The piece below is titled, How to avoid the plague- 1630

Päivätär ('Dayess'), daughter of the Sun, is a Sun Goddess or luonnotar ('naturess'; a bit like a Greek nymph). Together with Kuutar ('Mooness') she owns the silver of the Sun and the gold of the Moon. From these they spin gold and silver yarn and weave clothes.

They are mentioned in the Kalevala: "I heard Kuutar weaving" and "give, Kuutar, of thine gold, Päivätär, of thine silver". The Maidens of Pohjola ('Northland') were particularly interested in their precious clothes and jewelry.

Art: detail of R. W. Ekman's painting Väinämöisen soitto (1866) depicting Päivätär and Kuutar sitting on a rainbow, holding weaving implements.

The Germanic Goddess Ostara (Old English: Ēostre; Old High German: *Ôstara) is attested by Bede as the Goddess honoured by Germanic peoples in Ēosturmōnaþ (OHG: Ôstarmânoth), corresponding to the month of April. Her feature as a dawn Goddess, or a deity of rebirth, is confirmed by the traceable Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ews- (lit. "to shine"), which begets the Proto-Goddess *haéusōs ("Goddess of Dawn"). The association with the Spring Equinox is clear, as it represents the rebirth of the sun and the cyclical nature of reality assumed by the Indo-Europeans.

And our folk remember her in our spring traditions of Easter eggs and bunnies and in the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty! I am currently writing extensively about it, more to come on this!

1/2 There is a lot of chaos sweeping across our lands lately with this coronavirus situation. It makes me think of the moment where Frodo arrives at the Last Homely House just in the nick of time for Elrond to heal him with elvish magic. And while not accurate to the books, I do appreciate that in the films Arwen and Tauriel both use similar healing powers also. This harkens backs to our ancient healers who worked with herbs, plants, and the natural world around us. In an animistic culture, plants were seen to have spirits who could aid in fighting off the nasty spirit of illness tormenting someone. The Greek word for sorcery/witchcraft is "pharmakeia" which is where the word pharmacy comes from. Herbal tea, elderberry, honey, and even drinks such as whiskey are good homeopathic remedies for fighting off common sicknesses. There's a reason we call alcohol "spirits" after all.

(disclaimer: This is NOT medical advice, please consult a professional HP).

2/2 Shamans and healers, our witches and wizards as it were, had extensive knowledge of these medicinal herbal practices. Many of our ethnoflora were referred to as "witches thimbles", and we even have goddesses like Frigg, Freya, and Eir who are matrons of feminine magic and healing. In the sagas, Egil uses runic magic to treat a sick girl. And the term heathen itself is related to the heath plant family.

Not all aliments are physical though. When Frodo was stabbed with the moracle blade, dark magic entered him and began poisoning him as the ring wraiths slowly drew his soul towards the shadow. (Quite an acute metaphor for conversion). As this virus has disrupted our daily lives in many ways, Frodo was also rendered stagnate and debilitated by the dark magic of the Nazgul. But with the aid of the elves, he was able to overcome it. We too can draw strength and guidance from our ancestors and the gods, to aid us in our own lives and together as a people.

Many folk today have a spiritual sickness from being brainwashed by christianity, which takes control of the host like a parasite. Abrahamism is the One Ring, the miserable deadweight of Mordor that corrupts all who bear it. Foreign ideologies and spiritualities of non-European origin are not healthy for us! The words holy, healing, and health all come from the same Germanic root word. Spring is the perfect time for our folk to heal, rejuvenate, and regain our strength as life awakens and begins to grow.

Stay safe, healthy in body and soul my friends! We will make it through. Hail!