Witches and Rituals of Initiation - Hidden Knowledge in Old Norse Myths pt.11

Article at http://freya.theladyofthelabyrinth.com/?page_id=206
In this video, I begin to talk about how a detailed and literal description of a ritual structure of initiation is being revealed in the Poetic Edda, and how the Edda may be read as a complete book, beginning with the Völuspá, the Prophecy of the Witch. The Edda, on one level of meaning, tells the story of the great Initiation, how it came to be, and could easily be used as a manual as to how such rituals were conducted and what they taught. I can only get so far in one video, and here we go, enter the Witch-Goddess to pave the way - originally for the women only. But, as I will talk about in the next one, the men came along too...

Völuspá, the Prophecy of the Witch, is the first poem in the Edda collection, making an introduction and a summary to the book. It tells all the most important events in the history of the cosmos, among them the burning of the witch Gullveigr, who is identified as Freya. The witch arrives just after the norns, goddesses of fate, have been introduced, and the witch is showing how fate may be altered, how death may be conquered. That this event takes up so much space in the poem shows how important it was perceived in the religious community that created it. The stanzas go:

21.
Þat man hon fólkvíg / She remembers the first murder




fyrst í heimi, /in the world
er Gullveig / when Golden Brew
geirum studdu /was pierced with spears
ok í höll Hárs /and in the High One´s hall
hana brendu; /they burned her
þrysvar brendu / Three times they burned
þrysvar borna, / the three times born
opt, ósjaldan, /often, not seldom
þó hon enn lifir. / But she still lives.

22. Heiði hana hétu, /She was called Bright One
hvars til húsa kom, /when she came to the settlements
völu velspá, /the witch , wise in prophecies
vitti hon ganda, / She knew how to cast spells
seið hon hvars hon kunni,/She performed seidr wherever she could
seið hon hugleikin, /She performed seidr, ecstatic her soul
æ var hon angan / She was always desired
illrar brúðar. /by wicked women

Haliurun(-nae) = (Helju-run = Hel´s Secrets): A group of priestesses or sorceresses known from Jordanes´s Getica of 551 AD. They were expelled from the Gothic people after the emigration from Scandinavia and were said to have brought the Huns upon the Goths as a revenge 500 years later.

Litilvölva= The Little Witch, the last of a group of nine witches that came with the Icelandic settlers to Greenland during the 10th century. Her name was Torbjörg and she is described as the leader of a ritual of seidr performed by the women on a farm in the Eirik Saga Rauda.

Priestess-graves were found all over the Germanic worldfrom about 500 BC and into the Viking Age. Priestesses or witches were buried with full ritual gear, the most important items being their cult staff, their pouch of herbs (often containing cannabis) and magical amulets, and the equipment needed for serving mead in a ritual setting. (Source: Michael Enright "Lady with a mead-cup".). The last known priestess burial is probably the Oseberg ship burial of 9th century Norway (now to be seen in the Viking Ship House of Oslo), where two elderly priestesses were laid to rest in the most splendid ship burial ever found for anyone and with full ritual gear, including the pouches and the staff and equipment for brewing. The ship was designed for moving in shallow waters, probably to take the priestesses along the coast - most priestesses just traveled by foot it would appear, these had wealthy patronage and were honored with more splendor even than royalty. There is still a misconception that they were a queen and her handmaiden although this theory has been disproven several times and the findings clearly show their cultic-religious status and the equality between the two women (Sources: Anne-Stine Ingstad, Britt Solli, Gunnhild Röthe).

Category:

Education

Tags:

• witch
• priestess
• goddess
• völva
• witchcraft
• shaman
• shamanism
• initiation
• ritual
• pagan
• paganism
• norse
• viking
• myth
• mythology
• giantess

[adiiz100]

was it always a choice between marriage and witchcraft/priestesshood? we know sex was only forbidden in male dominated religeons. what about children? and has it been so everywhere, or just in this time and place the vid's referring to? .

[LadyoftheLabyrinth]

@adiiz100 I dont know if there always had to be a choice. It seems that married women of some standing were expected to know the craft quite well. However, there were women who were professional witches, and their lifestyle was to travel far and wide, so marriage was not an option, at least not in the traditional sense. However, several sagas more than hint at witches who had sexual encounters with men they met on the road, simply for their mutual pleasure, so sex was not forbidden.

[Valandinne]

Many blessings on you for sharing your knowledge. I am grateful

[laodokesolitas]

Brilliant talk and beautiful eyes. :)

[minimoviesstudio]

Thank You! :)

[manyhumbles]

Also imagining how hard it would be for the lessons of 'How to use the gift of our Gods and Goddesses through "negative" & "positive" forces to create balance for betterment of all. We may need to sacrifice on a earthly realm for the spiritual benefit.

[manyhumbles]

I think maybe the "little witch" might symbolize the "mortal witch" before she is transformed into the initiate ??? this is just a feeling that came when you said the words with the accent - language and the vibrations are real good clues.

[Jtrip2133]

The burning seems to symbolize the flame of knowledge of many other myths, phoenix reborn, flames of wisdom etc etc rather , obviously, than a physical burning. Oodin being breath and seeking knowledge "married" to all knowledge that cannot speak until woken through his own rebirth.... I have experienced something similar.

[keeelane]

in finnish the word 'väki' means 'power' or 'strength', curiously 'people' too, and also something like the concept of 'mana' in polynesian religion

'väkijuoma' means basically 'strong spirit'

[nutopiansg]

this mead drink contains a drug and menstrual blood which in combo act on the pineal gland to release enough hormone to induce a shamanistic experience of being able to see the cosomos all the way up to and including the godhead.this tecnology was brought out of egypt and has all ways been a part of the worship of isis.this became necessary to mankind after the pineal gland was interfered with by genetic manipulation by off word interests.

[sabbatcircle]

I found this fascinating, i dont know how i didn’t see it sooner!

Do you give talks on the subject?

It makes it all the more enjoyable to watch these videos as you are so passionate about it.

Lilly x

[bobbyfluffynoodle]

how do you wake your fate?