LIBRARY
The Charade
The term "god", Norse góð, from proto-Nordic *guda, means simply "good", but the original meaning of the term is "what you conjure" or "what you with spells/sorcery control". It's a force of nature that the sorcerer can command (so it's good [god] for you). A sorcerer was called góði ("god") and a sorceress gýðja ("goddess"). Any force of nature that the sorcerer/sorceress could conjure was a "god/goddess".
The deities were named according to their attributes or their powers, their function or their roles, such as Óðinn ("to blow, "to inspire", "spiritually arousing"), Freyja ("[feminine] seed [i.e. the egg])", Freyr ("[masculine] seed [i.e. the spermatozoid]"), Baldr ("shining white"), Týr ("beam [of light]"), Þórr ("thunderer"), Jörð ("earth"), Höðr ("hide", "hood"), Heimdallr ("tree above the bed", "world tree"), Máni ("wanderer", "measure"), Njörðr ("thirst from below"), Forseti ("front seat", "judge seat", "feast"), Sága ("seek [knowledge]), Skaði ("jump", "climb"), Sól ("shining", "giver", "safe", "health"), Váli ("fallen", "chosen", "strong", "power"), Viðarr ("wood", "wide forest"), Íðunn ("laborious", "industrious"), Loki ("lightning", "flash of light"), etc.
Yes, the conjurer became the god/goddess he/she conjured. He/she was a góði/gýðja.
So as you can see, the concept of "god" was not the same as most people have today. The divine was not "supernatural". The divine might hold powers we today have forgotten to connect to or don't understand any more, but all of it is perfectly natural. Yes, there is nothing supernatural about the divine.
When you believe that they saw them as supernatural beings that they "worshipped", like the Abrahamists worship their Hebrew idol, you fall into the trap sat up for the uninitiated. Yes, this is the impression you can get from ancient descriptions of our Tradition. Yes, it all seems supernatural, and superstitious. But this is a charade.
The charade, the ginn, ("charade"), is set up not to deceive people for no good reason, but as a means to test and to educate them. So the Tradition is not just a Tradition, but a Tradition divided into different levels of understanding; the exoteric and the esoteric. Some will remain inside Plato's cave, and believe the shadows dancing on the wall in front of them are "real". Others will turn around and see what causes the shadows to dance on the wall. They will leave the darkness of the cave and become… elevated to the divine. You will fall down screaming, and pick up the runes (secrets) from the green grass. Yourself given to yourself.
The deities were named according to their attributes or their powers, their function or their roles, such as Óðinn ("to blow, "to inspire", "spiritually arousing"), Freyja ("[feminine] seed [i.e. the egg])", Freyr ("[masculine] seed [i.e. the spermatozoid]"), Baldr ("shining white"), Týr ("beam [of light]"), Þórr ("thunderer"), Jörð ("earth"), Höðr ("hide", "hood"), Heimdallr ("tree above the bed", "world tree"), Máni ("wanderer", "measure"), Njörðr ("thirst from below"), Forseti ("front seat", "judge seat", "feast"), Sága ("seek [knowledge]), Skaði ("jump", "climb"), Sól ("shining", "giver", "safe", "health"), Váli ("fallen", "chosen", "strong", "power"), Viðarr ("wood", "wide forest"), Íðunn ("laborious", "industrious"), Loki ("lightning", "flash of light"), etc.
Yes, the conjurer became the god/goddess he/she conjured. He/she was a góði/gýðja.
So as you can see, the concept of "god" was not the same as most people have today. The divine was not "supernatural". The divine might hold powers we today have forgotten to connect to or don't understand any more, but all of it is perfectly natural. Yes, there is nothing supernatural about the divine.
When you believe that they saw them as supernatural beings that they "worshipped", like the Abrahamists worship their Hebrew idol, you fall into the trap sat up for the uninitiated. Yes, this is the impression you can get from ancient descriptions of our Tradition. Yes, it all seems supernatural, and superstitious. But this is a charade.
The charade, the ginn, ("charade"), is set up not to deceive people for no good reason, but as a means to test and to educate them. So the Tradition is not just a Tradition, but a Tradition divided into different levels of understanding; the exoteric and the esoteric. Some will remain inside Plato's cave, and believe the shadows dancing on the wall in front of them are "real". Others will turn around and see what causes the shadows to dance on the wall. They will leave the darkness of the cave and become… elevated to the divine. You will fall down screaming, and pick up the runes (secrets) from the green grass. Yourself given to yourself.
Varg Vikernes
24.06.2020