Toten-Heer - The Army of the Dead - Part One

 

Woden - The One-Eyed Wolf-God.

The One-Eyed Wolf-God known as Woden (English) Wodan (Germans/Frisians), Wotan (Germans), Odin (Norse and Wydion (Gwydion - most likely originating with the Belgae) was the Leader of the Wild Army who led the Army of the Dead across the skies of Europe. As I have shown before, this One-Eyed God was known here in England as far back as 2,250 BCE -

Dagenham Idol - Woden

The famous song Ghost Riders in the Sky is based upon the Army of the Dead riding the skies and this phenomena was seen over England before World War II. The famous English Hero - Edric the Wild - was one of the leaders of the Wild Army, and rode with his 'Fairy-Wife' across the English Skies. The other famous Leader of the Wild Hunt is Herne the Hunter who is so well known here in England amongst Folkish Wodenists and Odinists as to need no introduction. 

'In the Days of the Lion, spawned of the Evil Brood, The Hooded Man shall come to the forest. There he will meet with Herne the Hunter - Lord of the Trees - to be his Son and do his bidding. The Power of Light and the Power of Darkness shall be strong within him. And the guilty shall tremble!'

The Hooded Man Prophecy - October 31st 1993 (Horam, South Saxon Mark).

"The Power of Light and the Power of Darkness" - Woden loses one of his eyes; he sacrifices this eye in order to gain wisdom. This eye is placed in the Well of Mimir, the 'Well of Memory', and he is thus 'blind' in this one-eye. This is a crucial point because the word 'blind', when used in the Germanic Tongues, can also mean 'dark', or even 'hidden'. One of his eyes is 'Light' (because he can see outwards with it) and one of his eyes is 'dark' (because he is 'blind' in that eye); Woden thus holds within himself the Power of Light and the Power of Darkness. This should be quite clear when we look at The Hooded Man.

The name 'Robin' stems from 'Robert' a Germanic name meaning 'Fame-Bright'; the name 'Hood' is a corruption of 'Hooden' which is a name used of Woden, especially in Kent. Thus the name 'Robin Hood' means Fame-Bright Hooden - Robin Hood is Woden. The term 'Hood' can also mean 'Darkness'. Robin Hood is the One-Eyed figure wearing a Red Hood and Cloak who wanders the forests of England. In the above symbolism we have the Ger-Rune and the Ing-Rune, as well as a number of 'hidden runes'; the Ger-Rune is symbolic of the 'Light and Darkness' in balance.

The Germanic Folk originally seem to have split the yearly cycle into two parts - Summer (Light) and Winter (Dark). This is the symbolism of the above Ger-Rune, split by the upright stave. The Germanic Yeara-Rune has the same symbolism but in a cyclic movement. This idea fits with the ancient Vedic year which was broken into the Devayana - The Time of the Gods, from the Winter Sunstead to the Summer Sunstead - and the Pitrayana - The Time of the Ancestors, from the Summer Sunstead to the Winter Sunstead. We are today in the 'Time of the Ancestors' and approaching the time of the Ancestral Rites - October 31st (All Hallow's Eve - Halloween) November 9th/November 11th (Einheriar Day). Halloween is the 'Festival of the Dead' which seems quite clear by the symbols used for this festival - which have obviously been distorted by the materialists. It is from October 31st through to the Winter Sunstead that The Ancestors are honoured, and the two dates are when the veils between the worlds are thinnest and the dead can appear amongst the living. This is the time of year ruled over by Woden in his winter aspect as 'Herne the Hunter' - the Leader of the Wild Hunt -

The Herne Giant (Cerne Abbas) - Heil (Saxon)

(Orion the Hunter)

Long Man of Wilmington

(Cygnus the Swan)

The summer aspect of the god Woden can be found in the symbolism of the 'Long Man of Wilmington' which represents Cygnus the Swan. The Swan is symbolic of Thule, and in the above Woden (Waendal) is opening the Gateway to the Gods - the Gateway to Thule. 

The motif of Woden's Eye as the Eye in the Well or the Eye in the Spring is interesting in view of the various root-words connected to the term 'eye' and the word 'well' -

IE Root *wel- (1) - 'To see'

IE Root *wel- (2) - 'To will', 'To wish'.

IE Root *wel- (3) - 'To turn', To roll' (spring).

IE Root *wel- (4) - 'To tear', 'To pull'.

We have here the idea of 'see' (eye) and 'spring' (turn, roll, wind); but we have also a root 'to tear' which is always associated with the Wolf - the 'tearer'. Thus the One-Eyed Wolf-God. In Old Norse a pit full of water was called an auga meaning 'eye'. There is a Latvian word aka which means 'well' and a Russian word oka meaning 'eye'. The name Varuna seems to stem from *wel-uno meaning a 'seer' or 'wise one', and Kris Kershaw says that Weland the Smith was one-eyed, and the name 'Weland' may derive from *wel- meaning 'to see'. His son is Witega, a name which, in Old English, means 'seer' or 'prophet'. 

We have various figures who appear as one-eyed (haiha-hari = 'One-Eyed Hero) in European Mythology -

Hagen - Norse.

Svipdag Blindi - Norse. (*)

Blind Hod - Norse.

Lugaid (Light) - Ireland.

Ingcel Caech - Ireland.

Coll mac Moria - Ireland.

Cu Chullain - Ulster Hero.

Lykurgus - Sparta.

(*) The 'Dag' who slays Helgi Hundingsbane (Helgi the Wulfinga) is probably Svip-Dag, and as he wields the Spear of Woden we may see him as Woden himself, slaying his Germanic Hero who is then welcomed into Valhalla. Only Woden himself can slay his Chosen Hero. 

There is a Midwinter Myth in which the 'Old King' is slain when his hall is burned down at Midwinter - the change of the yearly cycle from the 'Time of the Ancestors' to the 'Time of the Gods'. This is found in the following -

Ingcel - Ireland.

Hjorvarth and Ingeld - Scylding (Denmark).

Bran the Blessed (Welsh).

It is very strange how such an Archetypal Myth plays out at various times of the Cycle of the Ages, Archetypal Myth is played out in historical events -

Robert Matthews - Bruder Schweigen

(Died in his burning hall December 8th 1984)

The Irish god Lugh is also a One-Eyed God since he closes one eye in battle; his counterpart in Wales is Lleu/Llew who is the Son of Gwydion and who has Woden's Myth of hanging upon an Oak-Tree. The myth of the 'father' has been here passed to the 'son'. When Tiw loses his Right-Hand (Tir-Rune) he becomes Woden who takes the Left-Hand Path, these mysteries being found in the Lagu-Rune, a rune which can be equated with Lug/Lugh obviously. In fact the name 'Lugh' may well be linked to the Greek lykos meaning 'wolf'. There is an Irish ruler of the Land of the Dead named Donn whose name means 'The Dark One' (modern 'Dunn'). There is also a Luch-Donn which then means 'Light-Dark'. Opposites are here held within themselves, even though this may not be first seen. 

Interestingly, Tacitus refers to a tribe called the Lugii or Lugi who some scholars deem to be Celtic, but Tacitus refers to them as part of the Vandals, a famous Germanic Tribe. These were obviously related in some way to the god Lug; it is time that this 'Celtic-Germanic' divide was dropped, hence why I use the term 'Germanic', since the Romans claimed these were the 'Genuine Ones'. 

Tiw - Right Hand Missing

The Wolf or Dog has long been associated with the Dead; the ghostly Black Shuck seen in East Anglia is an example of this. The Hittite word for the Wolf is UR-BAR-RA, which seems to derive from the Sumerian UR-BARA meaning 'Dog of the Outside'. Woden is the Son of Bor, the Son of Buri, and both the names 'Bor' and 'Buri' are connected to the wild animal, especially the Wolf. The word that the Greeks and Romans used for the Germanic Tribes was Barbarian (Bar-Bar-ian) and it is possible that they may have used this term due to the Wolfish-Howl used by these warriors in battle. 

Woden - God of the Dead.

'The Souls of the Dead as the Army of the Dead which involves itself in the battles of the living.'

Wikander.

'Woden himself is a spirited weapons-dancer in the imagination of Germanic Heathenism. Weapons-Dance and Woden-Religion go together as intimately as the weapons-dance of the Roman Salii with the worship of Mars.'

Hauck.

Here Woden leads his Ulfhednar in a weapons-dance; there may be a key to the way in which these dances were done in the German numbers system, when we match these to English Words -

Ein - 'In'

Zwei - 'Sway'

Drei - 'Turn'

'In-Sway-Turn' may well be a dance-form since we find reference to the idea of 'swaying' and 'turning' in various ancient dance-forms that have come down to us today. In her book Spellcraft - The English Heroic Legends Katherine Herbert uses such a dance (not exactly as I have done) in a 'fertility' rite - though war and fertility went hand-in-hand in Germanic Heathenism.

The Dead are the Honoured Ancestors - the Immortals - in whom the Life-Force, the Divine Spark, is far more potent than when they were alive. These are the Einheriar - The Immortal Warriors. 

Woden-Herian : Leader of the Heri.

The word heri stems from a Germanic *herjanaz and back to the IE Root *koryo-no-s which has the meaning 'to make a predatory raid', 'to plunder', 'to ravage', 'to destroy'. The English called the Vikings here due to their raiding and plundering - originally this was for cattle and the abduction of women, the Vikings later plundering gold and abducted women too. These are part and parcel of Germanic Law, as was the Stehlrecht - 'Right to Steal'. Everyday life was like this, making the Germanic Folk a strong and hardy people, freedom-loving with honour and loyalty to their Gods, Ancestors and Folk. Death was looked upon as a part of Life. Woden is Leader of the Heri - the Toten-Heer is the Army of the Dead.

The Germanic Mannerbund is the earthly counterpart of the Mythical Einheriar; they are the Cultic-Warrior Brotherhoods that existed throughout Europe, who were led by the One-Eyed Hunter-God, Woden. The Einheriar are Woden's Warriors whose role is to defend Midgard against the Devouring Wolf. Both Woden and Thunor are Mannerbund-Gods, as shown on the Horns of Gallehus. 

Ek Im Unmurdsa - Ek Thikskoad!

"I am Immortal - I watch you!"

The figure at the centre bearing a Spear and a Noose is most likely Woden Herian, depicted with the Stag and Two Wolves. The Twin-Warriors are probably the Divine Twins - Hengest and Horsa - also shown on another part of the horns. 

The Leader of the Heri is the Fuhrer because he is a special leader in the sense that he embodied the Teuton Fury - the Wod or Woda-Force. This is the force of Divine Madness, of Intoxication, of 'Possession' by the God-Force. This force is linked to the ALU-ULA Force, where the IE Root *alu- means 'put under a magic spell', more precisely, as shown in the Hittite *alwanza meaning 'bewitched'. This is the possession of the god-force Woden. Woden is the Ergreifer ('one who seizes), his initiates are the Ergriffener ('one who is seized'). Sometimes he can possess a whole nation who then work through his Divine Will. Woden is the Heerfuhrer. 

One of the terms used of those who plunder and raid is 'pirate', and the 'Jolly Roger' is clearly associated with the pirates. There is perhaps no coincidence that this flag - the Skull and Crossbones - has the symbolism with an eye-patch over one eye - the Symbol of Woden.

One-Eyed God of the Heri

There is a figure called King Herla who is said to be a 'British King', and yet whose name is clearly Germanic, and can be found in relation to the following -

Herel - Middle English.

Herilo - Old High German.

Herlewald - A bishop of Glastinbury 744 CE.

Herlefrid, Herlolf - Old High German names.

The PGmc *xaril would have become the Old English herel- and thus King Herla and the 'Herlathing', the latter maybe a corruption of 'Herla-King'. This is the French 'Harlequin' who is a jester-type figure (like the Dancing Woden) and the Leader of the Wild Hunt. 

"But the Harii, savage as they are, enhance their inborn wildness, over and above the strength in which they surpass the peoples just mentioned, by device and moment: black are their shields, their bodies painted; for battles they pick the blackest nights, and by their very dreadfulness - and more: the semblance of an Army of the Dead - they produce terror. No foe can bear their strange and, so to speak, hellish aspect; for in every battle the eyes are defeated first."

Tacitus - Germania 43.

The Heri was the Germanic Mannerbund, an age-set whose young warriors were bonded into Cultic-Warrior Brotherhoods, very much as were the Vratya who were found in India, and were Aryan Brotherhoods, even though some scholars have tried to erase this, as was done by Zarathustra in Iran, where these cults were suppressed and 'demonised'. Such cults produce fear and terror in others, since they are rather more chaotic than the formal 'army'. 

Robin i' the Hood.

The English Folk-Hero, Robin Hood, seems to be a memory of one of the oldest concepts of Woden as the Archer-God or Bowman. Here he has Twelve Comrades with him, and they dwell in Sherwood Forest as a form of Mannerbund, though in this case made of adult males (and Maid Marian). This tallies with the most ancient god Rudra who is a Bow-God, and also a Wild-Hunter God. We may well find that the Norse Saga about Arrow-Odd also remembers this aspect of Woden, since he too is a Bowman. 

Odd, which is so similar to Freya's lover, Od, that this can be no coincidence, is given a prophecy by a Seeress -

The snake will spit,

venum-full will stab

sharp from the age-worn

skull of Faxi:

the serpent will strike

at the sole of your foot,

when, lord, you have lived

your allotted time.

I think I have used this before but of the wrong person, however this refers to the death of Odd who slays his horse in order to stave off the prophecy of his death. In old age he treads on the horse's head and is fatally bitten by a snake, thus showing that one cannot buck one's fate. Odd leaves his axe on a ship and thus has to make a giant club - weapon of the Mannerbund-God. He earned the nickname 'Arrow-Odd' after shooting a Giant in the eye. 

Odd, at one point, slays a bear, a characteristic of many Germanic Myths, and he is also a poet and warrior, just like Odin. However, the Arrow-Odd Saga has him as a Christian who destroys a Temple of Frey; his tale has obviously been doctored to suit the era. But overall it may well recall the earlier form of Woden as a Bow-God.

Robin Hood has twelve 'Merry Men', and the Number 12 has associations with the Mannerbund. Amongst these are 'Little John' who appears to be the giant Thunor, and Will Scarlet, whose original name was Will Scathlock, who is obviously Loki the Trickster - the name means 'Shadow-Loki'. The figure of Robin Hood, dressed in a Red Hood and Red Cloak, having but one eye, is well known in legend; his association with the Dead I have experienced in a dream of a figure with a Red Hood-Red Cloak carrying a Red Flag, and he was clearly the 'God of the Dead'. He was also associated with a boundary - the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

We can actually find a figure like Robin Hood in the Swiss hero, William Tell, whose name means 'Simpleton' or 'Fool'. The figure of Waendal (The Long Man) is that of the 'April Fool'; this is an aspect of Woden, one which rules over us through this era of history. AEgil the Archer and Or-Waendal (Arrow-Waendal) are also linked to these ideas. 

The mythical 'Robin Hood' and other 'Outlaws' who fought for English Freedom against the Normans are much the same Germanic Archetypes, and the one thing that we do know that history leaves to us is that these concepts are based upon an order called The Brotherhood which does seem to have existed around this time. 

The Horns of Gallehus.

I have covered these before so there is no need to go into them again; suffice it to say that on the second row of the Rune-Posture Horn we find a Bowman, below which, on the third row, we find a pair of Wolf-headed or Dog-headed warriors facing each other, one with a Club (Woden), the other with an Axe (Thunor). Beside these figures are the Divine Warrior-Twins, and to the left is a Man-Horse figure (centaur) which is an image featured in the Vratyas of India. Also, on the second row is a Walkyrie (Alu-Bora = Ale-Bearer) with a Drinking-Horn. Below these are other features that are linked to the Mannerbund -

• Horse.
• Dog.
• Board-Game.
• Dice.
• 'Joker' like figure.

The frieze around the top has Posture-Runes, some of which occur only in the English Runes; there are also dog-headed figures playing a board-game (Taefl), sitting in the Peorth-Rune Posture. This is a Cultic Horn most likely used in Cultic Ritual of these Cultic-Warrior Brotherhoods. 

The Totenkult - Death Cult.

The Army of the Dead is invoked by the Cultic Rites and wearing the Death's Head Mask; these are the Daemonic-Warriors of the Dead. The mask is the grima and the by-name of Woden - Grim - tells us that he is the Masked God. These Ecstatic Warriors are in cultic union with the Dead Warriors of their Nation's past, they are the Living Dead. In a dream many years ago Woden appeared to me as a masked figure with Flaming-Red Eyes, the transformation that he undertook was from a stag, to a dog, and he first had a frog-mask (the frog transforms from a tadpole (water) to a frog (land). The Totenkult starts with Nine Members (Sacred Number 9). 

The Ahnenkult - Ancestral Cult.

The Death-Cult and the Ancestral Cult are the same, for here we speak of the Army of the Dead as the Army of the Dead Ancestors. The Ancestral God is Woden, whose rune is here the Os-Rune, the Rune of the Source. The Word was all-important to our English Forefathers, which is why they chose to use the Os-Rune as the Ancestral God, and the AEsc-Rune as the Ancestral Rune. The Word-Source and the Asa-Tree. There is a piece about the Vratya from India which clearly shows how important the god Woden is -

"You are the Vratya, the One Vratya (Ekavratya), uncreated, the Abyss of the Gods, the utmost point."

Vratya is the Primordial God from whom the Gods emanate; Vratya manifests as the Wind (Woden) and is the One Rsi (One Seer). The 'wind' is the 'breath' and is the animating principle in Nature and thus in Man. Once the breath has stopped, Death takes over. 

Woden & The Mannerbund.

Woden is the God of the Mannerbund, the Cultic-Warrior Brotherhood found all over the Indo-European world. Thunor is a Mannerbund-God, though perhaps more for the actual fighting-warrior than the leader-role. 

'The consecrated members of the Bund are immortal and are one with the Spirits of the Dead."

Wikander.

These were age-sets and the Young Man was taken from the mother at an early age to be brought up in a male-bund in which he would be 'cast' into the wilderness to fend for himself (either alone or in a pack), to hunt, to fish, to survive on one's own initiative, and to steal for his survival. This involves the Sacred Steal-Right which was sanctioned by Cultic Law. (When one is forced to become a Wolf's Head the idea that stealing is wrong cannot be anything but folly; one's survival depends on surviving at all costs.) 

This was not merely a physical trial, but was linked to Cultic-Ritual and a Warrior-Initiation -

"The essential part of the military initiation consisted of ritually transforming the young warrior into some species of predatory wild animal....(which is)...a magico-religious experience that radically changed the young warrior's mode of being. He has to transmute his humanity by an excess of aggressive and terrifying fury that made him like a raging carnivore."

Mercia Eliade.

The Young Initiate would have worn an animal skin, wolf, bear, boar, stag etc. and also a mask, or perhaps a wolf's head covering etc. The Ritual Mask was all part of the Warrior-Initiation. This type of initiation is shown in the saga of Sigmund and Sinfjotli where they become Wolf-Warriors or Wer-Wolves. 

Separation - Transmutation - Integration

The following are associated with the Germanic Mannerbund - the Cultic-Warrior Brotherhoods -

• The Death's Head.
• The wearing of Black Garb.
• The Black Flag.
• The Mask - Black Ashes/White Gypsum as 'face-paint'.
• Masked Justice - the Vehm (originally).
• The Daemonic-Warriors.
• Guerilla Fighters.
• Yule Initiations.
• The ver sacrum - theft of cattle and abduction of women.
• The Bow-God - Woden.
• The Dragon-Slayer - Thunor.
• War and Death.
• The Wolf or Dog.
• Ecstatic states.
• Light and Darkness.
• Occult Knowledge - Woden.
• The Warrior-Poet & Sacred Speech (The Word).

The term 'pagan' is from the Latin paganus meaning 'one who dwells in an enclosed area'; the term 'heathen' is from the Germanic Tongue and means 'one who dwells in the heath'. The former refers to those who live in the village or small town, the area of civilisation and order, whereas the latter refers to those who live in the wilds, the heaths, the forests, and the mountains, the areas of the wild, outside the boundaries which are 'safe' and give a more easy living. Since they took away our freedom we are becoming Wolf's Heads.

This young age-set are the Heri, and after a period of training and education they are reintegrated into the tribe as Teuta - the adult warrior or Weihekrieger. The Mannerbund was a form of 'Germanic Youth Movement' that prepared the young man for his adult warrior-hood. There can be found a distinct difference between the adult, mature warrior who had hunting as a pastime, hunting in the hours of daylight. The young Cultic-Warriors hunted in the darkness of night using nets and snares, though stealth and deception. They were thus prepared as Guerilla Warriors which we call by the name Shadow-Warriors - Sceadu-Beorn. 

One of the prime examples we have here in these islands is the Fianna who roamed Ireland in ancient times; here we have the Fianna (Young Cultic-Warriors) and the Tuatha (the Teuta or tribe of adults). Their leader was Finn ('White') who is the Gwyn (Wyn = White) of the Welsh, the Son of Nudd, Son of Nuada, or Son of Nodens (Gloucestershire). The latter name can be rendered in the Germanic Tongue as being related to hunting and to the hunter. 

One of the features of these Cultic-Warriors is their use of the Wolf-Fury or Teuton-Fury which can be found in the figure of Beowulf where he is said to be 'distended in spirit', using the word bolgenmod which stems from the OE belg/bolg meaning 'to bulge' and 'to swell in anger'. This is the root of the name Belgae and the Fir Bolg of Ireland. The most famous figure associated with this is Cu Chulainn where he 'swelled and grew big as a bladder does when inflated...and the valiant hero towered high above the Fer Diad...' Cu Chullain was a One-Eyed Hero. In regard to this 'enlargement', before sceptics dismiss this as rubbish, I have had experience of this phenomena when I visited a Folk-Comrade - Asbeorn - many years ago in the Scottish Highlands. One evening as we chatted around the wood-fire in his living room he showed me this by appearing to grow bigger and bigger before my eyes. I have no doubt that this was a 'trick of mind' and that he had somehow made me believe that this was so, although we could see it another way in that he could have used some form of method by which the physical being was altered. Who knows - but this is possible. This, of course, is shown in Lord of the Rings when Gandalf swells in size before Bilbo.

There is also what we could call the Warrior-Fire which we can connect to Ingwe as the Fire-God. The Aryan God Rudra was clearly a counterpart to Woden as the Wild Hunter-God; he later, like Woden took on a less aggressive and terrifying aspect as Shiva. One of his by-names was Ugra which is the equivalent to Ygg and means the same - 'The Terrible One'. The AEgishelm is the Symbol of Ygg, for it si the Helm of Ygg or the Helm of The Terrible One, and this symbol can be found in India, no doubt showing the Trident of Shiva -

Helm of Ygg

Helm of Ugra

This symbol was used as an 'active protection', i.e. it was used as an attacking device rather than a passive defence. 'The best form of defence is to attack'. My point of this is that Rudra has certain connections with Agni, the Vedic Fire-God, and they both share certain features and interact together. It is thus the case that we have -

Rudra - Agni

Woden-Ingwe

This seems to verify the curious link between Woden and Ingwe; in fact these two may well be equated with the Yearly Cycle of Winter-Summer, as the Ancestral God (Woden - Winter-God) and Ingwe (Summer God). 

We approach 'Halloween' and after that the Winter Sunstead; these two dates are significant in the 'Time of the Ancestors', for it is between these dates that the English Folk dedicated themselves to their Forefathers through their Ancestral Rites. The years 1933 to 1945 were the Yule-Tide of the Great Year Cycle, the period when the Wild Hunt rode across Europe. This period was prophesied by the Babylonian Seeress - Sajaha - as the 'Time of Hope'. There would be six years of peace and six years of war, after which HOPE would be destroyed by Fire and Blood. After this the Dark Forces would take full control over the Earth. At the end of Lord of the Rings it is the Army of the Dead that take a part on the Second Battle. 

Der Wilde Jagd - HOPE

The Wild Hunt - The Man to Come

Lo! - There do I see my Father,

Lo! - There do I see my Mother, my Sisters and my Brothers,

Lo! - There do I see the Line of my People,

Back to the beginning.

Lo! - They do call to me, they bid me take my place 

In the Halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live forever.

Hail the Victorious Dead!

Hail the Glorious Dead!

The key to what I have said here is the cultic union between the young warrior and the dead heroes; this was not merely a drama acted out for the sake of it, but designed to invoke the Fallen Heroes into the body of the young warriors in a kind of 'possession' that took them completely. Thus, being 'dead', they were impervious to the steel of weapons and became 'invincible' - even if they thought this to be so. In such a state all fear was lost, and all thought of 'why' or 'because' was passed over and their actions were instinctive and rose above reason and logic.

Today we have no nation nor tribe, only a soulless Global Order made up of 'producers ' and 'consumers', at the top being a bunch of lunatics lacking common sense and logic. Some of the masses are turning into a form of 'zombies' who have no power of thinking whatever, whilst others are becoming more and more aware of what is going on, but have no firm leadership to unite to gain their freedom. It is to the latter that we look to help and to give hope to in such times; the former are the result of a dying order. The Army of the Dead is not something of the past, gone forever, for the Ancestral Spirits are still their, looking over us and guiding us, but this is a two-way thing where we have to communicate with them, and once more bring them into the land of the living.

Sword of Hengest

 

Swa he ne forwyrnde worold-raedenne,

Thonne him Hunlafing Hildeleoman 

billa selest, on bearm dyde,

Thaes wareon mid Eotenum ecgecuth.

Beowulf 1142-1145 (Old English)

So he not refused world-ruler,

Then him Hun-Bequest Battle-Flame

Sword best, on bosom lay,

Thus be with Joten, edge-known.

(Direct translation into modern English).

The Sword of AEtla (Attila the Hun) passed from the 'Hun' to the Engel-Kin, wielded by Hengest ('Geist of Ingwe'). This sword was named 'Battle-Flame' and was the 'Bane of the Joten'. Hengest was the incarnation of Ingwe upon Earth, sent to lead the Engel-Kin to these islands to crush the power of the Joten which they held over the islands - through the Roman Empire. Thus, in 449CE the Engel Kin took back the control of these islands which they had held before the Romans invaded.

In 9CE the German Hero - Herman or Arminius - crushed the growing power of Rome when his Cherusci Tribe, allied with other Germanic Tribes, defeated Varus and three Roman Legions - around 15,000 Romans. This he did by luring the Roman Legions far into the Teutoberg Wald and funnelling them into narrow paths through which they could travel only in small numbers. Thus the German Wyrm crushed the Roman Wyrm. (In the Welsh Mabinogian the Saxons raised the 'Golden Coiled Wyrm' on their sails.) The Roman Legions were annihilated. 

The Dragon opposes The Dragon

(The Red Dragon of Rome - The White Dragon of Ingwe)

In the Netflix Series Barbarian created in Germany we find this tale told in an inspiring manner. The 'Roman Empire' is likened to the Fenris Wolf that seeks to devour the world, but the heroes and heroine are shown to be bonded by their slaying of a Wolf and each keeping a Wolf's Tooth around their neck. The spark that kindles the revolt is shown here as a simple stealing of the Roman Eagle, enough to give courage to some who lacked it before because of the might and power of Rome. Rome, of course, was founded by Romulus and Remus who were suckled by a She-Wolf. Woden (The Wolf-God) fights against Fenris (The Wolf) at Ragnarok. 

The Wolf opposes The Wolf

The Sword of Cheru was well known as the sword that would give the hero victory, but to one who was not worthy of wielding it they faced destruction. Cheru or Heru was a Sword-God, most likely the same as Seaxnot (East Saxons in Essex)/Saxnot (Saxons in Germania). Some have equated this sword with the Hun-Sword which was found and given to AEtla the Hun. Here we speak not of a physical object, but to a Spiritual Sword that derives its power from another world, a Higher World. Its spiritual power is thus passed on through a physical object wielded by each Germanic Hero. If this is right then the Sword of Hengest is the same Spiritual Sword, and this passed from Hengest to Cynric of the West Saxons, this Royal Line eventually becoming the ruling house of the English. 

The horse is a symbol of force, a swift-moving force, and that is why it is symbolic of Hengest and Horsa who appear at the Dawn-Time of an era when a new nation is created. In Beowulf it is the time when winter has gone and the spring is beginning to bloom that the Hun-Sword is passed to Hengest. Since this is the Battle-Flame it is associated with Ingwe and with Fire. We are today at the Dawn-Time of a new era.

England Today

The Struggle Goes On!

The Symbol of Woden

"Four rich men and four poor men had their houses symmetrically situated at the corners of two squares, one inside the other, with a pond in the centre. The rich men determined to build a wall which should exclude the poor men, who had their houses close to the water, from the use of it and at the same time permit the rich men from access as before. How was this done?"

In Little Watton Church, Essex, is a figure with the above carving, the same as which is found on Ilkley Moor in Yorkshire. The Fylfot-Swastika appears to be a symbol of Woden, since it is found in another church, St. Mary's Church, Great Cornfield, Essex on a frieze next to a carving of a figure with two ravens next to it, the figure's eyes seem to be 'awkward'. A frieze of swastikas is carved into the Essex County Council HQ in Chelmsford. 

If you look carefully at the figure I have drawn here you will see a small square within a larger square, this being made of 8 dots. The dot in the centre, making 9 dots, is the 'pond'. The nine dots make an equal-armed cross too, which must be significant.

When researching the subject this symbol is attributed to Woden or Bel (Baal), which is extremely interesting in view of the links between Germania and Ancient Babylon which we have looked at before. The word 'Bel' in Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia meant 'Lord' or 'Master' and in later times Marduk became known as just 'Bel'. We also find the name 'Bel' in Ireland, who gave his name to 'Beltane' (The Fire of Bel). The great problem we face in names in areas such as Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia is that they are invariably seen as 'Semitic' and thus given a 'Semitic' meaning. The IE Root *bhel- means 'to shine', 'to flash' or 'to burn', as well as meaning 'blazing white'. This root gives rise to the name 'Bel' and also to that of 'Balder'. The English name Bael-Daeg is even more enlightening since it would mean 'Burning Day', 'Blazing Day', or 'Shining Day'. The name 'Balder' stems from the Norse ballr/baldr meaning 'brave' and back to the Ger. *baltha meaning 'bold'.

The term 'Bel' is always said to be from the Semitic 'Baal', and this was a God of Canaan who is often portrayed as the deadly enemy of Yahweh-Jehovah; the prophets sought to exterminate the worship of Baal in Canaan. The name means 'Lord' in the Semitic Tongue. Baal has been equated with Marduk by many scholars. 

IE Root *bhel-  -To shine, flash, burn, shining white.

                         - To blow, to swell, associated with ideas on masculinity. 'Bull'                                comes from this root.

                          - To thrive, bloom.

                          - To cry out, to yell.

Etymologists tend to split the root into separate and different meanings, whereas in ancient times the one term would have automatically given rise to a number of seemingly different meanings, but which are in fact united in a wholeness lacking today. 

We move now to the Peterborough Petroglyphs found in Canada, whom many scholars now see as bearing Norse & Celtic characters. (*) These contain the word TSIW (Tiw) with his left hand severed by the Fenris Wolf (W-N-R). There is also a figure with a large glove and a hammer above, clearly that of Thunor-Thor. Another image shows THUUNOR with a hammer and helmet, again the left hand is missing. The language is a form of Tifinig Script. There is also a Solar God S-L-N-B-L which is SOLEN - BEL, next to S-A-L-N (the Sun). There is also an interesting script - W-D-N    L-Th-A   R-N   K-W-D   GN-D which is translated as - 'Woden's servant ordered runes carved'. The SOLEN-BEL are seen to be Irish Ogham, and the names TH-NN and WDN are Anglo-Saxon rather than the Norse, though these may well be earlier names used by the Germanic Folk. 

(*) 'The Vinlanders' published by The 55 Club shows clearly how there was a Norse and Celtic presence in Vinland (USA), as well as far earlier European people who crossed the seas. 

The name BEL is here used to mean 'blazing' and Solen Bel means the 'Blazing Sun'. The figure here relates to the Sun at Yule, and thus the use of Ogham has been deemed 'Norse Ogham' since the names are Norse. Since we find that the name 'Balder' and Baeldaeg' are both rooted in 'Bel' then the overlap between what is seen as 'Celtic' and 'Germanic' goes far deeper than modern scholars would admit. 

It is not usual to see the Fylfot-Swastika as symbolic of Woden, but I have shown the links between Woden and Ingwe, and with Ingwe being linked to Agni here is a connection since Agni is linked to the Swastika. Not only that, the title 'Bel' as meaning 'Lord' or 'Master' is not unlike the title 'Frey' meaning just the same. Ingvi-Frey means 'Master of Ingwe', the term 'Ingwe' here referring to the Solar-Fire. These join the dots together - so to speak. 

Eye of Woden

 

Eye of Woden

In a post long ago I have shown the above 'Eye of Odin' figure from a coin of the Iceni Tribe of East Anglia, a so-called 'Celtic Tribe' who appear to have been Woden-Worshippers well before the 'Anglo-Saxon Invasion'. In a previous blog some years ago I showed how the name 'Iceni' can be rendered as a Germanic name, so I will not go into this here. Below is another coin from the Belgic Tribe called the Suessiones; it shows Woden being swallowed by the Fenris Wolf -

The 'Eye in the Mouth' is a symbol found on coins from East Anglia, and amongst Belgic Tribes, those who may well have brought the worship of Woden as Gwydion found in South Wales. But now we shall move to sound proof that Woden was worshipped here in England long before our historians and archaeologists tell us.

Back in 1922, some one hundred years ago, a workman in Dagenham, Essex, came across a wooden idol which became known as the 'Dagenham Idol'. This wooden idol is considered to be Woden (Odin) because the left eye has been deliberately scratched and damaged, just as the eye of another wooden idol found in Broddenbjerg, Denmark (dated back to 535 - 520 BCE), is damaged in a similar way. The 'Dagenham Idol' has been carbon-dated to 2250 BCE. Yes, over four thousand years ago Woden was worshipped here in England. Why is this not common knowledge? Simply because it does not fit with the establishment's version of our history, where the English came over in 449 CE and before that was the Romans and before them the Celts. Whenever something does not fit their agenda they carefully ignore it, making no fuss whatever about such finds. This is just one example of this. 

The above coins are Iron Age, and the Saxons are mentioned as being here when Caesar arrived, going back to around 55 BCE. But here we are going back another two thousand years at which time Woden was known and worshipped by Germanic Tribes here in England. Once again, this fits with the recent find that Stonehenge was built by Frisians, a tribe akin to the Angles and Saxons, having a very similar language to Old English. The wooden idol actually dates back to just after the building of Stonehenge. 

The 'Dagenham Idol' has a hole between the legs, whereas the one found in Denmark is a Phallic Symbol. 

The dating of 2250 BCE takes us back to the late Neolithic Age or early Bronze Age, and this seems to confirm a continued worship of Woden through two world-ages. Of course, this goes back much further than that, and no doubt new evidence will arise in time to show that this is so. 

Broddenbjerg Idol

The above bracteate, found in Sweden, has one eye damaged in a similar type of way; This figure is also said to be Woden, here leading an Ulfhednar-Warrior in some form of Martial Dance. I have also mentioned the 'Trickster' like image here with the 'Solar Horns' and the 'Lunar Horns' of the helmet.

The only argument that sceptics could use against the wooden idol being that of the god Woden is the 'hole' in the centre. However, it would seem that Woden (Odin) was connected with a stone having a hole in the centre, the Odin Stone which stood in the Orkneys until it was destroyed by an irate farmer -

The hole is clearly seen here, and it is also relevant to note that even today in the area of paganism and wicca the holed stones or Hag-Stones are also called Odin Stones. It thus seems quite logical to connect this ancient wooden idol with Woden, even though it is some 4,250 years old. It obviously represents the One-Eyed God who goes way back into the mists of time. Scholars are all too quick to give the 'hole' a sexual meaning, and thus brand it 'female', trying to equate Woden with Loki. A 'hole' has many meanings, including a 'portal' or 'gateway', or even a Black Hole postulated by science. Such symbols work at many levels of meaning. In fact, going back to the first images in this post the 'Eye' is placed at the 'Mouth' - which is a 'hole'. Another point is that the eye-socket is a 'hole' and losing the eye means having a gaping eye-socket. The terms 'hole' and 'eye' may well be linked together in the same symbolism. Another point that could be raised is that the wooden idol has no beard, whereas the one in Sweden has a beard. They are nearly 2,000 years apart, fashions change, and also the Swedish figure has no beard either. 

When we use the term 'blind' we mean that one cannot see; but in ancient times, found in Indo-European Roots, they used a different term 'without eyes', using the term 'eye' as being able to see, and 'without eyes' for being blind. The word 'eye' stems from an IE Root *ok(w)- meaning 'to see'. There is an ancient figure called Og whose name still exists in certain parts of Wiltshire, and the name suggests to me the word Ygg/Igg used of Woden as 'The Terrible One'. In fact, the Old English eage ('eye) gives us the AEgishjalm (eages grim is the Old English equivalent). Thus the name Ygg probably also relates to 'eye', and thus the 'One-Eyed God'. I have also noted before the names of certain figures in Norse Saga having the prefix 'Ing-' and who are stated to be 'one-eyed'. 

The word 'hole' comes from the Old English hol which itself stems from the IE Root *kel- which gives rise to 'to hide' or 'to conceal'. The Old English word means both 'hole' and 'hollow'. We seem to have a symbolic sequence here -

EYE - HOLE - HOLLOW - HIDE - HIDDEN

The 'eye' sacrificed to the 'Well of Memory' is thus the 'Hidden Eye' - the 'Third Eye'. This is the 'eye' that sees the 'wholeness', the power of which was lost in most after the sinking of the Primal Homeland. What is a 'well' but a 'hole-in-the-earth', a 'hollow' that is filled with water. The Eye-and-Well motif is thus akin to the Eye-and-Mouth motif, but the latter gives us a further insight since the mouth is the 'Source of Sound'. Woden is a God of Speech and Poetry.

Different depictions of Woden show both a left-eye and right-eye missing, and this seems to have been the case throughout time. In the above (from the Norse) the right-eye is missing, as with the Swedish bracteate, which predates the Viking times by a few centuries. In the Dagenham Idol it is the left-eye that is missing, and this is earlier than anything else we know of. It would seem to be the case that Woden/Odin was seen as a god with one eye missing, and although this motif stood the test of time, its meaning was not certain in later eras. 

Gwydion of Welsh Mythology is a magician and healer just like Woden; they share phonetically similar names - Wydion-Woden. Wydion is associated with the Ash-Tree, and in one Welsh story he defeats Bran who is a god associated with the Alder-Tree. Bran, like Woden, is associated with the Raven, and he is also the Guardian of Britain. This is why his head was said to be buried at the White Mound in London, guarded by the Two Ravens - Hugin and Muninn. There is a boy named 'Bran' in the series Game of Thrones who is associated with a Three-Eyed Raven, the Third Eye being between the other two on the forehead. This series was based upon ancient mythology, going way, way back in time to an age when the cold and snows destroyed the First Age. This seems clear from the Sacred Number 7 used in the series. 

Scholars invariably deduce from the notion that one god defeats another that this refers to new invaders of a land that overthrow those there before them. Robert Graves, in The White Goddess, sees this in the defeat of Bran by Wydion. But do we really have to see it this way every time this motif appears? Most scholars see in the slaying of the Bull by Mithras the change from the Age of Taurus (The Bull) to the Age of Aries (The Ram). Could the motif of the 'slaying' of the Alder by the Ash be seen as being a change of world-age too, just using different symbolism? In which case this is nothing more than the natural progression of the Cycle of the Ages. There may be a bit of truth in both, but we should perhaps keep an open mind. Wydion's nephew, Llew, is the god who hangs upon an Oak Tree, and his name means 'Light'. 

De Danaan (Ireland)                             Welsh

Dana                                                    Don

Lugh                                                     Llew

Manannan                                             Manawyddan

      -                                                    Gwydion/Wydion

Wydion is a god that has been added to the Welsh Mythology and does not appear in Irish Mythology under such a name. This does suggest the name was brought into these islands by Germanic Tribes, but at a much earlier time than most scholars would have us believe. There is also a Gaulish god named Lugus who must be Lugh/Llew. But if we look a little deeper into our own Ar-Kan Runes we can find that the Tir-Rune represents Tiw with his two hands whilst the Lagu-Rune represents Woden as the magician and sorcerer who sometimes takes a darker path in order to counter the Dark Forces. Woden takes the Left-Hand Path as shown in the Lagu-Rune, which, incidentally, also has the meaning of 'Light'. 

The Lagu-Rune

The above is an Anglo-Saxon motif, obviously Woden and Two Wolves, or more likely Woden being swallowed by the Wolf. To be noted here is the eye-shaped mouth of the god Woden. 

The above motif is from Ancient India, the similarity to the Anglo-Saxon motif being rather obvious. The human figure in the centre has the feet of a bird (Raven?). This is supposedly from the 'pre-Aryan' time, although many scholars today see this civilisation as Vedic and thus an earlier Aryan Civilisation. 

Bran in Welsh Mythology has a Cauldron of Knowledge, a Spear, and he is associated with the Severed Head. These are all symbols associated with Woden, the 'Severed Head' being Mimir who he consults in order to 'foresee'. It is also interesting to note that he is also associated with the Rich Fisher and the later Fisher King, as well as 'King Arthur', all of whom I have linked to Ingwe in past posts. 

The Once & Future King