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The Norse Goddess of the sun is called Sunna or Sol, she rides across the skies in her chariot pulled by two golden horses, Allsvinn and Arvaker.
Sunna is the very symbol of the sun and its power, so as you might guess, her gifts to us is exactly the same emotions and feelings the sun gives, energy, enthusiasm, motivation, happiness, warmth, joy etc. of course there are people who don't like the sun or its light, but i'm referring to those emotions and feelings the sun brings to the land it self, so as you might also guess, disrespecting the land, the air, the natural environments and the world itself, is something this goddess will disapprove. For her power is also linked to the power of growth of all natural things expecially plants. She belongs to the group of Northern gods of the Sky, and nowadays our daily actions that might bring harm to the Ozone layer ( which unfortunately is a problem very present ) is a great disrespect towards Sunna and the other sky gods.
Sunna is the very light that warms the hearts of those in need, the hearts of those that lie in the shadows and in the cold emotional depression, so she can be called by those who are in these melancholic conditions and in sadness. Imagine her importance to our ancestors, to those who worked in the fields, harvesting their crops, the sunny days bringing life to animals and plants which gave mankind sustenance. I know that some people don't like the heat of the sun, or its light, but imagine the people in the Northern countries, where winter is too long and too hard, so when the sun came, it brought vitality to the people and thus, it would empower the people, making them a better and healthier community.
An interesting curiosity is that Sunna is also called Sol, and in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Sol means Sun, also in the English language which is based in Germanic languages, the very word Sun, comes from the same group of languages as the Northern countries, also in Iceland, the word for the Sun is also written as it is in English. But more interesting than this, is the fact that in the Iberian Peninsula in the counties of Portugal and Spain, there are thousands of vestiges of the Germanic culture, such as Pottery with runes carved ( the first symbols of the runes before the Elder Futhark, symbols used in times before the vikings ), or burial grounds, buildings, weapons, bones and also in the Language, because in Portugal and also in Spain the word for the Sun is also "Sol" and in Portugal the pronunciation of this word is too similar to the Swedish one. Like this you can see the importance that the Sun had all over Europe, for Europe is a cold mother and the weather is harsh, so people longed for the warmth of the Sun, and the fact that the name of such a goddess remained till today a word for the Sun especially in the coastal countries of Europe, it isn't something to be astonished about, for the Northern peoples traveled by sea and established their settlements in those countries, and it isn't something new to know that they were in Portugal, because all European cultures came to Portugal looking for a warmer weather for agriculture, hunting, fishing, living. Portugal is the last country of Europe by the Atlantic sea, or the first country for the sailors, it can either be where Europe begins or where Europe ends, that depends on your point of view. In fact more than half of Portugal was a Germanic country much influenced by the Germanic cultures for more than 2000 years, since somewhere between 2000 and 1500 Before the common Era, to the 6th century, but that is a subject for an other post because right now i'm entering in History and turning my back to the main subject of this post.
Note: The artwork to illustrate this post is a drawing of Sunna and Mani made by me. If you have any questions for me or if you want to see my artistic works, check out my Facebook page and make a Like if you can by following this link --> http://www.facebook.com/ArithHarger
Last year i wrote about the pagan festivities and celebrations of the European peoples, especially the northern people of Scandinavia, their holy days throughout the year, so as you may guess, i will not be writing about them again this year unless there is something of worth to be written about or to remind. But i will not repeat those words, because these pagan holy days are always the same, of course the good about the pagan religions, is the fact that they evolve with time and have the ability to keep up with the current needs of societies and the personal needs of each one of us, but i just don't see the need to repeat myself in those subjects for now. This is why i will leave you here with the list of the Northern Paganism Holy Days, and if any questions or doubts might appear, i will be here to help.
Studying about the history of each group of individuals spread all over Europe and and their cultures, religions, myths, daily activities, etc. and reading the Northern Sagas, we, all over the world, came to know their feasts and celebrations in the beginning of winter and during that time, as well as in spring, the folklore tales of midsummer festivals and many other celebrations held through the year. So now i will leave you here that list for those who are interested in such matter.
Note: I will not describe in detail each celebration, any doubt, ask me or read what I wrote in my blog during 2011 and 2012.
Winter
In the Northern hemisphere, Winter starts early, and in ancient times hours did not exist, so the sunset in each day, marked the beginning of a day, and so Winter would mark the beginning of the year, the time when the crops could no longer be harvested and the land it self started to wither with the snow, frost and ice, the beginning of survival, passing that trial to the coming year. So it is natural that the celebrations start here at winter time, but the year was not counted in days till these made a month, in ancient times, the month was counted in every full moon, so from full moon to full moon, it would make a month, each year had 13th full moons, so each year had 13th months. So lets just start with the celebrations that begin with the last full moon after the Autumn Equinox.
After the Autumn Equinox an other full moon will come, so the first full moon will be in October and a celebration is held, called Winter Finding, and after that, the Vetrarblót (Winter nights ). this will be between the 11th and the 17th of October.
Also during this time ( and no one seems to know exactly when ) there are two celebrations, the Dísablót or just called the Dísir, a celebration to honor the female beings such as goddesses, landspirits and our own female ancestors, all of those who helped us during the year and also the celebrations called Alfáblót, to honor the Alfar ( elves ) and the landspirits and ancestral spirits who helped us in taking care of the crops, to have a good harvest etc. this is also a celebration to be done within the family, very personal because people honor their own ancestors.
11th of November - The Ancestorsblót or the Feast of the Einherjar, to remember the deceased members of the family and their deeds, to ask them for strenght and wisdom.
19th of December - Mōdraniht (Mother Night) to honor the goddess Frigg.
21st of December - Jólablót.
13th of January - Midvintersblót.
19th of January - Thor's Day.
14th of February - Valiblót.
Spring
20th of March - The spring Equinox and after the first fullmoon of the same equinox we will have the celebration called Sigrblót to victory
1st of April - Lokiblót.
14th-19th of April - between these days, Sumarmál or Sommarsblót.
22nd -23rd of April - Yggdrasil Day.
30th of April to the 1st of May - Walpurgisnacht.
20th of May - Friggablót.
Summer
21st of June - Midsummer, and also to honor Sunna and Baldr.
1st of August - FreyFaxi.
Autumn
21st - 24th of September - Haustablót.
I hope you have a fine year and all goes well. Any information about these days, just read my blog or contact me. Stay well friends!
As i left December writing about Skadi the goddess of winter, it seems proper to start the year, writing about Ullr, the god of winter, since we are still very much into the winter season.
Ullr is the northern god of Winter, Hunting, Archery, Skating and Skiing. The sound of the snow falling and the cold winter wind that follows it, along with the sound of the ice breaking and moving in the mountains or beneath your feet in any frozen lake or river, the silent atmosphere in the woods after a snowstorm and the scent of wet trees, it all has the magic touch of Ullr.
Ullr is a very old god, he has been in the northern tales far beyond memory, when the world was still in the Iron Age, the northern peoples start to write the myths about Ullr and his powers were already the stuff of legend back then. All over Scandinavia, his name can be heard in many places still, regions and sites, so he must have been a very important god. He was associated with skiing, a very important way to move from one place to an other in the snow, because the snow is very thick and with the weight of our body, we are buried under the snow and its too hard to move, it can take days and people often died. So skiing was a safer and faster way to move and also to hunt. Ullr was also associated with the shield, maybe because shields were used as a ski board or because when winter comes, it involves the world as a shield.
Ullr's name comes from the word wuldor, the Old Hight German word for "glory". It was once pronounced "Ool", and to the Anglo-Saxons, his name was Vulder and in some places in Germany, he was known as Holler, and some say that he was the husband of the Germanic goddess Holda.
Ullr is seen as an Aesir because he is the son of Sif and his stepfather is Thor, but als may be seen as a Vanir because of his nature for being an hunter.
Ullr lives in Ydalir, meaning, Yew-grove, for the yew wood has always been good for the making of bows.
Odin was once exiled and Ullr was chosen to seet in the throne of Valhalla and lead in his place until Odin returned. Since then, Ullr seets in that same throne every time Odin isn't around, the shows the importance this god may had over the northern peoples in ancient times.
As you may guess, Ullr is the god of winter and winter sports, and as such, he can be called upon those who need safety when dealing with such matters, climbing a mountain, hunting in the woods, even winning a contest of skiing, fishing on ice and he is also a god of oaths, when making an oath, he will watch over it and make sure that your oath or the oaths others made to you under Ullr's watchful eyes, won't break.
Welcome to 2013 friends and happy new year! I Hope you enjoyed your holidays.
I'm sorry for having written too few subjects in the last month of December. But i will continue talking about Northern Paganism and traditions, Shamanism, Celebrations, deities etc. and all try to give you as much information as i can, starting from where i left.
I hope this new year brings great things to all of us, i hope i can still share my knowledge with all of you, and learn something new so i can also teach.
With the help of my girlfriend i will also try to make things a little simpler and start making videos on Youtube sharing the same kind of subjects i write in here, but spoken, because some people don't have the patience to read but still want to learn. I hope that new project ( which was my girlfriend's idea ) goes well and people actually like it. I'm expecting positive feedback, but i know that i will also receive those "not so polite kind of feedback".
As soon as i make an YouTube account, i will let you all know.
Stay well!
Best Regards
Arith Härger.
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