gullindagan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gullindagan) wrote2021-10-31 12:30 pm
gullindagan) wrote2021-10-31 12:30 pm
Entry tags:
self to Self
Viet ek at ek hekk
vindga meiði á
nætr allar níu,
geiri undaðr
ok gefinn Óðni
sjálfr sjálfum mér
á þeim meiði
er manngi veit
hvers hann af rótum renn
- Stanza 138 of the Havamal
from notendur.hi.is/haukurth/norse/reader/runatal.html
So what are we doing with all this occult training? What is the goal? I may have asked this before, but it bears repeating. Again and again. Just as you train your eyes far down the road in front of you when driving, to keep the eye on the prize, to keep the head on the problem, to keep the goal in mind is of utmost importance. There are often times when I forget why I do what I do, when I get caught up in mundane activities, in petty drama, when my daily practices feel more like chores than the deeply sacred rites they are. This is when having trust in yourself, and strong commitment is important, but this is also when the reminder of the highest goal is most needed.
I recently read a book by W.E. Butler, titled Lords of Light: The Path of Initiation in the Western Mysteries, and I highly recommend it. The introduction of the book is a condensation of the path of an initiate, and drips with Butler's wisdom, after having been on the path for 60 odd years (this was his last book.) It was one of those reminders that illuminated my mind with the truth of what is important, and why I do all that I do. To quote in full: "The path is not a path of those who are wanting something; it is a path for those who are going to be something, who are going to take of themselves and forge from themselves an instrument in the hands of the Divine. We are going to offer ourselves, all of ourselves, everything in us, to the Eternal. And from the Eternal comes the gnosis, the knowledge that is above knowledge." (pg 8)
The goal is to become my greatest potential. This is something that I, as a personality, cannot even fathom. If I could, I don't think that would really be my greatest potential, though it is of great importance to try to imagine what I want to become as much as I am able to from this perspective. Only then does the ring of darkness recede, creating both more light and darkness, more potential actualized, and more possibilities potentiated. More possibilities, but also less. As the potential is defined, more potentials are evaporated. Work leads to more work. Hopefully, each work leads to greater works, and as the higher potential is manifested, the less pleasant possibilites are annulled.
It is easy to take this train all the way to Narcissusburgh, but that is why we must remember that we are not doing this just for our own sake, for the lower personality's sake, or the sake of our baser urges. We don't do this for flimsy gratification, but to make of ourselves a more capable instrument of service, and a more perfect sacrifice for the divine, which is my (and all of our) highest, deepest identity. As Butler says "Service, true service, is the only key. And that is the reason, service to ourselves, to make of ourselves true sacrifices, to give something worthwhile, to make of ourselves a jewel. And that means occult training." (pg 6)
Occult training is not necessarily fun. It requires discipline, will, sacrifice. Meditation is not fun. It can be, but often it's really boring and a lot of hard work. Ritual is maybe more fun, but doing the same thing every day is not easy. We lose some friends, we gain some new ones. Maybe. We give up certain habits and take up new habits. We give up certain pleasures to make higher pleasures possible. Transformation is not easy, it never is, but something deep inside very quietly roars that it's necessary.
But service, service is the key. Have you ever tried to help somebody? Have you ever tried to help somebody and it made their situation worse? Have you ever really thought about what "service" means? In the Hippocratic school of ancient medicine, they said "Practice two things in your dealings with disease: either help or do not harm the patient". (Lloyd, Geoffrey, ed. (1983). Hippocratic Writings (2nd ed.)) In regular life, not just in medicine, this seems like a good rule of thumb, but too often in our attempts to help other people, or to provide service, we trip over our own psychological hangups, ignorance, or even just plain arrogance. Maybe that's how we learn, but this is also why working on ourselves is so important. To see how our actions actually affect others takes clarity of mind and perspective, and to have the ability and wisdom to either not act or to act decisively when the time is right, requires self-knowledge, will, and a clear intuition. These are all things that are developed through occult training. By focusing on our own development, for the sake of service and not just for the sake of the personality, we actually serve the whole world. As Butler says experiencing gnosis convinces you deeply by experience that "you are linked with every form of life in this universe, that you are part of the living universe." (pg 7) That's another pay off of doing these practices, and another way in which working on yourself helps everybody else. When you act from a place of deep connection and of reciprocity, you're much more likely to help instead of hurt. There is another, deeper layer here too, for when we take into account the "tracks in space" that we help cut by doing these practices, focusing on our own development also helps out everybody else.
So we follow Odin, we hang on the Tree of the World, the Tree of Terror, the Great Tree flecked with White Clay by the Well of Origin, and we sacrifice ourselves to the Divine, we sacrifice ourselves to ourselves, that we might discover the Great Mysteries, the Runes, that we might be Transformed, to become our Highest Self, to be of true service.
And what is our "highest self"? Well, as Butler says "When the old initiate of the Greek Mysteries came to the well where the White Tree grew, the guardians stopped him and asked, "Who are you?"" (pg 7) So who are you? "The god within us, that is our real self, our true self." (Butler, pg 12) But don't take my word, or Butler's, for it. The task is to experience this, to have gnosis of this, for yourself. To experience your Self, for your self, and your self for your Self.
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And yeah, I have been seeing some new sides of Odin's myths lately that I will probably explore more in some coming posts. But one example is the whole hand picking warriors for valhalla thing. That's a service. He seems to be facing a serious question that may be relevant to our time (if, for instance, JMG's hypothesis is correct): how can you help when nearly everyone is doomed?
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Hmmm, I'm interested to hear more about that. My view of Valhalla was rocked pretty seriously by the interpretation in The One-Eyed God by Kris Kershaw. She talks about how the idea of the "dead warriors that Odin leads" very likely originally meant something closer to "all of the honored/competent dead" and the idea that you only got to be an Einherjar if you died in battle was likely much later. The notion is that in early tribal societies, every adult male was a warrior, and so likely given a place of honor once dead, whereas later, the idea that some adults died without being warriors was a bigger deal. I do agree that there's some interest and value in the idea of Odin making locally "bad" decisions ("you're gonna die in this battle") for globally important reasons, but it was very interesting to me that the hardcore idea that if you died some other way than in battle, you were screwed to an inferior afterlife might not go back as far as we might think.
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Thing 2: well I'm not saying that the only way to enter valhalla is by dying in battle, or that that's the "best" place to go, and I need to read that book, but Odin collecting some very good warriors(whether they be berserks, vikings, or wise old farmers, all three, or none od the above) to help in a great battle is certainly a useful, possible interpretation.
I've been liking Rune Rasmussen's (from Nordic Animism) views on myths lately: they are tools for relating. This opens up a lot. Especially when taken with JMG's new definition of magic.
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As for Nordic Animism, I haven't read that one! I'll have to check it out, as there tends to be a lot of "samey-ness" in interpretations of myths you find in heathen writings of various stripes, and this sounds like a helpful departure.
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For my own part, I've been trying to pay more attention to the spirits of my house and land, and to give them regular offerings, but so far, I'm pushing against a whole lot of habit of thought and perception of the world as dead matter, so Rasmussen sounds worth checking out, thanks much for the recommendation!
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Folks like Crawford bring a "just the facts, ma'am" sensibility to translation that can be a helpful check on potential flights of fancy, Thorsson takes ritual and magic seriously, and Krasskova takes devotional practice and prayer seriously.
I've been interested in how the religion deals with spirits other than Gods and Goddesses, but so far the only folks I'd found that give it much more than lip service have been Krasskova and Raven Kaldera, who have their points of views and prejudices like anyone else. It's nice to find someone taking the idea of relationships with the spirits seriously who also has some serious academic grounding (not that Krasskova doesn't, but her area of specialty is rather different).
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Thanks and a Question
If you don’t mind sharing, what do you suggest as offerings to the landvaettir? I used to sprinkle the honey and brandy soaked hawthorn berries from the elixir I make for the altar, but changed that to a pinch of tobacco. It *seems* to be better received: I feel a sense of joy as I set the dish down, whereas I did not with the berries.
I live in southwest Idaho, so thought the tobacco may resonate better, given the Shoshone lived in this valley before I did.
Any thoughts you may care to share?
Thanks!
Valerie
Re: Thanks and a Question
I think asking the land spirits what they want is probably the best bet, but I often offer alcohol, usually homebrewed. I usually offer tobacco (home grown) to plant spirits when I harvest them, but I'll also use that for other spirits. Of course, I know of folks who find the idea of giving plant spirits a dried plant very weird, and they use cream or some such, but they also don't live in North America where tobacco is a traditional offering. Byron Ballard, a witch from Western NC has found that artificial sweets, shiny super sugary stuff, is well recieved, and I know another herbalist who mainly offers handmade things like beads. So it seems like there's a lot of wiggle room, and it's mainly about the intention and attention given!
Re: Thanks and a Question
Thanks again,
Valerie
Re: Thanks and a Question
Re: Thanks and a Question
I also use Sunday as the day to especially honor the Land/House Wights/Vaettir. I worship my ancestors daily and light a candle, but I give an offering (usually a beer or some liquor) on Saturdays. On Sundays, I usually place a small offering to the house wights on my altar, which is usually whiskey or rum, though sometimes if I've baked bread, I'll use that. For the land wights/vaettir, I have taken to dedicating what is left over from other offerings to them. So, when I give food or drink to the Gods/Goddesses, after it has set on the altar for a few hours/over night, I give it to the land wights with the leave of the Gods it was originally offered to. Sure, this is less "dedicated" than offerings only for the landvaettir, but it also means that they are getting something every day. If the plants I planted last year are any indication, they seem to be well-received, but I have also started thinking that I might want to build in some "just for the landvaettir" offerings on some kind of regular basis.
I haven't tried tobacco, though maybe I ought to give that a try.
Re: Thanks and a Question
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https://www.jack-donovan.com/sowilo/2019/12/30/all-training-is-sacrifice/
I have profoundly mixed feelings on Donovan. His writing covers some very interesting territory and does not shy away from some difficult topics, but he also just might be actually okay with things close enough to white supremacy to make me uncomfortable, and I think his own "androphilia" (homosexuality without the cultural assumptions of modern "gay culture") just might color his views on men, women, and their relations.
This particular essay, which touches directly on Odin's sacrifice of himself to himself, seems to me to raise many valid points while also falling for the trap you mention of an overly selfish definition of "self".
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