heyri jötnar, heyri hrímþursar

For the inhabitans of neighboring settlements and villages the forests and wildlands that once covered a huge expanse of land weren’t just a source of food, building material and firewood — they also served as refuge in the moments of particular danger to their social being. In the imagination of the people they were the dwelling of all kinds of spirits - leśny, leśnik, lasowy, dziad leśny, jeździec leśny, gajowik (names of forest spirits documented in various regions of Poland).

„In the depths of wilderness” wrote A. Fischer „all kinds of forest demons live. For example in Sandomierz Forest people believe in the existence of a forest spirit whose presence they recognize by his whistling, coming from the tallest trees. In Sieradz Land this forest spirit is called borowy. He leads people astray and he is of short stature, with a beard reaching all the way to the ground. Near Olkusz that he is called borowiec.” (trans. note: bór - a forest composed predominantly or wholly of coniferous trees)

According to O. Kolberg’s writings, in south-eastern part of the country this kind of demon was known as rusałka leśna („the forest rusałka”). „She is a maiden of the forest, a beautiful but very malicious witch. Her hair is green, by which you can quickly recognize her. He reign starts with the setting of sun and lasts until dawn, when the rooster crows. With her smiles, cajoling and sweet singing she lures young men deep into the woods and there she tickles them untill they meet their end among convulsive laughter. The best defence against her charms and her treacherous singing is the paternoster. The more passionate your prayers the weaker is rusałka’s power over you — untill finally it ceases.”

This body of tales is part of a very old tradition, that has it’s roots in ancient Slavic beliefs and was recorded many times in Polish ethnographic literature of XIX and XX century. On the basis of comparative analysis of Slavic sylvan demonology K. Moszyński demonstrated that those notions of the demonic can be found among all Slavic folk cultures, that they are associated with the souls of people who died prematurely in the woods and that their domain was controling the wildlife (in particular wolves) and leading people astray.

„The peasants say many tales” he wrote „about their voice, since those demons are believed to sing without words, create echos, scream loudly, neigh, laugh etc. Lone travellers can sometimes see them in the shape of a wolf, an eagle-owl or another animal; they can also appear in the form of a whirlwind.”

During the Counter-Reformation the functions of patrons of animals, traditionally belonging to forest demons, have been taken over by certain Christian saints such as Saint Hubert (patron of hunters and wild game) or Saint Mikołaj (who protects people from the wolves), and the idea of forest devil was introduced. This is how — according to B. Baranowski — the idea of Boruta, a devil associated with forests and swamps of Łęczyca, came to be. This entity was later, in the literature of XIX century, promoted to the position of „the devil of nobility”, the protector and guardian of the legendary treasures of Łęczyca. Those processes marked the start of social degradation of forest demons, and the beginning of their gradual disappearence from our folklore.

(Trans. note: the information below is not so much a direct translation as a short summary)

Contemporary research regarding the appearence of the forest demons demonstrated that:

in 27% of cases antropomorphic form was reported (a skinny shaggy man without clothes, a nondescript man, a man dressed in fashionable urban outfit and a hat, a man in the clothes of a forest ranger, a Jew in a kippah, a young girl with loose hair, a newborn, naked or clad in a dirty diaper),

in 17% of cases zoomorphic form was reported (an unknown animal, a black bird, an owl, a wolf, a dog, a horse, a cat, a boar or a hare),

in 5% of cases teratological form was reported (a monstrous hairy woman, a hairy man with horse legs and small horns on his head),

in 3% of cases the form of a moving flame or lights was reported,

in 30% of cases it was reported that the spirit can switch between antropomorphic and zoomorphic form,

in 17% of cases the spirit was reported as invisible.

If you look back in the old grimoires you'll find uses for crystals - the most prominent place that comes to mind where they are relevant in modern occult practices are in astrological work.

waking: most especially relevant for dried herbs or other preserved material. rouse what lies dormant with breath and touch and whisper.

speaking (or writing, etc): ask for assistance, don’t demand it. give praise, throw in some epithets. make deals, discuss terms and conditions. say thank you. say what you mean.

listening: now shut up for a bit. anticipate communication. words, song snippets, images, colours, feelings, whatever. look out for a “no” and be ready to honour it–it may hit hard in the chest or the guts. we have two-way streets here.

giving: praise, prayers, food, drink, candles, incense, crafts, all the usual suspects and more… reciprocity is key, no one likes a perpetual taker. some situations call for altruism, others for hard-nosed contracts, others for a secret third thing.

feeding: giving again, but specifically to maintain or revive longer workings. remember what the dormouse said…

sourcing: the perfect is the enemy of the good, but it makes a difference. grow, make, forage (responsibly) as much as possible. listen & give when sourcing things from the earth. shop ethically, re-use, thrift.

paring down: if it seems like a lot to go through for everything you want to include in your spell, then good. depth before breadth. use fewer herbs/stones/whatever that you know well, and that really need to be there. god i hate 12-ingredient spell jar recipes with #babywitch stuck on them. yes i will probably stick #babywitch on this. sue me.

to me these follow logically from the premise that plants, stones, bones, bits & bobs have spirit, not just energy. because that implies that their power must be given, it isn’t just there to be channelled (energetic model) or derived from the practitioner’s mental associations (psychological model). i claim nothing of reality and little of truth, but this premise has served me well.

did you base this on a very specific card combo? is it something that you and your divinatory spirit have agreed on specifically? whats the actual process? btw just wanted to say thanks for posting such consistently cool stuff 🍻 invaluable

Hi! Great question.

I worked heavily with Mystical Origins of the Tarot by Paul Huson during this process, exactly because it cuts through quite a lot of the fluffier nonsense we now see with cards.

When I started developing my notes, I sat down and decided that I would only include statements which were specific enough that they could not apply to a majority of situations.

In more modern texts, almost any card can be applied to almost any situation because the meanings are like, "this is a good time to start a new project! Power is around; is it your power, or someone else's power? Maybe your project should be contemplating power!"

Which is encouragement that applies about equally well to someone deciding what career path to take as someone trying to figure out how to elude the police in a murder investigation.

So the actual process, the lighthouse that was my beacon into a harbor of meaning, was that the meanings I generated must be so specific that a seeker could easily say, "sorry, that's not what's going on with me at all."

Which has made reading a lot easier and a lot more accurate.

Like, if you think of a note to add and get anxiety about it being so specific that seekers would immediately know you're wrong, you're on the right track.

So, as an actual process, I'd open up my word processor, read the entry in that book mentioned above, and start with a few key words.

Ace/Swords Key words: Authority, triumph, and conquest. Borders and confinement, and overcoming them.

I based the key words off of historical meanings of the cards, but also based on my own feelings about the card.

I worked on these notes by contemplating card meanings, exploring my own ideas about the cards, and also trawling modern meanings (after all, people have had great ideas about tarot since the early 1900s - no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater).

Then, I created my notes structured as sentences that might actually be said to a seeker.

Meanings: Do not trust that person. Are you actually helping, or are you steamrolling the victim? No, they're not going to apologize. You're making up a lot of stories to justify your bad decisions, but this time your friends are right.

(**the above meanings I made up for this post; don't add them to your personal notes about the Ace/Swords!)

I added notes until I felt every facet of the card had been explored. I often went back and edited old entries. Often, when working on a new card, I'd realize that it overlapped too much with a card I'd already written up, or that it gave me new opinions on an old card. In these situations I worked with both entries until I was satisfied that the cards were all represented in a unique way.

Some cards ended up relying almost entirely on historical meanings. Some cards ended up being much more modern. Others ended up being a lot less based on external sources at all.

I also took care to note down omens/portents when possible. "This card is an excellent omen; success is assured." "This is one of the worst omens in the deck - there is nothing you can do." And so on.

When I worked with my spirit, he directly told me what to type. A lot of his meanings were much more biting than mine were. He's a very direct guy.

Because the meanings are so direct, reading has become easier - it's a bit like sliding panes of glass over each other and finding the places where the light shines through; the thread of truth common to all cards.

Now, all that being said - I rarely work completely within this system. When actually doing readings, I also use other various methodologies to interpret the cards.

According to Heimskringla:

Hann setti þat í lögum at hefja jólahald þann tíma sem kristnir menn, ok skyldi þá hverr maðr eiga mælis öl, en gjalda fé ella, en halda heilagt meðan jólin ynnist. En áðr var jólahald hafit hökunótt, þat var miðsvetrar nótt, ok haldin þriggja nátta jól.

'He [King Hákon] made it law to hold Yule at the same time as Christians and each man was to have a measure of ale or else pay a fine, and observe for the duration of Yule. But before, Yule was held on hökunótt, that was midwinter night, and yule was held for three nights.'

Most modern recreation of the lunisolar calendar is built primarily on the work of Stockholm University professor Andreas Nordberg's paper Jul, disting och förkyrklig tideräkning ('Yule, Disting and pre-Christian Time-Reckoning'; paper is in Swedish but with a substantial English summary at the end) though usually not identical to Nordberg's reconstructions. The lunisolar calendar associated with the Nordic Animism movement and the Year of Aun (not exactly the same as Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen's The Nordic Animist Year) is more directly informed by Josh Rood in his paper The Festival Year: A Survey of the Annual Festival Cycle and Its Relation to the Heathen Lunisolar Calendar.

"To be skilled at something" vs. "to be cunning at something" is sort of like the ability-equivalent of "to understand something" vs. "to grok something."

A purely academic reconstruction of a religion from the past is “legitimate” when it is made up of fragments which have been selected solely on the basis of the academic authenticity and reliability of the evidence. When a particular fragment had not been recovered, a scholar may always choose to simply leave that space blank without perverting the intention of the reconstruction (whether it be pottery or religion). Rodzimowiercy, in contrast, need to have a complete and functional religion in order for it to be legitimate. If the participant finds her- or himself in personal need of a Slavic marriage ceremony, then that space must be filled by something in spite of the lack of a conveniently pre-existing Pagan marriage script from, say, the Wiślanie tribe in the early 10th century. It would be a serious perversion of the religious intent of such a reconstruction to give up suddenly at that point.

the strategies Simpson describes below the cut. a very recommended reading, too, so I hope the full text will get some attention as well. 

I promise you they're not "fake heathens," and as a survivor of their abuse, it's been seriously fucking with me to see people pretending they are.

"They're just using heathen symbols to look cool!!"

No. They're not. They're out there offering to Odin and Thor to give them strength to mow protestors down in the streets, and they've been doing it since the Occupy protests, if not longer.

He has tattooed on his chest the valknutr (funky triangles), Yggdrasil (the tree in a circle) and mjöllnir (Thor’s hammer). These are symbols misappropriated for use by white supremacists. Memorize them and lookout for folks like this. The horns with animal pelt, and being shirtless, also lend Odinist overtones to his appearance. Old Norse myth is often used as white supremacist propaganda, and here’s a great example of it in action.

It is mind boggling to me that people feel the need to use the names and stories of other cultures when they could just… not?

It is especially fascinating the people do not understand the power of names & stories in regards to the cultures they belong to. 

People keep trying to say that Lilith is ALL female badass goddesses as she is an archetype for “dark figures” but this is like saying that Helios is all sun deities because they involve the sun

No one denies that Helios originated in Greek mythology, even though there were sun deities before him. 

And yet, when a Jewish witch tells you, and provides sources, that Lilith (with the name Lilith AND THE STORY) come from Judaism, y’all throw a hissy fit like nobodies business and come into my ask box calling me a “k*ke”. 

Lilith is not the lilitu (feminine class of demons), nor is she Lamashtu (a goddess from another story), nor is she Hecate or any other person you want to call her. 

She is Lilith, and yes, Lilith came from Judaism. 

Aphrodite is not the same as Freyja, even though they’re both goddesses of love, Poseidon is not Bangputys, though they are both gods of sea. 

not fucking sigils

i thought for a long time about leaving it just at that but. hoo boy i have some salt. the power in runes comes from the power of the written word. when you write something down, it manifests. that is the basics of the theoretical basis of runes as magic: the written word as magic.

the vast majority of rune spells are just.. sentences. "Brooch is corpse-protection" and "I invoke hail in the spear." The power comes from the writing it out and the having it written.

There are a few examples of runes themselves having power: 3 ice runes (Sigtuna amulet) or two týr runes (Lay of Sigrdrifa). In these examples, however, they are repetitions of the same rune, not a bindrune of two different ones, though the two týr runes are often a bindrune of two týr runes on top of each other.

There are no examples of a bindrune the way that many people today would understand it. That does not, necessarily mean they dont work. An important thing is though, that they do not derive their power as sigils do. And since they are not, usually, repetitions or a full word, they need to get power from something else, the runes are there to direct the power. The easiest and most historical way to do so is to 'blood' the runes, like the example in Egil's saga:

The saga recounts how Egil cut his hand with his knife, carved runes on the proffered horn, which he smeared with his blood, and then spoke a verse that caused the horn to shatter. (From Runic Amulets and Magic Objects)

In this case, the runes he carved needed both the blood, and the spoken verse, to be used. If you're doing magic using a bindrune in the modern sense, the methods of charging a sigil, in fact charging is the wrong way to think of runes entirely, will not wprk properly. One need not necessarily use blood, but if you're inexperienced, it is the simplest method.

Additionally, the blooding of the runes is not necessary for divination, since the runes themselves don't need the power in the same fashion that runes used for magic would.

First of all, it can always be hard and confusing, especially if someone has planets in 1st House. (example: Pluto in 1st House can bring a certain kind of intensity to someone, sometimes even a “dark” presence, deep eyes, even if they are light in colour)

Fire Risings: Talkative, in some cases confrontational, they speak their mind and that can cause some people to dislike them, because of their bold rawness. Usually smile/laugh a lot and have strong charisma. People either adore them or dislike them from the start.

Aries rising: Bold, brave, independent. That’s what they portray. Could have a “loud” voice and sometimes swear a lot. They don’t care what people will think and they’re very blunt. Likes attention, could seem child-like(competitive, pout when someone does something better than them)

Leo rising: Very charming and have a warm presence. Love to make jokes and are the ones that try to make others feel comfortable. Very approachable and can easily make friends, unless they appear conceited(which can happen in some cases). 

Sagittarius rising: Easygoing, likeable, humorous. The kind of people that everyone loves. Very sociable and treat everyone equally. Enthusiastic and almost always positive. Always have an opinion, no matter what the topic is. Can appear wise and mature.

Water risings: A lot quieter than the rest, can even appear shy. Don’t like to be the center of attention. Could appear isolated and distant, even lost. Wouldn’t be the type to talk to someone unless the person approaches them first.

Cancer: Something about them appears soft, whether that’s physically or their manners, the way they treat people. Although they aren’t the most talkative and are usually shy, they are very kind. Soft smile, could often cling onto their friends.

Scorpio: Likely to wear dark colours! They could appear scary or unapproachable even if they don’t want to. They like to stay alone, apart from the crowd and don’t smile a lot. Could have a very intense gaze, you feel like they see your soul.

Pisces: Could be social but not the one to lead conversations or talk to people first. They daydream a lot and look like they’re somewhere else/look disoriented. Very soft, breathy voice. The ones to always play with animals when they see them.

Earth risings: Have something very calming about them. The types to always appear composed, no matter what the situations is. Aren’t the most talkative and can appear judgemental at times(even if they don’t want to)

Taurus: Very chill,have a very slow, pleasant voice. They always make their atmosphere comfortable no matter where they are. Bring coffee, adjust their seats, sometimes almost lie when they seat on a sofa(if the situation is appropriate). Easygoing and appear approachable. 

Virgo: Might seem judgemental even if they don’t want to(it’s usually because they’re nervous). Always try to look put-together and composed. They might seem colder when you talk to them(at first). The ones that bring a lot of things in their bag “just in case”. Always willing to help.

Capricorn: They don’t smile and can appear too serious. Not the ones to approach others, but they aren’t nervous when they socialize. Confident(appear to, when they aren’t), will never look messy or out of place. 

Air risings: They are talkative and friendly, easily adjust to social situations. Might be the ones to do most talking. Sometimes playful, sometimes appear distant. They are the ones that get blamed for “flirting” when they are just too nice.

Gemini: Might move a lot. Fast voice, usually higher. They are often the ones to approach others to make friends or just small talk. Joke a lot, laugh a lot, have a child-like quality to them. Always curious and ask questions. Can be flirtacious but it’s almost always in a joking manner. 

Libra: Lovely! They are the ones that are calm yet social. They are easy to make contact with others and are very charming in the way they do it. Best manners, a soft speaking voice(even men), always try to look good. Love to flatter others and get that in return.

@otembre i unfortunately dont have anything comprehensive but, i am personally of the opinion it is everyones duty to deal with their ancestors. yeah, not all of them are shitty, sometimes theyre racist old white people, but theyre also DEAD. its ur responsibility to break familial curses and get that poison out of there, for the good of your descendants, the good of your family, and everyone around you.

yeah they suck and it can be difficult but like. if you dont deal with them theyll hang over your bloodline like a shitty racism cloud. you dont have to worship or venerate the assholes. but u gotta deal with them.

u cant just… ignore them. you need to take responsibility and actually… work to make amends for what theyve done & the privilege theyve burdened you with.

in my ancestry, i have a homophobic pastor who preached that being gay was a sin. he came to me, after i began venerating my ancestors regularly, and i didnt know of him at the time, and he begged for my forgiveness. he said he would do anything to make what he’d done right, to amend the harm he’d caused. and he did.

theyre your ancestors, and you dont have to like that, but they burdened you with certain privileges and ills that you are responsible for curing. if you dont it’ll just build up, you’ll become complicit, and then some poor descendant down the line will have to deal with you.

get yourself some holy water, a light source, and some incense. call them close, call them near. by their names, if you have them. tell them you want them to be better, and you want to help them make amends. that if they want to be present in your life and get all sorts of goodies–offerings, prayer, power–they’d better wash themselves and own up.

its a favorite tool in systemic racism (separating families, destroying documents of lineage or from ancestors for future generations cant learn from them, etc) and even outside the grand scale of the System At Large its something thats used as a form of control by abusers.

my own mother was prevented by her mother from asking about family history, to the point that when she did a geneaology project in her spare time the documents and information she had collected were stolen from her and possibly even destroyed at a later date, and her mother implied she was the one to steal it because my mom was “asking too many questions” and so my mother eventually gave up on it altogether

intergenerational trauma i believe is a newer idea/term but its been around for a long time, and its important to discussions like this. its easy for non-natives or white people or just anyone who doesnt already have a wider cultural discussion about intergenerational trauma happening to brush it off and think its not something you need to understand. this isnt exactly what youre talking about here, but its within the same discussion of “things your ancestors did and experienced effect you, and things you do and experience will effect your descendants” that idea is important to know, no matter your circumstances

do not ignore your ancestors or your history. you were not created in a vacuum, and you wont die in one either. if you truly want to enact change in your life and in the life of your family and your future generations, you need to confront and deal with ancestors you disagree with, even ancestors who did horrible, unspeakable things. ignoring it doesnt make it go away, sticking your head in the sand doesnt change what happened and it doesnt prevent what happened from effecting you and effecting your family

if you want to work on your privilege, recognize that the choice to ignore your ancestors because they did bad things or you dont want to confront that part of your lineage is part of that; theres already discussions about how part of privilege is the privilege of ignorance or to choose to walk away. i know my ancestors didnt do great things. my tribe owned slaves at one point, a lot of them fought for the confederate army as well. i have things to atone for. but if i want to engage with my tribal heritage, i have to confront that

a relationship with your ancestors isnt something only for ndns or for those who have “good families” (because the thing is, no ones family tree is squeaky clean and thats just the truth), its an important step in clearing out the energies in your life, your soul, and the places you inhabit. its not all about respecting and loving and admiring them or about ancient rituals to connect with them. its about knowing where you came from and confronting and processing that into your spiritual life, and acknowledging your past in able to move into the future

that said, its a personal journey and a personal choice. if your ancestors did something that you truly cant even engage in a conversation about, maybe its better you left it. that choice is yours to make. im still learning my own spiritual practice and havent gotten to fully working my ancestors in, and i already know on one side there will be some truly horrible people. and from stories i know, just dealing with that makes me feel anxious and scared. be safe in your practice, dont force yourself into something that will be triggering for a panic/anxiety attack or anything else

Trans-inclusive language in religious texts is SO IMPORTANT. There is nothing in some young people’s lives that can either validate or dehumanize them so quickly as how they see themselves represented in the words of their religion.