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<blockquote><h3>Original information provided by Dr. Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen&nbsp;(Nordic Animism).</h3><h3>Full credit of this information goes to him.</h3></blockquote><figure id="figure-d4u7mggkwm88sxl30" class=""><img id="d4u7mggkwm88sxl30" src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/15hFUclGTz5h81pNFFigofHIok3uFtRe0EiSFnl4kOropOyA4SkrVXgrU1BLwFSr.jpg" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="1:1" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/15hFUclGTz5h81pNFFigofHIok3uFtRe0EiSFnl4kOropOyA4SkrVXgrU1BLwFSr.jpg" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: center center;"></figure>A MISUNDERSTOOD SYMBOL.Before launching this observation, let me first make it clear that from a scholarly perspective, the meaning of a symbol can not be detached from the way people engage it. If people today interpret this symbol as “give luck”, then that does indeed hold some validity as a consequence of that contemporary engagement of the symbol. In the following however, I’ll share a different, more plausible (I believe) and more gloomy interpretation of the Iron age meaning of the symbol.The symbol is read as "GIBU AUJA", supposedly meaning “give luck”. This merchandize friendly interpretation means that the symbol intensively commercialized, by hippies, tattooists, jewelry makers, Viking nostalgics etc. But let us take a moment to consider other possible Iron Age meanings associated with the symbol.The words “gibu auja” only appear in one place in the Iron age context. It is on a socalled bracteate amulet from the 5th century Denmark. The meaning of the word “auja” is uncertain and the symbol does not appear on the bracteate. The symbol appears on another bracteate found in Southern England. Since the words appear on a bracteate, have ᚷ ᚨ (G and A) as first letters then the logic is that the G-A- bindrune on another bracteate could in theory represent those two words. I guess it could also be any other words beginning on G and A. The bottom line is that even if we assume that "auja" actually can be translated as luck, then well…. though “Gibu Auja” does appear on a bracteate, the association to a different bracteate that has the symbol still appears a somewhat speculative leap of imagination.What may be a better interpretation of the symbol? Well the symbol also occurs on a different object, a spearshaft from a sacrificial bog in the Danish island Funen. The Proto-Nordic elder futhark inscription on the Kragehul spear is super difficult, but part of it goes something along these lines“I - am called Muha, the eril of Asugisal - [I] power-sacralize: ᚷ+ᚨ, ᚷ+ᚨ, ᚷ+ᚨ (the symbol three times)As part of the rune carvers formula, this dude first states his cool name, that he is a rune master of an Asugisal, which may be a lord. And as such he pronounces his “power-sacralizing”, the effective part of this formular is this symbol repeated three times. Why would anybody write this symbol on a spear as the religiously effective part of what is usually called a rune carvers formula?Here it comes. Spears sacralized stuff for Odin who is also named The Spear God. Throwing a spear over a battle, sticking it in the temple ground (Ribe), placing it over a body in a grave (Birka) or spear marking a body as a sacralization for Odin (Ynglinga Saga). In later sources Odin was associated with the letter ᚨ whose name áss or earlier *ansuz means “a god”. The name of the letter ᚷ is the unattested proto-germanic word *geƀō or gyfu in Old English. This means “gift”, so, the spear has a sacralization that goes: “gift-god - gift-god - gift-god”, and it is found together with sacrificed weapons. It doesn't seem so difficult to figure out. The symbol probably sacralizes something as a gift for an early form of the god Odin or a similar battle related deity.The Kragehul spear was likely either hurled at those enemies who won the battle and sacrificed the spear with the rest of the weapons in the bog, or it was used to sacralize the sacrifice by the religious expert who made the sacrifice on be half of the group that won the battle.In both cases the reading of the symbol is the same. It sacralizes a battle sacrifice for Odin, either in the form of the sacrifice made in the bog, or as a sacralized battlefield like we know it from a narrative in Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa, where the leader of an army emulates a myth of Odin throwing his spear at the enemy with the formula: “Odin owns you all!”Still similar symbols do occur on the Undley bracteate and on the Rök stone. So, it is possible that sacralizing something as a battle sacrifice for Odin is not the only Iron Age reading of the symbol. At the end of the day “Give – God” could have many meanings. Perhaps it could also be a prayer and there are names meaning “gift-from-god” in many languages.However, when you are prowling the hippie market for something cool, runic and Nordic, I would still encourage you to just stop and think for a moment before you have tattooed on your body, a symbol that has as one of it’s primary meanings, sacralizing a battle sacrifice to Odin.

Bindrunes: Don't Mess Around!

Did you know that when you cry for your dead, you cry for you and not them? You cry because you “lost them”, because you don’t HAVE THEM by your side. You think it all ends in death. And you think they are NOT anymore. So if your dead no more, where are they? Yes they have left, or they are now somewhere else, is that place better than this?. Yes, definitely that place is better than this; so Why do you suffer for their departure?. When you have finished accepting that they are no longer "NOT here", but they are still in another place even better than this, for they’re where they are no longer sick, or suffering. Then you'll stop mourning them and you'll get them back in memory so they keep accompanying you with the joy of all that you've lived. If you truly loved them LOVE them AGAIN and this time with greater strength, with greater purity, with greater delivery. Today, there will be no more reproach of any kind. Only LOVE, will be the essence between you, between us, between them. I respect your pain, and the way you express it. I know you cry and you will cry without comfort. But .. Today I say to you: Don't die with your dead. Remember we are only seeing one side of the coin (death). We are not looking the other way; we are not seeing the wonderful place of light where they stand. What if we start seeing “death” as a Second Birth? Second Birth we ALL will go through. Don't die with your dead, honor them by living your life as they would have wanted you to. , let them transcend. And you keep living.<figure id="figure-lbgoc5ihzm87g0oq9"><img id="lbgoc5ihzm87g0oq9" src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/2196973030/photo/south-charleston-west-virginia-criel-mound-usa-native-american-culture.jpg?b=1&s=2048x2048&w=0&k=20&c=LkJYugG7xBEU7p62x0_EIPqEnYbXNrOBZ7MDTIBCB5I=" alt="South Charleston West Virginia Criel Mound USA Native American Culture" title="South Charleston West Virginia Criel Mound USA Native American Culture" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="Image: South Charleston West Virginia Criel Mound USA Native American Culture" data-positionX="null" data-positionY="null" data-fullWidth="false"/><figcaption class="body-normal text-gray-500 mt-2">Image: South Charleston West Virginia Criel Mound USA Native American Culture</figcaption></figure>

DON'T DIE WITH YOUR DEAD

I quote here from the Saga of Hákon the Good, the first Christian king to rule over all Norway. Hákon góði Aðalsteinsfóstri was the youngest son of Harald Hairfair who had almost managed to unite all the tribes of Norway into one country. Most of his sons turned out even more unpopular than he had been because they took away a lot of the democratic rights and liberties that people had been used to for thousands of years. Then Hákon turned up from his exile, and after a great election campaign where he promised to return ancient land-rights to the people, he was elected king of Norway in 933 AD, and remained there until his death in 961. Having grown up as a fosterling of the English king Aethelstan, whom the Norse knew as Aðalsteinn, he was a Christian, and he was the first king to try and introduce Christianity to the Norwegian people, who were still deeply Heathen. Some sources to “Germanic” history claim that if a king was converted, his entire people would follow. This is not true. A king´s example was important, but only if the free people agreed with him. The sagas of the Norwegian kings show time and time again that the Heathen people of Norway were used to a great deal of democratic partaking in the law-making and execution of laws, and to the right to own land independently of the king, and to the right of dismissing a king and even punish him if he failed to live up to their expectations. Hákon King never succeeded with his Christian mission due to the still powerful democratic institution of the Parliament, which had elected him as king, and which had the power to overthrow him. This passage offers unique insight into both the public Yule-sacrifices which happened at the end of the Yule month (12th/13th of December until 12th of January), as well as into the true power of the people that these early kings had to contend with before they finally (and much later) managed to achieve dictatorial power after having worked on introducing the “one god – one ruler” sort of mentality that was needed for them to achieve their goal: Absolute power and an enslaved population. THE CHRISTIANITY OF HÁKON KING Hákon King was a good Christian when he came to Norway. But the entire country was Heathen, and there were a lot of Blóts and many noblemen, and he needed to show himself helpful and beneficial to the people, and therefore he chose to be secretive about his Christian faith, but kept the Sundays and the Friday fast. He made a law that Yule should begin at the same time as it did among Christian folks [25th of December instead of 12th of January when the great Jólablót (Yule Sacrifice) marked the end of the Yule month], and that each man should have beer from one measure of malt, or else pay fines, and holiday should be for as long as the beer lasted. Before, the Yule-Blót (Blót) had begun on Hökunight, and that was Midwinter´s Night [12th of January], and then they kept Yule for three nights. He thought that when he held a good standing in the country and had safely made the whole land his own, then he would start to preach Christianity. He did this first by enticing those men who were his dearest, and because he was good at making friends, many let themselves be baptized, and others stopped sacrificing. He was often for a long time in Throndheim [today the county of Trøndelag in Norway], for there was the greatest strength of the country. When now Hákon King believed that he had enough support from the local noblemen to preach Christianity, he sent for a bishop from England and a few other priests, and when they came to Norway, Hákon King let it be known that he would bid Christianity across the whole country. The Märe and the Roms-valley people said they would follow the example of the Thronds, and that they should answer this difficult case. OF THE BLÓTS (– a bloody business!) Sígurð Hlaðir-Earl [earl of the Thronds] was a great Blót-man [Blótmaðr], and so was his father Hákon. Sígurð Earl held all the sacrificial banquets on behalf of the king there in Throndheim. After Heathen custom [forn siðr], all the Bonds [free peasants who owned land] should gather there by the temple when there was a Blót, and they should bring food and drink for as long as the banquet lasted. All should carry beer to the banquet, and they butchered all sorts of small cattle and likewise horses, and all the blood that came from them was called Lautr, and the vessels that they kept the blood within were called Lautr-bowls; and with the Lautr-brushes – they were made just like the brushes used for holy water – they should color the walls outside all red with blood, and likewise on the inside of the temple, and they should pour them over the people attending. The butchered animals should be cooked as food for the guests. There should be fireplaces along the middle floor inside the temple, and kettles above them. A drink should be carried around the fireplace, and the one who kept the banquet and was chief, should bless the drink and all the power of the Blót, first should they drink for Óðinn, they drank that to the victory and might of their king – and then came Njǫrd´s drink and Frey´s drink for a good year and peace [“til árs ok friðr”]. There were many who used to drink the Bragi-drink after; some also drank for their relatives and friends, those who were dead and the mound-dwellers, this was called the Drink of Memory. Sígurð Earl was generous and he did something that made him very famous, he held a large banquet at Hláðir and paid all the expenses himself (in order to divert the peoples´ attention from the fact that their King failed to do this plight). FROSTA-PARLIAMENT Hákon King came to the Frosta-parliament, and there had the Bonds gathered in large numbers. When the parliament had begun, Hákon King spoke. He opened his speech by saying that it was his bidding and his wish that Bonds and those who rented land, big and small, and the entire population, young and old, rich and poor, women and men, that all should let themselves be baptized and believe in one god, Christ, Mary´s son, and stop the sacrifices and the Heathen gods, keep holy every seventh day from all sorts of work, and fasting every seventh day. But when the king had held his speech before the parliament, there was immediately much resistance, loud spoken, the Bonds shouted that the King wanted to take their work from them, and this was no way of building the country (Norway had only recently become a country, made of many different tribes before), and working people and thralls said they could not work when they were not fed (the fasting issue), and then they began to say that Hákon was not generous, he and his friends, that they were stingy with food even if they were generous with gold (being stingy with food was very bad for a great man). Ásbjörn from Medalhus in Gaula-valley stood up and replied to the speech, he said; “We Bonds, Hákon King, we believed this,” he said, “that time when you kept parliament the first time here in Throndheim, and we had elected you to be our king and had our land-rights returned to us [this was why they had elected him as king – his predecessors had tried to take the private land-rights away from his peasant subjects], we believed then that we had grasped heaven with our hands [been fortunate]. But now we no longer now how it is, if we have been given back our freedom from you, or if you again wish to enslave us in this peculiar way, that we should leave that faith which our fathers have had before us, and all our ancestors before that, first in the Age of Cremation [Brunaöld], and then now in the Age of Mounds [Haugsöld]…” (Norse Heathens counted their religious history in ages, after how burials were done, and believed their religion had begun with the Age of Cremation – Interestingly, the end of the Stone Age in Scandinavia saw changes from an earlier culture where people were buried in mass graves, and a new culture where people were cremated and buried individually, and may have been when their Indo-European, later Norse, religion was introduced). “…and those men (our ancestors) were much greater men than we are, but this faith has still helped us too. We have shown you much loyalty, so much that we have let you rule us in all that has to do with laws and country justice. It is now our will to keep the laws that our ancestors set here for us at the Frosta-parliament, and that we all agreed upon, and the Bonds all agree on this; we will all follow you and keep you for our king for as long as we live, even to the last man who stands here at this parliament, IF you, King, will treat us with consideration and care and not demand more of us than what we can do for you, and which is not unrealistic. But if you are so bent on this case that you will use violence and might against us, then we Bonds are in agreement that we will all divorce ourselves from you (the King´s power was like a marriage with the land, which the Bonds represented), and we will elect another chieftain, one who will help us and keep our faith in peace such as we wish. Now, King, you must choose here, before the Parliament ends.” When it was finally possible to be heard again (after all the cheering), said Sígurð Earl; “It is the wish of Hákon King that an agreement is reached between him and the Bonds, and never divorce himself from your friendship.” The Bonds said that they wanted the king to sacrifice for a good year and peace for them, just as his father had done. Now the displeasure ceased, and the Parliament was dissolved. Afterwards, Sígurð Earl spoke to the King and said that he could not refuse to do as the Bonds wished, nothing else would work, he said, “And as you yourself may hear, King, this is the wish of the chieftains and of all the people. We must find good counsel here, King,” and on this the King and the Earl agreed. … Hákon King never managed to turn the country over to Christianity. On the next great Blót, the autumn-sacrifice, the Bonds forced him to eat of the horsemeat that had been sacrificed. And on the following Yule-celebration, the tension was high as people were trying to make the King perform the Blót, the way kings had always done. Without compromising himself, Hákon finally had to suspend his plans for the Christianization of Norway and never succeeded in this mission. It would be another hundred years before more ruthless kings made sure that the new faith was finally accepted - and not without a lot of fighting. But as long as Hákon respected the beliefs of the people, they respected his, and he was popular among both Christians and Heathens alike, remembered forever as the Good.<figure id="figure-gg8x4p4iam86blur8"><img id="gg8x4p4iam86blur8" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/co20hpgGCOvWILubss9hVjrregDVDOh6KQPTduHcZBLDMwV0naal2gyMrZDOjkDh.jpg" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="Image by Peter Nicolay Arbo (1860) showing when the peasants tried to force king Hákon to partake in the sacrifices" data-positionX="undefined" data-positionY="undefined" data-fullWidth="false"/><figcaption class="body-normal text-gray-500 mt-2">Image by Peter Nicolay Arbo (1860) showing when the peasants tried to force king Hákon to partake in the sacrifices</figcaption></figure>

A YULE-CELEBRATION IN THE TIME BEFORE CONVERSION

Man in canvas clothes reading a manuscript

<h2>"Why me?!"....</h2>This question is often asked aloud or silently whenever we encounter hardships, suffering, and any type of inconvenience that life throws our way. It's easy to let thoughts take over that lead us to believe that somehow, we are being "targeted" and that the tough times are just our "lot in life". From a Heathen perspective, I would like to to submit the following for consideration... The Norns weave the threads of Wyrd, and each strand binds us to the world’s greater pattern. To ask "why me?" when hardship strikes is to gaze upon a single knot and forget the tapestry it strengthens. In Heathen thought, we live within *Wyrd*, the vast, interconnected web of cause and consequence. What befalls you is not punishment or cosmic whim but the natural unfolding of what has been—your deeds, the deeds of your ancestors, and the ripples of countless others. The past is carved in stone, yet the present lies beneath your feet like soil ready for planting. You stand not as a victim of fate, but as an agent of *Orlæg*, your personal portion of the weave. Suffering, then, is not a question of "why me?" but rather "what now?" Life tests the spirit, tempers the will, and demands courage. Our ancestors knew that courage, loyalty, and trust were important precisely because hardship is certain. The gods themselves know suffering—Odin hung upon Yggdrasil, Tyr lost his hand, Thor faces endless giants. Yet none turned from their tasks or questioned the burden. They acted, accepted, and grew. When pain strikes, remember: you are not a solitary leaf adrift. You are rooted in kin, community, and the deeds that outlive you. The question is not why the storm came, but how you will weather it. Will you meet adversity with honor, or yield to despair? The choice, though shaped by the past, remains yours. So, rather than "why me?" ask, "what can I learn?" "What can I give?" "How can I shape my Wyrd so that those who come after find strength in my example?" In doing so, you honor the ancestors, yourself, and the endless weave of existence.<figure id="figure-9ktc072qbm85z9j7x"><img id="9ktc072qbm85z9j7x" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1564598328706-70cecb6ad257?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wyNjI5NjF8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxfHxub3JzZXxlbnwwfHx8fDE3NDE3ODc0Nzl8MA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.0.3&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080" alt="closeup photo of brown wooden statue" title="closeup photo of brown wooden statue" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: undefined undefined;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1564598328706-70cecb6ad257?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wyNjI5NjF8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxfHxub3JzZXxlbnwwfHx8fDE3NDE3ODc0Nzl8MA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.0.3&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: undefined undefined;"></figure>

Why Me?!

What does "healing" mean to you? What does it mean to be "healed" of something? To me, it means "to make well or whole". To restore what once was broken, damaged, or sick. When we talk about healing, it is important to include the individual work that goes into such efforts. You may go to a doctor when you're sick. The doctor will often prescribe medicine or something for you to take in order to help heal you. But the doctor themselves doesn't actually consume the medicine. You do. You have to "follow the doctor's orders" if you expect to be healed. So too must we put the work in if we seek healing beyond our physical needs. Perhaps you seek out a shaman or medicine man for such things. They will not "wave their magic wand" and make your sickness disappear. They will equip you with the things you need to heal yourself, and guide you on the path towards restoration. But you must put in the work yourself. We must also remember that healing is restorative. Would you continue to take antibiotics after the bacterial infection you contracted went away? Would you keep on wearing a cast after a broken bone is healed? No, you wouldn't. The same is true of all sickness, whether physical or otherwise. So, allow yourself to be healed. To be made whole. And once you are, release yourself from the chains that kept you bound in that sickness to begin with. And become free.<figure id="figure-yq05a0e22im85x96al"><img id="yq05a0e22im85x96al" src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/151539771/photo/tanum-h%C3%A4llristningar-viking.jpg?b=1&s=2048x2048&w=0&k=20&c=GQ29A7VDdzWVvEfkqKUVyTF_CgAsiqkCbJSdWfXPLKI=" alt="Tanum hällristningar-Viking" title="Tanum hällristningar-Viking" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: undefined undefined;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="Image: Tanum hällristningar rock carvings" data-positionX="undefined" data-positionY="undefined" data-fullWidth="false"/><figcaption class="body-normal text-gray-500 mt-2">Image: Tanum hällristningar rock carvings</figcaption></figure>

Random Heathen Ramblings

Blog

Bindrunes: Don't Mess Around!

DON'T DIE WITH YOUR DEAD

A YULE-CELEBRATION IN THE TIME BEFORE CONVERSION

Why Me?!

What Does Healing Mean To You?