Princess Piki Part II

Princess Piki

Part II

The song of birds echoing in Fárion's high moors pierced the misty morning, as Niniär rode north to meet the edge of the woodland of Oroth, the farthest away from home she ever went. There she took joy in the banks of one of the streams of the river Kyrai, to the west of the Red forest in a place where strange trees grew. Of such trees there was no likeness in the country of Nárlond, these could only be found beyond the borders of Uldr and Wejnor to the far north where the country ended, into a nameless land that belonged to nature's wild grasp. It seemed that these trees reposed after much toil during their youth, they were ever juvenile, with the colors of fire and the autumn afternoon sky when night approaches, silver bark and often wore darker stripes, and seldom did they grew more than thirty three feet tall. There she sat on the mossy rocks, dipping her feet in the water. All stood still and in silence as the endless East awoke in anger. She stood waiting, for she felt a strange menace coiling towards her. Fierce it grew along with the grey monstrous clouds. Above her the roaring wind and the rolling thunder, and the clouds took shapes of hideous beasts, gloom gathered and she stood alone in darkness. A grim voice could be herd in the distance, approaching, it brought hate and dismay in its speech, the closer it got, the better could she understand. It became clear, it was calling for her... niniär... Niniär... Niniär!

She awoke from the nightmare, as her eyes pierced the fog and the world began to take shape, she knew now where she was, trapped in the hoary woodland of Lürnothil along with the hateful King Dárius and his horde by the banks of the lake Unir. Fires were flickering here and there, warriors wandering, busy, cruel and ill-looking, horses neighed under the ghostly-pale night. Reality was no better than her previous nightmare, and Dárius stood there with the light of the moon reflected on his face giving him a terrifying guise. It was his grim voice she herd on the dream and still was he shouting her name demanding that she woke up.

Dárius was a figure reminiscent of the sunless sky during the harsh winter falling upon the forests leaving them leafless and dark, and the cold grey stones under a frozen lake were the mirror of his heart. In all his evilness and brilliant schemes, he planed to give Niniär to Lutzar, the son of the Noble of Kûd who was no other than Dárius' older brother, and as Dárius had no sons nor daughters, Lutzar was a prince in the making.
Before he could settle this arrangement, Dárius had other plans in mind, since his main goal was to seize the wealth of all the peoples of Nárlond, he had to strike right into the strongest, bravest, wealthier regions to better control all the others who were too weak to protect themselves. He knew well where to strike..
The people of the North was his main concern, those who lived in the plains of Uldr, and the clans that lived in the mountainous regions of Wejnor, where the thirteen most powerful clans ruled over the others, but to enter those regions he had to pass through the Varghöss and the Wutnar clans, allies bond by marriage, trading and centuries of battles together against common foes. Dárius had to gain the favour of the council of Harkudr, the only city in the mountainous regions, which remained neutral to the conflicts of the northern clans and was the place of gathering of all the chieftains of each clan to settle their disputes in the Hall of Judges.

Years before, Dárius had already managed to keep the Varghöss clan at bay, by bribing the Kjärmun, the worst enemy clan of both the Varghöss and the Wutnar, it was they who killed Hallor the chieftain of the Varghöss and also his wife during a supposedly meeting of truce in the Varg's own great hall, and their only son was lost, escaped into Heimr to the east and was probably eaten by wolves, as he was only a child of eight winters old. 
As the years passed, Dárius invented a war against the Duirnir kingdom to the North-East of Nárlond, and as the northern clans were the ones closer to this kingdom, all of them were mustered and sent to war. Three years of a long meaningless war. The clans were broken, scattered, most warriors were still lost in Duirnir, others forlorn in those unknown lands. Time had come for Dárius to go into the North, meet the Wutnar in the Wolf's Mouth, the Khuz mountain, which held the underground city of the same name, filled with a wealth that even Dárius in his greedy mind couldn't think of, conquering the Wutnar, the way was opened to reach all the other clans of the North. Dárius made up his mind, he was ready to march towards the north and leave his nephew Lutzar in charge of the southern armies that would stay behind.

Lutzar was much pleased with the situation, being in charge of an whole army, a beautiful woman to take as wife and all he had to do was to sit and wait as his uncle brought the Northern wealth, an heirloom of his future kingship. Sit and wait was indeed what Lutzar did best, as he became round by doing it so often, but his greedy joy wouldn't take long, after his uncle departed and step by step Lutzar came towards Niniär to take her as wife as she lay trembling in fear, the tide of events changed dramatically.

The moon perished and a weeping wind started to come from within the forest, then dead silence fell. Out of the depths unfurling fogs floated and all was drowned with mist. The shape of trees with twisted arms in the gloom filled with dread the hearts of men. Fear clutched the souls of the host encamped by the lake. Fires fainted, no word spoken, ere they could grasp the hilt of their swords, a great howl, forlorn and lonely, came from the darkness, but it wasn't from a wolf. The echo of the howl was like a frozen cry that came from the burning depths. In the mist, shapes of wolves were running towards the men and into the lake, careless, not afraid to drown, for the wolves that was a better fate than to fell prey to the things that were gathering in the woods. None that stood there knew why the forests of Lürnothil were so abandoned and why the nearest towns were at least sixty miles away from the forest in all directions, but they would soon know why. Out of the fathomless valleys deep within the forests, looming forth came they, the only thing that could put fear in the hearts of wolves... Lo! They are coming!...

To be continued...

Arith Härger

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Working with the Gods: Frigga

For those who practice the Norse spiritual ways, shamanism, keep in mind that when calling upon Frigga or if by any chance you know she will come to you, keep everything as clean as possible, even yourself. Whatever place you might do the spiritual work it must be a tidy and clean space.

Frigga's colors are light or pale blue and white, these are actually the main colors of the sky for she is also a sky goddess. Always remember that even being the wife of Odin and living in the realm of the Aesir, war-like deities, Frigga isn't a goddess of war nor does she works in those ways. Remember that Frigga is a lady, a very polite and sensitive one, very wise, a matriarch. Think of her as the Ladyship of a noble English family in the in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in truth that's what she is, not of the English nobility, but of the royal house of the Aesir, she is the Queen.

Frigga prefers female spiritual workers, mature female spiritual workers, independent women, mothers, housewives, hard working women. A woman being capable of doing traditional works such as weaving is also something very important for Frigga.

Princess Piki - Part I

Princess Piki

Part I

Of myths and legends is the history of a nation built. The lore preserved in memory and passed down by speech as the younger generations around the oak tree listen to the Elders. Such myths were once true events that with the passage of time and the lack of magic in our daily lifes, leaves doubt in mortals' hearts, as age grows, it will be utterly filled with emptiness.
The tale of our beloved queen Niniär is of such likeness, and indeed she was loved by many before her shimmering glance struck King Arävar's heart.

Niniär Anon Rabødja was her name, the granddaughter of Eimir the noble of Vengoso in the western costal region, south of the Tankuí falls. She was a beautiful child with a very naive look, her hair was of the color of dried blood and the smelting copper, glittering brown eyes, piercing with gentleness in everyone's hearts. She could often be found wandering off, barefoot, dancing among the tall grass and when not doing so, she sat on the edge of the forest naming every plant and wild creature she could set her eyes upon. She always woke up with the sun and would lie down with the stars. As often as the light of the day covered the land, she was the joy of all those who lived in the region and heard her merriment. But such mirth would not last very long, for the King of that time was no other than the greedy King Dárius the ruthless and he and his squint-eyed southern nobles gazed upon every land that smelt like richness. Eimir whose glory waxed as times darkened, was one of the first nobles to fell prey to the ambicious hand of Dárius. Such lands had rich soils and Eimir and his people produced wine, linnen, wool and cattle, but the real wealth of the land was neither of these in Dárius mind, it was in fact what the roots of the near mountains held, Silver and Gold.
Emir, dauntless but old, lived in bitter disappointment and grief for his two daughters were as greedy as King Dárius and had already married two of the southern nobles, one of his sons was already dead, fighting against the constant invasions from the south, and all that was left of Emir's family was his other two sons who work hard everyday but were not peerless warriors like their deceased brother. His house was falling apart but the only joy he had was in his granddaughter Niniär the daughter of Ajmir, it was she that always lifted Emir's spirit. In the last days of his House, regardless of the evil which was emerging in the south, he spent his days watching Niniär grow as she became a beautiful woman. She sat astride the horse wearing a pale-green gossamer dress, her reddish lips were soft and often wore a hint of a smile, she was indeed her grandfather's joy, but the inevitable was coming to his door, even admonished by his armsman, Emir would not listen, all he cared about was having the love of his granddaughter.
From the endless houseless hills to the south the sky was veiled with smoke and flame, a sign of the baleful haunting of the southern nobles and King Dárius, under the shadows of the mountains to the east of Emir's lands, came they at last and would not depart till they got what they came there for, the underground wealth of Emir. Some sort of misconception was clearly at work that day, thought Emir, but the greedy mind of Dárius could only think of the Silver and Gold concealed from him in the depths of the mountains, even after Emir told him countless times that his only wealth left was his granddaughter Niniär. Thus, Dárius told Emir that he came there to take Emir's wealth, and if Niniär was indeed the old man's only richness, so it would be she that he would take. He gave her a cursory glance and she was filled with uneasiness, her hands were bound and she sat on the horse and grimaced with pain. Swiftly she was taken from Emir's sight and his lands were pillaged and burnt. Emir died soon after, filled with grief, for his only joy was taken away from him.
Niniär rode with the horde of Dárius to the southeastern dreary forests of Lürnothil. In the air wheeling, the ruinous ravens were croaking, in the border of the woods the wolves howled and from among the darkness of the trees a cold keen wind blew. The sun was swallowed by the gloomy night. What would become of Niniär? The world at her feet was torn asunder and her joy too was taken away from her, she was now descending upon the murky endless aisles of fate...

To be continued...

Arith Härger


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The Lusitanian Language

The Lusitanians might be the most mysterious European people and culture of antiquity, but with time and the evolution of the social sciences working together, Archaeology, History, Anthropology, Genetics and so on, we are always a step closer to know the truth about these people.

Nowadays like most European countries, Portugal and the Portuguese people are a mixture of cultures and genes, it is the European country with the most invasions of different cultures through time, beginning at the end of the lower paleolithic and beginning of the middle paleolithic a 300.000 years ago with the homo sapiens till today with globalization increasing. The Portuguese people are a mixture of Middle eastern, North African, Iberian, Celtic, Germanic, Scandinavian, Hellenic, Latin genes and so on but to this day there are still people that have more genes of one single group than another, the Portuguese can go from the latin look, black haired, dark brown eyes and brunette skin to the blonde and redhead with pale skin and light eyes. However, Portugal started its history as a nation with the Lusitanians, a mysterious people that came into Portugal and settled, being one of the most powerful early nations of all Europe, starting from the North and Center of Portugal and quickly spreading even into modern Spain. What history, archaeology and genetics show us nowadays, is that these Lusitanians were in fact of Celtic origin and also Germanic, however, as they spread so much, some Lusitanian tribes had greek genes because of the central costal Hellenic colonies, also Iberian when they came into contact with the Eastern and Central natives of modern Spain and much later Northern African genes when they invaded Southern Portugal. The North of Portugal to this day remained very much Germanic and Celtic along with the people of Galicia from Northwestern modern Spain.
To this day when speaking of the first origins of the Portuguese, people will automatically speak of the Lusitanians, a great culture that started around 1500B.C. , people of Celtic and Germanic origins that created the first Nation of Portugal uniting as many tribes as they could. It is interesting to see that one of the latest genetic research shows that the Irish have more than 90% of DNA similarities with the Portuguese and northwestern Spanish people, and in some areas it goes to 100%, these similarities are also shown in France, Germany and the southern parts of Scandinavia.

When we hear about the Lusitanians, the name itself doesn't sound very much like a Celtic one or Germanic even, that's because that was the name given to them by the Romans when they invaded the Iberian Peninsula, and after they conquered the Lusitanians, after thousands of battles and very much trouble but at the end won by bribing, the Latin language replaced the Lusitanian one and all the other Celtic and Germanic languages spoken in the Iberian Peninsula. 
Language is the main theme of this post, the Lusitanian language, and by the end of this post you will see the differences between the Lusitanian language and the Latin one, and as much as I did, you will wonder how would Portugal look like today if the Romans never invaded it and Portugal remained a Celtic/Germanic country.

The Lusitanians are actually the Leukuire or Leukuir, the people of light and their language was the ancient Leukaeg to the modern Leukantu or Leukaeke and the form of writing was called Leukanturi. Their country Lusitânia, was called Leukitanea, the land of light.
Now let's see a few words in Lusitanian, such as "Trebopala" which means Protector of the Community, or the word "Uelgasaliant", which is a kind of greeting like "welcome" which today in Portuguese is "Bem-vindo" and in Spanish "Bienvenido".
For instance, "bänd aiwizas" which means "Forever", in Portuguese "Para Sempre" and Spanish "Para siempre".
The word "Tuouta" for "Homeland".

These are some examples of the language that doesn't sound anything like Latin.

There are also the names of the Lusitanian deities, more than 1000 gods and goddesses, which doesn't sound at all Latin, however with time some of them gained a Latin name because the Romans adopted some of the Lusitanian gods. For example we have Trebaruna, it comes from the celtic word "Trebo" meaning "home" and the word "runa" meaning mystery and/or secret, the goddess of magic, death, war and also a protectress of homes and families. Nantosuelta, Sucellos and Epona, exactly the same deities of the Celtic pantheon. Vabusoa or Borus, later Borvo a healing deity associated with bubbling spring water, which the Romans called Bormanicus, equated with Apollo. Durius, the god of the river with the same name which is today's river Douro. Laepo, Laho, Lucubo, Runesocesius (a name already romanized, there isn't any source yet of its name in Lusitanian but cleary comes from the celtic words runa and gaiso, the name of this deity means "The Mysterious One of the Spear".

Well the list goes on and honestly I would love to learn more about the Lusitanian language, or the Leukaeke/Leukantu. I wonder how would the language of the Portuguese people would be like today if the Romans had not brought their language, how would the country be if the Celtic and the Germanic peoples stood there, well some did to this day, there are still many living decendents of the Celts and the Germanic peoples and also Scandinavian ones, I am one of those, but there aren't enough to call this Nation a Celtic or Germanic one, of both.

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Muspelheim

Muspellheim is one of the nine realms of the Norse cosmology, the Land of Fire. It is one of the first two primal worlds created around the World Tree, and the collision between Muspellheim and Niflheim or fire and water/ice, created the energy that formed the basis for the other seven worlds.

Muspelheim is one of the realms of the spiritual world a spiritual worker can visit while in a state of altered consciousness. We have to take into account, that the worlds of the Norse cosmology aren't just myth, they are actual realms connected with each other.

Muspelheim being a volcanic, filled with flame, dust and magma, a traveler doesn't have the perception if it is day or night, the sun and the moon are completely veiled by smoke, but it doesn't really matter the kind of season or day time in Muspelheim, everything will look just the same the entire year, and the sky in a constant red and orange light. It is a hostile place and none live there, naught remains alive in such place with the exception of the Fire Etins natives to the land, everything else is a vast landscape as far as the eye can see with just molten rocks, lava, dust and scorched land. However, there is a part of this world that is less hostile and it can be visited with caution, where the land meets the ocean, black sanded beaches with hot springs and houses made of melted back rocks pilled together here and there, the homes of some of the natives of the land. The black sanded beaches are far away from any safe border that one might go through, safe in a manner of speaking, because all the borders to this land are well protected, such as Myrkwood to the West and the mountainous passages of Svartalfheim to the Southwest, mountain chains that form a natural barrier.
The only vegetation one might ever find, are some scorched trees and burnt grass of the Myrkwood Eastern part already in Muspelheim.


This is the land where Surt reigns, the great Fire Giant, older than memory and the Lady Sinmora.

Christianity Vs Paganism in Russia

I came across to one of the latest news about paganism in Russia and how things are being developed. Many Slavic Neo-Pagans are bringing the old pagan ways into Russia once again, its not just important because of the historic background of the country but also because it is the very foundations of a country and its population, the culture, what connects people to their roots. Many European countries are working to bring their history back to life, their history before christianisation, a unique mark of a people, the very basis of culture, it took a lot of study, archaeological findings, years spent reading and re-reading old documents and accounts, decode mythologies and decode stories of others who watched very closely the pagan cultures and accounted them in their own perspective and also in a critic way. It is still very hard to do it, sine many cultures never left written records and with the coming of christianity and the lies told for centuries, the job was even harder and far from over, and Russia is no exception, so, preserving history is of great importance for everyone, we all have the right to know and understand our ancestors and knowing old values ​​is a good way to improve our way towards the future.

In Russia, those who are aware of the importance of the old ways, are trying to bring back the old slavic paganism, the followers of this spiritual path have built copies of old pagan monuments of wood and stone and then gather for some rituals. According to their point of view, they are all trying to reconstruct the true religion of the Russian people, a religion that was destroyed by the early Russian Christian church a 1000 years ago when it came to Russia and violently converted local pagan population to Christianity. Nowadays it seems that in Russia there are still fundamental Christians who disapprove the raise of pagan traditions and try to follow their earlier inquisitor predecessors by destroying the pagan places. Writing this to you doesn't seem to give the right justice to the case, I don't usually do this but I will post here some of the pictures about such modern pagan Russian ritual places before and after the event.

After Christians came and destroyed the place, claiming it was unholy and placing christian symbols to cleanse and sanctify the place :

Norse Symbols are not Symbols of Hatred

Nowadays watching Norse/Germanic pagan symbols on a necklace, tattooed on someone's skin or anyother place such as a wall, a book and so on, still leaves people somewhat uncomfortable, probably in fear at some point, but why does this happen?
Well, Norse/Germanic symbols weren't symbols of hatred, the Germanic peoples used the runes (The Elder Futhark) as much as the Norse (Younger Futhark) as their own alphabet, for divination, spiritual rituals, magic and so on, certainly they weren't white supremacists or racist skinheads, but somehow people still fear those symbols. Well in truth it is easy to know why, during the Third Reich the Nazis used a lot of Norse/Germanic symbols, for example the Hagall rune was very much present on the SS Totenkopfring or even the two Sowelu runes for the very SS symbol, and of course the Swastika, a major symbol used by many cultures including the many European cultures such as the Slavic ones, Germanic, Norse and Lusitanian, but again, these weren't racist people, but during the Third Reich, these symbols left a negative mark in the hearts of the European and watching those symbols again, brings the memory of horrible times, but the symbols themselves aren't hate symbols, it was the Nazis that  brought terror along with those.
Obviously it's not just the Nazis fault, for centuries we live on a society that has been for too long obsessed by Classical Antiquity, and we treasure it as the most important source of ancient European history, which left all the other European cultures in the shadow and forgetfulness. In general, all that people knew about Norse/Germanic symbols came from the Nazis and nothing more and the problem also is that the Neo-Nazis still use these symbols and they don't know the true meaning of those symbols, they only focus on the hatred brought by the Nazis. Another major problem is that many people with Christian backgrounds still feel that heathen convictions, faith and religious symbols may be dangerous, especially if associated with Norse/Germanic culturs. Whatever your religion may be, as a child we have all been educated in schools long dominated by Christians that such symbols are linked to the Nazis only, and the only Ancient European civilisations that are taught are the Classical ones, such as the Greek and the Roman.
In my point of view, we should start teaching our children the other side of history especially when it comes to powerful symbols that they might find all over the place their entire life, they will probably be ignorant about it and think that a lie, or omiting the truth, is the only truth available.

For example, the Bluetooth technology on every mobile phone, take a close look at the symbol there, It is actually a bindrune, that is two blended runes, the Hagall and Bjarkan. These two represent the initials of the 10th century viking king Harald Blåtand (Bluetooth), who ordered the Jelling stones to be erected. I really doubt that the Bluetooth team are a hate group, they certainly aren't racists, and their rune logo doesn't scare people away I'm sure.

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Cannibal Neanderthal in Northern Spain

In Northern Spain Scientists have discovered the remains of a group of Neanderthals who presumably have been butchered and eaten by another group of local cannibals.
It was found in the area a cache of bones which had clearly been cracked open using tools. This has been subject of study for the past 13th years, it was first discovered deep inside the El Sidron cave system around 1994, the bones had been preserved for at least 51.000 years and have been analysed using modern-day CSI forensic techniques.
Apparently among the the slaughtered group there were also three children aged from two to nine years old and also three teenagers and six adults.

Carles Lalueza-Fox of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona i one of the persons involved in this archaeological case, and he tells us " They appear to have been killed and eaten, with their bones and skulls split open to extract the marrow, tongue and brains ". “All had been butchered. It must have been a big feast.”

He also added that the bone pile was likely washed through a sinkhole from a rocky shelter above, eventually settling in the small alcove of the cave system where they were found. This means that they were kept in a condition unlike almost any other Neanderthal remains, and proved a perfect snapshot of a single, deadly clash, likely between two local tribes. The tools found at the site of the slaughter came from a few kilometres away, suggesting their fellow early human attackers were probably also their neighbours.
Finally, scientists proposed a theory for the motive behind the attack, quite simple actually.
Unlike the earliest anatomically modern humans, who coped with periods of food shortage by joining forces in large, efficient groups, Neanderthals tended to gather in small family tribes of around 10 to 12 individuals. When times were tough in winter, this meant they had to resort to extreme measures.
Dr Lalueza-Fox said: “I would guess they were killed in winter when food was short. There is no evidence of any fire so they were eaten raw immediately and every bit of meat was consumed. They even cut around the mandibles of the jaw to extract the tongues.”

Working with the Gods: Thor

Thor is one of the most famous deities in the Norse Pantheon, and for those who do spiritual work with him, they must have two things in mind. Thor prefers to work with male bearded spiritual-workers and he loves the color red, any kind of clothing that you may have with that color is fine.
Thor is the tipical warrior god, sturdy, stalwart, stoic but very kind and friendly, faithful to friends and the bonds he creates with those who work with him.
Nowadays isn't hard to find a symbol that represents him, Thor's Hammer, it is actually very easy to get and you should wear one when doing spiritual work with him, or use a real hammer as a as a symbolic token.
Thor also likes beer, it is actually his favorite alcoholic beverage, but for him the most important thing is to have someone to drink with, as I have mention it before, he is a god that likes to creat friendships and maintain them. He shows you the importance of friendship, not just the merrymaking, but the bond between friends, a brotherhood kind of connection, always being there for a friend when help is needed, being faithfull to them.

Irish and Portuguese - Genetic similarity

It might seem a little uncanny, but a recent genetic research shows that there are strong similirities between the Y chromosome  haplotypes from the males of northern-western Spain and of Portugal with the Irish men who often appear with Gaelic surnames, but not just that group.
The frequency of Y-DNA haplogroup R 1b which is the most common haplogroup in the continent of Europe, is in fact the highest in the populations of the Atlantic Europe, and also due to the mass European emigrations, it is also very common in North America, South America and Australia. Another example is Irland and the Basque country, this haplogroup's frequency exceeds 90% and approaches 100% in Western Irland.
The incidence of R1b is almost 70% or even more in the Celtic regions of Cumbria and Cornwall in England, also in the Celtic North region of Portugal (Douro, Minho, Trás-os-Montes e Beira Alta), Northern Spain (Celtic Galicia, Asturias, León, Cantabria and Basque Country), Western France (Béarn, Gascony, Guyenne, Saintonge, Augoumois, Aunis, Poiton, Touraine, Anjou and the Celtic Brittany) and of course the six Celtic countries which remained Celtic speaking throughout the Middle Ages ( Brittany, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man, Ireland and Scotland). 
The R1b's incidence declines gradually with distance of course, but it is still very common across the central areas of Europe. For example, the R1b is the most frequent haplogroup in Germany and in the low countries, and is common in Southern Scandinavia as well and in Norther Italy.
The majority of Irish people and all natives from the British Isles primarily descend from an "Iberian refugium" population dating back to the last ice age.

These connections got stronger when the Celts started their migrations during the late Bronze Ages (1200 BC) and spread all over Europe, thousands of Celtic tribes that settled in so many European regions forming the first nations of each individual country we have today. For example the Lusitanians (which probably had another name since they are of Celtic origins and the name was given to them by the Romans in the late Iron Ages) a Celtic tribe that settled in Central Portugal, its with them that the History of Portugal begins in terms of the very first portuguese nation to be formed in portuguese territories. This tribe of Celts had strong connections with the other Celtic tribes of North-Western Spain (Galicia) all the way to today's Austria via trade routes that linked the Celtic World. When the first Celts invaded Irland and settled there, one of the major Celtic tribes that went there were in fact the Lusitanians, almost a 1000 years before the Celts gradually infiltrated Britain.

Working with the gods: Odin

In shamanism people didn't just work with the spirits of animals, trees or the ancestors, they used to work with all kinds of spirits, including the ones we called gods.

Shamanism in the Norse trandition isn't something we are used to hear about, but it existed and nowadays like all the spiritual work in all the other religions, is being brought to us once again and only to a few people these deities show themselves and actually have anykind of contact with us mortals. Through altered states of consciousness we can have similar experiences that shamans had and still have, but being a shaman isn't something you choose to be, it is something that is chosen for you, however, you can choose to do spiritual work, but that doesn't make you a shaman, being a shaman is more complex. Finding a real shaman is a great challenge, nowadays there are too many spiritual workers, too many that call themselves shamans, but in truth, shamans are fewer nowadays then before, a great clue to know if a person is a real shaman, is that the person will never ever tell you that he/she is a shaman, shamans hide that from all, only the communitie calls them shamans, they don't give to themselves any kind of title.

I'm not here to talk about my personal experiences, I'm here to tell you about a mixture of experiences of various people with whom I have contact, including my own experiences, debating these same spiritual experiences reaching a more concrete conclusion, though not entirely correct.

Lets start with Odin. For those of you already familiar with this deity, there is no need to talk about him in the myths, or who he is, what he does or what kind of god is he, this is entirely in a spiritual prespective.

Odin

For the spiritual work with Odin, it is a good thing to have at hand some kind of alcoholic beverage, it can be either mead or wine, not for you and maybe not for Odin, he will only accept it if he is in the mood for it, this is just like offering a drink to welcome a guest, politeness

 He likes red meat and vegetables. You might want to be dressed with clothings with blue, grey, and black colors, those are his favorites.

Odin is a god to be called upon if you need counsel, advice, he likes ver much to talk, and solve disputes, so if you are in need of these things, he is the right god to do spiritual work with. Whenever you speak with Odin, never mention delicate matters in which he or someone or some deity close to him might have been involved, keep the conversation in what you really need, because Odin isn't a god that likes to talk about his problems, his affairs, he is a god that likes to communicate with the objective to help others.

Odin isn't a god to be taken lightly, he can be very ruthless, but he is extremely wise, treat him with the utmost respect.

Those who work with Odin can be either male or female, and should ideally be people sworn to him. 

Usually the greatest experience one might have when working with Odin, or just by meeting him somehow, is to be turned into a wolf or a raven and experience the natural world in that way, even if for a few seconds. It is a different point of view that will give you both freedom of spirit and cleverness, you will learn to respect, to behave while in a group, you can either lead or be led. Working in group is very important to Odin, the old Norse who worshiped Odin and made a cult around this deity, always worked in group and behaved like wolves in a pack.

Odin is a god that will constantly test you, before you call upon him or he decides to show himself to you he already knows a lot about you, he knows your fears, and every test is so you might know yourself better. You might think that you are very courageous, he will test that to see how far you can go with all your bravery, or you might think otherwise, the complete oposite, and you might find out that you are stronger than you thought.

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Wassailing Blessing

Wassailing is an ancient tradition which consists in blessing an apple trees at the twelfth night, or thee Twelfth Night, and asking the spirit of the tree for a bountiful harvest of fruits the following autumn. Some held this celebration according to the Gregorian calendar and mark Twelfth Night on the 6th of January, however, it strictly begins at dusk on the day before, and others celebrate according to the older Julian calendar which goes until the 17th of January.

The word wassail is thought to be an old anglo-saxonic salutation, waes-heal, which signifies "good health", or it means "be in good health"This celebration consists in singing and giving good wishes at yuletide, very much similar to the modern tradition of carolling. These serenades were in honor to the apple trees, to ensure a good harvest of apples and other fruits and consequently a good cider during this period. This is a time when the world is turned upside down, the Lord of Misrule reigns for a day, and the spirits draw close, including those of trees
People who cared for an apple tree  (and this tradition is still strong in the cider growing areas of England and the marches of Wales) set out with gifts of hot cakes and cider as an offering to the spirit of the tree. Usually, a cider soaked cake was hoisted high and left in the fork of a branch, with more cider splashed on the earth over the roots. Whereas many people think that tree spirits are called Dryads, this word actually only refers to the spirit of oak trees. The spirits of apple trees are called Epimeliads.
In order to put away any negative or malicious influence, people might shout or bang pan lids together. After this, all involved in the celebration, sing the wassailing song, asking for a good crop of apples the following autumn.
Following the formal part of the ritual, the ceremony concludes with sharing cider and cakes among all those present. Traditionally, a single bowl of cider was passed around the company so it became a ‘loving cup’ binding all there in fellowship and community.
It is very interesting to notice that in Nordic tradition, the Goddess Idun held the apples of immortality that kept the Gods young and a great source of food in Asgard, for she also was the keeper of the Gods' orchards. To the people of those ages, including the Anglo-Saxons who probably began the wassailing tradition, apples may have been more than a simple fruit.

The earliest accounts of this tradition, tell us how the person in charge of the ceremony, carried a wooden bucket filled with cider all the way to the chosen tree, that would certainly be the oldest and most venerated tree in the region. It is believed that the person who was in the charge of this ceremony was also the oldest person or the most respected person in the region, the village elder. The people followed him, laden with lanterns, musical instruments, buckets of apples and hunting horns, when arriving on the scene they would form a circle around the tree and then began the traditional songs of Wassil.


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