CREATION
Deities & LoreEvery spiritual culture has a Creation myth. The reason for the Creation myth is based upon the establishment of one's identity. As Odinists, Creation is central to establishing our Identity and understanding the beliefs and practices which stem from our ancestral lore.
Runes – The Materials and Methods Employed in Rune Making
Deities & Lore, RunesOne of the ways of becoming acquainted with the Runes is to make a set for yourself, and there are a variety of materials that can be used for this purpose.
Runes – A basic intro to the Runes
Deities & Lore, RunesThe Runes are, at their most basic level, as described here. However, just as you are a unique individual, their relationships with you are also unique. If you wish to explore these relationships and how you interact with each Rune, then you must explore the Runes, one at a time, and have no regard for other people's explanations.
INCREASED HEARING THROUGH SILENCE
Deities & LoreAn important part of the practices which advance us along this path, is training our mind to be focused, to ``listen`` to the inner wisdom of true intuition and not be directed outward only so that we chase external stimulus and react to these with random thoughts.
Rigsthula: Evolution Of Spiritual Awareness
Deities & LoreOften it is noticed that scholars look at our ancient texts as dry pieces of literature that relates historical information without any feeling or spiritual introspection. This is true of the Rigsthula.
‘DEATH’
Deities & LoreFogmoon heralds the strangest point in the year when much of nature’s physicality has apparently ‘died’ and ‘gone to ground.’ The veil between the worlds of ‘past,’ ‘present,’ and ‘future’ seems very thin. This cold, dark time, when Sunna sinks to her lowest point at Yule and is~ then ‘reborn’ at Mother Night is a yearly Ragnarok for nature replete with customs and mythology, reflecting its enduring power within our consciousness.
Feast of the Disir
Deities & LoreThe Disir are the ancestral mothers, the first of each of our ancestral line. There are around 400 votive altars raised all over Europe dedicated to ancestral mothers. Freya is considered the 'Queen of the Disir' due to her fertility and magical qualities, but Frigga could very well fill this role.
A Time for Remembering
Deities & LoreEVERGREENS decorate the home at this time of year. The Victorians used just about everything that was available: rosemary, bay laurel, holly, box, yew, and mistletoe, even bilberry. When all outside is brown and dead they are manifestations of the abiding life within the plant world.
Rehabilitating the Fylfot
Deities & Lore
(First published in ORB No.93 - January 1990)
ONE of the most venerable signs of our religion, one of the most universal symbols of mankind's spiritual aspirations, and yet one of the most passionately controversial, is undoubtedly the fylfot,…
Let’s Say Grace
Deities & Lore, Family & SocietyCHARLES LAMB, the gentlest and one of the best loved of our English writers, once wrote an essay on the subject of saying grace before (or after) a meal. The tradition is probably as old as our religion for it is really an expression of gratitude to our gods for the fruits of the earth and to the animals that provide us, often ungrateful and unthinking, humans with nourishment.
The Irminsul and the Externsteine: From Yggdrasil to the Irminsul
Deities & LoreOver the years, beside the Thor's Hammer or the Valknut, the Irminsul has become one of the most important symbols among the northern tradition groups and followers. And, in some places - particularly in continental Europa, it has largely replaced the Thor Hammer itself.
THE SPIRIT OF ODIN
Deities & LoreWE regard Odin as the most important of our gods. For this reason, whatever one thinks of when meditating or pondering on the gods and goddesses and their differing powers, each aspect of that power is part of the great Allfather.