Spirit Writer

Graphic and Prayer by Trish Deneen A prayer I wrote for Skadi . This was originally published on Tumbler by me years ago (under NorthernSoulPrayers ) and later used in a video for the Black Stone Sanctuary channel on YouTube. I'm republishing it here as a reminder and offering. Skadi grant me the wisdom to know when to bide my precious time or when to take decisive action. And grant me the fierce resolve to follow through. Hail Skadi!  © Trish Deneen  

Credit: Scarlet_Letter/Pixabay Eir was one of Frigga's handmaids and is a Goddess of healing to include childbirth and surgery. Icelandic poet and historian, Snorri Sturluson , described her as an "extremely good physician." She was also a valkyrie , and unlike her sister Valkyries who chose who would fall in battle, she chose who would recover. On this day, I'll offer dried herbs from my summer garden, praise, and prayers for healing so desperately needed around the world due to COVID as well as personal healing prayers for my family. Source not linked above: McGrath, Sheena.  Eir: Goddess, Valkyrie, Healer .  We Are Star Stuff, March 21, 2020. © Trish Deneen

"Frigga Spinning the Clouds." Credit: John Charles Dollman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons After reading a few posts, you can probably guess I'm not a traditional heathen in most respects. All of these Yule posts are generally UPG except for the fact that many heathens celebrate the Disir during Yule , others at different times of the year.  I don't feel a great affinity for Odin besides being a leader among the gods. I have a stronger connection to the god, Tyr. I do, however, feel a strong affinity for Odin's wife, Frigga, aka Frigg, more than any of the other Norse goddesses. I used to see her as someone who puts up with a great deal of crap, but I've come to see her as more complex than that. She's known as the Queen of Asgard, the realm of the Aesir. She is the All-Mother to Odin's, All-Father. In her excellent article at Frigga's Web, Of Being and Knowledge: Thoughts About Frigg, Nerthus, and Odin , Winifred Hodge reminds me of some of ...

A prayer to Tyr in this dark time. Image Credit: Trish Deneen A prayer to Tyr, a god I've been more and more drawn to the last few months in my personal practice.  Image text reads: Hail Tyr, enemy of chaos. You who sacrificed a part of yourself to stave off destruction. Warder of true justice and those weary among us less capable of the fight. Balance keeper, honorable warrior. I praise you for your gift of being the boundary between us and defeat. Hail Tyr! Prayer to Tyr © 2020 by Trish Deneen is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0  

The ash tree is prized for building and flexibility and has been used throughout time to make weaponry and useful household items. Spiritually, it has a special association in different cultures as being a tree of creation, destruction, and rebirth.  Some variations of the ash tree used in medicine and magic include the white, native to North America; the European, native to Europe; and the flowering, native to Europe and Asia. Ash in Northern European and Celtic Mythology In Northern European lore, the famed World Tree—Yggdrasill—may have been an ash or a yew. This tree is at the heart of the nine worlds. Each world has its own inhabitants, from Asgard as the realm of the gods and Midgard as the world most familiar to humankind; to Hel as the underworld and the subconscious. The creation, destruction, and rebirth of the worlds are woven into the mythology of Yggdrasill. Yggdrasill, public domain Wikimedia Commons In Celtic lore, the ash was sacred, especially to warriors...

The Norse god Odin is often depicted as a fierce warrior, but that is just one of his many attributes. This is partly due to the fact that his worship differed among the tribes of pre-Christian Northern Europe as well as the evolution of his character over time. He is complex and at times mysterious, a god of life and death, poetry and magic who can provide inspiration for various types of magic and ritual. Odhin by Johannes Gehrts Odin as Creator, All-Father and Wish-Father The Norse creation myth begins with two worlds of fire and ice. From the meeting of these worlds, Ymir is born. He is the primal giant who created the first gods. Odin and his brothers, Vili and Ve, slayed most of the elder gods and from the body of Ymir created the world of men called Midgard as well as the inhabitants of that world. Vili and Ve are often seen as personality aspects of Odin, and he has eventually become the most well known of the three. One of Odin's roles is as an All-Father or lea...

The Norse god Odin is known for his traits both praised and loathsome. He ruled Asgard, the realm of the gods, and is called the All-Father, he who made the worlds with his two brothers, Vili and Ve. He also plays a major role in Northern European lore as the god who received the runes by his own shamanistic death journey. Odin as God of Death He is known as a battle god not so much for fighting but for choosing which warriors are to be slain. In this sense, he is a god of death and a psychopomp leading souls through the worlds. Many times though the Valkyries performed this task in his name. He was loved as a giver of wealth and good fortune yet feared for his association with death. Odin as God of Communication and Magic H.R. Ellis Davidson in Gods and Myths of Northern Europe links Odin's death aspect with his role as a god of magic. He brought forth the runes used in writing and spellcraft. Galdor (also spelled galdr) is the combination of poetry and rune carving both ...

Uruz, Credit: Peter-Lomas, Pixabay Uruz (pronounced oo-rooz) is the U rune and comes from an early Northern Eurpoean letter script which later came to be associated with magic and divination. Its divinatory meaning is linked with the word's origin and Norse mythology. It's used to attract good health, manifestation of desires and also during times when strength of mind, body and spirit are called for. Etymology of Uruz There are different associations with the word uruz. The scholar R.I. Page in Runes: Reading the Past suggests that it's reconstructed from the word ur in Old English and Old Norse which had different meanings in each culture. In English, it meant wild ox or cow but in Norwegian meant slag which is a by-product of metal working. In Icelandic, the word is associated with drizzle or rain. Some modern rune authors focus on one or more of these different meanings along with the study of Norse lore to derive magic and divinatory uses for the rune. The W...