My first portrait of the Norse goddess, Idunn:

Idunn, The Orchard God, is one of the dearest of deities. Beloved by the Aesir for her many talents - not least of which for her craft of Orchard keeping. For amidst the boughs of Yggdrasil (and behind the walls of Asgard) Idunn tends the fruit that keeps the gods forever young. Yet, while the other gods may favour her for her talents, there is one who adores for something more: her husband the God of Poetry and Song Bragi.

One of the many important projects on which I'm working for Hyperborean Radio. Stay tuned for more.

Æthelwulf

Happy Freyja Friday!

Fridays are for Whitepills

Share what inspires you, what you find beautiful about our world and our people.

#whitepillfriday🌿

Question: Do you think there is some relationship between the dark extreme myths of Scandinavia's past heroes and gods and the dark extreme music now generated from these lands? Are the echoes of the past still influencing this music?

Answer: "The Viking blood still runs through our veins, the Semite-socialistic Christians have systematically destroyed our culture, religion (cosmology really) and everything belonging to the Germanic tribes. Even our myths are twisted and corrupted. Nevertheless we are Germanic in thinking and behaving thereafter. It is not echoes from the past it is echoes from ourselves! The archetypes awake within us. Aye, we are proud of our heritage but it's our blood that has begun boiling again, with fury and self-respect. This is our awakening. The return of Wotan.

-Interview with Varg Vikernes
"Deprived" Magazine (#1, 1995), by Antoinette Flynn🔥
@wolfkvlt

"No tyrant has ever come forth and said: 'You know what we're going to do with this country? Let's break it up into little pieces, and then let everybody live on their own and not mess with them.' That's not what tyrants do. Tyrants say: 'Let's unite everybody under one single idea, and then we will force them all to believe in that idea.'"

~Mark Puryear, speaking on The Sacred Stew

Valborgsmässoafton has been celebrated in Sweden since the Middle Ages and, along with Midsummer, is one of two Swedish holidays which still resemble their pre-Christian origins. On Valborg (May 1st) farm animals were let out to graze and so the fires were lit the night before to scare away predators, ward off evil whilst also cleansing the land of the dried and dead of winter. People also fired guns, shook cowbells or yelled and screamed to keep the predators at bay!

Trevlig Valborg!

Today we celebrate Valborg, an old Scandinavian pagan tradition, which can be traced back to the Segerblot (Sígrblót). Which was the third blot Oden had whilst making laws on Svitjod, and that marks the spot for the beginning of summer.

Since the 15th century, the day has been celebrated in memory of the “German saint St. Walpurgis.” Valborg was canonized on May 1 (which was then celebrated as Walborg Fair, Walpurgistag), and through this circumstance her name was associated with the pre-Christian Germanic spring festivals held on this day, which were branded by Christianity as witches' assemblies.

Today Valborg is a celebration of spring and light from the warming and bright sun. Valborg is still celebrated with a large bonfire and it’s common for both children and adults to dance around it. In a more modern sense, Valborg is also celebrated with lots of alcohol, which we don’t recommend consuming. Happy Valborg!🔥🌲