In many ways, the enigmatic figure of Svarog is emblematic of both the difficulties that we face when reconstructing Indo-European mythology … and also the marvelous enduring features that make it so easy - if you know where and how to look. I say "difficulties", because Svarog is a seriously under-directly-attested figure, even by the … Continue reading On Svarog As Sky Father – The Indo-European Sky Father As Song-Smith Of The Cosmos
Nordic
On The Preservation Of Faith In The Indo-European Periphery – And Its Corrosion In The Indo-European Core
[Author's Note: This was initially intended as a brief introduction to a piece on the Slavic figure of Svarog as a Sky Father expression - however, it has grown somewhat, and contains an important, freestanding point. So here it is on its own] The Indo-European world can probably be divided up into those mythic cultures … Continue reading On The Preservation Of Faith In The Indo-European Periphery – And Its Corrosion In The Indo-European Core
On The Indo-European Symbolism Of The Ash Tree – And The Ensuing Origins Of The Spear-Race Of Man
Often in the course of work, we begin writing about one topic - only to find that it has serious and substantial bearing upon another. Thus was the case when I sat down to pen "WORLD-SPEAR", looking at the iconic weapon of the Sky Father. I'd known that there would be significant salience for the … Continue reading On The Indo-European Symbolism Of The Ash Tree – And The Ensuing Origins Of The Spear-Race Of Man
Furor Teutonicus And Furor Poeticus – The Furious Goddess-Given Power Of Both Barbarian And Brahmin Alike
Something I have long advocated, is that the two forms of 'Furor' spoken about - "Furor Teutonicus" ('Germanic Fury' - Berserk Battle-Rage) and "Furor Poeticus" (The 'Fury of the Poet' - Artistic Inspiration of a certain all-consuming caliber) are, in essence, the same quality. Just differently expressed. On the surface, this can sound curious. After … Continue reading Furor Teutonicus And Furor Poeticus – The Furious Goddess-Given Power Of Both Barbarian And Brahmin Alike
The Cyclopes And The Ribhus Elves – Solar Smiths of the Sky Father
One of the most iconic creatures from Greek mythology must surely be the Cyclopes. Best known from Odysseus' encounter with Polyphemus during the course of the Odyssey, the Cyclopes is one of those classic mythic tropes - the big, brutish monster who must be defeated via cunning and guile lest he devour the hero and … Continue reading The Cyclopes And The Ribhus Elves – Solar Smiths of the Sky Father
The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm
One of the more seizing figures to have captured the imagination - both ancient and modern - is the Griffin (occasionally, and to my mind superiorly, spelled 'Gryphon'). Almost everybody knows it - a creature that is simultaneously leonine and aquiline. Part Lion, part Eagle. And usually pictured by us in its heraldic form, something … Continue reading The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm
A THIRD DRAUGHT OF SOMA-KVASIR – THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE MEANING OF THE MEAD
As I have previously illustrated, it now seems that Snorri Sturluson's accounting of the Mead of Poetry is drawing from, and perhaps inexpertly seeking to summarize materials that are far older. That are Indo-European. That have likely been passed down since the points roughly at which the Vedic and the Eddic religious canons were broadly … Continue reading A THIRD DRAUGHT OF SOMA-KVASIR – THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE MEANING OF THE MEAD
ON THE HORSE TWINS – The Savior Sons of the Sky Father [Part 2 – Hengist And Horsa – The Demonization of the Divine Sons]
The 'Horse' nomenclature is particularly overt when we turn to Hengist & Horsa - the latter being so clear as to not require translation, whilst the former effectively means 'Stallion'. So, 'Stallion' and 'Horse', then. At least in the British chronicles upon the subject. Other accounts from further into the Germanosphere differ somewhat upon this … Continue reading ON THE HORSE TWINS – The Savior Sons of the Sky Father [Part 2 – Hengist And Horsa – The Demonization of the Divine Sons]
On Reclaiming ‘Barbarian’
The time has come, I think, to 'reclaim' the term "Barbarian". Now, in some circles this has already happened - it is utterly uncontroversial, because there is the implicit recognition that what "Barbarian" refers to , is one's own ancestors … the negative, fearful connotations thereof, being those affixed by the other people who had … Continue reading On Reclaiming ‘Barbarian’
ON THE HORSE TWINS – The Savior Sons of the Sky Father [Part 1 – Introductions, Inceptions, And Asvins]
One of the more pervasive, yet perplexing of the elements of the Indo-European mythology must surely be the Heroic Horse-Twins. Whether the Asvins / Nasatyas / Divo Napata of the Vedas, the Dioscuri of the Greeks (Castor & Pollux / Polydeuces), the Asvieniai / Dievo Suneliai of the Lithuianians, or Hengist and Horsa of the … Continue reading ON THE HORSE TWINS – The Savior Sons of the Sky Father [Part 1 – Introductions, Inceptions, And Asvins]
