Month: September 2019

“Behind Enemy Lines” – Rogue Wizard – The Fire of Fury – Part 11

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin) Day

Rogue Wizard’s Journal: June 12, 2019

Wow, it has been a while since I have written in this journal.  Mostly because it has been boring as shit. Sure there was an initial buzz after the Red Grove Tree was finally laid to rest in flames, but then the reports became dull.  The fairie folk as predicted stopped fighting so hard for the salient that was trying to fight for the tree.  The wizards for their part advanced into the grove only to find the tree burning in magical fire.  It burned up quickly and a day later there was truly nothing left.

As far as the war went, the fae pulled back to a line they could defend better with fewer casualties.  The wizards saw this and now that there was no strategic objective in the area, they sent many of their forces elsewhere. The line stabilized and then most of the fighting stopped in this area.

Lunette and I moved fully the House Venus Mansion.  Lunette took the room next to mine, but mostly she just slept there.  The rest of the time she was with me talking (yes, talking) or she would turn invisible, shrink down and fly out and do some recon work.  For my part, I visited the Lioness when she was at the mansion or talked with Amber.  I was keeping a very close eye on what was going on and my ‘allies’.  I wasn’t going to be caught again unprepared.

Lunette’s recon trips brought back the information about how the lines had stabilized in the area. I also had committed a high crime in the faerie world, so there was a bounty on my head with them now.  A rather large one.  So I was behind enemy lines no matter where I was now. The search for me had all but disappeared because the mages had larger problems elsewhere.

I have spent the last few months doing one of the following. Reading and studying magical tomes and doing magical research.  Talking with Lunette and Amber about the situation. Finishing up my political science degree.  I received it in late May. Keeping up family appearances by visiting them once a week and calling them.  They call me more than I call them.

Lunette didn’t just do recon trips all the time.  She did set up a small alchemy station in my room. She did her own reading and research.  She seems a little happier now.  That kiss was the start of that but we haven’t done anything but hold hands since. She respects my mourning period for my wife and hasn’t pushed it.  She seems very much interested in building our trust level.

Two days ago would have been my wife and I’s 30th anniversary. May 1st was the end of the six months, but I decided that it might be more appropriate for me to end this period of mourning on our anniversary itself.  So two days ago. I opened a small chest that I have with stuff in it that reminds me of her. A few pictures of us, some jewelry, a negligee she used to wear.  I laid it all out on the table in front of me.  Tears were easy on this one.

I took off my wedding band and laid it in the negligee. I folded it around the band and then placed it back in the chest, I put the pictures and other jewelry on top, and closed the lid. I cast a protection spell on the chest.  Only I or my immediate family could open it now.  I set the chest near my reading chair. I cried myself to sleep that night and when I woke up I felt better.  I felt at peace about the whole thing, my wife finally laid to rest in my heart.

Last night, Lunette was with me and she looked nervous. I asked her what was up and she said she wanted to respect that even though she knew I had laid my wife to rest, at last, she didn’t want to push our relationship.  I asked her what kind of relationship she thought we could have and what kind of relationship did she want with me?

“I think I love you, Edward.  For the first time, my lecherous pixie heart loves someone and I think it is you.”

“Love? I don’t know Lunette, is that even possible for your kind?  Fidelity, particular sexual fidelity doesn’t seem to be your strong suit.”

“Would you demand sexual fidelity out of me?  Do you still hold that morality?”

“Honestly, no.  Fidelity has not much to do with sex if you ask me. It is far more important to be there for someone when they need you.  To be in their corner even when they disappoint you.  That’s real fidelity. Sex is a wonderful experience to be sure, but it is also just sex.  I don’t want to sound like I am diminishing its importance, but fidelity is measured more when the chips are down and you need someone to watch your back, not on where you stick your dick or who you spread your legs too.  I don’t think it is right to say you have some exclusive ownership to someone else’s sexuality, sounds kind of like a miniature form of slavery if you ask me now.”

“You maintained it with your wife, even after death.”

“Yes, but those were the vows I took, so I tried my level best to keep them.  I never slept with any other females but you, Elpis and her.  I loved Miss Salty too, but I never had sex with her although I can’t say the relationship didn’t have sexual elements to it, it certainly did. I came back to my wife so the vows we took were back in force.  That said my dear, you might say I have come, in part, to the more fairy way of thinking about the subject of sex now. I am simply not a one-night stand kind of guy. I have to feel I have a relationship with a woman that is loving for me to make love to her. There is still a spiritual side to it to me, a magical side if you will, and it’s not just a physical humping in the dark thing to me.”

Lunette smiled and nodded.

“Edward, I know I have tricked you a couple times, do you trust me?”

“Hmm.  I don’t know. You are a deceitful little spy these days.  Good at it too.  On what basis could you and I trust one another.  I don’t know what side you are on right now.  Like me, you are wanted by both sides.”

“There are three sides to this one Edward.  There is also the side of peace and coexistence.  Not just between fae and mage, but also with mundanes. ”

“You think the mundanes will be comfortable with creatures walking around that can kill them with a thought or spell or that are from their deepest nightmares?”

“No, not at first, but magic can be awakened in everyone. If that is so then, the idea of mundanes might be gone in time as well.”

She had a point, it was my turn to nod because this had been my working theory since high school.

“But to answer your question I am on the side of the survivors. I want you and me to survive.  But if you need more proof of my loyalty to you: I swear by the memory of my mother and father and the Red Tree Grove, that I will guard and protect you Edward and I will be a supporter of you through all of your remaining life – My troth upon it.”

I sat in silence for a minute or two.

“Hmm, sounds like an oath.  I guess I will say the same to you as it is only fair. My troth upon it.”

We sat and talked for a little while longer. Basically making sure we were on the same page and then both of us turned in for bed.  Well, I thought that is what Lunette was doing. I was down to my underwear when a knock came at the door.

“Edward, it’s me again”

I threw my t-shirt back on and told her to come in. She was wearing a purple robe that was tied and went down to her mid-thigh.

“Edward isn’t it customary to seal oaths in some way?”

“Yes.”

Lunette pulled her robe back and let it fall to the floor, revealing her naked body.

“Once, a long time ago, I offered myself to you like this.  You turned me down and told me to go home.  I thought afterward that you were a strong man to do such a thing. Now, I offer myself to you again.  Not as a star-struck teenage girl, but as a woman. A woman in love with you. A woman who wants to give her strength to you, and receive it in return.”

I stood dumb for a second.  I remembered what she was talking about.  I wasn’t ready for sex at the time so I turned her down.  But now…

“Lunette, we were lovers once.  It was about healing back then and lust, to be honest. But now, if you truly love me.  Do what your heart says for you to do. I will do the same.”

This morning I have awoken to find myself lying next to a beautiful faerie woman.  I can see her naked form laying sideways on the bed as she sleeps from my desk.  Her wings are behind her and folded so I can’t see them.  She is a vision of beauty and glowing in her own way. I feel the love I had for her once awakening in me again. Dormant but never gone. That’s just the way I am.

I don’t know what the future will bring,  But, I know that Lunette will be back to back with me in the end.  I can only hope we will remain survivors.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Meditations – Secondary Identity: ?” – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin) Day!

I am becoming very certain that my primary identity being a writer is solid the more I think about it.  Now the question of secondary identity or identities begins to present itself. It is a big question mark but it is made clearer by the simple fact I now can see it is something I do to make money and live not as my primary thing.

That, however, does not tell me what it should be but perhaps what I need to be is open to the possibilities instead of looking for certainty. Perhaps there is still this need to be meditatively open to what lies ahead and let things run their course as far as what I should be open to being seeing that this issue is not what compliments my writer career not the other way around.  It means that certain things need to be in place.

  1. I need time to write so the job I get must be not so time-consuming that I can’t write every day.
  2. I need something that pays well so I am not eating beans and rice if writing does not go well. I have lived too long to not have plans B, C to the end of the alphabet.
  3. It should be something that compliments writing if possible.

I don’t really want to write things down at this point as even possibilities. I don’t even want to brainstorm because I want to find this out by being open and meditating on it.

Now, I want to be clear that I will still be applying for jobs that I qualify for.  The issue at this point is not trying to direct this thing and be open to whatever does present itself. That said being proactive means looking for job opportunities and applying for them. But this might open my horizons as to applying for more things I might not have thought of as possibilities.  The issue now is to be open and available to any idea that will meet my criteria.

All that said, I still am meditating on Identity because Primary and Secondary aside, everything comes together in overall identity.  I am one me.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Stoics and Epicureans” – Of Wolves and Ravens – Western Philosophy

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Discussion

In Hellenistic Western philosophy, there is also a form a dualism that is a creation of two schools of thought – Stoicism, and Epicureanism. Breaking them both down:

Stoicism:  Nature is rational; man cannot escape the forces of nature but can uniquely follow its laws; A life lived this way leads to virtue; Wisdom is the core of virtue from which spring the cardinal virtues; Passion is irrational and thus strong feelings should be avoided; pleasure is not good or evil and only acceptable if it does not interfere with one’s quest for rational virtue; Poverty, illness, and death are not evil; Duty is the motivation for pursuit of virtue.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/stoics-and-moral-philosophy-4068536

Epicureanism: This is a little more complicated.  One person, I read listed eight epicurean councils: 1) Don’t fear God.2) Don’t worry about death. 3) Don’t fear pain. 4) Live simply. 5) Pursue pleasure wisely. 6) Make friends and be a good friend. 7) Be honest in your business and private life. 8) Avoid fame and political ambition. He also listed ten values of which the first five deal with ourselves and the second five deal; with our relationships to others: Prudence, Self-management, Self-sufficiency, Serenity, Simplicity, Friendliness, Honesty, Generosity, Cheerfulness, Gentle-ness

Source: https://churchofepicurus.wordpress.com/basic-principles-for-the-modern-epicurean/

I suppose the main difference I see is the fact that Stoicism is pretty straightforward, but Epicureanism seems to be a little more freeform – ‘chaotic’ if you will. It would explain while on one site about Epicureanism there was a list of 40 tenents.  The difference between the two basically comes down to the goal of Stoicism being happy through overcoming and enduring hardship, wherein Epicureanism happiness is found in training one’s desires.  I can see one major difference in that Stoics accepted the fate of circumstances and tried to be wise by enduring it where Epicureanism seems more at odds with the idea of fate. Some things can be avoided if one trains one’s desires. Both sides had the basic same goal – wisdom.  To be a person content with themselves.

Source: https://academyofideas.com/2014/03/stoicism-vs-epicureanism/

To the Wolves and Ravens:

“Feed the Wolves, but Listen to the Ravens first.”

Needs (Geri):

The fact there is a debate in Western philosophy probably indicates the need for moral philosophy. How one conducts ones’ self toward self and others is has a great bearing on what we need.  Needs are real and both schools acknowledge this. One side, however, seeks to endure while the other side seeks to live in such a way that they are dealt with beforehand.

For myself, it seems that need is more of a looking at life and seeing what is needed for survival.  This breaks down into obvious needs and personal needs.  Food, water and shelter from the elements when needed. Stoics would endure a lack of these needs while Epicureans would seek to avoid the lack in the first place. Other needs are more specific to the individual.  I think what I find is that I mix this whole debate in a blender and come out with something that is a mix between the two when it comes to needs.

Wants (Freki):

Passion and desire resulting from it, Stoics would decry, I would say that without passion there is little motivation to pursue much of anything, including virtue. I balance things, which is more in line with Eastern Philosophy.  We are all self-motivated which stems both from rational need and passionate desire.

Reason (Huginn):

From a rational point of view, it is reasonable to look at any philosophy and eat the meat and spit out the bones.  I can see from the Stoics that virtue is a good thing and agree with that, I, however, reject the notion of fate as it leads to a lot of evil in my opinion.  I can see the Epicurean point of working to avoid evils like poverty and illness, but I can see the Stoic point of sometimes endurance is needed.

Wisdom (Muninn):

I see wisdom in both philosophies, but their means are different in achieving the state of self-contentment or being the sage as they would call it.  I see the best example of my own blending of the two is the fact that the Nine Noble Virtues seems to borrow from both but each virtue might be seen as a blending of both schools of thought.

Courage, Discipline, Perseverance, Indstriousnesss are more Stoic; Truth, Self-Reliance, Hospitality, and Fidelity more Epicurean.  Both in their own way strive for Honor. Some of my other underlying philosophies borrow from both.  Minimalism is Stoic, lIbertarianism more Epicurean but both have elements of both.

Conclusion:

I guess it all reflects that I am kind of eclectic when it comes to philosophy.  That said My philosophy of “Feeding the Wolves but Listening to the Ravens first” has remained constant now for almost a year and I find many philosophies simply get too focused on my way of thinkingto me on a small group of ideas. There is more to life than reason or getting what you want, but together, the many dualisms of my philosophy come together and form something very coherent to me at least.  I borrow from many viewpoints to get a fuller view of the world and how to live life.

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Spacer” – Space Tramp – Chapter 2 – (Megatraveller Fan Fiction)

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Mani’s Day

Story:

Jeremiah anxiously waited to get the results of his 4th Officer Exam.  He had completed the necessary year contract classified as Route Assignment.  He had taken the test on the work station and now it was simply a matter of waiting to get the results.  If some of the test hadn’t been an essay, it could have been automatically graded, but it had essays so it required someone to look at it.  He couldn’t believe how far he had come both literally and figuratively in this last year.

It seemed now like an eternity ago that he stepped into the Starport of his homeworld Strouden looking to get off-world.  He headed to the starport employment agency and began to look at his options.  The opportunities were many from Megacorp service to the Free Traders. He already decided that Free Trader was the way for him to go for a couple reasons – everything else required a better education for a better chance and the Free Traders only required one-year contracts while all the line types required four. He wanted to keep his options open. He signed up for Free Trader Service and after a battery of testing both physical and mental, he was accepted into the Free Traders.  He was given his Free Trader ID Card and then placed on the list of prospective Trainee candidates.

He didn’t have long to wait as several captains extended him offers.  His strength scores attracting the freighter class captains for his potential offloading ability.  He was also a qualified Grav Vehicle driver.  But what caught his interest was a Captain who was more attracted to his intelligence as she offered to make him a true Spacer if he joined her ship. When he messaged her back to ask what she meant, she replied: “How would you like to be a Pilot?”  He signed a one year contract for a Route Assignment with her.

Free Trader Captain Mandy Juros was in her late 40s and she was the owner/captain of the Far Trader – The Regina Strider.  A Far Trader is a little different than the standard Free Trader as it exchanged the ability to do a two-parsec hyperspace jump for some cargo space. Strouden was isolated by space geography as there was only one nearby system within one parsec and it has an E class starport – that is a foundation of rock to land on and that was it.  You refueled at the systems gas giant.  A Standard Free Trader ship had to jump there and then to the next world which meant two months of time. The Regina Strider could do a two-parsec jump so it has a choice of seven different worlds to jump to but the only one was interesting as it put them on the route the captain wanted – Sharrip. She wanted to follow a route she had done before from Strouden to Regina.

Jeremiah, having never been off-world was excited but soon found himself too busy to enjoy all the sights of his first space voyage. The first thing he learned was the standard month of a spacer’s life on an active starship.  There is a one-week planetside where the ship is refueled, sells and then takes on cargo and passengers.  It takes one week on average to get to the jump point.  Once in hyperspace, the ship is there for a week and once out it; it requires as week usually to travel to the next starport.  Once landed the cycle repeats.  Jeremiah found himself loading cargo almost right away using his grav-vehicle license and muscles.  Once they were loaded, Captain Juros piloted the Ship to the jump point. In that week she sat him down at the controls and began to teach him.

Over the next months, they jumped to Sharrip, then Resten, then Quiru.  All of these worlds were low population but had good starports that provided a means for trade and travelers. When he wasn’t loading or unloading cargo, he was in his room learning to engineer or on the bridge using the simulator programs to sharpen his pilot skills.  The fourth jump, he was the one who ran the jump program and they arrived at Garrincski.  He piloted the starship to the starbase and did the landing. That next week, while at Starport, he took the Pilot’s exam and then the word ‘Starship Pilot’ appeared on his ID Card.

Captain Juros was at a loss because her contract with Jeremiah said that part of his pay would be teaching him Spacer skills in exchange for his services.  He had mastered being a Starship Pilot far sooner than expected and so she asked him what he wanted to learn next.

Jeremiah always had a view of the long term.  Up to now, he has been an orphan and not really all that important.  He knew the better jobs in the Free Traders went to officers. He had his route assignment so he knew at that point the 4th Officer test would be available to him at the end of it.  But he also knew that he could at the end of the second year, if he passed the commission test, he could take the 3rd Officer test, but that required Engineering skills. So he asked her to teach him Engineering.  She agreed.

The rest of the assignment was uneventful other than slowly but surely moved their way to Regina.  One month before they arrived, he took his Engineering Skills exam and passed.  Now His ID card also said: “Starship Engineer”,  Captian Juros shook her head.  It was a rare thing for a Spacer to basically get the two most desirable qualifications in a single year, but Jeremiah had done it.  He smiled and shrugged. One jump later they landed on the Sector Capital of Regina. He scheduled himself for his 4th Officer commission test at the Free Trader Association building.

The skill part of the test was a Vacc Suit familiarity test which he passed.  He had to don the Vacc Suit to do some repairs to the power plant that required him to do a spacewalk once so he was practically familiar with its operations.  Over the last year, he had simply had gotten familiar with Vacuum Suits by default. Then was the battery of tests on starship procedures and basic Imperial laws on Interstellar trade and travel. The Essays had been more about “Here is situation X, what do you do?”

“Jeremiah Kilwood”

The voice broke him from his musings.  He stood up from his chair in the mostly empty waiting room and headed to the counter.  Behind it was the woman who had said his name.  She was young like him with a cute face and nice curves.  Her brown hair and eyes accented her overall beauty really well.  As he approached she smiled at him.

“You Jeremiah Kilwood?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Congratulations, you passed.  Let me be the first to call you 4th Officer Kilwood. Your new ID card.”

She handed him the new ID which had at the top: ‘Free Trader 4th Officer Jeremiah Kilwood’ Then his skill certifications were listed underneath. He beamed a huge smile.  He was no longer just a deckhand.  He was a Merchant Officer. More importantly with this first year done – he was a spacer.

“Oh, Officer Kilwood?”

“Yes.”

“My name is Kimberly Forrest.  If you have any questions, you can ask me.”

“This might be improper, but when do you get off work?”

She smiled and blushed slightly.

“It’s Ok, in about fifteen minutes.”

“I want to go celebrate, but I don’t have anyone to drink with me.  You game?”

“Ok, see you in a bit.”

Jeremiah sat back down in the waiting area and looked at his New ID.  He felt for the first time he was someone. Not just a nameless face in the crowd. Who knew, maybe someday instead of 4th Officer, it might read Captain.  But that was the far future. Right now there was a commission to celebrate and a girl to get to know.

Megatraveler Notes:

Start fo the year:

Jeremiah Kilwood

UPP: A67A74   Age: 18  Homeworld: Strouden UWP: A-745988-D N Hi In

Skills: Grav Vehicle – 0, Computer – 0, Handgun – 0 

Year One:

Rolls to Enlist in Merchant Service – Free Trader: Needs 7+: modifiers +1 for Strength and +2 for Intelligence.  Dice Roll: 8 + 3 = 11. Success. 

Position Availability: 8+ needed +1 for intelligence. roll: 9 + 1 = 10 Success

Assignment: roll: 5 – Route Assignment. Survival: Need 3+; roll: 7, Skills: Need 7+: roll: 8 success. Bonus: Need 11+ roll: 7 no bonus. Commission Exam: Need 6+ roll: 6 Commissioned as 4th Officer. 2 Skill rolls: Year and Commission.  Adds default skill Vacc Suit – 0 because of Merchant Service. Rolls on Free Trader Business (corrected) table: 5 – Exploratory Cascade Table – Picks: Pilot – 1, Rolls on Free Trader Business table again: 2 – Space Cascade table – Picks: Engineering – 1.

The commission earns Jeremiah his first Brownie Point.  These can be used to modify die rolls by one for each brownie point. 

Megatraveller Character Shorthand

Free Trader 4th Officer Jeremiah Kilwood

UPP: A67A74   Age: 19  Homeworld: Strouden UWP: A-745988-D N Hi In

Skills: Pilot – 1, Engineering – 1, Grav Vehicle – 0, Computer – 0, Handgun – 0, Vacc Suit – 0

Brownie Points: 1 

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Meditations – Primary Identity: Writer” – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / 2 Comments

Happy Mani’s Day

In the Last Rabyd Skald, I basically stated that I needed to probably do some meditations on who I am.  It is a question I have not been avoiding but struggling with since my departure from my former role as minister and Christian.  I would say the Chrisitan part being replaced by “Deistic Humanistic Pagan” has been pretty solid and that identity has not been hard to grab ahold of so much as the implications of that change are still something I am coming to terms with on a daily basis.  The real problem is my role as minister being replaced by what?

For a while, I have had this idea of being a business person of some sort and being a writer on the side.  It is a practical choice because money is a real thing that you need to live life. I also have to deal with the fact the ministry has left me broke and without any retirement to speak of, so there is a need to make some money to make up for that. But that is a rational decision and to be blunt only listens to one of my ravens – Reason.  What about Wisdom? It also brings up the question of will my wolves be satisfied with such a role? Will I truly be getting what I need or want?

So my meditations have turned inward.  What is the call of my heart and what is the course that is wisest as far as encompassing my whole being?

I have to give a shout out to a fellow blogger from the other side of the world (the internet is an amazing place isn’t it) who on my last post on this issue wrote that perhaps I should simply ask the universe and wait to see what happens. You can check her out at Myst Nokomis.  I know I have found her observations interesting and at times inspiring. She is actually a blogger that I read regularly.

My conception of what she said in my mind is a little different but I get what she means and so I said to myself.  “Perhaps it is time to just silence myself in meditation and listen.”

Oddly enough the first thought that struck me is one word “Writer”.  Now the trick to being open in meditation is not to recoil at the thoughts that come to mind.  I have often said I am a writer but I have always placed it secondary to what other things I am pursuing.  The thought I had in that meditation session was that perhaps I have this backward.  That ultimately I am a writer first and something else second to pay the bills.  That what I should be focusing on is my writing and then focussing on an occupation that is complementary to that. Something that harmonizes with being a writer, not making my writing harmonize with something else.  Writing becoming the melody of my life and what other things I do becoming harmony to use a musical analogy.

I think I might be on to something as this feeds my wolves and it seems a wiser course of action.  It still has rationality to it, because if end up doing something I hate, I will not make progress in it. Writing has always been a love and something I do to express myself fully.  People who meet me personally, never get the full story as I pull back into myself.  I have trust issues born from painful experiences.  When I write, that inhibition leaves. Like all INFJs it is my artistic/non-verbal way of expressing myself that is true.

The main issue then is to be about the business of being a writer and that involves a few things but most notably setting aside times to write above and beyond the blogging that are substantial  Like at least an hour or two a day. I guess what I should start to get in my mind is writing on this blog is kind of my writing warm-up.  Then its time to be working on some projects for publication.

I have long mentioned I am a big fan of the science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein.  In the book Grumbles from the Grave, a letter where he answered the question of why he wrote is preserved.  His three-fold answer was:

  1. Make Money
  2. Entertain Readers
  3. Make People Think

As I have meditated on this over the years in think he had the right of it.  The first priority of a writer is how to support himself and his family by writing, the other two are means to that because if no one likes what you write then they won’t buy it.  If they buy what you write you won’t really be impactful unless you throw something in that makes people think, it leads to long-term success.  This is the right priority, any other way is just high minded idealism that won’t amount to much in all three categories.

This change will require more meditation, but I think I am on the right path, it certain resonates with my wolves and ravens philosophy; better than some career, then a writing career as secondary.  I think this needs to be switched and then I can look at my identity from the proper perspective.

Just a blog note to end things: there will be a post later today for my serial: Space Tramp, but I might be doing these meditation posts in place of journal posts this week.  My identity has become an important issue and I want to make sure I get this right.  So you might see two posts today, Odin’s Day and Frigg and Freya’s Day.  One a post like this at 10 am and the other some fiction writing at 4 pm. At least for this week.  

I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!

“Idunn – The Renewer” (Asatru – Part 8) – The Pagan Pulpit

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day

Announcements:

We don’t pray here – we figure God, the gods, goddesses, or whatever powers that be either know already, don’t give a fuck, or are busy with more important matters than our petty stuff. We also kind of assume that they expect us to do stuff that we can do for ourselves and that we will do them ourselves and not be lazy. We also believe in being good friends, so we don’t presume on our friendship with the powers that be by asking them all the time for stuff while giving them nothing in return.

We also don’t take an offering here.  We figure the powers that be probably don’t need it.  Let’s be honest, offerings are not given to the divine powers, they are given to an organization to support it.  Just being honest. God, the gods or whatever never sees a dime, farthing or peso of that money; it all goes to the church, mosque or shrine.

Theme Song: “Idunn” – Trobar de Morte

Meditation:

Image may contain: text

You either understand or you don’t.

Text:

See the source image

If you want more details about Asatru, I can’t recommend this book enough.

Sermon: “Idunn – The Renewer”

I know people might have been expecting Frigg, but  Idunn is the goddess of spring, renewal, and youth. She is the wife of Bragi – the poet of the gods. I place her prominently because, to the followers of Asatru, she has become the patron goddess in many ways of the renewal aspects of Asatru. She is the one who is the most instrumental in the rediscovery and renewal of the old ways and making them new again.

In mythology, she figures prominently as the keeper of the golden apples of youth.  When a god or goddess began to fade and begin to look old, they would come to her and take an apple and eat it.  Their youth would then be restored.  In the one-story where she figures prominently, she is the object of the giant’s desire, and she is captured by them thanks to Loki.  Loki then is charged with rescuing her and he does.  She is the wife of Bragi – the poet of the gods.

I like this version of not only renewal but the view of the gods.  Even their immortality has a requirement from the universe for it to exist. It is not simply just there but requires renewal and that is the job of Idunn to grow the apples of youth and provide them when needed.

Rebirth and renewal and pretty universal pagan concepts.  They appear in almost every mythology and are always considered in some ways vulnerable. That said, they are vulnerable not because they can be destroyed, but because they have requirements or locations which can be controlled by multiple people or things.

As spiritual concepts, renewal and rebirth are good ones. I know of no practitioner of paganism that at one point or another didn’t realize their need for a renewal of spirit or a rebirth moment from time to time. Stagnation and death are forces in this world and to avoid them requires renewal and rebirth.

To the Asatru movement, Idunn is a patron goddess who is thanked for her efforts in helping the Asatru being reborn and being given new life.  To many, she symbolizes the rebirth of Neo-Paganism.  In a sense, Asatru has been allowed to take a bite of the golden apples and be renewed after a long absence.

For me personally, the image and story remind me of several lessons:

1) I am engaged in a bit of a rebirth process for myself right now and as a 50-year-old man, it is a hard process.  But rebirth and renewal are absolutely necessary if life is to continue.  Change is a necessary part of life.

2) That what is precious should not only be honored but guarded.  I look at the Asatru Movement and think also that while renewing and growing, it needs some sort of way to preserve it.  The old ways were lost once before and perhaps finding a way to preserve this way of life against that possibility again is a good idea.

3) It also has to be concluded that in renewal, new things will be needed.  There is simply too much lost, so the gaps will have to be filled with new ideas and concepts. New ways of doing things coupled with what we know of the old. Rebirth and renewal have that aspect as well.

Hail Idunn!!!

Parting Thought:

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I remain,

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher. The Grey Wayfarer.

Skaal!!!