I am, it would appear, once again infuriated. This time, by that most frequent of annoyances, Academic Shenaniganry. Specifically pertaining to Lord Shiva. An associate had directed my attention to a recent work by Lubotsky that attempted to set out that a rather large and integral swathe of Vedic religion … was non-Indo-European. And was, … Continue reading No, Śarva, The Archer Theonym Of Rudra, Is Not Of Non-Indo-European Origination
linguistics
No, Fjörgyn Does Not Descend From Perkwunos – It’s Literally The Other Way Around
In the wake of discussion spurred up by that … curious assertion from a popular (neo-)pagan youtuber about two Nordic deifics allegedly having 'swapped genders' and this being demonstrable via linguistics - we encountered a comment asking if Fjörgyn might be something like this, predicated upon the often-encountered notion of Fjorgyn being somehow linguistically descended from … Continue reading No, Fjörgyn Does Not Descend From Perkwunos – It’s Literally The Other Way Around
Bad Theology And Bad Linguistics – On ‘Ocean Keltoi’ attempting to radically redefine Njordr & Skadi to fit a decidedly modern agenda
Earlier today our attention was drawn to this tweet, from a well-known religious commentator / youtuber. https://twitter.com/OceanKeltoi/status/1544028045073424385 This isn't just Bad Theology. It's also Bad Linguistics. How? Take a look at "Herakles" / "Hercules". Root of name is Hera. Does this make Herakles somehow a 'really' female deific? I think not. More to the point … Continue reading Bad Theology And Bad Linguistics – On ‘Ocean Keltoi’ attempting to radically redefine Njordr & Skadi to fit a decidedly modern agenda
On Ansuz As Spear-Rune
Recently, we had a brief interaction on twitter pertaining to the notion of 'Ansuz' as a 'Spear'. My interlocutor, a Scandinavian by the name of Sindri (@DrinksStupid), had asserted that the Tiwaz rune seemed much closer - and the Ansuz not at all. So, here's a slightly edited run-through of my remarks there upon the … Continue reading On Ansuz As Spear-Rune
On The Purported ‘Bear Taboo’
This is your occasional reminder that the 'bear taboo' is not actually a Proto-Indo-European understanding. The archaic Indo-Europeans of the Urheimat do not appear to have had a problem referring to a Bear quite directly - as *h₂ŕ̥tḱos. We can tell this because there's a suite of directly cognate terms for 'Bear' in not only … Continue reading On The Purported ‘Bear Taboo’
Glorious Art Of The One Eyed God For Wednesday – Rudra
It is Wednesday ! Woden's Day ! And therefore … art of a One Eyed God (and His Wife) Now, of course, it becomes immediately apparent that this is Shaivite art - and so some might ask what I mean by this here. After all, whilst Rudra is Odin … Lord Shiva is also so … Continue reading Glorious Art Of The One Eyed God For Wednesday – Rudra
The Spirits Of Ash, Milk, & Honey – A RUDRAGANIKA Excerpt
An excerpt from my recent RUDRAGANIKA (A)Arti-cle looking at the Female Retinue of the Indo-European Sky Father - in this piece, uncovering the remarkable concordancy of elements concerning members of this Retinue as tenders to the Axis Mundi, the World Tree or Sthambha. This is particularly oriented toward the Ash Nymphs, although also links into … Continue reading The Spirits Of Ash, Milk, & Honey – A RUDRAGANIKA Excerpt
Athena Promachos – Immortal Sentinel of the City
The Acropolis at Athens - Leo von Klenze, 1846. Note the very, very large Athena statue in pride of place upon the Acropolis. This is Athena Promachos (Ἀθηνᾶ Πρόμαχος) - Athena Who-Fights-In-The-Front-Line. The meaning of the epithet is reasonably direct - the 'foremost fighter', the warrior at (and as) the proverbial 'tip of the spear'. … Continue reading Athena Promachos – Immortal Sentinel of the City
On Bellerophon – Echoes Of A Coronation Rite And Slayer Of The Demon Of Enclosure ?
Now *this* is interesting - quite a familiar shape, you'll see the various Christian depictions of St George engaged in a spot of dragon-slaying, for instance. However, what's depicted here is Bellerophon (mounted upon Pegasus) slaying the Chimaera, from a floor mosaic on Rhodes, circa 300-270 BC. I am not saying that various much more … Continue reading On Bellerophon – Echoes Of A Coronation Rite And Slayer Of The Demon Of Enclosure ?
On The Etymology Of Bacchus – The Roarer
[illustration appears to be by a Jim Tierney] When it comes to Dionysus, there are various elements which are … challenging to make sense of. This is as it should be. One of these concerns the likely etymology - and therefore meaning - of one of His most prominent theonymics: Bacchus (or Bakkhos, Βάκχος, etc.). Usually … Continue reading On The Etymology Of Bacchus – The Roarer
arya-akasha 