#lapland jewelry

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Northern Skies & Airport Lights

For the winter prompt of @sokklasaturdays

Summary: Azula and Sokka meet at an airport after their flights get delayed due to winter weather.

Azula watches plane after plane take off through the lightly frosted window. None of them are hers. She groans. Three hours and counting. Three hours and counting when she should have already boarded and been well on her way. Instead she is here with her carry on bags leaning against her chair eating a cup over overpriced, albeit decently tasty, airport yogurt.  

She had plans for the day, a trip to Äkäslompolo Lake and a taste of what it entails; mostly the sauna and a daring dip into one of the ice holes. She has never gone ice swimming, and never wanted to. Not until TyLee had talked her into it. Frankly she had planned on going somewhere warm, somewhere like Dubai or Maui or maybe Toamasina. Some random lake in the Finnish Laplands was not on her list. But TyLee had begged and begged until Azula had caved. And now, several hours into her canceled flight catastrophe, she is desperate to get to Finland. 

The prospect is exciting, an adventure ready to be taken.

 She finds herself mourning the missed opportunities. One look at the clock tells her that she won’t be getting to Rovaniemi with enough time to make the four hour drive to Äkäslompolo. Be it via bus or a rented vehicle, odds are she will only have enough time to unpack and then attempt to sleep in spite of the day’s stressors. 

And that’s if she is able to get there at all. All signs are pointing at a night in this airport in Kazakhstan. 

She should have just went at the same time as TyLee and Mai but she just had to stay back a day and get ahead on her term paper. Not that she really needed to, she could hammer that out with no problem, she just didn’t want to have to worry about that while she was supposed to be enjoying her winter break. 

She sighs and leans her head back, staring at the steady fluorescent lights. Her phone buzzes in her pocket, probably TyLee asking for her hourly update. She fishes around her pocket and finds the phone. Two messages flash across the screen; ‘Did they get you a new flight yet?’ From Tylee. And one from Zuko, ‘I told you to come with us but nOooOoo, you had to get a head start on your head start first.’ 

She rolls her eyes. And informs TyLee that all flights are still suspended until the weather clears. And so she is stranded here listening to crying babies and griping middle aged women that she has half the mind to join in their mission to get compensation from the airlines. 

Instead she gives TyLee her update and fishes around her carry on bag for one of several novels. Zuko can make what he will of her silence. But it is terribly hard to read with that woman with the bob screeching about how, “it’s ChristMAS! How can you keep all of us stranded here on Christmas!?” Nevermind that it is only the 17th of December. The woman is lucky that she gets that gaudy, flashy Christmas tree in the corner. 

She hears the thump of buttcheeks on the seat next to her and suppresses a groan—there are at least twenty other seats that this dolt could occupy and he has decided to place his buttocks here. She should have just put her bags on that seat. She has her sense of politeness to blame.

The young man waves. He looks to be about her age with a scruffy little goatee and a floppy dark blue beanie. Baggy gray pants and a baggier blue hoodie complete an extremely leisurely, comfortable look. One that leaves her jealous considering that she will be spending the night in her somewhat tight dress pants and her red and ruffled satin blouse. She can take her belt and some of the jewelry off and let her hair down but that still wouldn’t be nearly as relaxing as what he is wearing. “Hey so, you were on the delayed flight too?”

It is a stupid question. Everyone waiting in this lobby was on one of the many flights that couldn’t take off. “I was, yes. I would probably be in Finland now if not for this emergency weather related stop.” 

“Where are you coming from?”

“Japan.” She answers plainly before specifying, “Kyoto.” 

“That’s a long flight. Like ten hours right? There would have been a layover anyways.” 

She has to admire his flippant, nonchalance. “Yes, but there wouldn’t have been a wait as long as this.” Azula replies stiffly. “I am going to miss my day trip to Äkäslompolo Lake.” She folds her arms across her chest. “My stupid brother is probably having the time of his life in the sauna right now…”

The man nods. “I’m coming from Deering, Alaska so I’m kinda used to this whole blizzard thing.” He rubs the back of his head. “I was supposed to be heading to Finland as well but there was some type of computer error and the wrong flight was booked. Suddenly I’m on my way to Laos.”

“Laos! That’s not even close to Finland. That is exactly incorrect. Are you certain that it was a computer error and not a moron wasn’t paying attention to what he was clicking error?”

He rubs the back of his head again and gives her a sheepish smile as his cheeks grow pink. “Yeah, it could have been that. My mom or sister usually book the flights.” He laughs but there is a flicker of hurt in his eyes that leads Azula to speculate that there might be some story there. “Imagine my surprise when the pilot announced our destination. I’m kind of glad that we made this stop. I was able to book the right flight this time around.” 

She should just let the conversation conclude right here but some deeper part of her hopes that conversing with this stranger might take the edge out of her agitation. She clears her throat. “So…what part of Finland are you heading to?”

“I’m meeting my dad and sister in Rovaniemi to celebrate what would have been my mom’s 49th birthday. We lost her two years ago. She was fighting lupus and there were some complications at her last hospital stay.” He swallows. “Sorry, that’s a little dark to just unload on a stranger.”

Azula shrugs, “when I was fourteen they put me in an institution. My family was a disaster.” 

“Was? Hopefully that means that things are better now?”

“They’re trying to be.” 

He nods. 

“Why aren’t you with your father and sister?” 

“I’ve been away at college so I didn’t go with my dad and sister when they went to Canada to visit my Gran Gran—I’ll have to pay her a visit too, spring break probably—so I’m meeting them in Finland and then we’re all going to fly back home together.”

“If you booked the right flight, you will.” Azula quirks a brow. To her surprise, the man meets her dry humor with a somewhat booming laugh. “You’re not going to get offended?”

“It was just a joke.” His smile doesn’t fade. “It was a joke right? You’re laughing with me not at me?”

“I could be. Or maybe I’m just a mean person.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so. I like you.”

“You just met me.”

“I make friends easily.” He shrugs. “I mean we’re traveling to the same destination and we’ll be sitting next to each other on the new flight.” She follows his eyes to the new plane ticket that she had forgotten to slip back into her pocket. “That has to be a sign of something, right?”

“Except that you live in Alaska and I live in Kyoto. That’s not exactly within walking distance.”

“We have phones, the internet, video chat!” He declares. “And if you’re old fashioned you can send me a letter.” 

“I suppose that, that can be arranged.” She opens her mouth to speak again but finds herself cut off. 

“Excuse me.” He begins. “As an apology for the inconvenience of the delay, the airport is offering a free meal to all of our stranded passengers. We are offering beshbarmak, syrne, sopra, and koktal.” 

“I will have the syrne, thank you.” Azula replies. 

“I don’t know what any of that is.” the young man confesses. Azula listens to the other man summarize each dish.

“Hmm I think that I’ll try some beshbarmak.” 

The other man jots the order down. “Your order numbers are 32 and 33. We will have them ready shortly.” 

“My name is Sokka by the way.” He introduces himself and holds out his hand. 

Somewhat hesitantly, she takes it. “Azula. 

He grins. “It’s nice to meet you, Azula!” 

She nods. If nothing else, she supposes that she might get a friend out of this. She could use more friends. She supposes that she wouldn’t mind making semi-regular trips to Alaska every now and again if the two of them have a particularly remarkable time together in what little of it that they have. “What hotel are you staying at? Perhaps if you are nice to me I can get you and your family a reservation for one of those glass igloos.” 

Sokka’s face brightens, “for real!?”

Azula nods. “But you have to impress me. You have a few hours to do so.” 

“My family is going to be staying in a little cabin but it would be nice to stay at one of those igloos for at least one night.” He muses to himself. “Alright, deal! You’re going to have the best trapped-at-an-airport of your life.”

“I hope that this will be my only ‘trapped-at-an-airport.’” She rolls her eyes. But she can’t say that she is completely miserable anymore. There’s something about this Sokka. He’s got a good sense of humor and a way of making her goal of being less cynical seem possible to achieve.

[pilvimarja]

I fixed my old clouberry necklace with a new choker jewelry pin, acrylic paint and some hot glue. I got it from Lapland when I was little and I used it so much over the years that the color had faded and both the original chain and the replacement chain had broken. But the recent inside jokes we've had about cloudberries on Discord inspired me to fix it. I also have matching earrings 🥰

[prisonhannibal]

hi there! i’ve just seen some of your posts about your traditional jewellery and it’s stunning. i apologise if this is inappropriate to ask, but would it be offensive if someone not from your culture were to wear it? if it is okay, do you have recommendations for stores where people can buy them? they are really beautiful :)

thank you for asking! short answer no it’s not offensive, long answer it depends on how you do it.

I’d say the most important thing is that you have to buy from actual sámi people and supporting their businesses, not “lapland native jewelry” stuff on etsy and definitely not weird tourist shop knockoff shit. A lot of real sámi jewelry and duodji (handmade crafts like leather bags and bracelets etc) will be expensive because it’s usually handmade, most jewelry is silver, and it’s often made by people who do it on their free time next to another job. a lot of them i’ve bought from will have like one or two pairs of each earrings not mass produced stuff so it’s expensive. It’s good to support sámi businesses :) I see a lot of sámi jewelry makers say that everyone can wear their stuff.

I think you should probably avoid stuff that’s very specifically for the gákti, because most of us think people who aren’t sámi shouldn’t wear a gákti unless it was given to them as a gift. That would mean stuff like the risku (the big brooch we wear on the liidni or the chest of the gákti) and i’d also definitely feel weird about people wearing wedding jewelry if they’re not sámi. same thing with other gákti accessories not just jewelry. If you’re not sure you can ask! Be careful about rings because they can have different meanings like marital status.

I’ve gotten most of my jewelry from people who have booths at festivals and markets, and most of them don’t have online shops unfortunately but I think you can email them to buy from them? I don’t remember all of them, but the earrings i’ve posted are from lilleli and so are most of my favorite earrings but i bought those from her in person. Bigger stores you can order from online would be for example juhls and tana gull og sølvsmie, and the hair clip I posted a picture of is from erica huuva who has a lot of very beautiful stuff i’ve bought from there several times and it’s always beautiful ❤️

I make my own earrings for fun and i’ve given them away to non sámi people lol

[little-escapist]

If Kurt and Blaine traveled to Finland, what would they do for their vacation?

Oooh, food for thought on a Saturday night. Thanks for asking! (Also Gwen is that you or am I overthinking?)

They'd probably stick to the capital OR go up north to Lapland for the exotic experience. Helsinki is a pretty city with a very European feel, lots of cool shops and culture. It is different compared to how Finland is elsewhere, though. I've only visited the capital a handful of times, but the feel there is different.

There are cafes and concerts and bars and shops. Lots of Finnish design which would interest Kurt. Some cool museums. They are city people and Helsinki is small compared to the cities of the rest of the world, so they'd probably find it interesting.

Or then Lapland and the exotic northern Finland with tons of snow and the cold and the stars and the northen lights. Reindeer all over the place. Solitude, unless you go to the tourist spots. They could rent a cabin in the middle of nowhere with a glass roof and big windows so that it almost feels like you're outside but you're warm and cozy instead of cold. I think they would find it romantic.

Or, let me be self-indulgent and take them to my town. Second largest city in Finland but small compared to anything called a city in the US. We have some cool museums here: the Moomin museum (don't tell me Blaine wouldn't love Moomins!) and the world's first spy museum, for example. Several theaters to choose from. Some cool history in the form of old factory buidings from the 1800s. Two huge lakes and a bunch of smaller ones. An amusement park with a tower that used to be the highest in the Nordics - there's a fancy restaurant up top that spins so you get panoramic views! A ton of vintage shops with clothes and jewelry and accessories, don't tell me Kurt wouldn't go for a tour of those.

So um. I don't know how to wrap this mental flow up. But there are some thoughts.

[supernova-mnrls]

Hello we have this parcel veracruz amethyst: 36 speciems 2cm to 3cm ideal for jewelry

Take this beautiful batch on $210usd.

Free shipping around the globe.

Get a discount with me.

#amethyst #finland #ametisti #crystals #luosto #quartz #amethystmine #gemstones #handmadejewelry #crystal #lapland #rosequartz #chanbrotherseurope #beautiful #pyhäluostonationalpark #trend #necklaces #etsyshop #silver #mtb #rebalance #modernrenaissance #crystalmagic #handcarved #lampivaaranametistikaivos #nikkotakko #makeup #amethyststone #sugared #malahelmet

Hello we have this parcel veracruz amethyst: 36 speciems 2cm to 3cm ideal for jewelry

Take this beautiful batch on $210usd.

Free shipping around the globe.

Get a discount with me.

#amethyst #finland #ametisti #crystals #luosto #quartz #amethystmine #gemstones #handmadejewelry #crystal #lapland #rosequartz #chanbrotherseurope #beautiful #pyhäluostonationalpark #trend #necklaces #etsyshop #silver #mtb #rebalance #modernrenaissance #crystalmagic #handcarved #lampivaaranametistikaivos #nikkotakko #makeup #amethyststone #sugared #malahelmet

[annashaberdashery]

[celestialkiri]

I was modeling today, again but this time for a small, Lapland jewelry company! She does an amazing job! I love her wood jewelry bc it's so modern!

If you guys are interested to check their network here it is!  http://lapinkettu.fi

[jessesavageblacksmith]

Rick & I got a chance to talk with @handforgedinvt & @nevilleforge about their project of moving @centerformetalarts to the historic old steel mill in Johnstown, Pa. formally Cambria steel and then later Bethlehem Steel. Come listen and hear about this amazing new space for a blacksmithing school. You can listen at theblacksmithspub.com or iTunes & stitcher. @theblacksmithspubpodcast brought to you by The Burn Network , @barter_rick @blacksmithervic & @dkforgeworks Podcast Manager and Life Coach . Executive Board of Directors is @geofffeder & @sunsetforgenj #blacksmith #anvil #johnstown #theblacksmithspubpodcast #podcast #welder #metalsmith #jewelry #forging #lapland #blacksmithshop #bladesmith #bethlehemsteel #hammer #metalshop #powerhammer (at Johnstown, Pennsylvania)

[soulsanitarium]

The White Reindeer (Finnish: Valkoinen peura) is a 1952 folk horror drama film directed by Erik Blomberg in his feature film debut. He made the script with his wife Mirjami Kuosmanen, who is playing the leading role. It was entered in competition at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival and earned the Jean Cocteau-led jury special award for Best Fairy Tale Film.

Blomberg interviewed few local people for the film and made some background work. However the idea for the film was purely inspired by the daydreaming of his wife, old European folk tales and anthropology from Africa (more precisely shamanistic witch beliefs of the Azande -tribe).

The Sámi (/ˈsɑːmi/ SAH-mee; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland). There are some reindeer myths related to this movie in their mythology (old religion) in some areas. Such as half human half a deer - god.

The Seita is a holy place, A Sami sacred place. One of the well known Seita is Ukko’s island. It is a rocky island in lake inari. Reindeer was also the most popular sacrificial animal in bigger rituals, fish or fat of the fish was common for fishermen. If the matter was small then there was no need for animal sacrifice. There are stories of human sacrifices but these stories can also be legends and ghost stories.

Below: I got the chance to visit Ukko’s island in winter 2023 with the snowmobile

Witches Drum in conjunction with the magic singing spells and different powders is seen in the film. The witch's drum was usually an oval small drum covered with reindeer skin with some patterns drawn on the membrane the drumstick or rather the hammer was made of reindeer bone horn. Or it could be also metal. Rings made of metal were placed on the top of the membrane and moved over the patterns. The Shaman interpreted the meanings of the patterns and guided the rings where depending on whether intention was good or bad. In a 1673 book Lapponia you can find drawings copied from the original drums. Most of the drums were later destroyed by the Christian priests.

The most scary mentioned “real” thing in the film is Ruumiinmulta (bodily soil). It was a poison used in magical revenge. Soil could be just soil from the graveyard, but more powerful soil was collected from the corpse.

Above: Very rare silver jewelry that was found from Ukko’s island ( Sami museum Siida in Inari ) also you can see the drums rings & bone hammer below it. Below: Aurora in the center of Inari village & The photo of the witches drum is from the Siida museum (the Christian priests destroyed every drum from Finland so this drum is borrowed from Sweden- hopefully they will donate the drum to the museum permanently).

[paganisticwolf]

At this time of the year, the Winter Solstice, a patriarchal theft by the Church is revealed by the concept of “Father Christmas.” It was stolen from the indigenous shamanic cultures primarily from Siberia and the Nordic countries of Northern Norway, Finland (Lapland), and the Arctic Circle.

Long before Santa and his flying steeds, it was the female reindeer who drew the sleigh of the sun goddess at the Winter Solstice. It was when the pagan traditions of winter were “Christianized” that “Father Christmas” was born.

It was never “Father Christmas” that brought gifts and the return of light at the Winter Solstice—it was “Mother Christmas,” the ancient Deer Mother of old. It was she who once flew through winter’s longest darkest night with the life-giving light of the sun in her horns.

And from the British Isles, Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, across the land bridge of the Bering Strait, she was a revered spiritual figure associated with fertility, motherhood, regeneration and the rebirth of the sun (the theme of winter solstice).

Her antlers adorned shrines and altars, were buried in ceremonial graves and were worn as shamanic headdresses. Her image was etched in standing stones, woven into ceremonial cloth and clothing, cast in jewelry, painted on drums, and tattooed onto skin.

Reindeer were often shown leaping or flying through the air with neck outstretched and legs flung out fore and aft. Her antlers were frequently depicted as the tree of life, carrying birds, the sun, moon, and stars. And across the northern world, it was the Deer Mother who took flight from the dark of the old year to bring light and life to the new.

Sorry Rudolph, but the male reindeer shed their antlers in the winter, it is only the doe who retains her antlers as she is the one who leads the herds in winter. Ever since the early Neolithic period, the female reindeer was venerated by northern people. She was the “life-giving mother,” the leader of the herds upon which they depended for survival, and they followed the reindeer migrations for milk, food, clothing and shelter.

One of these cultures that honored the “life-giving mother, “the Deer Mother was the Sami.

For the Sami, the indigenous people of the Nordic countries, Beaivi is the name for the Sun Goddess associated with motherhood, the fertility of plants and the reindeer. At Winter Solstice, warm butter (a symbol of the sun) was smeared on doorposts as a sacrifice to Beaivi so that she could gain strength and fly higher and higher into the sky. Beaivi was often shown accompanied by her daughter in an enclosure of reindeer antlers and together they returned green and fertility to the land.

Many other winter goddesses in northern legends were associated with the solstice. They took to the skies led by a bevy of flying animals. One tells of the return of Saule, the Lithuanian and Latvian goddess of the sun. She flew across the heavens in a sleigh pulled by horned reindeer and threw pebbles of amber (symbolizing the sun) into chimneys.

While many historical explorations of the pagan origins of Christmas observe the link between Santa’s garb and the red and white amanita mushroom ingesting shamans, few mention that it was the female shamans who originally wore red and white costumes trimmed with fur, horned headdresses or red felt hats! The ceremonial clothing worn by medicine women healers of Siberia and Lapland, was green and white with a red peaked hat, curled toed boots, reindeer mittens, fur lining and trim.

Considering that most of the shamans in this region were originally women, it is likely that their traditional wear is the true source for Santa’s costume. And it is also very likely that they were the first to take shamanic flight with the reindeer on winter’s darkest night.

🎅 🎄

[jeffreystewart]

Norsery Rhymes from A to Z Happy Thorsday – Egil The Legendary Archer Well here we are another Thor’s Day and another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic) mythological characters.  This week it’s Egil / Aigil / Aegil / Aligaz. The legendary archer mentioned in the Völundarkviða and Thidreks sagas.

 Hi name has been translated to ‘Awe’, or ‘Fear’, or ‘dread’ combined with ‘edge’ or ‘point’ or ‘sharpness’ of a weapon. Which unlike the farmer Giant Egil who shares his name, where the meaning had the context of being afraid of the sword. Egil here, much like Egill Skallagrimson, and Egil One-Arm, is meant to imply the use of a sharp edge, and that others should be afraid of his arrows.

 Egil is the middle brother of a trio of Finn (Lapland) princes. Along with the older Slagfiðr / Slagfithr (The Beating), and the younger Völund / Wayland / Velent (The Master Magical Smith).

The brothers build and live in a house on the lands of Ulfdalir (Wolf Dale) by a house on sea shore called Ulfsjar (Wolf Sea)

 All three of the brothers one early morning come across Swan Maiden Valkyries in their swan forms by the Ulfsjar shore, bathing and spinning flax, falling in love with them as they reveal themselves to be human. Each of the Brothers going on to marry one of them.

 Egil marries the Swan Maiden Valkyrie and Princess Alirun / Ailrun / Alruna / Ailruna / Ölrún, whose father Kiár of Valland, is a mythological Roman Emperor.

 At some point the cruel Germanic King Nidung / Niðhad captures Volund after several. Having Volund hamstrung, and locking him up in a smithy dungeon. He sets forces Volund to smith all kinds of beautiful and amazing things for him from goblets, to weapons and jewelry.

 Eventually Egil hears of this and goes to find his younger brother. On arriving in the court of Nidung. The King on hearing that Egil is a master archer forces him on pain of torture to show his skills. The test is to shoot an apple off the head of one of his many Prince sons, without harming the Prince. And that if he misses or if any harm comes to the Prince Egil will die.

 Egil surprises the King by readying two arrows in his hand, nocking the first and shooting it without any apparent effort into the apple above the Prices head. When the King asks what the second arrow was for, Egils says that if he had missed with the first arrow, the second would have been to kill the King with.

 The King laughs and compliments Egil on his skill and his cunning. Welcoming him to his court. Likely to join him on his hunts and as a protector.

 Egil finds Volund, who had so far managed to seduce the Princess, who was now with his child, and trick and kill two of the older Princes, and hide their bodies by magically smithing them into various items. But was no closer to escape.

 The two begin a plan. Egil would go out hunting for animals, providing an ongoing feast for the King. But while out hunting Egil would collect all of the feathers from the birds he’s caught, and the bladder and blood from a boar.  

 Egil brought all this back to Volund so that he could add the feathers to a set of wings he’d created, while filling up the bladder with blood.

 Once everything was completed Volund and Egil put their plan in motion. Egil let him out of the Smithy, and Volund now wearing the working wings on his back and the blood filled bladder around his waist begins to fly away.

 Egil however alerts the King to the smiths departure. The King commanding Egil to shoot him down. Egil shoots an arrow and despite how har away the flying man now is, it flies true. Sending a rain of blood down, as the winged man appears to fall in the far distance into the trees.

 The arrow of course hitting the bladder filled with blood and the fall being a performance the King believes there is no reason to suspect Volund survived. Volund using his wings to fly low and then away back home.

 Egil eventually takes his leave of the king, Whether to find the body or just to go on his way. But never returns.

 Another time Egil and his wife Ailrun were beset by an large number attackers, fighting a battle at the river Ilz and while defending a keep together. The two of them successful in their defence. With Egil sending a seemingly impossible barrage of arrows at the attackers Ailrun cutting down anyone that got close.

 Defending a keep #relationshipgoals.

Eventually after nine years, the Valkyries feel the pull of their fate and leave for the Myrkwood. Egil and  Slagfith leaving to find them, with Volund staying behind making arm rings and jeweled chains for his wife’s return.

Some have suggested to a link with the archer God Ullr, either as a direct substitution. Given that their stories, personalities and the like to not over lap apart from their archery connection. I like to think it’s more of worshiper/god relationship, possibly with Ullr as a patron.

 Not much else is known about Egil the Finn Prince, Master Archer, and husband of a Swan Valkyrie.

That’s it for Egils. I’ve run out. So next week I’ll do Ailrun as I think I missed her when going through the A’s.

[mintsikka]

#kalevalakoru #medaljonkilapista #kalevalajewelry #finnish #lapland #lappish #lappishmedallion #torniojokilaakso The 19th century prototype for this medallion was found in the Tornio river valley. Lapland's jewelry tradition is rich and original. Compared with other Finnish designs, Lapp motifs have their own distinct stamp. The delicate ornamentation in this piece was common in jewelry from the border region between Finland and Sweden. #ink #pen #artistsoninstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B-XXI-jp3RB/?igshid=da906wbqmsbe

[northernwoodwitch-blog]

Feeling better and also little Finnish mythology for yall

Hi everybody who sees this. I have felt a lot better these past couple weeks. It’s spring break time here in Lapland so I will be going back to home today. I have been super active with my magickal workings. I did two spells this week, both were bloodmagick spells. I wanted more power to my spells and as many of us know, blood is really powerful ingredient in witchcraft. I did self-love, healing and beauty spell yesterday. I have never felt like I was beautiful and I have never loved myself. I have always seen myself as this low, desperate ugly frog. No offence to frogs. 

I also got an lovely idea. I am going to enchant two of my jewelries; my ring and an old silver necklace. The ring looks just like the sun so an idea popped into my head. I’m going to enchant this ring and that necklace to represent the Finnish goddesses Kuutar and Päivätär. Päivätär is goddess of the Sun and day. Kuutar is the goddess of the Moon. They are these beautiful magickal looking girls who own the gold of the Moon and silver of the Sun. You can see the gold and silver shining from Moon and the Sun, and sometimes you can see it when the Sun is setting and the clouds have golden linings around them. 

In Kalevala the girls are described to be the emuus (mythological origin mother of something like trees or animals) of wasps, bees and hornets. The female deities and characters of Kalevala are held in very high positions. Like in example Ilmatar is said to be the creator of this world (in some beliefs). Louhi is powerful witch and the ruler of the northern land called Pohjola (she is also the origin mother of wolfs and some other predators). And it is believed that Luonnotar, Päivätär and Kuutar together created the world tree. And at the bottom of the tree there flows milk and honey streams that are quite magickal. 

And so back to the original story I was telling :#D Anyway the plan is to enchant these two lovelies so that wherever I go I can carry around the energies of the goddesses of the Moon and Sun. They are acceptable goddesses of beauty as well. 

Personally I feel the most comfortable working with deities and mystical creatures from Finnish mythology. So instead of Aphrodite I’m going to work with Kuutar and Päivätär for beauty and self-love. I am super excited to make an altar for them. I have so many great ideas for that altar. 

Sorry for this super long post. Here is picture of the two lovely jewelries that I am excited to work with. I hope everybody is well and I hope that you have a lovely, joy-filled day ahead of you. Girls, let’s start to work towards becoming the divine Goddesses that we are inside. Let that energy show on the outside too. 

[wyldwon]

…”…At this time of the year, the Winter Solstice, a patriarchal theft by the Church is revealed by the concept of “Father Christmas.” It was stolen from the indigenous shamanic cultures primarily from Siberia and the Nordic countries of Northern Norway, Finland (Lapland), and the Arctic Circle.

Long before Santa and his flying steeds, it was the female reindeer who drew the sleigh of the sun goddess at the Winter Solstice. It was when the pagan traditions of winter were “Christianized” that “Father Christmas” was born.

It was never “Father Christmas” that brought gifts and the return of light at the Winter Solstice—it was “Mother Christmas,” the ancient Deer Mother of old. It was she who once flew through winter’s longest darkest night with the life-giving light of the sun in her horns.

And from the British Isles, Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, across the land bridge of the Bering Strait, she was a revered spiritual figure associated with fertility, motherhood, regeneration and the rebirth of the sun (the theme of winter solstice).

Her antlers adorned shrines and altars, were buried in ceremonial graves and were worn as shamanic headdresses. Her image was etched in standing stones, woven into ceremonial cloth and clothing, cast in jewelry, painted on drums, and tattooed onto skin.

Reindeer were often shown leaping or flying through the air with neck outstretched and legs flung out fore and aft. Her antlers were frequently depicted as the tree of life, carrying birds, the sun, moon, and stars. And across the northern world, it was the Deer Mother who took flight from the dark of the old year to bring light and life to the new.

Sorry Rudolph, but the male reindeer shed their antlers in the winter, it is only the doe who retains her antlers as she is the one who leads the herds in winter. Ever since the early Neolithic period, the female reindeer was venerated by northern people. She was the “life-giving mother,” the leader of the herds upon which they depended for survival, and they followed the reindeer migrations for milk, food, clothing and shelter.

One of these cultures that honored the “life-giving mother, “the Deer Mother was the Sami.

For the Sami, the indigenous people of the Nordic countries, Beaivi is the name for the Sun Goddess associated with motherhood, the fertility of plants and the reindeer. At Winter Solstice, warm butter (a symbol of the sun) was smeared on doorposts as a sacrifice to Beaivi so that she could gain strength and fly higher and higher into the sky. Beaivi was often shown accompanied by her daughter in an enclosure of reindeer antlers and together they returned green and fertility to the land.

Many other winter goddesses in northern legends were associated with the solstice. They took to the skies led by a bevy of flying animals. One tells of the return of Saule, the Lithuanian and Latvian goddess of the sun. She flew across the heavens in a sleigh pulled by horned reindeer and threw pebbles of amber (symbolizing the sun) into chimneys.

While many historical explorations of the pagan origins of Christmas observe the link between Santa’s garb and the red and white amanita mushroom ingesting shamans, few mention that it was the female shamans who originally wore red and white costumes trimmed with fur, horned headdresses or red felt hats! The ceremonial clothing worn by medicine women healers of Siberia and Lapland, was green and white with a red peaked hat, curled toed boots, reindeer mittens, fur lining and trim.

Considering that most of the shamans in this region were originally women, it is likely that their traditional wear is the true source for Santa’s costume. And it is also very likely that they were the first to take shamanic flight with the reindeer on winter’s darkest night…..”….

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