Happy New Year All!

Retrospect, Introspect and Let's have some Respect

Well the year has been an interesting one for all its ironic trials and tribulations. Doc tells me this CV writing course was something the Kommunale unwittingly obligated themselves to without reading the fine print, and why us lackies have had it pretty well dumped on us. Nonetheless, it hasn't been without its merits of insight into the business world as it stands. Especially having heard the various gruesome experiences of others with its oneupmanships has been most enlightening. With the situation as it is, alot of us are most likely better off being self-employed. Come the end of this year the politicians will have to fess up to the obvious violations of any personal dignity, though I am sure they think they are above the law. The so-called economy as we knew it is well and truly done for. I see the inevitable return of the journeyman, barter and trade akin to that of tribal communities. Mind you, this is nothing new for the village I live in, as it's been in the no-zone ever since they did in those incestuous feudal lords with pitchforks and great loads of manure. Heheh, man you gotta love these people for that. Now the fires of rebellion are flaring up again threating to break off from Ortenau for the more reasonable option of Breisgau. Indeed the former has only did their best to perpetually jerk us around...and so the legacy goes on...

Meanwhile on the cyberfront, things are greatly improving. We finally got our DSL and that with far better quality than the rest. It was a long hard uphill battle but well worth the effort. Given our remote location it only stands to reason that we need an excellent line of communication to close that gap. Thus I've been able to cover more territory in contact with others of my kindred. Indeed, my heart goes out to you my cyberfriends on Ning, Skype, Yahoo, YouTube, FB, LiveJournal, Blogger and of course MySpace; for that sharing of each our unusual experiences over such a great distance. Thank you so much, not only for being here, but being who you are.

A message to those who profess to practice "The Old Ways"

First of all, you have alot of explaining to do as to what you imply by the use of the term. Secondly, anyone who abides by old agrarian traditions can tell you things like the wiccan "wheel of the year" is not one of them. Thirdly, witchcraft by any old tradition is shamanism, namely the power of psychic expression through the crafting of one's hands- regardless if you're healing or fashioning a suitable medicine to aid in the process, creating a work of art, cooking a meal, cleaning or just washing your face. It's all about foresight and providence in what daily life presents you, for better or for worse. Of course, if you want to make a medieval, gothic, or Dion Fortune fashion statement, then by all means call yourself a witch. Just remember how many midwives took that blame for any defective or unwanted children they had to bring into a world of religious superstition.

In a way, you could say magic is Machiavellian as there is really no limit to the means of achieving an end. Rather, the success of it depends highly on how well you understand the nature of causality- i.e. that there is a time and place for everything. Bad timing or placement will get you nowhere, if not in serious trouble. Knowledge is power, so if you waste your money on a load of trendy new age twaddle and trinkets to act as your charms in aspects of life you know little about, you might as well be pissing in the wind. There is a very good reason why wisecraft was better left to the elders, unless you are truly endowed with psychic kenning. Despite popular belief, the spiritual is not some diametrically opposed netherrealm to the physical world but is the very lifeforce within it. Just how well we can relate this depends on how well we make practical use of those higher senses our brain accomodates in our bio-electromechanical being and interaction. In otherwords, use your brain. So, in essence, what do the "old ways" actually mean? It means getting back to basics, namely the cause and effect of you interacting with the world around you. Plain and simple.

The Physics of Psychic Ability

First of all, there is no such a thing as "extrasensory perception". The continuum is awash with all manner of matter and energy interacting on various levels; from which we can gather infinite information. It simply depends on our level of perception and especially its realization. This is not limited to five senses alone. For instance there are other sensors within the human neuro-nasal complex that can recognize, amongst other things, the bio-electric signatures of other life forms. While our hearing may be limited to certain frequency ranges, our sense of touch is also receptive to a whole variety of different energy signatures and vibrations. At best our brain collects all this information and maps it out into a multidimensional construct, that most times we are not even consciously aware of, except to alert us of any imminent circumstances. Thus the better choice of words is “psychic ability”, which whether we realize it or not, makes a large part of our creative ability; as we put the constructs we realize into synthesis. In effect, this synthesis has the capacity to transcend consciousness into causality.

Secondly, there are no supernatural boundaries. The phantoms we may perceive among us are a phenomenon of the multidimensional. While our biological construct is logarithmically attuned to what we perceive as the “here and now”, the spacetime continuum is multilayered, and where there are tidal effects, these different frames of spacetime can emerge between our own frames. Thus our perception of these alternative realms depend on how well our brain can tangibly map them out.While we all possess these abilities to some degree, to truly realize them is not without the trials of logical reasoning to establish the tangible facts. This is where a lot of skeptics, as well as avid occultists, tend to fall short. It is not enough to simply accept that one has these perceptual skills, nor is what science can’t define in layman terms any argument against it.

For all our modern convenience, we expect some fabulous self-help course or book is going to connect all those dots for us. However, in the real world of opportunistic marketing, you’re more apt to be herded down the trendy path of popular mysticism- yet, no matter how many tantric channels, vision quests, or gamma levels of remote viewing you believe you’ve mastered by whatever means, still can’t even predict the weather. The same goes for Tarot, Ouija, Runes, astrology or whatever other “parlor” amusements. You can learn their procedures in every intimate detail, but that’s not necessarily going to improve the accuracy of your results.

Conversely, all the academic degrees of science aren’t going to cut it either, if you don’t put it to the test of real life situations. Does an experienced farmer need to consult an oracle or call the national weather service to know when to turn his fields? Just the same, some of this “knowing” is already encoded in our genealogy; accounting for certain inherited talents (ie. artistic ability, mechanical aptitude, good with numbers, etc.). Despite popular belief, however, psychic ability is not something confined to one brain hemisphere or another, nor any particular creative skill, rather, concerns reasoning with the whole neurological process of its interactions with causality. As they say, knowledge is power - the power to see what our eyes alone cannot discern. Know yourself.

http://www.senseofsmell.org/feature/smell101/lesson1/01.php

http://socyberty.com/paranormal/polymorphic-perception-of-the-fourth-dimension-state/

http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=2066&C=1851

The Germanic Roots of Father Christmas

Hidden away in the popular iconizations of modern day Santa Claus, are the symbologies of bygone European shamanism. In those days, Wotan was the god of visions, traveller of the Nine Worlds. The red and white garments reminds us of the fly agaric (amanita muscaria), a popular halucinogen of shamanic practices of the time. This old folksong from Hoffman von Fallersleben of upper Selesia, gives clue to this personification:

Ein Männlein steht im Walde ganz still und stumm

Es hat vor lauter Purpur ein Mäntelein um

Sagt, wer mag das Männlein sein,

Das da steht im Wald allein

Mit dem purpurroten Mäntelein.

Das Männlein steht im Walde auf einem Bein

Und hat auf seinem Haupte schwarz Käpplein klein,

Sagt, wer mag das Männlein sein,

Das da steht im Wald allein

Mit dem kleinen schwarzen Käppelein ?

Gesprochen:

Das Männlein dort auf einem Bein

Mit seinem roten Mäntelein

Und seinem schwarzen Käppelein

Kann nur die Hagebutte sein.

In Germany, replicas of this mushroom still adorn Christmas trees, garlands and wreaths. Santa's sled drawn by 8 reindeer remind us of the solar wagon drawn by the 8 legged Sleipnir and "Wild Hunt" of old Germanic folklore, whereas reindeer are known by Siberian herders to favour the fly agaric in their forest foragings. It is from their folklore the idea of "flying" reindeer came.

In more modern German folklore there is a character who accompanies Old Nick, known as "Knecht Ruprecht". While Nikolas represents the rewarding of good, Ruprecht with his bundle of sticks is there to exact punishment of the trouble makers. He is, however, is a throwback to the legends of Rübezahl, who is none other than the spirit of Wotan as he was before his trickster attributes came to identified with Loki through the course of Christianization. Rather, Rübezahl's shapeshifting pranks served to bring due justice or reward to the unfortunate. Yule itself, is a celebration of Wotan's journey through the nine worlds and subsequent marriage with Berchta, (Hel, Holle, Holla, Freya) who was not only goddess of the underworld but queen of the dark elves and fae. In pre-Christian times marriage was not a permanent fixture, rather, vows were renewed each year following. In legends, Holla is also known for her charity and justice to the unfortunate.

While the old "Perchten" traditions of this underworld journey are still alive in the fore-Alpine regions of continental Europe, it can be seen in the masks and costumes how these figures were subsequently demonized into the characters of Krampus and Berchta of the "Schiachperchten". Only in remotest Alpine Switzerland is the original "Wildemann" Tradition to be found.

Yule, the Wild Hunt and the Raunächten (Raw Nights)

Traditionally it is on the eve of Yule when the "Wild Hunt" begins. Wotan who has completed his underworld journey, arises, with Berchta, the ice giants, the dark elves and other denizens to claim the old, weak and diseased. In ancient Europe this was understood as a purification process. Hence, homes and stalls were swept out and smudged with smoking bundles of spruce and herbs known to have antiseptic properties. I remember as a child, my mother would ritually bring a spruce sprig to smoke on the kitchen stove to mark the occasion. It's also this time of year the village is filled with the delicious aroma of hickory smoked hams. The ritual of feasting and clearing goes on until the 6th of January, when Berchta returns with her entourage and their quarry to her underworld domain, where they begin to fertilize the earth for the coming of Spring. This is immortalized in the mask carving traditions of the High Black Forest, called the "Perchten Walk", where people dressed up like these figures, go into the forest to celebrate with plenty of mulled wine and a dance around a great bonfire (at some appropriately located pub or lodge). The google images photo comes from the Perchten of Lake Constance, a joint celebration between France, Germany and Switzerland.

Witches Reel

With Yule fast upcoming, this is for you my witchy friends, thanks to Keith who clued me in to this old dance:

Cummer gae ye before, cummer gae ye,
Gin ye winna gae before, cummer let me,
Ring-a-ring-a-widdershins
Linkin lithely widdershins,
Cummers carlin cron and queyn
Roun gae we!

Cummer gae ye before, cummer go ye
Gin ye winna gae before, cummer let me
Ring-a-ring-a-widdershins
Loupin’ lightly widdershins,
Kilted coats and fleein’ hair
Three times three!

Cummer go ye before, cummer go ye
Gin ye winna gae before, cummer let me
Ring-a-ring-a-widdershins
Whirlin’ skirlin’ widdershins,
>De’il take the hindmost
Wha’er she be!

Common Problems with Pagan Identity

There is always the occasional pious pratt who tries to take heathenism for something either ultra-nationalistic or the quaint path of village idiot-savants. I think the popular misconception is in the title "heathen" itself. Officially, the proper title is "Pre-Christian Indigenous Tradition" because in continental Europe it is more about the respect and appreciation of one's cultural heritage and identity. This is actually the same for other tribal cultures across the world, something not only "New Age globalism" cannot seem to grasp, but particularly those of a strict dogmatic upbringing incline to regard anything outside of the ideal with contempt. This is actually the most potential bias one needs to overcome to truly realize a pagan path.

While such ordered practices as Wicca, Druidry, the OTO and Odinism may appease that need for dogma- without some form of heritage to connect to, it serves little more than pretense, though not necessarily the fault of the practice itself. I know a few serious initiates of these walks that do have their familial connections. Rather, I’m refering to those who merely assume the title to allege that they are hereditary witches of x+generations of secretly handed down knowledge. The moot point here is the attempt to compensate the lack of ancestral memory, which legendarily makes an integral part of the visionary process. This is something Ray Bowers (Clan of Tubal Cain) tried to point out with his concept of "Tapping the Bone" and hereditary witchcraft. Indeed, in true shamanic tradition, one is usually born not only with the ability but the ancestral experience from which it descends. Being born with it, though, doesn't necessarily mean it's been awakened. Some realize it in puberty, whereas others need that inevitable NDE/PTSD.

This also brings to mind the “It is written” dust collectors who will spend an entire lifetime searching whole university archives for the holy grail of ancient texts, or perusing every esoteric website known to humanity to become a virtual Fucanelli. The problem with this though, is not only the language barriers (that can be very subject to interpretation) but the lack of “on location” experience one can only gain from actual travel or having lived in the places where these writings originated.

Conversely, we also get the "chosen ones" of borderline paranoid schizophrenia/narcissistic personality disorders who, for all their identity crisis, would rather go into complete denial than venture any healthy scrutiny of what the voices are really trying to tell them. This you will find in any belief system, and is usually the want of escape from droll reality into the fantastic (or at least so they think).

While many will refer to paganism as a nature based belief, you will find, more often than not, it's biggest pretenders to be suburbanites, who despite their vast collections of new age store-bought herbs and tinctures, live largely on fast food and rarely ever had to endure the true hardships of self-sufficiency and resource management in the wilds, let alone agrarian life.

Yet, despite all this, some are quite happy to travel their own path of self-discovery, without the need of labels, interpretations of mysterious codes or dogma for that matter. Just a healthy sense of adventure, challenge and fascination for whatever life dishes out to them. Indeed, there is more wisdom in the realization of “know yourself” than you’ll ever find on the world wide web. Sometimes, you just have to get back to basics to realize the bigger picture.