While presenting the structure of a vital Heathenry we need to look at the nature of the souls who inhabit that landscape. We have already shown that the runes and sovereign skills are the inheritance of Jarl. There is no split-personality insistance that poverty, neediness, and emptiness are signs of spiritual virtue. The Mysteries and the Holy are really revealed to those who have an active connection to past achievement and present vitality.
Rigsthula stanzas 26 to 32 describe the home and people to where Rig strode and guested. There was a southward-facing door which according to Hollander's notes was an omen of good luck. There is a ring on the doorpost. The interior is well-kept and furnished compared to the earlier homes that Rig visited. We are shown that the parents of Jarl, Father and Mother, are in love. Father and Mother 'gazed at each other.' (stannza 27) Hollander interprets, 'With their fingers playing'(stanza 27) as being signs of privelaged idleness. I think they were holding hands. Father is maintaining his weapons and they are both well-dressed. There is ample food.
"there was wine in a crock + + + + were the cups gold-plated;
they drank and chatted + + + + till the day was ended."
(Stanza 32)
The visit from Rig is followed by the birth of Jarl.
"A son bore Mother, + + + + in silk they swathed him,
sprinkled him with water + + + + and called him Jarl,
Was his hair flaxen, + + + + and fair his cheek,
his eyes awfully + + + + like an adder's, blazed."
(stanza 35)
Note that sprinlking with water is a Heathen custom of blessing that precedes the adoption of the custom by christianity. Hollander's notes poin out that flashing eyes were a sure sign of nobility, according to Tacitus.
Stanzas 36 to 38 give the developing and applied sovereign skills of Jarl and the previously given return of Rig to teach the young Jarl runes. This was fortunate and successful for Jarl.
"He made himself master + + + + of manors eighteen,
gan share his wealth + + + + and shower it on all:
silver and gold + + + + and slender steeds;
squandered arm rings + + + + and scattered gold."
(stanza 39)
This ethical statement of the successful being generous is important to the balance maintaining considerations of Teutonic lore. The Old English account of a Scandanavian adventure, 'Beowulf' is raich in events of shared wealth as an aspect of courage and nobility. We will look at this again later.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Sunday, August 13, 2006
THE TREE, SHINING FIELD, AND GEM-ROOF.
Timber, Tapestry, and Table.
The transformative reawakening to the Deities, Nature, and Kindred is what we aspire toward. We have had enough of degeneration. Now we reach back into a better time of remembrance to take it up and bring it forward. It is in this 'pastness' that the power flows to charge the present and create a better future. For an academically sound analysis of this mythic reality see "THE WELL AND THE TREE : World and Time in Early Germanic Culture." by Paul C. Bauschatz. This book is probably still out of print so for a more available and erudite analysis see, "THE NORTHERN DAWN : A History of the Reawakening of the Germanic Spirit. Vol I : From the Twilight of the Gods to the Sun At Midnight." by Stephen E. Flowers, Ph.D.. This is available from Runa-Raven press.
The Kindred.
Our first quote in literature is from "THE POETIC EDDA". The usual appearanc on a printed book page uses the skaldic format of spacing between sections of meter. Since blog sites compress empty spaces together I will insert a few + signs to show where there should be a line of space.
"Out of woodlands + + came Rig walking
came Rig walking + + and taught him runes,
His own name gave him + + as heir and son,
bade him make his own + + the udal lands,
the udal lands + + and olden manors."
Rigsthula. (stanza 37; Hollander translation)
The runes represent the Mystery of Being. They are symbols that embody, instruct, and bring forth the Power of that Mystery for our benifit. They were discovered through Shamanic Initiation by Odin. Another God who knows and teaches runes is Heimdall and may represent a progenator, teacher, and benefactor to a prospering humanity. Another name for Heimdall is "Rig". Thus the title, "Rigsthula".
It is important that we know runes were taught to Jarl and Konungr and that the Mysteries and Power were mastered by them as part of their province of victorious and generous living. This needs to be prefaced with an account of the Rigsthula. The story describes the three types of humanity in terms of their characteristics and social function. Rig, or Heimdall, through visits with poverty-stricken thralls, working farmers, and the sovereign wealthy engenders three children. The first is Thrall, the second, Carl, and the third Jarl. It is obviously Jarl that we should aspire to become. This Eddic primary source was used (along with many other Indo-European sources) by Dumezil in postulating the Triple Function of European and other world cultures. However the Dumezilian theory concentrates on producer, warrior, and Sovereign more so than the particular divisions found in the Rigsthula.
Before going any further and giving the impression that the Higher Mysteries and Prosperity are exclusively patriarchal, I should mention the profound evidence of the Feminine instructing the Masculine found in another Poetic Edda presentation. In the 'Sigrdfumal' Sigrdrifa teaches the runes to Sigurth. Here we have a runically initiated woman teaching a man. He may have been an heroic figure but he needed the rede of a wise woman to learn the Mysteries. Since another title for this essay could be, 'How a man can avoid becoming a loser', we should take this to heart.
A word about the the distinctions between human endeavor based on Dumezilian Tripartrate Functions. A well-balanced and effective individual should function at all three levels. This is true for Spiritual, physical and mental health. There is a model for this society in Viking Age Iceland. The settler's survival required skills as farmers, warriors,and Religious Leaders. What we are looking at in terms of describing Jarl is the attitude and energy that are necessary to prosper. When I get back from my Sovereign duties we will describe the attributes of young Jarl.
Timber, Tapestry, and Table.
The transformative reawakening to the Deities, Nature, and Kindred is what we aspire toward. We have had enough of degeneration. Now we reach back into a better time of remembrance to take it up and bring it forward. It is in this 'pastness' that the power flows to charge the present and create a better future. For an academically sound analysis of this mythic reality see "THE WELL AND THE TREE : World and Time in Early Germanic Culture." by Paul C. Bauschatz. This book is probably still out of print so for a more available and erudite analysis see, "THE NORTHERN DAWN : A History of the Reawakening of the Germanic Spirit. Vol I : From the Twilight of the Gods to the Sun At Midnight." by Stephen E. Flowers, Ph.D.. This is available from Runa-Raven press.
The Kindred.
Our first quote in literature is from "THE POETIC EDDA". The usual appearanc on a printed book page uses the skaldic format of spacing between sections of meter. Since blog sites compress empty spaces together I will insert a few + signs to show where there should be a line of space.
"Out of woodlands + + came Rig walking
came Rig walking + + and taught him runes,
His own name gave him + + as heir and son,
bade him make his own + + the udal lands,
the udal lands + + and olden manors."
Rigsthula. (stanza 37; Hollander translation)
The runes represent the Mystery of Being. They are symbols that embody, instruct, and bring forth the Power of that Mystery for our benifit. They were discovered through Shamanic Initiation by Odin. Another God who knows and teaches runes is Heimdall and may represent a progenator, teacher, and benefactor to a prospering humanity. Another name for Heimdall is "Rig". Thus the title, "Rigsthula".
It is important that we know runes were taught to Jarl and Konungr and that the Mysteries and Power were mastered by them as part of their province of victorious and generous living. This needs to be prefaced with an account of the Rigsthula. The story describes the three types of humanity in terms of their characteristics and social function. Rig, or Heimdall, through visits with poverty-stricken thralls, working farmers, and the sovereign wealthy engenders three children. The first is Thrall, the second, Carl, and the third Jarl. It is obviously Jarl that we should aspire to become. This Eddic primary source was used (along with many other Indo-European sources) by Dumezil in postulating the Triple Function of European and other world cultures. However the Dumezilian theory concentrates on producer, warrior, and Sovereign more so than the particular divisions found in the Rigsthula.
Before going any further and giving the impression that the Higher Mysteries and Prosperity are exclusively patriarchal, I should mention the profound evidence of the Feminine instructing the Masculine found in another Poetic Edda presentation. In the 'Sigrdfumal' Sigrdrifa teaches the runes to Sigurth. Here we have a runically initiated woman teaching a man. He may have been an heroic figure but he needed the rede of a wise woman to learn the Mysteries. Since another title for this essay could be, 'How a man can avoid becoming a loser', we should take this to heart.
A word about the the distinctions between human endeavor based on Dumezilian Tripartrate Functions. A well-balanced and effective individual should function at all three levels. This is true for Spiritual, physical and mental health. There is a model for this society in Viking Age Iceland. The settler's survival required skills as farmers, warriors,and Religious Leaders. What we are looking at in terms of describing Jarl is the attitude and energy that are necessary to prosper. When I get back from my Sovereign duties we will describe the attributes of young Jarl.
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