poeticnorth

[poeticnorth]

To be exact, it sits at 267 pages at present.

Haiku Edda update.

I'm in the process of editing and formatting. Currently, it is 158 pages long.

[poeticnorth]

I was mistaken. It turns out that I had the wrong page size.

This has now been rectified and so far, the main body of text (the 16 poems that will be in the book) sits at over 260 pages.

Haiku Edda update.

I'm in the process of editing and formatting. Currently, it is 158 pages long.

[poeticnorth]

Happy Iwos Brigantia/Imbolc!

Exalted and glorious Lady,

Illustrious and ever-glowing;

Divine inspiration flaming

And life-giving blessings flowing.

In chaos you give us shelter,

In battle you give us triumph,

And when we are lost and restless

You kindle our souls’ desires;

Desires that make us hopeful

Of destiny’s veiled horizon;

You light our way as we go through

The path of our human passions.

Brigantia, exalted greatness,

I praise you with heartfelt verses;

Brigantia, eternal power,

I hail you, oh gracious goddess

[poeticnorth]

Haiku Edda update.

I'm in the process of editing and formatting. Currently, it is 158 pages long.

[poeticnorth]

Hi there! I saw this article with some new runic inscription finds a while ago (www sciencenorway no/archaeology-runes-viking-age/rune-stick-and-game-piece-with-runic-inscriptions-found-in-eastern-norway/2430016) and I've tried a couple of times to find more about the stick that apparently says "from daring dice games come all kinds of outcomes." Do you know of a database where I could find it and the exact inscription in, I assume, old norse. I'd like to see the original untranslated words :)

I'm not as on top of this stuff as I once was, so it's possible I've missed something. But I believe that this is still too recent a find to have made it into any of the sources that are currently accessible like Samnordisk runtextdatabas.

The article doesn't attribute the translation but it was probably provided by Kristel Zilmer of the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo, as she provided the image itself and all the other information in the article about runes. Zilmer has been busy recently as both the museum's go-to person for the press, and researching a number of other runic finds, so she probably just hasn't gotten around to publishing this one yet. Her CV does list something called "Runefunn i 2022 of 2023" but that doesn't seem to be something findable. So I'm inclined to think that she just provided her

Back in the day new finds would be published in Nytt om Runer but that hasn't been around since 2004. Now there is a project in the works to digitize the museum's archives in a web-accessible format but it isn't complete yet; the project is being led by none other than Kristel Zilmer (link in Norwegian).

I don't mind admitting that I personally have quite a bit of difficulty reading this. I'm getting:

þvi . a=lt . af . [s?]tirþar? . ?af?e . ?eka=r . ma=rk . sko=t

Several of those ?'s might be i but might have the twigs cut off. I suspect Zilmer is interpreting the word I wrote ?af?e as tafle, dative of tafl 'board/dice game' which you might recognize from the chess-like game hnefa-tafl. I think ma=rk is probably being read as (OIce) mǫrg 'many', and skot might be exactly what it looks like; skot at it's most literal means 'shot' but has a wide variety of uses, see also skjóta 'to shoot.'

If I were just looking at this fresh without a translation at hand I'd be very uncertain of what I wrote [s?]tirþar?. I'm seeing a very short vertical line in the beginning that looks like it could be an s, although it's quite different from what I'm calling an s in skot. If it ends with an -ar than it's probably a feminine noun in the genitive case rather than an adjective, since there's no noun to give an adjective an -ar ending. I can't find any words starting st that fit the description, and sd- is impossible in Norse, so we should probably conclude there's no s there. I might not have thought of this without the translation already provided, but I believe Zilmer is reading it as (in normalized Old Icelandic) dirfðar, genitive of dirfð 'boldness.' An f in most positions is pronounced like a "v," including here, so if you picture it as dirvðar you might see why they might not bother to write the f.

If we've done this right so far the only remaining ? is the one in ?eka=r, nor am I entirely confident that the last letter is an r (but it probably is, because we expect a verb here, and -ar is an expected ending for a singular, third-person verb). I'm not sure how this inscription is dated, or much about the development of Norwegian, so I don't know if je is possible here -- it wouldn't be in Old Icelandic. The only other runes it could be are t and l, and t makes this (sort of) legible: tekar tekar. In earlier language we'd expect tekr but maybe this is late enough that they're sticking epenthetic vowels in there, like in Nynorsk teker 'takes.'

So I'd provisionally suggest something like this, attempting to reflect features of the language it's written in, followed by the equivalent in Old Icelandic:

Þuī allt af dirfðartafle tekær marg skot Því allt af dirfðartafli tekr mǫrg skot

Which I would definitely have trouble translating directly but I can certainly see the provided translation making sense.

But I'm really seriously not confident in this at all. And I don't think I could have done even this if I weren't trying to retrofit it into an already-existing translation.

I think your options are to wait a while, either for Kristel Zilmer to publish a paper including this find or to finish the digitized runic archive project, or you could always send her an email and ask directly. Her contact info is on her page on the museum's website.

[poeticnorth]

being an archaeologist in tumblr is so funny because I see so many text posts and go. Imperialism pre-dates capitalism. Rebellion against empires pre-dates capitalism. Money pre-dates capitalism. Social inequality pre-dates capitalism. Misogyny pre-dates capitalism. Wealth inequality pre-dates capitalism. Unilateral rule by oppressive rulers pre-dates capitalism. People’s dependence on their job for their survival pre-dates capitalism. Capitalism as an economic system is about 200-250 years old max but these problems are much, much older, and capitalism supports, entrenches, or exacerbates many of these problems… doesn’t mean it invented them and doesn’t mean they will simply cease to be problems After Capitalism.

[poeticnorth]

I REGRET NOTHING.

Also, for context:

Another installment of my translation of the Lokasenna into memes, inspired by a convo with @poeticnorth XD.

[poeticnorth]

What’s your favorite way to honor Freyja? I’ll start: I sing to her and chant. Anything that reminds me of her, whether it be your poetry or actual Edda verses or an Aaliyah song like “More Than A Woman” 💕

I feel like she enjoys so many different things it’s fun to honor her in a variety of ways!

I tend to leave strawberries out for her in summer (I've always associated strawberries with her, not sure why, however it has led to me lightheartedly calling Freya "Our Lady Of Bloodshed and Strawberries"). I read poetry for her sometimes as well, usually the romantic and soppy sort (Not my own because my soppy poems are atrocious 😂), and I'll play songs about her such as Frøya's Theme by Leaves' Eyes (I really should think about making my own playlist for her)

I did try maintaining lavender plants that I'd dedicated to her (and a few other deities) but well... Let's just say the constant rain last summer didn't lead to healthy lavender. So I might try again with it at some point (however keeping it inside isn't an option since lavender is bad for cats, and I have 7 of them 😬)

I'd like to think that having cats is also a way to honour her, though I think 7 of them might be a bit excessive 😅

[poeticnorth]

Can we talk about how Odysseus is canonly a short king cause Athena keeps on making him "seem taller" so he's more imposing ? It's ridiculously funny

She's legit just calling him short without saying it

[poeticnorth]

"How can I be a witch/pagan without falling for conspiracy theories/New Age cult stuff?" starter kit

Posts & Articles

Check your conspiracy theory. Does any of it sound like this?

Check your conspiracy theory part two: double, double, boil and trouble.

QAnon is an old form of anti-Semitism in a new package, experts say

Some antisemitic dogwhistles to watch out for

Eugenicist and bioessentialist beliefs about magic

New Age beliefs that derive from racist pseudoscience

The New Age concept of ascension - what is it?

A quick intro to starseeds

Starseeds: Nazis in Space?

Reminder that the lizard alien conspiracy theory is antisemitism

The Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis is Racist and Harmful

The Truth About Atlantis

Why the Nazis were obsessed with finding the lost city of Atlantis

The Nazis' love affair with the occult

Occultism in Nazism

Red flag names in cult survivor resources/groups (all of them are far right conspiracy theorists/grifters)

The legacy of implanted Satanic abuse ‘memories’ is still causing damage today

Why Satanic Panic never really ended

Dangerous Therapy: The Story of Patricia Burgus and Multiple Personality Disorder

Remember a Previous Life? Maybe You Have a Bad Memory

A Case of Reincarnation - Reexamined

Crash and Burn: James Leininger Story Debunked

Debunking Myths About Easter/Ostara

Just How Pagan is Christmas, Really?

The Origins of the Christmas Tree

No, Santa Claus Is Not Inspired By Odin

Why Did The Patriarchal Greeks And Romans Worship Such Powerful Goddesses?

No, Athena Didn't Turn Medusa Into A Monster To Protect Her

Who Was the First God?

Were Ancient Civilizations Conservative Or Liberal?

How Misogyny, Homophobia, and Antisemitism Influence Transphobia

Podcasts & Videos

BS-Free Witchcraft

Angela's Symposium

ESOTERICA

ReligionForBreakfast

Weird Reads With Emily Louise

It's Probably (not!) Aliens

Conspirituality

Miniminuteman

Behind The Bastards

[poeticnorth]

Raid 9: Remnants from the Void (Norse Mythology)

Like the creation of the Norse cosmos, our coverage of Norse Mythology begins with a great void. Instead of cows licking salty ice, however, we’re facing the challenges of oral traditions and material culture without contemporary context. This raid is therefore a brief overview of those remnants from the void: our scanty sources for a worldview that once thrived in the speech, performance, and…

[poeticnorth]

✨ Subtle Deity Worship Master List ✨

Greek Deities:

Subtle Aphrodite Worship

Subtle Ares Worship

Subtle Apollo Worship

Subtle Artemis Worship

Subtle Athena Worship

Subtle Dionysus Worship

Subtle Eros Worship

Subtle Hephaestus Worship

Subtle Hermes Worship

Subtle Demeter Worship

Subtle Hera Worship

Subtle Zeus Worship

Subtle Circe Worship

Subtle Hestia Worship

Subtle Helios Worship

Subtle Persephone Worship

Subtle Poseidon Worship

Subtle Hekate Worship

Subtle Hygeia Worship

Subtle Nemesis Worship

Subtle Psyche Worship

Subtle Asklepios Worship

Subtle Haides Worship

Subtle Harpocrates Worship

Subtle Erebos Worship

Subtle Medea Worship

Subtle Tyche Worship

Subtle Lethe Worship

Subtle Selene Worship

Subtle Eris Worship

Subtle Themis Worship

Subtle Talos Worship

Subtle Thanatos Worship

Subtle Nyx Worship

Subtle Phobos & Deimos Worship

Subtle Pan Worship

Subtle Hypnos Worship

Subtle Charybdis Worship

Subtle Skylla Worship

Subtle Harmonia Worship

Subtle Galatea Worship

Subtle Hyacinthus Worship

Subtle Triton Worship

Norse Deities:

Subtle Sigyn Worship

Subtle Loki Worship

Subtle Baldr Worship

Subtle Freyr Worship

Subtle Odin Worship

Subtle Heimdallr Worship

Subtle Freyja Worship

Subtle Thorr Worship

Subtle Tyr Worship

Subtle Jormungandr Worship

Subtle Hel Worship

Subtle Sleipnir Worship

Subtle Idunna Worship - created by @soil-and-stanzas :)

Subtle Fenrir Worship

Subtle Frigga Worship

-

This list will be updated as I make more posts! I will be making separate lists for these pantheons because I have too many links lol.

[poeticnorth]

[poeticnorth]

Hi! Sorry to bother you, but my friend was telling me about a festival in ancient Egypt where the pharaoh would masturabte into the Nile then the populace would follow suit to commemorate the creation of land/the first gods when Nun masturbated into the primordial ocean. The sources on this he showed me were a magazine article which cited a paywalled psychology journal and Reddit threads, so I was wondering how true this is and whether you could give me any more detail. Thanks!

No (unproven).

This tends to circulate on the internet every so often when someone on some random media website writes a 'fun' article that purports to tell people 'facts historians want to keep from you' and everyone goes to bother the Egyptologists. I've made jokes about it before.

A rule of thumb: If it sounds completely off the wall, it's likely not true. Unless you can find in your search a reference to an Ancient Egyptian document (and I do mean *by name* not just 'a papyrus says') that explicitly tells you that they did that, the chances of it having happens are vanishingly small. Egypt is one of the places people like to make up fun facts about the most.

This all stems from journalist Johnathon Margolis who published a book claiming that this happened, but offers no primary evidence for the actual event - a trick not uncommon with fun 'facts' about Ancient Egypt.

I have never, in my nearly two decades doing this, come across any festival the Ancient Egyptians had where public masturbation was a feature. The closest would be the Heb Tekh festival, but that was more one of drunkeness and sex than it was masturbation. I've heard this as a 'fact' many times and tried to look it up myself and come up completely empty handed.

So, going back to what your friend said: that's also factually wrong. Nun cannot masturbate into the Primordial waters because the Primordial waters are Nun. Atum was the one who did that and from that came the land that became Egypt. If there was ever going to be a pratice stemming from this then it would either be the Min festival (who is an ithyphallic god of fertility with a permanent erection and his hand is wrapped around it) which is depicted on the walls at Medinet Habu, but that's pretty tame and there's no record of this happening in it, or it would be the Heb Sed which was a jubilee festival celebrated after 30 years of rule and every 3 years thereafter wherein the Pharaoh had to prove his strength and virility. But since the Heb Sed is relatively well documented, if it occurred during this then I'm pretty sure I would have been able to find that information.

So it's not true as far as I can tell. In order to completely refute it, I would have to go through every single religious or funerary text that we have in the Egyptological archives and scour them for the mere mention of watery royal mastabatory rituals and quite frankly that's a life's work kinda thing that I have no desire to undertake. Most likely, it's more of a modern myth found in some book from 1886 that no one uses anymore because it's wildly racist and has out of date notions about Egyptian religion, and quite frankly it can stay there.

[poeticnorth]

When is it sexist? - A Handy Chart

[poeticnorth]

Can we go back to greeting new aces (and acespecs and hell even aros and arospecs if they're down) with cake emojis? 🍰 🎂 💜

I just feel like we should bring back an old part of ace culture in 2025

[poeticnorth]

Neve may be an ice mage but she CHARRED the man