The Mammen Axe

I am sure my readers by now will appreciate the evolution of Thunor`s axe into the hammer and the fact that it was originally of course a stone implement. At the same time it was both a weapon and a tool carried by the Aryan Battle Ax people whose kings and high-status warriors were buried with polished stone axes. According to HR Ellis Davidson the famous Mammen Axe from 10th century CE Mammen in Denmark was a ceremonial axe and the top of the axe features a "face with staring eyes and beard". Apparently this was a "method of representing the thunder god. The serpent on the blade was associated with Thor. Thor`s symbol in the Viking Age was both an axe and a hammer".[Scandinavian Mythology] This iron axe inlaid with silver wire was according to Davidson "probably associated with the cult of Thor". Due to the precious nature of this axe it is unlikely to have been intended for use in battle. Mammen axe amulets are freely available to purchase and I wear a stainless steel version as a symbol of my loyalty to Thunor and the Gods of the North but also to our Aryan ancestors.

The Cult of Tiw

Woden is of course the All-Father, regarded as the highest of the Gods of the North. However this was not always the case. The position of All-Father was originally occupied by the apparently more ancient Tyr,Tig, Tiw or Ziu who we still recognise today in the 3rd day of the week, Tuesday. Tyr/Tig/Tiw/Ziu can indeed be directly traced back via the Proto-Germanic *Tiwaz to the Indo-European *Dyeus[meaning celestial being, God] indicating a very ancient origin. He was the original sky father, the lord of the heavens. At some point during the Voelkerwanderungenzeit[the age of the migrations of peoples] Tiw lost his preeminent position and gave way to the emerging Woden/Wodan/Wotan/Odin as Germanic society through necessity became more militaristic and aristocratic. However Tiw maintained His role as a God of battles alongside Woden and warriors would frequently scratch His rune, Tiwaz onto their swords to help give them victory in battle. Tacitus in his Germania equated Tiw with the Roman God of war Mars.

Tyr is the one-handed among the Aesir; the smith has to blow often.[Old Norwegian Rune Poem]

Tyr is the one-handed god and the leavings of the wolf and the ruler of the temple.[Old Icelandic Rune Poem].

In addition to being a God of battle He also presided over the Thing, the Germanic assembly, although Thunor/Thor/Donar eventually took over this function. This function is reflected in the Dutch and German names for Tuesday: dinxendach, dingsdag[Middle Dutch] and Dienstag[German]. Rudolf Simek in his Dictionary of Northern Mythology speculates that an alternative name for *Tiwaz was *Thingsaz, ie `Thing-god`. Other names for Tuesday include Tiwesdaeg[Old English, Tysdagr[Old Norse], tiesdi[Frisian], ziostag[Old High German], ziestac[Middle High German] and zistac[Allemanic]. He was thus a God who settled disputes and presided over justice. The loss of His hand to the Fenris wolf also signifies that He is a God of self-sacrifice[for the greater good of His folk]. There is also evidence that He had some connection with the afterlife as the Tiwaz rune was frequently inscribed upon cremation urns during the Anglo-Saxon period. According to Jacob Grimm[Teutonic Mythology] Tiw may have had a consort, Zisa, the Goddess associated with the city of Augsburg. There are a number of myths associated with Tiw in the Eddas, namely the taming of the Fenris wolf, the journey to obtain Hymir`s cauldron and the final battle between Tiw and Garm. The Eddas refer to Tiw as a `son of Odin` but this is not necessarily meant in a literal sense for all the subordinate Gods were regarded as Odin`s sons. Also with the eclipse of Tiw by Woden it would have been a standard practice to relegate the ancient All-Father to being Woden`s son and thus to be seen as subordinate to Him. According to Simek there is place name evidence for a cult of Tyr in Denmark[Tislund] and in Norway[Tysneso and Tysnes]. Place-name evidence for Tiw in England include Dewsbury[Tiw`s Burg], Tuesley[Tiw`s clearing] and Tysoe[hill of the god Tiw]. He is also represented in Sweden-Tivden and the South Tyrol[Tyr-Odal]. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but for illustration purposes only. Tyr also features in many male Icelandic personal names such as Angantyr, Bryntyr, Hjalmtyr etc. This does not necessarily prove that there was a cult of Tyr in Iceland as the term Tyr also is a generic word for a pre-xtian God, eg Hangatyr-Odin, God of the Hanged. However it does give more force to the argument that Tyr was the original All-Father if His name is a generic term for `God`. The relative silence regarding Tyr in the Eddas could also be interpreted as illustrative of the mysterious and transcendental nature of the God. I often get this impression when I meditate on the Tiwaz rune. This rune is not only the symbol of Tiw but also it stands for the polar Hyperborean concept. It is the pole star. This is reflected well in the Old English Rune Poem: Tir is a token, it keeps troth well with noble-men always on its course over the mists of night, it never fails. In Celtic mythology Tiw is represented by the Irish God Nuada and the Welsh Nudd. Nuada was the original chief God of the Tuatha De Danann until He lost His hand in battle. This blemish and imperfection caused Him to lose office to Bres. He was then fitted with a silver arm and became known as Nuada Airgetlam[Nuada of the silver arm]. Later He was fitted with one of flesh and then was able to recover His lost position. This story may in part account for the reason behind Tiw`s loss of position to Woden and may originate in an old Indo-European myth, preserved in the mythologies of the Celtic and Germanic peoples. A sword pendant may be worn as an amulet alongside a Thor`s Hammer or a spear of Woden. *Translation of the Rune Poems are taken from Edred Thorsson`s Rune-Song.

The Gilton Kent Thunor`s Hammer

One hears often that the wearing of Thor`s Hammer amulets originated in the viking era as a response to the inroads made by xtianity. Whilst there may be an element of truth in this argument it is plain wrong to suggest that this is when the wearing of the hammer began. We have evidence of Thor`s Hammer amulets dating back prior to the viking age. An example of one is the 6th century CE hammer from Gilton, Kent. This hammer was manufactured within 100 years of the Anglo-Saxon invasions when what was to become England was still a non-xtian country. Therefore whilst there may be a valid argument in the popularity of the hammer as a sign of resistance against the creeping xtianisation of the Germanic peoples it existed before the conversion period. Indeed we have evidence of Bronze Age northern Europeans being buried with axe amulets. The axe as my readers will be aware was the forerunner of the hammer and has its origins in the Neolithic Age. Indeed the Old Norse hamarr from the Proto-Germanic hamaraz means `stone`. Clearly the axe/hammer has a very ancient Germanic and Indo-European origin. Thus the wearing of a hammer or axe amulet should be taken as not just a reaction and protest against xtianity but as a positive affirmation of our Germanic troth. The wearing of this amulet marks us out to men and Gods as being faithful to the Aesir.It symbolises the protection that Thunor/Thor/Donar gives to us and is a source of divine comfort and inspiration. Recently laser scanning of Stonehenge has revealed the presence of 71 newly discovered additional Bronze Age axe carvings bringing the number to 115. Significantly every one of the axes is depicted with the blade shown upwards demonstrating that this was in recognition of the Indo-European Thunder God. This is evidence of a new culture arriving in Britain and indeed not just a culture but a new people, the Indo-European speakers of the R1b DNA haplotype, which now makes up the largest haplotype of native English and British people. In addition to earlier axe amulets we also know that from the 2nd century CE members of the Alemanni tribe wore Donarkeule [Donar`s Clubs]which is believe to be associated with the worship of Hercules by western Germanic tribes.

Veleda, Celt or Teuton?

The seeress Veleda, was she a Celt or a Teuton? Rudolf Simek in his Dictionary of Northern Mythology makes it clear that she lived in the first century CE and was a member of the Bructeri, a Germanic tribe and according to Tacitus she was worshiped as a Goddess by her people. She resided in a high tower near the river Lippe and and a specially chosen relative acted as a messenger between her and the people. She had considerable prophetic powers and was held in high esteem also by the Romans. Apparently she was eventually taken prisoner by the Romans and spent the rest of her life in a temple in southern Italy. Simek does state however:

Although the name Veleda reminds us phonetically of ON volva `seeress`, it should more likely be linked with Celtic fili[d] `poet, scholar`; it is however not very likely that Veleda should be considered as a a term for her profession rather than a name.

However I recently encountered this passage in a book by Peter Berresford Ellis, The Celts:

Dio Cassius mentions Veleda, a `virgin prophetess among the Celts` during the reign of Vespasian. Veleda is clearly a Celtic name deriving from the root gwel, to see, a title rather than a name and meaning `Seeress`.

Whilst I respect the scholarship of Ellis he is without a doubt very Celto-centric and this shows through all his works, especially Celt and Saxon. The Struggle for Britain. One useful aspect of his work is that he places ancient Celtic history and religion in an Indo-European perspective and as Wodenists and Aryanists we can learn much from his work. Ellis does not seem to take into consideration that the area of Germany where Veleda lived was a Germanic speaking area by the time of the first century CE, not Celtic. However although the Bructeri were a Germanic tribe they would have lived in close proximity to the Celts and we know that in the Celtic and Germanic borderland there was a lot interaction between the two peoples, some tribes appearing to be a mix of the two, Celto-Germanic in other words. I believe that Veleda is closely cognate with the Teutonic name Velda which is derived from Valda, meaning `power, rule`. Any Celtic associations may be coincidental or possibly an indication of a shared Celto-Germanic or even a Proto-Indo-European origin. It is possible of course that Veleda was of noble extraction. Velda/Veleda suggests nobility and nobility of blood was closely associated with gifts of prophecy in the ancient Germanic world. There is a lesson for us here: if we wish to recover our atrophied psychic abilities we must strive for blood purity as a people.

3rd Century CE Battle of the Harzhorn

An interesting article from Der Spiegel online about a battle fought by my maternal ancestors to repel the Roman invader from the sacred Harz mountains:

By Andrew Curry in Kalefeld, Germany Archaeologists in Germany say they have found an ancient battlefield strewn with Roman weapons. The find is significant because it indicates that Romans were fighting battles in north Germany at a far later stage than previously assumed. The wilds of Germany may not have been off-limits to Roman legions, archaeologists announced on Monday. At a press conference in the woods near the town of Kalefeld, about 100 kilometers south of Hanover, researchers announced the discovery of a battlefield strewn with hundreds of Roman artifacts dating from the 3rd century A.D. Finding evidence of Roman fighting forces so far north is surprising, the archaeologists say. Germany was once considered prime territory for Roman conquest. But in A.D. 9, thousands of Roman legionaries were slaughtered in a forest near modern-day Bremen. "We thought that with the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the Romans gave up on this region and pulled back behind the limes," or frontier fortifications further south, says Henning Hassmann, the Lower Saxony Conservation Department's lead archaeologist. But evidence found in woods outside the small town of Kalefeld may force historians to take a new look at the Roman presence in Germany. More than 600 artifacts, ranging from axe heads and wagon parts to coins and arrowheads, have been found on a forested hill called the Harzhorn. So far, the artifacts indicate that Roman soldiers fought a battle on top of the hill. The site first came to light in the summer of 2000, when local metal detector hobbyists found some pieces of metal while looking for a medieval fort. The fragments languished for years, until the men finally decided to turn them in to Petra Loenne, the Northeim area archaeologist. Reprints Find out how you can reprint this SPIEGEL ONLINE article. Clustered Arrowheads Amid Towering Pines Loenne immediately recognized an unusual tangle of metal. Called a "hippo-sandal," it was a sort of early horseshoe that was wrapped around the hoof of a horse or draft animal. "It definitely wasn't medieval," she says. In fact, it was Roman – but as far as Loenne knew it had no place in Lower Saxony, hundreds of miles north of the Roman frontier. Loenne quickly assembled a team of archaeologists and historians – and local metal detector hobbyists with good connections to the archaeological authorities. Her priority was to locate any more artifacts close to the surface as quickly as possible. "We had to hurry and excavate before word got out and looters arrived," Loenne says. Over the course of three months, they found a Roman-era battlefield spread over more than a mile of dense German forest. Standing under towering pines on Monday, Loenne said the battlefield may be one of the largest ever discovered intact from that era. Metal detector hobbyists working under the watchful eye of Loenne and her team located over 600 metal objects, from Roman sandal nails to arrowheads and six-inch long iron spear points that once capped javelins fired from ballistae, a sort of giant crossbow. The battlefield is located on top of a wooded hill. The poles with tennis balls stuck on them show where artifacts were found. DPA The battlefield is located on top of a wooded hill. The poles with tennis balls stuck on them show where artifacts were found. After the press conference on Monday, the local fire department ferried visitors up a muddy dirt road to the hilltop. Snow still clung to the forest floor, which was pocked with tiny craters where archaeologists had dug holes. The steep face of the hill was studded with tennis balls on spikes, each one marking where an artifact had been found. The center of the hill was covered with neon-green balls, each one marking where a ballista's javelin had landed; a few balls painted blue and green marked spear and arrow points. Archaeologists found eighty percent of the points were found oriented in the same direction. The rest may have bounced off of trees – or barbarians – and landed pointing in a different direction. Battle Action Frozen in Time Along the ridge on either side of the hilltop, dozens of tennis balls painted red support the argument. The red balls mark where Roman sandal nails came loose. After archers and artillery launched their weapons towards the defenders on top of the hill, the archaeologists think Roman legionaries may have swept in from either side to finish the job. "It took half an hour or an hour at most, but it's preserved like it was frozen in time," said Michael Geschwinde, an archaeologist at the Lower Saxony Conservation Department who participated in the dig. "For an archaeologist, it's amazing to be able to explore this moment." The layout of the battlefield contains yet another tantalizing clue: The Romans attacked the hill from the north, suggesting that they were on their way home from a mission even further into German territory. Geschwinde said there may have been about a thousand men on the Roman side, perhaps including auxiliary archers and spear-throwers from the empire's provinces in Africa and the Middle East. At least one arrowhead still contained enough of the original wooden shaft to provide organic material for radiocarbon dating, which place it some time in the 3rd century A.D. Coins and other objects support the idea that the battle may have been fought some time between 200 and 250 A.D. There is sketchy evidence in the histories for some sort of Roman push into German territory in the 3rd century. Historians like Herodian say the Emperor Maximinus Thrax declared war on the Germans, but this is the first evidence he may have actually carried out his threats. "From what sources say, he did push into Germany," says Eric de Sena, an archaeologist at John Cabot University in Rome. "In a way it seems to correspond with the histories." The specialized artillery and hundreds of Roman sandal nails found atop Harzhorn Hill is a good indication the combatants were Romans, not barbarians using Roman weapons. Roman artifacts have been found as far north as the Baltic Sea, but have usually been dismissed as trade goods. "Roman sandals on German feet doesn't make sense, at least not in that amount," says Friedrich Lueth, head of the German Archaeological Institute's Roman German Commission. "At this late stage, it's quite surprising to see them so far north." The site was under wraps until Monday to protect it from looters, but Loenne says full-scale excavations will commence in March to dig deeper into the mystery of Harzhorn Hill.

The Celto-Germanic Hyperborean Origin of the Graal Quest

In my articles from 23/2/13 and 10/2/13-Gar, Woden-Parsifal`s Graal Rune and The Graal Runes of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc I referred once more to the Sacred Hallows of the Hyperborean Tuatha De Danann. These hallows are also to be found again symbolically in the Arthurian cycle of myths. We will recall that there are four clear elements to the Arthurian cycle: the sword Excalibur, the stone from which Arthur pulled it, the quest for the Graal[which is represented by a chalice which originally would have been a horn[the Calc Rune]and Parsifal`s spear which is closely associated with the Graal. The sword Excalibur is of course the sword of the God Nuada Airgetlam[silver hand or arm], the first king of the Tuatha. The sword`s name[all swords of any importance in Celtic and Germanic mythology had names]was Claiomh Solais-The Sword of Light. This sword was inherited by Arthur as a symbol of His kingship-divine kingship that is which places Arthur or Ar-Thor in a mythological rather than an historical context. The Tyr Rune symbolises both the sword and spear which are both symbols of divine kingship amongst the Celto-Germanic peoples. The stone from which Arthur pulled the sword is the Lia Fail of the Tuatha, the Stone of Destiny, used for the crowning of monarchs in Tara. This hallow is represented by the Stan Rune. The Cauldron of the Dagda is the origin in part of the concept of the Graal as a cup or chalice. Of course the Graal is also represented as a green stone, evident from Wolfram von Eschenbach`s Parzival. The Graal is symbolised by the Calc Rune, the horn being a precursor to the cup or chalice, being eventually outlawed by the church for its `heathen` associations. The Spear of Lugh which is also Gungnir, the Spear of Woden is inherited by the Aryan Kristos Parsifal and is represented by the Gar Rune, the Gift of Ing, the Spear of Divine Genetic Inheritance! The fact that there is a continuing thread that links the Celtic, Arthurian and Germanic traditions together is surely evidence of the common Aryan origin of the Graal mythos? The exoteric search for the Graal and its accompanying hallows-the spear, stone and sword is the external form of the inner quest to recover the lost northern, polar, Thulean, Solar and Hyperborean wisdom, the inheritance of the Arya.

Reflections on the Oera Linda Book

With the recent discovery of `Britain`s Atlantis` in Doggerland we now have tantalising evidence for the location of the lost Atlantis/Thule/Atland civilisation referred to in the Oera Linda Book, a work favoured by Hermann Wirth, Dutch-German head of the Ahnenerbe of the SS and of course by Heinrich Himmler who did much to champion both scientific and esoteric research into the ancient Germanic peoples. The prevailing but not universally accepted opinion of scholars is that this work is a hoax. However if it is a hoax then it cannot be a hoax of the 19th century but more likely of the 13th century due to analysis of the paper that it has been written on and the old form of Frisian that has been used. Why a hoax of this nature should be perpetuated hundreds of years ago is anyone`s guess. However whether it is a hoax or not I believe that some of the central tenets of the work are valid. Most scholars also regard the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a Csarist Police hoax but whether this work be a hoax or not we know that the operating methods and intentions of Zionism are reflected accurately in this work. Thus the actual origins of a work such as the Protocols or Oera Linda are of lesser importance than any truths that they may contain. I am reminded of the words of Julian the Great:

That which never happened is eternally true.

Myth is timeless and operates outside of our human limitations. It can elevate a man and take him outside of his petty concerns and give him a glimpse of his own divinity. So whether the Oera Linda Book be a `Hoax` or not is of little relevance to me. The fact of the matter is that it does give us a glimpse of a pre-christian Germanic civilisation that initially became submerged due to seismic convulsions and flooding of the North Sea and subequent internal decay within the culture of Frya`s children. Without a doubt its lack of reception amongst some modern day heathens and amongst elements of the Ahnenerbe and by Alfred Rosenberg is due to its apparent matriarchy, I say apparent as a detailed study of the work challenges this basic assumption. We know of course that the Folk Mother and her Burgmaids are obviously female and wield influence and this may seem to conflict with the acknowledged Solar and patriarchal structure of Aryan and Germanic society. However we forget that in the writings of the ancients such as Tacitus references are made to very prominent priestesses or seeresses such as Veleda, Waluberg, Ganna, Gambara and Albruna who had very considerable influence over the actions of the Germanic tribes and their chieftains through their spiritual and diplomatic functions. The Burgmaids and their apprentices had the task of guarding and tending to the sacred lamps day and night and like the Roman Vestal Virgins had to be celibate. I do not see anything within the concept of the Burghmaid that contradicts the acknowledged structure of ancient Germanic society. The reference to Wr-alda as the All Father reminds us of the way in which this title is used of Woden and prior to Him Tyr, the ancient sky father of the Germanic peoples. Frya, contrary to the claims of Alewyn J. Raubenheimer`s selective and monotheistic interpretation of the Oera Linda Book ,was worshipped by Her people.[See his Survivors of the Great Tsunami]. There are plenty of references to this fact in the Oera Linda Book which he chooses to ignore and she was clearly regarded as a Goddess, most likely the Frisian interpretation of Freyja. Scholars of the pre-xtian Germanic world regard the formation of the Germanic peoples as the joining together of an incoming Battle-Axe wielding Aryan culture and a more indigenous Northern European Megalithic civilisation[see The Germanic People. Their Origin, Expansion an Culture by Francis Owen]. This idea is reflected in the initial war and subsequent merger of the Aesir and Vanir Gods, the blonde haired Aesir representing the Battle Axe people and the Vanir the indigenous red haired Northern European Megalithic people. Freyja of course along with Nerthus had considerable importance amongst the Frisian and Scandinavian peoples and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Frya, the daughter of the sky father Wr-Alda and the Earth Mother Irtha gave Her name to the Frisians.