skaldish

[skaldish]

Oh my god holy shit...

Holy shit, I fucking understand the impact the Norse myths have...oh my god, I'm sobbing. 😭

I get it now. Like actually.

#norse mythology

[skaldish]

Oh my god holy shit...

Holy shit, I fucking understand the impact the Norse myths have...oh my god, I'm sobbing. 😭

I get it now. Like actually.

#norse mythology

[skaldish]

Imagine that you are three years old, living on an Iron Age farm nestled deep within the mountains of Scandinavia. Each night when your mother tucks you into bed, she tells you a story about the gods and their farm, called Asgard.

You learn that the gods have a big tree protecting their farm just like the one protecting yours. It's called Yggdrasil. It's got snakes beneath it just like your tree has.

You learn how Odin and Frigg are wise like every grandpa and grandma are. You learn Odin got his wisdom from exploring the world. You also learn he's a badass chief because he wins every battle he fights and his warriors always come out victorious.

You learn how Thor keeps the frost giants away with his hammer, so whenever you hear thunder in the distance, you know it's because Thor smashed a giant that may have otherwise eaten you. You have no fear of the frost giants getting you because Thor's hammer never misses.

You learn how Loki is always causing everyone problems (and solutions) with his clever antics, and the reason why is because he's the mover of stories—stories would be boring without him. He becomes your favorite playmate.

You live in the Iron Age. It is a violent time. But you learn that if you die in battle far from home, Odin—the Allfather, who is everyone's grandpa—has room for you at his table.

These stories would have been the things that shaped the Norse people's understanding of the world, back in a time when information about the world was unknown. All of it was designed to make children feel safe, courageous, and like they belonged in the fabric of all things. And it's not like Santa Claus, where you're expected to stop believing in the gods after a certain age. They would be with you your entire life.

When you think about it, the mjolnir pendant is ultimately a symbol of love; a reminder that "whenever you're afraid, just say Thor's name, and in an instant he will be here to protect you."

Oh my god holy shit...

Holy shit, I fucking understand the impact the Norse myths have...oh my god, I'm sobbing. 😭

I get it now. Like actually.

#norse mythology

[skaldish]

This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

Oh my god holy shit...

Holy shit, I fucking understand the impact the Norse myths have...oh my god, I'm sobbing. 😭

I get it now. Like actually.

#zan speaks

[skaldish]

Oh my god holy shit...

Holy shit, I fucking understand the impact the Norse myths have...oh my god, I'm sobbing. 😭

I get it now. Like actually.

#zan speaks

[skaldish]

"There are more snakes beneath Yggdrasil than any one dumbass can even begin to imagine!" — actual quote by Odin

#the old man

[skaldish]

i find it fascinating how my perception of the gods have changed once i met them. both in looks and personality.

Freyja, related to beauty, love and lust, i believed would look young and very feminine. Yet, when presented with her, she was a gorgeous, mature woman with lines at her eyes and a towering figure. The realization that a goddess I acknowledge as being so gorgeous had wrinkles and strong facial features made me reconsider my own perceived “flaws” and standards of beauty. She was beautiful in her strength and wisdom and yet also in her divinity and confidence. I had forgotten a woman of extreme beauty was also a goddess of war. And in both being true, I found her to be the most powerful woman I know.

Seeing Hades, I believed he would be fearsome and cold. Yet, when I looked into his eyes, there was warmth. He had an appearance of a man in his 40s with long hair, the color of the night, and he had no resentment or even disdain. Only softness. I didn’t fear him nor did he try to have me do so. He was safe as he led me through the courtyard where we met. Where I thought he would be an imposing and cold-hearted figure, I found someone with such patience like a father-figure would have.

Apollo, whom I thought would be bubbly and funny from how I’ve seen others described him was indescribably elegant. He carried himself well. He was kind and patient. Where I thought I would find youthful naivety, I found charm and elegance. And he only asked to help me in my healing. Even when I thought I did not need him, he waited patiently until I could hear him properly. And no matter how long it took, he was still welcoming with a smile.

I truly believe everyone should have the opportunity of meeting their deities and finding how they appear to them. What they show themselves as is what you may need. I find it fascinating to see how others see them :) They love us very much.

#absolutely this #they will surprise you

[skaldish]

tiktok is such an awful app, it's almost designed to feed you misinformation and expose you to insane discourse. unlike beloved tumblr, the app that feeds me misinformation and exposes me to insane discourse

#can’t get this shit anywhere else my god #please note I’m reblogging this from Neil Gaiman #shitpost

[skaldish]

Wow, sorry you had to deal with that person. I hope they find the block button and mind their own business. I like your thought processes even if I don't always agree. Hope you have a really nice day!

It doesn’t really bother me honestly. Normally I just delete hate mail, but occasionally I answer it if I find reason in it.

And thanks! I’m also actually very curious where the disagreements lie, not to argue but because I’m always interested in hearing other perspectives—it makes me think. (I forget to make that clear in my posts though since I know they sound rather lecture-y at times, but it’s because I’m just prone to getting lost in my own thoughts about something and forget to invite a discussion.)

#answered

[skaldish]

Du er en tilbakestående amerikaner. Er dette bedre? Ingen tilba norrøne guder den måten du gjør, du bare leker + oppgir så mye feilinformasjon og er jævlig respektløs ovenfor min kultur. Dra til helvete, horunge 💓

Seriously, I can't imagine what your goal is here besides finding an American to pick a fight with. Because if you actually wanted to successfully pose as an authority in any way, you'd have more situational awareness.

Firstly, you're the only Scandinavian I've met who has this opinion, and I've met many. Clearly you're not on the same brainwave as your peers, who have no problems with Americans being Heathen so long as we're not trying to emulate mystery traditions that require initiation. But the average American Heathen isn't seeking that out. Most are just looking to venerate the Norse gods.

Secondly, even if initiation was required to be Heathen, you still picked the wrong American to get mad at: My lineage is a Danish tradition, granted to me by the family matriarch. I can't exactly appropriate what was given to me. What's more, it's a tradition that recognizes patron deities as a thing.

Thirdly, in the interest of disambiguating language-use, Americans claiming to be Norse Pagan aren't claiming to be culturally Nordic. We're largely diaspora, so we have many types of paganism here—Greek paganism, Roman paganism, Irish paganism, Brythonic paganism, Norse paganism, etc. These terms have a taxonomical function. Same with Heathenry, with Norse Heathenry, Baltic Heathenry, Teutonic Heathenry, Slavic Heathenry, etc.

I'm not going to deny that many Americans misappropriate Heathenry, but it's not because we're stupid: It's because we were fed bad information about pre-Christian Germanic beliefs by the Nazi party back in the 70's, and it spread.

If you want us to stop misrepresenting Heathenry, maybe help your peers disambiguate real information from the Nazi bullshit, instead of getting mad at random strangers on Tumblr.

#answered

[skaldish]

Like if we look at the way that Rome and/or Christianity converted pagans, they didn't always do so by annihilating their stories and culture. Rather, they gradually changed these things to eventually reflect Roman or Christian sensibilities.

However, an inverse relationship also exists, in the sense of "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." This is not exclusive to Rome; abiding by the cultural norms of a society is essential to navigating it and benefiting from its structures. So any foreigners living in Byzantium long-term would have naturally taken on those cultural norms and senses.

As the personal bodyguards of the Byzantine emperor, the Varangian Guard also represented a true military class. They were deployed at very critical moments during battles and known for their brutality and ferociousness on the battlefield.

We also know for a fact though that they were pagan—they would perform rituals involving donning animal skins, suggesting this is also where the Berserker comes from.

However, as a branch of the Byzantine military, their sensibilities were shaped by the Byzantine Empire's military culture, so despite keeping their cultural religion, they did not keep their cultural sensibilities. Therefore, the religious beliefs demonstrated by their ranks were uniquely Byzantine, rather than uniquely Scandinavian. (Sort of like how American Asatru is uniquely American rather than uniquely Scandinavian.)

It makes sense that these afterlife beliefs would be the ones that were recorded though; the Varangian Guard were in close proximity to people who wrote a lot of things down, and the Byzantines probably assumed their beliefs were culturally-Norse because they looked foreign.

There was likely a sense already in Norse cultire that if you died far from home, the gods would be able to take you in lieu of your family. Because the battlefield was part of Odin's "landscape," he would naturally be the one to take fallen warriors.

I can easily see a greater mythology growing out of the Varangian Guards ranks about Valhalla. One of the few ways we can cope with going through something horrible (like war), is to devise a reward of equally extravagant proportions laying at the other side of the ordeal. It gives us something good to pursue, in lieu of running away from something terrible.

If all of this is indeed the way it was (and remember everything I say here is a theory) then it would be irresponsible to consider this interpretation of Valhalla as reflective of "viking values." These are Byzantine values, of a similar stock to Roman values. They are part of what makes Heathenry today, absolutely, but these beliefs were shaped by the Byzantine Empire, rather than Old Norse culture.

Forget if I mentioned this before, but I'm really starting to think the "die on the battlefield for Valhalla" thing was a mythology specific to the Varangian Guard.

Like, it really just does seem like a classic blend of pagan tropes with Imperial Roman/Byzantine mentalities.

#norse paganism

[skaldish]

Forget if I mentioned this before, but I'm really starting to think the "die on the battlefield for Valhalla" thing was a mythology specific to the Varangian Guard.

Like, it really just does seem like a classic blend of pagan tropes with Imperial Roman/Byzantine mentalities.

#norse paganism

[skaldish]

It’s so obvious that you are understanding Norse Mythology through and American lense. It’s fine if you are interested in it but it’s disrespectful to call yourself a “patron of Loki” and “Norse Heathen”. Stop appropriating my culture and heritage.

You sound like a North American.

#answered

[skaldish]

And the ones that aren't reproductions tend to stick with the same gritty theme, which is also a pretty narrow scope.

Man, I really want to get into silver smithing for the expressed purpose of making mjolnirs. I think that would be loads of fun.

#zan speaks

[skaldish]

One of thing that always makes me sad about mjolnirs is that almost all of them are reproductions of archaeological finds.

It's not like reproductions aren't cool or anything, but their ubiquity kind of just speaks to the narrative that past worship was somehow more authentic than anything current could ever be, and I think that does us a great disservice.

Plus, I'm tired of seeing the same designs.

Man, I really want to get into silver smithing for the expressed purpose of making mjolnirs. I think that would be loads of fun.

#zan speaks

[skaldish]

Man, I really want to get into silver smithing for the expressed purpose of making mjolnirs. I think that would be loads of fun.

#zan speaks

[skaldish]

Hello! I've been leafing through your website Skald's Keep and I want to congratulate on a very well done website! I know you've been working really hard on it, and the work has truly paid off. It's a wonderful compendium of information, and it's also aesthetically beautiful. Just wanted to let you know I think your work is super cool!!

I'm glad you enjoy it!

#answered