An exploration of the sacred feminine and its initiatory function in Germanic paganism There are several ways we can distill the mythic wisdom in the myths examined in this series of articles and use it as nourishment for our own spiritual growth. One such level of analysis is to see the different…

An exploration of the sacred feminine and its initiatory function in Germanic paganism Much has been written about the quest and the initiatic journey of the hero, but little attention has been paid to the feminine figures who often function as guides and initiators on those adventures. In Odin’s case, he retrieves…

An exploration of the sacred feminine and its initiatory function in Germanic paganism The next natural object of this essay is the nature of the sacred mead, and the spiritual meaning thereof. Depicting spiritual knowledge as a liquid is a central indoeruopean theme, from India to Ireland. The Vedas referred to the…

An exploration of the sacred feminine and its initiatory function in Germanic paganism Rites of initiation fascinate us: ceremonies wherein mysterious workings of another world alter the spiritual being of man, and in turn how he relates to the world, by exposing him to a glimpse of the sacred reality before which…

While in many places the frost still crouches deep in the ground and the mountains sleep under a thick blanket of snow, the first harbingers of spring are already appearing in sheltered corners and sunny places: snowdrops and crocuses greet the first warming rays of sun, the young trees begin to bud…

In myths and fairy tales, the heroes and heroines are pushed towards change through crisis that most often manifest as an adventure they will live on their own, and which will ultimately lead them towards a state of completeness and self-knowledge they would not have been able to acquire without enduring a…

Norse paganism and folklore is filled to the brim with otherworldly beings, many of which are still alive and kicking in Scandinavian popular belief! In this article we will discover the magical creatures of the North, such as trolls, nisser, nøkk, elves and dwarves.  trolls The trolls are a well known race…

Discover the secrets of the dark gloomy forests of Sweden, meet the nasty trolls, the gnomes and travel alongside young princesses able to tame even the biggest bears. Plunge with us in the mythic world of John Bauer and discover the magic hidden behind mountains and rocks with the fantastic illustrations of…

Brothers shall fight and fell each other,And sisters’ sons shall kinship stain;  Hard is it on earth, with mighty whoredom; Axe-time, sword-time, shields are sundered,  Wind-time, wolf-time, ere the world falls; Nor ever shall men each other spare. – Völuspá Just as Indian mythology knows the Kali Yuga and Hesiod and Ovid write…

Honor Women in the Viking age were, like men, concerned with honor. An insult to the housewife was just as bad as an insult to the man of the home. Insults in the Viking ages were no negligible matter. An attack on a person’s honor was an attack on the whole bloodline,…

“The night is dark and full of terrors” may be a quote from a fantasy show but it echoes deeply with the Baltic mythology. The night is a magical and powerful but terrifying time when witches and wizards have more power, and various sorts of critters come scurrying out from the deep…

It is quite easy during the dark days of the Christmas season to go deep, to get closer. In the summer, on the other hand, one tends to become more ecstatic, drawn out into the open in the dance of the blossoming nature. In the winter nights though one would rather experience…

If an algorithm creates an illustration, why should it be called anything else than a tool creating an image? If an image is aesthetic, does it make it a work of art? If someone would use a program and click on a button to generate a picture, would that person be an…

The months between the autumn and spring equinoxes have been since ancient times populated by dark creatures, myths and lore linking to the otherworld. Different kinds of festivities in celebrating the ancestors, rituals involving the honourable dead or tales of ghosts and demons are being celebrated to this day in some regions…

The feminine beauty ideal in the Viking Age What was the beauty ideal in the Viking age, and how did women dress for beauty in this time? The last question is best answered by grave-finds. It is likely that Viking women were buried in their finest garments. Two of the most common…

Nowadays, Halloween is in many places wrongly considered an American invention. While it is true that the way we celebrate Halloween today hardly has anything to do with the traditions of our forebears, the roots of these customs reach back into prehistory. The name “Halloween” (“all hallows even”, the eve of All…

This is the first post in a series on the role of women in the Viking age. As this year’s summer blot is dedicated to Freya, the most radiant of the goddesses, we wish to start this series with a post on her representative on earth, namely the housewife (husfrue). The Viking…

Once upon a time, people had few but were surrounded by meaningful belongings. Their possessions had their own stories, their own energies, and were manufactured: they were created from nature by skilful hands. They were unique. It’s time to find meaning again, welcome on Mythopoetic.  Once upon a time, people had few…

The autumnal equinox responds to the spring equinox. The sowing of seeds, the working of the earth, the blossoming and fertilisation of flowers in the orchards, and the celebration of nature’s resurrection are followed by a time of harvesting, thanksgiving and rituals related to death and the fear of the other world’s…