The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

The Gods of Valhalla and Before
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(HULDA)Also known as Holle or Berchta. She is one of the earlier Gods, or Giants, & represents an earlier goddess tradition that for preceded Valhalla. For those who are drown to the folk magic of ancient Europe, particularly those during the ear & in the lands of the Norse religion, an understanding of Hulda is very useful indeed. Although Hulda has no direct part in the Eddic cycle of legends (she is mentioned indirectly & her magic-user followers, asadherents of an older tradition, are mentioned as often being in conflict with the followers of Asgard), her worship once spread over all of north, central & eastern Europe, & contributed greatly to the common peoples' tradition in the Norse religion. There is a vast amount of her folklore still surviving & there are probably millions in those regions who still follow Hulda, though under a different name. Over the past thousand year a thin veneer of Christianity has been applied & the Goddess has been re-named as "Mary," with her deeds & saying transferred mostly intact as part of the local versions of Judeo-Christianity.
She is the Goddess of the burial mounds & the fairy-mountains.(as a result of their extensive researches, the Brothers Grimm felt that she was Venus in the ancient legend of Tannhuser.) Hulda is the Eye Goddess associated with grave mounds, & whose spiral eye carvings mark ancient grave sites across all of Europe. (She may well have been the potent "fairy godmother" in the original German version of " Cinderella" in which Cinderella is stronger, magically adept & somewhat darker than in our present, popular version.)
Sometimes comely & dignified, through more often appearing as an old crone or a wise woman, she is kind, benignant & merciful.

(Hulda) (Holle) likes lakes & fountains, creates rain & snow, & rules her own garden-like realm in the nether world. Apple trees are particularly sacred to her. She is the patron of falx & weaving, & is often mentioned in eastern European legends as going through houses & blessing the infants.
There is another side of Hulda: she is the Goddess of the Witches, & also the Goddess of winter & the underworld. At the depth of winter she leads a procession of wolves, elves, witches & spirits of the dead through the moonlight & snow, carrying away the souls of those whose time has come to die. Oftimes she can appear as a beautiful woman from the front, through look like a tree from behind.
Hulda is both the kindly bringer-in of life & the dark, austere one who takes it away at life's end. She is the forerunner of Hel, & later gave many powers to the Asgardian Queen of the underworld.
She often carries a spindle for spinning the threads of fate & destiny. Some legends state that her spindle is magically linked with the axis that runs from the middle of the Earth , out through the North pole & to the North Star. This she later gave to Freya.
Hulda is the original patroness of housewives and families, though in later times this was passed first to Freya and then to Frigga. She loves singing and playing musical instruments, and was thus also the original patroness of music. In some parts of northern Europe she said to be the wife or mother of Odin, although this admittedly conflicts with e better-known and more recent legends. In ancient times some people in northern Europe call Milky Way "Hulda's Road," though more recently this "road of souls" was said to belong to Freya, who has also in inherited many of Hulda's other strong attributes.
Some scholars have felt that she precedes the Old Gods, and that her name is also Huldana, Erda, or Earth. If so, then Hulda is perhaps the most ancient of all the High Ones, and deserves honor as the Ultimate Source.

(FRIGGA)The patron of mothers,parenting & household,Frigga was the wife of Odin and the chief of the Asynjor. Her son was the Bright One of Valhalla, Balder.Originally Frigga & Freya were probably one deity,but in most of the legends she is separate, being the older & highly competent matron whose common sense & family love holds the home together.Frigga is perhaps one of the most basic & important Goddesses: without her influence the very basis of all society,the family & the home,could not exist.She rewards good housewives, watches the home & is the guardian of women in childbirth.

(VIDAR)"The Silent One" who was the son of Odin by a Giantess, and who was almost as strong as Thor. One of the Aesir, the legends tell that he ultimately destroyed the chaos-wolf Fenrir at the world's end of Ragnarok.

(GIANTS)The Elder Gods of Nordic myth who were displaced by the Aesir, the Asynjor and the Vanir. They could be of normal human stature and were known for their magic, and often for their beauty.

(BALDER)The God most beloved by all living things as well as by the other Gods,the Eddas say,was Balder. Blond,fair,& handsome,he is good & loving in every way,always willing to sacrifice himself for others.He may be viewed as being similar to Christ, or as the Green Man of the world's legends whose death is the sacrifice that brings new life to the Earth,& whose rebirth in spring symbolizes the inevitable rebirth of all things. There are traces of Balder being part of a very ancient life-religion of which we now have no records, but which preceded the Gods of Valhalla. In it,Balder & his brother Hodur would have been the symbolic, yearly rivals for the favors of the Goddess.He is the patron of light & of day.Balder is always cheerful & caring,willing to listen & to help.

(AEGIR)God of the sea & patron of sailors, & similar to Neptune. He can be fearsome & awe-inspiring to the extreme as is the ocean itself.He has power over sea serpents & water monsters of all kinds,yet Aegir is invariably a very genial & pleasant host to those who visit him.

(HERMODUR)The messenger of the Gods,personifying quickness.He is a son of Odin.

OATH OF ELDERSHIP

I Whitebuffalo before the brethren. I say to you who would begin your Eldership. I admonish you heed my words at your direst peril, causing the destruction of this place of honor to which you now aspire before your peers and our beloved Goddess and Horned one.
Accept now, the awesome responsibility and make your deepest commitment.

TO KNOW : TO WILL: TO DARE: TO KEEP SILENT

In all things, know with certainty, the source whereof you speak before you would inform and advise another from you position as Elder. If not, keep your silence.
Make strong you will to uphold the good of the craft and of your community over personal benefit and ego, for it is not your craft or lineage, but rather your actions that will mark you as an Elder in the eyes of the brethren.
Dare to serve those of the craft, rather than attempt mastery over others. Dare to be subservient to the will of the community, for by doing so, you will be seen as resourceful and wise, rather than demanding and manipulative. The power of an Elder is power shared.
Keep silent when the temptation comes to belittle or speak I'll of the brethren. Ones' stature is never enhanced at the expense or another. Practice restraint, the most difficult of lifes' lessons, and others will honor you as a true Elder of the Craft.
Ended now into the inner court. KNOW, WILL, DARE, KEEP SILENT, and you shall be accorded the recognition of mare more than attend here. You shall. receive the recognition of many who know not of this ceremony for by your deeds and actions, they shall know you best. We cannot elevate you in the esteem of others; only by your own words and deeds can you truly attain that which we here seek to afford you. Hark ye to these words of old and enter now with our blessings and best wishes.

SO MOTE IT BE!

SWORN before the brethren on this 25th day of November, 2009

The Gods of Valhalla and Before
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(HEL)Loki's daughter is queen of the realms of the dead,& is as fearsome as the darker aspects of the ancient Greek Hecate.Hel (also called Hella or Hellia)is sister of the chaos wolf Fenrir & a vast earth dragon;she is pictured as half-black & half-white.Hella sits in judgment of souls which have not been able to attain either the high state of Valhalla or the elemental beauty of Ran's sea realm.
There are different traditions, & the legends of Hel changed with time.She was preceded by the archaic Lady Hulda,& apparently received all powers from this Elder Goddess.Hel's realms,according to the early legends,are deep within the Earth,at the root of all existence (which in the Eddas was figuratively called the base of the World-Tree,Yggdrasill)& can be quite pleasing or severely unpleasant, depending on what a soul truly deserves.
(Interestingly, Jungian phychology places Hella deep within the subconscious of every living human,in the "racial memory"itself!)
Hella is not death nor any evil being;she neither kills nor torments.She takes the souls of the departed & holds them with an inexorable grip.She is the hard reality which lies at the end of all things.

(Loki)The jokester of Valhalla became its chief villain toward the end of the legend cycle, & set forth the events that brought the realm of the Gods to its end. Yet it is thought that in doing so he was acting as an agent for that which was fated to happen. Loki is a very real personage & a very real God, & whatever is said by those who comment on the Eddas, he is still real today. The legends should be viewed as giving not only his good features of humor, wit, questioning , pranks & parodies, but the darker side of these aspects as well--an object lesson of what can happen when these go wrong. The darkness that slowly rose in Loki's personality can happen very actually in the soul & spirit of any human being & can eventually have similarly destructive consequences. He is like the child portion in each & all of us: either fun-loving or destructive.
Also, he can be personification of a sometime dark aspect of the Great Goddess known in the most ancient legends of all people & all lands, name in northern Europe as Erda, Erce, or Hulda, & along the rim of the Mediterranean as Eurynome. There are times when destruction is needed & inevitable, to clear away the decadence of the past. Robert Graves most aptly wrote her words:

When the water stinks
I break the dam.
In love I break it.

Loki would not want to mention "love," but he would break the dam anyway.
Loki is Thor's half-brother, being born from the Elder Gods who held sway before Valhalla. The legends state that Odin, Thor & Loki went on many adventures together & together accomplished great deeds.
He has domain over fire, & is master magician & conjecture as well as a shap-changer. Bearing always in mind Loki's dark side as well as his good one, he is most valuable as a witty, entertaining acquaintance, & someone to call upon when his positive aspects are needed. Additionally, his cleverness & sharp wit are most useful in dealing with the decepteness & decadence of a world which has lost the Old Ways.
Loki represents both our divine intelligence & also the free will whereby we can choose for good or ill, & if we make a mistake, to correct it. He typifies the human mind: on one hand clever, foolish, immature. On the other hand, he personifies the elevating, aspiring traits inhuman intelligence.

(IDUNA)The Goddess of youth,she also represents our Earth.Iduna supplied the Gods with the source of immortality, magical apples.There is metaphysical importance here,for the apple has always been equated with the wisdom of how the universe really work.Apples are the sweet fruit of the soil which,when sliced crossways, shows a five-pointed star,symbolizing humankind made perfect,the ages of man,eternal rebirth & much more.One should refer to the writings of Robert Graves' The White Goddess for an in-depth discussion of this ancient, universal symbol.

(NANNA)Balder's wife was a Goddess who was good, loving & devoted. It is said that after Balder's death she died of heartbreak. Her spirit comforts those who have lost a member of their family, since Balder himself existed happily & with good friends in Hel's realm after death.He was,in time,joined by his beloved wife.In some very ancient legends she is the ageless & beautiful Goddess for whom Balder & Hodur eternally contend;she finally descended into the underworld to confront Hodur, & successfully bring the slain Balder back up into the world of the living once again.

(GERD)The wife of Freyr, her beauty was so great that it left sparkles in the air after she passed.She was given the choice of immortality or annihilation under the pressure (or inspiration) of Freyr,& consciously made the decision to become an immortal Goddess.

(BIL)The Goddess of weaving,as mentioned in "The Saga of Gisli the Outlaw".Weaving, like spinning,seems to have been a means for effecting magic as well as a very common household routine.

(THE NORNS)The three Goddesses of fate who spun the destinies &histories of man,women,nations & Gods-even the history &ultimate destiny.

(SKADI)The Giantess who was the mother of Freyr, and is the patroness of all who love wild,snow-covered wilderness mountains.She became the wife of Njord.

(FORSETI)One of the Aesir, and the son of Balder and Nanna.He is the patron of justice and uprightness.

(NJORD)A Giant who was the father of Freyr and freya, and may originally have been consort to the earth-mother Goddess Jord.

(AESIR)The entourage of God and Goddess who were the attendants of Odin.

(ASYNJOR)The entourage of God and Goddess who were the attendants of Freya and Frigga.

(VANIR) In Nordic myth these appear to have been the seafaring gods of a race which preceded the Aesir in Scandinavia. After a defeat by the Aesir, the Vanir fused with them

The Gods of Valhalla and Before
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(FREYA)Freya was the sister of Freyr. Especially in early times,she was very all-encompassingin her attributes, & seemed to have inherited many of them from various personifications of the Greek Goddess who far preceded the Gods of Valhalla. Freya is famed for her great beauty,& indeed is often known as "The Fair One."In the earlier days,she also rewarded good housewives,though in later times Frigga has become more the patron of the home.
Freya is quite independent, being chief of the Valkyries, the demi-goddesses who select the noble & heroic dead & carry them to the Realm of the Gods.(Some of the legends say that a quarter, or even a half,of the dead go to Freya,which must be a fine reward indeed for these worthy ones!).She is patroness of women who attain wisdom, status,& power,since the Valkyries had been ordinary women,then priestesses,& after being Valkyr became Norns,the Great Goddesses who weave the fates & histories of people & of nations.
Freya is the Daughter of time,as well as the patron & protecss of the human race.On her brest she wears "the jewel whose power cannot be resisted," Brisingamen (brising:fire,specifically the fire of the enlightened mind,men:jewel).In ancient times the winter constellation which we today know as Odin was at the time called "Freya's Gown"by the Norse & Teutons,& the sword belt in Orion was called "Freya's Girdle."
She is as strong, beautiful & wise as any of the "Eldest Ones."

(HODUR)The blind brother of Balder who,according to the legend, threw the mistletoe at bright brother, not knowing that this small plant was the one thing in existence that could hurt or kill Balder.Some have said that he personifies ignorance & darkness,though it may be said that he is the personification of age & aging,& the dissolution which clears the way for the rebirth of new life.There are some indication that before the time of Valhalla there was a life religion, now forgotten, in which Balder was the king of the waxing year,Hodur the winter king(or the king of the declining year),& Nanna the eternal Goddess for whom they contended.

(HEIMDALL)A bright & gracious God,Heimdall guards the heavenly rainbow bridge that leads to the realm of the Gods.He is the watchman & warder of the Gods, & good to call upon at any time that watchfulness & guarding are required.
The old legends told that he was born of the Elder Gods,that he wants less sleep than a bird,sees a hundred miles off by night or day,& hears the grass on the ground & the wool on a sheep's back both grow.It is said that his horn will alert all living things when the great conflict of Ragnarok comes,bringing with it the end of the world.

TYR)The invincible warrior of the Nordic pantheon, & far older than all the others of Asgard was Tyr. He is said to have sacrificed his right hand to help bind Fenrir, the wolf who,when set free,is destined to devour the Sun.Tyr symbolizes will & desire.It is thought by scholars that he may have been the original father-god of the archaic Indo-Europeans, long before the dawn of our histories.

(FREYR)patron of fields,crops,& green growing things,he is the peaceful & fruitful of farmers,& a personification of the basic male principal in the universe.Freya & Freyr were originally Vanir: pre-Valhalla deities who together shared the seasons. Quite probably the spring & summer were hers,& the fall & winter were his.

(BRAGI)The patron of poetry & eloquence, Bragi was the skald,& minstrel of the Gods.He likes wells & springs,is easy to like & is enjoyable company at any time.He is the personification of poetic inspiration, the wisdom of the skalds,& divine illumination in the soul.

(ULLR)A stepson of Thor and Sif, and a minor hero of Nordic myth.

(VALI)The son of Loki by Siguna or by Rinda, & one of the Aesir.

The Gods of Valhalla and Before
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(ODIN)The prime deity in our ancient path is one who is really at the center of the Gods, rather than a solitary being claiming omnipotence, & who is not at all adverse to having other deities called upon for aid or blessing. In the Eddas & the various related lore he never demanded to be chief of the Gods,but due to his vast wisdom was respected & consulted by Gods & man alike.
Odin may be seen in two ways,both aspects of the same way,& valid. The more common way is in his persona of All-Father, a view more commonly ascribed by those with a Christian background.It is this aspect on which we call in matters pertaining to family, folk & land,where wisdom & guidance are valued above all.In this aspect Odin is sometimes pictured as a heroic, strongly built patriarch, a view which is valid much of the time.
The second aspect is similar to Mercury, or Hermes:sharpness of mind,quiet,adept at magics & the altering of the flow of circumstance, always wandering,wise in the ways of the world,yet always interested in learning more,& giver of victory in conflicts. Since earliest times he has been pictured as a tell,lank individual wearing a wide-brimmed hat & a cloak of grey or blue,& carrying a staff which,while useful for walking,also possessed immense power.This is the manner in which he was most often viewed in ancient times.
Odin is also one-eyed.The legends say that he treasured knowledge so greatly that he gave his right eye in ransom for it.He is possessed of vast strength & will power.The same legends say that he had himself fixed to a tree to gain the deepest of wisdom, & hung alone on the tree for nine days & nine nights."Word by word I sought out words.Fact by fact I sought out fact,"he said.
Often it is said that he roamed the world alone & solitary,accompanied only by a pair of wolves or a pair of ravens.Sometimes he rode a strange,eight-legged steed"Sleper ir,"who represents time itself.His son,who would often ride behind him,is the yearly reborn spirit of life.
The legends indicate that Odin has always preferred to be involved with people,families in particular.Hetakes an interestin dynasties thaat show proomise,& follows them through the centuriess.Odin cares for people,even if at timess it must be aa stark & hard caring that comes up against fate itself,& presses against the very boundaris of possible & impossible,oflife & of death.
Psycholoically,Odin is the patron who wakes each of us from our earlier,,magical world view to a more mature & intellectual outlook on life.He represents abstract thought & the ability to make the abstract come into complete reality.Odin also gives godllike inspiration & solid worlldlly success to those who strive for & deserve them.
In many ways,Odin seems too be the ultimate priest for Gods as well as for men.His way of gaining the knowledge which he treasures so much is strikingly similar to the way in which a Siberian shaman,,or priest,,,will seek the secrets of life & death. His self-crucifixion on the Tree to gain wisdom is a ritual which looks strikingly similar to the Native American Sun dance. Based on this,some have felt that Odin may originally have been an ordinary man who sought godhead & ultimately attained it.Whatever the truth,this story provides the ultimate inspiration & challenge tohumankind,saying,"Where I am now,so also may you be,if you are willing & strong."

(THOR)Odin's close friend & companion on their many wanderings was the Thunderer, the red-bearded & powerfully built Thor.In Pagan times Thor was always popular,& in some lands even supplanted his friend,the One-Eyed.
Thor sends lightning,thunder & life-giving rain.He has always been a strong protector of his folk,& gives gifts freely to his human friends. He has a liking for farms,fields,forests,mountains & streams.Thor has a hearty & oftimes bawdy sense of humor.He likes drinking,banqueting, storytelling & good company in general.
His one weapon is his mighty hammer,Mjolnir,a magical weapon which strikes with the lightning & roars with the thunder as it is used,& which always returns to his hand.In ancient times & even occasionally to this day those who call him their patron will wear a miniature tau-shaped hammer about their necks.It is of particular interest that warriors & those who must face stressful situations will find wearing a Thor's-hammer to be appropriate.
Whereas Odin rewards intelligence, Thor rewards hard work.From psychological viewpoint their long-standing partnership makes excellent sense,especially when leavened with Loki's curiosity & sense of humor.
Thor is similar to Freyr in that he represents "the good life."It can truly be said,"Thor is the working-man's God.

(RAN)Queen of the Sea & consort of Aegir, the Sea God.(In the legends of northern Europe she has always been considerabley more important than Aegir.) Ran is queen of the undines, or mermaids, & hence is known for her music, her ability to prophecy the future, her spells of enchantment & her great beauty. The souls of those who have drowned are said to go into her realms.She is the patroness of girls & of young women who have not yet married.Ran's daughters are the proverbial "nine wives of the sea'"& the entrance to her abode is through the Maelstrom, the vast whirlpool said by legends to exist somewhere in the higher latitudes of the North Sea.

(SIF)The Goddess who was consort to Thor,& who was famed for her long, beautiful golden hair with which she preferred to work her magic & her enchantments. She is the patroness of harvests & the comfortable wealth that comes from them.

(OSTARA)The patroness of spring, fertility & new life,after whom our holiday of Easter is named.Lovely,cheerful, bright & sensual,she enjoys dancing & good co pany.Traditionally,fertility cakes are offered to her & eaten in honor of her during Easter-tide."Hot cross buns" originated as offerings to Ostara.

THE SIGN OF THE HAMMER
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This is a self-blessing, a protection & a salute to the Gods.It frequently used in the rites.You may wish to speak the names aloud when making the hammer while off by yourself, & voice them in your mind when you are with others.The right fist is used.

Touch forehead saying
ODIN
(intellect,wisdom, creativity,victory, The Father)

Touch breastbone or heart,saying
BALDER
(kindness, mercy,forgiveness, love [agape],redemption, The Son)

Touch left breast,saying
FREYA
(beauty,sensuality,love [eros],nurturing, magic,good fortune, The Mother)

Touch the right breast,saying
THOR
(strength,adventure,challenge,work,hearty joy,The Protector)
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THE CALLING OF THE GREY WANDERER
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O far traveling,Sky-Cloaked wanderer
From the far,ancient lands,
We call to you across mountain & forest,
And the far,limitless grasslands;
We call to you across distant times,
And a hundred hundred slow turnings
Of the vast spindle of the sky.
We call to you in lands of mystery
Where ravens wheel in darkling skies,
And the far calling of wolves,
Echoing eldritch through crisp nights wind,
Brings close the strange far worlds
Where humankind never has trod.
We call to you beyond the distant icy tundra
And the vast plains of snow
Beneath the unearthly rippling & flowing
Of the dark northern skies'boreal lights,
To the golden gates of far Valhall
Where the shimmering bridge of rainbow
Links the dark Middle Earth of man
With the shining realms of the Gods.
Come to us now & be with us here,
Great Odin!

1)To do no harm.
2)To do only good.
3)To live in benefit of all beings.

1)We take refuge in the potential beyond knowing.
2)We take refuge in truth.
3)We take refuge in action