Though Frigga and the others were warned
And (nearly) all the world made to swear,
The God of Tears (nearly) all the world mourned.
Continue reading
Category Archives: Hall Writings
Baldr’s Blood!
A handout for our April 2013 meeting:
Theories, Speculation, UPG, and Modern Worship
Alternate Versions of Baldr’s Death:
Though Snorri’s account with blind Hoðr being tricked by Loki into hurling the fatal mistletoe at Baldr is the most widely-known version of the death of Baldr, Saxo Grammaticus tells a different story in Book 3 of the Gesta Danorum. Continue reading
Vafrlogi, Gambanteinn, and Skirnismal
A handout for our March 2013 meeting:
The poem appears in its entirety in Codex Regius, and most of it (1-27) can also be found in AM 748 I 4to (a fragmentary manuscript from ca. 1300 best known for having the only extant text of Baldrs draumar). It is in the second manuscript that the poem is called Skirnismal; in Codex Regius, it is called For Skirnis (Skirnir’s Journey).
Skaði: Building on the Old Foundations
The handout for our January 2013 discussion:
Literature:
(Compiled primarily from Arlea Anshutz’s Skadhi Page at http://www.wyrdwords.vispa.com/goddesses/skadhi/index.html
Skaldskaparmal 3
Skadi, daughter of giant Thiassi, took helmet and mail-coat and all weapons of war and went to Asgard to avenge her father. But the Æsir offered her atonement and compensation, the first item of which was to choose herself a husband out of the Æsir and choose by the feet and see nothing else of them. Then she saw one person’s feet that were exceptionally beautiful and said: Continue reading
Kold Rað
From father’s foundations old
Grey silence as first flakes fall,
While warmth and laughter fill gods’ hall;
She strides to Asgard’s walls, bold. Continue reading
Yule 2012 Report
On December 22, 2012, Keeper of Seasons Hall met to observe Yule, its last official holiday celebration of 2012. Like previous years, we had an indoor celebration, and Debbie and I hosted the event at our home. Continue reading
CUUPs Winternights Script 2012
In October 2012, I had the privilege to lead a Winternights celebration for the Coyote Willow Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. While CUUPs welcomes the participation of persons from all religious backgrounds, it seems that the majority of the participants practice different kinds of Wiccan-influenced eclectic Pagan tradition. Creating a ritual that was accessible to those participating while remaining true to my own form of Heathenry was an entertaining exercise. Continue reading
Winternights 2012 report
Keeper of Seasons Hall met to celebrate its fifteenth Winternights November 10, 2012. While for the most part the weather to date had been warm and dry, the morning we met at the Pueblo Montaño trailhead was cold, overcast, and windy. Intermittent drops of rain fell as we made our way to our destination on the bank of the Rio Grande, the same site we had used last year. Perhaps because of the weather, we saw less wildlife than in previous visits, though we did see a few ducks and crows, and at least once we heard the sound of cranes flying overhead. Continue reading
The Norse Valkyrie
A handout for our October 2012 meeting
The Norse Valkyrie
Etymology and Function:
The word valkyrie (or valkyrja) has a relatively simple meaning: chooser of the slain, from valr, “battlefield slain/corpses” and kjosa, “to choose or select.” The Old English wælkyrce can also mean “raven,” and in East Frisia walruderske means “nightmare or witch” (Nasstrom 112). Because of the etymology of the word, scholars like Simek and Nasstrom believe the valkyries were probably originally very dark figures (Simek calls them “demons of the dead” 349) who represented the horrors and cruelty of warfare; they may have been seen as ravens or birds of prey not unlike the Irish Morrigan and Badb. Hrafnsmal (attributed to Thorbjorn Hornklofi ca. 900, likely the oldest surviving skaldic poem mentioning valkyries) features a dialog between a valkyrie and a raven in which the raven describes in graphic terms the battle it witnessed; though there is a contrast created in the poem between the appearance of the fair, white-necked valkyrie and the black, gore-covered raven, the poet also establishes a strong connection in nature and shared interest between the two figures. The dark, horrible nature of valkyries may be seen later in poems such as Darraðarljoð, in which valkyries weave a tapestry using weapons and human body parts, and Voluspa and Hrafnagaldr Oðins, in which the valkyries seem to appear in advance of, and perhaps yearn for, the great slaughter at the Ragnarok. Continue reading
Darraðarljoð
Darraðarljoð
Darraðarljoð is a skaldic poem preserved in Brennu-Njals saga. The name given the poem is derived from the repeated phrase “vefr darraðar,” which means “web of spears (or banners).” Though the saga connects the poem to the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, scholars such as Russell Poole have pointed out that there are some discrepancies between the poem and what is known of the battle and have suggested that the poem was originally tied to the Battle of Confey in 917. Nasstrom suggests that Dorruð’s looking through the window into the dyngja may parallel other instances of looking through special portals to have a supernatural vision, as in the slave girl’s vision in Ibn Fadlan’s funeral account. She also believes that the poem may have been intended as a battle hymn with the last stanza a signal to attack. Continue reading