from the roots of Yggdrasil

a devotional blog for these gods|no Nazis allowed

[targentis]

not to be Heathen on Main TM but whenever i would read about Odin dropping inspiration on people in a kind of maddening, frenzied way, i never really Got It until literally today. i was feeling apprehensive about writing tonight, but i finally resolved to get my shit together and at least redo my altar because it's just been gathering dust for like two years and i've been feeling the need to revamp it into specifically an ancestor veneration sort of altar for various reasons. anyway, did that, but there's this little amulet that i have with Huginn and Muninn on it, and literally as soon as i touched it i felt this intense burst of energy and adrenaline. almost panic, but not quite, though if i didn't know better i would probably freak out about it and take it for a panic attack.

anyway, i pulled a card from the oracle deck i use to communicate with the gods, a sort of "what the heck am i feeling right now" kinda draw, and i pulled a card featuring the rune ansuz--like. Odin's rune. essentially his little "GO WRITE WHAT ARE YOU DOING WAITING AROUND FOR" kinda confirmation.

anyway, i did write, and now we're catching up from all the days we missed last week. and now i feel like we have more of a direction because i was forced to trust in my intuition and just blindly follow the inspiration train just to get all that energy out of me, so. LIKE. THANK YOU DAD.

[avichigda]

I wish blonde people were real...

[thorraborinn]

Rune meaning exercise

Find a list of rune “meanings” (not translations, but like “*ūruz signifies ‘strength’”) written by someone else, e.g. Sunnyway or something like that. Then, gather what primary sources you can – rune poems, for instance. Then create a new set of meanings for the runes that arguably maintains continuity with those primary sources, but which is completely different from the meaning supplied by what you found (e.g. “*ūruz signifies nature that cannot be domesticated”).

[broomsick]

Get to know the lesser-known norse Gods & Goddesses,

a quick rundown!

Just a heads up before we start, some of these are extremely obscure and MOST of these have showed no evidence of ever having been worshipped in Scandinavia. Still, I think it’s interesting to learn about them so that their stories, however hazy they may be, might not be forgotten. 

Bragi, the Learned. Wise and prolific in his art, he is the bard who plays his tunes in Óðinn’s hall. He shows extreme skill with words: his name even signifies “poet”. As a symbol of this, he was said to have runes carved on his tongue. He is associated with art, song, but most of all poetry.

Eir, the Healer. Either a Goddess— handmaiden of Frigg, or a Valkyrie, she is said to sit on the healing  mountain Lyfjaberg. For this, she is called upon when one desires for their wounds to be tended, whether they be physical or invisible. She is the patron of physicians and healers, overseeing matters of medicine.

Kvasir, the Wisest. Created by the Æsir and the Vanir at the term of their war, Kvasir was the symbol of their newfound peace. To him, people could ask any question which haunted their minds and he would reply with advice so wise it satisfied all. Some would travel for miles to seek his counsel, before he was slain by two dwarves who sought to collect his holy blood for themselves. He is loosely associated with wisdom, spiritual teachings and peace. 

Ullr, the Hunter. Just like Skaði, Ullr is tightly connected to winter and skying. His most prominent feature is his unparalleled talent for hunting and archery, thanks to which he is now called upon for good luck in hunts. According to some theories, he was said to watch over vows and grant safety in the snow.

Ægir, the Benevolent. Giant husband of Rán, he dwells with her in a great underwater hall. He often appears as a host for divine parties, welcoming the Gods to feast in his palace. While his wife embodies the dangers of the sea, he represents its better aspects: the gains of seafaring, generous winds and the power of waves.

Delling, the Shining One. Personnification of the dawn, he is attested as husband of the Goddess Nótt, Lady Night. The pair have a son of splendant beauty, Dagr, the day. The phrase “Delling’s doors” is used on many instances in skaldic writings to describe sunrise.

[fernthewhimsical]

I believe the Gods are the mirror of ourselves. Created by our ancestors’ need for answers and meaningfulness (zingeving), which we’ve fed through the years with worship and sacrifice and stories. We gave them their power and through it they became both the collective of all the people who helped maintain them, and grew beyond it. And because they came from us they are a mirror of us. They show us the parts of ourselves that we need, that we wish to emulate, or that we missed in our interactions with others. But it is all within us. They are within us.

However, simply because they live within the realm of the imagination doesn’t mean that they do not have power, quite the opposite. Human inventiveness, creativity, and imagination, our love and compassion and kindness, are the most powerful things we have. They are the source of our power. They are the source of the power of the Gods. Divinity is found within.

When I call upon deity I call upon this collective archetype that we built together, for ages and ages, and I call upon this power within myself. I use the mirror that is the collective stories and the art and the experiences and rituals of others, to call forth my own power. That power that has been with me since birth, but that I have kindled and nurtured and made grown.

I think the Divine is something that we’ve created ourselves. With our own sense of imagination and wonder at the world around us. We saw the beauty of nature and Named it, and we told its stories, and made it sacred. We had so much love for the world around us, and so much love for ourselves, that we made it powerful. That we lifted it above and beyond us and made it mighty. And isn’t that the most amazing thing?

The power of humanity, the power of love and curiosity. The Divine is not somewhere far removed from us, on a different plain of existence looking down upon their creations. It is us. All of us. Throughout all of time and space. All coming together, living life, looking for answers, being hopeful, seeking spiritual meaning, loving each other and the world around us, being kind. That is what builds and sustains Gods.

[mattievictoria]

Odin, Norse god of poetry, war, and wisdom. There were some interesting crow/raven synchronicities that occurred when I first decided to start this drawing… I took it as a sign that I was taking a step in the right direction!

[theyoungwaldschrat]

The Nine Herbs Charm

[theyoungwaldschrat]

Now -after uploading it without comment to give people a chance to reblog it aesthetically- some info:

The rune text in this is the entire 9th century poem of the Nine Herbs Charm, also known as the Nine Worts Galdor. It is basically a magic spell invoking the nine herbs to protect from evil and disease.

I wrote the text in time appropriate Anglo Saxon runes, although runes were not used in the original. The original manuscript was written in a Christian context, even thought the spell clearly contains older, heathen contents. There are efforts in the text to christianize the material, i.e. change Woden to Christ (although not even that consistently) or calling him the high one who hung (a deliberate ambiguity between Christ on the cross and Woden on Yggdrasil). I decided to change Christ back to Woden and use runes to step back from these half-assed efforts to conform to Christianity (and also for aesthetics)

Now for some more detailed pictures of the herbs:

Mugwort

Plantain

Lamb's cress

Woundwort (Betony)

Nettle

Fennel

Chervil

Crab-apple

Chamomile

[ravenousnightwind]

The Norns weave our lives out from the well, and they take our choices by having given us a chance to live. Through our lives the tree is restored. It is through my honoring them that I appreciate my own life, my own situation. I take the time to be mindful of my life through the Norns, and thus welcome my choices to be reviewed, my present to be appreciated, and to merely be aware of the debts that may incur through my life.

[ampervadasz]

Unmute !

[anarch0possum]

this is the coolest fucking wizard ive ever seen

[finngualart]

Freyja

[gracedpalmer]

I got behind on posting commissions again! Some of these already have their own separate posts, but here is a master collection of Mengloth and her handmaidens. There’s not a lot of period information about these healing goddesses, but you can learn more about their modern interpretations here: http://www.northernpaganism.org/shrines/mengloth/information/welcome.html

[chloelemay]

12 frames of animation I made using knitting! I spent a long time on this and I’m so pleased with the results, really looking forward to trying more ‘yarnimation’ in the future. Process video out now too! 🐑

[deorstitchery]

[entheosareian]

Because Christianity is the most common religion, a lot of beginner practitioners think the gods are wrathful. They really really are not.

The gods are patient and gentle and kind. You’re going to make mistakes and mess up when practicing Hellenic Polytheism. I know I did many times. You don’t need to fear their wrath, they aren’t here to scare you into respect.

[crowsonglodge]

I feel like if the Old Gods were so wrathful, we'd be seeing a lot more wrath happening. They've got a LOT to be pissed about.

[sstar-bunny-deactivated20220729]

Your Gods are always there, whether you know it or not, and They supported you before you even knew Their names. Your Gods care about you, They love you, and They will always try to be there for you when you need Them.

It's ok to rely on Them. ❤️

[skaldish]

One of these days I'll talk about how Norse Heathenry is mirepresented to promote an extremely colonized and distinctly American interpretation of masculinity.

[skaldish]

Actually, I've had sake, so I'll gab about this.

The thing that draws a lot of men to heathenry is the promise that their masculinity (and, in some cases, their whiteness) will be affirmed and celebrated. I'd argue that heathenry, as it stands right now as a co-opted and commercialized phenomenon, does the opposite of this: It actually holds masculinity hostage by creating a standard in which a man must conform to a warrior-like role in order to be a true heathen.

This is just repeating the same dynamic we see in the western world, where a man's masculinity is constantly under threat and revoked the minute he does anything outside of the society's narrow definition of what it means to be "a man."

But the thing about masculinity is that it's like any other fundamental aspect of one's individuality; it's an immutable trait and exists no matter the circumstances that surround it. A man is a man no matter what he does, what he likes, who he loves, what he looks like, or the emotions he expresses.

I find it extremely criminal that Norse heathenry is used as a vehicle for continuing Western society's deeply unbecoming and limiting definition of masculinity, particularly when we have literally no evidence that the Norse people defined masculinity the same way we do.

This is especially true considering Norse heathenry is a spirituality that can support the expansion and fluidity of masculinity. I think it is entirely worth the discussion on how to do that.

[skaldish]

I'll also say this: I find it really telling that a lot of Norse heathen men don't regularly identify with Freyr--the god who embodies masculinity--because western society doesn't equate masculinity to Freyr's principles, but instead equates it to being a soldier.

Like...I can get into the entire disconnect men have with Norse heathenry because of Western colonialism.

[skaldish]

For my fellow dudes that are following me: Literally no one has the right to define your masculinity for you, and they certainly have no right to use Norse heathenry to do it.

[lokis-bookish-boy-deactivated20]

I've been wanting to discuss the concept of a fultrui and some of the misconceptions that come with it. Fultrui is the Norse concept of a patron deity and translates to, "most trusted one". A patron deity is a God or Goddess that a theistic Pagan works with most often or feels the most comfortable working with, for various reasons. Popular to contrary belief, however, having a patron deity does not make one specifically monotheistic. A Pagan can have more than one patron deity or they can worship or work with an entire pantheon but have one deity as their patron that they turn to most often.

Some people believe that in order to have a fultrui you must be chosen by a deity. This is untrue. While it is possible for a deity to reach to you because they an interest in working with you, it is also entirely possible for a mortal practitioner to reach out and get the attention of a deity. Having a patron deity usually means that a practitioner has a close, personal relationship with that deity and they turn to them for help and guidance before anyone else.

This relationship is developed over time just like any other relationship with a God or human. It is a relationship just like any other -- it does not mean that you are Loki's or anyone else's favorite. It is not a status symbol -- you are not above anyone else. It is not the equilavent to a romantic relationship -- that is a relationship that must be developed separately. It simply means that you share a close personal bond with a deity.

I also want to emphasize the fact that you do NOT need a patron deity in order to be a "real" Pagan. Your relationship with the Gods and Goddess you worship or work with are valid, no matter what, and you are absolutely a valid Pagan if you choose not to have a patron deity. This is a matter of personal preference, and its not gonna appeal to everyone.

That's not a bad thing. Everyone is entitled to worship in their own way, and no one has any right to criticize them for that as long as those practices are not harmful to others. You can work with one deity or you can work with a hundred as long as you aren't being culturally appropriative. If you're not hurting anyone and you're not appropriating anyone else's culture, you're good.

*Note: Being harmful does include the act of fear and/or hate mongering or falsifying historical facts and/or proven theories.

[thespiritdoll]

👏🏽