The Norse Mythology Blog: INTERVIEW WITH HILMAR ÖRN HILMARSSON OF THE ÁSATRÚARFÉLAGIÐ, Part Two | Articles & Interviews on Myth & Relgion KS - Your role as allsherjargoði seems quite different from that of other religious leaders in the western world. You do not set or enforce doctrine, and you do not define a specific theology. How would you describe your role? HÖH - This is a good thing about polytheism versus monotheism. Monotheism is one truth for the masses, but polytheism is many truths for the individual. In a way, it’s just turning the tables. I think my role is to teach people respect for this wonderful heritage that we have, [which is] hauntingly simple but still a really workable way of behaving and ethics. We don’t have a revealed truth. KS - I recently read a description of the four men who founded the Ásatrúarfélagið as a poet, a hippie, a theosophist and a Nýallist. HÖH - I think it’s evolved. Sveinbjörn actually said that his idea of founding [the Ásatrúarfélagið] - he’d been thinking about it since the early 1960s. It was really nice. HÖH - Yes. HÖH - This is how it ended up in Iceland. While fire burns,
The Norse Alchemist www.runewebvitki.com The Runic Journey Runes are an alphabetic script used by the peoples of Northern Europe from the first century c.e. until well into the Middle Ages. In addition to their use as a written alphabet, the runes also served as a system of symbols used for magic and divination. Runes fell into disuse as the Roman alphabets became the preferred script of most of Europe, but their forms and meanings were preserved in inscriptions and manuscripts. The primary characteristic which distinguishes a runic alphabet from other alphabets is that each letter, or rune, has a meaning. Today, runes have been rediscovered as a symbolic system and have gained immense popularity as a means of divination. To download a text version of this site, click here. ~ History ~ Meanings of the Runes ~ Divination ~ Magic ~ You are visitor number since August 21, 1996, according to our counter service Other Runesmith Sites: The information on this site is adapted from 'Raido: The Runic Journey' by Jennifer Smith, copyright 1994.
Top Ten Norse Mythology Websites Thor and the Midgard Serpent Face it — Norse mythology is more intense, more shadowy and frightening than Greek Mythology. Jungian writers utilize Greek Myths all the time — but I have found almost no references to Jungian views about Norse mythology. (Please contact me if you know of any). Maybe Jungian writers are scared of the North? It is easy to philosophize and have happy stories if you are living on a Greek Island, with sunshine and plenty of fish to eat. I’ve lived Alaska for over thirty years now (winters here are an acquired taste). It is no surprise to me that the Norse Myths are full of immense and overwhelming forces, full of darkness and death, yet spiritual and soulful at the same time. Before Ragnorak, the apocalypse at the end of the world, are three winters that never end. The Poet Edda Index The Poetic Eddas are the oral literature of Iceland, which were finally written down from 1000 to 1300 C.E. Walhalla (1896) Max Bruckner
Kari’s Voluspa - words of the Volva Huldreblog We inherit everything from our ancestors. In Old Norse this is called oorlog. As cultures go through changes due to environmental strain, war, and other traumas, the mothering of children necessarily shifts. Women's self esteem, emotional maturity, and healthy family and community relationships are proportionate to the self esteem, emotional maturity and healthy family and community relationships their mothers had. The women of Northern European descent lost their rights, freedoms, and respected positions in community with the coming of patrifocal (father centered) culture. I began my journey towards a healthy self esteem as a European American by turning to the oldest known word for a woman of high spiritual and cultural esteem, Volva, Old Norse for staff carrier. The second work, Kjerringa med Staven, is a well known Norwegian folk tune dating from the 1800's or earlier. As an American Volva, it was a bit shocking to find this.Yet, in a way it was no surprise.
Northern Tradition Shamanism: Mastering the Elements excerpt from Wyrdwalkers: Techniques of Northern-Tradition Shamanism Shamans and spirit-workers and even witches and magicians the world over, and throughout time, have learned to master the basic four elements in order to get things done. However, mastering them is much more than just doing a few spells, or contemplating the nature of each element, although that's a good way to start. I should disclaimer, here, that mastering the elements is nothing like some Truncheons And Flagons game of creating "fire spells" and "water spells" and so forth. While there are legitimate uses for those, the kind of shamanic work that I was set to do by the spirits around mastering elements is very specific. That said, here is the N-T Absolute Minimum Necessary To Master The Elements. AirFireWaterEarth Mastering Air Useful Gods/Spirits to call upon for help: If you're eclectic, Oya, the Morrigan, Athena, Hermes. *1. *2. *3. *4. *5. *6. 7. 8. Mastering Fire *1. *2. *3. *4. 5. 6. *7. Mastering Water *1. *2.