The Gods of the Runes

In my label about the Runes, you can see all the Runes and their meanings, their power and how can the Runes help you in your daily needs, and to better understand the world around you.
There are too many posts in there full of Knowledge about the Runes. So in this post i will write about the basics of the Runes so you can start understanding them better before you go further. It is an easy way to absorb the knowledge of the Runes.



Deity or Symbolic Being(s)  /  Function  /  Associated Rune(s)  /  Basic Meaning

(I) Audhumla (Cosmic Cow)  /  Primordial Being  /  Fehu  /  Prosperity

(II) The Auroch Bull  /  Masculine Power  /  Uruz  /  Ferocity

(III) Thor  /  Thunder God  /  Thurisaz  /  Boundaries

(IV) Odin  /  Supreme God  /  Ansuz  /  Trials and Divine Inspirations

(V) Frey/ing  /  Fertility/Horse God  /  Raido  /  Honour

(VI) Heimdall  /  The Sentinel  /  Kaunaz  /  Knowledge

(VII) Odin & Thor  /  Gift Givers  /  Gebo  /  Generosity

(VIII) Frigga  /  The Virtuous Wife  /  Wunjo  /  Happy Endings

(IX) Urd (also Hella)  /  The Norn of the Past  /  Hagalaz  /  Hail and Sleet

(X) Verdandi  /  The Norn of the Future  /  Nauthiz  /  Necessity

(XI) Skuld (also Rind)  /  The Norn of the Present  /  Isa  /  Ice, Cold, Iron

(XII) Baldur & Hudur (also cunning Loki)   /  Gods of Light and Dark  /  Jera  /  Joy, Celebration

(XIII) Ullr /  God of Hunting  /  Eihwaz  /  Adaptibility

(XIV) The Three Norns and also Frigga  /  Weavers pf the web of Fate  /  Pertho  /  Chance and Destiny

(XV) The Valkyries and also Heimdall  /  Choosers of the Slain  /  Algiz  /  Healing and Protection

(XVI) Baldur and also Thor  /  Gods of Light and Justice  /  Sowelo  /  Life Force, Love and Poetic Justice

(XVII) Tyr  /  One handed God of War and Oaths /  Tiwaz  /  Biding Agreements

(XVIII) Frigga in her form as Brechta  /  Mother Goddess /  Berkana  /  Birth, Living Things

(XIX) Frey/ing and also Sleipnir  /  Fertility/Horse God /  Ehwaz  /  Adventure and also the animal kingdom

(XX) Heimdall in his form as Rigr  /  The God who Stands Between  /  Mannaz  /  Mankind

(XXI) Njord and Nerthus  /  Gods of Safe Harbours  /  Laguz  /  Spiritual Love

(XXII) Frey/Ing  /  God of Fertility  /  Inguz  /  Health, Fertility

(XXIII) Odin  /  King of the Gods, The "All-Father"  /  Othila  /  Rulership and Nobility, Loyality

(XXIV) Heimdall and Loki  /  Rival Gods of Order and Chaos / Dagaz  / Midsummer, beginings and endings

Vanaheim Part V (5)

Billing's Hall:


The giant Billing is the "Master of the Vanirs". He is Gilling's brother, Rind's father and Vali's grandfather. Although he is a giant, he has strong ties with the Vanir - one of his wives is a Vana - and he is in charge of handling the trade between Vanaheim and Jotunheim. He is mediator and bargainer, working towards the best deal for both sides, and both sides respect him for his fairness and neutrality. His hall is located at a large port on the Jotunheim-facing coast of Vanaheim; it is as much warehouse as living space. Although he is well-disposed towards human travelers, he is very busy and has little time for their questions.


Aegirheim:

Just off the coast of Vanaheim lies Aegirheim, the underwater palace of Aegir, the sea god (occasionally known as Hler). While Aegir and his folk travel the seawater in every land, and are familiar with the beaches that wash everywhere from Midgard to Asgard to Muspellheim to Helheim, their main base is in Vanaheim and they do tend to ally themselves with the Vanir. Aegir's father is Mistblindi, or "mist-blind". His brother, Logi, is a sworn man of Utgard-Loki.
Aegir was often shown as a vigorous man with a spear in his hand - one ancient term for the sea, garsecg, actually meant spear-man - with a long, flowing beard that he loves to decorate with shells and beads. His wife Ran, whose name means Robber, is the Thief of Ships. She is not nearly as nice as Aegir is, and is harder to please. She is tiny for an etin-woman, small and delicate with pale, blue-tinged skin, long fingers, strange sea-colored inhuman eyes, and black hair so long that it trails on the floor behind her. Her eyes are cold and flick from side to side like green-glass blades. She enjoys human guests largely for their entertainment value, so make sure that you are properly entertaining.
Aegir and Ran's daughters, the Nine Undines, take much more after their mother's temperament. In their natural forms, they range from startlingly ugly to strikingly lovely but inhuman-looking, although they can all take on illusory beautiful-human-woman forms if they choose. In the water they will always be tailed mermaids; in Aegirheim they switch to legs. They are a close-knit and rather bloodthirsty lot, as can be deduced by their names: Blodughadda (Blood-hair), Bara (Big Wave), Bylgja (Breaking Wave), Duva (Hidden), Hevring (Heaving), Himinglava (Sky Shining Through), Hronn (Sucking Wave), Kolga (Cool One), and Unn (Billow).
Sea-giants have several forms. They can look like pale humans, usually with long flowing hair nearly the full length of their bodies. They can take on the forms of fishes, dolphins, whales and other sea creatures, sometimes even floating clumps of seaweed. They can take on a form that looks like a transparent humanoid water-shape. They can also take on the classic half-fish mermaid/merman form that has so entranced sailors through the ages.


To get to Aegirheim, the best route is via Hlesey Island, off the coast of Vanaheim. Here you can rent a boat from the locals (or bring your own), go down to the shore and make the proper offerings, and ask to be escorted to Aegir's halls. If the offering is accepted, one of his servants (or daughters, if he thinks that you rate that kind of treatment) will come up out of the water for you. They will sail the boat for you - go ahead and let them! - and it will slowly sink under the waves. This is the frightening part for us air-breathers, but don't worry - ask long as you are close to them, you will be able to breathe fine. It's part of their magic. If you are rude, of course, they will throw you off the boat (or, later, out of the palace) and you will quickly drown as soon as you are out of range.
Aegir's doorward is an etin named Eldir. Like Fjalar, his favorite form is that of a giant rooster. He is fussy and difficult, and prone to turning rude people away. If he answers the door in rooster form, be careful not to laugh; he would not be above pecking or scratching you badly and then throwing you out into the ocean. Eldir is a bit self-important; humor him and make sure he knows you understand what an honor it is to feast at Aegir's table.
During the feast, Aegir will pass around the Rimkalk, or crystal goblet used for toasts. This is your cue to tell him how honored you are to be there, and to praise his hospitality. If you have a song or poem to donate, go ahead, but keep it short. The great feasts are cooked in a magic kettle a mile deep called Seaboiler. It was originally owned by the giant Hymir, but it was borrowed by Thor, never returned, and won in a game by Aegir, who uses it in his enormous feeds.
One thing that you may find notable when dining with Aegir is the number of human beings at the table who are actually dead. There will usually be a number of ghosts at the table, enjoying his hospitality, although these days there are far fewer than there used to be in the times of the great ships. These are people who were drowned at sea and whose souls were snatched by Ran, who holds the power to steal souls out of drowning bodies. She keeps them around Aegirheim, rather like pets, until they cease to be entertaining and then are summarily sent off to Helheim. The most entertaining ghosts, or the ones that Aegir finds the most engaging, have been there for hundreds of years feasting and singing and dancing.


Offerings:

Shiny coins and jewelry. Please make sure that the metal is actually real precious metal; they can tell the difference and will be as insulted by pot metal as any duergar. Sailors used to be given coins with which to pay off the sea-giants if they were "captured". Alcohol with gold dust in it is also much loved, especially if it is homebrew, which Aegir appreciates. In ancient times, sailors used to give human sacrifices to the sea-giants, throwing them overboard, and they still remember this wistfully. It meant a lot to them not just because of bloodthirstiness, but because the souls of those who drowned went not to Helheim or Asgard, but to their own halls, where they would feast and be entertained forever.

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Vanaheim Part IV (4)

Freya's Hall

Freya also has two halls; the famous Sessrumnir in Asgard and her home hall in Vanaheim. This hall is tended for most of the year by four of her eight sisters. Three others of her sisters - Bjart (Shining), Blid (Mild) and Frid (Pretty), are handmaidens of Mengloth in Jotunheim. Eir, the eldest of her eight sisters, is Frigga's handmaiden in Asgard and a goddess of healing. Her hall in Vanaheim is simply referred to as Freya's Home, even though she is not there most of the time.
Like her brother, she is a hostage for the continued peace between the Aesir and the Vanir, and she is allowed to come home only when her father and brother are absent. She travels from world to world in a chariot pulled by large golden cats; in some traditions there are four of them and in others two, named Beegold and Treegold, symbolizing honey and amber, her favorite substances. She can also fly through the air in dove form, or wearing a cloak of falcon feathers which can change her into that bird as well.
Much has been said about Freya, the Goddess of Love and Fertility, Lady of the Vanir. She is one of the most popular deities in the northern tradition, and with good reason. She is also an extremely versatile woman. Her sacred activities fall into four categories - she wears four "hats", as it were. First, she is a love goddess; this is her best-known attribute, and the one that marks her appearance. Like her brother Frey, she is tall, blond, and gorgeous. She can go back and forth from coolly poised to emotionally volatile, although her temperament mostly lends itself to being sunny. In her love-goddess persona, she grants the boon of love to some of those who apply to her...but not all; no love goddess ever gave anyone everything that they wanted.
When she appears in her aspect as Love Goddess, she wears Brisingamen, the most beautiful necklace in the Nine Worlds, made by four duergar smith-brothers. She traded four nights of her favors for it, thus proving that her charms really were worth the greatest piece of jewelry, and was serenely immune to the catty remarks of the Aesir about her whoring. Indeed, she has an aspect as Sacred Prostitute, wherein she teaches people to value themselves and their favors rather than desperately selling themselves cheaply to whoever comes by and looks interested. Freya's lesson as Goddess of Love is that of self-esteem, and that the Universe will give you what are willing to settle for.
In her aspect as mistress of seidhr, the mystical art of the oracle, she appears in her mysterious-woman aspect, usually dressed in some form of traditional clothing. She teaches the arts of seid-magic to those she deems worthy, although she does have a preference for women and non-gender-conforming men.
In her warrior aspect, she has the same job as a Valkyrie, except that the Valkyries choose the brave dead for Valhalla. Sometime shortly after arriving as a hostage in Asgard, Freya cut a deal with Odin whereby she would teach him her wisdom in return for the first pick of the noble slain, of which she could take up to a third. Inevitably, she chooses the best of the crop, including all the women warriors (except those sworn personally to Odin or one of his liege-vassal deities). She can be seen alongside of the Valkyries during battle, for those with the eyes to see, in her white armor. But this side of her is never expressed in Vanaheim, only Asgard.
The side of her which is most tied to Vanaheim - and for which she always comes home in the early spring - is that of goddess of fertility. Like Frey, her touch makes the crops flourish, but her special time is that of the early seedling, coaxing it into the full-blown plant. When she is home for her ritual duties, she wears a gown covered in flowers and grains, the magical embroidery of which changes as the plants grow.
There are various stories about Freya's various husbands, all of whom seem to be dead of various disasters. Although she has taken many husbands and lovers, it seems that none of them were able to hold her for long, much less make her monogamous. She wept tears for all of them, which became droplets of amber before they hit the ground. By one of her late husbands, Od, she had two daughters, Hnoss and Gersimi. Each of them have their own halls in Vanaheim, within sight of her own. Unlike her, they mostly take after their father and are round and brown and merry and bouncing. Gersimi means "jewelry" and she is a patron of jewelry-makers, as it is one of her arts, and she often supplies her beautiful mother with strings of beads.
Offerings to Freya include honey, flowers, fine drink, sweet breads and cakes, fruits, and anything lovely. She is partial to elaborate handiwork that someone slaved over. Jewelry, of course, is always welcome, as are natural perfumes.


Frodi's Hall

Frodi is a very old Vanir gold whose name means "Fruitful One". According to the lore of the Vanir, he is the father of Njord by Nott, the sky-etin of the night. He is a grey-haired, bearded, wrinkled old man who lives in a small wooden hall surrounded by orchards and berry-brambles. While elderly and private, he will welcome you if you come willing to sing or tell tales, and lend him a strong back to help with the fruit-picking. As an offering, plant berry-bushes or small fruit trees and shrubs.


Nehallenia's Hall

Nehallenia, whose name also means "Fruitful One", is a goddess of vegetation and the sea. While it is unclear as to what pantheon she was originally from, she does have a hall in Vanaheim. It is by the ocean, facing Asgard as Njord's hall is, and just down the coast from his place. It is made of woven branches, made to be in the shape of a cornucopia, which is her symbol. She is a goddess of good fishing and plenty, and her specialty is those things which flourish within half a mile of the coast in either direction - shellfish, seaweed, beach plums, and produce that loves the salt air. She is especially fond of rosemary as an offering.


Holda's Hall

Holda is a Germanic goddess, and her actual home is in some strange underworld place that isn't Helheim, but people accidentally fall down a well in order to get to it. However, I am told that she does have a hall in Vanaheim, where she is practically the center of the flax-weaving industry. Vanaheim is famed for its linen, whereas the spinners in Asgard under Frigga's eye generally spin wool. Holda's cottage sits in the middle of many fields of waving blue and white flax flowers, with an extensive culinary herb garden spread about it.
Holda is a goddess of the household arts; many folk who have worked with her report that she loves a clean, neat house, and will make those who call on her suddenly feel the urge to go on a mad cleaning spree, scrubbing floors and dusting shelves even if they have never done such things before. Cleaning is a good way to welcome her, anyway; it shows that you value what she's about. As one can imagine, her home in Vanaheim is spotless, but still warm and homey. Her food never burns, her milk never sours, her fruits and vegetables never spoil, and her hands are never idle; while she talks to you she is likely to be spinning or weaving or doing some other sort of small craft.
She has a small flock of handmaidens to whom she teaches the homely arts; unlike other deities, she does not have a permanent staff, but rather rotates young girls who then go off to run their own households when they have learned enough. The exception is a handmaiden called Harn, who
is an expert in flax-dressing (the long and ungainly process of turning flax into linen thread) and she aids those who wish to learn this art.
For an offering to Holda, clean your house! If your home is already in order - including all the nooks and crannies such as the inside of refrigerators and the backs of attics - go to the home of someone who has difficulty keeping their place clean and commit an act of cleanliness there. It is especially good to help out disabled people, the elderly, or mothers with small children who are overrun and overwhelmed. Don't worry about actually bringing anything to Holda. She'll know what you've done. If you didn't think to do any cleaning before you visit, ask to help out with something. She'll put you to work.

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Vanaheim Part III (3)

Njord's Hall

Njord's Vanaheim home is, of course, on the eastern seashore, facing Alfheim and Asgard. (His Asgard home is directly opposite it on Asgard's westerly beaches, calculated to have the straightest possible shot over the ocean between the two.) Noatun, or "Shipyards", is a tall, white, arched building on the rocky outcrop of the largest northern bay. A small fleet of ships have their home in the bay, as Njord keeps all of the Vanir fleet under his protection, even when he is absent. The waters around Vanaheim never freeze, even in the winter, and fishing is always good.
Njord is currently single and solitary, but like the archetypal sailor he has had many wives and lovers. He is technically married to Nerthus - by whom he has sired Frey and Freya - but it is strictly a ceremonial marriage, to be reconsummated once a year for ritual purposes. He was briefly married to Skadi as a favor to Odin, but they did not get along and quickly divorced. He has sired eight more daughters by various Vanir women.
Njord himself has been described as a lean, vigorous, bearded man in early middle age, with hands calloused from ship-ropes and face somewhat windburned. One spirit-worker who honors him referred to him as "every inch the perfect sea-captain", and reported that a salt breeze seemed to move about him wherever he was. Anyone who is interested in ships and sailing will automatically find an ally to talk to in him.


Nerthus's Hall

Njord's ceremonial wife, Nerthus, is the high priestess/earth mother of Vanaheim. Njord is her husband in name, but they do not live together; their marriage is strictly a ritual affair for the magical mating of earth and sea, in order to bring fertility to the land. Their two sacred children are the twins Frey and Freya, who embody the fertility of Vanaheim and bring that fertility everywhere they go.
Nerthus is very old and very private, and surrounded by taboos. She is large and voluptuous, with a Venus-of-Willendorf figure, and eyes like deep swamp pools. Her skin is brown as the earth, and her long brown hair trails on the ground for many feet behind her. She is in charge of all human sacrifice in Vanaheim, and people willingly give their lives before her knife. She lives on an island in the exact center of Vanaheim - an island within an island - which is only big enough for her sacred grove, her temple, and her house. During certain times of the year, she will process through the various Vanaheim villages, bringing peace and fertility, and then return to her island. She is accompanied on her way back by a tithe of servants whose job is to bathe her in the waters of her lake, serve her every whim for a week, and then be drowned as sacrifices. Only seek her out if you are willing to pay a high price for her wisdom, and if you cannot get it elsewhere.


Frey's Hall

Frey is a god with many homes, as his conflicting loyalties keep him always on the move. When serving his time in Asgard, he stays with his sister Freya in her hall Sessrumnir, and keeps it while she is home in Vanaheim. However, his beloved etin-bride Gerda will not come to Asgard with him, so he is alone during his sojourns there. He also has a hall in Alfheim (elaborated on more clearly in the Alfheim chapter), given to him by the Aesir, and he spends part of his Asgard-time there. While Gerda will come to live with him sometimes in Alfheim, she really does not like it there either. When he comes home to Vanaheim, the two of them live together in his Vanaheim hall in the Borri Woods, the place of their courtship. While we do not at this time know the name of this hall, or even if it has one beyond "Frey's Place", visitors have reported that it seems to be made entirely of golden corn dollies of woven straw.
Frey himself is a very accessible and friendly deity. He is tall and blond and beautiful, and laughs a good deal. While he is quite welcoming to all who seek him, the hard part is catching up to him as he moves from stead to stead during the year. He has divine rulership over such things as fertility, growth, abundance, peace, and contentment. He is a god of love and sex and sensuality, but unlike his sister who values these things in and of themselves, Frey works with committed lovers who wish to build a home together, especially if they intend to own land. He is just fine with nonheterosexual unions (and worshippers), and his priests were often effeminate and cross-dressed. He is a god of marriage, but unlike Frigga who blesses socially sanctioned marriages, Frey blesses those which make people shake their heads and say "They'll never make it - they're too different," or "they're too strange". His own wedding with the giantess Gerda was not the most well-received of unions, and he is sympathetic to the lovers who flout convention and struggle across cultural differences.
As a god of peace, Frey dislikes violence in his hallowed places, not to mention his home. Starting a fight there is unforgivable, as is discourtesy towards other guests. While he seems like a jovial type, you would be surprised how fast you will be hustled out by his servants if you make him unhappy.
If you can get him to show you his ship Skidbladnir, it's worth seeing. It's a tiny model ship that can blow up into a full-size creation at a word. It was a gift from Aegir, commissioned of duergar-make. He is proud of it, and loves to show it off, and to take short trips in it, although he has little of his father's skill with ships.
Gerda, his etin-bride wife, is utterly unlike Frey. Where he is good-humored and expressive, she is reserved and cool; one might even say downright cold to those she does not know. She is tall and large-boned, like most etin-women, with pale skin and long dark hair that is usually neatly braided behind her. She tends to wear loose, concealing dresses, and she spends a great deal of time in her gardens.
At each of the households where she lives with Frey - in Vanaheim and in Alfheim - she has built a beautiful garden with high walls around it, heavily warded. When you are in her gardens, there is a stillness and a safe quality to the place that makes you feel as if everything except that small place has ceased to exist. If Gerda invites you to come walk in the garden with her, it is not because she wants your conversation and chatter. It is because she wants you to spend time with her quietly appreciating the beauty and the peace of it. She may speak of her favorite garden, which is in Jotunheim at the home of her parents, planted on the limbs of a huge tree a hundred feet in the air, in the canopy of a great forest where mists float among the branches. Bring her offerings of seeds, preferably flower or herb seeds for her garden. Plant a garden in her name, in some out of the way place, perhaps with walls around it.
At first glance, Gerda seems almost plain, and one wonders how this woman won the desperate love of gorgeous blond Frey. Then, when she warms up a little, her dark eyes flash and you realize that under her cold manner lies hot-blooded Jotun passion, and for that moment she is both frightening and shockingly desirable, as if a dull-looking tabby cat growled and for a moment became a sleek black leopard. Then it vanishes as quickly as it came, and she is back to her self-enclosed coolness. Remember that although she is Frey's wife, she does not take on the task of running his households, as they are apart for at least half the year. Those chores she leaves to Beyla, including the work of hospitality. She seems to consider herself a guest in her husband's home, except for her garden spaces; it's a strange way to run a relationship, but it seems to work for them, and there is no questioning the depth of their love and affection for each other.
Frey's personal assistant and man-at-arms is Skirnir, given to him by the Aesir as a token of respect for his rank. Skirnir is lean, sharp, and quick, with a penetrating wit and wry speech. He is clever, resourceful, coldly practical, and willing to twist arms and lean on people in order to fulfill his orders, though he never evinces this behavior in Frey's presence. He takes his vocation as Frey's manservant and bodyguard very seriously, and will not hear any untoward words about his master. Frey gifted him with his horse, Blodighofi, as a reward for aiding his courtship with Gerda. Skirnir wisely realized that this was a gift given in impulse that Frey would later regret, and discreetly returned the horse after a week, saying that it was too fierce for him. He is still allowed to use Blodighofi for errands and missions, however,
Frey's two Vanir servants are Beyla and Byggvir, a married couple who follow him from stead to stead. Beyla milks the herd animals and tends to the bees at each farm, and Byggvir tends to the various crops, makes beer, and takes care of the magical World-Mill, one of Frey's treasures. The World-Mill, when turned, will keep pouring out a steady stream of grain. The type of grain varies from day to day, and Byggvir is always trying to get it to make new sorts. Byggvir is quite approachable, and will gladly show off the mill that is his favorite hobby. Beyla is more reticent, but can be wooed into talking by offering to help her with her tasks. (Knowing how to milk dairy animals is especially useful.) Other members of the traveling household include Blodighofi ("Blood-hoof"), Frey's great red horse who is unafraid of fire, and Gullinbursti ("Golden-bristle") and Slidrugtanni, the great tame boars that pull his chariot.
Offerings to Frey include good beer (preferably homemade or craft beers), fine breads, good cheeses, and other well-made beautiful gourmet food.
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Vanaheim Part II (2)

Inhabitants:

There is no extant myth of where the people of the Vanir came from. They themselves, when asked, have simply said that they settled Vanaheim when a piece of Ymir's body (said to be his pelvis, as it is the most fertile area) became a stable continent in a stable world. They do not trace any descent from Ymir's children, and may have come from outside the Nine Worlds. The first mention of them in myths is when Odin and his brothers run across them, act rudely, and a war is started. They are an agricultural people, practicing fertility rites and the occasional human sacrifice.
Hospitality rules are very important to the Vanir. While they have a good deal of importance everywhere in the Nine Worlds, the Vanir are particularly picky about them. While any of them will likely give you a three-day guest-right stay in their homes, there are rules about being a good guest. First, offer to help with whatever farm labor they require. If you don't know how to do anything, ask for a task that takes little skill and can be learned quickly. If they happily put you to work, you are in. Don't shirk; do your best job. If they politely decline to give you a task, it isn't because they consider you too fine a guest to be put to work, it's that they don't like you that much, and don't want you to be considered like part of the family, if only for a few hours. If they won't allow you to help, they likely don't want you back.
At one point, the Vanir fought a war with the Aesir, and after much loss of life both sides called it a draw. The point of mentioning this war is that people tend to underestimate the Vanir as warriors. They are not as openly warlike as the Aesir - in fact, there is a strict peace set on their world that it would do anyone ill to break - but they are just as skilled at the arts of warfare, and should not be dismissed. Be courteous and polite to these "mere farmers", or they may decide that you have violated their rules of hospitality, which in some parts of Vanaheim is a killing offense.
As part of the treaty terms of the war, the Aesir and Vanir exchanged hostages. Each side agreed to send over some members of great wisdom so that the other could benefit from them. The Aesir sent over Mimir and Hoenir, but they turned out to be unsatisfactory; Hoenir refused to talk about anything, and Mimir did nothing but babble. One senses either resentment at their hostage status, or an implicit order to keep quiet. The Vanir, however, were insulted, and hacked Mimir's head off and sent it back to Odin with Hoenir. Odin resurrected the head and dropped it down a well, where Mimir is doomed to answer questions for eternity or until Odin decides to release him.
On the other hand, the Vanir hostages consisted of Njord, the god of ships and sailing, and his twin children Frey and Freya, the gods of fertility and love. The presence of the latter two seemed to be part of an ongoing deal to provide Asgard with food. Odin was especially eager to get hold of Freya, and not just for her beauty; she was the mistress of the seidhr-magic that he wished to learn. Not only were the Vanir hostages accepted as full voting members of the Aesir, when their people returned the other hostages, scorned or beheaded, no revenge was taken upon the all-too-important Njord, Frey, or Freya. The end result is that Asgard has a strong Vanir voice in its councils, while Vanaheim is fairly free to ignore Asgard, secure that its hostage-gods are quite safe there.
The three of them are allowed to come home and visit Vanaheim, as long as they do it one at a time. Njord can be found in Vanaheim in the spring and high summer, usually on a boat. Frey comes home around Lammas for his yearly role in the all-important fertility-based Ing ritual, and stays until the first snows. Freya presumably comes home some time in the winter and stays to see the spring open onto the land, her favorite time of year.

Vanaheim

Vanaheim

Vanaheim (or "Vana-home") is the world of the Vanir, a race of deities and spirits whose main focus is agriculture. This world lies on the western side of the World Tree, just below Alfheim and Asgard in the spiral path. No one is really sure where the Vanir came from, or how they created Vanaheim without the Aesir noticing, and they aren't telling. However, they first come to the attention of the Aesir after they have already established their world and their land.

As i have told you before, in my point of view, these worlds are in fact one huge world, and a shaman in his/her journey doesnt actualy go on foot, he appears in a place and travels, and then in an other journey in trance or an out of the body expirience, he will appear in a completely diferent place, which lead people to belive, they are actualy traveling into other worlds, but in truth, they visit realms in that world, so Vanaheim is no exception, there is a feeling taht the world is below Alfheim and Asgard, because the good ground for agriculture, are plain fields, in woodlands etc. below the mountains, and because the way to Alfheim is up, it gives that feeling that Alfheim is a vast world above Vanaheim and in other hand, Asgard is up into the mountains in the other side. So now that i have given my point of view so you can understand this better, lets get back to the subject.
Time and Seasons:

Vanaheim has four perfect seasons. By this I mean that Vanaheim is blessed with generally postcard-perfect weather, regardless of what time of year it happens to be. Indeed, Vanaheim has the best weather and climate of any of the Nine Worlds. Its "year" is significantly longer than ours, however; it may be difficult to line up the season here with the season there. Vanaheim turns closest to our world at the halfway point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox, the day that was referred to by some of our ancestors as Lammas.

Geography:

Vanaheim is a large island, large enough that it could be called a small continent. Rolling hills decorate the central area, and the rest is meadow and pastureland, with small patches of woodland. The shoreline varies between open beaches and rock cliffs. Fishing is a popular industry, as the Vanir are closely allied to Aegir the sea god. The island is lush and green, with the most fertile soil in the Nine Worlds. Practically any seed will grow, stuck into the ground. As such, Vanaheim is the food basket of the Nine Worlds, exporting and trading agricultural products with all the others.
There seem to be no cities in Vanaheim, nor even a capital or main hall where the important Vanir all live. The people of Vanaheim are organized into small villages, none of them much more important than any other. Government is done by moots, where village representatives travel to meet and discuss and decide law. The moots are large gatherings that take several days, and are often timed with seasonal religious rituals, as if to get as much as possible out of a single gathering. The location of the moots rotates around the island.
Villages usually center around a sacred grove, with cottages, small halls, and fields outlying around it. There are small temples in a few areas, but most worship is done outside in the groves. These groves are distinguished by carefully planted circles of sacred trees, stone altars, and the occasional stang. Actually, you won't find stangs anywhere else in Vanaheim except for the sacred groves, which are holy ground and usually watched by a guardian priest or priestess. That means that when you enter this world, you will come in under surveillance, into a space that is considered sacred and must be treated with respect. Although the priest-guardians are generally not armed, they usually have guards around who are. As soon as you enter Vanaheim, respectfully declare yourself and tell them your business there. There may be food offerings left around the grove; don't eat them.
The largest stretch of woods in Vanaheim is the Barri Woods, a magical wood of gold-leaved trees on the eastern shore, nearest to Jotunheim. The trees grow taller there than anywhere else in this wood, and it is said by the locals that they are actually of Jotunheim stock, gifted or traded by the etins just across the water and world-barrier. This is the place where Frey met with his etin-bride Gerda and wooed her, and the Barri Woods are said to be particularly good for sexual rites and love magic.

The Vanir and the Aesir

It is important to note that there is more than one type of god in the northern pantheon. Apart from the giants of frost and fire who it is said to dwell on the fringes of criation, the divinities of order were divided into two main families: the Aesir and the Vanir.
The Vanir seem to have predated the other gods, being pastoral deities associated with harvests, the fertility of beasts and humans and, not least, the earth itself, and also is a place of water, of shamans (the seiðman and siðkona), of peace and of healing. The most notable of the Vanir are the childrens of Njord, the beloved twins Frey and Freya, whose names mean "the lord" and "the lady" respectively.

The other godly dynasty is known as the Aesir. These are headed by Odin and his wife, Frigga, and it is among these deities that we find such familiar characters as Thor, the thunder god, and Tyr, god of war, both sons of Odin. Of course, as king of the gods, Odin is expected to have many sons, and among them can be numbered Baldur the Beautiful and his twin brother, Hodur the Blind, representing light and dark, day and night and summer and winter. The guardian of Asgard and the rainbow bridge that led to it is the ever-watchful Heimdall, himself a result of the union of Odin with one of the Nine sea giantesses ( none knows which one exactly except Odin himself and the nine daughters of Aegir ), known as the wave maidens. Heimdal is the god "who stood between", the ancestor of humankind who revealed the secrets of the runes to his mortal descendants. As might be expected, he figures largely in runic symbolism, having associations with no fewer then five runes out of the twenty-four in the rune sequance.
Before we leave the realm of Asgard, there is one god who is something of an anomaly: the treacherous Loki, born of the race of giants and the hated rival of Heimdall. Loki personifies wild, uncontrollable fire, in contrast to hos enemy, Heimdall, who symbolises a torch or a beacon, a friend to humankind. Nevertheless, Loki is blood brother to Odin, and his mischief was tolerated because of that kinship. However, Loki must have stretched the divine patience considerably, because it was he who caused the death of Baldur, and even though Sleipnir, one of his children, was considered benign, it was also he who was parent to Hella/Hela and the monstrous wolf, Fenris, who tried to destroy the universe and was fated to devour Odin at the end of the world at Ragnarok, the "Twilight of the Gods".

Working with the Gods: Nerthus and Njord

Nerthus and Njord have arrived both together and separately. Nerthus likes a female spirit-worker, and she prefers "beer that drinks like a meal" - thick rich stout. She is always veiled, because anyone besides a Vanir priest/ess who sees her face must be killed. Make her attendants female. Njord prefers a masculine spirit-worker and is especially fond of rum, and salmon baked in a salt dome. He likes blues and whites, sea colors. If he can be invoked near the seaside, that's even better. His attendants can be any gender, but they should be useful and practical, and if they know something about ships or are interested in sailing, that's even more of a bonus.

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Mythology around Runes: Dagaz

Dagaz

Mythology:

Because Dagaz is elementally governed by fire, two fire gods of radically differing characteristics are associated with it. The first is Heimdall, symbolised by a steady torch or beacon shinning in the darkness. Heimdall is the sentinel of the gods, the guardian of the rainbow bridge, ever watchful and the bringer of enlightenment to mortals ( it was he who revealed the secrets of the runes to humankind ). The other god connected with Dagaz is the untrustworthy ( for some ) Loki, the trickster. Loki is too clever for his own, or, indeed, anyone else's good.
Although he did some beneficial things, these boons were usually a by-product of his mischievous acts.
Even so, he is the blood brother of Odin and was usually cunning enough to talk his way out of trouble.
Loki represents wild, uncontrolled flames. Heimdall represents warmth, security and illumination. The two gods were great rivals and were fated to kill each other on the dreaful day of Ragnarok.

Dagaz

"Daeg the  glorious light of the sun is sent by the high One, is beloved of men, a source of hope and happiness to rich and poor alike, of service to all."
                                                            
                                                 "The Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem"





The Anglo-Saxon name for this rune, Daeg, is related to the word for "day" in many European languages. Its pronunciation and letter in the common alphabet, is the letter "D".
Dagaz represents noon, when the sun is at the highest point of its course. It also means daylight itself, especially the long hours of glorious sunshine at midsummer, which are the primary symbolic elements of this rune. If the twenty-four runes are laid out in a cicle, then Dagaz will appear at precisely the opposite point of Jera.
In runic calender, Jera represents midwinter, when the sun is at its weakest, and Dagaz symbolises the sun in its full strength. The rowan tree and Norway spruce are the trees associated with Dagaz. It is also symbolised by the herb sage.


Meaning:

Dagaz is a rune of happiness and prosperity. It does, however, suggest that major changes will soon occur.
Yet this rune is also one of laughter, fun and wonderful new experiences.
Dagaz is a good rune to receive if you have been suspended in a period of waiting as it signifies the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. A fresh burst of activity is to be expected when this rune appears. It can also show a breakthrough following a period of frustration that exposes preveiously hidden information. Indeed, secrets are about to be revealed when Dagaz makes an appearance. It will motivate your actions and lead you to a position from which you can take an enlightened stance on any issue taht troubles you. This new enlightenment will give you the opportunity to plan for the future sensibly. However, Dagaz is not all about serious life-path changes and there is a strong element of fun in the rune. In some cases, it signals playtime because the new perspective that it gives reveals that life ins't all hard work and self-denial. You may find new avenues to explore with child-like wonder. A marvellous sense of humor is evident, too, proving that life is worth living. This association with childhood goes beyond you personally. In fact, anything to do with children is auspicious. Most rune readers think taht Dagaz is always beneficial, having no inverted meaning. However, should this rune appear in a negative position of fall face down repeatedly, it signals the end of an era and warns that you may have to wait a while before the new beginning occurs.




Body Part: Cognitive functions of the brain.
Associated Maladies: Learning disorders, mental retardation, fogginess, inattention.
Action: Warming.
Solution: Warmth. Starting over.


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Sigr / Sigerblót - 19th to 26th March

By this time of 19th to 26th of March ( the spring Equinox )there is a celebration called Sigr or Sigerblót or simply Ostara, it is known as the "Victory-Blessing".

When the winter weather passed away and nature's rebirth brings back the natural beauty of the world, we all are aware of it, we can see it in the blossoming of beautiful flowers, the birds singing and all other kind of animals coming back to live and see the day light. Just like the birds that have made their shelter during the winter times, preparing their homes for the coming of spring and to mate, all other animals including ourselfs have this feeling, not just to mate of course, but to welcome the powers of the warm sun, and the soft north brise that whispers gentel words that soothes the heart.

In the Northern Tradition paganism, we ritualize all those feelings and happenings of nature with the festival called Ostara, and as i have told before, it is a celebration to the rebirth of nature and of the world, in other terms, it is the coming of life again.
As i have told in an other post, this is the season to celebrate Easter. The name Easter comes from the germanic goddess Eostre who i have talked about in an other post.

So getting back to the subject, at this time of the year, the is also an other celebrations, which isn't known as much as Ostara it self is.

In the past there was a celebration to the god Odin called Sigrblót/Sigerblot, Sigr means "Victory". This of course, was a celebration to call for Victory in a time of raiding, long journeys, in war, in one's endeavours. This seems a bit contradictory, how can it be the time for nature's rebirth, and also of war and battle? These are two subjects that can be linked both in our lifes and in the natural world, there is always a constant rebirth of the spirit, there is always a battle also, always problems we have to face during our life time that make us grow, there are times we fall into deep sorrow and there is a rebirth when victory is conquered, when victory and glory is earned. We all need the courage to face these problems.

Sigr (victory) is a spiritual quality and, in the northern tradition paganism, people are happy and they accept the natural world as it is, we are happy with it, we say yes to it and to nature, we look all around with the eyes of joy and caring, there is a beauty in the human expirience, we are satisfied with it, unlike others, we do not seek to leave our lifes after death, in other places, nor do we have the problem of salvation or reincarnation in something else, we like it in here in the natural world.

As we are World accepting people, also do we accpet joy, we accept life, and one think that makes life even better, is to have victory, to succeed, it is good to have that in our lifes. it is good to win, it is good to attain everything we with to attain in our lifes, for our personal joy and to others, in anything, at work, social life, studying, love life etc, and this is the true essence of Sigrblót.

Sigr affirms what we are as a single individual, ir affirms our existence, it validates our lifes and our experiences.

What is the source of this victory? How does it come to us?

Over and over again, we see that Sigr / Victory, is connected to the god Odin, we can see that in one of his names, Sigfater, or Father of Victory, this is also connected to the rune tiwaz ( which you can take a look in my blog in the label called Runes ), and this rune is connected to the god Tyr. Tyr is seen as a god of war and of justice, also a god of "assemble" or "gather" in terms of assembling the people to confront and to discuss and resolve their disputes. This kind of victory, is also the victory of the mind, the power and might of the spirit, with a strong mind and will, we are able to confront in a better way, all our problems, to face them and to win.

Sigr is a useful tool to aid in our personal evolution, it can help us to grow, and the more victorys we have, the more we can savour life and enjoy it even more, the victory of the spirit, that comforts us, and so we become more attached to life. There isn't a refusal to enjoy to win, to have victory, there is no withholding of good emotions, that is why we honour victory and that is why we celebrate it, there can't be a denial of our personal growth, our evolution as a human being, sigr works with the spring time, it is linked to it, because it is an affimation of life and joy, it is a rebirth of ourselfs.

Eostre - Goddess of Fertility

In the mythologically traditions of the Germanic and Anglo-Saxon peoples, the goddess Eostre represents the forces/the powers of rebirth and fertility of the earth. Her celebrations, Ostara, gave birth to the origins of the Christian celebrations of Easter. It is interesting to note that the date of Easter changes every year, unlike most of the other christian celebration, being calculated "in a pagan way" - as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Thus it hasinto account a solar principle (equinox), and a beginning of the moon  ( fullmoon) and a ground/earth principle (Spring).This triad is then a direct equivalence to a generator principle in which there are two polarities that are necessary (man - Sun and woman - moon), to be created the necessary conditions for the birth of a third element (Child - Earth).

The tradition of the "Easter Bunny" has ancient origins, because this animal - that perfectly embodies the principle of fecundity, reproducing in large numbers and speed - it was consecrated by Eostre long before the advent of Christianity, as were the eggs. t may be something strange at first sight, coupled with the symbol of the rabbit with the egg, because the rabbits are mammals and do not generate eggs.However, the presence of these two symbols will function to enhance the principle of generation, the egg representes the "primordial egg" - "feminine" polarity, nurturing and generative - where all life was created, acording to several ancient traditions of mankind, and the rabbit as a "masculine" principle - fertilizer.


Eostre has a Proto-Germanic root which means "to shine", which leads this goddess as a link with the dawn. There is also a Proto-Indo-European connection, the words Ausos, with roots to the goddesses Usas ( Indian ), Eos ( Greek ) and Aurora ( Latin ).
Eostre symbolizes the fruitful and regenerative character resulting from the union between the sun and the earth.

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Easter - Pagan or Christian ?

When we celebrate Easter, do we know what the rabbit and eggs symbolize and do they actually have anything to do with Jesus’ resurrection? Its quite interesting to know where these symbols came from...

When the christian missionaries wanted to convert the Pagans to Christians they thought the easier way would be to incorporate some Pagan beliefs with the story of Christ.
Many people celebrate Easter, thinking that this was the time when Christ resurrection took place, but Easter is a pagan festival, it is the coming of spring and the actual rebirth of nature after the dark times of the harsh winter, and the church adopted this concept, and turned it into the ressurection of jesus, it was a very affective propaganda, and so the pagans used to celebrate this time, would easily welcome a person who was actualy the rebirth of the seasons himself, into their celebrations.

This is the time for joy, and to welcome the harm sun and the power of nature, after its "death" at winter time, it can return in such a beauty and a cosy feeling, when people can start their crops again and enjoy and take what the earth has to give.

So is Easter Pagan or Christian?

In reality, Easter does not represent the "historical" crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in fact, the gospel tale reflects the annual "crossification" of the sun through the vernal equinox (Spring) at which time the sun is  "resurected", as the day begins to become longer then the night. Rather then being a "chirstian" holiday, Easter celebrations date back into remotest antiquity and are found around the world as the blossoming of spring did not escape the notice of the ancients, who revered this life-renewing time of the year, when winter had passed and the sun was "born again".

To the Anglo-Saxons, Easter or Eostre is the goddess of the dawn, but i will make a post about it, just to talk about Eostre.

The word "Easter" shares the same root with "east" and "eastern", the direction of the rising sun.

The Syrian sun and fertility god Attis, was annualy hung on a tree, dying and rising on March 24th and 25th, an "Easter celebration" that occured at Rome as well.

This tradition which placed the death of Christ on the twenty-fifth of March was ancient and deeply rooted. This "coincidence" between the  deaths and resurections of Christ and the older Attis was not lost on easly Christians, whom it distressed mightily. In their attempt at explaining the existence of these pre-christian motifs, easly christians apologists, claimed  the devil had gotten there first!
The rises of the "crucified Adonis", another dying and rising  saviour god, were also celebrated in Syria at Easter time.

"When we  reflect how often the church has skillfully contrived to plant the seeds of the new faith on the old stock of paganism, we may surmise that the Easter celebrations of the dead and risen christ,  was grafted upon a similar celebration of the dead  and risen Adonis, which, as we have seen reason to believe, was celebrated in Syria at the same season."

The Salvific death and resurection at Easter of the god, the initiation as remover of sin, and the notion of becoming "born again" are all ages-old pagan motifs or mysteries rehashed in the later Christianity.

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Working with the Gods: Freya

Freya's colors are usually green and gold, occasionally red if she is coming in her love goddess aspect (although she likes green and gold for that too) and occasionally white with armor and sword for her warrior aspect. She enjoys lovely gowns, prefers having both a cloak and a fan (for comfort).

Freya likes candies, especially candied fruits, honey, butterscotch, caramel, Lambec and other fruit beers, and sweet wine or brandies. If you make her a cake, mark it with a Gyfu-rune; put Fehu on bread for her. She likes pork, as do all the Vanir. She prefers a female or at least female-identified spirit-worker, but will also work with a very feminine men who will do drag. Her attendants can be of either gender so long as they are willing to make themselves attractive, gaze adoringly, and accept any flirting that she may do. Both she and her brother Frey seem to be fond of homosexual or bisexual men when they choose male attendants. Freya is very flirtatious, and like her brother she may choose someone willing and eager, and go off with them to a bedroom. If she comes in her warrior aspect, she will be cooler and not do those behaviors, although she will still want the attractive attendants around.

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Amanita Muscaria

Note: The Drawing was made by me to illustrate this.

Amanita Muscaria

Amanita muscaria also commonly known as fly agaric, to be used in the process of decoction for killing flies, it is also linked to a sacred drink of the Indo-Aryan, as it is described in the book of the Vedas, the scriptures of Hinduism, among other names that are assigned, such as "witch's egg".

It is certainly the oldest known hallucinogenic plant, used since immemorial times as an intoxicant, for very primitive and tribal peoples. The Rig veda, the first of the Vedas, tells of three filters that are essential to the preparation of the sacred drink:

- the filter of sunshine in the mushroom, carrying the sacred power; woolen cloth where the juice of the mushroom was squeezed and, finally, the human body. The last barrier was thus, the human mind.The Indo-Aryans picked the mushrooms during the full moon, and posteriorly this was filtered and mixed with water, milk or honey, and drunk during the ritual.

The active ingredient of the mushroom, when fresh, is the ibotenic acid, however, the mushroom when dried, is highly psychoactive, as the muscarine evaporates and the ibotemic acid becomes muscimol. The fungus causes motion sickness and nausea when ingested, followed by visual hallucinations, auditory and psychic excitement. After a few hours in this condition, the person enters a state of lethargy and deep sleep. Later the person does not remember having lived that situation.
The administration of this mushroom may, however, have adverse consequences if misused - eating more mushrooms than recommended can be fatal, although they were rare the deaths associated with the use of this mushroom. The Koryaks, tribal people of northwestern Asia, as a standard dose, had three mushrooms - one large and two smaller ones.
Amanita muscaria is recognized as a food of the spirit, which contributes to the evolution of the etheric body. It is also known as "the flesh of the Gods," and hence be used in initiation rituals, for example, in Koryaks.
Using this mushroom, in shamanic Ritus, will allow to go into the world tree or tree of life, visiting the gods and spirits during the shamanic trance. In this sense, this mushroom in Siberia is often called the "mushroom of light."

Logi the Fire Spirit

Who is Logi?

Logi is a powerful Norse fire-spirit. In myths, he is the second son of the old frost-giant Mistblindi, also known as Fornjotr, born of a fire-giant mother just after the Flood. His older brother is Kari the North Wind, and his younger brother is Aegir the King of the Sea. He later entered into the sworn service of Utgard-Loki. He appears in the story of Thor and Loki meeting the sorcerer-ruler Utgard-Loki; they were challenged to beat the lord of Utgard's various friends and family members in random contests. Loki was challenged to beat one of his courtiers in a contest of eating; the fiery man soundly trounced him, as he not only devoured the meal but the bones and the plate as well. He was then revealed as Logi - the old fire-god against the new one. Logi was sometimes called Halogi (High-Logi) by his friends and family, because he was very tall. There is some history that conflates him with a mortal king by the same name. His wife was named Glut (Glow) and she bore him two daughters, Einmyria (Ashes) and Eisa (Embers). They seem to have long since passed away, and Logi lives alone in his black-rock cave in Muspellheim, the World of Fire. Whether there was a mortal Logi/Halogi who lived a life similar to his - perhaps living Logi's archetypal pattern - or not is something that we may never know.

Logi is a very old god, one of the original magical triplicity of Kari-Logi-Aegir (Wind/Fire/Sea), more ancient than the invading Indo-Europeans. Some scholars, including H.A. Guerber in his Myths And Legends Of The Norsemen, conjecture that these three giant-Gods were part of an older creation myth that predates the myths of the Aesir and Vanir. Together, they make up a triplicity of the primal elements working on the Earth; the interaction of Sea, Flame, and North Wind creating and shaping the world of the North. The Scandinavian scholar Preben Muellengracht has suggested that these three elements of Sea, Flame and North Wind were an alternative model to the magical quadriplicity of Earth, Water, Fire and Air. The sea-kings of Orkney historically traced their descent from these three brothers.

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International Women's Day

International Women's Day

As you well know, ( or should ), at the 8th day of March 2012, is the International Women's Day, this is the day to celebrate the importance that women have in our social, political and economical daily lifes, all around the world. It is also the day to make closer ties with the special women in our lifes. Of course in the Norse traditional paganism and celebrations, there is such a day at October, the Dísablót, it is also a time to honour all the female beings, such as Goddesses, family members or ancestors, but that is a subject that i am eager to talk, but not right now, when the time comes, i will write about it. But this is just to show, how women are important, in the role they play as mothers, lovers, the female spirit and touch, that gentle behavior, that calms and gives peace to men, in times of war and cruel hardships, when the hearts of men fail.
Women are the givers of love and cary us in a long and hard period of nine months, and put us into this world, and at the first breath taken, the spirit enters the body, and it is ready to receive that mother's love, and the milk that will make us grow stong and healty. Women are like the seasons of the world and their mood changes exaclty the same, so treat them well, respect them, just as you have to respect nature, because they can be both beautiful and cruel. A Woman carries the innocence with her, and she is like the summer, happy, naive and bright, in time she grows into become Autumn it self, mature, strong, with big changes of mood and ready to face the hard cold winter times. Winter comes to her when she is ready to carry a baby in her womb, she is fragile, but hardened by time, ready to survive, nurturing both her and a new life to come, a careful mother, ready to blossom and for the rebirth, when all her life will suddenly change, and then it comes the spring, with the brigh sun, the many colours of new flowers, when the snow melts away and all turns to soft green, with a rainy mood once in a while, but after a life time of falling leafs and harsh winter storms, she is ready to face her spring life for the rest of her time.
Take a good care of the women in your life, are they your grandmother, mother, or the loved one of your life.

There is no Special day for Men, but there is no need, also there shouldn't be the need of a Women's day, every day should be a very special day, if we could only remember that every time we wake up, we all need each other and we all need love, that's the true spirit. Only remembering the ones that we love just because it is an international day for that, it is not giving the true respect that people must have, it isn't giving respect to life it self, and if we truly love someone, that special person should feel that everyday is, an international day for love in your house.

I dedicate this to the women of my life whom i love the most, my mother and my loved one Missloony

The Birch Tree and the Wild Boar: Symbols of Light

In the time of this world when the light decreases, the birch emanates a glow, resistant to the death of nature in winter times, imposing itself in a life of  constant renewal. In the Proto-Indo-European, its etymological root, in the Germanic languages​​, Baltic and Slavic, this tree is idealized as the fifth essence of white. The birch is the first tree to bloom after thawing, it is the messenger of the breeding powers,  and it is essential to the survival of all species, it marks its begining. It has inspirational qualities that transmit light and innocence, it is the sacred tree to the shamans of Europe and the vehicle of the journeys of the shaman in out of the body expiriences. It is a symbol of life, energy and protection, and in Portugal, this is called Vidoeiro or Bétula tree and it is associated with wild boars. Bétula comos from the Germanic name, Beorgan which means, "To Protect". The rebirth of this tree after the winter also brings the old rituals of the hunt. The wild boar is a  challenge to the courage and bravery of the hunter.

The Boar carries a strong symbolism of abundance, celebrated in Yule, in the sacrificial death of the animal in honor of Frey, god of the sun rays and fertility, of the Nordic Mythology.
In Portugal the ancients honored the wild boar, depending on the meat to their survival. The killing of the Wild boar or the pig, is ritualized in the colder months, ensuring survival through the winter and up to the rest of the year.
Autumn is dying with the arrival of winter, however, the nature surrenders to the the magic and to the hope of rebirth. The Birch tree produces seeds that can remain alive at low temperatures, as a mother's womb at the peak of fertility.
Freya, the goddess of prosperity and magic in the Norse Mythology, travels through the Cosmic worlds on the back of the "battle boar", Hildsvín /  Hildisvíni.
The birch rod contains the fertilizing and regenerative powers. It is the evocation of the magical instrument of celestial influences. Its branches are great for campfires at the Walpurgis Night and in Haustablót. The slow combustion, the wood fueled the torches that lit the bridal bed, involving the environment in a pleasant fragrance.