“My Morning Routine” – A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues

December 17, 2019December 17, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day

Journal Entry:

My daily routine is shit these days. I hate the holidays and I need more things to be habits rather than struggles. This is why I added a week to specifically discuss routine because it is the key to a better future. Life has a way of passing and how we control what happens to our time and what we spend our time on is important. For me, this is particularly true.

My morning routine is pretty messed up at times. It is simply the fact that I need to spend more time doing other things at this time of year. I really wish I had a job that had a more stable schedule as this would help all my routines but the morning routine is simply a matter of me getting up and doing what needs to be done. Not just that but what needs to be done in terms of keeping myself balanced emotionally and that starts with meditation. Something this last month I have struggled with.

I think this stems from my atheism. Meditation seems too ‘spiritual’ even though I know it has psychological benefits that have nothing to do with divine anything. It can feel like my old religious past and that is something I find distasteful anymore. But virtue is true regardless of religion and I know when I am meditating regularly, I am more stable emotionally. This is the part of my morning routine I need to make more consistent and I think that it will require a meditation altar and a consistent form.

Honor:

“Honor is the feeling of inner value and worth from which one knows that one is noble of being, and the desire to show respect for this quality when it is found in the world”

Principle – To possess a feeling of inner value about myself and my future with a desire to find the same in others.

Goal: ~~Maintain a daily blog streak of one post per day for an entire year (365 days).~~ (achieved)

Bucket List: Hike the Northern Lakeshore Trail along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by March 2024.

My morning routine is probably the thing that develops honor in myself more than any other time. It is about me finding balance and strength and being prepared for the day.

Courage:

“Courage is the bravery to do what is right always.”

Principle – Act with Courage at the right time.

Goal: Cross one thing off bucket list every year. Deadline March 31st.

Bucket List: Go Back to Budapest, Hungary for a vacation by March 2029.

I know of no routine that prepares one for the necessity of courage other than to meditate on courage. That is definitely why meditation is important.

Truth:

“Truth is the willingness, to be honest, and to say what one knows to be true and right. It is often better to not say anything at all if one cannot be honest.”

Principle – To Honestly Pursue, Accept and Speak Truth to All who will Listen.

Goal: To Write a Non-Fiction Book by March 31st, 2020

Bucket List: Read 52 books (one per week) in the year 2020.

The reading and writing as part of my daily routine need to be more solid. Too many things hinge on them.

Higher Virtue: Love:

I recently heard a speaker via YouTube make a simple statement that learning to love oneself is key to everything and that one should take the chance and love yourself first and then the rest will flow out of that. I couldn’t agree more but my personal struggle has always been to put myself on the back burner for others. Finding balance here is the key and routine is the process of turning that key. Of spending time on what is important to me.

Morning Routine:

Stretching / Yoga
Shower, Personal Hygiene, Breakfast, Morning Meds.
Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV), Principles, Goals and Bucket List
Meditation – 5 min.
Check Communications and Email.
Paper Journal: Create a Daily Log and To-Do List.
Get Dressed for the Day

There is no need to change this. There is a need to be more consistent in doing it. But that is probably true for all my routines.

I remain.

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

Skaal!!!

“Holy Days” (Asatru – Part 22) – The Pagan Pulpit

December 15, 2019December 15, 2019 / 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 (if any) 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: “Diese Kalte Nacht” – FAUN

Lyric Video:

Meditation:

Text:

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

Sermon:

It was a surprise to me how little I had to change things regarding holidays after I dropped my Christianity in the scrap heap and embraced a more pagan view of holidays. Much of what was pagan, has been absorbed by Christianity. But mostly the holidays reflect the time of the changing seasons. The circle of life.

In venerating the gods and goddesses, the followers of Asatru are simply giving their proper nods to the gods of each time of the year. Mostly there is the notion of Winter and Summer with the transition times more popularly known as Fall and Spring. The issue of holidays is not so much one of noting special events although that does happen for heroes like Leif Ericson but rather about noting the change of the season and the unchanging cycle.

These are the Blóts of note and have their celebrations that are mostly festive although there are some somber occasions particularly in remembrance. But the feeling I get this is more about the celebration of life, honoring the dead and giving devotion to the friends known as the gods.

For me, this was a logical step as I wanted to step away from Christian holidays as I have no desire to be reminded of them. However, I did need to have reasons to celebrate with family and freinds and this is important from a community standpoint even as an atheist pagan. So the holidays are the Viking ones to me and so Yuletide comes soon. They give a time of reflection and reminders of the changing times as well.

Parting Thought:

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Pagan Athiest?” – Odin’s Eye

December 4, 2019December 4, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / 7 Comments

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.

Discussion:

I am an atheist who wears a Thor’s Hammer on Thor’s Day (Thursday). I meditate on the Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru because it is quite frankly the best list of virtues from my point of view. My moral philosophy is based on a concept of Odin as a wanderer with his wolves and ravens. Everything about my ‘spirituality’ centers on the simple concept as presented here within Odin’s Eye – changing one form of sight for another. Mostly discarding the fear of Christianity and embracing the powerful reality of reality.

So yes, I am a pagan atheist. I borrow from paganism a lot of things that are simply far more true than most things elsewhere. I just don’t believe in gods, goddesses or divine powers. The essence of paganism with its wonder of creation, its respect for life, the individual, free-will, and nature, I can very much embrace.

I suppose my former faith would say I have become liberal in a lot of things. I would say this is true for a lot of things, but I also am more human. More accepting of others as human beings. I have studied too much history to be a socialist/ communist as those economic systems violate the laws of economics and fail. I also don’t follow the gun control notions as I have long studied the history of tyrants and one of the first actions of wolves is to take the teeth away from the sheep. But other than that, I can respect human beings and their freedom a lot more as an atheist who also has borrowed his ethics and little of his understanding of the world around him from pagans.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Meditation:

My meditations still remain on the Nine Noble Virtues as well as my moral philosophy and outlook on life. Insight into my life is a desire here and the world around me and its reality not the fantasy of made-up notions. I find this is far more useful to my life in practical ways of applying virtue to my life are beneficial consistently.

Mystery:

There is still much to be discovered, I don’t know everything and never will. But perhaps I can contribute something useful to knowledge or human progress before I am gone. Something that will also allow me to be remembered for a little while after I am gone. All I know is that I still have a sense of mystery about the universe, but it isn’t fanciful just a wonder that is far more powerful than any religious wonder I have had because it is grounded in the real world.

Spirituality:

I still long in some senses for a sense of community that is more close to myself. it is probably the only area of spirituality I still need to work on. On the other hand, I have a huge case of trust no one. My only hope is that the atheist/pagan community understand loyalty a little better.

Conclusion:

I guess I can look at religion for its fruits and decide as an atheist what ideas have been preserved by religion that are actually good. I mean I believe most things that are good were created by us humans and various religions grabbed them when it suited their purpose and used them. I now know that by simply being social creatures, humans have developed virtues ethics because they aid with survival and prosperity. Honestly – ‘live long and prosper’ is indeed our motivation and being a pagan atheist I can see what does that clearly.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“An Atheist/Pagan Thanksgiving?” – Odin’s Eye

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.

Discussion:

There is no Norse correlation to the American Thanksgiving Holiday. There is really no holiday at all from a Norse perspective at the end of November and the next holiday that would qualify would be Yule which is the last twelve days of December. So what meaning could Thanksgiving have for an atheist/pagan? Honestly, I think it is a nice celebration but it is the term ‘thanksgiving’ that gets me now – thankful to who? The implication is that there is an Invisible Sky Dad to be thankful to for stuff we have and we pause to give thanks to him. As an atheist, yeah no.

My pagan side centers on The Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru, being connected as possible to my heritage and family roots, and celebration of holidays that are based on the seasonal changes of the year. Thanksgiving isn’t about any of that. From my perspective as a harvest festival, it’s a little late in the northern clime where I live. Shit, we have had some snow already and most farmers have put away their shit for winter.

If I am going to be thankful then, I am going to center on people and things that actually exist. Notably, other people in my life that have actually done something to help me or make my life better. Family, freinds and the people that created and founded this country on secular principles. It is after all a national holiday.

One note before we look through the eye – in concerning the former filter I had known as Faith – it is gone and I have decided not to replace it with something else. Probably this is the best symbolism I can make concerning this issue. One less cloudy filter to look through. Live is mysterious enough without religion and faith to further muddy my vision.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Meditation:

Being thankful is probably more a part of the virtue of Hospitality, so it becomes a matter of who would one invite and show hospitality to as an expression of that thankfulness. This is a matter for meditation but it ends with the people who have made decisions that have actually benefited my life. There is quite a list to lift a mug of mead to in that regard. Not just living today but in the past. Ancestors both biological and philosophical that in the end revolutionized the world I live in right now.

Mystery:

I don’t think the mystery is so much divine any more to me but the question of who my ancestors actually were and what influence they had on my life. There is a lot of unknowns that need to be discovered and I anxiously await the means to do so. If there is a legacy to be left to my grandchildren, it is to pull back the veil here and see the truth of who I am.

Spirituality:

The spirituality I can see with Thanksgiving is at some point my family will gather, we will share and meal and drink and talk about old times. It’s the connections we have that make it a spiritual occasion. Of course, I have to work that day but that isn’t my employer’s fault.

Conclusion:

I work in retail so I will be from noon till 9 pm on Thursday at work doing the initial Black “Friday” sales. I always find this an interesting study in human behavior. People decry that we have to work and should be home like everyone else, while they are shopping on the very day. If companies didn’t make money because no one showed up on principle, they wouldn’t do it. I suppose this is the best I can say for Thanksgiving – let the Christmas shopping begin. Salute to all my brothers and sisters working this holiday season in retail – “May the odds be ever in your favor”.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Offerings, Prayers and Altars” (Asatru – Part 20) – The Pagan Pulpit

November 24, 2019November 24, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

Announcements:

Theme Song: “Asatru, Nordic Roots”

Mediation:

Text:

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

Sermon:

With the idea of the friendship of the gods more prominent than anything Asatru worship of the gods as far as its practical form follows suit. The offerings, prayers, and altars reflect this and I find this as a former Christian minister very fascinating. Ritual is a part of religion and it has its purpose in being aspects of the relationship with the divine. In Asatru what I see in their rituals is more of a fellowship and friendship emphasis with the gods being the guests of honor.

Offerings in the modern-day tend to be drink offerings (alcoholic) and already prepared and cooked food. In the old days, the slaughter of the animal, skinning, and cooking were a part of it. But very few people today tend to know how to do this so buying food and preparing it is substituted. As with a lot of religions drink offerings are poured on the ground to symbolize the gods partaking. Food is offered up and then shared among the worshipers. Pagan offerings have a practical side and I wonder if the Christians realize that their potlucks and similar meal sharings have more in common with pagan worship of old than their own practice of communion.

Prayers are different. Asatru argues that for the most part, a worshiper should pray standing upright to indicate one’s relationship with the gods is not subservient so much friendship. Other than that, the details are more about what places one in an attitude of prayer; so whatever works. The prayers themselves, having read many of them, are more in line with most prayers I have heard starting with a Hail, followed by a recognition of the title of the god where they dwell and what they did with what weapon. Then there is an asking for aid with a summarization of the problem. In meditation in private, this takes the form of visitation fo the gods in their homes and engaging them in discussions that reflect the friendship nature of worship.

Altars provide the focus for this whether in homes or places of worship. They tend to be in mantlepieces but any space dedicated to the task of prayer and meditation will do. They also tend to be as individual as the people who use them reflecting their gods of choice. Statues, candles, banners, flowers in season, etc. can all be a part of an altar depending on the taste of the individual worshipper. Public altars tend to be a little simpler and reflect the group as a whole.

As an atheist, I don’t worship anything, but I do find that my meditation space has an altar quality to it and probably I will create something to reflect this myself. For me, of course, having a statue of Odin as the original Grey Wayfarer would be appropriate. A banner depicting wolves and ravens, a candle for a meditation focus and perhaps a spear to reflect Odin’s weapon. Runes would be prominent as well given Odin’s association with them. If I am going to meditate on the Nine Noble Virtues, I should have an appropriate setting.

Parting Thought:

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Faith Isn’t a Virtue” – Odin’s Eye

November 20, 2019November 20, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.

Discussion:

I have been wrestling with the idea of faith for a long time but the struggle for the last six months or so is whether or not faith has any value whatsoever. It doesn’t seem to have a purpose anymore in my moral philosophy or the way I live my life. I don’t take anything on faith anymore and insist on solid evidence for claims. The bigger the claim, the large amount of evidence should be expected to prove it.

Odin’s Eye as a topic head has been for the most part about the stuff that I am still trying to figure out form a spiritual point of view. As I have pointed out atheists do have spirituality, it is just based on human experience and consciousness rather than blind leaps of faith.

The issue is one of my filters for Odin’s Eye has been Faith, and I think it has run its course. Religion gave way to Meditation and Theology has given way to Mystery. So Faith gives way to what? Do I need a replacement or do I just discard it and move on without it in Odin’s Eye?

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

This will be the last time faith will appear in Odin’s Eye. The main reason: I no longer consider faith a virtue. There is nothing virtuous about making absolute claims with no evidence whatsoever. It is not a virtue to believe in something because you want or need to believe it despite the fact there is no evidence for it or worse strong evidence against it. That’s not a virtue; that is wilful deliberate ignorance and there is nothing virtuous about deliberate ignorance. It is actually a very dishonest position to hold.

Meditation:

Meditation is the last trappings of my religious life. But it is also demonstrable that it helps calm a person down., clears their head and allows one to focus. By meditating on the virtues one holds true one can change one’s attitude and perspective – change the nature of one’s consciousness. That isn’t faith-based at all but neuroscience and practical experience.

Mystery:

Dumping theology was hard because in a sense I still use the skills I learned as a theologian as far as understanding theological points of view. I use it to debunk them now and I rather talk about mysteries of life not for the purpose of glorying in mystery but for the purpose of discovery of the answers to them. The process of doing this is really anti-faith as it isn’t about acceptance of mystery but solving them.

Spirituality:

My spirituality isn’t about faith at all, rather being skeptical. Proof my human relationships and consciousness are accurate are important under spirituality. This is not some blind faith, but rather a genuine attempt to understand all the world around me using my consciousness, my experience and most importantly my rational mind.

Conclusion:

This post marks the end fo faith as a virtue for me. I see it now for what it is – deliberate ignorance and ultimately dishonest. It can’t stay. The only question now is if it deserves a replacement in Odin’s Eye, or does it deserve the status of a blinder thrown off. Have I, like Odin, plucked out my eye of faith as a sacrifice? I just perhaps need to put a patch over where it used to be and move along.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Which God Have Atheists Created?” – Odin’s Eye

November 13, 2019November 14, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.

Discussion:

As I explore the spiritual side of atheism, I have to talk about a danger that I see atheists falling into which is creating a new god for themselves. I am part of a couple atheist groups and one is a group fo fellow atheist libertarians. One discussion we were having was on this very issue and one of them remarked that some people leave faith and worship of a god and only turn around and start worshiping the government god or the climate change god, etc. I agree.

Gods of all types are usually constructs of our own minds. When we don’t understand something in truth by investigation our mind fills the gaps with some sort ‘god’ to hold that place and we either gather more evidence to find the truth or settle for this imaginary gap filler.

A good example is when an atheist starts talking about climate change and starts saying – ‘the science is settled’. Such a statement of antithetical to science, as science is supposed to always be amendable to new information. Yes, theories form, and scientific theories are strong (such as the theory of evolution) but science is a tool, not an omniscient force. If it tries to pass itself off as omniscient, or the final word on a matter, then it isn’t science anymore.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

Faith is becoming a difficult subject for me. Mostly because I don’t see it as a virtue anymore and am starting to come to the point of view it is the most dishonest position one can take to simply believe something without evidence. Then to assert it as an absolute and try to force it on others compounds the dishonesty with violence. I have noted historically speaking faith has caused far more wars than reason.

Meditation:

I meditate on virtues, the caution for me is not to make them ‘gods’ either, they need to be amendable and in a week I may be doing some editing of them for this very reason. Noting can be so absolutely known by us human beings that should not be amendable to reason and wisdom.

Mystery:

I find there is a mystery in the world, but the danger is to use mystery as an excuse to keep my ‘gods’ instead of casting them on the fire with the rest of the nonsense. I need to never accept mystery as an answer like theologians and the religious. Nothing is exempt from being a subject of being studied and better understood. Nothing is exempt from criticism. Mystery should be an identifier of these things, not a cop-out.

Spirituality:

I have wrestled with how to get the human side of atheism expressed more and one of the things is not to be so dogmatic about so many things. Humans are prone to error and so even making humankind a god through humanism is no a good idea. I put a lot of stock in humanities’ ability to overcome their problems but also know we could fail and that will mean the end of us and the universe would be off to form something else.

Conclusion:

I simply want to avoid making anything substitute for my former faith in the same way. Filling the gaps with faith, mystery, and causes as substitute gods is not a good idea. The results are of the same negative vein as religion. People get religious in their fervor to the point of harming others and that same fervor can be in atheists if they take on a new ‘god’. This is something I wish to avoid.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Athiest Spirituality” – Odin’s Eye

November 6, 2019November 6, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.

Discussion:

Spirituality is a very broad term and even among those who believe you have to define what perspective is being used in regards to spirituality. Christian Spirituality, Pagan Spirituality, Islamic Spirituality, Hindu Spirituality, and Buddist Spirituality all have their various difference in how to approach the spiritual nature of humanity in relationship to the divine. But what of Atheist Spirituality. Without the supernatural in any form is spirituality possible? I believe the answer is yes and all these forms tap into something that is probably very human.

Sam Harris in the quote above is on to something when he gives a shortlist of 1) spiritual experience, 2) ethical behavior and 3) strong communities all leading to human happiness. I am going to lay the last two aside because for me these are found in following virtue which I discuss extensively and strong communities is a community discussion as far as I am concerned, What interests me is ‘what is the nature and function of spiritual experience as an atheist?

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

I agree that spiritual experience is a product of the human mind and a natural propensity to spiritualize consciousness. I believe it is an awareness of the world, people and society around us and represents our attempt using our consciousness to understand it all. It is this foundation of consciousness that I think is the root of spirituality and eventually paganism in its very early forms. We all start I think as pagans from a consciousness point of view until something comes along to change our viewpoint.

Meditation:

It is the product of some form of meditation, using this term in the broadest sense involving thinking and feeling at length about a subject, that change in our consciousness is achieved. Spiritual change is more about psychology than the supernatural. We change our ethics and perspective because we come to different conclusions as we meditate on issues and thoughts. This is spiritual in the sense it involves our psyche, but might not have anything to with powers and forces outside ourselves.

Mystery:

This is one area where there is a lot of mystery. Sure a lot has been discovered by science, but the social sciences, in my opinion, still lack that germ theory moment where a breakthrough happens that changes our understanding of the nature of the subject dramatically. Until then, the mystery is there but it isn’t an excuse but rather a motivation to open up our consciousness even more as we seek to understand it.

Spirituality:

For me, the foundation of my spirituality is both pagan and atheist. It is the primitive attempt to understand the world around me using nothing more than my own sense fo consciousness. I, however, believe that this is the product of the human mind and imagination, not supernatural forces. It is this kernel of truth that survives that I used to surround with religion but now is my own godless and religionless mind.

Conclusion:

I have thus no problem using any religious idea that I feel reflects this. Following the Nine Noble Virtues, for instance, is a good example of taking something like virtue and using it to provide a framework for philosophical thought while discarding actual belief in the gods of Norse mythology. I sense as I use religion for this purpose more universal truths will surface like this, but I don’t need to be religious or religiously spiritual to appreciate them and utilize them. So yes, atheist spirituality is a thing. It is spirituality focused on humanity and the world we live in rather than spirits or gods.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Loki – Trickster God” (Asatru – Part 17) – The Pagan Pulpit

November 3, 2019November 3, 2019 / 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.

Theme Song: “Loki” – Rebellion

The lyrics of this song not only recount the stories of Loki but the chorus really encapsulates Loki’s mind – “Lord of Chaos, Brother of Wisdom, the others side of good lurking in your mind”

Meditation:

Text:

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

Sermon:

Loki is an antagonist that does a lot of good things. Recounting his role in all the stories fo Norse Mythology would take quite some time and he is not as straightforwardly evil as a character as people would think. Much like Fenrir, he only turns against the gods because, in the end, they turn against him. Did they have a good reason and a rational fear to do so? Perhaps but the realness of Loki is that he is not a straightforward villain, you can see his side of the story. You can see he has some good points and it hard to be truly disgusted with him.

In the world of the past when the Norse gods were actually worshiped, Loki does not have any worshipers if you look at his artifacts. None that we can tell. Loki is a god, but his worship must have been underground and outside the norm. No temples or statues to this trickster god. But to those willing to bargain and engage in cunning and discreet deception, Loki smiles.

To the followers of Asatru Loki is worshiped by some. His cult is not of the mind that Loki is evil or Ragnorak is the end fo all things but rather a necessary change of the wheel of time. He may make trouble form time to time but the benefits might be worth it. I mean Sif’s hair, Freya’s Ship, Thor’s Hammer and Odin’s Spear are all products of his work. The walls of Asgard are the product of his trickery as is Odin’s steed Sleipnir. The modern heathens have many debates about Loki. It is only his role in Baldar’s death and the fact he kept one person from weeping over Baldar that condemns him. Although his three Children by the giantess add further problems.

Villians, if they are done well, have a motive that you can actually sympathize with. No one is truly evil and Loki is no exception. It should be noted that as epic as some of the antagonists in Morse Mythology can be, Loki represents the threat within that comes from a person who is an ally that could be turned into an enemy. There is a lot of wisdom to be gained when considering this element of Loki’s story.

Parting Thought:

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Pagan Holidays: Winternights / Halloween / Samhain – Part 3” – Odin’s Eye

October 30, 2019October 30, 2019 / Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.

Discussion:

Say hello to the Brothers Grimm. I don’t know if I can call myself a pumpkin artist yet, but I have to say I enjoyed the artistic moment of creating these two more than I thought i would. I haven’t carved a pumpkin since my kids were little. It is an enjoyable experience and next year I want to plan it out better. The Brother’s Grimm represents fear and joy, two very palatable emotions at Halloween.

As we get closer to Halloween I have to say I am enjoying this holiday personally more than in years past. I like writing about things magical and strange and so the holiday fits me. My personal history with Halloween also factors in as for many years I was told I couldn’t celebrate it because it was Satanic. I never completely bought it, but it was a constant nagging in my life from Chrisitan culture.

More properly now I know this has nothing more to do with Satan than it does with God. Samhain and the pagans that celebrate it has very little to do with either and is more about welcoming the coming of winter. The Wild Hunt is released and the time for hearth and home is at hand. The time for appeasing the spirits and honoring the dead is more what this has to do with than anything else and the Abrahamic traditions of Satan and Yahweh have nothing to do with it.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

“To see the truth, change one eye for another”

Faith:

The real issue of faith in the holiday known as Halloween, Samhain or Winternuights, to those of a more Norse persuasion such as myself, is this belief that the veil between our world and the spiritual one becomes thin which allows the two to merge or cross. While not a believer myself I find this idea fascinating. It represents something that I cannot get over this idea of multiple worlds that collide sometimes, alternate realities that when they merge they create another alternate reality.

For me, it is the changing of the tide so to speak as one season moves into another as winter and summer collide to create fall is in its own way ‘magical’. Sure it is a more naturalistic explanation of things but the concept is the same. The continued faith that Summer will give way to winter and then Winter will give way to Summer in their turn.

Meditation:

Halloween causes me to meditate more on the joys fo life and celebrations I have missed out on because of a Christianity I no longer believe in. If I see anything in it now, it is the desire to enjoy life and celebrate its seasons and moments with a little more fervor. At least as much fervor as an INFJ type can muster. I find it interesting as I meditate on how religion can rob you, the greatest thing I have lost is the celebration moments and fun times simply because some world view wanted to tell me not to do this or don’t touch that. If my meditations have led my thoughts into any direction it is the freedom from religions’ persuasive power to bind one’s thoughts when such binding is not necessary.

Mystery:

I will be honest, this filter of Odin’s Eye has become problematic as an Athiest. I mean having a theology degree can be helpful down the road as I write books challenging theology, but for a life filter that looks at life’s intangible elements, the artistic and ‘spiritual’ side of it, theology is becoming more and more useless to me. Its a set of clothes that no longer fits. This relates to Halloween in that it is this time of year that calls me to be different.

So today, in the spirit of Halloween, I announce a change from Theology to Mystery as part of Odin’s Eye. More in the spirit of the Viking Runes and trying to find their meaning. The mystery is something that might always be there but is something I will no longer use as an excuse, just an identification marker of that which I don’t understand that I am trying to discover its secrets. It fits far better with my concept of myself which is rapidly evolving.

Spirituality:

I guess I have a lot of tolerance spiritually speaking for the pagans of this world. I get you guys far more than any other religion and at least I think you are starting with the right place – looking at the world around you and within yourselves. Looking at what both are for yourself and not what some supposed ‘man of god’ tells you. I respect that level of individuality a lot. Probably the most spiritual thing a human can do is be themselves.

Conclusion:

In the future, I think Halloween will remain my favorite holiday and I plan on celebrating with the same enthusiasm next year as some others celebrate Christmas. I know now this holiday represents my turning into being an individual instead of a religious robot more than any other.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

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