Yule and Saturnalia - the pagan Christmas story

 I appeared on History Bro's channel again, this time to discuss Yule!

 

 The episode is also available as a podcast on Spotify and other platforms.

Folk Horror - Interview with Tom Rowsell

This interview was first published on the Folk Horror Revival blog.

Firstly can you tell us a little about yourself – your background, how you ended up as a writer and involved with graphic novels? 

I come from a media background; used to be a writer for trendy magazines in London and wanted to be a film maker. I started out directing horror films and music videos with zombies in the English countryside and wrote my dissertation for my Media degree in 2007 on representation of rural communities in horror films of the seventies. In 2011 I quit my media job and went back to University to study paganism of the Germanic peoples and subsequently directed and presented a documentary film on the subject called From Runes to Ruins (2014). I grew up reading graphic novels; 2000 AD and Alan Moore etc. So when I was approached by Christopher Steininger, a Canadian artist asking to collaborate on a comic book project, I was delighted. I immediately suggested a folk horror story for Christmas.

Who are your influences/heroes? (as a writer and in general)

In film making I was very influenced by everyone from Ingmar Bergman to Piers Haggard. My presenting style is based on old pedagogical BBC TV; people like Kenneth Clarke and David Attenborough but mixed with Jonathan Meades’ cheeky humour. My writing for this particular work was deliberately based heavily on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol but also on the old BBC ghost stories for Christmas.

Do you consider your work to fit into the Folk Horror genre and if so what is it about it that you feel fits that label? 

Absolutely. I have a personal connection to the genre; my grandfather’s farm was near Kirkcudbright where The Wicker Man was filmed, and I knew all the places from the film. By the time I went to university, I was obsessed with it, which is why I had to include it in my dissertation. It had previously influenced all the horror films I made as a teen, which depicted the English landscape as pregnant with the horror of history. That was over a decade ago and since then I have become more passionate about the genre, although I have not made any horror for a long time. This book was consciously written as a part of the Folk Horror genre, so the terror derives from the pagan roots of the land’s history.

Do you have a particular process (ritualistic or preparatory) when are working on a particular project? Any way in which you get yourself in `the zone’ or work up ideas? 

Sometimes I can’t write and sometimes I can. David Lynch says concepts of the sphere of pure ideas come to him from "the unified field" which is an ocean of pure consciousness from which he says "everything comes". I have similar views. I don’t feel like my ideas are my own, and I’m not interested in being original, just communicating ideas from that realm in different ways so they can be understood by different people.

Can you give an outline of the content of Spirit of Yule and how/why you ended up creating it? So the cartoon came out first (almost a year ago) and the book this year. Was that always the plan? 

In both the motion comic and the graphic novel, the reader, guided by The Green Knight, travels back through the centuries to learn the pagan roots of Yuletide; from the Dickensian, to the Arthurian and back to the Anglo-Saxons and Norse. The ghost story is set in Victorian England on Christmas Eve, but it teaches the reader all about how pagan people in England used to celebrate Yule 1300 years ago. I based all the pagan practices depicted in the story on contemporary accounts of Yule celebrations among Norse pagans, so this is not only entertainment, but also a kind of educational tool, suitable for all ages (provided they don’t mind a bit of horse blood!). Someone commented on the cartoons saying it ought to be a book, so Christopher grabbed that ball and ran with it. We struggled to get it all ready and self-publish in time for this Christmas though!



What is next? 

Christopher and I will work on another graphic novel in future, this time on comparative mythology of different Indo-European traditions; Celtic, Hindu, Greek etc. He is a versatile artist, so I am excited to see what he comes up with for the next project!

The Spirit of Yule is available to purchase here

Shakin' Stevens as Odinic Archetype in "Merry Christmas Everyone" Music Video

In the music video for “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Welsh rock ‘n’ roll singer Shakin Stevens we see a clear example of the dormant Jungian Odinic archetype manifesting in popular culture. It begins with a towheaded Anglo-Saxon youth boarding an aeroplane and flying to Hyperborea aka Tomteland near Mora in Darlarna county, Sweden. Tomte land is translated by the “elves” who greet him as “Santa world” however this is only partly true. Jultomte is the Swedish translation of Santa Claus, but neither Santa Claus nor Father Christmas (yes, they were once separate things) were part of Nordic culture until recently. A Tomte or nisse is nowadays seen as a cute elf like thing, but, like elves themselves, are an echo of a forgotten cult of the ancestors. Tomte were associated with midwinter and with ancestors who first claimed and cleared the land, often ancient farmers. Another name for Tomte is the haugkall or haugebonde, from the Old Norse haugr meaning a barrow – so we see a clear Indo-European connection to the worship of ancestral spirits at mounds.

Tomteland aka Valhalla

After disembarking from a bus, the metaphorical vehicle to the Hyperborean land of the ancestors, we see that the youth is now accompanied by an Odinic figure in a grey coat, perhaps an echo of Odin’s other name Hárbarðr “grey beard”. After a shot panning across the frosted lakes and snowy pine forests of the Nordic landscape, the shot fades to the man himself, the Odinic spirit made flesh to communicate the divine poetry, Shakin Stevens. The English child is a symbol of the Nordic soul, and his journey to Hyperborea is that of the aristocratic soul to the afterlife, which is guided by the psychopomp, Odin, over the rainbow bridge, Bifröst. Shakin’ Stevens is clearly a psychopomp who is guiding the souls, hence his prefix “Shakin”, for Bifröst is consistently referred to in Norse poetry as a bridge which “trembles”, thus Shakin’ Stevens “shakes” or “trembles” with the path to the beyond.

Utterly Odinic

Next we see Shaky on a horse drawn sleigh, being pulled through the forest at night, like Odin who leads the wild hunt. At his side is a Nordic “elf” who drives the horses on through the darkness. The association of Odin and elves is attested in the skaldic poem Austrfararvísur, by the Norwegian skald Sigvatr Þórðarson who describes encountering a sacrifice to the elves in Sweden which one of the participants relates to their “fear of Odin” – thus Odin is appeased via a sacrifice to the elves, which was at that time a broad term, describing many supernatural entities, including the souls of noble ancestors.

The lyrics at this stage reveal Shaky’s desire to “find that girl underneath the mistletoe”. Those familiar with Norse mythology will be well aware that mistletoe is the one entity, living or dead, in the entire cosmos that did not swear to Frigg not to harm Baldr, son of Odin. This leads to a dart of mistletoe being used to kill Baldr and causing all of creation to weep with sorrow. Baldr’s death is described differently in Völuspá, Hákonarmál, Eriksmál, and in Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus, yet each hint at the resemblance between Baldr’s death and that of the noble souls of war dead, Einherjar, whose sacrifice on the field of war wins them a place in Valhalla. Loki does not weep for Baldr’s death because it would annul the sacrifice, for only Loki knows that Baldr’s death is a necessary sacrifice for the renewal of the world. The poet of Völuspá specifies that Baldr will return:

All horror will be mended, Baldr will come; The two of them Baldr and Hodr 

Will inhabit the victory settlements of Hroptr,

sanctuaries of choice-slaughter deities.

Thus the association of the death of Baldr with a human sacrifice “choice-slaughter” which is necessary for renewal can also be seen in the context of the midwinter sacrifice and appeasement of “slaughter deities” for renewal of the earth for the following year. Thus our Odinic guide’s lyrics refer to his desire for a human sacrifice, hinted at by reference to the mistletoe used in the sacrifice of Odin’s son Baldr.  

In the following verse he sings “Oh, I wish that Everyday was Christmas, What a nice way to spend the year” in a clear reference to the coming Fimbulvintr, a terrible winter which will last for three years and heralds the coming Ragnarök in which Odin will lead his army in battle against the forces of Chaos and trigger the death and renewal of the earth for the next cycle of time.

Next, in a workshop, the children (souls) are put to work creating toys, a clear metaphor for the einherjar training in Valhalla for the great battle of Ragnarök. They are guided now by Santa Claus, or as we say in Britain, Father Christmas, which is interesting because Jölföðr “Yule father” is one of the names of Odin, as is Jölnir “Yule figure”. Much has been written about the grey-bearded god’s resemblance to Santa Claus, but even if there is no direct historical link between them, the similarities can still be read from an esoteric perspective as a manifestation of the Odinic spirit, which Jung called an archetype, and which resides within the unconscious of all Northern Europeans. The metaphor of training for the final war is made explicit three minutes in to the video when Shaky and the children engage in a snowball fight. Shaky even throws a snowball at a snowman, which clearly represents Hrym who shall lead the opposing forces of the frost giants at Ragnarök This is followed by a tragic foreshadowing of Odin’s death at Ragnarök - Shaky is struck by a snowball and falls, representing Odin’s defeat by the wolf Fenrir who shall consume him.

Press F

After the training session, the souls of the dead return to the great hall to feast with Odin. Shaky is shown accompanied in his sleigh now by the Yule father himself, as it draws him to the great feasting hall. We are to assume it is as this point that the “girl beneath the mistletoe” is offered to Shaky but, sadly, this is not shown. 

Any arguments that this video merely depicts a pop star taking some children on a festive holiday are rendered totally invalid by the final sequence. Shaky, Yule father, his elves and the Nordic looking souls of the noble dead all leave the hall and brandish flaming torches as Shaky mounts the sleigh once more, and an elf drives it away into the dark forests of the Nordic night. The children and the Yule Father wave him goodbye and remain at the hall, for Shaky must return to Middle Earth to obtain more einherjar for the fateful war when he shall be no more, but the earth will be renewed by his son Vali the avenger, just as the earth is renewed each year with the cycle of the seasons and the coming of Spring.

looks like Xmas in 1930s Germany tbh

Hail the Yule Father! Hail Shakin’ Stevens! Very Indo-European!

The Spirit of Yule - Graphic Novel

Last Yuletide I collaborated with the talented artist Christopher Steininger of Smile Titans to create an eerie animated Christmas ghost story in a Dickensian folk horror style. This Xmas it will be available worldwide as a hard cover graphic novel that we are self-publishing.

The new books have arrived and they are high quality! Perfect for yule presents this winter! The books are available from THIS LINK from December.

Frey and the Boar's Head Feast

What will you eat on Christmas day? Turkey? Goose? How about Boar's head? That was the traditional dish in England. Its roots go back to Anglo-Saxon paganism.There is a carol about this tradition called "the boar's head carol" and the most popular version is based on a version published in 1521 in Wynkyn de Worde's Christmasse Carolles. Folklore holds that the custom comes from a pagan ceremony invoking the god of fertility, Frey.

"initiated in all probability on the Isle of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons, although our knowledge of it comes substantially from medieval times....[In ancient Norse tradition] sacrifice carried the intent of imploring Freyr to show favor to the new year. The boar's head with apple in mouth was carried into the banquet hall on a gold or silver dish to the sounds of trumpets and the songs of minstrels." Spears, James E. Folklore, Vol. 85, No. 3. (Autumn, 1974.)

Frey was associated with boars because he actually rode on a golden boar called Gullinbursti.

"to Freyr he gave the boar, saying that it could run through air and water better than any horse, and it could never become so dark with night or gloom of the Murky Regions that there should not be sufficient light where he went, such was the glow from its mane and bristles." - Icelandic pagan text Skáldskaparmál from the Prose Edda.

These days there are loads of universities and colleges in England and the USA that still hold the Boar's Head Feast. The most notable of these is The Queen's College, Oxford, where they have their own local myth to explain the origins of the custom.

"Where an amusing tradition formerly current in Oxford concerning the boar's head custom, which represented that usage as a commemoration of an act of valour performed by a student of the college, who, while walking in the neighbouring forest of Shotover and reading Aristotle, was suddenly attacked by a wild boar. The furious beast came open-mouthed upon the youth, who, however, very courageously, and with a happy presence of mind, thrust the volume he was reading down the boar's throat, crying, "Græcum est," and fairly choked the savage with the sage" Husk, William Henry. Songs of the Nativity Being Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern. London: John Camden Hotten, 1868.

You can listen to a rendition of the boar's head carol below. Good Yule!

The Cosy Mood of Brave England

Cosy is an inadequate word. It reeks of childish nostalgia and brings to mind snivelling estate agents trying to fob off inconveniently small living spaces. The word is often used to translate the Swedish mys and German gemütlich, yet these words hold a place in the hearts of Swedes and Krauts incomparable to the lowly position where cosy is regarded by the English. Cosy is quite nauseating and sentimental because of the way it has been co-opted by shrewd advertising executives seeking to manipulate consumers’ emotions in order to screw them out of a few quid come Christmas time.

It is this disdain for the concept of cosiness, seeing it as nothing but a vague feeling of comfort with no clearly defined value, utilised by shysters and idiots for insignificant purposes, that prevents us from sympathising with the way in which our Germanic cousins perceive the equivalent terms.

Gemütlich is ruthlessly dismissed by the Irish Francophile, Samuel Beckett in Mercier and Camier where it is used in the dishonest way in which cosy is so frequently employed.

“It’s snug…said the man, there is no other word. Patrick! He cried. But there was another word, for he added, in a tone of tentative complicity, whatever that sounds like, It’s … gemütlich.”

The drunken Mercier later chides the manager of the inn for using such language, “You have a curious way of managing, for a manager. What have you done with your teeth? Is this what you call gemütlich?”

Though far from an Englishman, Beckett was guilty of the English speaker’s prejudice against cosiness. My Swedish ex-girlfriend stressed to me the importance of mys on many an occasion but it took time for me to realise that this was not a universally understood concept and indeed the German regards gemütlich differently from how the Swede thinks of myset. In an effort to understand, I volunteered the cosy image of a log fire and learned that this was indeed considered mys. Yet other concepts of English cosiness were excluded from the Swedish definition, including for example houses with carpets, for these are alien to the pine wood floors of a Scandinavian home. Thus it seems mys is necessarily Swedish as much as gemütlich must be German in character. The people of these nations perceive these concepts in terms of the consolation they enjoy when experiencing the familiar and homely comforts that are proper to their respective peoples. Thus cosiness is inherently un-cosmopolitan. It is national. It is not universal or properly translatable, which is why cosy can never express what is truly meant by our continental cousins. The words mys and gemütlich are each used more frequently and less self-consciously than English words like snug or cosy. I suspect the true English equivalent is a satisfied exhalation prior to a leisurely gulp of ale.

There is a common link in language and feeling between us all though. Although the word mys is sometimes meant as snuggle and can even have sexual connotations (you know how Swedes are these days), the Swedish for brave is modig which is etymologically related to gemütlich which comes from gemüet “mind, mentality”, equivalent to gemüt “mind, soul.” Swedish modig can also mean “valiant, high spirited, courageous”, which is precisely what the Old English word módig (pronounced moody) used to mean. We still have a remnant of this word with the modern English mood. So how did brave become moody in England and cosy in Germany? Well, the Old English noun mód could mean mood in general, but was also related to what we now call the ego or the will. It was associated with arrogance, pride, violence and power but was also used in other words with very different associations. The adjective ánmód means “steadfast, fierce, resolute” while módcearig means “sorrowful of heart.” Thus mood was used to describe emotion, mind, heart and will. 

Swedish, English and German are all descended from a common language known as Proto-Germanic, which in turn comes from Indo-European. The reconstructed proto-Germanic equivalent of mood is  mōdą, mōdaz “sense, courage, zeal, anger” and the Proto-Indo-European is mō-, mē- “endeavour, will, temper.” The brave meaning of mood is retained in other Germanic languages such as Dutch moed and Scots mude, muid, but the Icelandic móður, meaning “grief, moodiness”, is more similar to the English word moody.

We still understand mood to designate distinct atmospheric emotions, yet to be moody is now exclusively negative. This might have something to do with the Old English word ofermod which means “pride” and has therefore been regarded as a sin for centuries.But it's interesting to consider when one is in a “good mood” that these two words are etymologically related to words meaning God and soul. Little wonder that gemütlich is so important to the Germans; for mood and atmosphere which put us in touch with our national past and the associated aesthetics, remind us of our position in space and time. The familiar and consoling effect of architecture, interior design, art and old fashioned activities remind us of who we are, speaking to our “heart, mind, soul” and easing the módcearig of the modern age.