Meditation

“Freya – If You Can’t Lay ‘Em, Slay ‘Em” (Asatru – Part 14) – 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: “Freya Song” – Sascha Ravendark

Meditation:
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Text:

See the source image

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

Sermon: 

Now there is a historical debate as far as the development of Norse religion regarding Frigg and Freya being the same goddess that at some point split in two with one aspect of this goddess being Odin’s wife (Frigg) and the other becoming the hostage of the Vanir along with her brother Freyr being the other, but even if they were once the same they become very different in the mythological stories later.

Freya and Frigg have many of the same spheres: Love, Fertility and prophetic magic. But they diverge as Frigg seems more of a homebody of hearth and home.  Frigg seems to be the aspect of the woman and man would want to settle down with as a wife.  Freya, on the other hand, is the girl you want to party with, fight alongside, and fuck.  Or rather given her far more aggressive nature – let her fuck you. She is very independent and self-reliant much like the cats who are her symbol.

Freya is actually associated with the spheres of beauty, sex and war, things Frigg is far less associated with.  She is a far more aggressive female than Frigg and far more passionate and warlike being also a goddess associated with death.  It is, after all, the goddess who gets to take half the slain in battle to her hall. Captian of the Valkyrie, she is one of the choosers of the slain giving half to Odin for Valhalla and keeping the other half for herself.  I don’t remember where I read this, but one commenter said she really had the motto of = “if you can’t lay ’em, slay ’em”.  She was either going to fuck you or fight you and kill you.

For the followers of Asatru, she represents fertility much like her brother Freyr and is involved in all things productive. But she is also invoked in matters of the heart whether love or conflict. It is said that her worshipers have evidence of their existence long before any others except Odin and her worship was the last to die out when the Christians came. A large testimony to her veneration. She would make a very good goddess for any shieldmaiden.

For me, this splitting of feminine nature seems very necessary.  Frigg being the quiet passionate strength behind the throne of Odin.  But Freya, well she is the openly passionate side of women.  That raw animalistic love and anger that they can be quite famous for. I love both sides and it leads me to believe that this split (if a split actually occurred) might very well simply be a reflection of this understanding.  That man at some point in his life needs a Freya to inspire him with passionate side of women and then needs a Frigg to give him strength as a father and husband. Perhaps it is reflective that no woman can be both of those, or such a woman is incredibly rare even among the goddesses.

Parting Thought:

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I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Evolving Spirituality” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

I have found a great deal of fascination in defining spirituality in terms of evolutionary development.  I feel that religion is in many ways a codified attempt to explain where people were at certain times in their understanding of spiritual evolution.  The problem is that religion has a tendency to anchor us to that moment.  We don’t move on from there once someone says: “This is spiritual Truth” with a capital T.

We should recognize that these moments of spiritual understanding are not capitalized but are a moment of truth at is both evolving and fleeting because there is other truth with a small t to discover and the truth we are at that moment is just the next part fo the path that leads to other truth.

Spiritual evolution demands that we explore the truth and keep moving from one part of it to the next. This is something that I am learning right now and I am hoping my time stagnated in Christianity hasn’t robbed me of my chance to be a better person. Is the next step for human evolution to take our growing and developing consciousness to the next level?

Time to Look Through the Eye:

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

Faith:

I am effectively an agnostic/atheist that explores spirituality because I think that inside spirituality, and to a lesser extent religion, is that spark of genius that given enough time might lead to human beings evolving to another level of consciousness.  My start in this began with Asatru but much of what I do in meditation is straight-up psychology and neurologically proven stuff.   Religion and spirituality do tap into something that neurologically works and I have assurance, not faith, that this is true. Much of what we know scientifically now is someone looking at what humans spiritually thought once upon a time and then science going and investigating if it was true. In this, they discovered some faith was bogus and other faith had the spark of truth that led to a greater understanding.

Meditation:

My meditation times have been taken up mostly with virtue and thinking on this concept of my own personal spiritual evolution. I feel very free of shackles right now when it comes to spiritual things.  myu definition of spirituality is more about human consciousness and the idea right now is to explore my own consciousness with restrictions.  I guess that is why I view my exploration of paganism as part of that because paganism acknowledges that each person is unique in their spiritual capacity and understanding of the world around them and they are not trying to proselytize anyone.

Theology:

Right now, theology is not something I can use that much as someone who has no effective belief in god. From an evolving consciousness point of view, I also am not looking to an imaginary friend to help me, but rather if there is any ‘god’; to be found it is this thing inside my head that makes decisions, engages the world around me and stretches out in relationships to others.

Spirituality:

My spirituality as defined as an exploration of my own consciousness and in bringing to myself a new understanding of who I am and that part of me that I still am learning about.  I want to stay truly with understanding myself and why I do what I do.

Conclusion:

I don’t know what truths I will discover but this journey as The Grey Wayfarer has its bright moments.  Those moments are usually spiritual in the sense of understanding human consciousness spiritual.  There is a lot more road ahead of me to walk yet, and this is what makes me get up every single day.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Goals and Routine” – A Skald’s Life – Foundational Virtues

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Mani’s Day

Journal Entry:

My meditations have been on my routines but I have to go back to my goals and look at the ones I have achieved and asked what part of my routines helped me achieve them.  This really involves a lot of thought about Routines in the sense that they not only have to line up with goals they also have to practically work.  If I don’t do them and they don’t actually help me achieve my goals then they need change.

This last goal that was achieved reminds me of the fact that feelings cannot be a measure of whether you decide to work on your goals.  If I relied on feelings to achieve blogging every day I would have never made it.  Any writer will tell you that you have to sit down and write regardless of feelings. Writer’s block to me is just another mythological excuse.  I had to sit down at my computer and write regardless of feelings and still do as the streak of daily posts continue.

I need to learn to branch this out a little more to other areas like writing my novel and a non-fiction book, and doing the other things writers do – reading.  The fact is the things I do despite feelings I am having good results in and the rest flounders because I let feelings determine if I do them or not.  That needs to change.

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.

Goal Achieved and that is three out of nine for the year. My thoughts though are this goal is going to be regularly about getting past feelings nad getting habit in my life I need to be a successful writer.

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’m picturing in my head getting a new job, saving up some money and then getting my tattoo on my shoulder.  This would cross off two goals and a bucket list item off this list.  it is the next real major milestone in the journey and need to get there soon. The job search is also one of those things that need to get past feelings.

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 Be Honest, and Speak Truth to Myself and Others.  To Be Silent in the presence of Fools.

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

Bucket List: Learn Latin by March 31st, 2021 to the point I can take a test and show my self proficient.

In order to write my non-fiction book, writing needs to be every day.  Another place where – “I don’t feel like it’ cannot be present.

Higher Virtue: Love:

If I am going to balance out everything else with love of self, getting past my feelings is the key.  Literally. I need to start putting my feelings to love others in a proper perspective and I need to have some feelings about loving myself that are more developed.  That requires an objective look at feelings – why I have them and what they accomplish. Loving me has become I priority if I am going to move forward with my life and stop these anchors from the past from holding me back.

Morning Routine:

  1. Review Nine Noble Virtues (NNV), Principles, Goals and Bucket List
  2. Meditation – 3 min.
  3. Check Communications and Email.
  4. Paper Journal: Create a Daily Log and To-Do List.
  5. Stretching / Yoga
  6. Shower and Personal Hygiene
  7. Get Dressed for the Day

I am starting today looking at every line of my routines and asking questions about what I need to make them work better and more consistently.  For the Morning Routine, the thing that is missing is a meditation altar and I am going to spend some money to make one with some candles, incense and I found a valknut plaque to be a centerpiece. It’s kind of a project that hopefully will make meditation a little more formal and thus effectively done.

I remain.

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

Skaal!!!

“Meditation Altar” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

Over the last couple of weeks, my mind has drifted in meditation and part of the issue is of course foci.  I don’t have many and there is also something to having a ritual in meditation that helps you down-center and then clears your head in order to open it up to thoughts and feelings that are more focused.

I was reading another blog a little while ago and this is why my head has been thinking of a meditation altar of sorts with a few rituals to focus and calm down. Then I can concentrate on virtues and any other thoughts about the coming day.  If you want to read the source document for my thoughts: ” Welcome to My Altars” – Myst Nokomis.

Of course, this leads to another discussion as meditation seems to indicate that I might be believing in something beyond and I have to reiterate that meditating does not necessarily indicate that one has spiritual beliefs. A book I would recommend for those who believe that meditation can be something outside the spiritual is How Words Can Change Your Brain by Newburg and Waldman.  These two guys are neuroscientists who study brain patterns and basically developed a meditative technique based purely on meditation on positive virtues.  It works in that it allows a human brain to very much focus on those virtues and it takes as little as three to five minutes.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

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

Faith:

Meditation for me then is not necessarily about faith.  I follow Asatru for two basic reasons.  Firstly, I am a practitioner of the Nine Noble Virtues and try to apply them to my life.  Secondly, I am trying to recover my lost pagan heritage in terms of culture and religion.  My meditation is more about the virtues and my studies of mythology and religion of the Vikings are pretty much about the second.

Meditation:

Meditation is about me awakening my mind and emotions.  It about concentrating on the things that matter to me and how to engage the world around me. I turn inward in order to deal with the outward better when I come out of meditation.  My desire for a ritual and an altar of sorts is about consistency.  Religion has tapped into one thing if I take Newburg and Waldman’s book seriously, and that it understands the importance of routine and repetition.  That’s the point for me.

Theology:

For all practical purposes, I have no active belief in any god, goddess or force. It makes me academically an agnostic epistemologically and an atheist in the reality of my belief. If I have belief in anything then it is in humanity itself of which much of mythology is nothing more than personification of human forces of various kinds and the forces of nature that human beings relate to regularly.  Humanity is my ‘diety’ if you will and I express that understanding through Asatru and relate best to Norse mythology. It’s not that I don’t hold myself open to other views.  It is just I am still seeking and looking for the rational divine if it exists.

Spirituality:

Spirituality is about virtue, relationships, mind, emotion, body, and connections.  As such my one spiritual practice is meditation.  I don’t pray anymore.  I don’t fast or any of that stuff.  I simply seek to get my mind and heart right at the start of every day and then live my life. In truth, this is probably the essence of all spiritual life.

Conclusion:

On a practical side, I am going to make a meditation altar that involves as many of the senses as possible. Sight, smell, touch, sound, etc. I think the more I connect my meditational thoughts to as many senses as possible the more they will be both remembered and have a positive effect on my life.  That, I suppose, is another thing that religion does tap into that is very human.

I need something that can move and be put away, probably has symbols, candles, and incense. For sound probably I will have to use my phone and earphones.  I guess what would constitute a taste fitting for meditation might be a question I have but I will think about it.   The main objective being to have tihs in place before the month is out.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Qualities of Spiritual Nudity” – Freya’s Chambers – Nudism

/ Ed Raby Sr / 2 Comments

 

Happy Frigg and Freya’s Day

Disclaimer:  The topics covered in Freya’s Chambers include serious discussions of sex, sexuality and related issues.  If it isn’t your thing; you can move along, otherwise enjoy and feel free to discuss.  Given this week’s topic be prepared for nude images of people engaged in spiritual and other activities.  I avoid genitalia as a general rule but is not always possible.  

On May 17th, 2013 I started a series on my old blog All Things Rabyd called Naked Before God with the post; The Positive Spiritual Side of Nakedness. Back then I was still a devout Christian that was struggling with the simple fact that while Christianity basically had strongly connected nudity. sex and sexuality: the Bible had not.  If anything the most positive time in humanity’s existence in the story of the Bible is when Adam and Eve are in the Garden – naked and unashamed.

That series was about the spiritual side of being naked before God and how nudism could be considered a Christian spiritual discipline or at least a metaphor of how one could picture oneself before God and develop a sense of enlightenment about that relationship. That was over six years ago and a lot has changed but the main principles of spiritual nudity I think are still solid and deserve a second look.

I listed six positive spiritual qualities that nudity possesses: 1)  Vulnerability, 2) Openness, 3) Intimacy, 4) Genuineness, 5) Wholeness and 6) Equality.  I would say that all of these are still valid but need to be rethought without all the ‘how do I draw the line and avoid sin?” question. For me, this question no longer even exists so I want to see how things change from what I felt and thought then to what I feel and think now.

What follows will be excerpts from that old post with commentary and changes to reflect new attitudes:

See the source image

Vulnerability: 

“While it could be argued that vulnerability is a weakness and at times it is, there is a positive side to it.  In the Garden of Eden we see this in Adam and Eve as they are completely vulnerable to God’s presence, each other and the world around them.  Because of this, they have to develop interdependency with each other and God.  In all person to person relationships, vulnerability is the key to opening up intimacy and ultimately love.  To love someone, you must make yourself vulnerable to them and take risks that they will take advantage of this vulnerability, but when vulnerability is rewarded with returned vulnerability from the other person intimacy and love grows”. – The Positive Spiritual Side of Nakedness – May 17, 2013

I suppose the easiest way to edit this would be to remove all the lines about the garden of Eden and leave the rest because I think it still is a positive quality at times. I think one could experience the vulnerability to other people and the world around them and just drop the divine parts unless that is part of your spiritual goal of being naked.  I know that for myself this is a longing of my heart but I have experienced vulnerability being naked with my wife. There is something about that that opens the door to intimacy.

See the source image

Openness:

‘It is really hard to be closed off to people when you are naked.  …  Reading the testimonies of practicing nudists, particularly people who are sharing their first time is interesting in this spiritual aspect of nudity.  Even naked, they try to cover themselves up and present themselves in ways where their perceived ‘bad features’ are less noticeable.  In the end, they give this up and just allow themselves to be themselves…. –  The Positive Spiritual Side of Nakedness – May 17, 2013

As you can imagine this one is pretty edited down and much simpler without the God of the Bible involved.  It suddenly switches the spiritual focus from the divine to humanity and being open to our fellow human beings. This a shift that actually gives this author a cause for pause, because the question becomes is openness truly possible without being naked in front of someone else?  I can do this with my wife but that is it, so the spiritual aspect of openness is left to that relationship. This is simply a spiritual quality that you are either open to others around you or if you are more spiritually minded – the universe. This brings up a limitation that depends on one’s willingness to be naked in front of others.

See the source image

Intimacy:

Clothing prevents intimacy and in our world, this is often by design.  I am not going to say this is bad in certain contexts. Clothing is a barrier that is used to prevent people from knowing things about you.  Intimacy ultimately results from people discarding barriers and defenses.  In personal relationships, you don’t necessarily have to shed your physical clothes to be close to someone but you do have to let your guards down and let people know things about yourself that are sometimes uncomfortable and awkward.  In a real way, intimacy is achieved when you allow others to see that you too are human and you also allow them to show their humanness to you without judging them in return.  – The Positive Spiritual Side of Nakedness – May 17, 2013

I would still say that clothing is a barrier to intimacy in certain contexts.  Sometimes this is about security but also it can be about insecurity.  We all guard ourselves and cover-up both literally and figuratively.  Intimacy is just not possible without the shedding of all the barriers and one of them can be clothing. Learning to drop barriers and not judge when they do the same are the two key factors in building intimacy.

See the source image

Genuineness:

‘Hard to be false and deceptive about anything when you’re naked.  Everybody sees the truth about what you are.  This is particularly true with yourself.’ – The Positive Spiritual Side of Nakedness – May 17, 2013

I guess this still applies to spiritual things as well but I find that this is accomplished far more by looking into your own eyes. The principle is still true that when anyone is naked they are who they genuinely are. In my own life, this has become reflected in my morning routine of getting up and meditating in the nude which means I start with who I genuinely am and work the rest of the day from that point.  Being honest with myself looking in a mirror has been both a great motivator for health and fitness.  In any case, when naked every flaw, scar and what does not measure up to normal society is visible.  What can be changed for the better is obvious but also that which one cannot do anything about should be accepted.  Often what we think are flaws are simply things that make us unique.  This can be particularly obvious when standing in front of a mirror naked and honestly assessing ourselves.

See the source image

Wholeness: 

‘It is very difficult to see yourself compartmentalized when you are naked.  You actually see everything that you really are.  Clothing is used to define ourselves but in very limited senses.  We dress in work clothes to define our work.  We dress in athletic clothes to go work out.  We dress in casual clothes to relax.  We dress in sexy clothes to be romantic and make love.  We dress in formal clothes to impress people with who we are.  In a very real way, clothing is used to compartmentalize our life.  When you are naked all that is gone and the reality of ALL that you truly are is there: body, soul, and spirit in one package and there is no compartmentalization at all.  We simply and truly are what we are.’ – The Positive Spiritual Side of Nakedness – May 17, 2013

I would still stand behind the above statement.  Clothing seems to be about changing roles and gives only one facet of who we are at a time.  Take that away and you are what you are completely.  You are whole and not compartmentalized in that state.

See the source image

Equality:

‘It is very difficult to see yourself as better or worse than someone when you’re naked.  Want to make everyone socially, economically and culturally equal? Take off their clothes.  The housewife, businesswoman, prostitute, and debutant suddenly just become women when you strip them of clothes, makeup and jewelry and make them stand in a lineup.  Without their clothes, you can only define them by their bodies, personality, and actions and none of that necessarily reveals economic, social or cultural status.  Nakedness forces us to realize that we all came into this world naked and we all will leave it naked.  That is the great equalizer.’ – The Positive Spiritual Side of Nakedness – May 17, 2013

I still stand by what I said to here and I don’t want to give the impression that I am singling out women because the same is true for men and perhaps a little more visible. To most women, a man in a suit with an expensive watch is going to get a lot more attention if he is single than the guy in a t-shirt and jeans. Take their clothes off and then the factors of attraction change radically. The equality of removing fashion from the equation I think could be and perhaps has been scientifically demonstrated.

See the source image

A Word of Warning:

Now, this all said, there is a reality of the world we live in that cannot seem to grasp the concept that nudity doesn’t necessarily mean a person is being amorous or an expression of sexuality.  We live in a world where culture can be very sanctimonious and self-righteous and those that practice spiritual nudism are well-advised to take that into consideration. For myself, I practice privately and when alone. The whole goal for me is not to have people see me. Forcing your nudity on others might not be wise.  Fighting for equal treatment like the topfreedom movement does is one thing.  Shoving your nudity in the face of people you know would be offended is another.   The issue is to make these experiences, if they have a spiritual side to them, positive and not negative.

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Issues:

I think most of the issues involving spiritual nudity and if you want this as part of your life both practically and spiritually are solved with using reason and wisdom.  This is definitely one of those needs or wants that you should listen to the ravens first before letting the wolves be feed.  There are definitely spiritual and personal benefits and perhaps even social ones. The issue is ‘indecent exposure’ is a real legal charge and there are simply safety measures that you can and should engage.  I think privacy and perhaps going to a place where nudity is known to be accepted are probably the best options.

See the source image

Personal Thoughts:

I am agnostic about most things.  I lean toward thinking deism might be an option but at the same time I have no active belief in anything divine, so on a practical level, I am an atheist.  I believe in spirituality as practicing meditation to calm my mind and focus my day.  I believe in the power of symbols to help conceptualize things such as virtue and principles. If spirituality is about virtue and relationships then I guess in that sense I am very spiritual.  My following of Asatru is more about the virtues and recovering the lost pagan heritage of my ancestors.

Nudism has a lot more to due with me just being truly who I am.  Being a whole person who accepts who they genuinely are without all the trappings. It’s about being honest with myself about what I can improve and what is simply what makes me unique.

The other aspects of nudism from a spiritual point of view are incomplete for me.  They are high in these regards when it comes to my wife, but other aspects of them are incomplete because of my lack of any kind of experience of communal nudity. Well, other than the locker room when I was an athlete. I don’t know if this would be so revelatory as to change my views on spirituality or not, but until I experience it I will never know. In the meantime, I stick with what I know and can experience.  One of the things I know is that nudity has other qualities besides the physical and those can be very positive.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Haustblot – A Fall Festival (September 22nd-23rd)” – Odin’s Eye – Holidays

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

This holiday actually was celebrated a few days ago.  Haustblot or Fallfest is associated with the end of the harvest season.  Perhaps it would be better to say it celebrates the beginnings of the end of the harvest season which will continue right up to Winternights.  This is a minor blot or festival and so it is not given a lot of fanfare per se.  But it does mark the beginning fo the fall season.

A lot of gods and goddesses are honored at this point and reflected on.  Anyone of them that is associated with the harvest or fertility is on the list. Being the beginning of fall in the northern hemisphere it is celebrated as we are starting the journey to Winternights and ultimately Yuletide.

If there is any hold out to how this holiday is celebrated it is the idea of a bonfire usually made from the lighting of the hearth in each home and then each family bringing a torch from that to light the common fire for the community. Pretty rich in symbolism.

Time to Look Through the Eye:

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

Faith:

I think that faith that nature will continue to provide is a key element of this beginning harvest festival. Of being thankful for the powers that be or nature for providing what is needed ot sustain life through the winter. Those in four-season climates understand the importance of the harvest more powerfully than most as it means the difference between life and death.  Whether this is faith or simply a trust in the cycle of life is a good question.

Meditation:

I think a lot of this festival begins a time when the virtue of industriousness is on the one hand needed to bring in the harvest and the other hand celebrated because the rewards of this harvest are coming in. The fruit of one’s labor leading to the continued survival of yourself and your family and community is celebrated. Important things indeed.

Theology:

I suppose there is a lot of spiritual things connected with the harvest that our world of modern science has explained and allowed us to do even more and be even more fruitful. The spiritual side of this seems to be important to remember as well. To be grateful to those that do grow and harvest for the rest of us is something to be considered.  There is a connection between everyone at some point and it is often not noted because we never see one another. But in then I can eat because someone else took the time to grow and harvest the food I pay for is central.  Human connection is a theological concept.

Spirituality:

I am continually humbled by the world I live in. Life is both strong and fragile. I am reminded not only of life but death.  Things harvested are in the end dead but the give life to others as they are consumed. There is s simple truth to this that is embraced.

Conclusion:

While not a great blot or festival – Haustblot is a good moment to pause and reflect. it a good moment to take a deep breath as fall begins and then get about the business of doing what needs to be done to prepare for winter.

This completes the first time I have gone through the cycle of pagan holidays. focusing on the Vikings as much as possible.  I am going to continue doing this as each year I feel my opinions of these things will of course change. It has been very interesting this first time though and I plan on getting deeper into things each time I go through it.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“My Spiritual Symbolism: Valknut with Rune Circle” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

 

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

My struggles with magic aside, I do believe in the power of symbols. Not magical power per se but more of a power to encapsulate thoughts, concepts, and ideas into a single pattern or image.  For me, these become very powerful focuses that keep me steady in my thoughts and philosophy.  They also remind me of what is spiritually important.

I adopted the valknut as my replacement for the cross right after leaving Christianity.  I had become fairly certain that at least the Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru were going to be my new moral code, so I looked for something to symbolize that and the symbol of the Valknut was almost always present in any website I was studying at the time and so made it my own.  The fact that it is connected with Odin and death rituals (burial) only solidified this.  The Grey Wayfarer (me) often wears a pendant of the valknut around his neck on a chain.  Mine also has a circle of runes around it like in the picture above.

Both the valknut and the runes are mysteries as to their full meaning.  Much has been lost thanks to the invasion of Christianity and the subsequent purge that followed them of all things pagan. The valknut and runes apparently were too pagan to find their way to being incorporated into Christian worship and so were actually expunged.  A few examples survive and so what we know is very little.  The valknut is associated with Odin and burial because we find them on gravestones.  Runes are everywhere but they don’t seem to be about language although some modern pagans have made it so.  From a scholar’s point of view, they are largely a mystery as well.

What this meant for me is that I was left to give this symbol and the runes around it their own meaning. So…

Time to Look Through the Eye:

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

Faith:

I am a deistic humanistic pagan.  First and foremost I fall on the side that says while religions are bunk and made up for the most part, I don’t dismiss the idea of a supreme being, beings or force of the universe being a real possibility. However, I believe that the only real source of overcoming my own and other human problems is myself and other humans. I am pagan because my spirituality basically draws me back to the spiritual roots of my ancestors. It is far more about heritage than religion for me.  The valknut and runes are a good symbol of that as both call to my Germanic and (hopefully) Scandinavian roots.  It is at least the faith and spirituality of my own spirit regardless of biological genetics.

Meditation:

I suppose my meditation times that I have used the valknut and rune circle are the ones that have given both new meanings for me. Firstly the nine sides of the three triangles became representative of the Nine Noble Virtues.  Later, the nine formed the three triangles of the Higher Virtues of love, Justice, and Wisdom.  All of them are interlocked and the three triangles, if you look closely, cannot be separated fro meach other.  It thus forms a single spiritual path of following virtue, a single symbol – the valknut.  It also because of its connection to Odin serves as a reminder of the finality of life. Virtue is the only thing that gives that life value.

The rune circle around it is all 24 known runes. In many ways, it symbolizes the mysteries of the knowledge of the universe to me. By following the path of virtue, I begin to understand these mysteries better.

Theology:

One of those mysteries is the divine.  Part of that, to be honest, is to assess whether such divine entity or entities exist.  As a diest, I fall on the side of agnosticism that says we don’t know enough to dismiss the idea of the divine, so I believe more in its possibility than it is not possible.  I will give the atheists their due in saying they could very well be right, but at the same time, I don’t think I can myself close my mind, heart, and body off to the idea that a creator or creators exist. It seems too ‘dogmatic’ of ‘fundamentalist’ to me so to speak.

The issue then is to find meaning either way – for me, this is the following the path of virtue as a means to coming to better understandings of the world around me and perhaps finding the answers I seek.  I am a pilgrim searching for truth, wherever I find it.  I am the Grey Wayfarer

Spirituality:

I find spirituality in Virtue.  Virtue allows me to connect with myself, other people and the universe and all it contains. How can one not be connected when following after virtue? For me, this symbol reminds me that part of understanding the universe requires connections.  The path is what connects and virtue is the path.  In meditation, this symbol has proven to be the best focus when I am looking to understand this connectivity to everything else.

Conclusion:

As I meditate more on this, I am sure more things will come to mind.  I have plans to make my meditation time more ‘ritualized’ in that I may have other foci and even some candles and incense.  Regardless, the valknut and rune circle will always be central to it. The centerpiece if you will regardless of what becomes my first meditation altar.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Magic – A Skeptical Pagan’s Perspective” – Odin’s Eye

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Woden’s (Odin’s) Day.    

Discussion:

In the Pagan world, magic takes a lot of different forms.  In my pagan world of the Asatru, with its Viking heritage, there is a belief in magic.  It is full of shamanism as well as the simple idea of using consciousness to affect the world through the will of the practitioner.  Because in Norse mythology everything has a spirit, then the issue was influencing the will of those spirits to line up with the will of mage.  Most notably the magic of the Vikings seems to have focused on the idea of knowing and fate.  For one to decern the fate of a person and thus decided the best course of action was the goal of Viking magic.  This particular form of magic was called seidr.  The Vikings had other forms but this seems to have been their magical passion if you will.

I freely confess, pagan that I am, I am skeptical of magic.  It stems from seeing the value in science, but as some of the writings on magic point out, the end goals and means of science and magic are very different.  I can get that, so I am not closed off to the possibility of magic.  My problem is my own personal history as a Pentecostal Christian has soured me to the whole idea as what many times was considered ‘miracles’ was either very explainable as mass manipulation and psychology or straight up huckster fraud.  The idea of the divine powers reaching into the lives of people I can accept, I just think that the people who claim to do this need to be scrutinized with a very skeptical eye.

So what about magic in the real world?

Time to Look Through the Eye:

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

Faith:

I can believe that the powers that might be would interact with the rest fo us humans. The question I have is whether this is necessary all the time. If in some ways this might be presumptuous on our part to even ask for it.  I start the Pagan Pulpit out with the following paragraph:

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.

I want to tell you I sincerely mean this. I am not going to presume on any friendship and that includes the divine powers. Faith that they exist – yes.  Presuming that they want to help me – no.

Meditation:

As I have meditated on this question of magic. my biggest personal struggle is that of prayer.  Mostly, as I look at Chrisitan prayer, I see it is talking to one’s self and interestingly enough part fo the self that we actually define as God.  You will find that Christians in general view this ‘God’ very differently.  Everyone has their own very unique perspective on who this person is and interestingly enough shaped in each persons own image of what they want.

Prayer to me seems presumptuous in and of itself.  But self-talk I see the need for as we all do it and those that pay attention to it often are more well adjusted. The real question I suppose is theological.

Theology:

Theologically speaking, the question comes back for me as to whether the powers are benevolent, malevolent or indifferent to the whole question of good and evil. Why would they help us if we ask? Can they be trusted?

Even in the mythologies, I know those are good questions.  Odin, for instance, has a higher purpose in mind and so will not hesitate to sacrifice you his devotee to that cause.   Loki certainly can’t be trusted.  Better not to pray at all and thus leave the whole magic of life to living as virtuous as possible for your own sake. Virtue has its own form of magic as do stories.

Spirituality:

My spiritual side longs for what magic could do, but my skeptical side says better to leave it alone. To practice the more subtle magic of living life as a follower of the Nine Noble Virtues and to tell tales as a Skald.  Bring the more common magic of virtue and story to people.  To not presume on the powers that be, but rather be self-reliant and work hard to attain that I wish.  Magic seems like a dangerous short cut.

Conclusion:

I guess I can leave my fellow pagans with some questions.  Is magic something you practice and why do you do it? Is my skepticism a good thing or a bad one?

For now, I will follow virtue and tell stories of life and the universe. It seems to be a safe path. I still don’t see a good reason to take the short cut of magic.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Thor: Thunder God” (Asatru – Part 9) – 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: “Thor’s Thunder” – Nordic Style Folk Music

Meditation:

Image may contain: 1 person, beard, text and outdoor

If there is one change in my life that is true, respect is now earned. I don’t just give it to anyone and I don’t care if you are in authority or power, you have to earn it by your character, not because you demand it.

Text:

See the source image

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

Sermon: 

Odin might be king of the gods of Norse mythology, but Thor is definitely the favorite son of Asgard.  Odin was a favorite of rulers and sages, but Thor is the god of the common man and warrior.  He is the bringer of rain and his voice thunders like the thunder he controls.  There is probably no more famous weapon in Norse mythology than Mjolnir his hammer which is considered the most important weapon that will be used in the defense of Asgard.

In mythology, Thor is a red-bearded powerful man who can drink, fight and eat better than anyone.  He often travels with Loki and they have several adventures together.  His cart is pulled by two goats, which can be eaten each night and if all their bones recovered can be resurrected the next day.  He is today and back then the most popular of the Norse deities.

Heathens, followers of Asatru and many others can be seen wearing the hammer of Thor. This hammer to many represents the heathen faith. To the modern heathen, he represents strength, courage, and life as the giver of rain and healing.  He is often invoked in oaths because unlike Odin, only his enemies need to fear him.  Prayers to him are often for rain and strength.

For me, you will find me wearing one of my two thor’s hammers pendants on a chain around my neck every Thor’s Day as a gesture of respect to all heathens and pagans.  I like Thor and his stories are some of the most inspiring and entertaining. He interaciton with Loki very humorous at times.  For those looking for an example of courage in th face of tremendous challenges, look no further than Thor.

Parting Thought:

Image may contain: 1 person, beard, text and outdoor

Never give up.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!

“Meditations – Bringing it All Back to Center” (Plus Blog Notes) – The Rabyd Skald

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sif’s Day

In closing this out I have two things to talk about at length. One is bringing everything back to the center. Secondly, I have been meditating on blog changes for the coming year as well. Today is the 342 straight day of this blog with at least one post a day. 23 to go and another goal achieved for the year.

Back to Center:

With all this meditation on my various identities: Primary, Secondary, and Side, I wanted to get back to the central purpose of it all. The simple question is: Who am I? There is no single answer. After all this meditation, I can confidently conclude that as a human being I have many facets and I will thus have several identities. Everything comes together into this one central person that is me.

The one polarity shift in identity has been to view myself as primarily a writer and secondarily as anything else that will pay the bills better and allow for writing. This means taking writing seriously and making it my main occupation, which means writing a lot more and doing things that go along with it like reading and research.

My job search can now be even more open than it was before. My main issue here is to find something I can enjoy, will be better than what I have now financially and professionally, and will still give me time to write. I don’t what this is yet and as a wayfarer of life that actually is kind of exciting to me.

My side identities are about me and improving me. They are also about enjoying life so I think that I will be always looking at them. The biggest shift this last year was spiritual, notably that my Primary identity of a Christian pastor is truly scrapped and the spiritual side of me is a side identity which doesn’t mean it is not important, it just means that it is a part of my life, not the most dominant thing anymore. I actually find myself more at peace because of this. Being other people’s spiritual guru just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.

Blog Notes:

This change in primary identity means some changes to the blog and to my disciplines. Writing the non-fiction book and novel now are more primary to me. Blogging needs to be a good writing exercise and provide my public face. Listing off the projects on this blog:

Journal Posts: I need to get back to doing these every week. I have noticed that on the weeks I do not do them, I lose focus. These three posts a week keep me centered on my goals and provided good reminders of the values I hold dear.

The Pagan Pulpit: I think sometimes I write these for me most of all. It helps me learn Asatru a little better each week and reminds me of each week’s spiritual journey. They are a good weekly milestone if you will.

Of Wolves and Ravens: Having a philosophy post once a week has been good as a more in-depth review of my philosophy of life. It has a practical edge to it that I like and that keeps me thinking.

Odin’s Eye: I like the change I made this week to be more open about this and focus more on my spiritual life as it stands instead. Time to move on from the past and embrace the future.

Crossing Bifrost: I have put this one on hold a lot. The more I got into Norse mythology, the more I knew I was not qualified to write about it. I was using it as a learning platform but I still have much to learn on a lot of subjects before I delve into writing on it again.

The Grey Wayfarer (serial): This little fantasy serial I have closed, mostly because I think it will make a good novel idea once I know Norse mythology a lot better.

Rogue Wizard: The Fire of Fury: This one is coming to an end. Time to move on and this series kind of holds on to the past a little. I am thinking of a few more posts to round out the story and it will come to an end.

The Rabyd Skald Posts: These are my posts that talk about issues I am facing in more detail. The Grey and The Wayfarer versions are more in-depth times when I am struggling with The Grey. I also use these to talk about the blog and writing so they come up a few times a month. They are not really scheduled but they form something I do regularly.

Skald Tales and Poems: My poetry is here and there is an open slot for short stories I have yet to use but I think I will soon. This is the short writing projects page and mostly so far it si poems. Poems are a bit of a mixed bag for me personally. On the one hand, they help me release emotion to the universe, on the other hand, they remind me of Miss Salty and that can trigger some things I don’t want to feel sometimes. Hopefully, as time goes on the memories in writing a poem will be more positive.

The Skald’s Lyre: Me talking about the music in my life. I like to do this because it can provide a good self-examination of what I ma communicating outside of writing. Music fills the gaps for me in that regard.

The Book of Rabyd: Largely finished, this project is a collection of sayings and principles I follow. It is always a work in progress as I leave it open to add other things, but the main work on it is finished.

Freya’s Chambers: New. Like brand new. Mostly this is my viewpoint on sex and sexually related issues. It is a new project as my world view is changed from Christian to Pagan so it has an effect on this. I also tend to bring in the idea that moral busybodies need to be told to go away.

Space Tramp: Also new but I suspect when it ends I will hed down another road with a different role-playing game so I might eventually put this under the overall title of Roleplaying Fan Fiction where it will be one writing project among many designed to let the dice challenge me in my writing.

There is a lot to unpack and I have some other things to add but the main thing is there is no shortage of things to write on. I am going to raise the stakes going into the new year and basically write journal posts like have been doing but on those days and another post will drop as well,

1) I want to continue the Viking / Norse Mythology Theme some more when appropriate

2) and I need to restructure how the week is laid out with that in mind as well.  I just think it is weird that Odin’s Eye drops on Thor’s Day when Woden’s Day Makes more sense.

3) I need to be more consistent with my fiction practice.

My solution is to restructure the week as follows:

Sol’s Day – The Pagan Pulpit

Mani’s Day – Journal: Foundational Virtues, Of Wolves and Ravens

Tyr’s Day – Fiction Post

Woden’s Day: Journal: Business Virtues, Odin’s Eye

Thor’s Day: Fiction Post

Frigg and Freya’s Day: Journal: Self Virtues, Freya’s Chambers

Sif’s Day: The Skald’s Lyre or Skald Tales and Poems.

The Rabyd Skald Posts will drop when needed and I am putting Crossing Bifrost on hold until I have studied the subject of Norse mythology better. This actually only adds three posts by making the journal post days require another post. Look for the changes starting tomorrow.

I remain,

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

Skaal!!!