On the Wolf Symbolism integral to Indo-European Warrior Tradition – An Excerpt From Speidel’s “Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan’s Column to Icelandic Sagas”

"Of all wild animals, wolves are closest to man in social instincts. They respect rank, delight in each other’s company, and are so dedicated to the pack that the Hittite king Hattusilis told his assembly, “May your clan be one, like that of the wolves!” As dogs they are eager and faithful beyond words. Wild … Continue reading On the Wolf Symbolism integral to Indo-European Warrior Tradition – An Excerpt From Speidel’s “Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan’s Column to Icelandic Sagas”

NRO L-34 ‘Odin’ Satellite Launch Mission Patch – An Indo-European Iconographic Analysis

Appropriate for a Wednesday - another not-quite Techno-Heraldry US military patch. This time, for the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office) L-34 "Odin" satellite launch. Now, there's a few (space) oddities to the patch that may seem a bit peculiar upon first inspection - yet which have perhaps surprising resonances with the underlying characteristics of the project … Continue reading NRO L-34 ‘Odin’ Satellite Launch Mission Patch – An Indo-European Iconographic Analysis

Hanuman Jayanti : The Indo-European Situation Of The Striker/Thunderer Deific In Apelike Form

Today marks Hanuman Jayanti - and, as has become our custom, we present an (A)Arti-cle in His Honour. A 'Jayanti', in case you were wondering, is one of those wonderful Sanskrit terms with several mutually reinforcing meanings - it is, at once, a 'Victory', but also can mean a 'Birthday'. So is therefore eminently appropriate … Continue reading Hanuman Jayanti : The Indo-European Situation Of The Striker/Thunderer Deific In Apelike Form

A Brief Comparanda On Ymir And Purusha – A Demon Dismembered versus the Sky Father As Cosmos Himself

As we have frequently noted, there are some stubborn-to-shift shibboleths within our field that, despite all available evidence to the contrary, persist well beyond reason. One of these concerns the ongoing conflationism between Purusha of the Vedic cosmology & cosmogony - and the Ymir of the Germanic accounting. Now on the surface of things, there … Continue reading A Brief Comparanda On Ymir And Purusha – A Demon Dismembered versus the Sky Father As Cosmos Himself

A Brief Point Upon Sacred Hospitality, The (Wandering) God-Guest, And Vratya

When we think of the concept of the Indo-European Sacred Hospitality, we understandably immediately conjure up the Greek custom of 'Xenia' - and Zeus and Hermes going in disguises to test same. What is less-known is that Athena, too, has a patronage-portfolio role over this area under her Aegis likewise - part of a persistent … Continue reading A Brief Point Upon Sacred Hospitality, The (Wandering) God-Guest, And Vratya

On Why Valkyries Ride Wolves – An Extract From ‘On Odin As Agni’

[Author's Note: there are two salient occurrences which I can think of off-hand for Wolf-Riding female figures in the Nordic sphere. The Valkyries, and Hyrrokkin. In both cases, we could fairly extrapolate that there is something of a 'Psychopomp' role entailed here - the Wolf being correlate with the receiving, escorting, and journey of the … Continue reading On Why Valkyries Ride Wolves – An Extract From ‘On Odin As Agni’

Reincarnation Amidst The Ruins – The Still-Living Shaivite Saliency At Prambanan, An Eastern Bastion Of The Hindu Faith [Incredible Indo-European Holy Sites Series Part IV]

It is Wednesday - Woden's Day … and therefore, a suitably impressive Shaivite Temple ! Now, this is from Prambanan in Indonesia - a place we today think of as the world's largest Muslim-majority country. And yet, 1200 years ago when this impressive site was being constructed, it was quite different; the polity in question … Continue reading Reincarnation Amidst The Ruins – The Still-Living Shaivite Saliency At Prambanan, An Eastern Bastion Of The Hindu Faith [Incredible Indo-European Holy Sites Series Part IV]

Against Spurious “Pre-Indo-European-Ization” Of Indo-European Elements

This happens remarkably frequently - both in terms of the linguistics, but also in terms of the mythology and theology. There's quite a number of spaces wherein some academic or other commentator with a personal theory (or, worse, an agenda) has latched on to something and gone "well this seems like it shouldn't be Indo-European … Continue reading Against Spurious “Pre-Indo-European-Ization” Of Indo-European Elements

A Really Brief Synopsis Of Various Odin – Shiva – Dyaus Pitar Comparanda

I try to make a point of responding to questions, queries, and criticisms in relation to my work. Sometimes these are … peculiar. For example, earlier this morning, somebody commented on a post of our MahaShivRatri tribute piece that "Odin is a wind God, not a sky god. He has no relation to Shiva." … … Continue reading A Really Brief Synopsis Of Various Odin – Shiva – Dyaus Pitar Comparanda