Dísablót- in honour of the Dísir, female spirits

You can watch the video about this subject in here: [Dísablót]


The Dísablót is a blót or a festival (sacrificial holiday) which is held in honour of the female spirits called Dísir. There isn’t a specific day for this celebration. We know that it was held during winter. In some accounts it was in the beginning of winter, during the time of the winternights, but in some places this holiday was by the end of winter, to celebrate the revival of nature.

Suffice it to say that this celebration was held at some point during winter – the exact timing differed widely across Germanic and Norse lands. In Norway and Iceland, for instance, this festival was known as Dísablót, “a sacrifice to the Disir,” and took place at the beginning of winter. It could be held in either a private house or a formal temple, and unlike Álfablót, this was a public celebration. In Sweden, the Disting or dísaþing, which means “Disir-Assembly”, was held at the beginning of February. To the Anglo-Saxons it seems this celebration was called Modraniht or “Mother’s Night”, which took place around the New Year and probably has connections to the Germanic and Celtic “matron” cult. The “matrons” are female spirits who are very much like the Disir; fertility spirits, guardian spirits, warriors, and so on.

But what exactly is this festival about?

From the name of the festival, we understand that the principal ritual act was a sacrifice, and from historical sources we know that there was a banquet, probably after the sacrifice, as it was normal. Possibly consuming the meat of the sacrificed animals. The main purpose of this festivity was to honour all the female spirits, the female ancestors, the goddesses and other female beings such as the Valkyrjur (Valkyries).

During this festival and the days that followed it, 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. The care and love that is unique 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 this group of female spirits are also included the female ancestors of each family, because in the northern traditional paganism, it was believed, when people died, they might choose not to go to the other world just yet, but to stay a little longer to help their descendants 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 planting season and in the harvest, or taking care of the house, keeping the peace and order and unite each member of their family, 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 was to place their dead in some sort of a burial mound made with stones, built in a way that would resemble the “deck” of a boat, and these sacred places where built near the farmstead. This was often done in private properties by those who either had no wealth to possess a boat, or simply did not wish to destroy their boats. Boats in Scandinavian societies were so important that they represented power and wealth. Boats were the principal means of transportation and the booster of the economy of Medieval Scandinavia. The importance of boats to the Scandinavians is reflected on these grave mounds in the shape of boats. Burning a boat wouldn’t last long, but building one in stone and covering it with dirt, would last forever and the memory of the ancestors would endure. And of course, building burial mounds is an ancient prehistoric tradition, using such constructions as markers of private property.

Now you ask: Who or what exactly are the Dísir?

There seems to be a lot of speculation about what exactly are the Dísir. The sources don’t help much in answering these questions. Why did the Norse differentiate a group of female spirits from the rest of female beings?

I think it’s important to separate the Dísir from other kinds of spiritual beings, because sometimes the Dísir seem to be all the female spirits recognized by the ancient Norse peoples, but other times the Dísir seem to be a group of female spirits different from all the other spiritual beings and other female spirits. We might find some answers if we look at the Valkyries. They are depicted as being female helping-spirits of the god Odin. They are referred to as “Odin’s Dísir”. Both the Dísir and the Valkyries are depicted as being warlike spirits, but also protective. Resembling the nourishment and protectiveness of a mother, and a mother’s love can sometimes turn women into fearsome warriors when it comes to protect their children.

The Disir are often portrayed as being guardian-spirits of either a single individual, a group, or guardians of a location. They don’t seem to be distinguished from other guardian spirits such as the Fylgjur – guardian spirits of an individual; Hamingjur – entities of an individual or a group of individuals; Landvaettir – spirits of the land or of particular locations. In terms of land spirits, known in Old Norse as Landvættir, when they are female they are sometimes called Landdísir in certain literary sources and place-names in Iceland and Norway. The Disir are also often depicted as being the spirits of dead female ancestors.

Still feeling confused? You still don’t know what exactly are the Dísir? That’s alright! No one can answer that question.

Unlike other religions which have a doctrine and tell us “what is what”, the Norse pagan tradition as always been a living spirituality to this day. It’s open to interpretation and it’s free from the bounds of religious laws, regulations and dogmas. The concept of Dísir, much like any other spiritual being of this pagan tradition, varies from account to account, location to location and from time to time. To the pre-Christian Norse there was never the need to formulate a religious doctrine to make people worship in a single manner. So, the Dísir may be the female ancestors, or a particular group of goddesses, or specific spiritual beings. From source to source what they have in common is that they were female beings and important enough to make a festivity in their honour. The Dísablót might be the remnants of a prehistoric cult to the mother goddess and her helpers. A festival to honour the fertility of the land, to call for protection, nourishment and the love only a mother can give.

In the end it doesn’t really matter who the Dísir are. What is important to remember is this concept of honouring your female ancestors, remembering 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, honour, strength and wisdom, according to your deeds of course. Also, honour 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 essence of this festivity into your everyday life. Make all days great days full of joy and love!

By: Arith Härger

References:

Almazan, Vincente, (1986). Gallaecia Scandinavica.

Bellows, Henry Adams, (Trans.), (2007). THe Poetic Edda, The Heroic Poems.

Dasent, George Webbe, (2014). Popular Tales from Norse Mythology

Mitchell, Stephen A., (2011). Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages

Örnólfur Thorsson, et al. (eds.) (2000) The Sagas of Icelanders: a selection. Penguin Books

Pires, Hélio, (2017). Os Vikings em Portugal e na Galiza: As incursões Nórdicas Medievais no Ocidente Ibérico

Price, T. Douglas, (2015). Ancient Scandinavia: An Archaeological History from the First Humans to the Vikings

Simek, Rudolf, (2007). Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall

Sturluson, Snorri, (1997). The Prose Edda. University of California Press. Translated by Jean I. Young

Turville-Petre, E.O.G., (1964). Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia.

The Valknut is a "Lie"

A video about the term "Valknut" and how it has been misused, applying it to the wrong symbol. A possible name to the symbol in question is a matter of discussion brought to light by our new studies. I hope you enjoy it friends :D --- Aside from the English subtitles, this video also has subtitles in Portuguese, Spanish (American-latin), French and Italian. My thanks to all the contributors.

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The Runestaves

  
You can watch the video about this subject here: [The Runestaves]


To establish a context, I’ll start with the history behind the rune staves, but let’s not go that far back in time. To better understand the rune staves, we must understand the historical background of Iceland during the Middle-Ages, for that is the historical line I draw here because it was a time of great changes in the Scandinavian pagan mind. 

  Iceland was first settled in the latter decades of the 9th century, mainly by Norwegians and their Celtic thralls (slaves). These Norwegians came to this unpopulated island to seek political and religious freedom, running away from a monarch who was “hunting down” pagans – King Haraldr hárfagra (fair-hair). This king was still a pagan, but under the political influence of Christian Europe he set about to conquer Norway and bring it under a Christian-style monarchy. The new Icelanders set up a social order deeply rooted in their native heritage, so the land was ruled by local priest-chieftains, goðar (sing. goði). The Icelanders practiced the religion brought with them – their polytheistic Germanic heathenism – which is a religion that allows as much individual freedom as possible. Of course there were a number of Christians among the Celtic thralls brought to Iceland, and even some of their masters converted to the faith. The Icelanders originally tolerated such religious differences, but eventually Christianity was accepted as the official religion of Iceland due to a variety of social, economic and religious pressures of the Iceland’s foreign contacts who had all become Christians. The acceptance of Christianity by Icelanders was highly formalistic, so the old practices were maintained, in private, even though certain aspects were forbidden, in public. 

  The individual freedom of their native faith allowed Icelanders to compose works about certain aspects of their spirituality. In terms of magic, manuals were scarce in the beginning but there was still a lot of oral tradition and practices which survived within the families, and of course the Sagas and the poems. The written records we have of such magical practices were written during Iceland’s Catholic period; the social and religious realities were very much different, great changes had occurred, and obviously the mixture between paganism and Christianity greatly influenced the people who composed these works. Hard to say how far the reliability of such accounts go, but in terms of magic, and cultural aspects in general, the Catholic period in Iceland wasn’t that radical. Luckily, one of the traditional areas of Germanic magic survived in some parts of Scandinavia as late as the 19th century, and this area is “rune-magic”. 
   
  In pagan times the runic sorcerers/magicians, were well known and honoured members of the society. Traditionally these people were members of a social order interested in intellectual and/or spiritual pursuits. Now, the general technique of rune magic during pagan times consisted of 3 steps: 1) Carving the symbols in an object; 2) Colouring them with blood or dye; 3) Speaking a vocal formula over the staves to imbue them, load them, with magical power. We have several examples of this technique in Old Icelandic literature, this kind of magical work can be read in “För Skírnis” or “Skírnismál”, a poem in the Poetic Edda; we have an example there of a curse, for instance. Or in the Egil’s Saga, in order to detect poison in his drinking horn, Egill drew out his knife and stabbed the palm of his hand, he rubbed the blood in the horn which was carved with runes and changed an incantation. So the runes are symbols of power, but in order to awaken that power, one must give part of him – blood – life itself and probably all the ancestral history printed in the blood, all the knowledge of the ancestors, and also an incantation, giving breath to it, the breath of life, a sort of spiritual part of yourself and the 
uniqueness of your voice. Remember that Galdr is exactly that, the power of the voice, and in Norse mythology that was the gift Odin gave to mankind – the breath of life – and through sound powers are awaken, be that the power of suggestion, persuasion or invoking/summoning, hidden forces.  
   
  Of course during the Catholic period elements of the ancient native heritage and the new foreign religion were being syncretized. The pagan elements in magical tradition would naturally be diminished over time. Nevertheless, the old techniques must have continued in a way for many generations. Many features of the pagan tradition were kept alive for a long time, but then we start to see this magic changing when demonic entities and orthodox figures appear in spells. Of course there came a period in Iceland when magic was absolutely forbidden and written materials were destroyed, but a few books survived, remarkably, and it’s from those written sources we know about magical work in ancient Scandinavia. 

  Now, putting this historical introduction aside and let’s move on to the rune staves. We have all heard about magical symbols, objects, talismans at least once in the context of magic and ancient religious practices, such a subject is often heard, so now let's try to understand the runes as talismans, or placed in objects that might help in any kind of magical work. 

  In the Norse/Germanic traditional paganism, runic talismans for magical work are often constructed in the form of staves, which surprisingly, (or maybe not that surprising) this kind of work is also very similar with the magical practices using Ogham - the Celtic alphabet. The runes for spellcasting, or runestaves for magical work, usually are handled in series of three or more according with their influences. Most staves consist in either three of five runes, because it is easier to manage, anything longer than this can be very confusing, not just to the person who is using the runestaves, but also for the powers a person is working with. Things are normally kept as simple as possible. Before someone chooses the runes, they must know if the talisman they are about to create is a permanent charm or if it is intended to have a finite effect. This is something that people had to ponder deeply before creating such a talisman, because the purpose of these talismans are to create an event or to attract something to the person or to any one that owns the talisman, after the event occurs, the spell is done and the talisman has no further purpose, and as such, the talisman must be removed from this world, burnt or destroyed in any way, according to the Norse traditional magical practices. So this is why the majority of the runestaves were created in either parchment or wood, to easily destroy them. 

  It's interesting to see that those who had such practices had a very conscious view about the subject itself. In the sources and also what comes from oral tradition and folk accounts, people couldn't expect, sitting at home, for the effects of the magic they performed to happen simply because there was magic at work. There was an understanding that things don't magically happen, so there was this idea that the runestaves, and even bindrunes or any other kind of magical work, helped to create or attract an event in someone's life, and everything in this world to be attracted to something must be near it or have any kind of contact with it, like a magnet attracts iron, so if people created a talisman to find a job, for example, they needed to go out 
there, search for a job, to take physical action, and the talisman will help its owner, it will help in attracting that event into that person's life.  

  One tricky aspect about runestaves is that when someone creates them, they have to make sense, the sense that expresses the intention regardless of the direction the runes are read - left to right or backwards. 

  So, as you can see, in the old northern European societies, it was common to use runic symbols and combinations of runes for different magical purposes. Most of the symbols and spells used in the incantations of the bidding of runes, appear to have been for the use of simple daily problems in the life of the common folk, at least that's what was left not only in written sources but also archaeological evidences. For instance, we have many examples of talismans and runestaves for catching a thief or to overthrow an enemy. Surprisingly, the ones to catch thieves were very common and abundant, which might indicate a connection to the economical background of ancient Scandinavia, when people's wealth was measured in the quantity of cattle, and stealing cattle was fairly easy so there was probably a lot of thievery in these aspects. Anyway, other runestaves helped heal livestock, whilst others look at cursing the animals of another (again, the importance of cattle and the measurement of wealth). It was also common to create charms to help preserve food and ale, staves to bless the bearer with strength or courage, or symbols to help with fishing or prevent death by drowning. The bidding of runes, charms, staves and so on, were also commonly created to protect a person while in battle, to enhance the durability of a shield, the deadly strike of a weapon or the flexibility of a bow. 

  However, the people in the 17th century in Iceland faced more difficulties in agriculture, herding and hunting and fishing, rather than the troubles of war. With long dark winters, little arable lands for crops, and icy seas, life was unforgiving. Luck seemed to have an important role in that society, and the inhabitants would do what they could to influence their fortunes themselves. In times of famine, neighbours would be tempted to steal from each other, and disputes would often end in violence of course. Reputation and the ability to intimidate seems to have been an important factor in survival, and many staves were created to allow the bearer to do this or cast back negativity upon their perceived attacker. So this was the time when a lot of runestaves, talismans, magical symbols, were created for these specific troubles of this era - the 17th century. 
   
  The 17th century in Iceland was marked by an event, when Denmark established a trade monopoly over Iceland so that the island could no longer trade freely with whomever it pleased. This resulted in a time of economic hardship (1602). This was also an age when Christianity had great influence in the European societies. Witchcraft was still used by some but in secrecy, as folk remedies for instance. This was not like in the beginning when Norwegians settled in Iceland and there was a certain religious freedom; now things were different in terms of witchcraft, it was much more restricted, illegal even. The staves appeared to have been drawn by using the Norse runes and later mediaeval and renaissance occult symbols. They were at least influenced by later charms used on mainland Europe, as we have seen already, the period when paganism 
and Christianity were being syncretized. But during the 17th century in Iceland, it was a time when the Christian faith and the old Scandinavian faith was much more mixed together to create almost a new magical tradition, when compared to the early traditions. Icelandic society never forgot their past, their traditions, fortunately, so some charms that accompany certain staves mention the Old Norse gods such as Odin and Thor, whilst others mention Solomon, Jesus and Mary and other Judeo-Gnostic formulas. The system seems to be an interesting blend of old and new magical beliefs. During the periods of transition between religions, Odin was still appealed to or mentioned, but his role had shifted from being the All-father figure to that of a sorcerer. The Christian God had taken the place of the Father of men on earth, so the old gods started to be used for magical purposes, and Odin lost the connection with death, war and creation, and started to be the god associated with wisdom and witchcraft. 

  Folk magic went underground and its practices became hidden. Some records that still exist of the staves, and their uses and other magical practices by the Icelanders, were made by the courts during the trials of witches. Ironically, it is this act that has preserved some of the old customs to this day. Without being recorded, they would simply have been forgotten or would have died with their practitioners. But how well were they transcribed? It's very likely that the true knowledge of such magic has been completely forgotten. However, after so much time in secrecy, these magical practices returned. It was only in the last century that it became safer to explore the practices of folk magic throughout Europe. Whilst still frowned upon as superstition and nonsense, the Icelandic staves have seen a surge in popularity. Many of the staves are used in art and decorative wares, whilst some people have taken to having them tattooed onto their bodies. The Icelandic staves have evolved over the centuries, and while certainly incorporating Norse runes, they cannot be considered exclusively of "Viking" culture as they are influenced by other esoteric practices from mainland Europe and beyond. 

Are the Eddas reliable?

You can watch the video about this subject in here: [Youtube Video]


Are the Eddas reliable? First of all, what does “Edda” mean? Opinions differ, greatly, as to be expected. But the most usual meaning is that the word is related to ódr (poem/poetry) and may be translated as “poetics”. 

Our knowledge of the pagan deities comes from several sources, and most prominent among them are the two Icelandic works, the Poetic Edda, a collection of songs relating the deeds of Nordic gods and heroes, and the Prose Edda, a work composed by Snorri Sturluson. These are two essential works to have an understanding of pagan Germanic religion. 

But let’s start with the Prose Edda first, which seems much more complex to talk about. The Uppsala Codex is one of the three most important manuscripts composed by Snorri Sturluson, the first part is about the Aesir and Ymir, then comes the Skáldskaparmál (Poetic Diction) and last the Háttatal (Account of Meters) a composition about King Hákon and Duke Skúli. 

Snorri Sturluson writes his Prose Edda during the 13th century. He made good use of the Poetic Edda, but also other accounts, some lost forever, obviously, but others which have survived through oral tradition. He gives us a synthesized and simplified version of the Norse mythology. This work of his comes in contradiction with other sources, and also, quite possibly, his work was influenced by Christianity, which already was the official religion in Iceland for 200 years, already in Snorri Sturluson’s time. It’s also very likely that the sources Snorri used to compose this mythology comes solely from the region of Throndheim, in Norway, such sources composed by the end of the X century. The very myth of creation, transmitted to us by Snorri, which he refers to it as – in the beginning there was only a great void and two worlds were created, one of ice and another of fire – might give us the indication that this might be a very Icelandic perspective of the creation of the world, adding familiar elements to the story, the landscape of Iceland – glaciers and volcano activity – combined to create a land. This brought to my attention that mythology is clearly different from place to place, not only because of historical, cultural and traditional factors, but also because of geographical factors. To the Scandinavian communities further south, where the landscape is clearly different of that of the north, such communities wouldn’t have the same perspectives on the creation of the cosmos.  

Another aspect is that the great majority of the sources were composed by poets, financially sponsored by political and military authorities, and also poems to spread amongst warriors. Which means, poems to be read and listened by certain groups, where certain deities were more popular than others, which helps to explain why in archaeology Freyr was much more relevant in ancient Scandinavian societies, and why in Denmark there are more place names related to this deity, and also Týr, but then in the sources, particularly in the Prose Edda, Odin seems to be the most important deity, almost to the point of being the major deity, because in the Prose Edda Odin is seen as a god not only related to war, but also poetry, and here we can see the connection between poets and the military and political leaders. 

Being the major deity, or seeming to be the major deity, might be one of the aspects that shows us the influence of Christianity. The Catholic Age in Iceland (1000-1550) changed pagan behaviours a lot. Public sacrifices to the Germanic gods and the traditional faith was kept in private, in hiding. The conversion was a prolonged gradual transition, from generation to generation the new faith, and the culture along with it, began to take hold. Icelandic scholars travelled abroad to learn the new faith, and schools were established in Iceland itself, and 100 years after this slow process of conversion, the Icelandic language was first used to write down histories, sagas and poetry. During Snorri Sturluson’s time, in the 13th century, was a time of Danish dominion in Iceland and a sort of golden age of Icelandic culture and literature. Poems of the Poetic Edda were committed to parchment during this time, also, and Icelanders already lived really comfortable with their national Catholicism.  

Snorri Sturluson was a man of power, very active as a politician, and Christianity was also very active in the Icelandic political network. So you can’t expect Snorri Sturluson to write something completely pagan and get away with it during this time. There was the great risk of losing his position in the Icelandic society, so if you read the Prose Edda, you can see a lot of Christian influence; you will see the Icelandic political and social realities printed in this work. So we need to read it and go beyond the metaphors, try to separate what is Christian and what is pagan, so we can understand the religious background of the Norse societies, and of course we need to already have a certain knowledge of the pre-Christian Germanic religion in order to understand it better.  

Now, in terms of the Poetic Edda, the majority of the information in there comes from WesternScandinavian sources – Norway and Iceland – with a Germanic influence, of course, in some of its compositions and even Irish, in some of the poems. But what we have in our hands nowadays is the written version made in Iceland, therefore, culturally shaped by Western-Scandinavia. The material of the Poetic Edda was written during the 13th century, but its contents can be dated between the years 800 and 1200 (the Viking period of Scandinavia). Some of the elements come from a much earlier age, through oral tradition, but the form in which they were preserved is definitely medieval. The skalds who composed these poems may have been pagans, but they were aware of Christianity and Islam, which may or may not have influenced them in creating such tales. Furthermore, the religious understanding of the Central-European Germanic peoples who fought the Romans, is very different from the medieval far-travelling Vikings. So it’s a great mistake to think the Vikings subscribed to the exact same mythology as the Central-European Germans a thousand years before. Religion in prehistoric Europe was not a static unchanging tradition, but a wild field of creative innovations, and that sort of thinking lasted till the middle ages.  

In conclusion the Eddas reflect late Icelandic believes rather than a Pan-Germanic mythology, but they are still great sources to understand Norse mythology if your mind is opened to the fact that what is written there isn’t purely pagan, and you have to accept that a Germanic religion doesn’t exist as a whole, a unified religious belief; it is a beautiful variety of pre-Christian believes mixed together to give us a better understanding of the world.