Messages from the Gothi

                                               All-Father’s Trifecta

Growing up I had a close relationship with my maternal uncle and as such spent a lot of time with him.  He loved horse racing or rather, betting on the ponies.  From time to time I was fortunate enough to be close to that excitement.  The first time I saw a man win a Trifecta, it was almost like the ball falling in Times Square during New Year’s Eve.  To win a Trifecta is rare.  A Trifecta is a special race where the bettor must pick the first, second, and third horses, in that order, to cross the finish line.  Good luck; there can be anywhere from nine to twelve horses at the starting gate.  All-Father won a Trifecta for us.  It did not involve horses.  It involved sacrifice. 

          The first leg of the Trifecta was the gathering of the Runes.  Thanks to evolutionary expansion, the Universe had outgrown Othinn.  He needed to know what was going on not just in these worlds but also within the Tree, Yggdrasil.  The Norns water tree daily from the Well of Wyrd.  This water flows up the tree and nourishes the tree and the worlds of the Multiverse (universe).  As this water/wyrd works its way through, orlog is created and drops like dew fall from the leaves of the tree, back into the Well.  All-Father knew he had to keep up with this new knowledge.  

          So, he sacrificed himself to himself; a God sacrificed himself to himself as a God. This did not take place in Midgard but in Asgard.  All-Father hung from Yggdrasil by his feet for nine days and nights.  We do not know what he sacrificed but it must have been substantial.  Finally the Runes appeared to him and as he gathered them up he screamed out in pain.  The influx of the new knowledge and the release of his sacrifice caused great painful distress.  But the Runes are more than just an alphabet. 

          The Runes are symbolic of all that is and all that is happening in Yggdrasil.  They are tools that All-Father uses to know all in the Universe.  It was done to obtain knowledge that can be shared. 

          The second leg of the Trifecta was obtaining knowledge from the Well of Mimir.  Like my maternal uncle, Othinn’s maternal uncle Mimir had a thing or two to show him.  Mimir’s Well holds all memories of things that ever were in Yggdrasil and the Multiverse; having knowledge of those past things helps to understand the present and immediate future.  But Mimir was not going to give his nephew a drink from the Well just because he asked for it. 

          Mimir obtained a pledge from All-Father; he pledged his eye.  As a pledge, it was a promise by All-Father not to piss away any knowledge that he got from the Well.  All-Father gained the knowledge of memories past  Interestingly enough, Mimir had as much knowledge in his head as was in the Well. 

          Thanks to some misunderstandings, Mimir had his head cut off.  All-Father retrieved his uncle’s head.  He herbed and spiced it up, charmed it with magic, and now ‘speaks’ to Mimir when he needs counsel.  Almost like it was a bonus received, All-Father can now speak with the dead.  

          The third leg of All-Father’s Trifecta was the retrieval of Odroerir, the Mead of Inspiration.  The Gods made a special little man they named Kvasir; he was a walking, talking professor Google.  Kvasir’s purpose was to spread knowledge.  Unfortunately the little fellow ran afoul of two nasty dwarves who killed him.  They drained his blood and cooked him down to make mead that they called Odroerir.  Those two fools told a giant, Suttung their story.  He killed them and took the mead back to his home in Jotunheim.  Suttung hid the mead in what he believed to be a safe place, possibly his daughter’s bedroom.  All-Father discovered what had happened and went after the mead. 

          After some high stakes wrangling, All-Father gained entry into Suttung’s home as a character called Bolverk.  He meets Gunnloth, Suttung’s daughter and finds out that to get the mead he has to go through her.  All-Father does what has to be done.  He seduces her.  In the aftermath Gunnloth allows him a drink of mead.  All-Father seizes the opportunity, drinks all of the mead, and flies out of there by shape-shifting into an eagle.  Suttung and other giants are on his trail. 

          As he passed over Asgard, other Gods waited with vats to catch the mead as he spat it out.  The giants arrived and wanted “Bolverk” to honor his oaths to Gunnloth.  All-Father denied any knowledge of “Bolverk.”  The action that took place to regain possession of the mead and the aftermath has brought much misunderstanding to Heathenry. 

          The foggy lens of Christianity helped to level charges that All-Father was an oath breaker and liar.  But that is through a Christian lens.  What needs to be done is to look at the myth with the naked eye of Heathenry. 

          Since the beginning when Odin and his brothers tore up Ymir to make Yggdrasil and the Multiverse the giants became the sworn enemy of Gods and Men.  It is obvious then, that the giants are in the outer Garth, and not the inner Garth.  They are not kith and kin. 

          Kvasir was created by the Gods and belonged to Gods and men.  He was murdered and butchered, then stolen by those from the outer Garth.  The resultant Odroerir, the Mead of Inspiration, belonged to the Gods.  All-Father rightfully took back what belonged to Gods and men.  By gaining the third leg of his Trifecta, All-Father gained the ability to fully disseminate knowledge and wisdom to Gods and men alike. 

          It can be said that Gunnloth was unfortunate collateral damage; but she stood in the way.  In the verses of the Havamal, All-Father laments what he did to Gunnloth.  But it had to happen to retrieve the mead and at the end of the day, Gunnloth was still a giant. 

          As the enemy of Gods and Men, giants do not deserve any kind of honesty; they are in the outer Garth.  We owe our enemy nothing.  You can be cordial in our polite society but you owe them zippo.  It is true that All-Father used deceit.  But he used it against the enemy, not kith and kin.  And you do have a right to get back what is rightfully and lawfully yours.  It would be a good idea though, in our society, to let law enforcement do the retrieving for you.  They are not fond of vigilante justice.  Maybe there is a deeper thing going on. 

          Since Ymir’s demise his offspring, besides being sworn enemies, have wanted to make the Gods weak and vulnerable.  The reason is obvious.  The mead could be used against Gods and Men – disinformation comes to mind.  Sowing the seeds of chaos would be ever so easy.  So, why would you let something of yours that was taken from you remain in the hands of those who want to harm you?  

          The metaphors in these stories are bold and beautiful and should be easy to recognize.  Hold them close to your heart and mind. 

                   Copyright 2021 Terry Unger All Rights Reserved

Heathen Prayer and Worship

It may shock some people to find out that Heathens are not godless.  We have many.  So, it should not be shocking to find out that Heathens pray.  Folks new to Heathenry and those just curious, wonder how it’s done.

Heathens, who been around a while understand that our Gods are our Elder Kin.  We are a family.  We can talk with our Gods just like we would talk to an older brother or sister across a kitchen table.  If you want to honor a particular God or Goddess it’s done with the offering of gifts during Blot.  There are fine examples of how this is done in many fine publications – there is no need for me to elaborate.  Other points needed to point out are below.

The relationship a Heathen has with his Gods is dramatically different than the Christian.  As noted above, the Heathen and his Gods are Kinfolk.  As such. Heathen Gods are not separated from their human siblings.  Gods and humans share the ‘same space within a Multiverse,’ as parts of creation itself.  Not so in Christianity.  The Christian God is separate and distant from man and creation, in some ‘unknown space,’ the Judeo-Christian heaven.  To visualize this, draw a circle.

This circle represents the Multiverse.  Within this circle is the Heathen, all of creation, and the Gods.  All of everything is there, constantly interacting.  Now, draw two more circles.

Place one on the far left and the other on the far right.  Within the left circle are the Christian and the rest of creation.  Within the right circle is the Christian God.  The space between the circles graphically shows the separation that exists between the God of the Christians and his creation.  There are considerable doctrine and dogma within Christianity that makes this so.  Again, so much to lay out here.  If you are curious it’s all available to discover online or in a library.  And, Heathens are not limited to talking/praying to just our Gods.

Our Ancestors are available to us as well as our Matronae (Desir in Old Norse).  The kitchen table thing works well with our Ancestors and Matronae (the kitchen table thing is an example of simply talking to another older family member.  It could be the living room, the bedroom, the beach, or the forests.  Speak your mind – there is no political correctness).  If you wish to honor them or seek some favor, Blot just like you would for the Gods.  One more thing. 

A Heathen needs to develop a relationship with his fylgja (fill-ge-yah).  She has been with you before birth and will guide you into the afterlife.  Your fylgja can be your advocate, your comforter, and your early warning system – if you listen to her still small voice within you.  But, like many relationships, it starts with you. 

THE WATERS OF WYRD

Many folks, those deeply enmeshed in materialism, believe themselves to be invincible.  This feeling of invincibility usually is coupled with the feeling of “I am like Teflon, nothing sticks to me.”  Not only is this a false assumption but one that could be deadly.  

Words and deeds (action) lay down our personal threads of Orlog within Urd’s well of living waters.  And our Orlog becomes intertwined with that of others; Wyrd is formed and cannot be escaped.  Wyrd will be experienced by you the person, your family, and possibly your descendants.  Depending on the working out of Wyrd, the experience can be sweet, bittersweet, or downright bitter for yourself and all involved – past actions can haunt or reward.  Within this vein, how we think about time is important.   

In our world, it is unfortunate that the linear concept of time (from Pythagoras, Augustine, and ultimately Christianity) is considered the only way “life within time” is to be had.  Linear time keeps the past in the past – something to forget; it has little or no influence on the present or the future.  The present (as it moves in a straight line away from the past toward the future) is the current “now,” while the future is unformed, unknown, and rather nebulous.  So the person moves through these three distinct and separate parts in a straight line – past, present, and future (the emphasis lies with “distinct and separate parts” and “in a straight line”).  While my redundancy is intentional, the Ancient Heathen worldview treats time and life differently.

Our Ancestors thought that nothing is static, everything is in some way connected, and is in some form of constant cyclical movement – an evolving state of Total Being.  So the past is a part of the present, and the orlog placed in the Well in the present is added to that of the past.  The future then is not a separate ethereal thing, but something evolving and a part of the past and present.  Your words and deeds create Orlog and your Orlog shapes your Wyrd.  A person cannot escape his Wyrd or change it.  However, how you handle it when the time comes to face it makes a difference.  Below is a great example.

Many folks find watching birds at high altitudes a beautiful thing.  We watch them glide back and forth, seemingly at will.  Not quite.  The bird is dependent on the air currents – it determines its glide pattern.  The bird cannot change any particular air current but adapts to it so it may glide through it.  We humans cannot change our individual Wyrd, but like the bird, we can adapt and face it when it comes due.  So this question must be asked – Hey there cupcake, what kind of guarantee did you get with that Teflon?  

Your Personal Traveling Companion – Your Fylgja

Within Germanic/Norse thought, belief, and myth the fylgja is considered a spirit that follows or accompanies a human person through out their earthly assistance (Christianity conveniently picked up on this and called it a person’s guardian angel).  But is our fylgja an animal or a female human, or both?  

In an effort to keep this simple, and in my opinion, your fylgja is “female” and has the form of a female person.  The idea of an animal fylgja comes down to us via our shamanic past; the belief that people could turn their “shape” into an animal.  If a person “sees” his animal fylgja in a dream or vision he is “seeing” an animal, representative of, or if you like, a reflection of his character, personality, and alter ego – period.  It is not your companion/guardian.  The only thing that the animal fylgja and female fylgja have in common is the name – fylgja.  And sorry, there is no such thing as a man/male fylgja.  I will not exhaust this essay with examples about animal fylgja types.  That is something for the individual person who wants to scratch his curiosity to do.  So what about the female?  

All of us have at least one female fylgja; families, clans, and tribes have more.  But for now, let’s just consider the individual.  They are with us from birth (or at least after some kind of naming ceremony) and escort our Hugr/Munr, our soul complex, into some sort of after-life.  When allowed, they are our personal counselors, advisers, and companions (allowed in this sense refers to a person’s efforts to contact and then maintain a functional relationship with his/her fylgja – a topic for another day).  Our fylgja can protect us and helps us gather and manage Magan.  There are folks who believe that the fylgja dies when its human charge dies; that is incorrect.  That thinking is based on the animal fylgja concept, which is as stated above.  Our fylgja could very well be our personal Matronae/Disir of ancient Germanic/Norse myth and legend – that makes them minor Goddesses.

Urdabrunnr and You

Within the Germanic Lore, Urdabrunnr is Urda’s Well, the Well of Wyrd.  Urda and the other two Norns Verdandi and Skuld, daily gather to water the roots of the World Tree with the water from the Well, that is located directly beneath the Tree.  After the watering is complete, the three Norns pack mud around the base of the World Tree to complete their daily task of nourishment and preservation.  It is important to know what that water and mud consist of.   

Cattle die, and kinsmen  die……and so one dies one’s self.

But a noble name will never die if good renown one gets.  

(Havamal, verse 77, Bellows translation)

It is a truth spoken when said that our words and deeds are our orlog.  Threads, or planks of our actions, orlog, are woven together creating our wyrd, our destiny.  This all takes place in Urda’s Well: our individual wyrd becomes a part of the Waters of Urda’s Well.  In so doing, our wyrd becomes interlocked with the wyrd of others.  Yes, our words and actions are effects that affect the lives of others, in the present and future, as does the Wyrd of the past affect us in the present.  Like it or not, this is truth.  It is Wyrd.  The ready example is the Norns taking the Water from the Well and nourishing the World Tree.  And the Tree supports Nine Worlds.  

It is in no way a stretch to think or say that Wyrd, personal and collective, effects generations unborn, especially those connected in a collective DNA chain.  It does.  And in no way is it a stretch to think that, since the World Tree “is watered daily from Urda’s Well,” that Wyrd, personal and collective also effects the infinite of the Nine Worlds.  It does.  The reverse, that coming from the other Worlds also effects us.  So then, a question waits.  

Should we, at least as individuals, strive to create better orlog/wyrd?  When we shine, so do our Ancestors, descendants, and Gods.  Thus the reason for the Havamal verse above……But a noble name will never die if good renown it gets.  

Courage and Magan in Our Time

A man gets up in the morning after a night of fitful sleep to go to a job he does not like; the political correctness is stifling and the payday is poor.  And he puts up with an age issue.  He gets passed over for promotion in favor of younger people – management is lost in the quicksand of denial. Somewhere a woman also rises and suffers from a lack of sleep; the glass ceiling is still there, she collided with it a few times and cannot break through.  She is just as good in her chosen profession as her male peers but has to live with less in her paycheck.  

Both men and women are responsible for others.  They trudge on while taking so much “on the chin.” Being a team player, they are constantly told, is a virtue.  Both know that if you throw enough shit against the wall, it begins to stick; both are dizzy in the head and yearn for something better in their life.  But others depend on them so quitting is not an option.  And, looking for other employment is hampered by the phrase, “location, location, location.”  Moving for a new job can be seriously detrimental to those that depend on them.  So they march on and do their best to deal with the anxiety, depression, and mood swings that rob them of not just sleep but inner peace.  Thanks to the media’s 24 hour news cycle they are constantly bombarded by a possible crafted thought speak.  

There are some people that think that these folks are not just weak but drones, slaves to the “system.”  I beg to differ.  Folks like this are not weak.  They are in a situation that many today find themselves. They carry on, they do not quit; they have responsibilities – they fight on against the odds.  In my opinion, there are courageous.  But even the courageous can use a hand up.  Maybe the thought below can help.  

The Asian world has its’ Chi and the Hindus have their Kundalini.  The Germanic world of yesteryear gives us something known as Magan (Old High German).  All three deal with the energy that permeates the Multiverse (the Universe).  

Magan is much more than increasing physical strength; it is the increase, the gathering up of this universal energy into one’s total being.  And that, obviously, includes your inner self.  Plus, all living things have Magan; think about that for a moment.  This means that you, your dog, and your vegetable garden contain Magan.  And by increasing your Magan, you can increase your confidence. This increase in confidence does boost a person’s courage and an increase in Magan helps in dealing with anxiety and depression.  The increase, or gathering of Magan can be accomplished by what the Northern Traditions refer to as Gladr.  

Gladr’s simple definition is – chanting or, to chant.  But possibly for the northern soul not just any chant will do; it should be a Runic Chant.  And one of the best is ALU – ULA (ULA is just the reverse of ALU).  This chant is composed of three runes; ansuz, laguz, and uruz.  It is  pronounced – ah lew / ooo la.  Try it out, in morning quiet or any other quiet time.  

Sit quietly and close your eyes.  Breath in deeply, hold slightly and release, out of your nose.  Do this at least three times.  Relax.  Breathe in and when you exhale, say the chant, ah-lew, ooo-la.  Do this three times and relax.  Repeat two more times.  Relax and let the quiet of ALU – ULA work within you.  Understand that results happen over a period of time, but you should feel relaxed from the sound resonating within you.  Eventually, you should feel more confidant and secure within yourself.