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
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).
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
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
Though most members would not begin their personal Yule celebrations for another few days, on December 18, 2011 Keeper of Seasons Hall met to celebrate the opening of the Yule season and hold its last official holiday observance of the year. As with previous years, we celebrated indoors, and in 2011 Debbie and I hosted the event at our home. Continue reading
Untitled
by Deirdra
Keeper of Seasons Hall met to celebrate its fourteenth Winternights November 6, 2011. Though the drought gripping New Mexico had continued, there had been enough precipitation that the Bosque was once again open (in fact, it had rained for a few hours the previous morning), so we met at the Pueblo Montaño trailhead and hiked for a time until we reached our destination on the bank of the Rio Grande. The site was one we had not used for many years, but it offered a spectacular view of the river; during our time there, we were made aware of the presence of ducks, cranes, ravens, and crows. Continue reading
The handout for our discussion of Ullr, November 2011
Updated May, 2013, with thanks to Niklas of Enkoping, Sweden for suggestions about the Lunda figurines and Ullr’s wife.
Approaching Ullr
Literature:
Grimnismal (Dronke translation): Continue reading
Winternights (Veturnóttum)
Literary quotations (emphasis mine):
Austrfararvisur St. 4-5
Réðk til Hofs at hœfa;/ hurð vas aptr, en ek spurðumk/ (inn settak nef nenninn)/ niðrlútr fyrir útan;/ orð gatk fæst af fyrðum,/ (flǫgð baðk) en þau sǫgðu,/ hnekðumk heiðnir rekkar,/ heilagt (við þau deila).
Gakkat inn, kvað ekkja,/ armi drengr, en lengra;/ hræðumk ek við Óðins/ (erum heiðin vér) reiði;/ rýgr kvazk inni eiga/ óþekk sús mér hnekði/ alfa blót sem ulfi/ ótvín í bœ sínum.
To Hof I struck the path./ The door was shut. Outside/ I had to ask. I bent down,/ Poked my nose in to see./ Not much I learned from that household./ They said, “Today is holy.”/ Heathen bullies threw me out./ To Hell with them, say I!
“No farther can you enter,/ You wretch!” said the woman./ “Here we are heathens/ And I fear the wrath of Odin.”/ She shoved me out like a wolf,/ That arrogant termagant,/ Said she was holding sacrifice/ To elves there in her house. (Page translation, http://vikingraiders.yolasite.com/resources/Austrfaravisur.pdf) Continue reading
One of the handouts available at the talk I gave during this year’s Pagan Pride Day in Albuquerque:
Glossary for The Basics of Asatru
(and other forms of Heathenry and Paganism inspired by pre-Conversion Germanic religion)
Æsir: One of the families of gods. Some of the better-known include Odin, Frigg, and Thor.
Alfar: Elves. Often called alfar to avoid people confusing them with fantasy, Lord of the Rings style elves. Believed by some Heathens to be deceased male ancestors.
Asatru: Literally, “faith in the Æsir,” though it isn’t strictly limited just to worship of the Æsir; all wights allied with the Æsir and humanity may be worshipped. It is the reconstruction and revival of the pre-Conversion religion(s) of the Germanic peoples.
Æ, æ: Ash. In modern Icelandic, pronounced like English “eye.” Continue reading