The Mesolithic Lunar Calendar

The other day i have been writing about the Moon and its importance for our ancestors in ancient times and today i came across a very interesting article about an archaeological finding which comes to prove what i have writen, about our ancestors guiding their lifes through the phases of the Moon rather than the Sun as we do today.

We often hear the words Ancient Astronomy, and we quickly associate that with Stonehenge, or the ancient pyramids of Egypt or even the Mayan stone calendars, which isn't incorrect, however a recent discovery in Scotland shows that these type of ancient calendars are from an early period when compared to these new discovery. In Aberdeenshire in Scotland it was found in 2004 ( however only recently after many years of research we know its true secrets ) a very sophisticated calendar construced by the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers living around 10.000years ago, which consists in twelve pits dug into the earth perfeclty aligned with the lunar progression through the year, this enabled people to determine accurately the Moon's progress by moving a marker post along the arc of the pits, interesting to see that the variable depths of these pits enabled people to measure the cycle of each lunar month, the pits themselves were arranged in a shallow arc, possibly trying to symbolize the movement of the Moon, those pits at one end starting small and shallow, then increasing in diameter and depth towards the middle of the arc, before deminishing in zise again at the other end. This arrangement divided each lunar month into three ten day weeks, representing the waxing moon, the period around the full moon, and the waning moon. There is also an alignment of the midsummer solstice, this might helped people "recalibrate" their lunar calendar. The calendar was still in use around 8.000 BC still in the Mesolithic era to around 4.000 BC the early Neolithic, this might had been the calendar that helped people gaining their knowledge to create other astronomical monuments in the late Neolithic era including Stonehenge.

This is a very interesting archeological finding, showing that in this period that was already an astonishing sophistication in these hunter-gatherers, and their everyday life was probably more nocturnal rather than a diurnal life, the opposite of us nowadays.

As I have writen on another post, to these people the nocturnal life would have been easier for them to hunt, or to move from one place to another without being seen by other rival tribes, the phases of the moon marked the time they spend from one place to another, or how many phases of the moon or how many moons whould have to pass to go from a neighboring village and back. As the moon also has an influence in the tides, by knowing its phases and how it moves across the sky, was vital for these people in relying on the sea for their food, people could predict when the tide would be out and when they should coordinate their gathering of crustaceans, seesnails, limpets, clams and other shellfish species, or they would also know when the ocean itself was far less tormented and could go out fishing.

Taking into account the size of this calendar, it was probably consulted by the entire community as it happens in Stonehenge, there might have been the existance of a spiritual leader, a shaman, with special knowledge about the spiritual world, designing and operating the calendar, these spiritual practitioners may have been women, as it was among the Norse/Germanic communities, with their menstrual cycles adhering to the cycle of the Moon.

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Freyja the Goddess of Love and Fertility

The goddess Freyja is one of the few Norse Deities i haven't talked about much, which is a major flaw from my part because she is a very importante goddess, and she is more than just what people are used to hear about her, the goddess of Love, Beauty and Fertility.
Freyja is the current female ruler of the Vanir tribe of gods and all of Vanaheim, along with her brother Freyr, the lord of both Vanaheim and Alfheim. It is true that Freyja was once married with her own brother Freyr, the union of the two deities of fertility, together they ruled not only over the land and its fertility which is a major need to the Vanir gods for they are bound to the very earth and work hard in agriculture, but also with the fertility of all living creatures. After the war ended with the Aesir agaisnt the Vanir, Freyja, Freyr and their father Njörd, were fostered to the Aesir as hostages in Exchange for Honir and Mimir that went to the Vanir side, an agreement of peace between the two tribes, after this a new law was established by the Aesir gods, that the marriage between siblings would come to an end, and so to Freyja and Freyr new marriages were arranged. She was married with the god Odr to whom she bore two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi.

As it is often heard, she is indeed the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. Love and beauty are often linked, for love is the primary force, the greatest feeling in which we can see beauty in the things, or people, or animals we love, she often shows people the worth of love and how it is crucial to achieve it, and she encourages people to also love themselves the way they are, but not just sticking to that, because some people don't like the way they are and start giving up and with time they will not love themselves, they will just get used to what they are and forget about the rest, and being used to something or someone, isn't love, love is about caring, taking care, is about the deepest feeling for someone but without forgeting ourselves, and loving ourselves isn't getting used to the way we look, is about taking care of ourselves, doing exercise, eating healthy, and it isn't agaisnt nature to put a bit of color in you, beautiful clothing, makeup, jewelry, to enhance your beauty, that is something that we human being do for at least 36.000 years.

Freyja is often called to help with fertility problems, and she does when it comes to us human beings, but she is more turned to the fertility and fecundity of animals and the land especially. However she helps with the fertility of us humans that are in need and ask her that, she is closely connected with all female aspects, be that human or animal.

Freyja is also associated with magic and the old spirituality of the Norse people, Seiðr, we can see this association because she owns a cloak made of falcon feathers which allows the wearer to fly in the form of a falcon, this shows her connection with shape-shifting magic, the kind of power a shaman uses while in trance, animal forms to better adapt to whatever environment, landscape or weather when travelling in the spiritual world. She also has a connection with Horses, she has a title which is "Mare of the Vanir" connecting her to the horses but also emphasizing her role as a fertility goddess.

This goddess is also associated with war and death, such as Odin whose Valkyries/Valkyrjas choose the slain from a battle and carrie them to Valhalla, Freyja keeps half of the slain in her own Halls called Sessrumnir in Folkvangr.

Neo-Pagans nowadays who follow the Norse culture and beliefs like to call themselves Asatru while not knowing the full meaning of the word, Asa comes from the norse word áss which is the word for god and aesir for plural, but the word is associated with the Aesir gods only and Trú means faith or religion in the old Norse, so basically this is the worship of the Aesir gods, not including the Vanir or the deities of the underworld and other beings, and often these Neo-Pagans talk about Seiðr, the magic, spiritual and shamanic arts of the Norse people, but Seiðr is an exclusive art that comes from the Vanir gods and Freyja is the goddess more connected to that and she is the one who teaches that to people and to the other gods, so when people want to practice Seiðr, they are forced to worshiped Freyja and the other Vanir gods, of course that people can only worship those and call themselves Vanatrú, but in my point of view and personal experiences with the Norse deities and spirits, and with shamanic practices, all deities are equally importante, there isn't the existance of a good god or and evil god, all of them have their own skills, area of expertise, flaws, good aspects, and so on, with very human emotions and behaviours, there isn't perfection, there is the importance of being balanced between all things and express ourselves through our honorable acts.

Note: The artwork to illustrate this post is a drawing of Freyja 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

Cult site to the God Ullr

Nowadays it seems that the Norse paganism and all the stories around it gained new fans, after too many centuries veiled under the purple cloth of christianity. Unfortunately people can't name 3 gods that aren't Odin, Thor or Loki, and even those they don't know that well, apart from being some Marvel Heroes, it is interesting to know that people nowadays are talking again about Vikings, and the Norse gods, and the Norse traditional paganism and so on, but only few are really connected with these traditions, only few make of this their true spiritual beliefs. Today i will write about a god that it seems to be forgotten for too long, even by those who closely work with the Norse pantheon, his name is Ullr, God of skiing, hunting and the wild cold forests, once a very powerful god, worshiped as much as Odin or Thor was, perhaps even more, this god may have been one of the most important gods to the Norse/Germanic cultures, for there is a tale that he sat on the throne of Valhalla, while Odin was expelled for a crime, and even after his return, Ullr sits on that throne always when Odin is out, to maintain order and to rule over the people of Asgard.

I have talked about this god at another post, so today i will give you one more proof that this god was one of the most worshiped at the time, by the archaeological findings of Bro, Uppland, outside Stockholm in Sweden. In this area it was found a well preserved archaeological finding, in a place called Lilla Ullevi, or Little Ullevi meaning "place that is sacred to Ullr" and what was found actually tells us precisely what the name implies. The site includes remains from different periods in time, to the 5th century extending to the 17th century, but the collection of stones are from the Vendel and Viking periods. An huge plataform with two stones where a large wooden construction once stood there, and it was also found 65 amulet rings.

It is possible that these rings were used and throwed there to swear oaths, for Ullr is the god of oaths also and he was called upon to witness the oaths, or to forge alliances, or even in terms of trials, if someone was convicted of a crime but if someone had any proof that the person was inocent, he or she would swear and oath to bear witness that the person that was being judge hadn't committed any crime, and the oath rings were cast into Ullrs shrine so the god could help in these moments of trial.

Ullr belongs to the tribe of the Aesir gods but he also has affiliations with the Vanir, he is a god that goes to and fro from tribe to tribe, easily welcomed by boths sides, it is possible that he may be another diplomat of the gods such as Bragi, but with more power and respect, sent by the gods or going willingly in diplomatic affairs with great importance. 

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The Powerful Bear in the Northern Tradition

As the other day i wrote about the Boar as a very powerful symbol in the old European Traditions, i wouldn't want to left another powerful animal behind, which is the Bear, strongly worshiped by both Europeans and the indigenous inhabitants of northern America and Alaska.
For many cultures, Bears were the kings and queens of beasts, the rulers of the wild, the animal on the top of the food chain, for animals such as lions or other fearsome large felines didn't exist in these areas, well in truth they did but it was so long ago and for a short period of time in the early human lives, that people gave more importance to the Bear, for that animal accompanied the lives of human beings for much longer The Bear was also considered to be the old, wise and wild brother of us humans, as Bears can stand upright like we do and walk if only for short periods. For this reason, the Bear was thought to be the mediator between us humans with the spirits, and there was much respect for this animal, caves were found, containing arranged Bear skulls, in honor to these creatures, as altars from the Paleolithic era, a cult to the Bear that dates from at least twenty thousand years ago (20.000).
Bears used to be all over Europe, from the far shores of the Mediterranean Iberian Peninsula, all the way up to the North of Scotland, to Scandinavia and the Eastern regions of Siberia, unfortunately nowadays we can only find these creatures in the cold north regions, and the tales about bears from the people living in those regions are many especially from the Finns, Saami and the Siberian tribes.
 
The bear wasn't just a sacred animal to these people, it was also the source of food, even to the Saami before they had learnt to have reindeer herds, but the respect for this animal wasn't less just because of that, as a matter of fact most animals that were sacred were also eaten and there was always respect for these creatures and there was always special rituals to hunt an animal, to honor the spirit, the life and to thank them for their purpose. In the case of hunting a bear, it was always done during the hibernation of the animal but it was always awakened first, because killing a bear during their sleep, was considered to be dishonorable for both the hunters and the bear, and cowardice for the hunters, after the successful killing of the animal, the hunter or the hunters had to pass through many rituals in order to be safe for the hunters to get in the village, so people could be saved from the spirit of whom the hunters had killed, to keep the spirit from having its revenge upon the tribe, or to keep the spirit of the Bear King or Queen from having its revenge for killing one of its children. During the time of the rituals, no one could look the hunters in the eyes nor talk to them, only the hunters could butcher and cook the body and no one else could come near it before it was ready to be eaten. Before the feast began, a speech of apology and thankfulness was given to the bear, and afterwards the bonés of the animal were buried in a sacred place. These king of acts are still very common amoung shamanic tribes that still exist today, the so called taboos among the shamans and their families, and everyone must respect that and the spirit of the animals in order to safeguard the families and have prosperity and happiness.

To the Norse people the Bear was also a very powerful symbol very much attached to their beliefs and their warrior cults. People believed in many gods but there was always a group of people, a cult, dedicated to just one specific god, and in the Norse culture the warriors dedicated to Odin were called Berserkers, whose name comes from the word Bersark which means literally bearskin, which they wore for magical purposes and to honor the strength of the bear and become like him, fierce, strong, ferocious, violent in battle. These warriors would enter in an altered state of mind and call upon the spirit of the bear, becoming a bear themselves so they would not feel any pain during the battle, in order to keep the fight longer, roaring, putting fear upon their enemies. There are many accounts of this, of these warriors taking the amanita muscaria mushrooms, to enter in trance, and go completely crazy, becoming beasts ( this is from where and why the English word Berserker, or to go Berserker, came from ) wearing bear skins and nothing else, and sometimes even totally naked while going to battle and use their own hands and teeths to kill the enemies and tear off their armour and break their shields.

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The Boar - A sacred animal

The Boar was once considered a sacred animal, as well as his domestic descendant the Pig, not just in to the Norse/Germanic peoples, but to many other European peoples, such as the Celts, the Lusitanians ( which in fact in todays Portugal is still an animal much honored by the neo-pagans ), the Gauls and so on. The Boar is a very intelligent animal and was the sacred animal of the Gods from many pantheons, but speaking of the Norse/Germanic Deities, they hold this animal in a very high esteem, a noble animal renowned for his intelligence, fighting spirit and its delicious flesh. For example, the God Frey rode the golden boar called Gullinbursti and his sister, the goddess Freyja rode a similar mount called Hildisvini.

In many old pagan religions throughout Europe the boar was a symbol of courage and strength to the warrior class, and also the symbol of ultimate sacrifice, giving himself to death so others could eat and survive, the same way as a warrior gives himself to death to protect those he loves to protect his home, the sense of duty, but he doens't give himself so willingly, he will fight fearlessly, testing his enemies and take some of those with him. The Boars blood was often used to purify and sanctify temples and sacred places and even the body.

In other places and cultures, the Boar was the symbol of Death, not just the Boar but all the other animals from the swine family, for Boars and Pigs devoured the crops, livestock animals, children and some times even adult humans, the Boar is so strong so feared, that the devouring demons from many mythologies were seen with huge boar's tusks.

The Boar is an animal who likes to live in the deep forest, near swamps and pools, places seen by ancient folk as the very entrances to the Underworld, the border between civilization and the cosy places of the human communities, with the untamed wild, mystical, mysterious, the place of the Gods and the spirits and the Boar was its fearsome protector.

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Ratatoskr

We often hear about the animal spirits that live in the great world tree of the Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil, the Eagle at the top, the Dragon at the bottom and in the middle the Squirrel named Ratatoskr/Ratatosk, which is said that he carries messages and ocasional insults between the Eagle and the Dragon and to many other inhabitants of the area and also to the rest of the Nine Worlds.

Ratatoskr knows all about Yggdrasil and its surrondings, and also knows about all the hidden places in the Nine worlds, all the passages from one realm to another. This animal is a powerful symbol in the Norse Shamanic practices of old,  it is the symbol that links each sacred being in the Norse mythology by peaceful means, avoiding trouble, avoiding unecessary danger, he is also the symbol that links each realm, just as the Squirrel moves from one tree to another, silent, watchful, without drawing attention, discreet, always with eyes open, so too the Shamans of the Norse/Germanic peoples must do that when travelling between the Nine worlds, but also a lesson to take by all the others who must travel in this mortal realm, searching for food, a place to live, hunting, or whatever one must do into places he or she doesn't know and where extra careful is necessary, always attentive, alert, for possible dangerous threats.
In ancient times people often adopted the behaviours of animals so that they could better adapt to the dangers of living in the wilds, and the Squirrel was one of these animals, having the ability to avoid trouble, hid, blend in the surroundings, a constant struggle to survive, always watchful.

Also Ratatoskr represents a guiding spirit who helps shamans and shamanic practitioners to walk between the Nine realms, teaching to think first before acting, when people are in places they don't know of, its best to assume that it is a dangerous place, and the best thing is to be attentive, avoiding any kind of trouble whenever it is possible.

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The Male Moon and the Female Sun

The Moon has always been of great importance since time long lost in memory, while humanity was still young and looked at the skies for guidance, not only with their deities but also as something to mark the passing of days so they could move from one place to another and count the distance by the passage of the moon. The moon was the first thing to be used as a calendar, in a time when agriculture didn't exist yet, so there was no need to relie on the phases of the sun, the Sun calendar only came during the Neolithic era, when it was requeired to mark the time for planting and harvest, thus beginning the agricultural cycle, that is why that the Moon was the first thing to mark the passage of time, because before agriculture was invented, humans were hunters and nomadic, they moved from one place to another most of the times during the night, avoiding being seen by predators or other humans from other tribes that may attack them. We know this because the oldest lunar calendar ever discovered yet, dates to the Aurignacian period during the Paleolithic era, around 32,000 years ago, the item has a series of Moons, from crescent to full, carved in a snakelike line on a piece of bone, it might have been a portable calendar that would have been carried by hunting trips or in great journeys, as in a way to know how much time had passed, or how much time it takes from one place to another.

The Moon was of such importance for early humans, that there has always been Moon Deities, since the discovery of the oldest archaeological sites that had marks, monuments, paintings etc.. about the Moon, every religion and every pantheon, before the coming of the religions based on abrahamic beliefs, had a Moon deity. According to the old beliefs and shamanic practices of old, the Moon deity is Male, of course there are as much Male Moon deities as there are Female ones, but in most religions from different parts of the earth, the Moon is Male.
Nowadays we are used to see the Moon Deity as Female, but that is because of the link between female menstrual cycles and the lunar cycles and modern pagans associate the moon to the female energies, but this also happens due to the cultural subjects that Wiccans adapt to their beliefs, for the first pagan religions to be study after some centuries hidden under the Christian veil, were the Greco-Roman beliefs, assumptions about the male side being rational and the female side being irrational, wild, and Wicca being the most popular neo-pagan religion these days, the Moon tends to be seen as Female.

In the Norse/Germanic pagan beliefs things are inverted, the Male deities tend to be more aggressive and wild, acting without wasting time thinking about the consequences, more passionate, aggressive, for example Odin as a god of war, wrathful, offensive, or Loki who does things without thinking in the consequences that might come from his actions, too impulsive, some times not knowing why he did the things he often does, or the god Freyr, with much passion, losing his mind for those he loves, doing everything for them, while the female side is more civilized, thoughtful, self-contained, more concerned with the welfare and good nutrition of their children, but they can also be very cold and protective.
In the Norse/Germanic pagan beliefs, Sunna is the Goddess of the Sun, casting brightness, the oposite of her Brother Mani, the god of the Moon, which has a more obscure behaviour, but he is also very enthusiastic with a playful spirit, however that isn't often seen.

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