It’s the full moon tonight (11.14pm for us in England) and its another supermoon, where the moon is closer to the Earth and appears larger in the sky. It is the last full moon before the solstice but also the blot-moon - depending on which calendar you use. I own a few different heathen calendars and they all suggest something different, however I think the ‘why’ we give blot is sometimes more important than the ‘when’. So as usual on the full moon, my family hearth will honour the gods, our ancestors and the land wights.
Forwarded from ᛉ ᛟ : Rural Rebels : ᛟ ᛣ
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: England, the land that I love, that I'm devoted to.
It's so easy to become wrapped up within the seemingly all encompassing maelstrom of our current times & situation. But, although it seems so, this is nothing new.
So, each day take time to remember; the beauty that is there, the power in the soil, the stunning landscape & the remarkable history it holds. There's not a inch of land that can't tell a tale.
One of the core reasons I love this land so, is because of its pure endurance, reliance & down right stubbornness when faced against hardship & tyranny. England is tattered, battered, bloodied, scarred & the soil is soaked in blood & I wouldn't have it any other way. The true English are proud of that, carry the heritage in their hearts & laugh in the face of it.
These current times will one day be another chip on its blade, a dent in its amour & stitches upon its tapestry. You, are a part of that.
England, oh England.
ᚺ
: England, the land that I love, that I'm devoted to.
It's so easy to become wrapped up within the seemingly all encompassing maelstrom of our current times & situation. But, although it seems so, this is nothing new.
So, each day take time to remember; the beauty that is there, the power in the soil, the stunning landscape & the remarkable history it holds. There's not a inch of land that can't tell a tale.
One of the core reasons I love this land so, is because of its pure endurance, reliance & down right stubbornness when faced against hardship & tyranny. England is tattered, battered, bloodied, scarred & the soil is soaked in blood & I wouldn't have it any other way. The true English are proud of that, carry the heritage in their hearts & laugh in the face of it.
These current times will one day be another chip on its blade, a dent in its amour & stitches upon its tapestry. You, are a part of that.
England, oh England.
ᚺ
Tolkien's England.
Tolkien's village of Bree was inspired by the Buckinghamshire village of Brill, whilst the Sarehole Mill in Birmingham (now a museum) was the original setting for Hobbiton. The north porch of St. Edward's Church in Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire gave Tolkien his Doors of Durin. The stunning Cheddar gorge along with its caves become Tolkien's Helm's Deep and the Glittering Caves.
photos - Brill windmill, Sarehole water mill, St Edwards church and Cheddar gorge.
Tolkien's village of Bree was inspired by the Buckinghamshire village of Brill, whilst the Sarehole Mill in Birmingham (now a museum) was the original setting for Hobbiton. The north porch of St. Edward's Church in Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire gave Tolkien his Doors of Durin. The stunning Cheddar gorge along with its caves become Tolkien's Helm's Deep and the Glittering Caves.
photos - Brill windmill, Sarehole water mill, St Edwards church and Cheddar gorge.
Normally with 'horn' headed Woden pendants and mounts we find ravens, sometimes hidden, forming part of Woden's face. Here, on the Sutton Hoo shield mount we find Woden's face discreetly placed within the form of his raven.
In Old English we find cognates with Huginn and Muninn in the words Hyġe and Myne.
In Old English we find cognates with Huginn and Muninn in the words Hyġe and Myne.
The OE *Hræfngod (Raven-god) and ON Hrafnagud are bynames for Woden, who is also known by the ON name hrafnfreistaðar meaning Raven-tester. An OE kenning for Raven was Wælceásiga, meaning Chooser of the Slain.
Woden pendant by Valgaut.
Woden pendant by Valgaut.
One of the figures who supposedly led the Wild Hunt was ‘Old Nick’. In English lore, Old Nick or Old Harry was said to be the devil. However I doubt this was the christian devil but a demonised heathen god, namely Woden. The church often referred to our gods as demons, the Old Saxon Baptismal Vow names Thunor, Woden and Seaxnot and their followers as devils.
The name Nick may well be connected to Woden’s name of Hnikarr. The name Harry has Norman origins but the English word harry comes from herġian meaning army and scholars including Rudolf Simek suggest this is connected to the (ein)herjar which included the followers of the Wild Hunt.
The name Nick may well be connected to Woden’s name of Hnikarr. The name Harry has Norman origins but the English word harry comes from herġian meaning army and scholars including Rudolf Simek suggest this is connected to the (ein)herjar which included the followers of the Wild Hunt.
The Silver Birch at Slinde (Sogn Og Fjordane, Norway) was regarded sacred and no one was allowed to cut any branch from it. It fell in 1874 but prior to that the local farmer would pour ale over the roots of the tree every yule, in a ritual similar to the English custom of wassailing.
Painting - Thomas Fearnley's Old Birch Tree at the Sognefjord,1839
Painting - Thomas Fearnley's Old Birch Tree at the Sognefjord,1839
Forwarded from The Chad Pastoralist
"Odin and two of his Ulfhedinn companions" by Valhyr on Instagram.
Stormy weather over England. Perhaps Woden, in his guise as the Herla King leds the Wild Hunt! The Wild Hunt was once known in England as the Herlaþing meaning 'Herla's assembly' and his followers the Herlethingus meaning ‘Troops of Herla or Herla's Host’.
It’s our family-hearths tradition to observe Mōdraniht (Mother’s Night) on the Sunstead eve, Mōdraniht falling on the new moon this year.
Bede made the claim that the English celebrated gēol (yule) on the solstice but claimed Mothers’ Night was celebrated on christmas day (25th Dec). This was something that the church would often do, equate our holidays with theirs in an attempt to convert the pagans. However, once England was thoroughly christianised the opposite applied and the church did all it could to separate christian holidays from their heathen origins. In around 1010AD the christian priest Byrhtferð set the record straight and in his writings puts the heathen celebrations back on the solstice, making a clear distinction between the old ways and the teachings of the church.
Bede made the claim that the English celebrated gēol (yule) on the solstice but claimed Mothers’ Night was celebrated on christmas day (25th Dec). This was something that the church would often do, equate our holidays with theirs in an attempt to convert the pagans. However, once England was thoroughly christianised the opposite applied and the church did all it could to separate christian holidays from their heathen origins. In around 1010AD the christian priest Byrhtferð set the record straight and in his writings puts the heathen celebrations back on the solstice, making a clear distinction between the old ways and the teachings of the church.
Wassail is a common toast made during Yule, from the OE Wæs hæl, 'be healthy' or Wæs þu hæl, ‘be thou whole’. The Norse used the similar ‘ves heill’ meaning ‘be healthy’ and the phrase was even adopted into Welsh as gwasael. The reply to this gesture is the attested ‘Drinc hæl’ or 'drink hail'.
Hit is the wone
Ine Saxe-londe,
That freond saith to his freond,
Wan he sal drink
'Leofue freond wassail,
The other saith 'drinc hail.'
It is the wone (want)
in Saxon land
That friend says to his friend,
When he drinks in the hall
‘dear friend wassail’
The other says ‘drink hail'.
art Joseph Feely
Hit is the wone
Ine Saxe-londe,
That freond saith to his freond,
Wan he sal drink
'Leofue freond wassail,
The other saith 'drinc hail.'
It is the wone (want)
in Saxon land
That friend says to his friend,
When he drinks in the hall
‘dear friend wassail’
The other says ‘drink hail'.
art Joseph Feely
Forwarded from Tomte 🎅🏻🍄
“Midvinternattens köld är hård,
stjärnorna gnistra och glimma.
Alla sova i enslig gård
djupt under midnattstimma.
Månen vandrar sin tysta ban,
snön lyser vit på fur och gran,
snön lyser vit på taken.
Endast tomten är vaken.”
English translation:
“Harsh is the cold of Midwinter's night,
the stars sparkle and twinkle.
All asleep in lonely farm,
deep during midnight hour.
The moon wanders its silent path,
the snow gleams white on pine and fir,
the snow gleams white on the roofs.
Only the tomte is awake.”
The first segment of the Yule poem "Tomten" by Viktor Rydberg.
stjärnorna gnistra och glimma.
Alla sova i enslig gård
djupt under midnattstimma.
Månen vandrar sin tysta ban,
snön lyser vit på fur och gran,
snön lyser vit på taken.
Endast tomten är vaken.”
English translation:
“Harsh is the cold of Midwinter's night,
the stars sparkle and twinkle.
All asleep in lonely farm,
deep during midnight hour.
The moon wanders its silent path,
the snow gleams white on pine and fir,
the snow gleams white on the roofs.
Only the tomte is awake.”
The first segment of the Yule poem "Tomten" by Viktor Rydberg.