the-ithildin-goddess

[the-ithildin-goddess]

[the-ithildin-goddess]

this blog does not support or even tolerate Joy Of Satan and their nazi cult bullshit. if you are part of their group or even remotely associate yourself with them in any way, i suggest you do some research for once, take a hard look at yourself, and then fuck off the face of the earth. JOS are the scum of the satanism community and so are those who entertain them.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

So I really want to begin deity work, my problem is that even though I want to worship other deities, I feel the urge to worship Hellenic gods/goddesses since there are so many resources and an abundance of prayers where there aren’t for deities I actually *want* to work with. I do sincerely like the idea of worshipping Hellenic gods, but I don’t know if it’s a bad thing to choose to worship one deity over another because it seems easier? And there are more resources for beginners?

No, I don't think it is wrong. I understand a lot of people would prefer to worship gods they have information on, that just makes sense.

I think when it comes to sources it depends on a few things.

Which culture / pantheon are these other deities you want to worship from? That will be a good indicator on how difficult things will be from the get-go. Knowing this can help you prepare yourself for how deep you need to dig. You said Hellenic deities have an abundance of resources but many others do as well such as Roman, Egyptian, and others once you know where to look. Some might have a bit harder time but the information is still there such as Mesopotamian or Slavic. Still some have information but it is indeed hard or scarce to find such as Arabian or Iberian.

What do you have accsess to? Are you a university student, if so you have got a massive advantage by having accsess to online scholarly databases. If you speak another language that is also very helpful to expand the pool of resources you can use especially for certain pantheons for example Slavic pantheons if you can read a Slavic language you are much better off research wise.

How good are your research and vetting skills? While you may be knew to polytheism you may or may not be knew to using sources for other things (unless you are then ignore this) Think about what you already know how to do and re-apply it.

I'm in multiple discords for pantheons where information can be scarce. Such as Arabian, Lusitanian (Iberia), and general Ancient Near Eastern pantheons. All have excellent resource channels and are open to discuss them or helping you look for them. So an online group that provides souces is a good way to start. Blogs that give sources in their posts or on "master lists" are another good way to find resources. And the sources given by Wikipedia can be a helpful starting point as well.

I will eventually get my resource page fully functional and maybe work on posts dedicated to this because I want it to be apart of my blog but thats a project for another day.

Some ideas for now:

Internet Archive— this has a plethora of articles and books available all you need is an account and you can borrow anything for an hour at a time. Text Archive & Open Library

JSTOR— offers 100 free articles per month. It also has an open access portion.

Academia.edu— while this is becoming more paywall-y (I think) it's still a great way to find information

Met Museums Catalogue of books with full text

The Directory of Open Accsess Journals and Articles

Libby app— If you have a library card it will give you accsess to any of its online materials so you can see it at home. I beleive it also gives accsess to anywhere your library card can be used (as many libraries are in consortiums)

Google Scholar— while it won't give you access to all the sources it can help you find them. Then you can go on the hunt to see where they are, such as the above locations. I gave the search tips page, click upper right "search scholar" to use or go to scholar.google.com. books.google.com can also be used if you are specifically looking for books.

How to Research

JSTOR Provides a free course you can look at to learn some research skills

@sisterofiris's post The Layman's Guide to Online Research

My post on Tools for Vetting Sources

This webpage on finding sources

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If you want to give me the pantheon or god names I can try and muster up some sources or places for you to start looking— feel free to send another anon with that info I'll open anon's for the next 24 hours. If you don't catch it in time feel free to send me an anon in February whenever I open them back up for a longer period of time.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

Jack of all Trades, Master of...All? - A Guide to Lugh

Lugh, Lugus, Lug, of the Long Arm, Master of Skills, he goes by many names. Have you heard about this Celtic God?

Read to find out more!

This is an educational post about Lugh, it will start with history and mythology and at the end I will put modern day correspondences and such. Links provided for more reading!

(Photo Cred: Unkown)

Who is Lugh?

Lugh is a Celtic deity who is known to be associated with lightning, craftmanship, as well as many more skills (all of them, actually). He really is a master of all trades.

Lugh is not a Sun God but many people use the sun as a symbol for him or associate him with the sun. This is in part because of his name being translated to "light", though that isn't the only possible translation of his name.

However, the idea that he is a sun god comes from an outdated Victorian-era ideology. The anthropologists of the time were convinced that at the root of all pantheons and mythology there must be a sun god. They were obsessed with a solar system based pattern in mythology.

For the celts, though, their gods are less transcendent (like above all else) and more human-like than other mythology. Celtic deities are more a part of the world rather than above it all.

The author of this post explains it very well, if you have more questions about this please check out their article!

In short: It is not wrong for you to associate him with the sun, but he is not a Sun God.

Etymology

The name Lugh (or Lug) was a popular name in ancient Celtic times. Some say the name derives from a Proto-Indo-European root "lewgh-" which means “to bind by oath.” Possibly indicative of the role he plays in oath making and promises. Some say it could mean "Light" though many scholars believe this to be unlikely.

He had many names and titles, however, his most known title was Lámfada, meaning “Of the Long Arm,” which was a reference to the length of his spear and that it was like it was a part of him (like an arm). It could also be translated as "artful hands" which references his abilities and skills in creation, craftmanship, and the arts.

Family

Lugh comes from two bloodlines: his father, Cian, was the son of Dian Cedh, healer of the Tuatha Dé Danann and his mother, Ethniu, was of the Fomorians.

Though his birth parents are known, many argue the identity of his foster parents; The Irish sea god Manannán mac Lir, Tailtiu, Queen of the Firbolg, and Goibniu, god of the smiths, have all been suggested to be Lugh's foster parents.

Mythology

Rough Start

After being told that his grandson would kill him in the future, The King of Balor locked his daughter, Ethniu, up to keep her from seeing Cian (her lover) again.

However, the two met up anyways and had triplets, one of them was Lugh.

Ethniu's father was furious and planned to have the children killed. Two of them died and the surviving child was Lugh. He fell into the water and was rescued by Biróg who took him to Cian.

Lugh would later be given to a foster parent (one of those mentioned above) who would protect and raise him.

Ladies' Man

Lugh had multiple wives, including Buí, Buach, Nás, daughters of Ruadri (King of Britain), Echtach, Englic, and Rosmerta.

Like Father Like Son

Of his sons, the most famous child he produced was with a mortal named Deichtine. Together they created Cú Chulainn, known as the hero of the Ulster saga.

Lugh at the Gate

Perhaps the most famous tale of this god, it starts with Lugh approaching the gate of the Hall of Tara. He asks to meet with Nuada, god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and become part of the King's court.

Lugh is stopped by a guard and told that, unless he had a skill that would be useful to the king, he would not be allowed to enter.

Lugh then begins listing skills he has mastered, which includes but are not limited to: a smith, a wright, a craftsman, a swordsman, a harpist, a poet, a historian, a sorcerer, a physician, as well as a champion,

Alas, he is told that the king has people for all of those skills and is about to be turned away.

Finally, Lugh asks if the King has a person who is skilled in all of those things.

The guard goes to the king and asks. Once he comes back he allows Lugh to enter with the King's permission.

High King of Ireland

During a battle against the King of Balor (Lugh's maternal grandfather), Nuada is killed by Balor. Lugh faces off against his grandfather and kills him with a slingshot as revenge for Nuada.

During the war Lugh finds the half-Formorian former king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Bres, lying on death's door.

He offers to spare Bres' life in exchange for all of the secrets Bres has about the land, including when to plough, sow, and reap crops.

After the war Lugh is pronounced the High King of Ireland and rules for many years.

(Later Lugh would kill off Bres, but he spared his life at the battle and therefore kept his word)

Death (...?)

After finding out that his wife had an affair with Cermait, son of the Dagda, Lugh killed Cermait in anger.

Cermait's three sons were furious and swore vengeance on Lugh. They captured and drowned Lugh.

(Ironic that he came into this world and survived drowning only to die by it later in life...sorry Lugh)

Lugh had ruled for over 40 years as the king.

That being said, Deities are not like humans. Death is not the end for them.

Extras

Julius Caesar commented on Lugh, noticing his importance as a god to the Celtic people.

Some equate Lugh to the Nordic Odin or the Roman Mercury.

There are many more stories about Lugh but I compiled the most important ones to his character here.

If you'd like to find out more, here are some references you could read:

Mythopedia-Lugh

Wikipedia-Lugh

World History-Lugh

Britiannica-Lugus

The Celtic Journey - Lugh, Master of Skills

Learn Religions- Lugh, the Celtic Craftsman God

Sadly we don't have a lot of context or stories from the ancient Celts so most of these myths and legends are reconstructed using the knowledge and understanding we have of the culture and times.

Correspondences

Weapons

A spear

A slingshot

Fragarach; "The Answerer", a sword from Manannán, his foster father. It had the ability to make anyone that it was pointed at tell the truth

Familiars

Failinis, Lugh's hound

Aenbharr, Lugh's horse

Sguaba Tuinne, the “Wind-sweeper,” a very fast boat

Symbols

Ravens and crows

Lightning

Greyhounds

Horses

Two snakes

The Sun

Holy Days

Lughnasadh, a holiday created for his victory in battle against the the spirits of Tír na nÓg. He would bless harvest fruit and play games in memory of his foster mother, Tailtiu.

Colors

Warm colors like red, orange, gold, yellow

(I also personally associate him with a light, stiking, nossy green color.)

Offerings

Cinnamon

Candy

Alcohol (ale/cider/mead/wine etc)

A plate of whatever you made for dinner

Music

Blueberries or Blackberries

Some say he enjoys milk and honey!

Bread (preferably if you've made it yourself r if it was handmade)

Honestly, in my experience Lugh's favorite type of offering (as well as most Celtic gods from what I've read) are acts of devotion or something you've crafted yourself.

This doesn't mean you need to paint a mural for him--though I'm sure he'd enjoy that too!--it means anything involving creation. Devote your creative time to him. I like to devote the act of writing on this blog to him sometimes, for example.

End Notes

In my experience Lugh is a kind, sometimes goofy deity--in the sense that he enjoys making jokes and is fairly laid back. Don't speak ill of him or disrespect him, though, no one wants an angry storm god!

Let me know if you have any personal experience with Lugh or if you have some good references to add to this post!

[the-ithildin-goddess]

Full Moon January 18th 2022

The full moon phase is associated with harvest, celebration, and gratitude. Do a gratitude ritual to give thanks to all the existing blessings, gifts, wisdom, and experiences in your life. Acknowledge all the things you have manifested so far.

The full moon amplifies emotional sensitivity and can bring up intense feelings which can often be overwhelming. A release ritual or ceremony will help you to harness this energy and use it to create powerful shifts in your life. However, releasing work should only be done after the moon has reached fullness and has started to wane.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

Thought that just occurred to me:

While the effects of the Lunar Phases and Lunar Year on humanity are well documented by this point (if not entirely scientifically), how much of this is actual?

How many of these effects are accounted for by humanity BELIEVING it affects us for so long that the Moon subtly affects us at a cultural level more than a physiological one?

Are the Moon's effects on us objective, subjective, or some combination of the two?

Is the moon a goddamn placebo?

[the-ithildin-goddess]

I actually want to make it a challenge to find Odin devoted blogs on here who aren’t antisemitic/islamophobic, or who at the very least are openly against bigotry. I will never interact with other Odin worshippers unless I know for a fact they do social justice work and have compassion towards other major religions, especially when those religions are discriminated against. If you are one of those blogs, and happen to have credible historical sources as a bonus, please interact below (sources arent a need, just a plus. What I really want is to find other like minded buddies who don’t use our god to shit on people).

I’m dying for Odin devotional content that doesn’t have sinister implications towards other real, living human beings. Please.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

“The Norse Conspiracy Chart”

[the-ithildin-goddess]

As a mixed race heathen called to Vanatru, I feel like there's an almost Lokean drive in myself to chase the racists and bigots away from Yggdrasil. It seems to me like if you want to have a healthy World Tree, you need good soil, and lots of care and cultivation. Any thoughts?

It's unfortunately a necessary thing--especially for white Heathens--that we make our spaces as openly hostile to bigots as possible. Unfortunately there's a lot of soil that many people don't realize comes from bigots (the nine noble virtues, for instance). That said, try not to burn yourself out (I speak from experience) especially online when it's easier to "back away" from a conversation.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

Bless me to be…

As Courageous as Tyr

As Strong as Thor

As Wise as Odin

As Fierce as Freya

As Healthy as Idun

As Beautiful as Frigg

As Compassionate as Sjofn

As Enduring as Skadi

As Accepting as Lofn

As Hearty as Freyr

As Regal as Hel

As Cunning as Loki

As Bright as Baldr

As Observant as Heimdal

As Dedicated as Vidar

As Loving as Nanna

As Just as Forseti

As Peaceful as Nott

As Grounded as Sif

As Glorious as Ullr

As Creative as Bragi

As Warm as Sol

As Wealthy as Njord

As Loyal as Sigyn @sigynfreespirit

[the-ithildin-goddess]

YOU ARE NOT JUST LEAVING THAT IN THE TAGS.

it’s just funny though that in The Before Times when the goat burned (or didn’t burn) there was very little fanfare except maybe some tongue in cheek celebration (or disappointment). but give it a few jokes about lack of ritual sacrifice and a five-year survival streak and two plague years and suddenly we’ve collectively tapped into the seasonal worship instincts of our ancestors from 36,000 BCE and created a new sacred ritual through sheer force of internet jokes and desperate hope. it’s like we’ve crowdfunded a god.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

[the-ithildin-goddess]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you see this floating around somewhere (and you probably have or will), it's 100% fake. Totally made up. Honestly, that probably goes for half (if not more) of anything you see with the word "Celtic" attached to it.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

Lofn

I complain a lot about bad etymology, or misuses of etymology. An internal reconstruction (i.e., from within a single language, not comparative) without any secondary information doesn’t tell us much about how pre-modern people thought about words and names and the beings they were applied to. Etymology works best in conjunction with other information. Sometimes we just don’t have the data to make it useful. However, Lofn is an example where a very small amount of information about the goddess happens to be arranged so that we can support some interesting inferences.

Snorri tells us in Gylfaginning that:

Átta Lofn, hon er svá mild ok góð til áheita, at hon fær leyfi af Alföðr eða Frigg til manna samgangs, kvinna ok karla, þótt áðr sé bannat eða þvertekit þykki. Þat er af hennar nafni lof kallat ok svá þat, at hon er lofuð mjök af mönnum.

‘The eighth is Lofn, she is so gentle and good to call on that she gets permission from the Allfather or Frigg for the union of people, women and men, even though it was previously prohibited or refused. It is from her name that the word lof [‘praise; permission���] comes, and that she is lofuð [‘praised’] much by people.’

Note: the 'women and men’ part is sometimes interpreted by homophobes to mean that she only does this for a union between a man and a woman, but the text doesn’t say that. The kvinna 'female (plural)’ and karla 'male (plural)’ are modifying the word manna 'people’ in the previous clause and simply indicates that both men and women pray to her. But anyway, that’s not the point of this post.

Snorri’s attempting to use etymology to fill in some gaps. He knows this name exists because her name is used to form kennings for women in skaldic poetry. But did he really know that she was a goddess, and anything about what she was a goddess of? Or did he just need material, and turned this random name into an ad hoc goddess? Could he just as easily have said “she’s a goddess who presides over toasting honorable people at sumbl” or “she is the counterpart fo Syn (’denial/refusal’)”?

Snorri didn’t have the modern comparative method, but we do, so while Snorri can provide us with the mother-language speaker intuition, we can supplement that with reasonable guesses about the historical development of her name. 

In Old Icelandic we find the words lof ‘praise’ and lofun ‘permission,’ the verb lofa ‘to promise; to praise; to permit.’ In related languages we also find their equivalents, like Old English lufian ‘to love’ and its derived lufiung ‘act of loving’ and a noun lufu ‘love.’ But there’s a problem here if we’re trying to derive Lofn from one of these words, because there aren’t any other examples in the language of a word structured like Lofn deriving from one of these types of words. There’s a bunch of words in Old Icelandic that have basically the same structure, namely, you take the verb root, shove -n on the end, but none of them are formed from a verb like lofa. In fact, the aforementioned lofun IS the equivalent of that. If we want to try to derive it from a verb, that verb is missing. It might have looked something like lofa, but it would have declined differently (3rd person preterite *lofði rather than lofaði).

However, we actually do find exact parallels to the name Lofn in both Gothic and Old English, and they don’t mean ‘praise’ or ‘permission,’ they mean ‘hope’. If the Gothic lubainais (genitive) and Old English lufen have an exact cognate in Old Icelandic, then we should expect it to be lofn. What’s more, the same name seems to appear as a woman’s name, Lubaini (dative) in a Latin-language inscription from what is now Belgium, from the first few centuries, AD.

So that means that most likely, Lofn’s name originally had less to do with ‘praise’ than with ‘hope.’ However, the verb from which it derived had fallen out of use in Old Icelandic, so Snorri didn’t have it to invoke in order to explain Lofn. The words that he did invoke to explain her seem to have changed somewhat in meaning over the previous centuries away from ‘love’ and toward a non-amorous ‘praise.’

So it’s my contention that Snorri’s description of Lofn is more fitting etymologically than he himself could possibly have supported. He described a goddess of hope and love without the tools to support that argument linguistically and had to fashion a weak connection to ‘praise’ in order to make it stick, and the impersonal etymological data fits his description of the goddess better than his improvised folk etymology.

I think that this supports the idea that Snorri did have genuine information even in cases where he isn’t able to cite mythology to prove it, like in his descriptions of some of the other ásynjur. That doesn’t mean we should read him uncritically but it does mean we shouldn’t dismiss him as a source either. The above isn’t bulletproof, and it isn’t impossible that Snorri just guessed in a way that happened to coincide with the development of this word, but that seems much less likely in light of the above.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

But the worst aspect of Christianity is without a doubt the Original Sin. One of the most imperative aspects of Christianity, which assert that the Sin committed by Adam (a) was everlasting until Jesus (a) was sacrificed in which one could be saved through the act of Baptism.

Nothing frustrates a Jewish person and a Muslim more than this particular belief, because not only did it appear during the third century, but it was defined by Augustinus through Romans (which let’s face it, did not establish anything) and had no scriptural proof to assert it.. Had this concept been so imperative, then surely it would have had an important role in the Gospels and the OT. However, even after reading through the Tanakh, there is nothing that ever points to its existence.

[the-ithildin-goddess]

I mean the serpent in Eden was literally just a talking snake in the original Hebrew.

I am no expert but I can only imagine the image of the serpent was later associated with the (also much more malevolent than in the original Jewish belief) Devil much later due to the prevalence of snake imagery in a number of pagan cults, as well as the snake's abilities of "renewal", legless locomotion, and iconic venomous bite. Someone who is more certain of their data may feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my educated guess.

So is like

Is Satan's form essentially like a clone of Cernunnos

Because of the association of Cernunnos with Satan in manuscript drawings because of his cult's strong influence in resisting Christian expansion

Also the serpent thing

Hmmmmmm