Glaciers Melting • Volcanoes Erupting • Wildfires Burning The forces of nature, of life, are bigger, stronger, older and wiser than we are. They are the Giants. Jotunn, of Norse myths. Primal and raw. They cannot be bound, tamed or controlled.
And yes, we are powerless. We may play a part, a very small part, in some of what's happening on earth but such things have happened before and will continue in the future and we are powerless. To truly understand this, all we need to do is place our garbage dumps in the path of a lava flow and in a matter of minutes all they things we have taken from the earth are consumed by fire, recycled and returned, forming new land. This is the age-old story of the battle between the Gods and the Giants. The Gods want to rule, control, invade and conquer. They do so at our own peril. We humans and the Gods are of no concern to the Jotunn. They are not evil, savage, hostile or barbaric. They are neither moral nor immoral. Their concern is only for what must be. They are not enemies of life. They are part of endless cycles of destruction and creation. So as the volcanos erupt and the fires burn and the ice melts may we be in awe of the creation as well as the destruction. If you wish to know more about these raw, primal beings, then go to the Runes and listen. They have much to say. Ingrid, the Rune Woman Wise and Irreverent Check the home page for upcoming rune classes.
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When the Gods need help, who do they call? Are you dealing with something in your life that is large, heavy, cumbersome and stuck?
Did you love it once and did it serve a purpose? Is it finished? Has it died? Does it need to be moved? As a spiritual counselor, and an irreverent wise woman, I often work with people who find themselves dealing with similar situations and I remind them that even the Gods ask for help. Who do the Gods call upon? Who would you call? Individuals in spiritual communities flavored by Eastern religions, such as Hinduism, might seek the help of Lord Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles. I encourage those of us with European ancestry to look north, to the spiritual heritage of our own ancestors and to the Gods and Goddesses they called upon. There’s a great story found in the Norse Sagas about a Giantess named Hyrrokkin who lived in the Mountains of Jotunheim. When she came to the aid of the Gods, she rode in on a wolf using poisonous snakes for reins. The Gods had tried many times, with no success, to launch a ship out to sea, but it was stuck in the sand. After numerous failures, they summoned one of the most powerful beings in all the realms, Hyrrokkin. When she arrived, she dismounted, walked over to the prow of the ship, and gave it such a mighty push the land shook as the boat was freed. Now I don’t know about you, but this is my kind of woman, someone who can say, even to the Gods, ‘step aside and let me do this for you.’ Have you tried calling upon Hyrrokkin? She’s a great one when you need to get something moved. I’m available by appointment for private sessions. Information can be found on my website. Spiritual Counseling Sessions
There’s a river that separates the realm of the gods from the land of the giants. Ifing the river is called. Ifing, the River of Doubt. It runs so swiftly that ice never forms on it. It runs so swiftly it’s difficult to cross.
Why does there need to be a separation between the gods and the giants? Why would this separation be called Doubt? And how is it that Thor crosses over so easily? He’s most definitely giant through his mother’s line. She is Jord, giantess of earth and soil, land and crops, and the daughter of Nott, the giantess of Night. Thor most often gets placed in the Aesir pantheon along side Odin but rarely does anyone remember that he is more than half giant. So is Odin for that matter. And they both cross over the river into other realms. Thor is a storm god much loved and honored by the people. He is roaring thunder and flashes of lightning that strike the earth and fertilize the soil. His hammer is used in the blessing rituals of new brides, imparting fertility. His hammer is hung on the plow as it turns the soil in spring thus assuring abundant crops for the coming year. When Thor arrives in the storm, in his chariot drawn by goats, does he use his hammer to impregnate his mother? Is this yet another story of the mother who gives birth to a son who becomes her lover? The frost giants are called Thurs so perhaps Thurisaz is the rune of these giants. If so, they appeared at the very beginning out of the chaos of fire and ice. Does Thurisaz carry with it some of the chaos that exists at the moment of emerging? When it shows itself randomly in your life or in a reading it might do well to ponder. What is my river of doubt? Which side of the river am I on? Where am I the most comfortable? How easy is it for me to cross over? What impregnates me and when I give birth, who claims my firstborn? Do I deny or ignore the parts of me that carry the lineage of the giants of chaos? Do I favor instead only the parts that the high gods approve? The Nine Worlds
Dark forests and tops of mountains, rocky crags, the snow of the vast wilderness and the feared wildness of Nature, Utgard, outside the fence, the place of the self-willed beasts. This is the realm of the giants. This is Jotunheim. Separated from the orderly, law-abiding, civilized, domestication of the high gods by Ifing, the river of Doubt. Yet even the so-called high gods carry the bloodlines of the Jotnfolk. Mimir’s well of wisdom is in Jotunheim, as is Gastropnir, the healing palace of the giantess Mengloth. And deep in the heart of Jotunheim you will find the Myrkwood, home to Angrboda, Wolf Chieftess and ruler of the nine clans, mother of monstrosities who were fathered by Loki. The word giant often conjures up images of stupid, lumbering, huge beings that are most often destructive. Yet in ancient Norse and Germanic tales the Jotunfolk of Northern Traditions were keepers of ancient wisdom, and the deep elemental knowledge of the forces of creation and destruction. Even the gods sought them out to take counsel from them. There are those who believe in a single god, creator of all things and who strive to communicate with him through various channels such as the angels, the saints and the resurrected son. There are those who believe in the many gods, pantheons of divine powers indwelling in all life and perhaps it is not we who seek out these beings but rather they contact us. These concepts expressed above opened up a grand and lively discussion in The Nine Worlds class and presented an opportunity to explore the river of Doubt and cross back and forth over its fast-moving waters that never freeze. Such conversations are necessary and vital. As Raven Kaldera states in Jotunbok - Working With The Giants Of The Northern Tradition: “We are finding ourselves in a place and time where civilization has run out of balance...we are as menaced by the side-effects of progress as our ancestors were by the feral wolf pack, and we are finding that a new respect for and partnership with Nature is now necessary for our survival.” It’s time for us to remember, reconnect with and honor the primal beings of Jotunheim. Ingrid, the Rune Woman Changing Lives With Ancient Wisdom You can help support my journey to the missing grandmother and the writing and publishing of my next book, The Lost Teachings of the North. Donate to my GoFundMe campaign. |
title Photo by Amaury Gutierrez on Unsplash
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