[Main Blog Post] Seeking Stillness
Oct. 15th, 2023 09:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jprussellA shorter post this week, I talk a bit about what I miss about mindfulness meditation and the two techniques I turn to these days to get the kind of break from stress and anxiety I used to look for from mindfulness meditation. If you have any ways that you look for stillness amidst the chaos of life, I more than welcome hearing about it!
MM Blogs and other musings
Date: 2023-10-16 05:27 pm (UTC)I read JMG's blogs and from that, have gotten to read your work as well. You have an amazing breath of knowledge and thank you fo r the thoughtful ways you share your knowledge. You did a Rune reading for me a while back, and the results allowed me to rethink and recalibrate my original plan of action.
I just wanted to let you know that I too have added prayer along with meditations, charity and music to the various deities of the week. I find prayer to be incredibly helpful in allowing me to achieve a certain grace of neutrality that is helpful in allowing me to examine my initial, often times petty first reaction. And being in nature makes everything so much more pleasant and quiet.
If you don't mind a question: Can you recommend any good reference material on the Elder Futhark Rune interpretations from the older Vanir pantheon, and also, do you think it's possible to cultivate a relationship to the Norns, or are they beyond any interest in humans? I have been picking out a Rune a day, to contemplate my the meanings. I am almost through my second pass. After this I may talk to them and ask if it's OK to do simple divination with them. I really like them a lot!! Thanks so much for your contributions to my magical education and all blessings to you, if you'll have them.
Regards,
Mary
Re: MM Blogs and other musings
Date: 2023-10-16 06:44 pm (UTC)First off, thanks so much for your kind words! It's nice to know that what I'm putting out is helping some folks.
I'm also glad to hear that daily prayer is helping you out. I've had some trouble keeping the habit as consistent as my magical practice, but I definitely notice when I start to slip.
As for your questions:
1) Elder Futhark Interpretation: Okay, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "rune interpretation from the older Vanir pantheon," but I'll share a few thoughts that answer what I think you might mean - if I don't end up answering your question, please let me know and we can clarify things. In my approach, I tend to think of the Runes as somewhat separate from the Gods and Goddesses - they are more like universal forces, some of which certain Gods and Goddesses especially embody, and with which some of the Gods and Goddesses are especially adept at working. For the latter, the two Gods that I call upon for help with the Runes (and all my magical work) are Woden and Frige, and Frige is, of course, the "Goddess of the Vanir" (or "Wen" as I Old-Anglicize it), so I do call upon a Vaniric influence to do my interpretation. On the former, some of these are obvious (like the Rune "Tiwaz" with Tiw/Tyr), and some less so. Off the top of my head, of the Elder Futhark, I'd say that Fehu, Uruz, Gebo, Wunjo, Jera, Berkano, and Inguz all strike me as especially "Vaniric" in feel.
As for sources on interpretation that my or may not have the Vaniric emphasis you're looking for: Edred Thorsson's works have formed the basis of my own understanding, though he might come at things very differently - he is very focused on Odhinn, and the Runes as a primarily Odinic (and thus Aesiric) discipline. That said, his Runecaster's Handbook is my personal go-to equivalent of the "little white book" of Tarot - my baseline interpretation to refer to when something more intuitive doesn't come to me. Kveldulf Gundarsson's Teutonic Magic might have a little more emphasis on the Vaniric side of things, and it includes some "pathworkings" (different from what JMG uses the term to mean, essentially they are guided visualization meditations) that I found rather helpful in my early forays into meditation and scrying, as well as deepening and making more intuitive my sense of the Runes. Helrunar by Jan Fries offers a lot more "loose" and "associational" interpretation than the more scholarly approach of Thorsson, which might be in keeping with a more Vaniric vibe. Lastly, I have only skimmed this a bit, but Galina Krasskova's Living Runes treats the Runes as spirits with personalities that can be interacted with, and discusses which Gods and Goddesses she most associates with each Rune, which might give some insight on how the Vanir interact with the Runes, but I can't say for sure, since I haven't read it thoroughly yet.
Does any of that get close to what you were looking for?
2) Cultivating a Relationship with the Norns: I've read some differing accounts here, with some folks praying directly to the big three Norns, others viewing Them as indifferent cosmic forces, and so on. Besides "the" Norns, though, there are multiple references in the lore to more numerous Norns, and maybe a personal Norn for each person. Maria Kvilhaug thinks that many of the different female spiritual beings named in the lore are just different "flavors" of personal Norn (for example, a Valkyrie is a personal Norn for someone on a warrior's initiatory path). All that being said, here's what I do: I open my daily divination with a prayer calling upon the Wyrds (Old English name for the Norns) to be present, but I also pray to Woden (Odhinn) and Frige (Freyja) to more directly help me make sense of things. Outside of that, I occasionally pray to one or more of the Wyrds, but I haven't developed much of a relationship beyond showing respect and sensing something of a presence. I also haven't yet built a relationship with "my" Norn, though I think she might have showed up in a scrying session not too long ago, so I may be working on that!
Thanks for your blessings, and mine to you as well,
Jeff
Re: MM Blogs and other musings
Date: 2023-10-17 12:42 am (UTC)Thank you for your book suggestions as well. I have a book by Nigel Pennick titled Runes and Astrology, which is interesting and I'm playing with it, but astrology is an entire realm of which I barely scratch the surface.
To me the Norns are huge, like the Three Graces, the Maid, Mother, and Crone concept, etc. For me, many Goddesses bear similar aspects of the Norns, of that makes sense. Again, thank you for your clarity and your patience.
I appreciate it, and you!
Warm Regards,
Mary
Thank you!
Date: 2023-10-17 09:29 am (UTC)Re: Thank you!
Date: 2023-10-17 08:00 pm (UTC)There's some variation on how different traditions do drink offerings - the Greeks primarily poured it on the ground, the Norse did shared toasting, and Revival Druids raise a horn and then place it on the altar for the length of the ritual. So, it seems like the core requirement is "have the intention of giving this drink to one or more spiritual beings within a prayer or ritual," and the specific mechanics don't matter too much.
That being said, since it can be helpful to have something to go on, let me share what seems to be the standard approach in various heathen traditions, and the current iteration of my own idiosyncratic practice. First, a standard heathen drink offering has a drink in a drinking vessel (horns are traditional). Whoever is praying or currently leading the ritual raises the drink in the horn and speaks a dedication - what God(s) the drink is given to, if it is in thanks or prayer for anything in particular, and so forth. That person then takes a drink, to create a shared bond with the God(s) prayed to, and it might be passed around to anyone else taking part. Whatever is left of the drink is then poured into a bowl that is placed on the altar for the length of the ritual, or perhaps longer. In some rituals, especially if the drink was not passed around, the drink may be sprinkled on the participants, traditionally using a sprig of evergreen (this used to be done with the blood of sacrificed animals). Eventually, it is usually poured onto the ground somewhere, sometimes with a word to the spirits of the place it's poured.
My own practice is that I have a main ceremonial cup and a handful more, which I use because I don't have a bowl or horn yet. I sometimes will also put a drink container (like a can or bottle) straight onto my altar on a coaster. I bless any drink with my Thunor's Hammer before putting it on the altar. To make the offering, I say "Hail [God's Name], [epithets]" and then I say for what I am giving the drink. I usually include both something I am giving thanks for and something I am asking for. If I don't have anything specific to ask for, I ask for help "knowing how best to pray to you, to come to know you better, and to bring forth into the world what you would have me do." Usually I throw in a "nonetheless, your will, not mine be done." I then make a toast to my forebears, and I often try to call out a specific group of my forebears relevant to the prayer - so if offering to Woden, I might toast my forebears who sought wisdom, for example. After the toast, I take a small drink, and then I dip my finger in the drink and put a bit on my forehead, either in the shape of a relevant rune or in the shape of Thunor's Hammer. Then I put the drink back on the altar, and I leave it there for a time (usually overnight until my next daily prayer, if praying at my permanent altar). When I take the drink off the altar, I ask leave of the God to whom it was given, and then I take it outside to pour on the ground. When I pour it on the ground, I address the landwights (spirits) and say "With [God]'s leave, and my blessings if you'll have them." Then I clean up the cup(s) and go get ready for the next time.
I know that's a lot of detail, but I figured it might be helpful to have too much rather than too little. I arrived at the approach I currently use through a mix of reading how other folks do it, trying things out, making compromises based on what I had available, and paying attention when I prayed to what felt "right" or "off," along with sometimes praying to explicitly ask "is this right? should I keep doing this or do something else?" I hope this at least gives you something to get started with, and please let me know any questions you have.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2023-10-18 03:29 pm (UTC)I have a few ideas and will test their acceptability in prayer and meditation. Your advice on finding the stillness has been very useful these past few days. I have transformed my daily dogwalking hour into something sacred, and am lucky that I can do it like that because I live close to a wood.
All the best to you and yours.