I will be performing ritual tomorrow. This yearly ritual is for the Dawn Goddess and must be performed at dawn.
The basic framework for ritual I've used for a while:
Mark out boundaries of ritual space.
Delineate the space spiritually and mentally. I’ve done it vocally before, as well have seen it done well by marking the space by consecrating outwards in each cardinal direction. Many different methods to this.
Light the flame, consecrate the altar and call upon the God(s) that are relevant to the ritual.
Praise/ ‘Toast & Boast’ (Speak highly of the God’s deeds in mythology, I recommend kennings). You can read appropriate devotional poetry, or sing an appropriate song.
Make your prayers, some groups I’ve performed ritual with do rounds of toasts to Gods/Ancestors/Family+Friends (specifics), this works well in a group.
Give offerings, something significant to you, if you’re a rich man and you just offer some cheap booze from the shop that’s really tasteless in my view. Try to offer things that you created, put effort into, they have more metaphysical value than something store-bought. However store-buying is understandable, and better than nothing, especially for traditional alcoholic libations.
Put out the flame & close the sacred space, first spiritually then if you’ve marked the space physically return it to how it was, do not litter.
—
I recommend offering flowers for this event if you have some, along with other offerings, whatever you can provide that is meaningful.
If you have further questions feel free to ask in our group chat.
Many thanks to all who support our channel, our goal is to support this faith, so I hope as many of you as possible take action this year and practice.
-Owen, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
The basic framework for ritual I've used for a while:
Mark out boundaries of ritual space.
Delineate the space spiritually and mentally. I’ve done it vocally before, as well have seen it done well by marking the space by consecrating outwards in each cardinal direction. Many different methods to this.
Light the flame, consecrate the altar and call upon the God(s) that are relevant to the ritual.
Praise/ ‘Toast & Boast’ (Speak highly of the God’s deeds in mythology, I recommend kennings). You can read appropriate devotional poetry, or sing an appropriate song.
Make your prayers, some groups I’ve performed ritual with do rounds of toasts to Gods/Ancestors/Family+Friends (specifics), this works well in a group.
Give offerings, something significant to you, if you’re a rich man and you just offer some cheap booze from the shop that’s really tasteless in my view. Try to offer things that you created, put effort into, they have more metaphysical value than something store-bought. However store-buying is understandable, and better than nothing, especially for traditional alcoholic libations.
Put out the flame & close the sacred space, first spiritually then if you’ve marked the space physically return it to how it was, do not litter.
—
I recommend offering flowers for this event if you have some, along with other offerings, whatever you can provide that is meaningful.
If you have further questions feel free to ask in our group chat.
Many thanks to all who support our channel, our goal is to support this faith, so I hope as many of you as possible take action this year and practice.
-Owen, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtSsTxYRXMU
Firstly, I hope you all are having a great day, first one of a new season and it's going well so far! Fantastic documentary by STJ. Well-researched insight into the history of pagan dream practices and esoterics. Finally got around to watching this one and would recommend you all check it out if you haven't already.
-Owen, The Sun Riders.
@solarcult
Firstly, I hope you all are having a great day, first one of a new season and it's going well so far! Fantastic documentary by STJ. Well-researched insight into the history of pagan dream practices and esoterics. Finally got around to watching this one and would recommend you all check it out if you haven't already.
-Owen, The Sun Riders.
@solarcult
YouTube
The Secret of Sacred Dreams from the Dead
Ancient Irish, Welsh and Scottish Celts, Vikings, Greeks, Vedic Hindus and Anglo-Saxons all had secret techniques to get clairvoyant dreams (See the Future) with psychic visions from communicating with the spirits of the dead or with the gods. Very often…
Forwarded from Eichengeflüster
On the left a detail of the reconstructed Anglo-Saxon helmet found at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk. It is widely believed to have belonged to King Rædwald of East Anglia.
On the right the Plietzhausen brooch, found in an Alemanic woman's grave in southwestern Germany.
Originally, the motive bearing disk of the brooch most likely had a larger diameter and is believed to have been part of a horse harness.
Both artifacts are roughly from the same time period, early 7th century.
The little figure behind the rider, holding the spear, is believed to a be Victory Helper spirit (Sieghelfer).
On the right the Plietzhausen brooch, found in an Alemanic woman's grave in southwestern Germany.
Originally, the motive bearing disk of the brooch most likely had a larger diameter and is believed to have been part of a horse harness.
Both artifacts are roughly from the same time period, early 7th century.
The little figure behind the rider, holding the spear, is believed to a be Victory Helper spirit (Sieghelfer).
Forwarded from Traditional Europe
Ushguli, Georgia
Ushguli is the highest settlement in Europe with a population of nearly 200 people. Don't mind the numbers though; this extraordinary village sits at over 7,100 feet above sea level - meaning that it's officially the highest settlement in Georgia and Europe. This tiny, yet charming place is well worth the ride for its endless range of wall-to-wall views of the awe-inspiring Caucasus Mountains.
What's more, Ushguli makes quite an idyllic spot for those interested in hiking or horse-riding all the way to the stunning and surreal Shkhara glacier. So, if this sounds like something you cannot wait for, then get your body and mind ready for a one-of-a-kind trip to Ushguli in Georgia. This unique village shows us exactly how to live above the clouds.
Ushguli is the highest settlement in Europe with a population of nearly 200 people. Don't mind the numbers though; this extraordinary village sits at over 7,100 feet above sea level - meaning that it's officially the highest settlement in Georgia and Europe. This tiny, yet charming place is well worth the ride for its endless range of wall-to-wall views of the awe-inspiring Caucasus Mountains.
What's more, Ushguli makes quite an idyllic spot for those interested in hiking or horse-riding all the way to the stunning and surreal Shkhara glacier. So, if this sounds like something you cannot wait for, then get your body and mind ready for a one-of-a-kind trip to Ushguli in Georgia. This unique village shows us exactly how to live above the clouds.
Earth Mother Goddess
Spring is underway, Easter heralds the return of the Sun, and wildlife begins springing forth once again. As the Sun regains her strength, the Earth thaws and is once again becoming fruitful.
If you have the means, this is the time to start your gardens (if you are in northerly climates like me). So let’s take a moment to fix our gaze down, away from the sky, and toward our Mother beneath our feet.
The Earth Mother is a relatively well preserved Goddess across IE myths. She is the consort of the Sky Father, in some pantheons the mother of the Storm God, and/or the mother of the Divine Twins. In Germania, Tacitus tells us her name is Nerthus, and that she represents a Terra Mater (Mother Earth) worshipped by many tribes. In addition, he says of the Angles: “the noteworthy characteristic of the English, to foreign eyes, was that they were goddess-worshippers; they looked on the earth as their mother.”
Let us take some time to call upon Her for fertile gardens this year. The Æcerbot is a preserved poem which does just that. The ritual is an 11th century (possibly earlier) recording by a Christian monk, and no doubt contains some Christian contamination. Nevertheless, it displays a continuation of the reverence by the English people of the Earth Mother described to us by Tacitus almost 1,000 years prior, and should serve as a useful backbone for constructing our own rituals to this generous Goddess.
The ritual itself is very lengthy, too lengthy to get into completely here. However it is worth researching on your own, as a starting point for creating our own rituals, as it is much closer to the pagan mindset of our ancestors.
From the ritual, in modern English:
Erce, Erce, Erce, Earth Mother,
May the all-ruler grant you, the eternal lord,
fields growing and flourishing,
propagating and strengthening,
tall shafts, bright crops,
and broad barley crops,
and white wheat crops,
and all earth's crops....
Whole may you be Earth, mother of men!
May you be growing in God's embrace,
with food filled for the needs of men.
From: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kjolly/field.htm
-Hariwulfaz, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Spring is underway, Easter heralds the return of the Sun, and wildlife begins springing forth once again. As the Sun regains her strength, the Earth thaws and is once again becoming fruitful.
If you have the means, this is the time to start your gardens (if you are in northerly climates like me). So let’s take a moment to fix our gaze down, away from the sky, and toward our Mother beneath our feet.
The Earth Mother is a relatively well preserved Goddess across IE myths. She is the consort of the Sky Father, in some pantheons the mother of the Storm God, and/or the mother of the Divine Twins. In Germania, Tacitus tells us her name is Nerthus, and that she represents a Terra Mater (Mother Earth) worshipped by many tribes. In addition, he says of the Angles: “the noteworthy characteristic of the English, to foreign eyes, was that they were goddess-worshippers; they looked on the earth as their mother.”
Let us take some time to call upon Her for fertile gardens this year. The Æcerbot is a preserved poem which does just that. The ritual is an 11th century (possibly earlier) recording by a Christian monk, and no doubt contains some Christian contamination. Nevertheless, it displays a continuation of the reverence by the English people of the Earth Mother described to us by Tacitus almost 1,000 years prior, and should serve as a useful backbone for constructing our own rituals to this generous Goddess.
The ritual itself is very lengthy, too lengthy to get into completely here. However it is worth researching on your own, as a starting point for creating our own rituals, as it is much closer to the pagan mindset of our ancestors.
From the ritual, in modern English:
Erce, Erce, Erce, Earth Mother,
May the all-ruler grant you, the eternal lord,
fields growing and flourishing,
propagating and strengthening,
tall shafts, bright crops,
and broad barley crops,
and white wheat crops,
and all earth's crops....
Whole may you be Earth, mother of men!
May you be growing in God's embrace,
with food filled for the needs of men.
From: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kjolly/field.htm
-Hariwulfaz, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Lithuanian Earth Goddess
In Lithuania, one of the most important goddesses to the Romuva religion is Žemyna, also sometimes referred to as Žemynėla.
Her name is undoubtedly connected to the Lithuanian word “žemė”, meaning earth, from the Proto-Indo-European word *dʰéǵʰōm. Contrast this with the English word “earth”, rooted in the West Germanic *erþu, (perhaps the source of the Germanic Earth Mother “Nerthus”, attested by Tacitus), itself rooted in the the PIE word *h₁er.
In Lithuanian folklore and mythology, Žemyna is the daughter of the the Sun goddess Saulė and the moon god Menulis. Her holiday is known as Žolinės, however in modern times this holiday has been absorbed by the Catholic Church as the cult of the Virgin Mary.
-Hariwulfaz, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
In Lithuania, one of the most important goddesses to the Romuva religion is Žemyna, also sometimes referred to as Žemynėla.
Her name is undoubtedly connected to the Lithuanian word “žemė”, meaning earth, from the Proto-Indo-European word *dʰéǵʰōm. Contrast this with the English word “earth”, rooted in the West Germanic *erþu, (perhaps the source of the Germanic Earth Mother “Nerthus”, attested by Tacitus), itself rooted in the the PIE word *h₁er.
In Lithuanian folklore and mythology, Žemyna is the daughter of the the Sun goddess Saulė and the moon god Menulis. Her holiday is known as Žolinės, however in modern times this holiday has been absorbed by the Catholic Church as the cult of the Virgin Mary.
-Hariwulfaz, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
https://telegra.ph/The-organisation-of-the-Celtic-sacerdotal-caste-and-the-Druidic-revolution-04-08
The organisation of the Celtic sacerdotal caste and the Druidic revolution
Every year, they met in the same place, the center of the country, for a session that had two objectives: examine religious matters and render judgments in legal disputes. We can see that in numerous domains, bards, vates and druids were competing with each other. Yet soon the latter would bring a new type of belief that would be irreplaceable...
Kudos to pagangmommy for her help with the English phrasing!
Matamoro, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
The organisation of the Celtic sacerdotal caste and the Druidic revolution
Every year, they met in the same place, the center of the country, for a session that had two objectives: examine religious matters and render judgments in legal disputes. We can see that in numerous domains, bards, vates and druids were competing with each other. Yet soon the latter would bring a new type of belief that would be irreplaceable...
Kudos to pagangmommy for her help with the English phrasing!
Matamoro, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Telegraph
The organisation of the Celtic sacerdotal caste and the Druidic revolution
The Sacerdotal function: Basically the sacerdotal function was divided into 3 groups: Bards, Vates and Druids. I. Bards: Bard is a loan word from the Celtic languages, the root going back to the Gaulish *bardos, stemming from the Proto-Celtic *bardo…
The Moralism of the Druids
“The bards composed and sung odes; the Uatis attended to the sacrifices and studied nature; while the Druids studied nature and moral philosophy. So confident are the people in the justice of the Druids that they refer all private and public disputes to them; and these men on many occasions have made peace between armies actually drawn up for battle.” - Strabo
“Druids make their pronouncements by means of riddles and dark sayings, teaching that the gods must be worshipped, and no evil done, and manly behaviour maintained.” - Diogenes Laertius
- O’Gravy, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
“The bards composed and sung odes; the Uatis attended to the sacrifices and studied nature; while the Druids studied nature and moral philosophy. So confident are the people in the justice of the Druids that they refer all private and public disputes to them; and these men on many occasions have made peace between armies actually drawn up for battle.” - Strabo
“Druids make their pronouncements by means of riddles and dark sayings, teaching that the gods must be worshipped, and no evil done, and manly behaviour maintained.” - Diogenes Laertius
- O’Gravy, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Druids were an initiatic caste, akin to the vedic Brahmin, passing wisdom from one generation of Druids to the next through the oral tradition. Anyone alive today who claims to be one is beyond arrogant and should be shamed.
The priestly class needs to be re-established, but it will be a new tradition largely based on the foundation of knowledge we have inherited. We are perennialists, we revere the sacred traditions, but also innovate further.
Through practice and development, we will be inspired by the Druids of the past eras, and aim to get as close as possible, perhaps even achieving Brahmin/Druid tier development when we enter the Golden Age once again.
Hail the Druids, we will forever remember you, and continue to develop ourselves and our traditions, in your honour.
- Owen, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
The priestly class needs to be re-established, but it will be a new tradition largely based on the foundation of knowledge we have inherited. We are perennialists, we revere the sacred traditions, but also innovate further.
Through practice and development, we will be inspired by the Druids of the past eras, and aim to get as close as possible, perhaps even achieving Brahmin/Druid tier development when we enter the Golden Age once again.
Hail the Druids, we will forever remember you, and continue to develop ourselves and our traditions, in your honour.
- Owen, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
LESHY: SLAVIC GUARDIAN SPIRIT OF THE FOREST – Part I
Leshy (he from the forest) is a higher spirit which rules and governs a forest he inhabits. He is the protector of all the beings which reside in his realm and is the master of the hunt. Because of his role as the protector of a forest, a leshy is able to manifest his will through it, hence why in folklore he appears as a plant, animal or an anthropomorphic creature, however, he can also appear in the form of relatives and acquaintances of the person that spots him. Some people described his as being small as a dwarf, while others described him to be as tall as a giant, which awoke the belief that he could change his height. Some stories say that a leshy is a humanoid covered in fur, while others point out that he is covered with branches, leaves and cones.
-Daelendil, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Leshy (he from the forest) is a higher spirit which rules and governs a forest he inhabits. He is the protector of all the beings which reside in his realm and is the master of the hunt. Because of his role as the protector of a forest, a leshy is able to manifest his will through it, hence why in folklore he appears as a plant, animal or an anthropomorphic creature, however, he can also appear in the form of relatives and acquaintances of the person that spots him. Some people described his as being small as a dwarf, while others described him to be as tall as a giant, which awoke the belief that he could change his height. Some stories say that a leshy is a humanoid covered in fur, while others point out that he is covered with branches, leaves and cones.
-Daelendil, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
LESHY: SLAVIC GUARDIAN SPIRIT OF THE FOREST – Part II
Due to all these different descriptions appearing from one folklore story to another, we can safely assume that a leshy’s physical manifestation reflects his realm, his forest. Some folklore sources mention that a leshy is accompanied by a strong wind, with the power to govern it. A leshy has no shadow and he can become invisible if he wishes so. He is credited with all sorts of forest sounds, though he can speak humanly. Depending on a person’s intentions in his forest, a leshy will either help out that person and bring it good luck or he will sabotage it and bring bad luck. According to folklore, a leshy could provide good luck in hunting and livestock grazing, for this, hunters and shepherds needed to bring him an offering, usually an egg, and conclude an agreement with him.
-Daelendil, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Due to all these different descriptions appearing from one folklore story to another, we can safely assume that a leshy’s physical manifestation reflects his realm, his forest. Some folklore sources mention that a leshy is accompanied by a strong wind, with the power to govern it. A leshy has no shadow and he can become invisible if he wishes so. He is credited with all sorts of forest sounds, though he can speak humanly. Depending on a person’s intentions in his forest, a leshy will either help out that person and bring it good luck or he will sabotage it and bring bad luck. According to folklore, a leshy could provide good luck in hunting and livestock grazing, for this, hunters and shepherds needed to bring him an offering, usually an egg, and conclude an agreement with him.
-Daelendil, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
My long-time friend and colleague Rübezahl has put together a website archiving past articles and effortposts from our community!
Has lots of interesting stuff, mix of academic articles, high-quality effortposts, and user-created artwork. Worth checking out and officially endorsed by myself. Thank you Rübezahl for your years of time&effort put into developing, and inspiring others to partake in our sacred traditions.
https://solarcult.org/
-Owen, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Has lots of interesting stuff, mix of academic articles, high-quality effortposts, and user-created artwork. Worth checking out and officially endorsed by myself. Thank you Rübezahl for your years of time&effort put into developing, and inspiring others to partake in our sacred traditions.
https://solarcult.org/
-Owen, The Sun Riders
@solarcult