Samhain - 31st October to 1st of November

Samhain is the Gaelic Irish word which means "November", in the Scottish Gaelic is means "all hallows", were the "all hallows eve" has drifted, and later it came to be the Halloween that everyone knows about.

This is the time which is belived that the dead spirits and all the ancestors can come to this world again, visiting us, passing through a tiny gap that is open, a door between this world and the world of the dead. The living can also travel there and be in contact with not only their ancestors, but also the gods and other spiritual beings. This is also a time, when many spiritual beings come into this world, to "hunt" for souls of those who are lost, or to those who have been chosen to take their part in this "hunt".

Also this is a time to celebrate the last harvest of the year for the Celtic peoples of Europe, making great feasts and sharing their food with the communities and with the dead, making offerings of wine, meat, milk wheat and other farm food. This food would also go into the ground or the people would put it in the forest, as a gift to the gods of the wilds, of nature and also to help the animals storing food for the coming winter.

This celebration spread throughout the world, and today most people celebrate Halloween, although, most people dont know the origins of this time and why people dress themselves with horrific costumes, but this is because the Celts would wear masks, with the aim of not being recognized by the spirits of the dead, in fear to be taken to live in their world, but also because in this way, both sides, the living and the dead, would wear masks, and no one would know who the spirits and the living were, in this way, everyone could enjoy this time and the feasts of the last harvest of the year, for a new year was coming, winter was the symbol of the end of that great year of harvests, a trial to every living creature.

Samhain was and still is a time to honor our ancestors, to remember them, getting the family together and share the food, tell old tales, remembering the ancestors by their deeds, their actions, and be inspired by what they were.

Note: If you want to know more about the Masks used in this time and why and their origins, you should check the post of 28 of October 2012 called " Spirit Masks in the European Paganism.

Spirit Masks in the European Paganism

You may ask yourself, why do we dress in spooky costumes at Halloween, where did this tradition came from? I'm about to answer that.

You may have heard about Samhain, the festival that takes place at the 31st of October to the 1st of November, a pagan festival that dates to a time before our common era (B.C.E.), an harvest festival that the Celts and the Gaelic peoples used to celebrate, it was thought that in this day, the spirits of the dead and our ancestors could come back to us, visiting the world of the living. The Celts both honored and feared this time, afraid that the dead and other spiritual beings who weren't that "kindly", might take them to the other side, so the celts would put masks on their faces so they couldn't be recognizable. The spirits of the dead would do the same, and everyone could enjoy this time and this festival, dancing and chanting, no one could guess who were the spirits and who were the living ones, because all of them were wearing masks. But this is a subject for a later post.

Wearing masks is in fact a tradition that goes far beyond the emergence of the Celtic culture in Europe, it is indeed a tradition used all over the world that has at least 30.000 years old. In a time when shamanism was practiced all over the world and was a profession that needed to exist and all the community in a certain area, needed a shaman, a person who could teached about the human existance and the meanings of the natural world, a person who also could taught how to respect all living creatures, a healer of both body and soul, a person who could speak with the world of the spirits and the spirits of the land, by means of entering in trance, lets just say that a shaman, was a person with many teachings, knowledge and professions concentrated in just one mind.

To enter in trance and speak with the spirits, ancestors and to the gods, the shaman used many techniques, many are not "recommended" because it involved an extreme detrition of the body and physical health. But there were other techniques, more peaceful and less stressful and exhausting, such as the rhythmic percussion of the drum, frenetic dance and chanting, and the use of a mask.

The shaman used the mask, so when working with the spirits, he couldn't be recognized by an evil spirit who could try to make him harm, and the use of the mask, was also a symbol of the body changes the shaman could pass through in the other world, becoming a better being. Most shamans all over the world use this spirit mask, and sometimes the spirits are so used to have the presence of a particular shaman, that he will always use the spirit-mask they are used to know, otherwise, they will not know if that is the same shaman, and will run away from him.

As an exemple, the spirit-masks of the Siberian shaman, is called abagalei, made of wood and Squirrel hair implants as beard and eyebrows. The mask is a symbol of the spirits inside the shaman, and he wasn't himself anymore, he was now "vehicle" that could be used to communicate with the spirits and with the gods.

An other exemple is Odin himself, the King of the Aesir gods in the Northern pantheon, he is the most famous shaman and he is also called Grimr which means "the masked".

These traditions were taught from generation to generation, till the coming of the Celts, who left much of their traditions, culture and art, well rooted in Europe, and so the people, till nowadays, still use many masks at the day of Samhain, because in a way, it is still the day when the dead can return and communicate with the living and vice versa, although most people dont know why, but in many countries, there are still many festivities were the use of masks still symbolizes the ancestral traditions of working with the spirits and be in touch with the divine forces.

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The origins of Werewolves

We have always heard about werewolves, many tales from different places, most of them from European folklore and medieval stories... but do we actually know where it all began?

What i will write about, isn't to feed any fantasy into the hearts of those who read, rather i will tell about the origins of these creatures, the mystery behind it and in terms of history, how people came to fear, respect and honor it.

Beyond the borders of the villages and the boundaries of our familiar world, there lies vast wild and solitary landscapes, when night comes, those places become a scenery of dark and gloomy shadows. In the deep forests the famished wolves roam and hunt, howling at the cold winter nights in the moonless sky, their eyes glitter in the dark as if they burned with a foul fire.

The human being has always feared the unknown, and in ancient times, these landscapes beyond their villages, was a terrible place of both mystery and death, few were those who dared to venture in those places, so this became the scenery of many fantastic tales and the wolves were the symbol of terror and power, these animals were the wildest beings on land always searching for the kill, so it is perfectly natural that these natural facts led to so many folktales about werewolves and other mythical creatures. However, the tales of the werewolves and lycanthropy goes beyond the ancient Indo-European cultures, for exemple, the Indo-Iranian clans of the Haumavarka, which means, the wolves of Haoma who worshiped the wolves and acted like like them, Haoma is one of the names for the muchrooms called amanita muscaria, which is said to have a lot of psychotropic substances and it was used by the shamans since times long forgotten before any historical record, in a time when the human being still nomad and lived in caves. These muchrooms can lead people to enter in trance, and a shaman can travel into other places far beyond the limitations of the body, and can travel in the form of an animal. In many cultures, the best travel form was the wolf, fast and accustomed to run in several wild landscapes, so many clans and tribes worshiped the wolf, it was a sacred being. These teachings have gone through various generations, from place to place all over the world, such as the northern European lands, where people worshiped many gods, one of those was Odin who had two wolves called Geri and Freki, and of course one of the children of the god Loki, was Fenrir the bringer of destruction.

In the northern lands, the tales of wolves went further than the mythological tales, there was the existance of the elite warriors called Úlfhéðnar ( Ulfhednar ) people who went to war, dressed with the skins of wolves, and were also warriors with immense strength, who sometimes fought naked, without showing uncomfortable with the cold weather, they went to battle in some kind of a trance and did not have the need for weapons, they could kill with their bare hands or bite just as a wolf. In fact, that is what they were, people with the shapes of wolves, who thought that they were wolves themselves and act like them, this was because before battle, they consumed drugs, to be more precise, they consumed amanita muscaria, these people weren't in themselves, they were in trance, psychologically they could feel the difference, it is just like if someone asks you to lift a table, and you dont have the strength or the strength fails you and it is hard, but when you are angry who gain strength and you can lift and throw the table with no problem, people sometimes go beyond the limitations they know they have, when they are psychologically affected, when people are pushed into certain situations, the need of survival comes to the surface and the wild and savage feelings hidden in us, appear, almost feral, such as we were in ancient times and we born as such.

Such as the Ulfhednar there were also the warriors called Berserkers or Berserks, who fought nearly uncontrollable, with trance-like fury who also consumed these kind of drugs that led into a different psychological effect.

Also in the Northern lands, the outlaws, murderers, defilers of temples and thieves, were given the name of Vargr which means wolf. Such people weren't killed by their actions nor arrested, they had a worse fate ( at least for these times ), they were expelled from the community or the tribe and were left in the wild landscapes, as an animal who now needed to survive alone or in a group of people in equal circumstances, just as the wolves do. Everyone could kill them, hunt them on sight, with no penalty nor punishment, because the Vargr were animals now.

There were also tribes of shaman warriors, which could take the form of wolves in their trance journeys, and they acted like wolves, these shamanic mysteries were preserved as hereditary traditions among some families. These shamans at their initiation as a wolf warrior, would go into the swamps, and left their clothes behind, symbolically this is the abandonment of the human form and its identity as a member of a community, living now out of the civilized world and learning from the wilds. These people were called wolfmen or werewolves.

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Jormundgand The World Serpent

 Note: Photography work by Missloony, you can find her at [Link] and [Link]

In many cultures since the first steps of humankind towards spiritual paths, there has been always tales of a cosmic serpent, a being that moves in the seas of the world or around the world itself. For exemple, i've been reading about African myths, and in the West of Africa in the regions of Guinea all the way to Congo and Angola, there has always been the myth of the creation of the world by a goddess named Mawu and her husband a great serpent surrounding the world. We know about this myths all over the world and this serpent has many names, but today what i will talk about, is about this serpent in the Northern Mythology and paganism, and by the help of some shamans who work with this serpent, i'm able to write about it and how its influences our lifes and the world.

The Northern serpent is called Jormundgand, most people are afraid of it or make the mistake to compare it with an evil being of the seas who is ready to destroy the world. This is because of the coming of Christianity. The serpent has always been a symbol of great power, magic and wisdom, a strong symbol in the shamanic communities all over the world and of course a symbol to the pagan peoples. Once again, the christians had to twist this figure and turn it into a terrifying image of fear to make people forget their old ways, the ways of the their ancestors, to scorn ancient knowledge and embrace the new religious faith. In truth, the world serpent, or in this case, Jormundgand, wraps and protects the world we live in, the boundary of magic between out world and the other world of spirits.

Who is Jormundgand?

The god Loki had three children with Angreboda the chieftess of the Iron Wood. The first of their children was Hela, the goddess of death. The secound was Fenrir, god of destruction. The third was a magical serpent who couldn't speak any words, it wasn't male nor female, or maybe it was both. The serpent grew fast into a size that could no longer dwell in the lakes of Iron Wood. Odin tried to stop and take away the powers of Angreboda's children, he saw in them great peril, he threw the serpent into the oceans of Midgard and laid a spell on it. The serpent circles Midgard forever, giving protection to the world and all its inhabitants, and the serpent was known by the name of World Serpent or Midgard Serpent, that is where its name comes from, it is the translation of its title, Jormundgand.

Some people claim that this serpent is an enemy of our world, but those who work with it, haven't seen any evidance of this. The serpent is a symbol of boundaries, and each person needs to have some, we are free, but with our freedom, we must take care if it isn't harming anyone, there must be boundaries for everything, we have to know when to stop, or when our deeds are enough in some occasions, for exemple, parents may help their children, taking care of them, loving them, but they can't always do everything for their children, there must be boundaries, and parents need to let their children live a little and learn with their mistakes, children have to grow by learning how to do things themselves, in the future they will need that independence, or they won't be able to survive if they are used to have other's resolving their problems for them. An other exemple is when helping someone, we may help in anyway that is needed, but there must be boundaries in both sides, we must know when to stop helping, when the person asks more than you can give, or when the help becomes an obsession for both, or a regular thing and the other person no longer knowns how to live without help and becomes attached to the help of others.

Jormundgand also teaches us about protection, the protection of a space or a person, what we must take care of, keeping the places, our home, our working place, away from chaos, keeping those we love, away from any harm, holding them tight in our loving arms.

Also, if you want to keep this big snake happy, you might want to donate or make volunteer work to help the reptiles of our world, safe and sound, at any institution or local zoo near you, protecting them against the hazards and the problems they face nowdays with the destruction of their habbitat, keeping things in order away from chaos, establish boundaries between the natural world and the world of humans.

Gwyn ap Nudd and the Wild Hunt

Most people have heard about the Wild Hunt, it is the subject most talked at the month of October, a kind of spiritual happaning around the time of Samhain. In this cold season, the veil between this world and the world of the dead, reveals itself, and a tiny gap is opened and there is the oportunity to have interaction with the dead and other spirits, and with the gods.

Such as this time is the beginning of the hunting season for mortals, to store food for the coming of winter, it is also the time of the wild hunt which is associated with the behaviour and the needs of Men. From the other side of the world of the dead, spirits, ancestors, gods and animal-spirits come through, riding to find and hunt souls of those who are still traped in the mortal world, the souls of the brave, those worthy to ride at the side of the gods.

There is one leader of this entire "battalion", who is called Gwyn ap Nudd in Wales, and most people know this chief-hunter by that name, he plays the role of guardian in this entire process. For others, he is called Odin, the Norse god of Asgard and King of the Aesir gods, he rides with many spirits such as the ones i've written before, but also with his Valkyries, and the common animals that may be find in this wild hunt, are the ravens, swans, deer and dogs.

This spiritual happaning dates far back to the XII (12) century, around the years of 1100 C.E. and it is written is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

While the wild hunt occurred, the riders would cross the dark skies, and this could be heard by the villagers of many towns around Europe, and it was feared by all, because this signifies that certain death was imminent, they were searching not only for the dead souls, but also for the living whose time has come, for all those brave warriors, to whom the gods had chosen to make part of their riders and crossover to the world of the dead for great deeds.

Cernunnos, a famous god of the forests and wild animals of the Celtic mythology, is also seen by the ancient celts, to be the chief-hunter of these riders. In Europe whatever god the peoples of different countries had, this spiritual happaning was the same and always at this time of the year. In truth, it seems more likely, that all the gods and spirits of the European peoples, assemble for this wild hunt.

It is also belived, that evey dolmen, every sacred mound and other Neolithic buildings that are placed along the ley lines, are actualy the paths that this wild hunt is taken through, the Saxons used to call these ley lines, deada-waeg, or the paths of the dead.

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Vetrnætr / Winter Nights - 15th of October

This special season of the month of October is known by the name of Vetrnætr or Veturnætur in old Scandinavia, which can be translated as Winter nights, as it is most commonly known, or by Vetrarblót or Vinternatsblót, refering to the celebration it self.

You might get confused, because some people celebrate Winter Nights at the 31st of October to the 1st of November, or because the name it self is about winter and we are still at autumn, but in the old times there wasn't such thing in Scandinavia or to most of the Europeans, a season called Autumn, there wasn't the precession of the existance of the transition from light to darkness which is so typical in this month, there was just Spring, the Summer and when the days became colder, with leafs falling, the rain and thunder and the first snowflakes, it was the coming of winter and that's it. This celebration was started at the 14th of October by night, so its full day was the 15th, as the name indicates, it was the night of winter or the day where all the preparation for the coming of winter started, before the deep winter times, people gathered their food, wood, coal, fruits and roots, storing these in safe places to survive the severe winter. It was also the beginning of the month of hunting, called gormândhr, slagtmanad or blotmanad, which can be translated as, time of killing or of slaughter, because at winter, hunting was the only way of sustenance if the stored food was gone, taken or spoiled, and there was some people that lived only from the wilds and did not harvest or had cattle, and when winter came, the ice and frost killed every plant and leaf, and eatable roots or mushrooms were hard to find, and those people were forced to hunt if they wanted to live through. But for those who had cattle and owned farmland, this celebration was the piriod of two days, that marked the coming of winter, time to bring the cattle in doors from the pastures, to maintain the breeding, slaughter the remaining and preserve their meat to provide food, this is why the celebrations of this season are known as sacrificial feast, in which gods, elves, ancestors etc were always welcomed. Friends, relatives and other honorable guests, would gather at the farmstead halls for the feast, play games at the icy lakes during the day, and eat and drink during the night. The animals were killed in a ritual manner and their blood given to the gods, especially to Freyr, the god of agriculture, fertility and lord of all living animals who teaches the people to respect all the animals and treat them the best possible as long as they live, and how important they are in the cycle of life. Part of the meat was also given to the land spirits and to the ancestors, back to nature where it started and lived and where it must rest, to give life and sustenance, nourishment, to others.

This is an important celebration to remember, that all animals have their role in this world, to remember that we must respect them and treat them well, and that we dont need to eat meat everyday, but only in special occasions, once in a while, when the need is great, just as in the wilds some animals give sustenance to others, they also give it to us, it is the cycle of life, but that doesn't mean that we must eat them everyday in the uncontrolled way that we do nowadays, and the slaughter of thousands of animals each day that are treated in a dishonored way, with no respect, animals that will never see the light of the sun or a bit of grass, treated worse than slaves, beaten for the sport of cruel Men.

Winter Finding 14th of October

What is this Winter Finding?

Well, as all the celebrations taken in the months where Autumn begins till the time it ends, most of it is about the preparations of the coming winter, be that praying to the gods and spirits for the good year of harvest and a better one after the winter is gone, or honoring the ancestors and land spirits, or asking for the strength to survive winter and live through that to see an other spring. But the main objective, without talking about the spiritual and religious matter, is the preparations that are made in these times, for the coming of the harsh winter and deadly cold. So this is what Winter Finding is all about, because winter wasn't an easy passing season and was harder to survive to it than nowadays. Winter was a time of trial, the need to have enough wood chopped or coal dug for heat, a time when the pigs were killed and their meat was salted as in means to conserve it, after an entire year taking care of them, giving food so they can be fat enough to give a lot of meat for the entire winter, this seems very cruel, but in these times supermarkets didn't exist, the people lived out by their hard work every day, cultivating the soils and harvesting. At winter, the soils were covered in snow, no one could plant anything because nature it self died, everything went into a dark atmosphere, and the snow, ice and frost ceased the growth of plants, vegetables and fruits. So before winter was at hand, the fish needed to be dried, smoked the meat, hid it in the ground, safe from deterioration, dried the fruits and catch enough root vegetables. This is also the begining of the hunting season, making the traps, bows and arrows prepared, traning the aim, knowing the forest and the wilderness, each corner and hideout, be cunning, think like an animal and also understand their behaviour, dig the snow for mushrooms and other roots, the trial for every living creature, a time to develop skills, intelligence and the senses.

At this celebration, we need to remember our ancestors, and the strength of mind and soul, the will to survive and keep the families safe, it is because of them and the battles they won agaisnst the powers of nature, that we are still here, we owe them that, the least we can do is to honor them, by becoming men and women of great strength of mind, independent, wise, cunning, righteous, hardworking, proud, honorable, faithful to our families, friends, convictions, beliefs and true to ourselves, honest, respectable and to respect nature and others thoughts, always knowning that we are bound to nature and its laws, we aren't above of it, learning how to live with it.

The Álfablót

I have talked about the Álfablót already, but there was much knowledge left to be told and the lore is wide, so i will try to write it as simple as it can be.

The Norse/Germanic peoples were always surrounded by entities of great power all over the land, were those gods or goddesses, landspirits/landvaettir, Alfar (Elves), Dwarves, ancestors, Trolls, Huldrefolk and so on. Every entitie lived in the land, on trees, rocks, streams, in animals etc. and helped the people in their daily needs, mundane life, they would also help giving guidance and wisdom, or for some, in their magical works. The people lived in close association with these spiritual entities, and the connections and friendship between the two sides, was forged through a series of ritual actions. The most important ritual or celebration in this matter, was the Álfablót, which was performed at the Autumnal Equinox.

Such as the Disablót, the Álfablót is also a celebration that was held during autumn a bit before or during the Winternights/Vinternatsblót by the Norse/Germanic peoples, and the aim of this feast was to help the participants connecting  with the nature spirits in their area and to begin to establish the relationship of mutual trust, respect, and support with them. 

Unlike the other blóts, this one was a local celebration at the farms and homesteads of each family and no strangers were allowed near the place during these times, this is because the Elves are in close connection with the ancestors, and so Álfablót was of great importance for each family, because of their particular affections and love that people felt for the family members that were already dead. Obviously, we can assume to know why strangers weren't welcomed and why this celebration was a local family thing, because those that did not belong to the family and did not know those that used to belong to it, can't possible understand the feelings shared by each family member, and strangers should be at their own homes with their own families, unless of course, people were bonded to each other by marriage and thus, they would become a family member also.

This celebration is still held today in many places, and today you can invite whoever you want, because the main objective of this feast, is to be connected with the spirits of the land. For instance, in Iceland, people still honor the local spirits of the place were they live, or ask them if they can build their home  in specific regions, because the human presence may not be welcomed at such places by the spirits of the land.

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Dísablót

I have talked about Dísablót as a celebration that is held at the 31st of January to the 1st of February, but in truth, this celebration was made around the Autumn times of midle of October, and it seems more fitting in these times, since it is all about honoring not only the female spirits such as the Valkyries and Goddesses but also the female ancestors of each family.

The Dís or Dísir in plural, are the female ghosts or spirits in the Norse Myths and in the ancient northern paganism, they protect the mortals, helping in whatever is needed. By these times, people worship female goddesses for the fertility of the fields, to have order and peace at home, and to receive that motherly touch of motivation, care and love that is unic in the female spirit. The Dísir are not just the goddesses of the Northern Pantheon, but also the Vættir, the wights or nature spirits that may help with the fertilization of the land, for good crops, healthy cattle and a proper soil for future plantations. In the Dísir, are also included the Goddesses of Fate, the Norns and also the female ancestors of each family, because in the northern pagan traditions, it is believed, when people die, they may choose not to go to the other world just yet, but to stay a bit more to help their decendents in their daily works, they stay to ensure that their families are safe and sound, in happiness, joy, health and wealth, they might help in the plantations and in the harvest, or taking care of the house, keep the peace and order and also unite each member, to keep the family bonds strong.

We are used to the idea that the northern peoples of Scandinavia used to burn their dead in the long boats, along with their earthly goods, but there were other ways to bid farewell, one of those ways, as we are speaking of such a celebration, was to put their dead in some sort of burial mounds made with stones that were placed to form the "deck" of a boat, and these sacred places where built near the farmstead, and so every family member would place their beloved ancestors there, so they could visit them often and give them gifts, and in turn the ancestors would keep an eye on the family.

In this day, honor your female ancestors, remember them and their deeds, how they fought to keep the peace, love and order in the family, never forget their importance, because you one day, shall joined them and become an ancestor of someone, and you too will want to be remembered as a great figure and an icon of love, honor, strength and wisdom, acording to your deeds of course. Also honor the female members of your family, that are still alive, keep them proud, give them love, attention and respect, so in turn you might also receive their love and respect. Try to take the thoughts of this day, to your everyday life, and make all days, great days full of joy and love.

I dedicate this day to my female ancestors and most important of all, to my mother and my loved one Ana.


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Angrboda - How to Praise and make Offerings to her?

Angrboda in the Norse mythology is the first wife of the god Loki and thus, this Ironwood giantess the female leader of all the tribes of the Jotun that live in there, has become a goddess. Although she may be very limited in her choices to whom she will work with, she is also very protective to those she consider to be of her "pack". She is the Mother of the goddess of death, Hel or Hela.

She is often called the Wolf Mother, and if you can't work with her directly, you can honor her and make
offerings, by helping the wolves, by giving service to the concervation centers that protect these animal, and keep the national parks of your country, safe and cleaned, with the least of human presence as possible, volunteering to make any kind of jobs the people behind these parks, centers, federations, institutions, that protect the wolves, can ask you to do.

Most people only know Angrboda by her marriage to Loki and mother of many of his children, that is what's in the old lore in the Norse myths, but fortunately, those who work with her, gained more knowledge about this giantess, leader of the wolf clan of IronWood in Jotunheim, and chief of the nine clans, and she gained these titles by fighting many battles. She is a strong figure, violent, passionate, very protective like a wolf mother to her cubs, and also much wise in the old lore. She as a reddish hair, a brown hair with a mixture like copper and red, or the color of dried blood.

Loki spends half of the time with Angrboda, and the other half, with her secound wife, Sigyn. Multiple marriege in Ironwood is not uncommon, so Angrboda respects Sigyn as Loki's secound wife.

Angrboda's marriage to Loki produced three children - Hela, who became the goddess of Death; Jormundgand the Great Serpent who surrounds and protects all of Midgard; and Fenris the wolf-shaped God of Destruction who was chained. 

As i told before, she is a very strong mother-figure, not in terms of nurturing or tender love, but in terms of motivation, support and advice, she takes special care to those who are "different" with physical anomalies, people who also need love and care and need a mother-figure to guide them and to tell them they are also beautiful, as long as they are strong inside and never give up.

Working with the Gods - Angrboda

Angrboda is the main female leader of all the tribes in Ironwood, and she preferes to work with female spirit-workers, but not just anyone. She likes tall women, who are strong and physically capable of enduring hazards of every tipe, with stonge will as well, and she also likes to work with older women who have authority, and in that case, it doesn't matter the appearance of their physical body. What she doesn't like is someone young and/or weak and delicate. She doesn't like clothes that may hold her movements, she is a giantess and she moves with confidence and unconcern. She prefers tunics, or things made out of leather and animal skins. She is a warrior but most know her as a sorceress as well, so if you cook food for her, make sure you have knifes around, as a more Neolithic figure, she prefers to east with those, she prefers meat as the top menu and homebrew, she is forthright and she has no patience for whiners, although she will be kind to the strange and deformed.

Note: When saying that she likes clothes of animal skin, it would be absurd to assume that she likes those just as a fashion, after all, she does protect the wild animals especially the wolves. She is a more Neolithic figure lets just say, she, and she has been worshiped for a few millennia, just as the humans once needed animal skin to warm themselves and to protect the body against the cold winter, she also needs it, for Ironwood is in Jotunheim, an hard place to live for those who aren't used to its weather. The best place in this world you might compare to it, are the thick shadowy and cold forests of Siberia.

Supported by RavenKaldera

The Tiwaz Method

The Tiwaz Method


This is the only rune arrangment that mimics the shape of an individual rune. The Tiwaz method is more complext than most of the other because it involves several stages before one ends up with a pattern that looks like the rune Tiwaz. Nevertheless, it is claimed that this arrangment is well worth the effort because, like tiwaz itself, it never fails to be accurate.

Step One
Randomly choose four runes and arrange them in form of a cross, similar to the five-directions method, but without the central stone. The ruens should be laid in an anticlockwise direction, starting on the left. You may now read these runes according to the rules of the five-directions method ( minus the final-outcome rune ).

Step Two
Now choose a further three runes. These may be read in accordance with the rules of the three Norns method. Once you have done this, place them in order around the original four runes in a clockwise manner, starting on the right. The placement of the first rune is diagonally down and slightly to the right of the cross shape that you already have. The secound rune is below the cross shape and the final rune is diagonally to the left of the original pattern. You should end up with a pattern that looks like an upright arrowhead.

Step Three
You can now begin to read the third stage of this divinations, beginning with the rune on the far left and continuing as you may see on the image that i have made.

Position 4 - Ill-advised actions that may thwart your desires.
Position 5 - Lessons learned in the past from which you may benefit.
Position 6 - Your present position and attitudes.
Position 7 - The outcome, for good or ill.
Position 1 - The reasons for the question and deep feelings concerning it.
Position 3 - Potential problems confronting you.
Position 2 - The best possible outcome that can be attained from present circumstances.

The Month of October

Dear friends and followers, we have arrived to the month of October. It has always been my favorite month of the year since childhood. Stay tuned because in this month there will be a lot of information i will write about, with that very magical and mystical atmosphere that is so typical in this time of the year. I will talk about the gods that in a certain way are more connected to the themes of this month, also i will write about the festivities that are held in these days till the very end of October and finalize with the realms of the nine worlds that i left for the end because those places are also connect to the gods and themes of this month, since this is a month of death, to call upon the ancestors, the after life, the spirit, the journeys of the spirit etc. Hope you enjoy!