2022-07-19
Germanic tribes lived from about 3500 BC to about 100 AD. Each tribe had its own myths and customs. And they changed over time.
So we can not say things like: "The Germanic people were like this and they believed that". Most likely at some point of time there were Germanic people that were like 'this' and believed 'that'. But it is tricky to make specific statements about Germanic people in general.
Can someone give me a scientifically sound description of Christianity in a few sentences?
There are plenty of written sources, the Christian cultures are easy to study. But can someone now tell me what is and what is not Christian?
Christianity is only 1900 years old and fairly well documented. But you have modern Korean Christians, 'born-again' Christians from the USA, Catholics from Brazil, heavily Reformed from the Netherlands. Even today Christianity is so far apart that you can't say "this is Christian".
If we look back 1900 years, we see the inquisitors around 1570 in Spain around King Philip. We see Cathars, Gnostics, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Christians, Russian Orthodox, Calvinists, Crusaders, ... One moment the murder of all that is non-Christian is a godly work, a few centuries later the Christians admit that was actually genocide.
There are certain things that are unchristian. Including worshiping the devil. It becomes difficult to name a second or a third thing that has never occurred in a Christian culture.
The Eddas and the oldest chapters of the Rig Veda have such similarities that many scholars believe in a culture that predated the Germanic people and the Brahmins. It used to be called the Indo-Germanic culture.
The Rig Veda probably originated 5500 years ago. The disintegration of Germanic people and Brahmins should therefore date from before 3500 BC.
According to DNA research of David Reich et al. the Germanic people came from Central Asia from the Yamnaya culture.
There are also much similarities between the Zend Avesta and the Eddas. I believe (in 2022) that there was a culture in Central Asia that was defeated by an other culture and they had to flee. Some of them went south and became the ancient Persians. They brought forth the Zend Avesta. Some of these Persians crossed the Himalayas and became the Brahmins. They brought forth the Rig Veda. The rest went west and became the Germanic people. They sang the old songs during gatherings. These songs are called the Veddas. Old Norwegian lost the 'V' in front of many words. So these songs were written down as the Eddas. (Note. The Norwegian deity Odinn is called Vodanes, Wodan or Woden in German and Dutch.)
If my assumption is right, then priests of 'Anima Solaris' learned the sacred songs by heart and kept the religion alive. And they did this from before 3500 BC. In ancient Persia this 'Anima Solaris' became 'Ahura Mazda'. In India it became 'Indra'. And among the Germanic tribes it became Woden. When the Scandinavian languages lost the 'V' for many words, it became Óðinn. (I use 'it' and not 'He' for 'Anima Solaris', since I do not believe it has a gender.)
Germanic culture ended around AD 0, maybe a few 100 years later. I believe the Netherlands became Christian between 500 and 700, Norway a little later between 875-1050. But at that time the Germanic tribal culture had already disappeared. The period between about 0 and 1000 AD can no longer really be called Germanic. It was a transition period. Tribes fell apart, Roman customs were adopted, people learned to cultivate land systematically.
The written information about the Germanic people comes from Romans and Christians and dates from the period when the Germanic culture was already disappearing. Presumably the book 'Germania' by Tacitus gives the most reliable information about Germanic tribal culture, and then only fragments of a few tribes. And most of what Tacitus wrote was second-hand or third-hand 'hear-say'. And we have no information about the people that reported to Tacitus about customs of Germanic tribes. Did these people spoke good Roman? Could Tacitus understand what they were saying?
We also do not know about the political motives of the people that spoke with Tacitus about the customs of Germanic tribes. I will give you an example of our time. Most of us know a native American tribe by the name 'Apache'. When I participated in a workshop of Oh Shinnah Fast wolf she stated: 'Apache' is a Zuni word and it means enemy. We call ourselves the 'Teneh' (the people). Much of the writings of 19th century authors about native Americans came from other tribes. And many reporters had political motives. We should assume, that the people that reported to Tacitus also had political motives.
Most people who write about the Germanic people mainly base themselves on Icelandic writings. I do that as well. Just because there isn't much else. But Iceland was not and never has been a Germanic country. When Harald Fairhair subjugated and forced Norway to convert, Norway's most stubborn heathens decided to move to Iceland. In Norway, the Germanic tribal culture had long since disappeared. The heathen farmers left for Iceland, took possession of a piece of land and tried to stay alive. On the basis of the stories of those pagans, the ancient sagas and stories of the 'gods' have arisen. These are not Germanic, but Icelandic. We do not really know if these myths were the same with the old Germanic tribes.
The writings of Snorri Sturluson are particularly problematic. Apparently he was murdered by men in the service of the king of Norway. Why? Was he planning an uprising of Iceland against Norway? And was he writing about the pagan past to rejuvenate paganism? He wrote about Óðinn as 'Allföðr' which translates to 'Father of all'. With this he put Óðinn in direct opposition to the Christian god.
In the gylfaginning we read:
In the Codex Upsaliensis version and the Codex Wormianus version the text reads 'Alföðr'. in the Codex Regius and the Codex Trajectinus version the text reads 'Allföðr'. I assume that Allföðr should be read as All-föðr and not Alf-öðr. All-föðr means 'Father of all', while Alf-öðr means 'óðr of the elves'
The text refers to twelve names of Óðinn. Twelve is a 'Christian' number. The Germanic pagans usually used nine as the sacred number. This tells us, that the text is a Christian interpretation of the old lore.
If Snorri was planning an uprising, then we must be very careful with his writings. Perhaps he tweaked the old myths as part of a political scheme.
The Germanic culture would have existed from about 3500 BC to about the year 100. With a lot of good will you could stretch the period to 875 AD, when Norway had largely become Christian. 3500 to 4500 years of paganism, many different tribes, each with their own culture. About 1900 years of Christianity we can't even say "this is Christian". The 'Germanic period' was more than twice as long and the peoples and cultures were at least as diverse. You cannot determine whether something is Germanic, or whether something is not Germanic.
Scientifically speaking, there have never been Germanic people. The Romans called the land north of the Roman Empire Germania and the inhabitants Germanic people. They didn't know much more about it.
Tribes lived there: Franks, Danes, Angles, Saxons, Frisians, Vandals, Langobards, Goths, Batavians and many others. We don't even know the name of many tribes, let alone their culture.
At that time, Europe was a vast jungle from northern Italy to northern Scandinavia. There were no trails, the area was very sparsely populated, and if you weren't a very good woodsman you didn't stand a chance of getting through.
Some scientists are interested in how those people really lived. These kinds of people get ecstatic when they find a stone cut by people and then argue about the meaning of that stone.
Is that important or interesting to shamans? Are we interested in how people lived in some area of Europe 3500 years ago? Or do we want a modern spiritual culture?
I cannot determine what is interesting and important to you. I know what is interesting and important to me.
Based on what I know about our ancestors I have made a complete world view. This does not contradict what is known about 'the Germanic people'. But when you put all the fragments together into a culture, you have to interpret. Then there are those who say, "That's not true. I know it better than you." And perhaps they do. I do not claim truth. I interpret the available sources and created a coherent symbolic system. A system that is useful to me. And perhaps you find it useful to.
Let's look at the Roman Empire. Twenty years ago, historians painted a very different picture of Rome than we do today. The insights have changed. Some say improved. Were the insights of 20 years ago wrong? It is unscientific to say so. People interpreted differently.
The Roman Empire is quite well documented. We know very little about the Germanic tribal culture. We know quite a lot about Icelandic culture, but not about the pagans. Because they didn't write. And the Icelandic culture was not Germanic. You could call it a neo-Germanic culture.
Stories have been preserved in the Icelandic sagas, which can also be found elsewhere. The Icelandic sagas are probably based on very old stories. But who can say what is scientifically correct and what is not?
Scientific approach is nonsensical !!!
A scientific approach to shamanism is nonsensical. Science is based solely on hard facts. You have to be able to falsify (prove it's wrong) or verify (repeat an experiment and see if you always get the same result). Shamanism is based on personal experience. You cannot verify or falsify your own experience.
The word "science" is misused almost everywhere. One speaks, for example, of 'medical science'. This does not exist. There is biochemical science. This only exists in the laboratory. The practices of doctors and hospitals are not scientific and cannot be scientific. Mengele was one of the few scientific 'doctors'. No healer wants to be compared to Mengele.
 
I have been studying Germanic culture since 1980, Indo-Germanic culture since 1974. After years of very intensive study I have formed a holistic system of Germanic culture. That system is not scientific but practical. That system is in line with the spirit of ancient paganism. It is also in accordance with the practices of various shamanic cultures around the world. I've also read a lot from anthropologists, who scientifically studied ancient cultures. For example the works of Mircea Eliade, to name one. And of course I studied the works of Carl Jung.
But you can not understand things by reading. You have to apply your knowledge and get direct contact with the unknown. I did that with various forms of meditation. But that was not enough. I had to dig deeper and deeper to the deepest foundations of 'the collective unconscious'. I did that mainly with the use of LSD. In shamanic sessions I consecrated my workspace and then took LSD. Then I played TRANCE-FORMATIONS (guided visualizations) about Germanic myths. In this way I was really traveling through Yggdrasil (the Germanic tree of worlds). For more information about this surf to LSD
Note.
I do not recommend the use of LSD. If you have any doubt about using LSD or similar drugs, then don't.
I put my experiences on TRANCE-FORMATIONS. With these you can travel through Yggdrasil without the use of drugs.
 
Based on my experiences I created the Runic Tarot and the course Yggdrasil.
The Runic Tarot is a set of cards with mythological pictures.
You can use these cards to explore your unconscious or to give guidance and insight to other people.
Yggdrasil consists of 12 parts with four lessons per part. One lesson for each of the four elements: Ice, Sea, Fire and Wind.
The Runic Tarot and Yggdrasil have been available in the Dutch language for 30 years but have been ignored. I can now translate them with automatic translation. Of course automatic translation is not good enough. The rough and often flawed translations are corrected manually. (Which is a very tedious job.)
When you are interested, register as a member of this site. I am not going to drown you with emails. Only when something is newly translated you will get an email.
With Light and Love, Andreas Firewolf
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Werewolves and werebears
Origin of traditional festivities
Ancient initiations
Introduction
General information
When you put a 'V' before the word Edda, you get Vedda or Veda.
Vedda or Wedda is related to the Dutch word 'weten' and the Germand word 'wissen' (to know) and the English word 'Wit'
The Edda, the Rig Veda en the Zend Avesta have the same origin.
According to DNA research of David Reich et al. the Germanic people came from Central Asia from the Yamnaya culture.
Úlfheðnár are the original werewolves, shamans that had the wolf as power animal. They were the teachers of the native Europeans.
Bersekrs are the werebears, shamans that had the bear as power animals. They were the healers of the native Europeans.
Did the old Germanic peoples hate or despise women?
In the Edda's and other old writings about the Germanic peoples and their mythology the women are almost completely ignored. Does this reflect the attitude of the old Germanic peoples or the attitude of the Christian writers?
When authors use the label Óðinn, what are they referring to? Do different authors use the label Óðinn to refer to the same 'thing'?
I distinguish the following different meanings of Óðinn.
Óðinn as father of all, as Anima Solaris.
Óðinn as Hangatýr.
Woden woody as deity of the woods.
Óðinn as father of the fallen.
Óðinn as a heroic person, a king, a sorcerer, a con-artist.
hár
high, tall, highest | thole | hair | dog-fish | name for Óðinn
segir
to say, to tell, to declare
sá
that, such
heitir
named
allföðr
father of all
at
towards, against, to, along, around, at, in | was not | an incited conflict or fight
váru
were
máli
speech | language | tale | sentence | Lawsuit | contract, agreement, wages, soldier's pay
en
but, and, if, when
í
in, within, among, during, in regard to, by means of, through
ásgarði
ás-garðr (the garden of the Æsir)
inum
in, into
forna
old. ancient
átti
the eighth, family, race, offspring
hann
he
tólf
twelve
nöfn
name
eitt
one, alone
er
who, which, what | am, is
annat
second
herran
master, lord
eða
or
herjan
Lord of hosts
óðr
mind, feeling | song, poetry | mad, frantic | furious, vehement, eager
1
Acid Shaman
2022-07-20 16:26:18
At last! Very good decision to distanciate yourself from the Dutch. You wasted much to much time on them.
I disagree with you about the use of LSD. I have met some of your students. They are in two groups. Those that use acid and those that do not. The interesting people use acid. So I recommend using acid to travel through Yggdrasil. Those that don't travel on foot. With acid, you travel with a starship.
Andreas Firewolf
2022-07-20 16:31:18
You are Acid Shaman. No wonder that you recommend LSD. But many people would seriously damage themselves by using LSD. It is not good for most people.
Syd Barrett, the co-founder of Pink Floyd, wrote very interesting lyrics after using acid. Then something went wrong and he ruined his mind. He never recovered from it.
That is why I say: Acid is not for common people.