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Varg Vikernes
"Reflections on European Mythology and Polytheism" 2015
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Sympathetic Sorcery
One of the things I enjoyed the most with Sir James Frazer's "The Golden Bough" was his description of sympathetic sorcery (alias "magic"). It explains so much about so many things, and if understood by the reader it also makes you understand that we still believe in sorcery. From Wikipedia: "Several studies have found that even today humans maintain a belief that "certain properties are contagious, either in a good or a bad way", in a manner similar to sympathetic magic, such that even a replica of a celebrity's guitar may become a fetish."
In the Scandinavian mythology we often learn about journeys made by Óðinn (*WôðanaR), Loki (*Lukan), Heimdallr (*HaimadalþaR) or some other deity, and when I claim (in Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia) that these are just descriptions of different high festivals, I also make it clear that the deity or deities acting in these myths are actually men imitating them.
Yes, the deity does not make these journeys; a man dressed up as him does. A man imitating him does. By doing so the man becomes the deity, and when he becomes the deity he also gains his powers. By imitating something good you become good yourself.
In the May contests the best man and the best woman are selected to become the Sky God and the Earth Goddess. When they do they gain all the powers of the deities: All male power in the God-King and all female power in the Goddess-Queen.
The attributes of the God-King are the hammer/ axe/club (originally stone) of Þórr (*ÞunaR), the sword of Loki and the crown/halo of Baldr (*BalðuR). With the hammer he passes judgement, and strikes down the criminals of society. With the sword he blesses his own warriors by transferring the power of the Sun (via the lightning, i.e. the sword) to them; by placing the sword on their shoulders. With the crown he lights up the world, and rules society informed and justly.
Note: Judges today still use the hammer to pass judgement. Kings still hold their scepters (hammers), swords and crowns as symbols of their power and position.
When he loses a May contest the God-King must symbolically die for his divine power to be transferred to the new winner. Some think this was originally done by executing the old King, and sometimes it probably was, but from historical times it was commonly done by letting the new winner slash with his sword on an idol representing the deity, the Sky God. Thus killing the old God-King and transferring all his power to the new winner. When he did he had to make a promise, known in Scandinavia as a "Brageløfte" (a "winner's promise"), to perform an act of heroism.
If the sword got stuck in the idol, usually a wooden pole, the new winner had to pull the sword (and all the divine power with it) from the idol using only his sword hand, and if he failed the spirits had refused him and wanted another winner to replace him. The second-best of the May contests could then have a go, and if he managed to free the sword from the idol he would become the new God-King instead. The new God-King would then have to perform the act of heroism promised by the one who slashed the idol. Naturally, this is what happens in the King Arthur myth, only in that myth the wooden idol has been replaced by a stone - and the promise of the slasher was to unite Albion under his rule.
The logic is clear: If the sword can transfer the power of the Sun to the warriors, then it can also transfer the power of the idol (symbolizing the deity) to the winner.
The Goddess-Queen is equipped with a cauldron, a (copper) cup or a sacred source, and all those who drink from this will be blessed; healthier, more beautiful, stronger and of course for women; more likely to survive giving birth. This is of course the origin of "The Holy Grail", of the Arthurian myths. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Judeo-Christianity or their foreign "saviour".
Sympathetic sorcery is a rather universal concept: it can be found all over our planet, in all cultures and all religions, and just like the name King Arthur ("bear") suggests, the origin of this concept can be found in the Bear Cult: the Stone Age precursor to all religion.
We live in a world of sorcery, and we all more or less consciously use - or try to use - sorcery in the everyday life. Whether by thinking a certain way, by our actions or even by rid ting what is essentially spell formulas. Even those who laugh at the idea of sorcery try to use sorcery in their everyday lives... The belief in sorcery permeates our societies!
Perhaps we should simply change our perspective, and regard and think of our world in a different (more sorcerous) way. If we do, not only will we better understand the nature of sorcery, but we will also be better equipped to master it, and to use it to build more harmonious societies; In accordance with our divine, spiritual and sorcerous nature.
We limp blindfolded towards our doom in the darkness spread by the cruel cult of Jesus, and see no magic in our world. Our sacred temples have been confiscated by them, and lies in ruins beneath their shadowy temples. Our deities have been twisted into "Saints" and are used to spread poison, shame and further confusion. The spiritual in our world has been strangled and is disguised and presented to us by them as "superstitions" and "sins".
Sorcery is ever-present in their dark cult, although they fail to see it themselves, but when not black as the hair of their foreign "saviour", and working against our nature, it is banned as evil, sinful, hateful and malicious - ironically; everything they are themselves.
Break free from their filthy blood-stained claws, escape the blackness of their foreign world. Open your eyes, and embrace the divine, the spiritual and the sorcery of our beautiful world!
In the Scandinavian mythology we often learn about journeys made by Óðinn (*WôðanaR), Loki (*Lukan), Heimdallr (*HaimadalþaR) or some other deity, and when I claim (in Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia) that these are just descriptions of different high festivals, I also make it clear that the deity or deities acting in these myths are actually men imitating them.
Yes, the deity does not make these journeys; a man dressed up as him does. A man imitating him does. By doing so the man becomes the deity, and when he becomes the deity he also gains his powers. By imitating something good you become good yourself.
In the May contests the best man and the best woman are selected to become the Sky God and the Earth Goddess. When they do they gain all the powers of the deities: All male power in the God-King and all female power in the Goddess-Queen.
The attributes of the God-King are the hammer/ axe/club (originally stone) of Þórr (*ÞunaR), the sword of Loki and the crown/halo of Baldr (*BalðuR). With the hammer he passes judgement, and strikes down the criminals of society. With the sword he blesses his own warriors by transferring the power of the Sun (via the lightning, i.e. the sword) to them; by placing the sword on their shoulders. With the crown he lights up the world, and rules society informed and justly.
Note: Judges today still use the hammer to pass judgement. Kings still hold their scepters (hammers), swords and crowns as symbols of their power and position.
When he loses a May contest the God-King must symbolically die for his divine power to be transferred to the new winner. Some think this was originally done by executing the old King, and sometimes it probably was, but from historical times it was commonly done by letting the new winner slash with his sword on an idol representing the deity, the Sky God. Thus killing the old God-King and transferring all his power to the new winner. When he did he had to make a promise, known in Scandinavia as a "Brageløfte" (a "winner's promise"), to perform an act of heroism.
If the sword got stuck in the idol, usually a wooden pole, the new winner had to pull the sword (and all the divine power with it) from the idol using only his sword hand, and if he failed the spirits had refused him and wanted another winner to replace him. The second-best of the May contests could then have a go, and if he managed to free the sword from the idol he would become the new God-King instead. The new God-King would then have to perform the act of heroism promised by the one who slashed the idol. Naturally, this is what happens in the King Arthur myth, only in that myth the wooden idol has been replaced by a stone - and the promise of the slasher was to unite Albion under his rule.
The logic is clear: If the sword can transfer the power of the Sun to the warriors, then it can also transfer the power of the idol (symbolizing the deity) to the winner.
The Goddess-Queen is equipped with a cauldron, a (copper) cup or a sacred source, and all those who drink from this will be blessed; healthier, more beautiful, stronger and of course for women; more likely to survive giving birth. This is of course the origin of "The Holy Grail", of the Arthurian myths. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Judeo-Christianity or their foreign "saviour".
Sympathetic sorcery is a rather universal concept: it can be found all over our planet, in all cultures and all religions, and just like the name King Arthur ("bear") suggests, the origin of this concept can be found in the Bear Cult: the Stone Age precursor to all religion.
We live in a world of sorcery, and we all more or less consciously use - or try to use - sorcery in the everyday life. Whether by thinking a certain way, by our actions or even by rid ting what is essentially spell formulas. Even those who laugh at the idea of sorcery try to use sorcery in their everyday lives... The belief in sorcery permeates our societies!
Perhaps we should simply change our perspective, and regard and think of our world in a different (more sorcerous) way. If we do, not only will we better understand the nature of sorcery, but we will also be better equipped to master it, and to use it to build more harmonious societies; In accordance with our divine, spiritual and sorcerous nature.
We limp blindfolded towards our doom in the darkness spread by the cruel cult of Jesus, and see no magic in our world. Our sacred temples have been confiscated by them, and lies in ruins beneath their shadowy temples. Our deities have been twisted into "Saints" and are used to spread poison, shame and further confusion. The spiritual in our world has been strangled and is disguised and presented to us by them as "superstitions" and "sins".
Sorcery is ever-present in their dark cult, although they fail to see it themselves, but when not black as the hair of their foreign "saviour", and working against our nature, it is banned as evil, sinful, hateful and malicious - ironically; everything they are themselves.
Break free from their filthy blood-stained claws, escape the blackness of their foreign world. Open your eyes, and embrace the divine, the spiritual and the sorcery of our beautiful world!
Varg Vikernes