According to Celtic legends, if February 1st brings bad weather, then the Winter Goddess Cailleach is sleeping and Spring will arrive early. However, if the weather is mild, then the Winter Goddess is out looking for firewood, ensuring a longer duration of Winter. So, dress warm, grab your snow shovels, and let us all revel in harsh weather today! Good Imbolc to all!
All things, whether sentient or (seemingly) insentient, possess an essence or a “spirit” within and around them. If you hold a stone tightly and close your eyes, you will sense a connection between your heartbeat and the “rhythm” of the spirit within the stone. In Rune work, this would apply to the Raido (ᚱ) rune. If you approach an ancient oak (or any other old tree) in the forest, you will feel undeniable connections and energies emulating from within it and its’ spirit can be accessed, communicated and interacted with. Once you recognize the spirit within everything, you will see how life starts to slowly connect and form one large, organic cosmos of interconnected spirit and matter.
Bodies of water, groves, and mountains are held in especially sacred light within our minds and they have undoubtedly immense power and essence within them. Each stream, river, lake and piece of land has its’ own personality and habits. We build connections and relationships with these environments and habits just as we do with the people we surround ourselves with, and the ancient man developed beautiful and passionate relationships with the landscape, its’ habits and the spirits of those landscapes. These days. people can easily relocate and move; more than likely their blood hasn’t yet built a connection to the soil because they haven’t experienced it for very long. I think this would apply to most people in America save the Native Americans.
It takes hundreds, if not thousands of years for organic relationships to be established between the soil and the blood of the people inhabiting it. The ancient man was locked into the cycle of his environment, as if his own body and mind were attached to its events and happenings. The patterns that were experienced outside of man were mimicked internally and recognized as one cycle. Time existed as an eternal and endless circle, not as a linear phenomenon with beginning and end. This recognition of patterns (and cycles) established the foundation for “religion” or Paganism/Animism.
Resurrection of the Ancient Cult (Cover art by Warhead Art)
‘Resurrection of the Ancient Cult’ is a book I want to put together as more of an “art” piece rather than some sort of novel. I want it to basically be a cross between a zine, poetry and art book; something interesting, short and reflective of the world as I see and experience it. Elegiac is a project that encompasses much of my time and thought, so much of my essence is imposed onto it in many ways. More info in the next few weeks.
From ‘Runes, Bindrunes and Hahalruna : European Sorcery and Divination’ Page. 108
This bindrune consists of a central ᚱ rune extending into a ᛋ rune. One interpretation would be that this bindrune is a spell for controlling fire or solar forces. Use this bindrune to enhance control over the fiery and creative aspects of life.
This can be a handy talisman to carry with you on your travels. Both of these runes are positive and triumphant; they will aid and protect you in new environments. You can wear this amulet around the neck for extra strength in winter months, as it will carry the powers of the sun within it. To charge, leave near fire or in direct sunlight.
From ‘Runes, Bindrunes and Hahalruna : European Sorcery and Divination’ Page. 118
This bindrune is used to invoke Loki and associated powers. Carve this into wood, stone or bone, and place it anywhere on your altar with an offering bowl in front of it. Offerings to Loki commonly consist of coins, stones, and knotted ropes. The bindrune consists of the name ᛚᛟᚲᛁ and can be used as a conduit for quick connections to Lokian forces. Most Pagans are shy to working with Loki, but I have found it very useful at certain times, as Loki can be an archetype for indomitable freedom and individuality.
From ‘Runes, Bindrunes and Hahalruna : European Sorcery and Divination’ Page. 116
This bindrune reads Hurnaz and consists of the runes ᚺᚢᚱᚾᚨ ᛉ. This symbol is used to attract or invoke the Wild Spirit of the forest and all associated guardians therein. Hurnaz is a Germanic title for this force, meaning “Horn.” This is a direct translation of the powers represented by the Celtic god Cernunnos. Carve this on any tree near the perimeter of your property that borders the forest; it will invoke good luck and protection from the Forest Gods.
When used in ritual, place a talisman of wood, stone or bone with this symbol carved into it on each cardinal point of the work space. This will create a charged area of focus and intensity for you to carry out your functions in. In this space, you can be assured that no detrimental outside forces are granted access to you or your sacred enclosure. All powers of ill intent will be repelled by the presence of these runes around your work space. This can also be painted on the skin for the same purpose; being especially handy when working alone in the woods. Paint with whatever materials you have available to you. Ideally, use ash, blood, or both to create a usable paint.
From ‘Runes, Bindrunes and Hahalruna : European Sorcery and Divination’ Page. 109
This radial incantation is a spell to invoke the Solar Eye of Odin. It consists of a central Sun with four protruding (ᚦ) runes at each cardinal point, symbolizing defensive forces and cultivation of the sorcerers willpower. Additional defensive (ᛉ) runes have been added with four rotating (ᚨ) runes symbolizing the eternal cycle of the ancestral spirit. This is my personal rendition of the eye that Odin retains, representing our “solar” awareness.
According to the myths, we can equate Odin’s eyes to the Sun and Moon. The Sun of course being the eye he keeps, and the Moon being the eye he sacrifices to the Well of Mimir. This Well symbolizes darkness, mystery, and occult knowledge; a place that all Odinists must sacrifice half of themselves to in order to achieve the Wotanic state.
Etch this symbol into wood, stone, or bone to enhance Odinic visions and forces during meditation and ritual. This bindrune can also be worn as an amulet or drawn in blood or ash on the forehead; serving as a third eye to gaze into the divine. The swirling wheel of ancestral time exists here and all that has come to pass can be accessed through the cosmic Solar Eye. This bindrune can be used to enhance control of the Will and serve as a conduit for vision quests.
I’ll be uploading a few bindrunes from the book soon and getting some pieces finalized to post. I’ve been working on a new Elegiac album for the last month and I haven’t had much time to write outside of lyrical content.
I may start uploading various lyrics from over the years as well, as that takes up a majority of my time when it comes to writing…
I hope you’re all staying positive and healthy in these difficult times.
For most people practicing European Paganism, the goal is not merely to worship and pray to the old Gods, but to embody them and entwine their forms within us. We should strive to avoid the worship of external deities and instead become them through the emulation of their archetypal expressions.
An example in the most basic sense:
-To be a successful farmer, naturalist and Lord of the Land, one is to embody Frey.
-To be a successful sorcerer, artist and eternal student of wisdom, one is to embody Odin.
-To be a strong and fearless protector, one is to embody Thor.
These Gods personify and preserve different aspects of the ancient European mind and culture. Although they have evolved over time, they will always represent core concepts within the patterns of nature and the psyche of the folk.
Not only do we associate the forces of nature with many different deities and spirits, but each one also possesses an endless repertoire of names and “faces” associated with it. These faces are simply different expressions of the God-Power representative of the deity in focus. We see this in the lengthy list of titles for Odin, including Draugadróttin, Gaut and Grim. These titles do not refer to different deities but rather a different face, form and focus of the God we are choosing to emulate or venerate. In the same respect, we see the title and focus of the Gods change with culture and time, as the Odian archetype from the North seems to be yet another altered face and form of the original Wōdaz or Gaut incarnation.
Odin Idols Loshult, Skåne, Sweden
In the word Wōdaz we see that the Odinic force was thought of as an adjective, a way to describe a specific phenomenon, state of mind or being that intoxicates the emulator or practitioner. This personification (or effect) would inspire (or require) a certain state of rage, madness, frenzy and obsession to invoke. When we look at what these forces have in common, one observation is that they are all required in the act of creating and unlocking the highest forms of the self; the unwavering and untamable “Odian” self through a supreme invocation of madness.
The reason why Odin is renowned as a war god is also reflected in this hyper-form of rage and obsession. Through many means of ancient sorcery (such as Galdr and Utisetta) the warrior ascends to a realm of complete and total awareness and focus. Time is slowed down dramatically and stormy forces begin to rise within. This gives birth to a wild flare of intense energy and aggression; a substantial power brought about by an internal means of transformation. In this state, the warrior can achieve things that a normal man cannot and fight with unhinged ferocity.
Eventually, it seems that the Norse took this “Wōdaz” concept and formed it into a more tangible and external “Godlike” force that could be consulted, worshipped, and interacted with. In other words, the act of achieving Wōdaz (madness/obsession/frenzy) was turned into a deity and noun termed Odin or “the frenzied one.” The adjective took on its’ own archetype due to the potency of its’ characteristics, demonstrating further its’ effectiveness in the transforming of the practitioner, solidifying the concept in an objective form.
Odin ‘Der Wolkenwanderer’ by Hermann Hendrich
When we look at the name Gaut, we see a Gothic verb meaning “to flow out of.” This seems to reflect the early stages of the Indo-European migrations when the people came “flowing out” of the Eurasian Steppes during the decline of the last Ice Age. This title seems to be more ancestral in nature, as “Gaut” was said to be the origin of the Goths or “Gauts.” Whether this term correlates with a single originating ancestor or is a term used to describe how the entire Proto-Germanic population came “flowing out” of the North is to be speculated. Either way, this title should be held in particularly high regard, as the Gothic language is one of the oldest recorded languages in this family.
To conclude this short anecdote, it is important that we do not let monotheistic, omnipotent, Zoroastrian/Abrahamic concepts plague what it means to venerate the Gods within our blood. Strive to unlearn those false and foreign concepts about what a God is (or should be) and rebuild the spiritual identity locked within your ancestry and DNA. Our cultures were unique, complex and created during the primordial ages of human development when our relationship with nature was still abundant and flourishing. They were undoubtedly more sophisticated and powerful then the watered-down concepts they “feed” us in school and in mainstream media. This applies to Paganism of all cultures and forms, as all our Gods have been painted in this way to ensure the systematic destruction of our advanced cultures and identities. Our distinct and organic histories are entwined within us; in our Gods, cultures, language and ancestors. We must hold these things in the highest respect and venerate them fully to ensure our spiritual health, freedom, and strength.
Odin and Berserker Bjornhouda, Torslunda parish, Oland (600 A.D.)
