Thursday 14 February 2013

A modern creation myth

In the beginning there was just ice and fire, the realms of Niflheim and Musspelheim, with a big yawning gap in the middle.
When the two realms met there was the original big bang.  So that the gap now had elements that formed Ymir the original male energy and Auðumbla the primeval cow, known as the Milky Way & thus the galaxy and early stars.   The cow is the primeval female energy.
Auðumbla licked the Rime, the primeval stardust or frost (as in space it's very, very cold),freeing the primeval giant; our solar system.  Ymir fed from the cow's milk.
From Ymir came the giants & giantesses born from his armpits - the natural forces of physics embodied in the sun, moon and planets as well as the realms currently unknown to us (perhaps described in the string theory of quantum mechanics).  From rubbing his legs together the regular beat of time is created.
Buri/Ymir dies and his body forms our solar system's present cosmos. It all evolves from there under the influence of Growth (Woden/Odin/Othinn) Order (Hana/Hoenir/Vili) and Decay (Lodhur/Loki/Ve) or g-o-d in the monotheistic view of the world.
We then kick into the Celtic creation theory or the Oran Mór or the great song or great sea - Oran meaning great and Mor meaning sea or song.
http://www.druidcircle.org/library/index.php?title=Celtic_Creation
The gods and giants then met for the first Thing at the Well of Urðr at the foot of Yggdrasil, the World Tree.  Together they started to sing the greatest of choral works; the Oran Mór.  This is the song of the spark of life that creates the world we know and all the flora and fauna along with it.  First they hum harmonies of the small things, the bacterium, algae and lichen.  Underlying it is a wild, chaotic primal rhythm.  Then as Midgard settles the music shifts to melodies of the plants and the early creatures.  Gradually the melodies combine into a symphony of the first age, the age of dinosaurs. 
The Gods then argue with the Giants and create the first people from the forests where the river meets the woods.  The Norse people are cut from the Ash and the Elm.  The Celts are cut from the Oak and Apple, all the other peoples are made from their trees.  Time and the song flows into complex fugues and a much more human history - the dominant symphony at this moment in time.

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Icing the Holly King

Snow has arrived to ruin dreams of a mild winter that builds bike strength, reminding me that my plans for a turbo training shed are unfulfilled.  My perennial Heart of Darkness paranoia strikes; "when I am not on the bike I know that I'm just getting weaker."  This is where the analogy dies, there is no Charlie in the jungle waiting for me.  Nor am I a dedicated racer or have a big event planned.
So why do I worry?  Two answers:
1 - because it's my nature to and core to my self view is that I am a cyclist.  As a cyclist I want to be a good cyclist.
2 - it's part of my balance against the unhealthy parts of my life to keep fit.
Aahhh yes the third part - I hate the pain of getting fit & love the fluidity of my masterful stroke when the fitness is there.
Ice depresses me, like some Viking trapped in his hall.  I then wallow in my dirty habits; smoking, drinking and fatty foods.  The guilt is exacerbated by the feeling that as my age lengthens so my overall fitness declines.  The cold freezes my ability to act, more so as I get older. 
What has this negativity got to do with Gewessi?
Acceptance of the natural cycles, is the thing.  Do the things you don't do when you can train.  Write things, work on the inner work of Druidry, read.
Chill out and (big, slow, exhale) relax, be confident you will regain that fitness.
Enjoy a day spent snuggling on the sofa watching films; Lord of the Rings back to back anyone? :)
Also beasting myself on the sleeting roads just gives me colds now, which usully means more time off the bike on sunny days.  So (I give myself a stiff talking to) m'boy do what your ancestors did.  Keep warm, keep healthy and wait for brighter days.  Build the hunger for the pain of training too.  The Oak King is coming, in his season I will be worrying about how to fit training & gardening around family & work.
Then the tiredness will kick in & I will dream of snow days and snuggling!
So enjoy the here and now and do those winter things.  Each activity in it's season and each season has it's place.