My good friend Dan done a great job with his latest Fyrgen chat with Wulf Ingesunnu. Wulf’s work is highly esoteric, and I’m not always a fan of this type of approach. Those who followed the Æhtemen will know my path has become exoteric and very English (Anglo-Saxon) based, but this is by no means an attack on Wulf as I owe him a great deal. I’ve known Dan for 14 years however I’ve been friends with Wulf for about 30 years now and it was Wulf who introduced me, by and large, into Wodenism when I was in my early twenties. We’ve learnt a lot from each other over the years and I always look forward to raising another drinking horn with him. I strongly suggest those interested in esoteric Wodenism to follow him here.
A little plant dedicated to Thunor. This flower is called Bugle, a common plant found across Britain. It's believed that the old English name for Bugle was Ðunorclæfre or Thunor's Clover. In English folklore the Bugle was also known as 'Thunder-and-Lightning' which certainly makes the connection with the thunder God Thunor.
The Rowan tree had a magic which was once known to keep evil magic and witches at bay and there was even a name for a wand made from Rowan, ON reynivǫndr. It takes it’s name from the root word for red (h₁rewd) after its berries. We also know this tree by its other names, Mountain Ash, Witchbane and Quickbeam.
To reach Geirröds home, Thunor had to cross the Vimur River, but Geirröd’s daughter Gjalp tried to drown him. She urinated into the river creating a great rapid. Thunor was able to stem the flow of the river with a huge boulder he flung into the current, but the river was swollen and still too wide to cross, that is until a Rowan on the other bank held out a branch and aided Thunor across the water, hence the tree is also known as Thor’s Helper.
To reach Geirröds home, Thunor had to cross the Vimur River, but Geirröd’s daughter Gjalp tried to drown him. She urinated into the river creating a great rapid. Thunor was able to stem the flow of the river with a huge boulder he flung into the current, but the river was swollen and still too wide to cross, that is until a Rowan on the other bank held out a branch and aided Thunor across the water, hence the tree is also known as Thor’s Helper.
In the patrice (one half of a stamping die) image above we can make out the Wodenic figure to the right of the rider. This figure appears to be guiding the warriors spear. The die was probably used to make helmet plates as similar imagery can be found on helmets from England as well as Scandinavia.
Other examples of this Wodenic figure (most likely Woden himself) from the Sutton Hoo helmet and two from the Valsgärde helmet.
Trust gut feelings. The saying refers to intuition, that feeling of instinctive understanding. Where does it come from? Perhaps the feeling is the connection we have with our orlæġ or wyrd, guiding us on our path. Today the word yarn is wool that has been spun for weaving but we also use the word to describe a tale or story, so an association here with Wyrd and the Weavers of fate. The origins of the word yarn (from the PIE *ǵʰer) means guts or intestines! The intestines of animals were often used for weaving. This is where we get ‘catgut’ from. Not the guts of cats, but short for cattle-gut. And the Waelcyrges were even known to weave fate with human guts. According to Njal’s Saga, before the Battle of Clontarf a Caithness man named Dörruðr spied twelve Waelcyrges weaving the fates of the fighting men. Their loom was made of bloodied spears – their loom-weights were severed heads and the yarns they wove were the intestines of men. Trust gut feelings.
Wyrd, Scyld and Weorðende. Three OE names that correspond with Urðr, Skuld and Verðandi, the Norns (OE Wyrd) who determine our fate. They weave a single thread called the Weft (our life-thread) back and forth between the Warps, all the folk, places and events we will ever encounter, which is probably why the OE word needle (nædl) was used as a kenning for the soul.
Mistletoe was once called Donnerbesen in Germany, meaning Thunder Broom (thunder besom). The name is shared with a stylised form of brickwork that was incorporated into Saxony houses designed protect against lightning strikes. The church later renamed this pattern teufelbesen or ‘devil’s broom’. Grimm stated that a kenning for donnerbesen was alpruthe ‘elf-rod’ whilst alpgeschoss ‘elf-shot’ was a kenning for the thunderbolt, which is somewhat different to the Anglo-Saxon idea that elf shot were the tiny flakes of flint arrows known to cause cramps and other inflictions.
The Marsh Orchid is believed by some to be the plant the Anglo-Saxons called Fornete's Folm (Fornete's Hand) which is attested in two works, the Cleopatra Glossary dated to the mid-tenth century (recorded as forneotes folm) and in Bald's Leechbook, recorded as fornetes folm. It has been suggested Fornet is an old English name cognate with the Eoten the Norse called Fornjótr. In Norse myth Fornjótr was the father of Hlér 'sea', Logi 'fire' and Kári 'wind'.
“Now,” said Penda, “cometh death, and I shall die in the best company that ever I was in."
Illustrations by John Duncan of the heathen king Penda, from the book 'King Penda's Captain' by MacKenzie MacBride, published 1908.
Illustrations by John Duncan of the heathen king Penda, from the book 'King Penda's Captain' by MacKenzie MacBride, published 1908.
I used images of John Michael Rysbrack’s Thunor many times on the Æhtemen channel – and I finally got to see the real thing when I took these photos whilst at the V&A. He sits raised on a five foot high plinth and is more than just impressive!
Hāl wes þū, Thunor!
Hāl wes þū, Thunor!