Prayer Beads, Week 9: Baldr, Nanna, Iduna

In the name of Balder, Bright One who must fall, may I learn to offer
sacrifice with grace.
In the name of Nanna, Bright One's Shadow, may I learn loyalty in love.
In the name of Iduna, Giver of Immortality, may I have health and
purity of body.

This has been a hard trio for me to cover, in part because I have virtually no connection to these three deities.

Baldr/Balder

In the name of Balder, Bright One who must fall, may I learn to offer
sacrifice with grace.

Baldr is a god of light, beauty, love, happiness, and other such positive things. Described as being beautiful without measure, his hall Breiðablik (Broad-gleaming) is described in Snorri's Gylfaginning as there is not in heaven a fairer dwelling. It was this god that the lady Skaði sought out when choosing the god with the most beautiful feet for her marriage parter (and ending up with Njörðr). His death also has had a profound impact on modern heathen practices, and a lot of the enmity regarding Loki can be traced to the story of Baldr.

Unfortunately, the precise factors in his death is one of the points of contention between Saxo and Snorri, and how that encounter is interpreted plays a critical role in Loki's culpability, at least on the surface.

The Snorri interpretation is the one that we are most familiar with. In it Frigg asks everything in the world not to harm her son, but overlooks the mistletoe. Loki takes advantage of the blind god Höðr and gets him to fire the arrow that kills Baldr.

The traditional interpretation here has Loki as the bad guy, but makes Baldr seem, really, like a braggart. Standing in front of the gods and saying "Look what my mom did for me! Now I cannot be hurt!" Unlike than a somewhat heroic death fighting another king (Saxo's interpretation), we get him dying through hubris combined with the (potentially malevolent) actions of a trickster.

One of the more interesting interpretations of the events leading up to Baldr's demise is that his death was necessary so that he may survive the destruction of Ragnarok. Knowing that Helheim was the only place he could preserve his son, he had Loki work as his hatchet-man. In this interpretation the attitude of Baldr has a little more leeway. Instead of mere bravado, his action of inviting attack becomes an open door to allow Loki to do his work and ensure Baldr's availability after Ragnarok. In this interpretation, we see Baldr as sacrificing himself for the good of the world--not just this world, but for the world that exists after Ragnarok has passed and the gods are destroyed.

The implication here is clear: it makes Baldr into a Christ-figure, who's death was necessary that the world might live. There is also some thought that this entire storyline has been corrupted from Christian influences, which is entirely possible.

Regardless of one's particular interpretation of the events or what they might mean, Baldr's death makes for an excellent opportunity to meditate on impermanence. We will pass on, as it says in Hávamál:

Cattle die and kinsmen die,
thyself too soon must die,
but one thing never, I ween, will die, --
the doom on each one dead

Whether Baldr went willingly to his death or if his death was an unwelcome shock, it was certainly assured and if nothing else we can take his death as a lesson in death and on being ready for it when the time comes.

Nanna

In the name of Nanna, Bright One's Shadow, may I learn loyalty in love.

Nanna Nepsdöttir is the wife (according to Snorri) or love interest (according to Saxo) of Baldr. Very little is known about her individually, as most of her written accounts seem to describe her mostly in terms of her relationship to the men in her life. In Snorri's Gylfaginning she dies of grief for her lost husband.

So what does it mean to "learn loyalty in love." Does being loyal to someone require following them in death?

I generally like to think of the matter as entirely unrelated, actually, though it does make for a common story theme. I don't tend to think that loyalty requires being slavishly devoted to someone, nor does it require monogamous commitment. Loyalty doesn't even require a sexual or romantic relationship.

Loyalty means being true to your commitments. Not the ones that you speak, necessarily (thank you, Loki) but something far deeper. It means showing support for that person, even if they may not recognize the form that support comes in. It means not betraying that individual to others out of a sense of personal gain (beyond how your own personal gain is benefitted by your loyalty).

When we have loyalty in love it implies to me something much deeper than either word by itself would. Love can be a fleeting and whimsical thing when it doesn't have loyalty associated with it. Loyalty without love, on the other hand, starts to look very militant and can come across as hollow: loyalty to a cause you don't really believe in.

So when I say "may I learn loyalty in love" I read it multiple ways. Both may I learn loyalty in my love, and my I learn loyalty in love.

Iduna/Iðunn

In the name of Iduna, Giver of Immortality, may I have health and
purity of body.

Iðunn is the guardian of the Apples of Immortality and a goddess of youth. John Lindow lists her name as meaning "ever young," while Rudolf Simek thinks of it as "the rejuvenating one." She seems to be a peacemaker, stepping in to ask her husband Bragi to not fight with Loki in Lokasenna. When Loki turns on her, she has the distinction of quietly asserting her boundaries without turning to attack him:

I'm not saying words of blame to Loki,
in Ægir's hall
I quietened Bragi, made talkative with beer;
and all living things love him

In this specific prayer we contemplate health and purity of body. For us there are no apples, no silver-bullet magic cures, and "purity of body" is something that we have to maintain for ourselves. We have to bear the responsibility for caring for our own selves, which means things such as eating right, not drinking to excess, and taking care to acknowledge the risks we take. Too often we neglect this to our own detriment.

Prayer Beads, Week 8: Sif, Heimdall, Tyr

In the name of Sif, Lady Gold-Tressed, may I take pride in my own skill.
In the name of Heimdall, Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge, may I be able
to defend my own boundaries.
In the name of Tyr, Lord of Swords, may I walk with true honor in the world.

Sif

In the name of Sif, Lady Gold-Tressed, may I take pride in my own skill.

Sif is best known for the story of how she got her hair. In the story of Skáldskaparmál, Loki cut it off, then made nice by going on a quest to get the dwarves to make her new hair of gold and many of the treasures of the gods in the process.

One wonders how Loki got into a position to steal her hair in the first place, and there is a significant implication that she has taken at least one lover outside of Thor (in both Hárbarðsljóð and in Lokasenna). This, however, is a discussion for another time.

Almost nothing is known of her personally in existent lore, though a few people have taken stabs at it (some of it based on UPG, for example, there is a theory that Thor guards the perimeter and Sif makes the center clear and sacred). It may also be that she had an association to marriage: Her name is a cognate of the Old English word sib, which means affinity, connection, by marriage. The compound word byggja sifjar means to marry.

Pride is a much maligned feeling in modern society. The phrase pride cometh before the fall is almost totally ingrained in our society, and many if not most children have received--from some authority figure in their life--lectures about this villain called pride. Greek legends about the dangers of hubris are frequently required reading in school, and it is considered the root sin of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins.

Yet as the character of Mark Twain indicates in Disney's American Adventure in Epcot: Pride is a national passion and even those who overcome it are proud of their humility.

Yet pride doesn't necessarily have to be excessive, nor does it have to be combined with conceit, nor does it mean that your pride needs to be unjustified. To quote the usage notes from the New Oxford American Dictionary:

If you take pride in yourself or your accomplishments, it means that you believe in your own worth, merit, or superiority—whether or not that belief is justified (: she took pride in her accomplishments).

[...]

While no one wants to be accused of arrogance or egotism, there's a lot to be said for self-esteem, which may suggest undue pride but is more often used to describe a healthy belief in oneself and respect for one's worth as a person (: she suffered from low self-esteem).

So while excessive pride may be a problem, some pride in your accomplishments is a necessary component of self-esteem.

Heimdall/Heimdallr

In the name of Heimdall, Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge, may I be able
to defend my own boundaries.

The guardian of the Bifrost Bridge which forms the link between Asgard and Midgard. He is known by many names, and is noted as the father of mankind (in a somewhat literal sense) according to some of the myths. He is a watcher and a guardian, and it is his job to sound the horn when Ragnarok comes.

Defending your boundaries in today's society means more than just keeping an eye on the door or installing an alarm system. It means being proactive with watching your own emotional boundaries and sense of self. It means not having boundaries that are blurred with those around you, and enforcing those boundaries within yourself and too others before it becomes a problem.

The danger here is of keeping too close an eye on one's boundaries. On keeping out even those things that are good, or seeing the world in black-and-white terms. Defense takes on this meaning as well, since it does you no good to keep things out if you starve while on the inside. Thus we can say that defending your boundaries means letting in what you need to be in and keeping out what you need to be out, whatever forms these things may take.

Tyr/Týr

In the name of Tyr, Lord of Swords, may I walk with true honor in the world.

Týr is a lord of justice and a very old god of war. His name derives from the Proto-Germanic *Tiwaz, and is also the name of the rune ᛏ.

Týr er einhendr áss ok ulfs leifar ok hofa hilmir. Mars tiggi.

Tyr is a one-handed god, and leavings of the wolf and prince of temples

It is Týr who offered his hand in payment for binding the Wolf Fenris with the cord Gleipnir (open one).

Honor is an interesting concept among Heathens. We don't really have a Code of Honor such as bushido (武士道), but it is clear that there was a sense of honor nonetheless. This shows up, for example, when Egil says to his band that they should go back and acquit themselves as true warriors that is based off of a code of honor.

This code appears to be centered, not on a sense of self, but on how one would be perceived by society. Swain Wodening wrote that:

Honor or ár therefore is as much about how one behaves as it is about how one is perceived. There are many ancient Germanic figures that achieve fame through victories in battle. The hero Starkaðr, while very well known, and spoken of in the ancient literature, did not know honor in his life. Indeed, he was often subject to shame. He definitely was well known, and had success in battle, but as he was often the antithesis of Germanic ideals on what a hero should be, he did not know honor. Starkaðr lacked certain qualities that the ancient Germanic Heathens deemed needed to fulfill the Germanic heroic ideal. In essence, he did not do the good deeds needed to win public approval, and did do deeds that won him the scorn of many. It is safe to say therefore, that ár cannot be simply translated as fame or renown. Starkaðr, after all was very well known, but not necessarily liked. A better translation would be “well known for a good name.” This concept is seen repeatedly in maxims in Béowulf and the Hávamál. One's good name was thought to be everything to the ancient Germanic Heathen.

Kaldera puts forth that there is another form of honor that is not dependent on the views of others called (in Old English) mægen, which literally translates to Strength. He defines it as follows:

While showing oneself to be a keeper of one's word is good for building public trust, the concept of maegen stresses that this is a power to be built even in isolation, and that it is not dependent on the opinions of others. The idea is that every time you give your word and keep it, you build up a fund of power behind your word that gives it more cosmic impact. In this way, the maegen supports the vili. One's maegen can often be sensed by others, and those with strong maegen will be instinctively trusted more by those who sense it. It's more than just reputation, it's an actual force attached to the soul that can be felt and used.

We see here something that is worth cultivating, both for oneself and for others and for which Týr, a god of justice, is ideally suited.

Prayer Beads, Week 7: Odin, Frigg, Thor

In the name of Odin, the All-Father, One-Eyed Master of the Runes, may I be opened to ecstasy and inspiration.
In the name of Frigga, Mistress of Fensalir, spinner of clouds, may my home be a frithstead where all are welcome.
In the name of Thor, Lord of Thunder, Master of the Winds of the Western World, may my strength never fail me.

Odin/Óðinn

In the name of Odin, the All-Father, One-Eyed Master of the Runes, may I be opened to ecstasy and inspiration.

Óðinn is an extremely multifaceted deity. He, along with his brothers Ve and Vili, created the earth from the body of the giant Ymir. He is the Allfather (Alföðr) and leader of the Æsir, he is the terrible one (Yggr), the Raven God (Hrafnaguð), and the Grey Bearded (Hárbarðr) wanderer, he is Beloved (Uðr) and the Hanged One (Hangi), and many many other things besides.

As such an eclectic god, there are numerous perceptions of him and--more than virtually any other deity--two people who follow the same god can come away with dramatically different impressions of him and relationships with him. As with any god, some may follow one aspect and others may follow another, but even then Odin has a stunning array of aspects.

I follow Óðinn in his trickster, magician, and wanderer aspects. Mine is the Óðinn who hanged for nine days and nine nights in a quest for knowledge, mine is the Óðinn who wandered the world in search of knowledge, who spent time in a skirt with Freyja to learn seiðr, and mine is the Óðinn who stood across from Thor (Þōrr) on the opposite riverbank and refused to ferry him across. I do not interface with him as a death god or a god of war, I don't talk to him as a Shaman-King or as the Allfather, and only rarely as a god of victory. I never see him in Asgard (Ásgarðr), and will generally either meet him while out and about or go to him at the Chair/High Seat (Hliðskjálf/Hlidskjalf) which exists outside of Asgard and overlooks the Nine Worlds.

One thing that is widely recognized is that he is a god of ecstasy. Not in the modern sense of feeling "overwhelming happiness," but in terms of "involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence." It comes from the Greek ekstasis, meaning "trance, distraction" which comes from existanai, meaning to "displace" or "drive out of one's mind" (as in existanai phrenon).

Ecstasy has long been recognized as a potent force for Shamans. William Fairchild, in his work on Shamanism in Japan says of ecstasy that:

Ecstasy is absolutely necessary for shamanism. It is a special kind of ecstasy-a transformation into another personality. By ecstasy the shaman contacts transcendental beings. This ecstasy may be migratory-contact outside of the body. or possessive-transcendental beings enter the body.

Inspiration, on the other hand, is a fundamental force behind human achievement. It is what comes in a flash of insight, allowing us to connect the dots in intuitive ways. One of the meanings of the word is "the drawing of breath." As we say in Hapkido: If you aren't breathing, you are dead. Breath also has a long history in Northern religious thought.

Frigga/Frigg

In the name of Frigga, Mistress of Fensalir, spinner of clouds, may my home be a frithstead where all are welcome.

Frigg is the wife of Odin and described by Snorri as the "foremost among the goddesses." She is said to have a remarkable gift of insight, but while she may teach the technique of it does not share what she sees.

Her hall in Asgard, Fensalir, stands for Marsh Halls and she is known for the goddess of hearth and home. I have now heard from several sources (including someone who was tapped by Frigg) that the people who are hers first feel like they need to clean house. Not just pick up, but a good deep, thorough cleaning.

The book Zen and the Art of Housekeeping talks about something called CHAOS: Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. This is something that I struggle with daily. By having a clean place, we can be more comfortable with ourselves in entertaining guests, in having people over, and in performing those activities that encourage Frith within our group.

Frith, meaning "peace; freedom from molestation, protection; safety, security" is a very important concept to the Northern Tradition religions. Svartesol points out that the word has somewhat subtle connotations and is often confused with a similar term, but it basically comes down to the peaceful bonds you build within a group. She says of it that:

[I]n a frithstead you can have a violent disagreement with someone and still know at the end you will not have a knife in your back, whether literally or figuratively. Frith does not mean everyone agrees on every issue and completely loses their individuality to be absorbed by the greater whole. But it does mean working together for the greater good, and keeping good will within the process, including not betraying or otherwise deliberately harming someone within the innangeard.

Thor/Þōrr

In the name of Thor, Lord of Thunder, Master of the Winds of the Western World, may my strength never fail me.

Thor, a red-headed god, is widely known as a friend of mankind. He is the one who protects Asgard and Midgard from the Jotuns--the forces of the wilds, of nature, and of chaos.

He was an extremely popular deity historically, though in modern times Odin frequently gets more attention among many heathen groups. Part of this may be ahistorical, but it may also be that Odin's domains--ciphers, knowledge, and problem solving--have more relevance for many of us in the modern world. Still, Thor plays an important part in protecting a space and--along with his wife Sif--helping make a place sacred.

Protecting others requires that our strengths--no matter what those may be--be there when we need them. My strengths that I use to defend others do not come down to brawn, but are bound up in my mind, my observational skills, and things along those lines. While it would be bad if my physical strength were to fail me, most of the time physical strength is the least important thing and vastly overrated.

One of the most frequent comments I make to lower belts in Hapkido is "you are using too much force."

Yet in all of these things--whether the strength is physical or mental, whether it is from bashing things with a hammer, building fortifications, getting others out of danger, or volunteering at a safe house--Thor's presence is still there.

Prayer Beads, Week 6: Norns, Æsir/Aesir

This week we again encounter the three primary Norns who weave the fates of men:

By the name of Urd, I seek the spinning thread of my true path.
By the name of Verdandi, I weave my life with the threads of those I love.
By the name of Skuld, I make peace with the blade of my final Wyrd.

After this we will be getting into the Æsir/Aesir. The Æsir are the most widely followed deities in the Northern Pantheon today. Like most beings in the Northern Tradition, they are highly varied and all of them fill multiple roles. Odin is a god of magic, journeying, knowledge, power, war, victory, terror, wisdom, and sacrifice: to name a few.

The singular form of the word Æsir is the word áss. It is believed to have the the proto-Germanic *ansuz, which implies a direct connection with the rune Ansuz (ᚨ). We normally think of this as being Odin's rune in connection with a Icelandic rune poem, but it could also be called the rune of the Æsir.

References to the Æsir are found throughout Anglo-Saxon as Os-, Scandinavian names as As-, and other germanic cultures as Ans-.

The Æsir are frequently viewed as gods of civilization and order, as opposed to the wild forces of nature that are the Jötnar. One theory on why we have seen a rise of Jötnar-worship in recent years is because we are needing the pendulum to swing the other direction, toward acknowledging and embracing the natural forces of our planet. This does not, however, reduce or diminish the value of the Æsir in our lives, particularly for those of us who live in the city

I am still debating the format for the next section of beads. I may do a god a week and go more in depth, or go more shallow and keep covering 3 at a time.

Prayer Beads, Week 5: Svartalfheim, Niflheim, Helheim

The last three of the Nine Worlds, these are often represented as the "lower" of the Nine Worlds. Some workers, such as the Galdr practitioner Kaedrich Olsen, view these three as the "dark" or "negative" worlds.

I tend to think of them as realms like the others. They each have their own characteristics, but none of them are "evil."

I honor the shadowed world of Svartalfheim, for the dark elves gift of song and mystery, and the deep kingdom of Nidavellir, for the duergar's skill and craft.
I honor the misty world of Niflheim, and the frost-etins who teach tenacity and survival.
I honor the dark world of Helheim, and all the ancestors who gave me life, learning, and hope.

Svartalfheim/Svartálfaheimr

I honor the shadowed world of Svartalfheim, for the dark elves gift of song and mystery,

Kaldera makes a distinction between Svartálfaheimr--the land of the dark elves on the surface--and Niðavellir--the land of the dwarves. I'm going to keep that distinction here.

Svartálfaheimr is the land of the døkkálfar, or the "Dark Elves" (or Svartálfar, "black elves") as distinct from the Ljósálfar in Ljossalfheim. There is a lot of confusion on whether the Svartálfar are actually the same as the duergar, and they seem to be frequently confused in available sources. Kevin Crossley-Holland stated that "No valid distinction though can be drawn between the dwarfs and the dark elves; they appear to have been interchangeable."

If they were mixed up at some point it certainly wouldn't be the first set of races to get confused by later authors (Frigg and Freyja seem to get regularly confused even during period, and Jotuns later got conflated together with trolls).

There is one thing, however, that I consider noteworthy in etymology that may indicate a distinction. The duergar are renowned craftsman who one never gets the particular impression of being malicious (at least from what I've seen of them in the available sources). Meanwhile, the German word for "nightmare" is albtraum or, literally, elf dream. Nightmares were the domain of the døkkálfar, and they were also blamed for night hag syndrome.

Whatever the case may have been a thousand years ago, spirit workers today report very different things living in the forests of svartálfaheimr and in the tunnels of niðavellir. The døkkálfar are described as a group that split off after a great war with the ljósálfar. My own experience agrees with this. I have also, despite the general reputation, generally had a more positive reception among the døkkálfar than among the ljósálfar.

Appearance is less certain, with varying reports. The gylfaginning refers to them as "blacker than pitch," though the word svartr appears to refer to hair color rather than skin color. An african from Nigeria is referred to at one point as blámaðr--blue man--in reference to his dark skin.

They also exist in multiple other cultures, as one would expect for a fey race.

The døkkálfar in the nine worlds live mostly in a coniferous forest on the surface world. Their "domain" in my experience is a smaller portion of the forest itself and not every forested area, though they may be found there. Their language and their magic are frequently musical in nature and they delight in song and dance. They have a capacity for "malevolent illusion" which they turn on intruders and from what I could gather a substantial portion of their magic is on protecting an area and all within it, rather than on a specific individual or group of individuals (UPG 2008). They can also feed on the dreams and emotions in others.

Kaldera mentions a spider goddess, but my experience indicated they didn't follow one.

In my journeys, I probably spend more time in svartálfaheimr than anywhere else. My recent string of dreams that I've described as a "fey catalog" seem to have all taken place in various parts around there.

The second part, "song and mystery" is also important. Song is one of our key ways of connecting with the Divine. Vibrations created by music can help us entered altered states of conscious, from chanting to drumming to singing. The Taizé Community uses song as a mechanism to further the participants individual spirituality both individually and as a group. it brings to mind "breath," since it is with breath that we produce song.

Breath is extremely important in the Norse Tradition, from the concept of "Ond"--meaning breath, or soul--to YHVH Elohim. It is the root of spirituality and the root of psychology.

Mystery is similarly important. While today the word brings to mind spooky attics and errant adventures, the word derives from the word "mystic," which in turn derives from either mustēs (an initiated person) or muein (close the eyes or lips). Either way, we get the impression of things that are not spoken to just anyone, secrets of the universe and our place in it. Things that either were not or perhaps could not be shared.

This, functionally, is what mystery is about: touching that which is beyond us, that which we cannot put into words.

Nidavellir/Niðavellir

and the deep kingdom of Nidavellir, for the duergar's skill and craft

The "underworld" of Svartálfaheimr, it is mentioned in Völuspá:

Stóð fyr norðan, á Niðavöllom salr úr gulli Sindra ættar

North, on the Niðavellir, stands the dwelling place of Sindri's kin, Covered with gold

Niðavellir is comprised of an intricate series of tunnels and is the home of the Duergar, who are sensitive to light.

The duergar themselves appear throughout the sagas and eddas. They had bush black beards and hair and it is noted in Alvíssmál that they have pale skin, presumably from being underground. They were renowned craftsmen, well known for their great works and they created the treasures of the æsir.

Among them is the duergar Andvari, who teaches the value of things. There is an excellent book out titled Root, Stone, and Bone which is about honoring Andvari and the vaettir of money.

There is a lot of power in so-called honest work: in putting your knowledge, skill, and craftsmanship into creation. This does not--as the stereotype might imply--need to be something physical. Software is crafted just as surely as ships are, novels and poems are crafted the same as hammers. There is power in putting your honest effort--even unskilled--into an act of creation, and there is more power in working to become skilled at it and honing your craft through effort.

Niflheim/Niflheimr

I honor the misty world of Niflheim, and the frost-etins who teach tenacity and survival.

Niflheimr is the "land of mists." Nifl is a cognate of Nifol (dark) and nebel ("cloud" or "fog"). The name appears in only two places: Gylfaginning and Hrafnagaldr Óðins. The latter reference is extremely brief, just referring it to being in the north. The former, however, describes it as being one of the primordial worlds.

Niflheimr is home to the Hrímþursar (Frost Giants). Given their environment, it is fairly clear where "tenacity and survival" come from. An interesting coincidence is the names of the giants from the Book of Enoch are the Nephilim (נפלים).

Frequently we in the US tend to think of things in terms of "talent," and believe that this "talent" is something intrinsic to that individual. If you cannot draw, it is because you "aren't talented at drawing." If you aren't doing well, it is because you "aren't talented in academics." Meanwhile, if you succeed with a piano, you must be "talented" with it. Though a full discussion on this will have to wait for another time, I believe this concept is toxic to success. That it dismisses accomplishments and encourages people not to try if things are difficult. I believe what matters most--above and beyond any form of innate skill--is your tenacity. That you keep at it and not give up. As Kageyama says in Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go: Habit is a frightening thing.

In Hapkido we like to say that if you had to practice it a hundred times and someone else only had to practice it ten, what does it matter so long as you both got it by the end of the day? You might have to work more or less than someone else in one area, and they might have to work more or less than you in another, but you both are looking to get to the same location.

Helheim

I honor the dark world of Helheim, and all the ancestors who gave me life, learning, and hope.

The land of the goddess Hel. Frequently referred to as Her Ladyship, she is the goddess of the death and the Lady of the Underworld. The word "Hel" derives from the word *khalija, meaning "one who covers up or hides something." Helheim is known as a fortress and is widely considered to be more secure than even Asgard.

Helheim is not a place of suffering, and most spirit workers who have been there describe it as peaceful. Snorri's description of it, where he declares it to be a place that "evil men go," was commented to be "chiefly his own work" by H. R. Ellis-Davidson. Instead it is the abode of the ancestors and the place most of us go to when we die. We close the journey through the nine worlds by honoring those that came before us.

The concepts of "life, learning, and hope" are three of the most important aspects that we ever deal with. My ancestors--physical, spiritual, and intellectual--have helped make me what I am today, and to paraphrase: if I see far, it is only because I stand on the shoulders of giants. Those giants are my ancestors, my friends, my coworkers, my spirit guides, my teachers, etc--the people who have taught me, and the ones who have taught them, going back to the wheel and the discovery of fire. Acknowledging this is not a weakness, but a strength.

Prayer Beads, Week 4: Jotunheim, Midgard, Muspellheim

Moving to the next three of the nine worlds:

I honor the thunderous world of Jotunheim, and the mountain-thurses who grant focus and passion.
I honor our sister realm of Midgard, door to the Nine Worlds, by which I journey forth.
I honor the fiery world of Muspellheim, and the fire-etins who grant strength and loyalty.

Jotunheim/Jötunheimr

I honor the thunderous world of Jotunheim, and the mountain-thurses who grant focus and passion.

Possibly deriving from the Jotunheimen mountain range in Norway. One of the interesting things in studying the Nine Worlds is that they have locations in this world that both resemble them and have related names.

Jötunheimr is the land of the Jötunn/Jotuns, powerful nature spirits and shape changers. In the Lumsk song Trolltind refers to them. They are representative of chaos and the forces of nature.

After the coming of Christianity, they would get referred to by other names and became part of the array of local landspirits. Their powers and functions were, for example, absorbed into the group of creatures called trolls. In Skáldskaparmál we see the following passage, spoken by a troll:

Troll kalla mik tungl sjötrungnis, auðsug jötuns, élsólar böl, vilsinn völu, vörð náfjarðar, hvélsvelg himins – hvat's troll nema þat?

They call me Troll; Gnawer of the Moon, Giant of the Gale-blasts, Curse of the rain-hall, Companion of the Sibyl, Nightroaming hag, Swallower of the loaf of heaven. What is a Troll but that?

Many of the later stories and folklore refer to the power of Christianity driving them away, or good Christians being scared away from the wild places by the booming voices of giants.

The land of Jötunheimr itself is separated by the river Ífingr from the walls of Ásgarðr and is commonly seen as a wild place. This is where the (in)famous forest Járnviðr (the Iron Wood) is found.

Midgard/Miðgarðr

I honor our sister realm of Midgard, door to the Nine Worlds, by which I journey forth.

Literally meaning "middle enclosure," it generally refers to as our world, Earth, but spirit workers tend to think of it as an astral equivalent to our world. Set some time around the Iron Age, this world seems lost in time but has more tangible connections to the world around it. Because of this, and because of its closeness to our world, many spirit workers use it as a "launching off point" to visit the other realms.

The realm of Miðgarðr itself is often visualized as small continent, surrounded by a large body of water and surrounded by the great serpent Jörmungandr, who is also known as Midgårdsormen (Midgard's Serpent).

In some models of the Nine Worlds Miðgarðr is portrayed as being in the center of things, though one wonders if this is the same kind of perceptive flaw that lead to theories of geocentricism. Spirit workers who follow Kaldera's model of the Nine Worlds--laid out as a spiral--don't hold to this. Regardless of whether it actually is the center, however, it being the closest realm to ours means that it might as well be from a spirit workers perspective.

Muspellheim/Múspellsheimr

I honor the fiery world of Muspellheim, and the fire-etins who grant strength and loyalty.

Meaning "Muspel land," Múspellsheimr land of fire, one of the two primal worlds from which everything else came. Between this land and Niflheim lies the void of Ginnungagap ("magical (and creative) power-filled space"). This is one of the primordial worlds from which the universe came forth, and while also being a force of creation it is Muspel's children who will break the bifrost bridge come Ragnarök.

The land is ruled by Surtr (Old Norse for "The Black One"). He is remarked to be the oldest being in the Nine Worlds, and regardless of whether this is true of the entity, the stories about him are undoubtedly very very old.

Prayer Beads, Week 3: Asgard, Ljossalfheim, Vanaheim

The beads now continue the journey into the Nine Worlds. Raven Kaldera imagines those worlds to be a spiral around Yggdrasil, which stands in the center. In this model the worlds go in the order: Asgard, Ljossalfheim, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Midgard, Muspelheim, Svartalfheim, Niflheim, Helheim. My navigation skills are non-stellar, and so I generally navigate by landmarks in the Nine Worlds and think in terms of Okay, I follow this river from Midgard, past Yggdrasil, through Svartalfheim, and then I'll be in Niflheim... but its kind of nice to have some conception of how the worlds are situated.

My analysis of these is going to be somewhat shorter. In this part of the journey I am basically just making a note of each of the worlds and its denizens. The passages themselves are fairly generic, and I haven't gleaned much from them in meditation or in reading lore (or Lore™, for that matter). For example, when we say "the high world of Asgard" we are calling it such because it is traditionally represented... on top. When we say "the Aesir who offer knowledge and power" that tends to be their traditional domain.

A good exercise would be to go through the modern lore and find stories that are associated with these concepts, and I may return at a later date to do such, but for the moment will keep these brief.

I honor the high world of Asgard, and the Aesir who offer knowledge and power.
I honor the glittering world of Alfheim, and the Alfar who give inspiration to a mortal heart.
I honor the green world of Vanaheim and the Vanir who bring wisdom and joy.

Asgard/Ásgarðr

I honor the high world of Asgard, and the Aesir who offer knowledge and power.

Asgard itself is a fortress that is not easily entered without the Æsir's permission, and many of the Æsir are war deities of one form or another. It is guarded vigilantly by the likes of Thor and Heimdall. Short of Helheim, it is probably the single most difficult place to enter uninvited.

Asgard means the ""Enclosure of the Æsir," who are the principle deities of Ásatrú and the group of northern deities we know the most about from lore. They are the forces of order and civilization, and all of the trappings that come with those.

Alfheim/Álfheimr

I honor the glittering world of Alfheim, and the Alfar who give inspiration to a mortal heart.

Alfheim is one of the only places in the Nine Worlds that I have found a direct connection to other realms--the faerielands are adjacent and easily reachable from there. It is the ancient name of a place in Sweden. A place of legend, many many tales of spun off about this place in one form or another.

Vanaheim

I honor the green world of Vanaheim and the Vanir who bring wisdom and joy.

Vanaheim is a land shrouded by mists and hedge mazes. The deities are primarily focused around agriculture and fertility, but it pays to remember that this is the race that fought the Æsir to a standstill. These are also gods of blood and the cycle of life and death.

Prayer Beads, Week 2: The Norns

The Norns appear repeatedly throughout the prayer beads, forming spacers between each of the major groups.

By the name of Urd, I seek the spinning thread of my true path.
By the name of Verdandi, I weave my life with the threads of those I love.
By the name of Skuld, I make peace with the blade of my final wyrd.

All three make an appearance in Völuspá:

Þaðan koma meyjar margs vitandi þrjár, ór þeim sal er und þolli stendr; Urð hétu eina, aðra Verðandi, skáru á skíði, Skuld ina þriðju; þær lög lögðu, þær líf kuru alda börnum, örlög seggja.

Thence come maidens much knowing three from the hall which under that tree stands; Urd hight the one, the second Verdandi, on a tablet they graved, Skuld the third; Laws they established, life allotted to the sons of men, destinies pronounced.

They are said to weave the faits of men, the easiest visualization for which is as a large, multi-dimensional tapestry that incorporates many threads.

Urd/Urðr

By the name of Urd, I seek the spinning thread of my true path.

Her name means "Fate" and she is one of the three Norns in charge of weaving the fates of men. A bit of a digression: In Gylfaginning we see that the three most famous Norns named here are not the only ones:

Sundurbornar mjög hygg eg að nornir sé, eigut þær ætt saman; sumar eru áskunnar, sumar eru álfkunnar, sumar dætur Dvalins.

Far asunder, I think, The norns are born, They are not of the same race. Some are of the asas, Some are of the elves, Somea are daughters of Dvalin.

The "spinning thread of my true path" deliberately invokes the image of a spindle: spinning many fibers into a single strand. Our wyrd is active--constantly spinning, forever tied in with others at the level of other dimensions. This serves as a reminder of that: Wyrd can change.

By saying that you seek your true path, you are committing yourself to finding your Purpose, whatever that may be. This is a large commitment, but one that humans are preoccupied with. Quoting Nathaniel Branden in his essay The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand:

We humans have a need to feel we understand the world in which we live. We have a need to make sense out of our experience. We have a need for some intelligible portrait of who we are as human beings and what our lives are or should be about. In short, we have a need for a philosophical vision of reality.

But twentieth-century philosophy has almost totally backed off from the responsibility of offering such a vision or addressing itself to the kind of questions human beings struggle with in the course of their existence. Twentieth-century philosophy typically scorns system building. The problems to which it addresses itself grow smaller and smaller and more and more remote from human experience. At their philosophical conferences and conventions, philosophers explicitly acknowledge that they have nothing of practical value to offer anyone. This is not my accusation; they announce it themselves.

During the same period of history, the twentieth century, orthodox religion has lost more and more of its hold over people’s minds and lives. It is perceived as more and more irrelevant. Its demise as a cultural force really began with the Renaissance and has been declining ever since.

But the need for answers persists. The need for values by which to guide our lives remains unabated. The hunger for intelligibility is as strong as it ever was. The world around us is more and more confusing, more and more frightening; the need to understand it cries out in anguish.

We long for purpose in our lives, to find our "True Path" but the challenge isn't in finding it: It is in committing yourself to seek it. This is not a trivial promise, and it is not one to be made lightly.

Verdandi/Verðandi

By the name of Verdandi, I weave my life with the threads of those I love.

Verðandi, second of the Norns, has a name that means something to the effect of "happening" or "present." The word is the present tense of verða: To Become. This brings mind the image of the "Eternal Now." By saying that I "weave my life with the threads of those I love," I am recognizing the importance of others in my life. It is a reminder that I cannot make it alone. A single thread is always very weak, but a tapestry is always much stronger.

I saw a quote by Jane Howard recently in The Tattered Cover which said:

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

This to me is the essence of this prayer: a reminder that the tapestry of my life cannot be woven alone.

Skuld

By the name of Skuld, I make peace with the blade of my final wyrd.

Often portrayed as "future," she is the youngest of the three and her name means "debt." Interestingly, she is portrayed as a Valkyrie in Völuspá (where she is seen holding a shield), Gylfaginning, and Nafnaþulur.

Gylfaginning states:

These are called Valkyrs: them Odin sends to every battle; they determine men's feyness and award victory. Gudr and Róta and the youngest Norn, she who is called Skuld, ride ever to take the slain and decide fights.

How appropriate that it is in her name that we "make peace with the blade of our final wyrd." At the end of it all, "make peace" we must. It says in Hávamál:

Veit-a hinn er vettki veit, margr verðr af aurum api; maður er auðigr, annar óauðigr, skyli-t þann vítka váar. Deyr fé, deyja frændr, deyr sjalfr it sama, en orðstírr deyr aldregi hveim er sér góðan getr.

Cattle die and kinsmen die, thyself too soon must die, but one thing never, I ween, will die, -- fair fame of one who has earned. Cattle die and kinsmen die, thyself too soon must die, but one thing never, I ween, will die, -- the doom on each one dead.

(On a side note, where I don't have the Old Norse I use Icelandic).

So we must, at the end, recognize that as mutable as fate is in the Norse compared to other systems, over a long enough timeline the probability of survival drops to zero.

Prayer Beads, Week 1: Moon, Yggdrasil, Sun

I am going to start an exercise of walking through the Northern Tradition Pagan Prayer Beads, going through three at a time, starting with the set that makes up the Moon, Yggdrasil, and the Sun. This will involve my musings and some sources on the entities mentioned, any contemplations I feel worth making at the time. This is just going to cover a surface layer of meaning, but it is a good way to get started.

My plan is to release a new set on each Sunday. This is based on a previous exercise I was working on with my personal blog, but I stopped since I started this blog. My plan is to now finish that work, now that this blog is better established.

Week 1

In the eye of the Moon, I walk willingly into darkness.
In the circle of Yggdrasil, the Great Tree, I find my place within eternity.
In the eye of the Sun, I celebrate that which gives life.

The beads technically start and end with Yggdrasil, but this set of three makes a convenient place to start for analysis, since they come in a set of three.

Moon

The Moon is masculine in the Norse tradition, represented by the god Máni. In Vafþrúðnismál we see the jotun Vafþrúðnir answer Odin (in the guise of Gagnráðr) on the question of the origins of the sun and the moon.

Óðinn/Gagnráðr: Segðu þat annat, ef þítt æði dugir ok þú, Vafþrúðnir, vitir, hvaðan máni um kom, svá at ferr menn yfir, eða sól it sama. Vafþrúðnir: Mundilfæri heitir, hann er mána faðir ok svá Sólar it sama; himin hverfa þau skolo hverian dag öldom at ártali.

Odin/Gagnrad: Tell me secondly, if thy wit suffices, and thou, Vafþrúðnir! knowest, whence came the moon, which over mankind passes, and the sun likewise? Vafþrúðnir: Mundilfoeri hight he, who the moon’s father is, and eke the sun’s: round heaven journey each day they must, to count years for men.

These passages indicate, on the roughest level, that they both provide measures of time but not much else is mentioned or known (beyond that they are pursued by wolves in Grímnismál). It seems fairly fanciful stuff, and I tend to think that it should be taken as an allegory rather than interpreted literally. The question is, to what? In this I am currently uncertain, and so I do not have the key to unlock this particular story. Thus, there isn't much in the Lore for me to work with. So perhaps in this case we should simply associate the "Eye of the Moon" with "Night" and focus instead on the later half of the prayer.

Darkness is a recurring theme in the prayer beads. It occurs for three different beads:

In the name of Hermod, Traveler on Hel's Road, may I never fear to
walk in darkness.
In the name of Mordgud, Guardian of the Gate, may my barriers of
darkness open to my hand.
In the Eye of the Moon I walk willingly into darkness.

The fact that the Moon is the last of these seems significant, as taken together they tell a story: I do not fear to walk in darkness, may my barriers of darkness open as I approach them, and "I take that step into darkness." I find the use of the word "my" in the second part to be particularly meaningful: the hardest challenges we face are seldom external to ourselves. Dion Fortune wrote in The Mystical Qabalah that:

Whosoever is thus inhibited is unfit for the Mysteries, over whose portal was
written the words, "Know thyself."

Coming at the end of the beads, as it does, we see that the cycle never ends. "Having completed my journey, I begin again, walking into darkness." Walking into the unknown or perhaps into the unknowable, walking into the depths of our own soul, the parts that we scarcely acknowledge even to ourselves. Doing this takes more courage--and I, at least, approach it with more trepidation--than staring down any tangible enemy ever will. No matter how far we travel, it is still there, waiting for us.

Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil has a bit of a disputed etymology, but the most commonly accepted one is to interpret askr Yggdrasils as "horse on which the highest god is bound," viewing the gallows as the "horse of the hanged." Interpreting the first part "Yggr" to not refer to Odin but rather to its root meaning of "Terror," we could also see Yggdrasil as the "Tree of Terror."

It is said to form the center of the the nine worlds. Raven Kaldera describes visions as part of his Shaman Sickness where he "kept seeing a Great Tree that turned and rotated as I watched; worlds lay in its branches like ripe fruit."

Suffice it to say, Yggdrasil is an amazing sight.

So what does it mean, "In the Circle of Yggdrasil, the Great Tree, I find my place within eternity." For me an interpretation would be "this is where I have chosen to start, from here I will find my wyrd." The beads themselves represent a journey through the nine worlds, and keeping with our theme from the moon: From here it starts, here it ends, and here the journey begins anew.

Sun

Like the moon, the extant lore on Sunna, the sun, is fairly minimal. We see that the deity is clearly represented as Female, which helps contribute to a double-meaning for the prayer:

In the eye of the Sun I celebrate that which gives life.

I celebrate all of the life-bringing forces of the world. Where the previous two prayers focus on the self and one's personal journey, this one is a pure celebration of the world around us. In it we can almost smell the slow coming of spring and feel the chill of the longest night. It is also a celebration of pregnancy, sex, and everything else that goes into the process of life for animals.

What a wonderful way to start the journey.

Religion in the Workplace

This is a revised and expanded version of an essay I wrote back in July 2008.

This is, in part, a response to Daven's essay Religion in the Workplace, and in part derived from my experiences here and in other places.

In the essay, Daven poses the question "How much religion should be taken to the workplace?" This is an interesting and important question, but unfortunately he seems to get caught up in the trappings of religion instead of the actual practice of religion. His examples talk about unburned scented candles, images of the goddess, shrines, signature lines, and the like.

I hold Daven in the highest regard (being a former student of his high magic class). But this article, to me, is asking the wrong question and looking at the wrong things. The trappings of religion are not as important as our faith and our devotional practices to the gods.

If you want an article about the trappings of religion in the workplace, he makes some excellent points.

While some may disagree with me on this, I do not see the point of building a shrine at work, unless maybe it is to a local landwight in which case you can probably get away with a few flowers on your desk or with putting something unobtrusive outside. Posting the Charge of the Goddess might be acceptable practice (or the Christian down the hall might be doing it with the Lord's Prayer), but that does not mean that it is appropriate to do so. As Daven points out:

Understand that while you talking about Paganism in the lunch room or over the water cooler may be tolerated, the business is about making money.

...and that's just it. Posting a copy of the Nine Noble Virtue as a reminder to myself might be a worthwhile exercise, but the truth of the matter is that if I want to post them at work I should be evaluating my motives very carefully. They should be part of who I am, and why would I need to post them publicly when I could just as easily stick them on a piece of paper in my desk?

I'll go out on a limb here and say that posting them publicly is an exercise in broadcasting one's beliefs to others and not reflective--one way or the other--on the internal state of the person in question.

I wear a pentacle ring that is specifically charged. In situations where I am concerned about the reaction I flip it around so that the pentacle is on the inside. If I thought it would be a problem for a long period of time, I would consider moving the ring to my necklace (which lives inside of my shirt) and/or wearing another ring charged with similar properties.

I am not closeted--even slightly--I am quite open with my beliefs. I am also sensitive to the fact that my faith is--first and foremost--between me and the gods. If I am more effective in a workplace by not walking around with a large pentacle on my t-shirt, then I will dress accordingly. My goals are workplace effectiveness and honor of the spirits, not showing off. If the gods demanded that I walk around with a t-shirt with a large pentacle on it, I would try to negotiate and, barring that, find a job where I can get away with it with a minimum of hassle (though I generally find if a Christian could wear a big cross on their t-shirt the company won't mind the pentacle for standard equal opportunity reasons, YMMV).

I am far more concerned about behaviors than I am with these trappings. The first question here is "what are your needs." I pray several times a day and try to go through my prayer beads on a semi-regular basis. This, to me, needs to be acceptable behavior, but there is no reason they even should see it under most circumstances. Some flexibility around my holy days (e.g., I've made it a point that I must be in town at the end of October) and such is another major sticking point for me, but most places I've worked have been accommodating (though I do get to use PTO for it). These requirements are no different than that I need to be able to take holidays off since that's my only time with my out-of-state family--its just one of the priorities we need to think about when choosing a job and a workplace environment--I could not work in retail without very carefully negotiating what days I did and did not get off, simply because those are the times of the year I get to spend time with my family traditionally. For a classical shaman of the northern tradition there would be more stringent requirements, for an agnostic there would be fewer, but in the end these requirements are no different from any others.

It is important to me that I pray. It is not especially important to me that I keep incense at my desk all day.

So what about the Christian with a copy of the Lord's Prayer up who tries to save you? The evangelical Christian is required to proselytize as part of her faith, the faith of the coven that trained me years ago specifically forbade it. I am semi-tolerant of such behavior in moderation (they shouldn't push the point when I say no, but being asked along is fine), but its important to note that this isn't about what "they" can do: its about our relationship with the deities.

Recently I was asked along with some of the people I work with when they went to pray to a Buddhist equivalent to a land-wight. It was a beautiful experience that was quite obviously a matter of behavior. If I had said no, they would have gone on their way without me. I do not feel compelled to join, they don't treat me differently for not joining, and it takes place out of sight on an already established shrine. Praying in this manner is elegant and respectful, and it doesn't intrude on anyone who doesn't want to see.

It also doesn't require keeping a shrine on my desk.