Lair of the Ice Raven

This is the blog of a Heathen dedicated to Woden. Click here for my main blog. Spells, Prayers, and Other Needful Things.

[midgardian-metal]

A VIKING YULE

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Hall Not a creature was stirring, not warrior nor thrall And I in my armour, my greaves and my helm Was drunker than anyone else in the Realm. I staggered upstairs and fell into bed While four quarts of mead were ablaze in my head. Then up from below came the sounds of a brawl So I grabbed up my axe and ran down the Hall. I missed the last step and crashed down in a heap Thinking, ‘Why can’t those low-lifes downstairs go to sleep?!’ When what to my wondering eyes should appear But two brawny strangers, wielding mallet and spear. I said to myself, ‘We’ll soon have them beat!’ Then I noticed ten warriors laid out at their feet. I gave out a yell and leapt into the fray…. I’ll always regret my poor choice of that day. For the one laid his hammer to the side of my nose And up, up, up to the rafters I rose. Then came a lone frightened voice from the floor, ‘Those are no mortal warriors — that’s Odin and Thor’ Then they looked at each other and they said, ‘Battle’s done. Now they know who we are, it no longer is fun.’ Then Thor raised his hammer, and his elbow he bent, And with a loud crash, through the ceiling they went. I crawled through the Hall and flung open the door, Not really sure that I’d seen them before. The snow bathed in starlight, the moon like a glede, I saw them ride off on an eight-legged steed. And I heard them exclaim, ‘ere they flew out of sight, ‘TO HELHEIM WITH CHRISTMAS, WE JUST LOVE A GOOD FIGHT!’ Hope everyone has a very Blessed Yule! Hail, my Brothers and Sisters!

[midgardian-metal]

Had to bring this back for Yule this year!

[dead-blue-deer]

Giveaway time!! 

Last month I surpassed 500 followers, so I thought I’d mark the occasion with a giveaway! 

The prize consists of three craft-grade skulls (woodchuck, muskrat, and cottontail, all wild-found, no lower jaws); a deer cannon bone, astragalus, and tooth (wild-found); several gray fox teeth (roadkill); a glass vial of iridescent ringneck pheasant feathers (roadkill); a shelf fungus; and three different stones I picked up off the shore of Lake Superior: an omarolluk, fossilized coral, and a rock containing native copper, epidote, and calcite. 

Rules: U.S.A. only, as this giveaway contains animal parts. You don’t need to be following me to enter, but it would be cool if you did! Likes and reblogs both count as entries, so you get two chances to win. No giveaway blogs, please. The winner must have their ask box open and must be comfortable giving me their name and mailing address. I’d rather not ship anything to minors, so please be 18 years of age or older.

I’ll be picking a winner on Friday the 13th of May at 2 PM EST. Good luck!

[This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Tumblr.]

[gefdreamsofthesea]

The Mystical Wisdom cards decided to lecture me about positive change again.

Who else wants a lecture from these cards?

[is-hrafn-blog]

I'm game if you're still doing these.

[magpiesmagicnestarchive]

[shoreofmysoul]

When male reenactors try to claim that valkyries were not warriors, but only glorified chauffeurs and waitresses for einherjars, you can respond with:

The name valkyrja means “chooser of the slain”: Valr (the fallen) and kjósa (to choose). They choose among the slain.

They have names that denotes warriors like: war (Gunnr), battle (Hildr and Hlökk) and spear-fight (Geirahöð). [Völuspá and Grímnismál]

They bear weapons, helmets, shields and armour - sometimes even blood-drenched: Then light shone from Logafell,and from that radiance there came bolts of lightning;wearing helmets at Himingvani [came the valkyries].Their byrnies were drenched in blood;and rays shone from their spears [Helgakviða Hundingsbana I], and the valkyries seated on horses, wearing armour and shields, leaning on spears in Hákonarmál.

Valkyries sometimes descended into battle to protect kings: Helmeted valkyries came down from the sky—the noise of spears grew loud—they protected the prince;then said Sigrun—the wound-giving valkyries flew,the woman’s mount was feasting on the fodder of ravens [Helgakviða Hundingsbana I]*

Odin cursed a valkyrie, Sigrdrifa, with eternal sleep because she had struck down the wrong king in battle. The curse was that she would never again fight victoriously and it condemned her to marriage. Sigrdrifa’s response was that she had sworn a great oath to never wed any man who knew fear. She is woken by the hero Sigurd and in return grants him great wisdom. [Sigrdrífumál]

Valkyries decide how battles will turn out: They are sent by Odin to every battle, where they choose which men are to die and they determine who has victory [Prose Edda], in Njáls saga they weave the battle using entrails, and in Hákonarmál the valkyrie Skögul tells the fallen Hákon the battle turned against him thanks to them making his kinsmen flee.

In Prose Edda valkyries are even poetic terms for battle.”Skögul’s din” means battlefield, “Gunnr’s fire” means sword, “Hildr’s sail” means shield, “Göndul’s crushing wind” means battle etc.

The valkyries literally say that they’re going to battle: Start we swiftly with steeds unsaddled—hence to battle with brandished swords! [Njáls saga]

(*There’s a lot of cool stories about the valkyries: curses and love and reincarnation. Helgakviða Hundingsbana I tells the story of the valkyrie Sígrun who falls in love with Helgi despite her father having promised her to another man. She and the rest of the valkyries descend to protect Helgi while he wages war against her betrothed. In Helgakviða Hundingsbana II the couple dies, but are reincarnated as Helgi and a valkyrie again.)

[little-miss-rasputin-pageant]

What kind of idiot would dare claim the Valkyries were anything other than warriors?!

[allaboutmyths]

The kind who wants to deny that the Valkyries were warriors because it challenges their beliefs and they can’t handle that. Or at least that’s my guess

[wtf-fun-factss]

Crows pulling tails - WTF fun facts

[pebblegryphon-blog]

A reminder to pagan tumblr:

You do not need to be like your deities to worship them.

You don’t have to be wise to worship Athena. You don’t need to be a traveller or thief to worship Hermes. You certainly aren’t required to be a hunter to worship Artemis. This applies to all deities. There is no requirement to share such-and-such number of traits with a deity in order to worship or work with them.

Because someone reminded me of this earlier, and it is something even I struggle with.

[fooodforthot]

that feeling

[is-hrafn-blog]

YES

[sarenth]

For Mother's Day

For Mother’s Day

Hail to the Mothers with us! Hail to the Mothers who have blazed the path before us! Hail to the Disir! Hail to all the Mothers! Hail Frigga! Hail Sigyn! Hail Angrboda! Hail Freya! Hail Sif! Hail Jarnsaxa! Hail Nerthus! Hail Jörd! Hail Brighid! Hail Lupa!

View On WordPress

[carolinacarnielli-blog]

Valknut.

[scalymaiden-deactivated20180204]

Thor in the Modern World

Just some thoughts I have about Thor and his place in our modern world. I think that mixing reconstructionist elements into pagan practice is a good thing. At least, it works well for me, but I’ve been thinking lately about how my gods fit into the world I live in today.

It’s a world of computers, electricity, global trade, civil right movements and institutionalized education. It’s a world that fundamentally separates us from the things that give us life. How many of us grow our own food and slaughter our own meat? Surely some of us do but a vast number of us live in city centers and in no way participate in the things we require for life.

Some gods already have associations that help them fit more easily into our modern world. Freyr and other fertility divinities have been attached to monetary wealth in a way that makes sense. What was once achieved through abundance of food is now understood through money. Odin and other gods associated with knowledge and wisdom fit well with schooling and college.

But what about Thor, the mighty storm lord of the sky? Where does he fit into our modern life? I’m sure all of us have our own ideas about this, but I realized today as I was thinking, that Thor is an electrical deity.

For me, that makes him more pervasive in my life than any other god. I need electricity for everything, I depend on it for my life. Cooking food, warming my home, connecting to the internet to check my bank statement or my homework, lighting my way at night, transport and connection to my friends. All of these things require electricity and electricity is Thor’s domain.

You are ever present in my life, Thunderer. You run through the walls of my home and through many of my things. You deliver yours gifts to me both divine and mundane so many times every single day. From checking my email to listening to music on the bus, from ordering pizza to turning on a light switch.

I could not live without you.

[is-hrafn-blog]

Defender of Midgard.

[dead-pumpkin-deactivated2018101]

Look at this fluffer. Look at ‘im.

[glegrumbles]

I’d just like to mention:

You can be ace or aro and devoted to deities lumped in with the whole “fertility” thing. You can. You are accepted. Fertility doesn’t have to do exclusively with biological procreation. It’s about bounty and creating things. These things can be intellectual. Artistic. Anything you can imagine. It’s about creation and plentifulness.

Do not feel bad if the sexual innuendos put you off. Non ace/aro people who are devotees, please remember others when posting and tag accordingly. You don’t have to be sexual to be associated with a deity who is commonly associated with sex, but who is much more than that.

[asexual-snowflakes]

Even fertility deities have more layers to them than sex. Never let anyone tell you it’s unnatural or wrong to be ace.

[glegrumbles]

This this this.

You are not broken or lesser.

Fertility deities are not just about “sex” and biological procreation.

[lokavinr-blog]

Guys...We Need to Talk About "The Eddas"

It seems like everywhere in Heathenry people have very polarized views about “the Eddas.” Some treat them like they are divinely-inspired, unquestionable texts, sometimes even going as far as to carry around “pocket Hávamáls“ or conduct Christian-like “Eddas devotionals.” Others mock anyone who references Eddic material in a discussion, claiming that “Snorri wrote it to convert people to Christianity” or something of the like. All I see is inaccurate information everywhere I look, so I decided to make an info post with some basic facts about “the Eddas.”

Read More

[hedendom]

This is a MUST READ article if you are interested in Ásatrú/Åsatro/Asatru/Reconstructionist Norse Heathenry and/or just any type of Norse Heathenry actually.

[woodswitchofthenorth]

Europe’s Newest Vigilante Group Lands In The U.S.

The Soldiers of Odin have established 42 state chapters in the U.S. since February

Members of the organization—which gets its cryptic name from the Norse god Odin—have been patrolling the streets of European cities since last year, in response to a wave of mostly Muslim asylum-seekers coming through the EU’s porous borders. But, the anti-immigrant group has now spread to the U.S. and is growing like wildfire—with the help of a powerful social-media recruitment program, Soldiers of Odin has now established U.S. chapters in at least 42 states since February.

“[Soldiers of Odin] bring together white supremacists, anti-government groups, anti-immigrant folks,” said Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow with the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. “This is a nasty group of people.”

The official Soldiers of Odin USA Facebook page, which started in February, boasts a membership of more than 4,000 people. The page is private, and the movement’s leaders have to accept a person into the group—just anyone can’t just click a “like” button and become a Soldier of Odin. As Pitcavage notes, this doesn’t necessarily mean there are 4,000 vigilantes actively “patrolling” U.S. cities; some are just “cheerleaders” of the movement, he said. But the group definitely has a presence that lives beyond cyberspace.

Their mission can be summed up in a message posted on that private Facebook page where it states that the Soldiers of Odin USA “stands in opposition to the hoards [sic] of ‘refugees’ that have invaded Europe and will soon be coming to America, bringing massive waves of rape and crime with them… We say no!

The Soldiers of Odin have arrived in the United States. You wanna guess how many Heathens are in their ranks?

[glegrumbles]

Fuck this. Racists and xenophobes fuck off.

[is-hrafn-blog]

What GLE said.

[ancestorsofthenorse]

Huginn (from Old Norse “thought”) and Muninn (Old Norse “memory” or “mind”) are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring information to the gods.

[adamz3r0-blog]

Applied for an adjunct professor position. Wish me luck!

[is-hrafn-blog]

Could use some well wishes if anyone feels so inclined.