"The initiate, if he truly is such, can place himself beyond the contingent historical forms of a particular tradition, can accuse - whereby to so he receives the mandate - the limitations thereof and place himself above their authority; he can reject the dogma, because he has something more, the transcendent knowledge, and elsewhere he knows of the inviolability of this knowledge; lastly, he can claim to himself the dignity of a free being, because he dissolved from the bonds of the inferior, human nature: in such a way the "free" are also the "peers" and their community can be conceived as a "brotherhood". Well, it is enough to materialise, laicise and democratise these aspects of the initiatic right, and translate them in individualistic terms, to immediately obtain the base principles of the modern subversive and revolutionary ideologies."

- Julius Evola, "The Mystery of the Grail"

"Soma produced a divine rapture, somewhat like that which the devotees of Dionysios sought in wine. Later came a set of practices designed to inhibit all sensation, to dull mental activity, in a word to induce states similar to hypnosis; these became systematized into the yoga... In fact, the yoga seems to have been, according to the time and place, a more popular form of mystic contemplation or else a complete system which included this contemplation."

- 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒚 𝑯𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒔𝒐𝒏

Asceticism is a tool, as Codreanu puts it, a means to an end - that end being "the complete supremacy of the spirit over the body." Fasting, prayer, rituals, etc. are methods by which we subordinate our bodies and minds to the spirit. They are for reigning in our lower selves.

Having subdued this lower self, we do not remain withdrawn from the world. The name of the game is to go forth and conquer. Surf the Kali Yuga. We are in this material realm; we have this life. What makes more sense than to master the circumstances in which we find ourselves, what else can be done, but to work with what is?

The idea of rejecting the world should be interpreted as attaining mastery over one's senses, attachments, and the letting go of all those things that cause the true nature of reality to be obscured. The world is not inherently and overarchingly evil - we are simply ignorant. If we ever feel the world IS evil, it is because we are operating under a state of illusion and are taken by the "visible, material and purely human forces" that Codreanu speaks of.

The removal of such ignorance and illusion should be the motivation of ascesis - it is exactly what it's for! It should be a stepping stone, a tool, along our path. Again, means to an end, not our permanent resting place. We are indeed here in this world, and no golden age was ever brought about by men who refused to venture forth into it.

"Janus, the ancient divinity of Roman times, god of beginnings and therefore also, in an eminent sense, of initiation as "vita nova", was also a god of sailing; he had the ship among his characteristic insignia. And this ship of Janus, as well as its two keys then passed into the Catholic tradition, appearing in the ship of St. Peter and, in general, in the symbolism of the pontifical function. Now it could be noted that the same term pontifex, in the ancient Roman etymologies, meant the "builder of bridges"; that pons however, archaically it also meant way and the sea was also conceived as "way", and Pontus was called this way for no different reason. Hence we see how elements of the ancient concept of sailing as a symbol have been transmitted through occult plots, up to words and signs, almost no longer understood today." — Julius C. Evola, Sailing as a Heroic Symbol.

furu trikila fiari at kuli
ok a:ustarla arni kafu
tuu sunar:la at sirk:lan:ti:

They fared like bold men far for gold
and in the east gave food to the eagle,
died in the south in Sirkland

—Innoscription on the Gripsholm runestone

Mother tells me, the immortal goddess Thetis with her glistening feet, that two fates bear me on to the day of death. If I hold out here and lay siege to Troy, my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies. If I voyage back to the fatherland I love, my pride, my glory dies…true, but the life that’s left me will be long, the stroke of death will not come on me quickly.

~ Achilles, the Iliad IX, 500-506

“The arcanum of inspiration is of vital practical importance not only for Hermeticism but also for the spiritual history of mankind in general. For just as in the individual human biography there are decisive moments of inspiration, so there are in mankind’s biography—which is history—decisive points where far- reaching inspirations enter into the spiritual life of humanity. The great religions are such inspirations. In ancient India the Rishis had inspiration, which became the source of the Vedas. In ancient Persia the great Zarathustra (“golden star”) had inspiration, which became the source of the Zend-Avesta. Moses and the prophets had inspiration, which became the source of the Old Testament in the Bible. The Event of the life, death and resurrection of Christ was followed by the inspiration which was the source of the written Gospels—of which each author is twofold: man and inspiring Cherubim. Lastly, Islam refers to no other source than the inspiration that Mohammed received from the Archangel Gabriel, which became the source of the Koran.”

- 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒈, 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒕, 𝑳𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑿𝑰𝑽

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/836653196801081355/986423297866616892/unknown.png?width=670&height=670

"Modern man has not only to fight against materialism, but must also defend himself from the snares and allures of false supernaturalism. His defense will be firm and effective only if he is capable of returning to the origins, of assimilating the ancient traditions, and then of relying upon the ascesis to carry out the task of reestablishing his inner condition. For it is through this that these traditions will reveal to him their deepest and perennially real content and show him, step by step, the path”

Julius Evola, The Doctrine of Awakening

How pleasant is the solitude of a remote place to those who thirst for God! How attractive for those who seek Christ are those solitary lands stretching in every direction under protecting nature. All things are silent there, and the joyful mind is spurred on by silence in its search for God, finding nourishment in ineffable ecstasies. No sound is heard in the desert save the voice of God. Only that sound is sweeter than silence, the holy activity of a moderate and holy way of life, breaks into the state of quiet peace.

St. Eucherius of Lyon, In Praise of the Desert XXXVII

There is a certain ascesis achieved in leaving the company of fellow man. This mirrors the descent into wilderness we've touched on before, where primordial forces reign and wild dangers must be overcome. The danger of the wilderness can be said to really be the danger of leaving civilization. The comfort of home life is the great security it provides, from simple material safety to the strong spiritual fellowship that holds one accountable. Man is a thoroughly social being making the withdrawal from society as treacherous as climbing a mountain.

Even the monastic hermitages still feature an ascetic form of community. Thus this complete descent into nature, in which one is both fully alone and fully in nature, is a great danger but also a great opportunity to overcome. Indeed with no home and no companions—nothing but one's self—in a certain sense one can be said to already be dead. As one descends into nature (the lesser material plane of daemonic forces) the layers of the false self are revealed, and in the trials this presents one can either find at the center the true Self, or, in denial of this truth succumb to the daemonic forces and descend into madness.

Christ's fasting in the desert was also His descent into Hell.

Then was Jesus led aside of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days, and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. Then came to him the tempter, and said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answering, said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:1-4

In the desert I had found a freedom unattainable in civiliza­tion; a life unhampered by possessions, since everything that was not a necessity was an encumbrance.

I had found, too, a comradeship inherent in the circumstances, and the belief that tranquillity was to be found there.

I had learnt the satisfaction which comes from hardship and the pleasure which springs from abstinence: the contentment of a full belly; the rich­ness of meat; the taste of clean water; the ecstasy of surrender when the craving for sleep becomes a torment; the warmth of a fire in the frost of dawn.

~ Wilfred Thesiger, Arabian Sands

It is neither Pagan nor Christian exclusively, but Metaphysical.

Today, there will be a lot of posts from various sorces about the "paganity" of the first solstice, so we thought it would be interesting to give the readers some information on other side of this most aspicuous day's significance. That is, its Christian and contemporary significance.

The first solstice, traditionally, is seen as the day of the feast of Saint John the Baptist. In order to understand why, we must go into some astronomy: this is the day when the sun is known to reach its greatest declination, that is, it is the day when daylight lasts the longest in the year, and therefore is also the point at which the sun gradually begins to retreat from the earth, beginning its return only six months from now. It is peasant tradition to say that the sun "turns" today.

On the first solstice, the sun stands in its northern-most declination, where as on the second it will stand in its southern-most declination. This is symbolically significant given the traditional understandings associated with the two directions of north (solidification) and south (dissolution).

So the Christian tradition dedicate this day to Saint John the Baptist, because much like he prepeared the way for Jesus Christ, who was born six months after him and has that day dedicated to him, so too does this day, when the sun reaches its peak and turns on the longest day of the year, prepare the way for its (re)birth during the second, or winter, solstice on the shortest day in the year. Note the correspondence with the traditional notion of the four ages as well, seeing that the Golden Age is the "longest" and the Iron Age is the "shortest".

Today, the sun is prepared, tomorrow it starts its long procession into the darkness, and will there die and be reborn, corresponding, with two significant days delay, with the day of the birth of Jesus Christ, and with him the coming of the apocalypse and the end of days with the feast of Silva or Silvester, the day of the old night, of New Years Eve.

Solstice Meditations

The Sun (Surya) is the visible presence, the vision of the Divine, the cosmic symbol for the Supreme. He is the Divine light and presence that fills all the worlds. He is the world-soul, the Self, the Atman of all beings. He is the sun in the heart by which we all live and have our being and consciousness. It is this solar Self that is the truth and reverence behind the ancient solar religion.

Golden-handed Savitar, clear in vision, travels on between Heaven and Earth. he drives away violence and directs the approach of the Sun. Through the darkened region he unfolds Heaven.
Let the perfect guide, the compassionate almighty Self-natured Lord with golden hands approach. Driving away demons, the God is present, sung at evening.
Savitar, your original paths, perfectly made, dustless in the interior realm, by these easy going paths today guard and bless us, oh God. (Rig Veda)

Savitar (Surya's pre-dawn form) has golden hands. These are his rays of knowledge that give life and enlightenment. He is the night sun, the secret Sun of the inner planes, who prepares and directs the approach of the day Sun, Surya, the manifest Sun of the outer planes.

The Sun is the visible face of all the Gods. The Arya are the people, the children, of the Sun. It's rays are like open hands everywhere offering the gift of wisdom. It is for us to just see them, to witness them, and in so doing, work as a channel for them.

Today, oh Gods, in the rising of the Sun, deliver us from all narrowness and blame. May the Divine Lord and Friend increase that for us, along with the Infinite Mother, the Ocean, Earth and Heaven. (Rig Veda)

“The Japanese are of a kindly disposition, not at all given to cheating, wonderfully desirous of honour and rank. Honour with them is placed above everything else. There are a great many poor among them, but poverty is not a disgrace to anyone.

There is one thing among them of which I hardly know whether it is practised anywhere among Christians. The nobles, however poor they may be, receive the same honour from the rest as if they were rich.

They listen with great avidity to discourse about God and Divine things… They do not worship any gods under the form of beasts. Most of them venerate certain ancient men, who, as far as I have been able to ascertain, used to live after the fashion of the old philosophers.”

~ St. Francis Xavier to St. Ignatius Loyola in Rome, The Christian missionaries Letter