“If every day a man takes orders in silence from an incompetent superior, if every day he solemnly performs ritual acts which he privately finds ridiculous, if he unhesitatingly gives answers to questionnaires which are contrary to his real opinions and is prepared to deny his own self in public, if he sees no difficulty in feigning sympathy or even affection where, in fact, he feels only indifference or aversion, it still does not mean that he has entirely lost the use of one of the basic human senses, namely, the sense of humiliation.”
― Vaclav Havel

Image: Pissinformation by Bob Moran

"On the night of December 21/22, the sun reaches its southernmost point. Were it to remain in the south, it would mean death for living beings in the northern hemisphere. Thus we greet the returning sun as a "savior."

On the night when it begins its northward journey, the constellation Virgo, the celestial virgin, appears on the eastern horizon at midnight and is therefore, astrologically, the ascendant.

This coordinates with the myth of the various saviors of humanity, immaculately conceived and born from a virgin. Later, the sun symbolically sacrifices its life on the cross when it passes over the equinoctial point at the spring equinox, an apparent descent as seen from the southern hemisphere and an ascent in the northern sky. The focal points of the year — the four sacred seasons of the solstices and equinoxes — affect the consciousness of all humanity; and no matter on which day the festivals fall, they can provide gateways for the properly attuned heart and mind, allowing us to enter the forecourt of the temple of learning and life. . .

At the winter solstice the universal currents of life help human consciousness to enter divine spheres. At the same time spiritual energy can descend from higher worlds into the human arena: the gods "descend into hell" to garner experience in their underworld — our own world — thereby bringing inspiration and enlightenment to humanity.

At this time each of us also may undergo a new birth. Nature has opened the door, and it is up to us to recognize this and take a step further."

-Dorothea Hamann

"How else could it have occurred to man to divide the cosmos, on the analogy of day and night, summer and winter, into a bright day-world and a dark night-world peopled with fabulous monsters, unless he had the prototype of such a division in himself, in the polarity between the conscious and the invisible and unknowable unconscious? "
― Carl Jung

Image: Detail from The Red Book by C.G. Jung

Happy Winter Solstice one and all!

“The monks are spreading out like torrents across the countryside; and ruining the temples, they are ruining the countryside itself at one and the same time. For to snatch from a region the temple which protects it is like tearing out its eye, killing it, annihilating it. The temples are the very life of the countryside, where generations have lived in the shelter of the old ways.”
― Pierre Chuvin, A Chronicle of the Last Pagans

Notes: The above passage originates from the Latin orator Litanius' correspondence to Theodosius, wherein he protests the desecration of Pagan Shrines. Within he underscores his recognition of the intellectual and spiritual significance inherent in the activities conducted within these temples, linking them intimately with the vital essence of their natural surroundings. In the Pagan mindset, these acts of destruction transcends a mere assault on those who frequent them; rather, it is understood as a profound act of violence against nature itself.

Image: Masahiro Sawada

“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Notes: In the passing of his birthday, albeit belated, it seemed fitting to pay homage to this great man: a warrior, sage, bard, and dreamer. Who dedicated himself to rekindling ancient myths and legends of old, and wrote as he had intended a mythology worthy of the Anglo-Saxons. In the absence of bedtime chronicles featuring hobbits, wizards, dwarves, and dragons, it’s unlikely this channel would exist. So, happy 132nd birthday to J.R.R. Tolkien!

Image: The Roots of The Hobbit by Brothers Hildebrant

Mythology is there to remind us of our correct and natural values. J.R.R. Tolkien gave us one of the most important and comprehensive mythologies of the European canon, and never have the lessons therein been more prudent.

“Know that however ugly the parts appear the whole remains beautiful. A severed hand Is an ugly thing, and man dissevered from the earth and stars and his history… often appears atrociously ugly. Integrity is wholeness, the greatest beauty is Organic wholeness, the wholeness of life and things, the divine beauty of the universe.”
― Robinson Jeffers

Notes: Born on this day in 1887, Robinson Jeffers was once acclaimed among America's greatest poets; now, he resides in literary obscurity—a fate rooted in his politically incorrect subjects, themes, and perspectives, as well as his staunch opposition to America's entry into World War II. Jeffers' oeuvre exalted nature and the wilderness, diverging from the modernist vogue of his era and opting instead for a narrative and epic form.

Image: Sandspit by Andrew Wyeth

“Enclosed within his artificial creation, man finds that there is “no exit”; that he cannot pierce the shell of technology again to find the ancient milieu to which he was adapted for hundreds of thousands of years . In our cities there is no more day or night or heat or cold. But there is overpopulation, thralldom to press and television, total absence of purpose. All men are constrained by means external to them to ends equally external. The further the technical mechanism develops that allows us to escape natural necessity, the more we are subjected to artificial technical necessities.”
― Jacques Ellul

Image: Hvite striper 2 by Kenneth Blom

“To control a people you must first control what they think about themselves and how they regard their history and culture. And when your conqueror makes you ashamed of your culture and your history, he needs no prison walls and no chains to hold you.”
― John Henrik Clarke

Notes: It can be widely observed that the manipulation of identity, history, and culture profoundly impacts a population. Those who shape the narrative of people's self-perception and historical consciousness wield true power in the world. By instilling the low vibrational frequencies of shame and guilt regarding one's culture and history, those in power can establish a form of mental captivity. Subjugation is not solely a matter of external forces but also a psychological battle to be resisted at every turn, a battle that commences by reclaiming our culture, true history, and identity.

Image: Prometheus Bringing Fire to Mankind by Friedrich Heinrich Fuger

“Any power struggle is preceded by a verification of images and iconoclasm. This is why we need poets — they initiate the overthrow, even that of titans.”
― Ernst Jünger, The Forest Passage

Notes: The bard or poet assumes a pivotal role in catalysing the upheaval of entrenched power structures, acting as a transformative force that ignites revolution and renewal. In their capacity as architects of language, symbolism, and cultural narratives, poets wield the unique ability to challenge, reimagine, and reshape prevailing images and symbols through their artistic expressions. This creative agency empowers poets to confront and instigate the overthrow of even the most deeply rooted and formidable power structures.

Image: A Young Man Reading by Candlelight by Matthias Strom

“A society that has no respect, no regard for its bards, its historians, its storytellers, is a society in steep decline, a society that has lost its very soul and may never find its way.”
― Laurence Overmire

Note: The bard's significance is underestimated in modern times. Their role encompasses guidance, warning, advice, wisdom preservation, tribal heritage, and inspiring remarkable accomplishments. Musicians craft sonic symphonies that mould our shared consciousness; a vital component for the welfare and destiny of a folk. The world controllers understand the power of music in shaping consciousness, as they know that all revolution is preceded by its soundtrack. For a thought provoking examination of the history of music, view Crecganford's video. He underscores music's pivotal role in culture definition, myth preservation, and storytelling.

Image: Orpheus by George de Forest Brush

“Christianity has been one long act of deceit and self-contradiction. It preaches goodness, humility and love thy neighbour, but under this slogan it has burned and butchered millions to the accompaniment of pious proverbs. The ancients openly admitted that they killed for self-protection, in revenge or as a punishment. The Christians do so only out of love!…Only Christianity has created a vengeful God, one who commits man to Hell the moment he starts using the brains that God gave him. The Classical was an age of enlightenment. With the onset of Christianity scientific research was halted and there began instead a research into the visions of saints, instead of the things that God gave us. Research into nature became a sin.”
― David Irving, The War Path

Image: Warrior’s Funeral by unknown

“A people consists of a complex of relationships and attitudes, and as such, there is another, far greater threat to it than physical destruction or loss of independence, it is that of dissolution. If men no longer feel as members of the same body, if the climate of trust that unites them disappears, if the symbols they have in common no longer have the same meaning for them... if the moral life of the people disappears. This loss of a moral existence is not due to sudden external causes, but to internal phenomena and dissociators: byproducts of progress.”

~Bertrand de Jouvenel

“Naturally, every age thinks that all ages before it were prejudiced, and today we think this more than ever and are just as wrong as all previous ages that thought so. How often have we not seen the truth condemned! It is sad but unfortunately true that man learns nothing from history.”
― Carl Jung, Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle

Note: Human perception is plagued by a recurring flaw, particularly exacerbated by those who manipulate psychology to dominate perception. This flaw manifests as the belief that modern understanding surpasses that of past eras. Historical truths are frequently distorted, suppressed, or even criminalised by those in power. This should serve as a stark reminder not to dismiss the wisdom of antiquity. It impels us to bravely unveil layers of obfuscation and to fearlessly stand apart in our perennial pursuit of truth.

Image: Orestes Pursued by the Furies by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

“This Jesus of Nazareth, as the embodiment of the gospel of love, this ‘redeemer’ bringing salvation and victory to the poor, the sick, to sinners – was he not seduction in its most sinister and irresistible form, seduction and the circuitous route to just those very Jewish values and innovative ideals? Did Israel not reach the pinnacle of her sublime vengefulness via this very ‘redeemer’, this apparent opponent of and disperser of Israel? Is it not part of a secret black art of a truly grand politics of revenge, a far-sighted, subterranean revenge, slow to grip and calculating, that Israel had to denounce her actual instrument of revenge before all the world as a mortal enemy and nail him to the cross so that ‘all the world’, namely all Israel’s enemies, could safely nibble at this bait? And could anyone, on the other hand, using all the ingenuity of his intellect, think up a more dangerous bait? Something to equal the enticing, intoxicating, benumbing, corrupting power of that symbol of the ‘holy cross’, to equal that horrible paradox of a ‘God on the Cross’, to equal that mystery of an unthinkable final act of extreme cruelty and selfcrucifixion of God for the salvation of mankind? At least it is certain that sub hoc signo Israel, with its revenge and revaluation of all former values, has triumphed repeatedly over all other ideals, all nobler ideals.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality

Notes: Nietzsche astutely observes that Jesus and thereby Christianity serve as a vehicle for Jewish revenge against its enemies, at that time Rome (referred to as Edom). By presenting Jesus as a sacrificial victim, Christianity transformed the Jewish desire for vengeance into a universal moral imperative, thereby perpetuating a cycle of retribution under the guise of salvation. This subversion of traditional values, wherein weakness and suffering are exalted as virtues, serves to undermine the traditional notions of strength and power, ultimately reshaping moral and ethical frameworks. This represents a form of "grand politics of revenge," wherein Israel strategically denounces its own instrument of revenge, acting as a form of ‘reverse psychology’ in order to consolidate power and influence.

“Imagination is no longer conceived as simplistically opposed to perception and reason; rather, perception and reason are recognised as being always informed by the imagination.”
― Richard Tarnas, The Passion Of The Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View

Notes: The power to constrain and direct the imagination is the chief prerogative of those who dominate human perception. This ability serves as the primary catalyst for those who wield authority in shaping human cognition. Contrary to the prevailing narrative propagated by certain factions, including self-proclaimed truth-seekers and purported adherents of Gnosticism, the authentic Gnostic myth does not endorse the notion of the world as a forsaken 'prison planet'. Instead, it posits that the Archons exert their influence over the manner in which we perceive reality, rather than directly altering the fundamental nature of the world itself.

Image: Imagination by Anon

“In imitating the exemplary acts of a god or of a mythic hero, or simply by recounting their adventures, the man of an archaic society detaches himself from profane time and magically re-enters the Great Time, the sacred time.”
― Mircea Eliade, Myths, Dreams and Mysteries

Notes: Mircea Eliade, the Romanian scholar renowned for his work in comparative religion, philosophy, and literature was born on this day in 1907. Eliade viewed modern secularism as a force corroding humanity's perception of the divine. Eliade traced this shift back to the revolutionary impact of Jewish monotheism, which desacralised the cosmos, a process further propagated by Judeo-Christianity among gentiles. Despite his mourning over the vanishing of the sacred in contemporary society, Eliade remained hopeful. He envisioned a resurgence of the sacred, foreseeing its potential to reignite creativity in the realms of arts and sciences.

Image: The Fall of Phaeton by Peter Paul Rubens

“The transpersonal experiences revealing the Earth as an intelligent, conscious entity are corroborated by scientific evidence. Gregory Bateson, who created a brilliant synthesis of cybernetics, information and systems theory, the theory of evolution, anthropology, and psychology came to the conclusion that it was logically inevitable to assume that mental processes occurred at all levels in any system or natural phenomenon of sufficient complexity. He believed that mental processes are present in cells, organs, tissues, organisms, animal and human groups, eco-systems, and even the earth and universe as a whole.”
― Stanislav Grof, The Holotropic Mind

Notes: Within Gnosticism, Sophia's presence within the Earth implies a living, conscious being, intimately connected with all life forms. This understanding aligns with the view that the material world is not inert or a trap (aka prison planet) but imbued with spiritual essence.

Image: Return to Gaia by Freydoon Rassouli

“Questioning is the engine of contemporary initiation.”
― Linda Sussman, The Speech of the Grail

Notes: The narrative device utilised by chroniclers of the Grail legend revolves around the concept of the "Grail Question." Upon first encounter with the Grail, the knight does not know what question to ask. This embodies the human condition of confronting the mysteries of existence without possessing the insight to pose the essential inquiries, despite witnessing extraordinary events. This parallels our own journey, where we often encounter profound truths without recognising their significance until reaching spiritual maturity.

Central to unlocking these enigmas is the act of inquiry, of remaining receptive to knowledge and personal evolution. The timeless virtues of embarking on quests, displaying knightly courage, and mastering the art of asking pertinent questions continue to play a pivotal role in the modern pursuit of uncovering the Grail's mysteries.

Image: Tiago Sousa

“We cannot experience the world, even for an instant, without experiencing it through some myth, some narrative structure that sorts out our experiences and gives them meaning to us.”
― John Michael Greer, A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism

Notes: Such statements shouldn't be construed to deem the material world illusory. Instead, they highlight the pivotal role of myth and narrative in shaping our subjective reality. Often, these narratives, ingrained since birth, operate unnoticed, influencing our perception profoundly.

The challenge lies in discerning the myths and narratives that inform our perception and questioning their validity and impact on our lives. This is what is truly meant by lifting the veil, a bifurcated process. By lifting the veil of deceptive narratives operating within, we, in turn, unveil an aspect of the external world, allowing us to see with increased clarity, appreciation and insight.

Image: Douglas Smith

One of the frustrating things about the Natural Law movement is the assumption that it is 'God's Law' and somehow based on the Bible. This is a misunderstanding that I intend to correct more in the future, just as I did in Fyrgen Podcast episode 15: Citizen or Pagan?

Advocates of Natural Law are now even realising that it is the Law of the Land because we are the land. We are literally made of the land - from what grows upon it. This goes further, with the Arthurian mantra of 'the land and king are one' really meaning that the people and the king are one. The king embodies the collective.

As I point out in the aforementioned podcast, both 'pagan' and 'heathen' essentially mean 'rural dweller' (of the land), whilst the Christian considers himself to be first and foremost of God's Kingdom which is beyond the material Earth. Early Christians were those who dwelt in cities; citizens. The city is the more artificial construct, just like Christianity is, and the laws of citizenry were (and still are) excess to the Law of the Land.

Common Law derives from pre-Christian Anglos, and as 'heathens' we have the most intimate bond with the Law of the Land; Natural Law.