poland so much of this empire was genuinely Germanic. Wodan was predominately used by Dutch, Flemish and Platt Deutsch (Lower Saxon) speakers. Freia amongst the continental Germanic tribes embodied the attributes of the Norse Frigga and Freyja as it is believed by many scholars that this deity was once regarded as a single unified Goddess and I am inclined to agree.

The concept of the swan knight is rooted in both Germanic and Celtic mythology and it is interesting how this theme is melded with the concept of the Grail which is rooted in Celtic mythology and ultimately Proto-Indo-European. Anne Ross in her excellent Pagan Celtic Britain (1967) points out the solar nature of the swan in the solar cults of the Bronze Age which continues into the legends of mediaeval Europe. In Germanic mythology we may recall the stories of swan maidens such as in the legend of Wayland the Smith. It would appear to be an inheritance that is common to both the Germanic and Celtic peoples and thus probably signifies a joint inheritance from Proto-Indo-European times. Anne Ross makes the observation that the legends of mediaeval Ireland and the Germanic countries feature chain or boat pulling swans that have the ability to make music. She concludes that the longevity of this theme is indicative of their origins in Pre-Celtic Europe which illustrates their great heathen antiquity. This is a subject which is worthy of further exploration. Certainly the similarity between the Celtic and Germanic legends in relation to swans points to a common Indo-European inheritance.

The swan solar motif is not confined to the Celto-Germanic cultural area but can be found in other lands settled by Aryans such as India:

"The Irish gods and the Celestial Rishis of India take the form of swans, like the swan-maidens when they visit mankind."(Indian Myth and Legend, 1913, Donald A. Mackenzie)

Some scholars seek the origins of Lohengrin in the Anglo-Saxon myth of Skeaf, the culture-bringing hero of the Anglo-Saxons:

"Scholars are now universally agreed that the origin of the Swan-Knight story is to be found in the myth of Skeaf, the reputed ancestor of the Anglo-Saxons. This legend relates how to the shores of these, our own ancestors, there drifted a rudderless boat, in which, cradled on a sheaf of corn, and surrounded by arms and treasure, there lay a sleeping child. To the child the Angles gave the name of Skeaf, from the sheaf of corn on which he lay. Grown to manhood he became their king, and from him they learned the arts of peace and of war. At length the king died, and obedient to his will they bare the body to the seashore, laid it again in the ship which had brought him hither, and the vessel and its burden drifted away into the unknown distance. From Skeaf sprang a mighty race of kings, and the folk were fain to believe that this mysterious ancestor of their rulers had been in truth a god." (Legends of the Wagner Drama, 1900, Jessie L. Weston)

Recently on rereading an article by Wulf Ingesunnu's in the Sword of Wayland (Black Front Press, 2016) I saw a reference by Wulf which linked the God Hoenir to the stork who in fairytales is responsible for delivering new born babies to their parents. Jessie Weston also links Hoenir to a bird but this time both the stork and the swan:

"Some scholars hold that Hoenir himself may have been a personification of the swan, or stork, the white water-bird, and translate aurkonungr as 'lord of the ooze.' Cf. Corpus Poeticum Boreale, Introduction, p. cii. The origin of the myth is certainly extremely ancient, and involved in great obscurity." (Legends of the Wagner Drama)

She relates a tale from the Faroe Islands in which a peasant, playing a game of skill with a giant has to forfeit the life of his son if he is unable to hide the child. He calls upon the aid of Odin, Hoenir and Loki. It is Hoenir who is successful in hiding the child by transforming him into a piece of down and concealing him in the neck of a swan. she consider that Hoenir is a spring or light God.