Scef-Ingui

This is the one hundred and 88th post on this blog; to mark this occasion I am going to remind people of the importance of Ingui, and in doing so equate him with Scef (Sheaf). 

"This Sheaf came to land in a small boat, surrounded by weapons, on an island in the ocean which is called Scani. He was indeed a very young child and unknown to the folk of that land. However, they took him up and looked after him as carefully as if he were one of their own kin and afterwards elected him king. And King AEthelwulf came from the line of his descendants."

(Ealdorman AEthelweard in 990 added this note to the genealogy of the West Saxon Royal Line.)

About 150 years after this recording William of Malmesbury told the story of Sheaf as below -

"He was brought as a child in a ship without oars...he was asleep and a sheaf of corn lay at his head. Therefore he was called Sheaf and taken for a miracle by the people of that region and carefully fostered. When he grew up he reigned in a town that was called Slaswic and now called Haithebi. Now that district is called Old Anglia...from it the Anglii came to Britain. 

De Gestis Regum Anglorum Book II.

In the time of King Edmund I (941-946) the monks of the Abbey of Abingdon were in dispute over a piece of land and this is recorded about it -

"....the monks put a sheaf of corn, with a lighted taper at its head, onto a round shield and launched the shield into the Thames where it flowed past the abbey...."

This 'ritual' was used to lay claim to a piece of land but it clearly derives from the Legend of Sheaf. The West Saxon Royal Line stemmed from Woden, but the name 'Noah' was added to Christianise it - we would think maybe. They also added Scef (Sheaf), Scyld (Shield, his son) and Beow (Barley, son of Scyld), the latter becoming 'John Barleycorn' of the song. 

We are primed to see the 'addition' of a Christian figure (Old Testament really) as being a deliberate attempt by the Christians to legitimise their new religion, but if we consider that a dual-faith existed until around the Tenth Century at least the addition of 'Noah' could have been because he is the one figure associated with 'The Flood'. There are certain things that hint that this legend was not originally about the area from which the English moved from to get over to England, but was a far older legend about an earlier folk-movement. 

• The entry of 'Noah' associated with a Great Flood and catastrophe.
• The 'ship without oars' is just one version of this, and it is the opinion of many that this was a ship pulled by Swans, a theme developed in the figure of Lohengrin. Swans are, and always have been, associated with Thule and Hyperborea.
• There are certain distinct symbols we can get from the Legend of Sheaf and the Legend of Scyld Scefing (Shield, Son of Sheaf) found in Beowulf - Sheaf of Corn, Sun-Disc or Sun-Shield, the Lighted Taper (Fire).

The archetype that comes to mind is that of Hama-Heimdall who is also associated with Fire; he is the 'Manu of the Aryans' and his role as the progenitor of the Divine Order of Caste is the same as Manu of the Hindus. The figure of Sheaf 'appears from the Great Deep' which is something etched firmly in the English Consciousness. Even in the animated 'Beowulf' film this very theme arises as Beowulf appears from the sea (Great Deep), and the song has this written into it too. 

The above symbol is that of the Swan Ship that arises from the Great Deep (Wafeln) and depictions of swan-masted ships of this same shape can be found in Scandinavia. This is the Swan-Ship that sails upon the Waters of Chaos and Dissolution. This is important because the Legend of Sheaf most likely recalls the folk-movement out of At-al-land when Ingwe led the English Tribes away from the catastrophic sinking of the land-mass, leading them eastwards across the waves. This, of course, is not recorded since it is the arrival of Sheaf that is given to us by these records. But we have to realise that this is an Archetypal Myth which is clear when we hear of a 'ship without oars' because the Sun-Child and 'Child of Light' is an Avatar of Ingwe who appears at a particular time of the Cycle of the Ages in order to aid his Folk in a time of disasters. This Archetypal Myth would also appear far earlier than the sinking of At-al-land, back to the Legend of Thule-Hyperborea. 

In my opinion we should not take the account of the Abingdon monks in a literal sense; what is more likely is that this ancient Legend of Scef was recorded through hiding it within a Christian context, as has been done in the New Testament. The 'disputed meadows' that were being flooded became 'an island' which merely adds yet another symbolism to the account - Sheaf of Corn, Shield, Taper, and Island. 

I know the English may lay claim to this myth but I would be very surprised if it is not known to many Indo-European Myths and Legends. It was known to the Langobards who are akin to the English. Further research is needed on this subject because if it does appear (obviously not the same version) in other mythologies then we may be able to get even more knowledge of the figure of Scef-Ingwe. The Legend of Agni from the Vedas is certainly based around a Fire-God who appears from the waters and whose role is to create Fire-by-Friction, which is hinted at in the 'lighted taper' mentioned by the Abingdon monks. We can gain a great deal of knowledge from the accounts of Agni which add to our own work. 

The "Firestone".

I have just found another interesting piece related to the White Stone of Ing. Dr. Gideon Martell, a famous Sussex archaeologist, in his journal of 25th June 1825, said that he had "..discovered the Firestone towards the North-East  of the town". This statement seems to infer that Dr Martell had discovered the hidden White Stone since we have already found its links to 'Fire' through the figure of Ingwe. 

The stone was found face downwards on August 12th 1938 and used as a 'step' in the churchyard. 

In regard to Archetypal Myth we can see how this impinges upon history at certain times through certain heroic figures. According to the Legend of Ing (Cuthman) he 'followed his Waen eastwards over the waves' which seems to relate to a time when Ingwe led the Ingwaeones eastwards out of the sinking At-al-land. There seems to be some doubt in the minds of some scholars as to whether this is 'eastwards', and the vagueness of this statement may hint that it can be read as either 'eastwards' or 'westwards' (back) across the waves. Clearly Tolkien meant the movement 'eastwards' in very ancient times, but also the movement 'westwards' at a later time. 

Here I am going to suggest that the figure of Ingwe led the Inga-Tribes out of At-al-land, and the figure of Hengest (H-Eng-Gest = 'Geist of Eng") led them back here into England where their origins lay. We must see this in terms of an Archetypal Myth in which Ing and Hengest are Archetypal Heroes. Both of the versions of the Stan-Rune show Twin Horses through the two Eh-Runes. Hengest is merely a reincarnation of Ingwe in later times. Although we have no link between Ing and 'horse' there is no doubt we shall one day find one, and the 'Ancient Britons' used chariots pulled by horses, just as the Chariot of Ing is drawn across the Northern Skies - the Waen. 

With the sinking of At-al-land there is also a distinct possibility that these islands (as Marby stated) were made virtually uninhabitable, and thus there may also have been a movement westwards as well as eastwards. We have the legends of the White Gods of the Americas and the Mayan Stela showing a White Stone with the X-XX markings, as well as the red-bearded "Hammer-God" shown above. I have said before that in ancient times these islands, and no doubt At-al-land before they became islands, were associated with Serpent-Cults associated with Ingwe, whose name itself can mean Serpent (Ngw(h)e). Thus, note the serpents entwined around the sides of the ship. 

The White Stone of Ing or Firestone would thus also be associated with the Fire-Serpent or 'Kundalini'. The two 'hammers' can also be seen as "crosses" seemingly in a more Heathen Symbolism.We have seen how Ingwe as the 'Son of Man' is associated with the Morning Star, and the White Gods of the Americas were also associated with Venus as the Morning Star. Krist was the 'offspring of David and the bright and morning star...'. We have the people known as the Inkas whose name was originally spelt Ingas, adding to the complexity of this theme. 

Where does the name 'Viking' really stem from? We have the usual interpretation of this which is well known but breaking it down we get - Vik-Ings - suggesting the 'Sons of Vik' or 'Offspring of Vik'. Does the term 'Vik' stem from the root *wik- meaning 'to fight', or from the IE Root *weik from which we get 'wicca' meaning 'wise' - the Sons of the Wise. Of course, the idea of 'to fight' and 'wise' are not necessarily that far apart, and the word could have been used to mean both. We know the Vikings went to the Americas, but what we do not know is if they were guided to go there because in much more ancient times their forebears went there. Finds of European Peoples have been discovered relating to some 9,000 years ago, and more and more finds occur with attempts to hide these from the public.

The central rune is the Ken-Rune, or a variant of the Ken-Rune, which is a glyph of a fire and the smoke rising from the fire. But, since the Isa-Rune can be seen as a 'pillar' or 'column' the rune could be viewed as a Fire rising along the Spinal Column - the Fire-Serpent in other words. The above Ing-Rune is made up of two Germanic Ken-Runes which we term the Ken-Fusion. When turned sideways this appears as the Ur-Fusion or the 'fusion of heaven and earth', or again the 'union of male and female'. The Ken-Fusion emphasises the link to the Ken-Rune and to Fire. 

The Gyfu-Rune here fits into this pattern since it can be seen to be made up of -

• Two crossed Isa-Runes - ICE.
• Two Germanic Ken-Runes, one upon the other - FIRE.
• Two Germanic Ken-Runes, facing outwards from the centre - FIRE.

The dominant element is FIRE. Gyfu is certainly 'gift' but it is also 'sacrifice' in the sense of 'giving' oneself to a higher cause - sacrificing oneself to oneself. The fire is Feminine Fire which is clear from the glyphs, and is thus connected to Shakti-Kundalini and the Necklace of Freya which is the Necklace of Fire (Brisingamene). The necklace hangs in the shape of an upturned 'V' or Germanic Ken-Rune on its back. The X-Cross is the 'Cross of Sacrifice' and was taken over as a symbol for 'Saint Andrew'. Presumably, 'Andrew' stems from the Greek andros meaning 'man', thus 'Man on the Cross of Sacrifice'. 

If the Firestone referred to is the Holy White Stone of Ing then we can see that it was well known at the time of Dr. Martell who lived around 1825 which is nearly 200 years ago. Even with the great oppression by the Norman Barons and the Roman Christian Church the Common Folk of England held on to their ancient beliefs. This may have been the case here where a local legend was held onto throughout the centuries. Of course, these are today dismissed as false and made up, but established scholars have to follow the 'rules' if they are to remain 'established'. We should not forget that a 'stone' was once a 'boundary stone' marking that which is neither in nor out, but is in-between.

Inglinga

In order to fully understand the work of Woden's Folk working at the Esoteric Level you need to view also the following blogs on Google Blogger -

• Ar-Kan Rune-Lag - This deals with the Ar-Kan Runes and the Runic System used in Folkish Wodenism. 
• Cultic-Warrior - This deals with our work at the Spiritual Centre of Woden's Folk - Woden's Wald - and with the Wolves of Woden which is a new specialised Folkish Wodenist Hearth promoting a new Aryan Barbarian Ethos. 
• Woden Brotherhood - This blog deals with Esoteric Wodenism and the creation of a Woden Brotherhood through individual struggle and overcoming.

These three blogs work together as a whole in order to spread the Word of Woden at an esoteric level to our Folk worldwide, especially promoting an English Wodenism as we have always done. The most posts are put up on Inglinga but to get a better understanding all of these Wulfinga Blogs (and the links we shall put back soon) and the network we call the Wheel of Woden should be studied. Links to our other Folkish Blogs will appear on our Folkish Wodenism Blog which is our 'Online Newsletter' mainly aimed at the English Folk, but which gives an understanding of what we do and our work.