One year ago I took the decision to deactivate my Aryan Myth and Metahistory, Celto-Germanic Culture, Myth and History and Die Armanenschaft der Ario-Germanen blogs. I wish now to explain my reasons for doing so.
My Aryan Myth blog was the most popular of the three and I operated this from 2006 to early 2019. During that time (to my surprise) it gained a great deal of popularity in the 'white nationalist' online community, most especially in the United States. On average it would attract over 300 views a day, sometimes up to about 500-600. On occasions I seem to recall reaching 1000 but that may have been the result of a 'bot'. It was linked to many other websites and blogs. My other two blogs were less popular, especially the Armanen one which was more specialised, focusing on the subjects of symbology, runes and magick. Prior to February 2019 my Aryan Myth blog started to suddenly decline quite sharply in terms of views. This coincided at the time with a negative appraisal carried out by Renegade Broadcasting on myself, Wulf Ingessunu, Steed, Heathen Vegan and Woden's Folk in general. Also as a run up to this time I authored a number of articles which were critical of the United States and 'white nationalism'. Some of my regular subscribers became intensely annoyed by this and were disappointed that I was not writing things that they wished to hear, to reinforce their existing beliefs.
I gradually felt constrained by my blog and the expectations of some of my readers. Also over the years websites such as 'rational' wikipedia have used articles on my blogs and my comments elsewhere to attack Woden's Folk and distort their image and message although I have always made it clear that my blogs were and are independent of any organisation that I may (or may not) be affiliated or associated with. Consequently I decided to 'kill' all three blogs, making them first inaccessible to online readers and then by deleting them. During this time I created this blog and transferred across my most interesting articles from all three blogs. This has been advantageous for the following reasons: I have been able to give prominence to some of my earlier articles that subsequently became 'buried' over the best part of 13 years, especially using this current format of blog. It also gave me the opportunity to update some of my earlier work and carry out necessary editing and correction of spelling mistakes! Finally it allows some of my more obscure work, especially from my Armanen blog and to a certain extent from my Celto-Germanic one to reach a wider audience by having just a single blog.
Six months after my deactivation of my Aryan Myth blog Woden's Folk came under sustained negative media publicity thanks to an inaccurate and biased report in the Daily Telegraph. At that time this new blog received a massive upsurge in views as did all those blogs that were linked to the Woden's Folk ones. That upsurge has since died away. As a large proportion of those views were emanating from Linux operating systems I suspect that a significant number of them were those of GCHQ officers who are known to use that (fairly obscure) system.
My use of the term 'Indo-European' rather than 'Aryan' was a deliberate one as I had the intention of reaching a less narrow and partisan audience. Only time will tell if that decision was a correct one. I did on occasions use the term 'Aryan' in post titles as I knew that this would attract more attention on search engines and would help to disseminate messages that I felt were important to be read by as many like minded people as possible.
The destruction of my blogs was for me a magickal act but much of the CONTENT of those blogs remains here on this blog and in other forms of media and that is the important aspect to all of this.
Friday, 21 February 2020
Thursday, 20 February 2020
The European Referendum of 2016 and the Flag of the European Union-Some Comments
What follows is an edited version of an article from one of my previous blogs posted in the light of the European Referendum of 2016.
On 1/1/73 the United Kingdom joined the club and by this time it consisted of 9 countries, Greece becoming the 10th country to join in 1981. At this time I was an avid student of biblical prophecy. I like many other people saw significance in the fact that this was now a 10 country 'empire' and considered this to be a fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
"And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." (Revelation 12:3, KJV)
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." (Revelation 13:1, KJV)
Now I am not intending to go into any great detail about this prophecy, for my reason for quoting these two important biblical references was to illustrate my mindset at the time for I considered that this 7 headed dragon would produce the Antichrist spoken of in both the Old and New Testaments. I spent many years studying these prophecies, devouring many books on the subject. Of course I am no longer a Christian as I have returned to the spiritual path of my ancestors but that does not make these prophecies invalid for contained within the Bible are certain truths which have their origins in Aryan belief systems. Both the Jews and the Christian Church were notorious plagiarists of other religious and spiritual systems, most notably Aryan ones.
Now over the passing decades it became clear that the EEC which became the European Union in 1993 was not to stop at 10 countries! However prophecies contained in the book of Daniel (chapter 7) indicate that this organisation has its origins in the Roman Empire. It is significant that of the first 12 nations to join the EEC, 10 were were once part of this empire but it should be noted that Germany was only partly within its boundaries. Denmark and Ireland were not part of the empire but the other 10 were. It is interesting that the EU (which denies that it is currently a superstate) has both a flag and an anthem as well as a single currency which the majority of EU countries are part of, the Euro. If this is not a superstate then it begs the question what is? But going back to the flag; it is interesting that although the EU currently has 28 members the stars on the flag stopped at 12! You may wonder what is the significance of this apparent piece of trivia? According to the EU:
"The European flag symbolises both the European Union and, more broadly, the identity and unity of Europe.
It features a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue background. They stand for the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe.
The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of member countries, though the circle is a symbol of unity."
This is a clever deception. We know that between 1986 and 1994 the EU did consist of 12 member states but this is not the origin of the 12. The true origin is revealed in Revelation 12:1-2:
"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feat, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered."(KJV)
The red dragon and the woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and the crown with 12 stars all appear to be competing symbolism if we take Revelation at face value which of course we cannot for it is a hopeless jumble and mish mash like all of the Bible. What appears to be competing symbolism is in fact two sides of the same coin. This is reflected in the political and so-called 'democratic' systems of the west where we appear to be given choice in elections (and referenda) but in reality both players are puppets of the same unseen Zionist hand. The woman with the 12 stars and the red dragon are all Judeo-Christian symbols which have been implanted in the Collective Unconscious of peoples. An example of this of course is the red dragon of the flag of Wales, which is representative of the Judeo-Christian worldview which is at enmity with the Aryan worldview represented by the English Germanic white dragon. My regular readers will understand what I am referring to here. I will address the issue of the symbolism of the number 12 in a future article.
Tuesday, 11 February 2020
The Prophecy of Sajaha and the Third Sargon
What follows is an edited version of an old article taken from one of my now defunct blogs.
In the English speaking world little is still known about the prophecies concerning the coming world emperor, the Third Sargon and no doubt this is mainly due to the fact that the majority of the literature which is available is in German. However the late Dr Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke does refer to this figure in Black Sun. Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity, 2002:
Apart from these two meagre references nothing further is discussed about this rather enigmatic Third Sargon. Inevitably the reader must obtain German literature on the subject which is available in abundance. In 2013 Joshua Free and the 'Mardukite Chamberlains (whoever they may be!) published an English translation of the Book of Sajaha the Seer with the accompanying German text. To be frank I was rather disappointed with the translation and I feel that I could have done a better job of translating it myself. Anyone who wishes to purchase this work would do well to closely compare the German text with the English translation or better still avoid the translation all together if possible!
Wotans Krieger's translation:
"Sajaha: 'The Third Sargon will come at a later time. He will exterminate the slaves of darkness with all their seed, he will pull out the evil by the root."
This Babylonian prophecy is striking similar to the prophecies concerning the Kalki Avatar:
The Aryan nature of the Third Sargon is emphasised in the Book of Sajaha with references to the 'north' or the 'north country:
Wotans Krieger's translation:
"Nebukadnezar: `How will it fare with Babylon?`
"Sajaha: `It will be destroyed for a long time. First the Third Sargon will reestablish it in the land of the North. There and then there will be a new Babylon."
Of course the prophecy is referring to the formation of a new empire in the spirit of the old Babylon. Likewise the Third Sargon is not necessarily a literal genetic descendant of the old Babylonian emperors although of course he could be. We know that the ruling caste in Babylon and Sumer were Aryan as Professor L.A. Waddell has so admirably proven in his works. As well as the 'land of the North', the 'Midnight Mountain', a Thulean concept is referred to:
Wotans Krieger's translation:
Interestingly the prophecy refers to the base miscegenation, homosexuality and other unnatural and immoral practices which are rife in the 'west' today:
Wotans Krieger's translation:
This is the frightening and hideous prospect that faces the 'west' today: racial bastardisation. A future where the cities will be the breeding ground of a horrendous racial melting pot. We are seeing this happen right before our eyes and no one is doing a single thing to stop it. This current state of affairs would have been unthinkable not so long ago but with a few generations the cosmopolitan international tribe that controls the media, the government, finance and industry has achieved the unthinkable and Aryan man now awaits his doom. However all will not be lost for in the Third Sargon, the Kalki Avatar, Wid-ar we have a coming redeemer. We await Him!
Again this prophecy is incredibly similar to that contained in the Bhagavad Gita 1:41:
Miscegenation causes loss of Blood Memory due to genetic confusion. The victims of this act, the children should be pitied rather than condemned but it should not be permitted for them in turn to continue this error by reproducing. This should be a matter of public health policy as it was in the past, not only in Germany but in England and the USA.
In the English speaking world little is still known about the prophecies concerning the coming world emperor, the Third Sargon and no doubt this is mainly due to the fact that the majority of the literature which is available is in German. However the late Dr Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke does refer to this figure in Black Sun. Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity, 2002:
"According to the Babylonian revelation of Isais, Thule initiates believed in the coming of a messiah, the `Third Sargon`, who would restore Germany to greatness with a new Aryan culture."(Page 294)
"Sebottendorff was supposed to be acquainted with the prophecy of the `Third Sargon` by the Babylonian seeress Sajaha (c. 650), which told of terrible woes and the inversion of all values until the avenging emperor would arrive from the north (Midnight) and destroy all evil by fire."(Page 165)
Apart from these two meagre references nothing further is discussed about this rather enigmatic Third Sargon. Inevitably the reader must obtain German literature on the subject which is available in abundance. In 2013 Joshua Free and the 'Mardukite Chamberlains (whoever they may be!) published an English translation of the Book of Sajaha the Seer with the accompanying German text. To be frank I was rather disappointed with the translation and I feel that I could have done a better job of translating it myself. Anyone who wishes to purchase this work would do well to closely compare the German text with the English translation or better still avoid the translation all together if possible!
"Sajaha: `Der Dritte Sargon wird kommen in spaeterer Zeit. Er wird vertilgen die Knechte der Finsternis mit all ihrem Samen, er wird das Boese ausreissen mit der Wurzel."(Tablet 12.14)
Wotans Krieger's translation:
"Sajaha: 'The Third Sargon will come at a later time. He will exterminate the slaves of darkness with all their seed, he will pull out the evil by the root."
This Babylonian prophecy is striking similar to the prophecies concerning the Kalki Avatar:
"When justice is crushed, when evil is triumphant, then I come back. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evildoers, for the establishment of the Reign of Righteousness. I am born again and again, age after age."(The Bhagavad-Gita IV Verses 7 and 3)
The Aryan nature of the Third Sargon is emphasised in the Book of Sajaha with references to the 'north' or the 'north country:
"Nebukadnezar: `Wie aber ergeht es Babylon?`
"Sajaha: `Es wird untergehen fuer lange Zeit. Erst der Dritte Sargon wird es wiederrichten in Lande des Nordens. Dort und dann wird es ein neues Babylon geben."(Tablet 12.31)
Wotans Krieger's translation:
"Nebukadnezar: `How will it fare with Babylon?`
"Sajaha: `It will be destroyed for a long time. First the Third Sargon will reestablish it in the land of the North. There and then there will be a new Babylon."
Of course the prophecy is referring to the formation of a new empire in the spirit of the old Babylon. Likewise the Third Sargon is not necessarily a literal genetic descendant of the old Babylonian emperors although of course he could be. We know that the ruling caste in Babylon and Sumer were Aryan as Professor L.A. Waddell has so admirably proven in his works. As well as the 'land of the North', the 'Midnight Mountain', a Thulean concept is referred to:
"Die Sonne verdunkelt ihr Licht von Chaldaea bis zum Sockel des Mitternachtsberges."(Tablet 12, 2nd Chapter,3-4)
Wotans Krieger's translation:
"The sun darkens its light from Chaldea to the base of the Midnight Mountain."
Interestingly the prophecy refers to the base miscegenation, homosexuality and other unnatural and immoral practices which are rife in the 'west' today:
"Sitte wird nicht mehr sein, sondern Laster wird als vornehm gelten. Maenner werden ungestraft mit Knaben verkehren; Weiber werden nicht mehr Weiber sein wollen, sondern ungestraft wie Maenner sich geben; Menschen werden sich ungestraft mit Tieren vermischen und Bastarde zeugen. Und die Bastarde der Bastarde werden zahlos in den Strassen der Staedte sein, ohne dass man sie vertilgt." (Tablet 12, 2nd Chapter, 11)
Wotans Krieger's translation:
"Customs will no longer be enforced, but vice will be fashionable. Men will have sexual intercourse with boys and go unpunished; women will no longer want to be women, but will behave like men and go unpunished; people will mix themselves with animals and go unpunished and father bastards. And the bastards of bastards will be countless in the streets of the cities without anyone eradicating them."
This is the frightening and hideous prospect that faces the 'west' today: racial bastardisation. A future where the cities will be the breeding ground of a horrendous racial melting pot. We are seeing this happen right before our eyes and no one is doing a single thing to stop it. This current state of affairs would have been unthinkable not so long ago but with a few generations the cosmopolitan international tribe that controls the media, the government, finance and industry has achieved the unthinkable and Aryan man now awaits his doom. However all will not be lost for in the Third Sargon, the Kalki Avatar, Wid-ar we have a coming redeemer. We await Him!
Again this prophecy is incredibly similar to that contained in the Bhagavad Gita 1:41:
"Out of the corruption of women proceeds the confusion of castes; out of the confusion of castes proceeds the loss of memory, out of the loss of memory proceeds the loss of understanding, and out of this all evil."
Miscegenation causes loss of Blood Memory due to genetic confusion. The victims of this act, the children should be pitied rather than condemned but it should not be permitted for them in turn to continue this error by reproducing. This should be a matter of public health policy as it was in the past, not only in Germany but in England and the USA.
Sunday, 2 February 2020
Walhalla Allah Law, Ragnarok Koran Gar
Since the late 1960s Germanic heathenism has experienced a revival despite the relentless negative propaganda routinely churned out by 'western media' against all things Germanic since the end of WWII. Clearly the psychic forces present in the Collective Unconscious or the 'Blood Memory' of the Germanic peoples have not and can not be suppressed and certainly not repressed for very long.
However this renewed blossoming of Germanic heathenism is beset with divisions based on the false 'left-right' political spectrum which is based as I have commented earlier on revolutionary France and should have no place in modern politics for it does nothing but unnecessarily divide our peoples. See The Political Indoctrination of the Masses
Too often I see the stark divide between those who use our religion to fight political battles and cause heathenism to become misidentified with the North American concepts of 'white supremacy' and 'white nationalism' (a faulty concept in itself as there is no single 'white race') or those who go to the opposite extreme and declare at every and any opportunity the 'inclusivity' of heathenism regardless of race and sexual deviancies. Both groups are equally reprehensible in my view for they seek to impose their 21st century standards and beliefs upon a religion that is as old as our peoples, a religion that did not recognise for instance that homosexuality was a 'valid lifestyle choice' or that people could pick and choose their gender as if they were visiting a sweet shop.
Politics must be kept separate from heathenism. Instead we should focus upon honouring the Gods, not focusing on ourselves and our petty concerns and divisions. What is thus needed above anything else is not a new organisation but the emergence of individuals who seek to place the Gods beyond all matters of the profane and work towards their glorification. Those who seek to push an extreme political agenda will once again bring our religion into disrepute and cause further setbacks to its spread and advancement.
If we seek to truly know the Gods and give them the honour that is due to them then everything else will fall into place. If however we seek to use Germanic heathenism as a front to fight our political struggles then dishonour will be brought to it and we will experience long term reversals-right at the very time when we need to see it progress and advance. Spiritual warfare is not about fighting political battles in a spiritual realm but about fighting spiritual battles in this and other realms. Our enemies are not those who think differently in the field of politics but those who would seek to dishonour our Gods and destroy our religion. 1,000-1,500 years ago that enemy was Christianity. We now face a new enemy in the equally alien and slavelike religion of radical Islam. Let us recall my revelation from years ago: Walhalla Allah Law and that of Wulf Ingessunu: Ragnarok Koran Gar. Spiritual and not political ideologies should be our focus. This is the only hope for unity amongst our peoples.
However this renewed blossoming of Germanic heathenism is beset with divisions based on the false 'left-right' political spectrum which is based as I have commented earlier on revolutionary France and should have no place in modern politics for it does nothing but unnecessarily divide our peoples. See The Political Indoctrination of the Masses
Too often I see the stark divide between those who use our religion to fight political battles and cause heathenism to become misidentified with the North American concepts of 'white supremacy' and 'white nationalism' (a faulty concept in itself as there is no single 'white race') or those who go to the opposite extreme and declare at every and any opportunity the 'inclusivity' of heathenism regardless of race and sexual deviancies. Both groups are equally reprehensible in my view for they seek to impose their 21st century standards and beliefs upon a religion that is as old as our peoples, a religion that did not recognise for instance that homosexuality was a 'valid lifestyle choice' or that people could pick and choose their gender as if they were visiting a sweet shop.
Politics must be kept separate from heathenism. Instead we should focus upon honouring the Gods, not focusing on ourselves and our petty concerns and divisions. What is thus needed above anything else is not a new organisation but the emergence of individuals who seek to place the Gods beyond all matters of the profane and work towards their glorification. Those who seek to push an extreme political agenda will once again bring our religion into disrepute and cause further setbacks to its spread and advancement.
If we seek to truly know the Gods and give them the honour that is due to them then everything else will fall into place. If however we seek to use Germanic heathenism as a front to fight our political struggles then dishonour will be brought to it and we will experience long term reversals-right at the very time when we need to see it progress and advance. Spiritual warfare is not about fighting political battles in a spiritual realm but about fighting spiritual battles in this and other realms. Our enemies are not those who think differently in the field of politics but those who would seek to dishonour our Gods and destroy our religion. 1,000-1,500 years ago that enemy was Christianity. We now face a new enemy in the equally alien and slavelike religion of radical Islam. Let us recall my revelation from years ago: Walhalla Allah Law and that of Wulf Ingessunu: Ragnarok Koran Gar. Spiritual and not political ideologies should be our focus. This is the only hope for unity amongst our peoples.
Monday, 27 January 2020
A Timeline for the Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxons
During the period of the Christianisation of the previously heathen Germanic peoples the Church initially used deception as a tool to win over the hearts and minds of the people as they lacked the power at that stage to use violence and force. Only after the introduction of Christianity in certain regions with the assistance of chieftains and petty kings did they resort to more overt methods to establish and enforce the Christian religion.
The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons started relatively early, only a century and a half after the 'coming of the English' in 449 CE, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. I realise of course that there was a Germanic presence in England centuries before this date but for convenience I am referring to this date. Pope Gregory I made the decision to send missionaries to the Anglo-Saxons and the mission began in 597 with the arrival of a mission under the leadership of a Benedictine monk, Augustine to Canterbury in the kingdom of Kent. Kent was colonised by Jutes from northern Germany and southern Denmark. The king at that time, Aethelbert (c. 550-616) was the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings and held the title of Bretwalda ('ruler of Britain'). That does not of course signify that Aethelbert literally was the 'ruler of Britain', just that he was a powerful king with influence over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It should be understood that 'Britain' was a term that the Romans used for what became England and Wales. 'Great Britain' refers to the entire island including Scotland.
It was a shrewd decision of Gregory to target the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings as conversion was a process from the top down in the hierarchy of society. It is said that Aethelbert converted to Christianity very quickly and one must question how deeply held his convictions were? I believe that the answer lies with Aethelbert's wife Bertha, the daughter of the Christian Merovingian king of Paris, Charibert I (c. 517-567). On travelling to Kent to marry Aethelbert Bertha took with her Bishop Liudhard, her private chaplain so it is clear where the influence and motivation to convert was coming from. Whilst it does not appear that Aethelbert forced his subjects to convert it would appear that they were to enjoy the king's favour if they did.
The Christianisation process in Kent saw a reversal after Aethelbert's and Bertha's deaths. His son Eadbald, a pagan succeeded him. However even Eadbald would ultimately also convert to Christianity. One other king Saeberht of Essex converted under the influence of Eadbald's father, Aethelbert. It is quite obvious that these sudden 'conversions' amongst the most powerful people in England had nothing other than money and power as the motives. It is not my intention to give a detailed chronology for the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons but merely to point out how this process began-under the influence of kings and initially peacefully but that was not to last for very long.
Bede tells us in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People that Eadbald's son, Eorcenbehrt (died 664) was the first Anglo-Saxon king to command that the 'pagan idols' be destroyed and the feast of Lent to be enforced. It did not take long, not even half a century for the former peaceful methods of conversion started to take a violent turn!
Kent was not immune from the Christian virus for other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms started to convert at about the same time in the early 7th century. King Raedwald of East Anglia converted in the year 604. It would appear that this too was under the influence of Aethelbert! However Raedwald's 'conversion' does not appear to have been very sincere as his temple contained both an altar dedicated to Christ and one to the old Gods. Under the prompting of King Edwin of Northumbria, Raedwald's son, Eorpwald converted to Christianity along with his entire kingdom. Edwin was baptised in 627 and is widely regarded as one of the most committed Christian kings amongst his contemporaries. However under what or whose influence did Edwin convert? Once again as in the case of Aethelbert Edwin was married to a Merovingian princess, Aethelburh of Kent, the sister of Eadbald who by this time was also a Christian! I have written in the past about Edwin's high priest Coifi who was also instrumental in persuading Edwin to convert and it was he who desecrated the temple of Woden in Goodmanham in 627. See: The Temple of Woden at Goodmanham
These conversions as I have intimated earlier did encounter the odd pagan backlash and setback. The Christian king Eorpwald was slain in 627 by Ricberht who it is believed was his brother and may have ruled East Anglia afterwards.
In the same 7th century Peada, the son of the pagan Penda and the king of Mercia also embraced Christianity and there is no record of any relapse in that kingdom. In the kingdom of Sussex Aethelwealh was baptised in 675 and it is speculated that this was a precondition of marrying the Christian Queen Eafa of the Hwicce. (This seems to be a recurring theme!) Hwicce was a tribal kingdom under the influence of the much larger and more powerful Mercia. The Christianisation of the kingdom of Wessex began with the baptism of King Cynegils in 635. Likewise Cwichelm of Wessex who was the king of the Gewisse was also baptised in the same year. It is of this royal house that the Christian zealot Alfred the 'Great' sprang.
One of the later kingdoms to be converted was that of the Jutes of the Isle of Wight who unlike the others were converted by force after the invasion of King Wulfhere of Mercia in 661. Once the king left the islanders returned to paganism but 25 years later in 686 King Caedwalla of Wessex also invaded but this time exterminated the population (in true 'Christian' fashion) and annexed the island to the kingdom of Wessex.
The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons started relatively early, only a century and a half after the 'coming of the English' in 449 CE, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. I realise of course that there was a Germanic presence in England centuries before this date but for convenience I am referring to this date. Pope Gregory I made the decision to send missionaries to the Anglo-Saxons and the mission began in 597 with the arrival of a mission under the leadership of a Benedictine monk, Augustine to Canterbury in the kingdom of Kent. Kent was colonised by Jutes from northern Germany and southern Denmark. The king at that time, Aethelbert (c. 550-616) was the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings and held the title of Bretwalda ('ruler of Britain'). That does not of course signify that Aethelbert literally was the 'ruler of Britain', just that he was a powerful king with influence over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It should be understood that 'Britain' was a term that the Romans used for what became England and Wales. 'Great Britain' refers to the entire island including Scotland.
It was a shrewd decision of Gregory to target the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings as conversion was a process from the top down in the hierarchy of society. It is said that Aethelbert converted to Christianity very quickly and one must question how deeply held his convictions were? I believe that the answer lies with Aethelbert's wife Bertha, the daughter of the Christian Merovingian king of Paris, Charibert I (c. 517-567). On travelling to Kent to marry Aethelbert Bertha took with her Bishop Liudhard, her private chaplain so it is clear where the influence and motivation to convert was coming from. Whilst it does not appear that Aethelbert forced his subjects to convert it would appear that they were to enjoy the king's favour if they did.
The Christianisation process in Kent saw a reversal after Aethelbert's and Bertha's deaths. His son Eadbald, a pagan succeeded him. However even Eadbald would ultimately also convert to Christianity. One other king Saeberht of Essex converted under the influence of Eadbald's father, Aethelbert. It is quite obvious that these sudden 'conversions' amongst the most powerful people in England had nothing other than money and power as the motives. It is not my intention to give a detailed chronology for the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons but merely to point out how this process began-under the influence of kings and initially peacefully but that was not to last for very long.
Bede tells us in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People that Eadbald's son, Eorcenbehrt (died 664) was the first Anglo-Saxon king to command that the 'pagan idols' be destroyed and the feast of Lent to be enforced. It did not take long, not even half a century for the former peaceful methods of conversion started to take a violent turn!
Kent was not immune from the Christian virus for other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms started to convert at about the same time in the early 7th century. King Raedwald of East Anglia converted in the year 604. It would appear that this too was under the influence of Aethelbert! However Raedwald's 'conversion' does not appear to have been very sincere as his temple contained both an altar dedicated to Christ and one to the old Gods. Under the prompting of King Edwin of Northumbria, Raedwald's son, Eorpwald converted to Christianity along with his entire kingdom. Edwin was baptised in 627 and is widely regarded as one of the most committed Christian kings amongst his contemporaries. However under what or whose influence did Edwin convert? Once again as in the case of Aethelbert Edwin was married to a Merovingian princess, Aethelburh of Kent, the sister of Eadbald who by this time was also a Christian! I have written in the past about Edwin's high priest Coifi who was also instrumental in persuading Edwin to convert and it was he who desecrated the temple of Woden in Goodmanham in 627. See: The Temple of Woden at Goodmanham
These conversions as I have intimated earlier did encounter the odd pagan backlash and setback. The Christian king Eorpwald was slain in 627 by Ricberht who it is believed was his brother and may have ruled East Anglia afterwards.
In the same 7th century Peada, the son of the pagan Penda and the king of Mercia also embraced Christianity and there is no record of any relapse in that kingdom. In the kingdom of Sussex Aethelwealh was baptised in 675 and it is speculated that this was a precondition of marrying the Christian Queen Eafa of the Hwicce. (This seems to be a recurring theme!) Hwicce was a tribal kingdom under the influence of the much larger and more powerful Mercia. The Christianisation of the kingdom of Wessex began with the baptism of King Cynegils in 635. Likewise Cwichelm of Wessex who was the king of the Gewisse was also baptised in the same year. It is of this royal house that the Christian zealot Alfred the 'Great' sprang.
One of the later kingdoms to be converted was that of the Jutes of the Isle of Wight who unlike the others were converted by force after the invasion of King Wulfhere of Mercia in 661. Once the king left the islanders returned to paganism but 25 years later in 686 King Caedwalla of Wessex also invaded but this time exterminated the population (in true 'Christian' fashion) and annexed the island to the kingdom of Wessex.
Sunday, 26 January 2020
The Eyraland Thor and the Icelandic Foss Hammer
"National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavik. Figure of god Thor ( ca. 1000 AD ), made of bronze" by Wolfgang Sauber, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyrarland_Statue The image has not been changed and the image owner does not endorse this blog.
A figurine depicting what appears to be a seated Thor, grasping a hammer was discovered in 1815 or 1816 when it was unearthed from the soil at the Eyraland farm near Akureyri in Iceland. The figure is made of bronze and is currently housed in the National Museum of Iceland. I have 2 bronze replicas of the Eyraland Thor and they are used as altar items in my worship of Him.
As I have mentioned before (and need to keep reiterating) the type of hammer that 'Thor' is holding is in the typical Icelandic cross shape, almost a duplicate of the 'Wolf's Cross' found at Foss in Iceland, currently also housed in the National Museum. This clear resemblance should once and for all close the argument as to whether the Foss Hammer is a hammer or a cross. This variation of the hammer was clearly local to Iceland and the argument that it is a 'hybrid' between the Christian cross and Thor's Hammer does not hold water in view of the form that the hammer takes in the hands of the Eyraland Thor.
The argument in favour of it being a hybrid is that it could be disguised as a cross by its wearer (to avoid persecution) but as it dates back to the 10th century and thus PREDATES the Christianisation of Iceland this does not make one iota of sense. Even after the Icelandic Althing voted to accept Christianity in the year 1000 heathenism was still tolerated as a private practice on the island. So it begs the question why anyone would seek to disguise his hammer amulet PRIOR to the Christianisation process?
I have several variants of the Foss Hammer in a variety of metals: pewter, bronze and stainless steel and indeed the St Justin (larger size) Foss Hammer was the second Thor's Hammer I ever purchased in the mid 1990s. I particularly recommend their version which is much chunkier than the original and their products do come with a life time guarantee. The chief gothi of the Asatru Association in Iceland, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson has been photographed wearing a Foss Hammer himself. Surely there can be no higher recommendation than this?
Thursday, 23 January 2020
The Thor Stone at Taston
The "Thorstone" at Taston, Oxfordshire, UK, by ColinofOxfordshire, is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taston No changes were made to the image. The image owner does not endorse this blog.
There are a number of megaliths in Great Britain named after the Germanic Gods or at least have legends attributed to them which involve our deities. One example of the former is the Thor Stone situated in Taston in Oxfordshire, England. It is situated next to the garden wall of Thorstone Cottage in the middle of the small hamlet. Taston is believed to be derived from Thorstan (meaning Thorstone) but I cannot find the place name referred to in either A Dictionary of English Place-Names (A.D. Mills, 1991) or Place-Names in the Landscape (Margaret Gelling, 1984), no doubt because of the small size of the hamlet. I understand however that it is referred to in Gelling's The Place-Names of Oxfordshire-volume 2 (1954).
It is significant however that the village should take its name from this megalith and no doubt this was originally a ritual site for the worship of Thor. The suffix of the original name Thor-stan is of Old English rather than Norse origin and I am speculating that this may have been an Anglian cultic site where Thunor was worshiped. Over the course of time and with the influence of Old Norse on the English language 'Thunor' may very well have transformed in some places in to 'Thor'.
Elsie Corbett in her A History of Spelsbury (1962) relates that the stone is said to be a thunderbolt thrown down from the heavens. This idea is closely related to the concept of the much smaller Thunderstones in Germanic folklore. The story of the origin of the stone is similar to that of the origin of the Devil's Arrows in Boroughbridge and I refer readers to my article The Devil's Arrows in Folklore
Wednesday, 22 January 2020
The Felling of Donar's Oak
The felling of the sacred oak of Donar in 723/724 CE (this date is estimated) at Geismar, near Fritzlar, Hesse, Germany reminds me of the felling of the Irminsul by Charlemagne in 778 CE. Both trees or columns were sacred to the ancient Germans and symbolically they remind us of the tree Yggdrasil referred to in the Icelandic Eddas. The destruction of these two sacred things by the genocidal and maniacal Christian Church should not surprise us. Christianity like Islam is a death cult whilst the Irminsul and Donar's Oak represent LIFE!
The felling of Donar's Oak is referred to in Willibald's Life of Saint Boniface, a grossly exaggerated account of what actually occurred. According to Willibald as soon as the Anglo-Saxon Boniface (born Wynfrith) took his axe to the oak tree it began to fall and this 'miracle' caused astonishment amongst the witnesses so that they readily converted to Christianity. In reality it took many hours to chop down the tree as Boniface made known in his letter to Pope Gregory II, making Willibald (like most of his ilk) a bare faced liar. Allegedly oak from this sacred tree was used by Boniface to build an oratory (a small chapel for private worship) and dedicated it to Saint Peter.
I dare say that the Oak of Donar in Hesse was not unique and many such sacred oaks existed in pre-Christian times but the account by Willibald is significant for the 8th century marked a turning point in the Christianisation of Germany and the massacre of 4,500 Saxons at Verden in 772 CE showed how desperate Charlemagne and the Church were to impose their alien religion upon my ancestors. Not content with desecrating our most sacred sites the Church was not above committing genocide in their forceable conversion of the Saxons. The only reason why we do not see this today is because the power of the Church has been broken but we do see the same impulse in modern day Islam.
This vile creature, Boniface became known as the 'Apostle of the Germans'. However ultimately he was to pay the price for his sacrilege. By felling Donar's Oak he had in effect weaved his own wyrd! In 754 CE he was slain by the heathen Frisians. He dared to challenge our God Donar and 30 years later he paid the consequences for his crime. For those of you who are interested in the association between Donar and the oak I would direct you to chapter 15 (The Worship of the Oak) of The Golden Bough by James George Frazer (1922), a most excellent work on mythology which has in my opinion never been equalled.
The felling of Donar's Oak is referred to in Willibald's Life of Saint Boniface, a grossly exaggerated account of what actually occurred. According to Willibald as soon as the Anglo-Saxon Boniface (born Wynfrith) took his axe to the oak tree it began to fall and this 'miracle' caused astonishment amongst the witnesses so that they readily converted to Christianity. In reality it took many hours to chop down the tree as Boniface made known in his letter to Pope Gregory II, making Willibald (like most of his ilk) a bare faced liar. Allegedly oak from this sacred tree was used by Boniface to build an oratory (a small chapel for private worship) and dedicated it to Saint Peter.
I dare say that the Oak of Donar in Hesse was not unique and many such sacred oaks existed in pre-Christian times but the account by Willibald is significant for the 8th century marked a turning point in the Christianisation of Germany and the massacre of 4,500 Saxons at Verden in 772 CE showed how desperate Charlemagne and the Church were to impose their alien religion upon my ancestors. Not content with desecrating our most sacred sites the Church was not above committing genocide in their forceable conversion of the Saxons. The only reason why we do not see this today is because the power of the Church has been broken but we do see the same impulse in modern day Islam.
This vile creature, Boniface became known as the 'Apostle of the Germans'. However ultimately he was to pay the price for his sacrilege. By felling Donar's Oak he had in effect weaved his own wyrd! In 754 CE he was slain by the heathen Frisians. He dared to challenge our God Donar and 30 years later he paid the consequences for his crime. For those of you who are interested in the association between Donar and the oak I would direct you to chapter 15 (The Worship of the Oak) of The Golden Bough by James George Frazer (1922), a most excellent work on mythology which has in my opinion never been equalled.
Wednesday, 15 January 2020
A Dream of Valhalla/Folkvangr and Freyja
I do not often discuss my dreams on my blogs but on occasion I feel that there is a pressing need to do so and this is one of those occasions. Last night I woke up at about 3.00 am following a very vivid dream. In my dream I saw a procession of warriors and they were led by a female who I sensed was a deity but not a Valkyrie. She rode on a horse. I do not recall if the warriors she led were on horseback or not as everything in my dream was indistinct and the whole dream lacked colour. It was entirely monochrome in nature, consisting of various shades of grey. There was no light in the dream but it was not entirely dark either but resembled twilight. The female at the head of the procession also carried a very large round shield in front of her. I instinctively realised that this was a Goddess and was Freyja Herself.
Freyja led the warriors through a gateway, the details of which I could not make out. I was not part of the procession but watched it from the side. There was no interaction between them and I. Then immediately after this I found myself inside a very large enclosure with thousands of people. I could not discern their features but I knew that these were all dead people and the enclosure was indeed the fields around Valhalla. I found that not only was I in Valhalla but I was positioned upon a hill and started 'preaching' to the masses. Please excuse my use of a Christian term but I cannot think of a more appropriate alternative! I started to tell the masses in front of me that Odin was the father of all the Gods, that He was the father of great heroes that bear His blood in their veins and that He is the father of all our people whether they can claim direct descent from Him or not. In essence I was publicly proclaiming my faith in Him. I make no apology for using the Norse version of His name as 1/4 of my ancestry can be traced back to the original Norwegian colonisers of a hitherto deserted area of western Lancashire in the 10th century. Of course my ancestors also knew Him by the name of Woden, Wodan and indeed Gwydion too. At this point I woke up. I did not see Odin within the dream, only Freyja. Of course the fact that it was Freyja who led the host of dead warriors and it was a field that I found myself in would lend to a better interpretation that this was Folkvang ('field of the host') that I visited rather than Valhalla but both are equally worthy places to spend eternity!
I have had a few mystical dreams over the years, all of which I have been able to interpret and I do hold a qualification in Dream Analysis but do not claim to be any kind of expert in the field and the interpretation of dreams is by necessity a personal one. Not all dreams have a 'meaning' but are merely the actions of the subconscious playing through and rerunning thoughts encountered in the conscious mind during the daytime. However this dream stands out as one which merits a spiritual interpretation. I am not going to attempt an interpretation here because my intention is to initially make the dream publicly known. In addition to a spiritual or mystical interpretation it should be noted that the ancients believed that via the dream state they could encounter other entities including Gods. This is the first time that I have ever encountered a deity within a dream and the first time that I have dreamed about Valhalla or the afterlife. Whilst I was aware of being in Valhalla I had no awareness of whether I was dead or still a living, breathing human being.
My late mother who has been dead 31 years this year was a spiritualist medium and she often told me of her out of body encounters in the dream state where she engaged in astral travelling and encountered the spirits of the dead and angelic beings. This was her belief and I am not in a position to judge that belief as beliefs are inherently personal things. As an aside on one occasion she told me that she had left her body in order to minister healing to my half sister in Germany. Many years later my half sister related to me the experience of her being seriously ill and seeing the spirit or form of my mother by her bed. They had fallen out with each other before this encounter and never spoke to each other again and yet both parties related to me the very same experience which I cannot explain through rational or scientific means.
The dream could be interpreted as an example of astral travelling to a different realm and there are a few examples of this in the saga literature of northern Europe so it is a belief that was held by our pre-Christian ancestors. A third interpretation may be that of a premonition. This is partly why I am making known this dream today on my blog, in order to strengthen the faith of my fellow heathens in the reality of our Gods, the afterlife and the existence of worlds outside of along side of Midgarth if indeed it is a premonition. A few weeks ago I discussed with my partner how both my mother and my late brother had premonitions in the form of dreams of their impending demise and speculated whether this would be my experience as well.
On Sunday 2nd of July 1989 my mother told my late former first wife of a dream that she had a few days previously in which she saw her gravestone. My wife told me about the dream after we returned home that evening. I was rather sceptical and dismissed the dream straight away. I was at the time a fundamentalist Bible-believing Christian. However 4 days later on Thursday 6th of July she was dead. She had a heart attack which she could not possibly have predicted by any rational means. My late father pointed out the rather unusual date: 6/7/89!
In 2009 I received a telephone call from my brother who likewise told me of a dream in which he had received a premonition of impending death. 10 days later he died suddenly and again there is no rational explanation for how he could have predicted this. My German grandfather who died in 1933 was taken ill and shortly before his death he sat up in bed and told my grandmother of seeing a crowd of dead relatives at his bed who had come to greet him. Shortly after this experience he died. This was not a dream that he had but a vision whilst awake. The appearance of dead relatives prior to death is a form or function of the psychopomp. Odin, Freyja and the valkyries all performed the function of a psychopomp. The Grim Reaper is the best known form of the psychopomp in western Europe since the middle ages and I have already speculated on the association between Him and Odin in another article: The Grim Reaper, an Aspect of Grimnir the Hooded One
We will see what this dream actually means with the passing of time and thus I dare not venture an interpretation.
Thursday, 9 January 2020
The Scythian Origin Myth, the Four Hallows, the Grail Runes and the Indo-European Caste System
Over the years I have from time to time discussed the Indo-European pagan origins of the grail or graal mythos and how this is rooted in pre-Christian Celtic religion and reflected in the last three or possibly last four rune staves and names. I have also referred to the Scythian connection in the past which I first encountered in Alu An Advanced Guide to Operative Runology by Edred Thorsson (2012, Weiser Books). Edred devotes an appendix in his book to discussing the grail runes (Appendix C Grail Mythos in Old English Runes?)
It would appear that according to Herodotus, writing in The Histories the ancestor of the Scythians was called Targitaos, the son of Zeus (the Greek name for the equivalent Scythian deity) and the daughter of the river god Borysthenes (the Greek name for the Dnieper). He in turn had three sons, Lipoxais, Arpoxais and his youngest Colaxais. These three sons fathered their own tribes. This origin myth bears some similarity to the Germanic origins myth referred to by Tacitus in his Germania. Mannus, the son of the 'earth born god' Tuisto fathered three sons who were the ancestors of the tribal confederations of the Ingaevones, Herminones and the Istvaeones. It is of course possible that these myths are a later survival of an original Proto-Indo-European origins myth.
An alternative view of these three sons is that they are the fathers of three castes rather than tribes. Only the ruling caste, the Skolotoi (Royal Scythians) who were descended from Colaxais worshiped the deity Thagimasadas (identified by Herodotus as the equivalent of Poseidon). This reminds me of the Germanic caste system myth in the Rigsthula of the Poetic Edda. It is the third and youngest caste, Jarl that bears the first Germanic king and this is represented by Kon, the youngest son of Jarl. Likewise Odin has a special relationship with the Jarl caste and it is my contention that the god referred to as Rig is in fact Odin, not Heimdall as this otherwise would not make a great deal of sense. I have discussed this elsewhere on my blogs and do not intend to repeat the arguments in favour of that theory here.
Herodotus goes on to relate that four gold implements fell from the sky to the sons of Targitaos, a plough, yoke, cup and a battle-axe. Dumezil interpreted these as symbols of the Indo-European caste system. The fact that these symbols appeared before the three progenitors of the Scythian castes is significant in my opinion. Only Colaxais was able to touch these gold implements without them bursting into fire and thus his descendants became the guardians of them. Quite obviously the plough and yoke became symbols of the producer or farmer caste. The battle-axe symbolised the warrior (and thus noble) caste whilst the cup represented the priestly one.
At this point I just wish to clarify that the Scythians are regarded as an Indo-European people of Iranian origins. This has been concluded via a study of the genetics of ancient bodily remains, anthropological descriptions by classical authors, their language (Scythian, a branch of Eastern Iranian), culture and religion. Genetic analysis of six Kurgan warriors indicates that they were carriers of the R1b1a1a2 or R-M629 haplotype which is very common in western Europe and reaches its greatest intensity of 92.3% in Wales. Various classical writers describe the Scythians as having red or fair-hair, being of light skin and having grey or blue eyes and being tall in stature. These physical characteristics closely match those of the Germanic and Celtic peoples and no doubt point to a common distant origin.
The religion of the Scythians appears to have been derived from early primitive Iranian pre-Zoroastrian religion and a number of their deities have been identified. One of their primary deities whose name is unknown corresponds closely to the Greek Ares. As the Scythians were a war-like people this should not surprise us!
In recent years scholars have begun to reassess the King Arthur and grail legends in the light of Scythian history and mythology. Notable examples of this include From Scythia to Camelot: Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and the Holy Grail (Arthurian Characters and Themes) by C. Scott Littleton and Linda A. Malcor (2000, Routledge) and Arthur the Dragon King. Man and Myth Reassessed by Howard Reid (2001, Headline Book Publishing).
Returning to the issue of the grail legend Edred Thorsson makes the argument in his afore-mentioned book that the symbols of the grail are represented in the last three rune staves of the Anglo-Saxon or (more correctly) the Northumbrian runic futhorc. Calc symbolises the cup or chalice, Stan the stone and Gar the spear of Parsifal. Each of these three symbols, chalice, stone and spear are integral parts of the legend. In the version related in the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach it is the stone rather than the chalice which represents the grail. Wagner in his last work Parsifal emphasises the spear and the chalice. Like Eschenbach Heinrich von Ofterdingen in his Wartburgkrieg depicts the grail as a green stone that fell from the crown of Lucifer. For more interesting background information on this topic I recommend both of Otto Rahn's books translated into English:- Crusade Against the Grail: The Struggle Between the Cathars, the Templars and the Church of Rome and Lucifer's Court: A Heretic's Journey in Search of the Light Bringers (Inner Traditions, 2006 and 2008).
All of this raises the question as to why was the grail mythos encoded in the last three Northumbrian runes? Edred posits the theory that the ultimate origin for the grail runes is to be found in the stationing of Alans in Northumbria by the Roman Empire. With the withdrawal of Rome from Britannia in the early 5th century the Alans appear to have been an influential community in that region of the country. Edred points out that the Alans are of course related to the Scythians and would have been familiar with the legend related by Herodotus. He speculates that the grail runes may have a similar or related meaning. What is certain is that these runes find their parallels in the four hallows of the Celtic gods, the Tuatha De Danann in Irish mythology.
The four hallows are the Stone of Fal, the Spear of Lug, the Cauldron of the Dagda and the Sword of Nuada. It should be noted at this point that the rune which appears immediately before the three grail runes is Cweorth. Some students of the runes have speculated that the etymology and possibly the shape of the stave may indicate a sword and it is certainly worth bearing in mind but it is unfortunately not provable.
Edred further speculates that the three grail runes like the four gold Scythian implements may symbolise the tripartite Indo-European caste system. The spear rune Gar which is closely associated with Odin symbolising the warrior or noble caste, the cup or chalice the rune Calc, the priestly caste whilst Stan the stone rune symbolising the caste of producers. If Edred's theory is correct then we should apply the same interpretation to the four hallows. The Spear of Lugh (partially mythically cognate with Odin) and the Sword of Nuada (mythically cognate with Tyr) represent the warrior and noble caste. The Cauldron of the Dagda would symbolise the priestly caste whilst the Stone of Fal would of course relate to the producers. It is certainly a tempting theory.
It would appear that according to Herodotus, writing in The Histories the ancestor of the Scythians was called Targitaos, the son of Zeus (the Greek name for the equivalent Scythian deity) and the daughter of the river god Borysthenes (the Greek name for the Dnieper). He in turn had three sons, Lipoxais, Arpoxais and his youngest Colaxais. These three sons fathered their own tribes. This origin myth bears some similarity to the Germanic origins myth referred to by Tacitus in his Germania. Mannus, the son of the 'earth born god' Tuisto fathered three sons who were the ancestors of the tribal confederations of the Ingaevones, Herminones and the Istvaeones. It is of course possible that these myths are a later survival of an original Proto-Indo-European origins myth.
An alternative view of these three sons is that they are the fathers of three castes rather than tribes. Only the ruling caste, the Skolotoi (Royal Scythians) who were descended from Colaxais worshiped the deity Thagimasadas (identified by Herodotus as the equivalent of Poseidon). This reminds me of the Germanic caste system myth in the Rigsthula of the Poetic Edda. It is the third and youngest caste, Jarl that bears the first Germanic king and this is represented by Kon, the youngest son of Jarl. Likewise Odin has a special relationship with the Jarl caste and it is my contention that the god referred to as Rig is in fact Odin, not Heimdall as this otherwise would not make a great deal of sense. I have discussed this elsewhere on my blogs and do not intend to repeat the arguments in favour of that theory here.
Herodotus goes on to relate that four gold implements fell from the sky to the sons of Targitaos, a plough, yoke, cup and a battle-axe. Dumezil interpreted these as symbols of the Indo-European caste system. The fact that these symbols appeared before the three progenitors of the Scythian castes is significant in my opinion. Only Colaxais was able to touch these gold implements without them bursting into fire and thus his descendants became the guardians of them. Quite obviously the plough and yoke became symbols of the producer or farmer caste. The battle-axe symbolised the warrior (and thus noble) caste whilst the cup represented the priestly one.
At this point I just wish to clarify that the Scythians are regarded as an Indo-European people of Iranian origins. This has been concluded via a study of the genetics of ancient bodily remains, anthropological descriptions by classical authors, their language (Scythian, a branch of Eastern Iranian), culture and religion. Genetic analysis of six Kurgan warriors indicates that they were carriers of the R1b1a1a2 or R-M629 haplotype which is very common in western Europe and reaches its greatest intensity of 92.3% in Wales. Various classical writers describe the Scythians as having red or fair-hair, being of light skin and having grey or blue eyes and being tall in stature. These physical characteristics closely match those of the Germanic and Celtic peoples and no doubt point to a common distant origin.
The religion of the Scythians appears to have been derived from early primitive Iranian pre-Zoroastrian religion and a number of their deities have been identified. One of their primary deities whose name is unknown corresponds closely to the Greek Ares. As the Scythians were a war-like people this should not surprise us!
In recent years scholars have begun to reassess the King Arthur and grail legends in the light of Scythian history and mythology. Notable examples of this include From Scythia to Camelot: Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and the Holy Grail (Arthurian Characters and Themes) by C. Scott Littleton and Linda A. Malcor (2000, Routledge) and Arthur the Dragon King. Man and Myth Reassessed by Howard Reid (2001, Headline Book Publishing).
Returning to the issue of the grail legend Edred Thorsson makes the argument in his afore-mentioned book that the symbols of the grail are represented in the last three rune staves of the Anglo-Saxon or (more correctly) the Northumbrian runic futhorc. Calc symbolises the cup or chalice, Stan the stone and Gar the spear of Parsifal. Each of these three symbols, chalice, stone and spear are integral parts of the legend. In the version related in the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach it is the stone rather than the chalice which represents the grail. Wagner in his last work Parsifal emphasises the spear and the chalice. Like Eschenbach Heinrich von Ofterdingen in his Wartburgkrieg depicts the grail as a green stone that fell from the crown of Lucifer. For more interesting background information on this topic I recommend both of Otto Rahn's books translated into English:- Crusade Against the Grail: The Struggle Between the Cathars, the Templars and the Church of Rome and Lucifer's Court: A Heretic's Journey in Search of the Light Bringers (Inner Traditions, 2006 and 2008).
All of this raises the question as to why was the grail mythos encoded in the last three Northumbrian runes? Edred posits the theory that the ultimate origin for the grail runes is to be found in the stationing of Alans in Northumbria by the Roman Empire. With the withdrawal of Rome from Britannia in the early 5th century the Alans appear to have been an influential community in that region of the country. Edred points out that the Alans are of course related to the Scythians and would have been familiar with the legend related by Herodotus. He speculates that the grail runes may have a similar or related meaning. What is certain is that these runes find their parallels in the four hallows of the Celtic gods, the Tuatha De Danann in Irish mythology.
The four hallows are the Stone of Fal, the Spear of Lug, the Cauldron of the Dagda and the Sword of Nuada. It should be noted at this point that the rune which appears immediately before the three grail runes is Cweorth. Some students of the runes have speculated that the etymology and possibly the shape of the stave may indicate a sword and it is certainly worth bearing in mind but it is unfortunately not provable.
Edred further speculates that the three grail runes like the four gold Scythian implements may symbolise the tripartite Indo-European caste system. The spear rune Gar which is closely associated with Odin symbolising the warrior or noble caste, the cup or chalice the rune Calc, the priestly caste whilst Stan the stone rune symbolising the caste of producers. If Edred's theory is correct then we should apply the same interpretation to the four hallows. The Spear of Lugh (partially mythically cognate with Odin) and the Sword of Nuada (mythically cognate with Tyr) represent the warrior and noble caste. The Cauldron of the Dagda would symbolise the priestly caste whilst the Stone of Fal would of course relate to the producers. It is certainly a tempting theory.
Sunday, 5 January 2020
The Political Indoctrination of the Masses
On creating this new blog last year I was determined not to discuss politics on here but sometimes this is inevitable as politics is a part of everyday life whether we realise this or not and sometimes what is relevant to the subjects of mythology, religion and spirituality is of relevance to politics as well. My late eldest brother was a graduate of Political Science as well as Modern Languages and we had many a long political discussion late into the night and some of my political education is inevitably due to his influence, particularly in my formative years.
My brother Robert was initially a student in the late 1960s and participated in many a march, demonstration and university sit in. By his own admission he was in the late 60s and early 70s a communist and an anarchist (obviously not at the same time and I cannot remember which way around this was now!). By contrast my late father was a typical Tory and quite an extreme right wing one at that and they never saw eye to eye on politics in those days. By the time of my brother's death at the age of 58 nearly 11 years ago now he had become a conservative with a small 'c'. I however took an opposite journey in my political development from the 'right' to the 'left'.
The terms 'right wing' and 'left wing' are not ones which I tend to use and indeed I usually make a determined effort to avoid their usage as they are open to misinterpretation. This terminology dates back to the days of revolutionary France where the supporters of the French king were seated on the right side of the president in the National Assembly whilst his opponents and supporters of the revolution were seated on the left. For many years I identified myself as a national socialist (but not a nationalist) and contrary to prevailing opinion a 'left winger'. National socialism in its pure and unadulterated form is organic socialism, not to be confused with that of the internationalist variety. It is concerned purely with the welfare of the folk or tribe. Unfortunately national socialism took a wrong turn in late June and early July 1934 with the 'Night of the Long Knives' which had the intention and effect of destroying the left wing of the NSDAP at the instigation of the German officer class and German capitalists. The SA under Ernst Roehm were a revolutionary force that were not satisfied with the progress of the revolution in Germany and desired the implementation of a true national socialist agenda. Caught up in this fratricide were the Strasser brothers. Gregor Strasser was murdered on 30th of June and his brother Otto fled Germany to return nearly 20 years later in 1954. For those of you who would doubt my assertion that national socialism is and was a left wing movement I recommend that you obtain and read a copy of National Socialism-a left wing movement, 1984 by Povl H Riis-Knudsen and also his National Socialism-The Biological Worldview, 1987.
The form of national socialism advocated by Otto Strasser has had an influence upon many late 20th and early 21st century British nationalist parties who realising it or not are or were advocates of Strasserite politics. With regards to national socialism and where it sits on the left-right political spectrum (if we must insist on using such terms)it is most decidedly left wing for it is revolutionary in nature and seeks to replace the current economic system of capitalism and the current liberal political system. To label it as 'right wing' is absurd for this would imply that it seeks to PRESERVE or CONSERVE this current system which it does not.
After the Night of the Long Knives the NSDAP largely abandoned its socialist agenda and took a very nationalistic, fascist and militaristic turn culminating in the insane invasion of the USSR. Even Miguel Serrano in his The Golden Thread (translation by Alex Kurtagic) makes reference to this mistake by Hitler and views this as the fatal error that it was. He poetically describes how the female spirit of Germany abandoned the land and people when Hitler disobeyed his spiritual guides.
It is no longer advisable or credible to openly use the terms national socialist or national socialism and I have started to refer to myself as a follower of organic or tribal socialism. I deliberately avoid the use of the term 'nation' as even Tom Rowsell (Survive the Jive) observed in one of his excellent videos it is an artificial construct. Nations were built from tribal confederations which in turn were combinations of different tribes in Europe and this is why we find many sub races within modern European nations. Contrary to the erroneous assertions of American 'white nationalists' there is no such thing as a 'white race'.This is a very crude and scientifically inaccurate descriptor. The formation of nations was a necessary building block for the imperialist intentions and ambitions of the elite. In my opinion only tribes and confederations of related tribes have any biological legitimacy.
It is clear from my studies of the ancient Celts, Teutons, Slavs and Balts (the northern European peoples) that whilst they still were at the stage of tribal societies (rather than 'nations') that they held all land and cattle in common, recognising tribal ownership of all land and cattle. The individual only held his land and cattle on trust on behalf of the tribe. Our ancestors before the onset and introduction of 'money' and capitalism practiced a primitive form of socialism. Indeed one could go further and refer to this as communism. I intend in future articles to explore this concept further.
One often hears (usually from wealthy American capitalists such as Trump) that 'socialism never works'. This as we know is a falsification of the truth for the USA's primary mission in the world is to spread the capitalist economic system and the neo-liberal political system and part of this involves the destabalisation of societies with alternative political and economic systems (e.g. the USSR, South America et al) via the arming of 'rebels', invasion or their current favourite method, 'sanctions'. Economic warfare in many senses is as bad as actual warfare for the effects of these sanctions on a society are just as debilitating. Socialism in the mid 20th century in the 'west' was made into a bogeyman as witnessed in the late 1940s and 1950s McCarthy witch hunts and the effects of this demonisation is still felt today with the character assassination of Jeremy Corbyn by the gutter Tory press which is little more than a propaganda tool of the wealthy elite.
The beginnings of mass education in mid 19th century England was a two edged sword. Of course literacy and education are good and positive things but the education of the masses has made them prone to the propaganda of the elite. Hundreds of thousands of voters had their minds poisoned by the constant negative press given to Mr Corbyn by the media and the pro-Israel lobby. I have spoken to people about this just before and after the general election last month and whilst people were forthright in their views about him ('can't stand the man, hate him,' etc) they were unable to the man to tell me WHY? They could not articulate the reason for their emotions. This is surely indoctrination, the effects of 2 years of relentless media attack following Labour's very good election result in 2017. Of course one can rightly point to the issue of Brexit and Labour's sitting on the fence about this policy but this does not explain the visceral hatred that many people feel towards him.
Predictably the masses have like turkeys voted for Christmas and will be the first to complain about another 5 years of 'austerity'. They will truly get what they richly deserve! This is why I feel that it is imperative that in a democratic system as we have in this country that education regarding the British constitution and political science be made a mandatory part of the educational curriculum. People should demonstrate their intellectual fitness for the exercise of the political franchise by the passing of a basic test in these matters rather than permit any fool or idiot to exercise their choice at the ballot box. The general political illiteracy of the masses in this country is startling and I do not for one minute believe this to be an accident!
My brother Robert was initially a student in the late 1960s and participated in many a march, demonstration and university sit in. By his own admission he was in the late 60s and early 70s a communist and an anarchist (obviously not at the same time and I cannot remember which way around this was now!). By contrast my late father was a typical Tory and quite an extreme right wing one at that and they never saw eye to eye on politics in those days. By the time of my brother's death at the age of 58 nearly 11 years ago now he had become a conservative with a small 'c'. I however took an opposite journey in my political development from the 'right' to the 'left'.
The terms 'right wing' and 'left wing' are not ones which I tend to use and indeed I usually make a determined effort to avoid their usage as they are open to misinterpretation. This terminology dates back to the days of revolutionary France where the supporters of the French king were seated on the right side of the president in the National Assembly whilst his opponents and supporters of the revolution were seated on the left. For many years I identified myself as a national socialist (but not a nationalist) and contrary to prevailing opinion a 'left winger'. National socialism in its pure and unadulterated form is organic socialism, not to be confused with that of the internationalist variety. It is concerned purely with the welfare of the folk or tribe. Unfortunately national socialism took a wrong turn in late June and early July 1934 with the 'Night of the Long Knives' which had the intention and effect of destroying the left wing of the NSDAP at the instigation of the German officer class and German capitalists. The SA under Ernst Roehm were a revolutionary force that were not satisfied with the progress of the revolution in Germany and desired the implementation of a true national socialist agenda. Caught up in this fratricide were the Strasser brothers. Gregor Strasser was murdered on 30th of June and his brother Otto fled Germany to return nearly 20 years later in 1954. For those of you who would doubt my assertion that national socialism is and was a left wing movement I recommend that you obtain and read a copy of National Socialism-a left wing movement, 1984 by Povl H Riis-Knudsen and also his National Socialism-The Biological Worldview, 1987.
The form of national socialism advocated by Otto Strasser has had an influence upon many late 20th and early 21st century British nationalist parties who realising it or not are or were advocates of Strasserite politics. With regards to national socialism and where it sits on the left-right political spectrum (if we must insist on using such terms)it is most decidedly left wing for it is revolutionary in nature and seeks to replace the current economic system of capitalism and the current liberal political system. To label it as 'right wing' is absurd for this would imply that it seeks to PRESERVE or CONSERVE this current system which it does not.
After the Night of the Long Knives the NSDAP largely abandoned its socialist agenda and took a very nationalistic, fascist and militaristic turn culminating in the insane invasion of the USSR. Even Miguel Serrano in his The Golden Thread (translation by Alex Kurtagic) makes reference to this mistake by Hitler and views this as the fatal error that it was. He poetically describes how the female spirit of Germany abandoned the land and people when Hitler disobeyed his spiritual guides.
It is no longer advisable or credible to openly use the terms national socialist or national socialism and I have started to refer to myself as a follower of organic or tribal socialism. I deliberately avoid the use of the term 'nation' as even Tom Rowsell (Survive the Jive) observed in one of his excellent videos it is an artificial construct. Nations were built from tribal confederations which in turn were combinations of different tribes in Europe and this is why we find many sub races within modern European nations. Contrary to the erroneous assertions of American 'white nationalists' there is no such thing as a 'white race'.This is a very crude and scientifically inaccurate descriptor. The formation of nations was a necessary building block for the imperialist intentions and ambitions of the elite. In my opinion only tribes and confederations of related tribes have any biological legitimacy.
It is clear from my studies of the ancient Celts, Teutons, Slavs and Balts (the northern European peoples) that whilst they still were at the stage of tribal societies (rather than 'nations') that they held all land and cattle in common, recognising tribal ownership of all land and cattle. The individual only held his land and cattle on trust on behalf of the tribe. Our ancestors before the onset and introduction of 'money' and capitalism practiced a primitive form of socialism. Indeed one could go further and refer to this as communism. I intend in future articles to explore this concept further.
One often hears (usually from wealthy American capitalists such as Trump) that 'socialism never works'. This as we know is a falsification of the truth for the USA's primary mission in the world is to spread the capitalist economic system and the neo-liberal political system and part of this involves the destabalisation of societies with alternative political and economic systems (e.g. the USSR, South America et al) via the arming of 'rebels', invasion or their current favourite method, 'sanctions'. Economic warfare in many senses is as bad as actual warfare for the effects of these sanctions on a society are just as debilitating. Socialism in the mid 20th century in the 'west' was made into a bogeyman as witnessed in the late 1940s and 1950s McCarthy witch hunts and the effects of this demonisation is still felt today with the character assassination of Jeremy Corbyn by the gutter Tory press which is little more than a propaganda tool of the wealthy elite.
The beginnings of mass education in mid 19th century England was a two edged sword. Of course literacy and education are good and positive things but the education of the masses has made them prone to the propaganda of the elite. Hundreds of thousands of voters had their minds poisoned by the constant negative press given to Mr Corbyn by the media and the pro-Israel lobby. I have spoken to people about this just before and after the general election last month and whilst people were forthright in their views about him ('can't stand the man, hate him,' etc) they were unable to the man to tell me WHY? They could not articulate the reason for their emotions. This is surely indoctrination, the effects of 2 years of relentless media attack following Labour's very good election result in 2017. Of course one can rightly point to the issue of Brexit and Labour's sitting on the fence about this policy but this does not explain the visceral hatred that many people feel towards him.
Predictably the masses have like turkeys voted for Christmas and will be the first to complain about another 5 years of 'austerity'. They will truly get what they richly deserve! This is why I feel that it is imperative that in a democratic system as we have in this country that education regarding the British constitution and political science be made a mandatory part of the educational curriculum. People should demonstrate their intellectual fitness for the exercise of the political franchise by the passing of a basic test in these matters rather than permit any fool or idiot to exercise their choice at the ballot box. The general political illiteracy of the masses in this country is startling and I do not for one minute believe this to be an accident!
Tuesday, 19 November 2019
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 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).
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).
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.
"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.
Friday, 15 November 2019
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.
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.
Saturday, 9 November 2019
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.
Saturday, 28 September 2019
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:
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."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)
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.
Saturday, 7 September 2019
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.
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:
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).
"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).
Friday, 23 August 2019
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.
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.
Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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.
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