The Sound of Silence

 

Wid-Ar is called 'The Silent God' but this has never really been explained, though I have read many ideas about it, all of which has to be guesswork I am afraid, since Norse Myths say nothing of this as far as I can tell. The term 'silence' invokes the idea of 'stillness' and a 'lack of vibration'; thinking is done by 'brain-waves' which is 'vibration'. Thus being silent is to still the thoughts which in most people are turbulent and hard to control. The Hindus tell us that the 'Sound of Silence' is to still the mind to hear the Sound of the Primordial Ocean. The term Primordial Ocean is used to mean the Primal Sound-Vibration or Sound-Wave - AUM/OM/YM. In Hinduism this is symbolised by the Conch Shell, and it is a fact that a shell, when held to the ear, seems to give the sense of the waves of the seas. It is perhaps significant here that a shell has a spiral form. Presumably, the Primordial Ocean is the Apsu (Sumer) or Absu (Babylon), seen in the term Aep in Norse Lore, the basis of the term Aep-andi Nam - the 'Cry of Need'. (*)

(*) This term must then mean 'Aep' (Primordial Waters) and 'Anda' (Vital Breath).  

When Woden is swallowed by the Fenris Wolf this is not just symbolic of his being 'swallowed' by Chaos, since though this is so the meaning goes far deeper than this. It is true, Old Chaos returns at the end of a Cosmic Cycle, and this is how things are today; this is where the Cosmic Joker comes into play, since all this infers a return to the Source of Creation - the Void or Ginnungagap. Ginn is the Cosmic Joker and Ginnar is a name of Woden who is a form of 'emanation' of this Ur-Force. When Woden is swallowed by the Fenris Wolf ('Wolf of the Fens') he is thus returned to the Source - The Void. This is why it is important to understand the concept of the Egyptian Rite called The Opening of the Mouth. 

The Opening of the Mouth was done originally by Horus on his father Osiris who was slain by his brother Set. Straightway we see in this the Myth of Hamlet where the Father is slain by the Brother, and the Son avenges his father by slaying his uncle. The ritual was done originally by using an apse which was a piece of (meteoric) iron shaped like the Great Bear Constellation. The aim of this rite was to allow the Soul-Spirit of the Father to 'escape' the body and then 'enter' the Son, who thus became the resurrection of the Father. 'The Father and The Son are one!' This is exactly what we see with Wid-Ar who rips open the Wolf's Jaws to allow the Spirit of Woden to escape; Woden is thus resurrected as Wid-Ar the Silent. Here Wid-Ar is linked to the Sound of Silence whence is heard the Sound of the Primordial Ocean. In order that a resurrection and renewal can take place it is necessary to return to the Source of Creation. 

YR = YM = YMIR = The Primordial Sound

The Yr-Rune has the symbolism of the YR-MIN-SUL which is placed inside the UR-RUNE - the UR - YR-MIN-SUL. An alternative name of Ymir is Aur-gal-mr where 'aur' is akin to 'our' and to 'Ur'. The Root *gal- means 'sound'. 'In the Be-Ginn-Ing was The Word' - Sound Vibration. The symbol most associated with the First Earth - the Primal Earth - is the Swan, symbolic of the Land of Thule and of Hyperborea. This can be found in Greek Mythology where Apollo rides to the Land of the Hyperboreans on a chariot pulled by Swans. The following is  break-down of the ideas around the word 'Swan' -

IE Root *swen- means 'sound'.

English swan and German schwas mean 'sound'.

Sanskrit Root vanish means 'sound' or 'tone'.

Latin snare means 'to sound'.

Latin sonus means 'sound'. 

Brahma is seen riding upon a Swan as is the Goddess Saraswati who gives her name to the River Saraswati in India. The Saraswati River is seen as being linked to the Milky Way, and the Saxon Irminsul seems to symbolise the same thing, and the Roman Roads of Watling Street - Ermine Street are set out as a reflection of the Milky Way over the Land of Britain. The Goddess Saraswati, it has to be pointed out, is linked to the Swan or the Goose, or the 'Swan-Goose'. There are other important ideas linked to the Swan -

• Thule-Hyperborea.
• The 'Swan-Knight', which is Lohengrin, though to have been originally from the Legend of Sceaf, and thus linked to Ingwe. 
• In this link to Ingwe, Tolkien writes into the Legend of Hengest and Horse the Myth of Hamlet, and the sister of Hengest and Horse is Swana ('Swan') found in Frisian Lore. 
• The Swan-Maidens or Valkyries associated both with a Swan and also the Raven or Crow. 
• The Legend of Wayland the Smith where he and his brothers are wed to Swan-Maidens. It has been said that Wayland's Smithy is aligned with Deneb, the central star of Cygnus the Swan. 
• The Elder God Hoenir is linked to the Stork and the bringing of the babies to the mother, but an alternative to the Stork is the Swan. 
• The highest chakra in the Chakra System has the tone HAMSA which means 'Swan'.
• This is why the Swan is the symbol we use for the Odroerir-Centre in the ALU-ULA Exercise. 

The Rad-Rune is linked to the idea of sound-vibration (waves), to rhythm, to rhyme (meter) and thus to 'Right Order' - harmony. The Lago-Rune is the glyph of a 'wave of the sea' at one level, at another it is a 'spring' welling up from the ground. The 'spring' is a source of a waterway, thus the Source and Origin of Water. 

The constellation of Cygnus the Swan is shaped like the Ear-Rune (Hanged God) and the Cweorth-Rune (Resurrected God). This is also known as the 'Northern Cross' and an astronomical map of the Northern Hemisphere by William Schickhard (1592 - 1635) shows 'Krist Crucified' upon the Northern Cross. This constellation lies over the Galactic Centre, the 'Dark Rift' which seems to be the 'Womb of Creation'. This area lies around a vast Black Hole at the Centre of the Galaxy - marked by Deneb. When the figure of the Egyptian Goddess Nut is imposed upon the Milky Way her sexual organs lie right at this point. Nut would surely be alike to the Norse Goddess Not - Goddess of Night. Nut clearly stands over the Night-Sky and the Night Stars. The term 'Not' may well be seen as 'not' in the sense of darkness and a lack of light. The word 'not' comes from the IE Root *ne- and gives rise to 'nothing', 'naught' and 'none'. It is from the Goddess Not that everything arose out of - Light from the Darkness. The Saxons called the Milky Way by the name Iring's Way, a name that could be associated with Irmin (Ir-Min). 

This alternative version of the Cweorth-Rune shows a glyph whose shape has the same parts as the Peorth-Rune, as well as the same '-eorth' sound. The Perth-Rune is the 'Opening of the Womb' in childbirth, as well as the 'Opening of the Mouth' as a 'Gateway' or 'Doorway'. Peorth is also linked to the ideas of the Taefl-Board Game and thus to the Conflict of Opposites which underlies the Cosmos and its workings. 

Two other runes can be seen as linked to the flight of the Swan, as well as to the feet of a bird - the 'Life-Rune' (Eohls) and the 'Death-Rune' (Calc). The 'Swan-Song' is said to be the sound made by the Swan as it dies - the 'Sound of Death'. This is a clear association with Death, but the Swan is also associated with the 'Sound of Life' and the 'Sound of Creation'. A binary-star system called Cygnus X3 gives off very strong X-Rays, and this was known even before these were detected by scientists, since it was mentioned by Peryt Shou. The Eohls-Rune can also be seen as the Female Sex-Organs if we take the top part of it as a symbol. Indeed it could also double as symbolic of the Male Sex-Organs. 

The work of Peryt Shou was based around making contact with the 'Brotherhood of Hermes' and Wotan-Hermes formed part of this. In these times occultists used the term 'extraterrestrials' but it is perhaps better to say 'extra-dimensional beings' to keep clear of the 'alien' bullshit. Shou mentioned that strong radio-waves were emitted from the region of Cygnus the Swan. An important part of his work concerned the use of the human body as an 'antennae' to contact other intelligences. The 'Life-Rune' (Eohls) has long been used as a symbol of an antennae. This is indeed why this rune-posture is used in ritual - as an antennae. to make contact with the Gods and Ancestors. 

The Ing-Rune is a glyph of the DNA Spiral and it is also linked to various symbols used within shamanism, especially to those connected with the journey to the Cosmic Centre -

• Twin Serpents intertwining.
• A ladder.
• A rope.
• A tree that is used to climb upwards.
• The 'chimney' down which 'Santa Claus' descends to bring presents to the good children. The chimney is the 'centre' or 'hearth' of the house. The fireplace or 'Inglenook' is likely named after the Fire-God, Ingwe. 

There is a Quantum Theory which states that some sub-atomic particles, when separated, will continue to communicate with each other even if placed far apart. This new 'find' merely confirms what magical practice already knew, in that something connected to a person can be used to effect a curse or to heal that person. This also applies to objects that have been used by the dead, which can be used to contact the dead, hence the idea of 'sitting out' on the Burial Mound, or in the churchyards in later times. Today we keep a loved-one's ashes in order to keep contact with them. Imagine how much more powerful these ideas would be when used within a small tribal community where each individual was buried close to each other. 

But this theory also suggests something that is just as important, and that is the ability to contact the Spirit-World in regards to plants, trees and animals. We have no doubt all read of the 'shamanic' experiences (mainly using mind-alternants) in which the individual seems to be able to contact the 'spirit' (consciousness) of a plant. Great stress is given upon such experiences and yet there is one very good example of this from Edward Bach and the 'Bach Flower Remedies' when he seems to have contacted the 'spirits' of the plants in order to find out their use, which is just the same thing, though I don't think he used mind-altering drugs to do so. 

What does seem strange in the accounts that I have read of such shamanic experiences is the widely-seen forms of Serpents that are seen during them. The Twin-Serpents intertwined as found in the Ing-Rune seem to hint that here we are dealing with the consciousness of the DNA itself, perhaps that great proportion called 'Junk-DNA' which scientists know nothing of. We could dismiss this, but there are many Serpents found on the Horns of Gallehus, created in a dotted form as if to show they exist in another world -

We see in the above the intertwined serpents in various different places, and this pattern is also found on various Germanic Artifacts around Europe, the intertwined or interlaced 'Serpent-Pattern'. I am going to make a suggestion here, and that is all it is, and that is that the intertwined serpents are linked to Ingwe and the Ing-Rune because Ingwe is a Fire-God like Agni, and has the same type of role as the Messenger-God. Through a Quantum-Consciousness of the DNA (not only of humans, but animals, trees, and plants) we find that 'messages' can be sent from one to another. The Consciousness of DNA could be the reason that some people can communicate with animals, trees, plants; it could also be why contact can be made with other 'spirits' - Gods, Elves etc. 

Here I am going to go back to an idea that came to me some years ago, and this relates to the 'Swan-Knight' and to Sheaf-Ingwe. The Swan is used as the symbol of the Highest Initiation. It is also possibly the original 'wings' on the Saxon Irminsul. Whether this be the Eagle and the World-Tree, the Eagle and the Sacred Mountain, or the Swan and the World-Pillar, the symbolism is just the same, the ascent to the Highest Consciousness. My idea on this was that the Legend of Sheaf can also be seen as an allegory based upon this individual ascent to a Higher State of Consciousness, symbolised by the Swan, Thule, Hyperborea or Scandi. That this is the Shining Island is significant since this itself infers a higher consciousness and the Divine Light. 

According to Sri Aurobindo this state was called SWAR/SVAR which would be HWAR/HVAR in Aryan Persia (Hvar-ena). This itself is of interest since this may stem from the IE Root *swer- which has the following meanings -

To speak, to talk.

To buzz, to hum, to whisper.

To cut, giving us the word 'Sword'. 

The inference here is to sound, but the symbolism of the Sword also suggests 'Light' in that it is used as a Solar Symbol. In regard to 'to speak' or 'to talk' the English word 'swear' stems from this same root. The Germanic *swar- is linked to these ideas too. It is also interesting to note that the Waelcyrge are linked to the sound of the buzzing of bees, and this sound (from my own experience) is linked to mystical happenings. (The root-sound YM/AUM/OM has the 'mmmmm' sound which is a humming-sound. When the sound is extended to AUMN ('Amen') this humming-sound is done through the mouth and then into the nose.) 

The symbolism around the figure of Sheaf-Ingwe also suggests this could be a valid idea -

The Sheaf of Corn - Gold is symbolic of the Solar-Consciousness.

The Lighted Taper - Fire is symbolic of Light. 

The Swan-Ship - The ship is symbolic of the journey between one world and another world. 

 

This Mayan Stela shows a 'Hanged God' upon the World Tree, clearly an idea not restricted to Judaeo-Christianity. The important thing here is that this is clearly a Tree, but it is also clearly a Cross. It has much the same symbolism as Yggdrasil, since at the top is a Cock rather than an Eagle, and this Cock is being spoken to by a small animal to the left, the equivalent to Ratatosk the Squirrel. The figure of a Cock on the top of a Tree or Staff can be found in very old shamanic drawings, representing the ascent to the Spiritual Centre. Some cultures see Cygnus as a Cock rather than a Swan. 

The importance of Wid-Ar does not seem to have been taken up much beyond the work of Woden's Folk. Yet, it was prophesied in Voluspa that few would be able to see beyond Woden being swallowed by the Fenris Wolf, so this would go some way to explaining this. We are still in the throes of hanging on to the old 'archetype', bar those who accept the Wid-Ar Archetype for the New Age. The Armanem of pre-war Germany, and other well-known individuals, seem to have recognised this when some declared 'Odin is Dead!'. Rather than a God being 'dead' in the normal sense this more likely referred to Odin as the 'Hanged God', just as Christ, as the 'Hanged God' was declared dead by Nietzsche. This was the theme of Peryt Shou's ideas too, since he saw the ordeal undergone by Woden on the World Tree as a form of death and resurrection, when Woden climbs down from the Tree of Woe as the 'Awakened One'. The 'New Age' was recognised long before the coming of the 'New Age Movement'. 

We have this 'dual-symbolism' in the Constellation of Cygnus the Swan, represented by both the Ear-Rune (Hanged God) and the Cweorth-Rune (Resurrected God). Like everything else in the multiverse, the Gods do not 'die', they are transmuted into another form, and this other form has to be suited to the era in which they reappear. The 'defeat' of the Forces of Light here in Middle-Earth did not mean the 'death' of the Gods, they retreated into the shadows, to awaken once more into the Light of Day when the time is right. The 'Twilight of the Gods' has to be balanced by the 'Dawn of the Gods'!