Rökkatrú

When the faith of the Norse/Germanic old pagan traditions came after so many years hidden because of Christianity, there was given a new name to this neo-pagan belief based on the old ancestral traditions of the Northern peoples of Europe, the name was Ásatrú. The name comes from the word áss or in plural Aesir, and Trú meaning faith or religion in Old Norse, Faith to the Aesir gods. This is the neo-pagan beliefs in the Norse gods of the Aesir tribe, the gods of sky, war and culture, which includes Odin, Bragi, Frigga, Heimdall and so on. But others were more focused in working with the Norse deities of agriculture, fertility, love and magic, more focused in working with the Norse gods of the Vanir tribe, such as Freyr, Freyja, Njord and son on, so it was decided that those people would be called Vanatrú. Then came a new concept called Rökkatrú, for those who worked with the Norse deities of the underworld, like Loki, Hel/Hela, Surt, Fenrir, Sigyn and so many others. Most who really worship the Norse gods, not just one of its pantheons, don't have the need to call themselves by one of these three names, but this concept of Rökkatrú was created to remind people that the deities of the Norse/Germanic old pagan beliefs aren't just the Aesir and the Vanir, there are other gods, more linked to the ancestors and the spirits of the earth which are as important as any other deity or spirit in their own ways. The concept of a world tree isn't exclusive in the the Norse/Germanic beliefs, it is a worldwide concept in many cultures, it is a spiritual concept in shamanism, when a shaman or a spirit-worker journeys into other worlds, to facilitate the explanation of this idea and also facilitate their own spiritual journeys, there is always three levels, above, middle and below or heaven, earth and underworld, and a shaman has the job to travel between worlds, so the world tree is what connects the spirit to these three levels, in the Norse cosmology it connects to Nine worlds, all equally important, all important to the functioning of Yggdrasil.
Worshiping such deities and spirits of the underworld is some times seeing as something Dark, and such deities are Evil, but this is an idea that came from the Christian concept, which in many ways infiltrated many interpretations of the old European Beliefs, so worshiping or working with the underworld deities and spirits isn't evil, because in a shamanic perspective, death is a natural part of life, and the powers of the gods are often expressed through nature, but nature isn't just the beautiful route of the sun in the sky, nor the rain falling, the wind howling or the passing of seasons and theur beauty, nature is also dangerous, chaotic, destructive, death is also part of nature, and this part of nature is often put aside, especially when it comes to neo-pagan beliefs that have picked up all the wonderful aspects of the old pagan beliefs, the most fantastical, which leaves such beliefs incomplete, because the other part of nature is so incoviniente to us, but if we accept it, we can understand the ways of nature in a better way and learn how to live with it.

Nowadays we are concentrated in Heathenry (reconstructionist Norse/Germanic religion), and people prefer to worship the Aesir gods and the Vanir gods, but the gods aren't divided into good and bad, all of them are worthy to honor, all of them have their "area of expertise", all of them are connected with specific things that we need to understand and also work with, to balance our lifes with the natural world, and have balance within ourselves.

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Bindrunes 2nd part

As I have written about Bindrunes/Bandrùnar the other day and about Rune Staves, I would just like to remind you the difference between those and what Bindrunes are, because some people tend to be a litle confused.
The Bindrune consists in a number of runes, usually 3 to 5, of if you already have a great skill in it and need a powerful symbol for diferente actions and events all at the same time, some people do them with 9 to 12, but a Bindrune is the junction of runes superimposed over each other. The result in the end is a completly unique symbol of your own creation, it is possible that someone somewhere might do it similar, but in truth when you are doing one Bindrune, it is your own creation and at that moment, the symbol is yours and yours alone, and from all the runic symbols Bindrunes are the most personal symbols one can get but its creation is similar in many ways to the creation of Rune Staves.
The difference between Bindrunes and Rune Staves is taht you are making the runes directly on top of each other rather than in a linear type, the final outcome of the junction of the ruens of your choice will be just one symbol. Just like the Rune Staves, you have to know if you want a charm with permanente effect of a finite effect, as such, you will choose carefully the appropriate médium to work with. Take into account that by creating a Bindrune, some runes can disappear in the symbol, but as you created them, you have placed them there and for each one you have called upon them and their powers to aid you. If you are uncertain that this symbol will work because one of the runes disappears and you are afraid that the effect of that specific rune will not work with the others, you may have to think carefully if that rune is apropriate for the matter and choose another or try to make the symbol in a way that all the runes are visible. Bindrunes are very tricky, but they are a good exercise for the mind. It might also happen that in that symbol, you might see or it might appear runes taht your didn't intente to place there and their powers will work, either you like it or not, and adding a very interesting fact to this, this is why the rune Is is never places on a Bindrune, at least not intentionally because it is a straight line and can be found anywhere, a very special rune, hidden, but it is everywhere, a mystery rune that warns us that things are not as they seem to be.
The first symbol in your Bindrune will be clearly marked, and then the second one superimposed over the first one and so on. With the power of galdor ( which i will be writting on another post ) you will empower this symbol at the end of its creation.

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Bragi - the Skald of Skalds

Bragi the God of Poetry.eloquence and music in the Norse Mythology, he is also the bringer of peace and a diplomate on his own account, every one in all the nine realms loves him, and when he leaves every place he has been, people stay with thoughts of peace, Community aid and other relations of mutual help.

Bragi is the son of the god Odin, his eldest child next to Thor. The story of how Bragi was born is a very interesting one.
In ancient times when Odin still wandered much all over the Nine worlds, there was a powerful artefect called the Mead of Poetry which was kept by the giant Suttung and guarded by his daughter Gunnlod. Odin knew about this sacred mead and he was determined to take it for his own, so he took up the form of a snake and went into the cave where the mead was hidden. When he saw Gunnlod, he returned to his form and offered himself as her lover. During the time Odin spent with Gunnlod, he drank most of the magical mead and gave a child to Gunnlod. Odin returned to Asgard, where he placed all the mead he had consumed by vomiting it into barrels. When time came, Gunnlod sent their son to Asgard to live with his father. Bragi was brilliant and eloquent, with a beautiful singing voice, great musical talent, and a his presence was the joy of all, and thus he was made the skald of Asgard, but seldom does Bragi stay there. It is said that Bragi is one of the few deities to be welcomed in every place by every one and every race. Such as Ullr, he is a diplomat, but rather than being a warrior, he is a bringer of peace. Bragi is married with Idunn, the goddess who takes care of the orchards of Asgard, whose golden apples keep the gods young.
Story tells us that the mead of poetry was created with the blood of the Vanir god Kvasir, sacrificed for the matter, and that he was just like Bragi, a peacemaker loved by all, some say that Bragi is Kvasir reborn, that his soul went to the mead and was passed into Gunnlod's womb when Odin drank it, but in my opinion, it isn't so, for Kvasir lives in Helheim now and continues to be the same Vanir god that every one loved and he welcomes people at his new Halls, where everyone can enjoy his company and hear his wonderful stories. However, it is possible that his very essence was passed to the mead and Bragi got his powers.

Bragi is the closest god that as ever helped my family as far as I know, of course other deities helped, but Bragi is dear to me and has helped my grandfather and has also helped me, such as Freyr did, but Bragi is more of a friend to my family from my mother side.

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Heimdal's Birth

Along the coasts of Vanaheim, lives the sea god, ruler of the Norse oceans, Aegir. His wife is Ran, and they both live in their great halls, filled with the ghosts of dead sailors, it is there where they go to rest before they are sent to Helheim or any other part of the Nine realms. Aegir and Ran have nine daughters, beautiful and terrible as the sea, they are so named from the eldest to the youngest, Kolga, Duva, Blodughadda, Bara, Bylgja, Hronn, Hevring, Unn and Himinglava. The nine sisters are very protective and have great love for each one of them.
It is said that the Aesir god Odin once laid with one of the nine sisters and she bore him a child, no one knows with which one the god did this because it was an event against the will of Aegir, and each of the sisters made a pact, never to tell anyone, not even their parents, especially their mother, because they feared their wrath would fall upon them, since the Sea gods have no love for the One-eyed one. As such, the nine sister hid in the darkest depths of the ocean, never to be found by anyone until the baby was born, when such thing happened, they brought the baby to Aegirheim, and told their parents what had happened, but never told which one of them had the baby. Aegir and Ran tried again and again to know the truth, which one of them was the mother of the baby, but none of them turned against each other, and the only truth that came out, was that the baby was the child of Odin and the nine of them, this is why that in some tales it is said that Odin laid with all the nine sisters. Regardless of  the truth, Ran had no love for this child and as such, the child would not be raised under their Halls, and as the nine sisters had no love for this child either, they agreed with Ran and the child was set on a boat towards the Island of Vanaheim in the hopes that some kind fold there would adopt the child.
Odin had been waiting to see the child, and to see what would happen next, and from Valaskjalf he saw that the child was going towards the coasts of Vanaheim, as soon as he could, he intercepted the child and brought her to Frigga's Halls at Fensalir. Frigga was used to deal with his husband's children from other affairs, and so she took care of the child and named him Heimdal. Frigga wanted to raise the child as her own, but Odin had in mind other plans for his newborn son, he wanted one of his children to come do Midgard and love the Humanfolk, and Odin decided that Heimdal would live two lives, one as a mortal and one as a god. Heimdal was placed on the boat again and sent to Midgard, where a poor fisherman found him and took the child with him. In Midgard he was named Rig, and he grew as fast as a mortal child does. Rig grew happy, but he always felt that there should be more than just that life in the farm of by the fishing boat, and he had a great fear in him, an inexplicable fear for the sea. His mothers watched him from afar, from the ocean, every time he walked on the beach, but the fear of the ocean held him back, and by his mothers he never knew his true origins.
When Rig was old enough, he left the farm and wandered off to many places in Midgard, he had many women and gave many children to those women, this was part of Odin's plan, to spread his blood with the mortals and thus enrich their bloodlines.
After many adventures and battles, Rig was made King, and Odin who was always watching him, was very proud of his son. When Rig came to old age and was lying on his deathbed, he closed his eyes for the last time as a mortal man, and all that stood beside him, weeping, felt into amazement when a great cloud of birds took him a flew off with his body. Rig was taken to Asgard, where he was restored to his immortal self, and he too was in amazement, to wake up in his bed, young and in the land of the gods, and he too shared  him them the same high title and it was given to him the job of gatekeeper of Asgard. Frigga told him about his true name, Heimdall, and took him as a son and he called her mother. In time the real tale of his birth was told to him, and in anger, he holds an hatred agaisnt all the Jotun folk, for coming from one of those wombs, but not knowing which one and being abandoned to the mercy of the waves, and to this day he avoids the ocean, but he keeps a great love for the mortal folk and he is very protective to them, but his heart is hardened because of all the things he knows about his birth and his life, and every time the day of his birthday comes, a great storm is formed on the oceans near Vanaheim, created by their Grandfathers and his nine mothers, to honor him.

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Rune Staves

We have all heard about magical symbols, objects, talismans at least once, or in the context of magic and ancient religious practices, such subject is often heard, so at this post I will be writing about the Runes as talismans, or as in an object that might help in any kind of magical work when dealing with the Norse Gods, so lets start with the Rune Staves.

When those who work with the Norse/Germanic traditional paganism and have the need to possess Runic talismans for their magical work, these talismans are often constructed in the form of staves, also a work very commun when dealing with Ogham, the Celtic alphabet. As you choose runes for spellcasting, you also choose likewise to place them on a stave, usually in series of three or more according with their influences. Most staves consist in either three of five runes, because like so it is easier to manage, anything longer than this, can be very confusing, not just to you, but also with the powers you are working with, keep it simple. Before you choose your runes, you must know if the talisman you are about to create, is a permanente charm or if it is intended to have a finite effect. This is something that you need to take a deep thought, because the purpose of these talismans, are to create an event or to attract something to you or to any one you give 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, destroyed, have it your way. You must take into account that this kind of magical work might be simple, but you can't sit at home waiting for it to work, things don't magically happen, like I have said, the rune staves or any other talisman made of runes or even BindingRunes, help to create or attract an event in your life, and everything in this world to be attracted to something, must be near it or have any kind of contact with, like a magnet attracts iron, so if you create a talisman to find a job for example, you need to go out there, search for a job, you need to take physical action, and the talisman will help you out, it will help in attracting that event into your life, it will attract a job of your satisfaction.
You may use the same runes to attract an event in your life, but know that each rune doesn't also help in things like having a job, but also help in physical or psychological diseases, feelings, and so on, so when you use the same three runes as a talisman to attract a job, in this case a talisman with a finite effect, you will destroy it after, but you can also create a talisman with the same runes, to keep with you, to be permanent, to attract joy, prosperity, contentment etc.
Now the importante thing and harder, when you place your three runes, they have to make sense, the sense that expresses your intention regardless of the direction you read them, of left to right or backwards.

Like I have said before, if the talisman is made for a finite purpose, you will have to destroy it, so you better choose paper or wood to create your rune staves, it will be easier to destroy, unless you are sure that your talisman will have a permanent effect and you already have mastered this, you may create into a piece of metal or even bone.

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Zombie apocalypse during the Stone Ages

Nowadays the zombie apocalypse Tv shows, Movies and Games have many fans worldwide, but this zombie apocalypse thing is much more than a modern horror device, in fact, the fear of the walking dead, coming from their graves to prey upon the living, is  a subject which we can read in almost every culture all over the globe, each religion has its own form of undead, for example the Draugr from the Norse Scandinavian countries,  the ghūl / Ghoul from the Arabian folklore, the Jiangshi from the Chinese Folklore and so on... It seems that we humans have always feared the return of the deceased into the world of the living... but today at this post, I will not talk about the folklore of every culture ( which would be a very interesting subject, but too extensive ), what i will be writing about, is the fact that we thought that such creatures of myth were as ancient as the historical texts..but in truth it comes from a past, way before the first history records.

In Europe and in the Middle East Archaeologists have recently unearthed evidence of a mysterious Stone Age culture that smashed skulls. Human skulls buried underneath an ancient settlement in Syria were found detached from their bodies with their faces smashed in. It appears that the skulls were exhumed and detached from their bodies several years after originally being buried. It was then that they were smashed in and reburied separate from their bodies. This finding could suggest that these people from Stone Age believed that the living were under some kind of threat from the dead. Perhaps they believed that the only way of protecting themselves was to smash in the corpses' faces, detach their heads and rebury them apart from their bodies, which reminds me of how people in Romania back in the Dark Ages and early medieval ages used to kill the so called Vampires, or the moroi or  strigoi, by detaching the head from the body and buring it so, with the tool that was used to cut the head ( usually a sickle, Scythe or a shovel) between each part, so that the body couldn't attach the head again and like so, return. I may have "fled" from the main subject, but a Vampire is also a form of an undead, and also because I love mythology so much.. I couldn't resist.
Back to the subject, archaeologists found a very unusual thing: many of the 10,000-year-old skulls appear to have been separated from their spines long after their bodies had already begun to decompose. Why would this ritual be performed so long after individuals had died? Did they only pose a threat to the living long after their original burial and death? If this was a manner of a  ritualistic exercise, it also raises questions about why only specific corpses were chosen. All of the smashed skulls were from adult males between the ages of 18 and 30. Furthermore, there was no trace of delicate cutting. It appears that the skulls' faces were simply smashed in using brute force with a stone tool. There is always a rational explanation in everything we find, but let us delve into a few facets of zombie mythology. Zombies, as we know, are hungry for the flesh of the living, and the only way to stop them is by striking the head somehow, or the brain. In many zombie movies, this involves shooting them in the cranium. One might surmise that the Stone Age equivalent of this would be smashing in their faces with a big rock and do the most damage possible. Perhaps taking their heads off was then performed to ensure that the job was done and there was no way that these bodies could come to life again. Maybe what seems to be an unearthed body to take its head off and smash the face in, and buried again, was in fact a body that came out by itself, and only after this, it was.. killed again lets just say and placed back into the proper place. But of course, this isn't a thing to be taken into a scientific thesis, according to archaeologists working in this case it is possible that Stone Age people simply believed that they could absorb the strength of the dead young men by performing somekind of ritual, such rituals are commun in many ancient cultures. This would help explaining why all the skulls were from young men. It would also help to explain why the heads were buried directly underneath a thriving settlement. It may also have been an act of revenge.

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Iron age horse found

As the global warming advances every year it melts glaciers and ice sheets, leaving perfectly preserved relics behind, to be found by archaeologists. This was what happened in the past August at Norway. At the high alpine zone, it seems that Iron Age people used hourses to travel from one place to another, or to trade with the near by villages, but going over the mountain passages, which is something extremely difficult. At the Lendbreen glacier near Lillehammer, archaeologists are working fast against the environmental changes, deep in the ice, it might hold ancient relics and preserve them, but once the ice melts and these same relics are exposed to the weather outsider, archaeologists have little time to try to conserve the relic as much as possible in its original state.  It is important to keep the melting ice under constant observation as once an artefact defrosts, archaeologists have just days to begin preserving it.

In this area it is believed that Iron Age people all the way to the  early medieval period, used shortcuts in the mountains to go from village to village and also this might have been the hunting grounds, because when it gets hot in the summer, the reindeer will get pestered by horseflies, and when that happens they move up to the ice to avoid such insects, and this fact made the ice excellent hunting grounds. The horse whose bonés were discovered was probably used to carry reindeer carcasses back off the mountains to the villages below. Along with such discoveries. other items were found, because these people from time to time, going to hunt or trading, they droped personal objects once in a while.

The team of archaeologists have previously found perfectly preserved 1000-year-old horse manure, and horse shoes dropped in the ice. Earlier this year of 2013, they made headlines across the world when they found a 1,700-year-old woollen tunic, fully intact apart from the two patches sewed into it by its iron age owner.