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you can save the website for yourselves with https://www.httrack.com/
when i downloaded the site it is 550MB is size for me. its pretty slow to go from page to page but hey great for archiving and you can browse the website while offline. First time using it and it was really easy.
Thought I'd share this, since it didn't seem to have been done before. At least reddit didn't tell me so. If it has, my apologies.
Here is the site.
>Why?
Because the same question can be asked, with just as much validity, about reconstructing Heathenry.
> I haven't even seen people suggesting animal sacrifice in Asatru circles until the last two or three years.
this says so much more about you than the provenance of Animal Sacrifice in Modern heathenry. Mike Strmiska was writing about this almost 10 years ago. The first blót by the Theodish was back in the 80's.
But yeah, you go on about how its new.
>It isn't essential.
some sort of evidence is going to be needed here.
> and I'm not sure it's something most people should be doing anyway.
This I can agree with. It takes time and skill to do it right.
Probably the most applicable.
Basically, South/East England is the most Germanic in Britain, but pretty much all Europeans share at least one ancestor going back 1000 years and are somewhat related anyway. Stop worrying and don't waste your money on less accurate tests, you're very likely a mix of both.
Several browsers on iOS and Android provide adblocking heh. (edit: a lot of people adblock with a Pi-hole too https://pi-hole.net/)
Regardless, I'm going to get soooooo rich off of 1 or 2 people in a sub with a whopping 6357 subscribers visiting one of my blog posts and a CPM add loading... The traffic from this sub over the next year to that domain will generate less than 5 minutes of the organic traffic that the site gets...
It's obviously fiction, and it's quite entertaining. But it has good lessons to impart.
I've got the above site playing the 2nd episode on my 1st gen iPad right now. Just press the little x on the ad that appears over the main vid, then close the pop up that appears, and the vid should be ready to watch.
If the problem is caused by connecting to the internet from New Zealand (i.e. the Gov blocks certain sites or whatever) then use a proxy to connect. Do it though HideMyAss or similar and you will appear to be connecting from another country.
In terms of using it as a language, it's important to remember to match runes to a word by sound, not letters.
There's also a good (compete) digital version that is ON/Eng on Scribd (I hope this isn't a mobile version of the site, sorry if it is!). I really wish there was a physical copy of this edition. It uses the Bellow's translation.
So you should do these things but you have no obligation to do them.
seems legit.
I think Aristotle really nailed it when he wrote that one must be like an archer- aim to do the most virtuous action you can, like the archer aims at a target. It is an active process that cannot be reduced down to lists or dogmas, however virtues like those pointed out in these lists (bravery, hospitality, honor, etc) are self-evidently good in general unless they slip into the realm of excess (vice). Which is why one must be like an archer and aim at the right application of the concept of a virtue without slipping into excess or shortage. One ought be hospitable, but not so hospitable that he makes others dependent or put his own house at stake. One ought be brave, but not foolhardy. One ought be honorable, but not so concerned with honor that he forgets the rest of his moral sense in order to keep an oath or preserve his reputation.
I can't recommend the Nicomachean Ethics enough to anyone interested in virtue ethics (of which heathen ethics are a kind).
I'd definitely recommend Our Troth as it's something I'm always going back to for reference but to add to your list I'd say A Practical Heathens Guide To Asatru is another good place to start (although I'd be wary about some of the parts on magic/ divination)
Just like everything else Asatru, it's largely (and frustratingly) oral traditions. My advice is that you don't limit yourself to purely Heathen traditions. It's okay to read Christian based healing material, because they are all invariably connected to the ways of our ancestors.
I'll try and find some good links to books I have read for you
Edit: I love this book. The fella who wrote it is christian though. Great read.
Her name actually was the "Sun-Goddess of Arinna", which was the capital city. (Although some sources call her Arinniti.)
While Runic Era was an amusing, if also unused, thing for me in my teens, I've just stuck with BCE/CE. I've used Englatheod's Anglo-Saxon reconstruction in order to calculate the month and the day, but the year itself never comes up. I have considered going by an estimation of when Germanic tribes went to England, but it's too open to variation caused by new evidence.
Even the month names are debatable, as non-Bede sources used different names for some months. Everything was very localised, as to be expected. I gave up a long time ago.
> I would think that accusation would fall more squarely on a man who sought to Hellenize the myths into a mythic cycle based on his classical education than on one who integrated them into the history of his people.
Whether Saxo's euhermization of the Norse myths was a result of classical education is irreleveant, the end result was euhermized myths. That's the leading theory anyways, but take it from the scholars.
>So your pantheon consists of Odin, Thor, Freyr, and basically no one else, then?
Yank down that straw man, you should know better. I mention archaeology because it provides us with the best evidence regarding the actual practices of the time. Literary evidence such as mythology and historical accounts could also cause me to change my mind on whether Loki is a kinslayer.
Although I've certainly disagreed with how he's presented evidence and practices and publicly so on some of his posts, Swain Wodening could still be useful for finding information or the odd bout of inspiration. I never saw anything from him saying why all of his accounts went dark at once. I'm terribly curious.
As for losing content from him, it does appear that everything is intact on the archive of his WordPress.com account. https://web.archive.org/web/20140628214653/https://swainwodening.wordpress.com/
Searching on Abe Books and limiting the format to "hardcover" I was able to find at least a few results of each. Even a Bellows translation hardcover .
Here's the result list for Snorri's Edda .
Okay, so I can't find my book, but here is a page from that Atila book I do have describing Athanaric leader of the Thervingi converting back to Nerthus. Going through a few more places tells me that this information comes from Tacitus and Sozomen but we don't know much else than that there was a wagon involved in the ritual for Nerthus (if it was indeed Nerthus).
SO...not much again, but still something. Hope you find more, it'd be interesting to read about.
This artwork is being made by an artist for an RPG game called Fate of the Norns. It is somewhat cartoonish, but I like them quite a lot. I've contacted the artist, and she's informed me that a lot more of them are on the way, and that people may be able to order prints of them in about a month.
Also, I just remembered:
It is wicked dated but Scribd has a free copy of <em>Way of the Heathen</em> by Garman Lord. Might be worth you checking out.
Maybe in Portuguese, but I've never heard Cuneiform outside this:
>adjective
>1. denoting or relating to the wedge-shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit, surviving mainly impressed on clay tablets. "a cuneiform inscription"
Indoctrination has become a buzzword that gets overused and misunderstood. I'm guilty of this as well. This sums up what I was trying to get across when I used that word. Here is what Merriam-Webster has to say about it.
If my kids are all about being Heathen/Wiccan, then great. Both of us will support their choice and teach them everything we know. But we wont pass our teaching off as "The Truth". It will be given from the context of "this is what I believe, this is what they believe". In a Christian church as a child, I was expected to buy into whatever was being taught. Questioning the validity of those beliefs was discouraged. Exploring other religions was discouraged. Hell my parents didn't want me to read the kid series of "Left Behind" because our particular flavor of Christianity didn't believe in the rapture. That is what I'm thinking of when I say that I don't believe in indoctrination. I won't be telling my children what they need to believe. I will just help them find what is right for them.
Edit: Punctuation
A good summary on the subject is <em>Race and Blood in the Iberian World</em>.
Basically, an Anti-jewish revolt in Toledo led to a law that codified "new Christians" and "old Christians" based on skin color. This was compounded by other myths and systems to eventually become the racial narrative we know today.
I made an audible account a couple months back and I picked up The Age of Vikings by Anders Winroth. It's got a lot of really interesting information on early Scandinavia and the impact of Norsemen during the middle ages. I don't absorb academic and historical texts well as it usually ends up as an impromptu nap. Listening while I work is much easier for me to glean information. There's a couple sagas and Edda's I've got lined up for my next purchases that I'm really looking forward to.
https://www.amazon.com/Age-Vikings-Anders-Winroth/dp/0691169292
I found it on Amazon. I'll see if I can send you the link. I /think/ you can get it legally as a free pdf, but I am not 100%
Edit: Amazon Link
https://www.amazon.com/dp/110763234X/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1SUCGR33A18YX&colid=306UI30TPLGWI
Hello, I'm Marijn
- I've been interested in heathenry for about a year
- I've been serious about it for about 9 months
- I focus on ancestor worship and luck
- I'm currently having a great time with Greer's "A World Full of Gods"
It was an interesting time, especially when you also factor in the Icelandic reformation and the first translation of the Bible into Icelandic and the witch trials in Kirkjuból.
The specific publication I am talking about is not the Galdrabok, but another manuscript of healing and charms that would be more reflective of low magic. It was only recently translated into English as "Norse Magical and Herbal Healing" in 2011 by the illustrious and amazing Ben Waggoner. (I am required to engage in puffery when speaking of my beloved kindred brother.) His research (which is summarized in his 40 placed introduction) has information on more low magic that does sometimes include the runes along with prayers to angels. It's actually a really good read if you have interest in herbs, medicine, or low magic from that era.
Handbook of Contemporary Paganism (Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion) https://www.amazon.com/dp/9004163735/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZSEnybK9NBHAH
Edit: don't listen to me, though. Lauren knows more than I do about this subject.
I did the Thor as more one large shape that I sculpted off of, but I did the head separately as I wanted to make sure I got the detail right. The Freyr was a little trickier as it's a thinner figure, so I did the lower body as one piece, the torso and arms as another, and the head separately again. I find it easier to break it up into smaller pieces. I merged them all before putting it in the oven. You're right, the tools do help "carve" the details and apply the smaller pieces (the bars and ball on Freyr's hat, for example). I bought my set of simple tools on Amazon, here's what I went with: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016ZG8UJK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_t8udybMHYV7TT And I'm totally down for a new sub based on people's art/idols/woodcarvings, that could be cool!
Can you provide some sources for why the information contained in the article is inaccurate? Other than /u/ironreaper1832's history.
ETA: It would appear that the website is for a publishing house, Spangenhelm Publishing, but it appears to basically be a self-publishing company with only one title by a second author. The author of the article has written a book on the Vikings as well as a fiction series titled 'The Thrall'.
Dammit. So I always heard that Thursday is supposed to be linked back to Viking time as Thor's day. Is that wrong also? And ALL my reading I've done, it always pointed towards thurisaz being closely tied to Thor as in meaning strength and such. I have a book that has been my primary source of info on the runes, called "A Practical Guide to the Runes" by Lisa Peschel, that led me to believe that thurisaz would symbolize traits similar to what Thor embodies. So much so that I was going to take a pic of the page of the book at work today and post it here to prove I'm not crazy that I saw thurisaz linked to Thor. Dammit, everytime I think I have something figured out, I find out it may be completely wrong. Or my source of info is completely off, in which case how the hell am I supposed to know what a "good" source of info for this stuff is? I mean, hell, even a quick Google brings up this page that says thurisaz is a rune that can symbolize qualities of Thor. And besides, I guess it doesn't even have to be Thor himself, I'm just needing a rune that invokes defensive strength, aggression. Basically I'm going for a line that says "first, keep a clear head and plan your actions, then enact that plan with aggression and force, fearlessly. This will give you victory" So I guess it doesn't even have to mean Thor specifically, but I want a rune that embodies his strengths. All my research has pointed to thurisaz.
Yeah to the Thur(s)day/Thorsday, I don't think that's wrong...it just changed over time. I'm not familiar w/ Lisa Peschel, but Llewellyn is not (ever) where you want to look for solid information. I don't doubt that you'll find the same thing repeated on the internet, that's how these things tend to work.
It feels to me like you might be rushing this, why not spend a little more time getting deeper into the subject? You could try the Rune Primer by Sweyn Plowright. I recently got the kindle version for $5 to replace my outdated pdf. It's not esoteric at all, not magical. After his explanations and translations of the rune poems, he gives some background of the Rune Gild, etc. and has a pretty thorough discussion of what/who to avoid in your rune studies. It's great background, I think.
I see that he gave this book a strong recommendation for beginner esoteric studies. Maybe that would be a place to start?
From many, many years of study both independantly and under knowledgable men.
I would recommend you start with Road to Hel: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature if you want to understand the direction I come at the topic from.
Eh, I'm going to hold this off until I get some more substance behind my words, I've heard that this guy argues that they're the same entity, and that Snorri's just been too careful with kennings.
Due note that I haven't read that book, it's just hearsay.
It may be pure speculation, but there are others who believe this may be the case also.
I've been looking for a better instrument mic as well, I've been mulling over this joker.
The one I'm working through now is Chickering's. It comes highly recommended by crumpy old Theodsmen who's initial reaction is to read it in OE. :P
Hindu is an Indo-European 'family religion'. There are many similarities between Hindu and Northern-European myths. Georges Dumézil wrote entire books about it. Fascinating!
Anyway. The Lecouteux that is referred to wrote a book called: Phantom Armies of the Night: The Wild Hunt and the Ghostly Processions of the Undead". I haven't read that book, but his article in "Tyr Journal volume 4" was not too convincing to me.
Kris Kershaw's book about "The One-eyed God: Odin and the (Indo-) Germanic Männerbünde" mentioned by Skollgrimm is a descent book. It seems that by now the English original becomes relatively affordable again. A couple of years ago the original was very expensive and the German translation much cheaper. Hence, I have the translation. Kershaw does not present much new information when you know the works of Otto Höffler (i.e. "Kultische Geheimbünde der Germanen" (1934)) or the works of Jan de Vries (mostly "Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte" (1956 / 1970)), but since both books are in German and out of print, Kershaw's little book is a fair alternative.
Speaking of Jan de Vries. Not much of his has been translated to English, but his massive article "Contributions to the study of Othin..." is and it contains a lot of information about the Wild Hunt. It is available on Northvegr, which is your general source of texts.
I'm glad you haven't given up. This community can take some getting used to. :) We're all a bunch of assholes, but we're assholes who give a damn.
I'm interested in researching the topic but haven't done so. /u/PM_ME_YOUR_BUG_PICS has done some hands-on research and might be able to shed more light as well.
If she's sober.
EDIT: I will add that Alaric Albertsson details a little bit of seidhr in Travels Through Middle Earth, which is an excellent read on Anglo-Saxon paganism. He has another book called <em>Wyrdworking</em> that might be more on-topic, but to /u/Forvrin's original posts, sometimes understanding the source and culture behind these things is much more important up front. W/o context, it changes the meaning.
This might suit your needs, although it is merely fiction. John Gardner's alternate take on Beowulf, told from the perspective of the misunderstood monster Grendel is downright hilarious while also having a lot to say about existentialism. Of course, I'd recommend reading the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf first--and why not? The language is beautiful, and reading between the lines reveals how Christian Anglo-Saxons felt about their proto-Viking pagan ancestors. Give them both a whirl! Here's a link to each:
I just got Viking Language 1 by Jesse L. Byock from Amazon, has anyone else heard anything about it? I'm really interested in languages and this seemed like the best way to get into reading Old Norse.
IMO we are pre-disposed culturally and genetically to 'work better' with certain mythologies. From what I think, and from what I sense of /u/Skollgrimm I would say yes, that is what he is saying. At least that is what I think he was getting at. /u/Thundersson does make a good point that we are all mixed-breeds anyways, but still, In the same way music composed in an East-Indian scale will ALWAYS sound better to those whose genetic composition is East-Indian in majority than to those whose genes are not, the stories and patterns born from one's Ancestors will "sound" better to the descendants of them. There isn't much neuroscience and genealogy being done on this matter as is being done on say, music, but science is coming in on our side. Off the top of my head I can think of, This Is Your Brain On Music, which begins to take a look at inherited musical/ lyrical /poetical taste.
>> Had attempted a few times to read the Poetic Edda after finding it at the campus library, but never got myself to sit still long enough to do that
Same here, until I found a (translation) version that worked for me.
This version was easy to understand and felt more natural (for lack of a better description):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1624663567/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I can recommend Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia by Turville-Petre. In the "Guardian Spirits" chapter he talks about the Fylgja and Hamingja. It's not a long discussion, but quite in-depth and informative. The book itself is otherwise an excellent source on the religion.
As I happen to have it here on my computer, I can tell you that he considers the two concepts comparable--in fact, some original sources use the words interchangeably--but there are subtle differences. A Fylgja is practically always personified, usually as a female or an animal, that follows people (or families) from birth. It seems to be somewhat synonymous with soul, but it can be seen, but only in a dream or a vision. When that happens, it's usually to foretell something, both good and bad.
A Hamingja however isn't always personified and isn't as strictly bound to a person--it may even be borrowed! It also seems to have gained a more abstract sense over the years, i.e. luck, compared to a Fylgja that was usually portrayed as a being of sorts. The Hamingja is therefore inherently a positive force. Its etymology is also interesting, but its original compound is from 'hamur' (skin, cover) and 'ganga' (to walk), so it's basically 'a being that transforms', but the word 'hamur' was also sometimes used to mean 'fetch' in some sources.
I hope that may have helped a bit :)
A Practical Heathen's Guide to Asatru has been a pretty good foundation for me, give it a crack. It lays down a lot of the basics, including generally accepted forms of both blóts and symbels.
Just got my copy in a few weeks ago from amazon, and I've got to say that I really enjoy it. If you haven't read Rydberg's Investigations Into Germanic Mythology then I'd highly recommend it as it would explain a lot of the interpretations. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with a multitude of Rydberg's conclusions, but he does have some incredible insights that really caught me off-guard.
It was actually a work of fiction that opened my eyes to heathenry and the idea of old gods existing. The series is called The Iron Druid Chronicles. Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but if it is and you don't mind a bit of poetic license (obviously)... It's an urban fantasy series taking place in modern times and features a 2,100 year old shape-shifting, plane-walking druid, a hilarious talking dog, several pantheons (obviously as a Druid the Celtic pantheon is featured the most, but the Norse are also featured heavily), and lots of other adventurous things you'd expect in a fantasy series. If you want to check it out I actually suggest going the audiobook route instead of the book route because the narration is fantastic. I've both listened and read but the narration just brought everything to life more than my imagination could. http://www.amazon.com/Hounded-Druid-Chronicles-Kevin-Hearne/dp/0345522478
I've read them, I know them, but I don't know of any good sources for research on them. Can you point me in the right direction? Any good sources you know for studying OHG itself would also be great. So far I only have this book.