#dísir

[norsemythologie]

🌸 Dísablót & Imbolc 🌸

Happy Imbolc to all who celebrate! This holiday marks the mid-point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. I observe Dísablót at this time, and I’m so excited to formally celebrate it this year! Some of my cost effective/minimal effort celebration ideas include:

— lighting candles to represent mini bonfires welcoming in the light, warmth, and rebirth of spring

— styling my altar with images of the goddesses I work with most closely, the Nornir, the Valkyrir, my female ancestors, and any female figures who inspire me

— bake small cakes or biscuits as a symbol of the coming planting season and it’s bounty

— offering tea (awareness in present moment), flowers (requesting good favor and health), salt (purification, taste), one of the cakes made, and some crystals on my altar. The flowers and/or crystals set on the altar convey a meaning of their own and can be chosen according to your goals for the year! (If you work closely with Hel, you may wish to let your flowers wither on your altar to symbolize death and rebirth, a natural process of life)

— making a list of some of my goals for the year, especially in light of how I may or may not have gotten a start on those goals throughout January

— you can even make four holes in your garden, corresponding to the four cardinal directions, and place a cake in each to ask the Dísir to bless the planting season

— additionally, you can anoint your plow or garden tools with oil and cinnamon (consider wearing gloves) for a successful season

— little straw dolls are commonly made during Imbolc to represent the goddess Brigid. Straw decorations or dolls would make a wonderful offering for any pagan celebrating the coming spring!

I hope you all enjoy the holiday, and I would love to see a few images if anyone is setting up their altar in a new way!

[sealwomyn]

Mother, listen as I sing

Keep me in your thoughts

Mother, watching over me

Guard me in the night

Holy Mothers, guard us, guide us

Holy Mothers, guard us, guide us

Ancient voices sing your praise

On this sacred night

Silent through the winter's dark

Straining to be heard

Holy Mothers, guard us, guide us

Holy Mothers, guard us, guide us

Now forgotten rites renew

Praise we sing again

Honor to the mothers all

Hail their holy names

Holy Mothers, guard us, guide us

Holy Mothers, guard us, guide us

Holy Mothers, guard us, guide us

Holy Mothers, guard us, guide us.

[wordsoftheoldgods]

This painting, "Idise" (1905) by Emil Doepler, depicts a scene from the Merseburg Zaubersprüche (magic charms), two texts written in Old High German (Althochdeutsch) around the 9th century. They represent the only preserved texts describing German pagan belief that were not written by Christians. The first of two charms, depicted here, is a Lösesegen (blessing of loose-letting) describing how Idisen (the word is clearly related to the Norse dísir, and some scholars think that the Idisen are roughly equivalent to norse valkyries, based on behavior. The existance of the German word Walküre(n) does not preclude this; as it is simply a later borrowing from Old Norse) freed captured warriors during battle. Like most spells recovered from the period, the incantation consists of a short reference to magic performed in the past, and then an invocation for the effect to repeat itself (as it was then, so shall it be now). Following is the text in Old High German, and then translations into modern German and English. If you want to read this aloud, remember that <z> and <uu> are pronounced as [ts] and [w], respectively. Eiris sazun idisi, Sazun hera duoder; Suma hapt heptidun, Suma heri lezidun, Suma clubodun umbi cuoniouuidi: Insprinc haptbandun, inuar uigandum! Einstmals setzen sich Idisen; sie setzten sich hierhin und dorthin. Einige hefteten, andere hemmten das Heer, andere nesteln an festen Fesseln: Entspringt den Banden, entweicht den Feinden! Once sat Idisen/dísir here and there. Some fastened bonds, some impeded an army, some unraveled fetters: Escape now these bonds! Flee from the enemy! More info to come in later posts! DM for info on sources :)

[norsemythologie]

Imbolc/Dísablót comet? 👀

[sealwomyn]

Honoring the Dísir

“The dísir are family spirits, and as such, should be worshipped in the home.  In the kitchen or beside the hearth are especially appropriate places to honor them.  A shelf with family pictures, or a shrine with an image of the matronae, makes a good focus.  One can raise a horn to grandmothers and other honored female relations or notable women of the past, or build a ritual around the preparation of some traditional foods such as streusl.  A warning -- alive or dead, Germanic housewives are traditionally very good housekeepers, and you should give your kitchen a good scrubbing before calling them there.

In A Book of Troth, Thorsson offers a “Blessing of the Dises” in which several of the women’s personal names with the “dis” element are used in a call to the dísir (p. 168).  Here we offer a short list from which folk can put together such a call.  Those slightly familiar with Old Norse can also easily generate their own idis-names/descriptions; such created forms have been marked with an asterisk (*) here.

* Árdís -- harvest-idis

Ásdís -- Ase-idis

* Barnadís -- children’s idis

* Eplidís -- apple-idis

Freydís -- [this can mean either Freyja’s idis or Freyr’s idis]

Halldís -- hall-idis

Herdís -- army-idis

Hjálmsdís -- helm-idis

Hjördís -- sword-idis

Jódís -- horse-idis (used as a by-name for Hel)

* Móðirdís -- mother-idis

Óðindís -- Óðinn’s idis [only found twice]

Saldís -- dwelling/hall-idis

* Sigrdís -- victory-idis

Spádís -- prophecy-idis [descriptive rather than personal name]

Úlfdís -- wolf-idis

Valdís -- slain-idis

Vanadís -- Vanir’s idis (used as a by-name for Freyja)

Vigdís -- battle-idis

Þórdís -- Þórr’s idis

*  Ættardís -- clan’s idis”

Source: Our Troth, Second Edition, Volume I: History and Lore, by the members of the Troth

[sarenth]

Getting to Know Vættir: Valkyrjur

My thanks to Sigrún for asking me to write this post: “If you include your methods to identify valkyries in your list, it will be a great thing. That, of course, if the Æsir section does not solve it already. Anyway, thank you for your response. If you are willing to share anything more specific, I am really interested.” This post is the result of that request, and I deeply appreciate…

[small-viking]

NA MITOLOGIA NÓRDICA, AS VALQUÍRIAS ERAM DIVINDADES FEMININAS (OU "DÍSIR") QUE SERVIAM AO DEUS ODIN. O SEU NOME SIGNIFICA "A QUE ESCOLHE OS MORTOS". ELAS TINHAM A FUNÇÃO DE SOBREVOAR OS CAMPOS DE BATALHA E SELECIONAR OS GUERREIROS MAIS BRAVOS, GUIANDO SUAS ALMAS PARA O VALHALLA.

[my-dark-star]

Dísir