Ancient Germanic Swastika: Documentary

I have collected tons of archaeological to support my theory of what the fylfot really means. I hope you will agree with my conclusion and that you will find these artefacts and charming and intriguing as I do.

The swastika was used by ancient Germanic peoples such as the Goths, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. But what did it mean? Some say it was a symbol of the sun, some think it was borrowed from the Romans. In this video I explain how the swastika aka fylfot was actually connected to the cult of the god Wotan aka Odin.

Sources

•  Behrens, F. 2023. Der Tierstil II im Merowingerreich. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110981247 
• Behr, C., ‘Die Beizeichen auf den völkerwanderungszeitlichen Goldbrakteaten.’ Frankfurt a. M. [u.a.] (1991) 
• Burillo-Cuadrado, Ma & Burillo, Francisco. (2014). The swastika as representation of the sun of helios and mithras. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry. 14. 29-36. 
• Carus. P., “FYLFOT AND SWASTIKA” in The Open court (1887) 
• Cheesman. C., THE HERALDS’ SWASTIKA (2019) 
• Godfrey-Faussett, T.G., ‘The Saxon cemetery at Bifrons’ (Kent Archaeology 1876) 
• Haseloff, Eine ‘jütländische Fibelgruppe und ihre Verwandten’ in “Die germanische Tierornamentik der Völkerwanderungszeit” 1981 
• Hauck. K., Die Goldbrakteaten der Völkerwanderungszeit (1985) -Helm. R., ‘Germanischer Schmuck’ (1957) -MacLeod and Mees 'Runic Amulets and Magic Objects' (2006) 
• Pennick. N., ‘Woden’s Swastika’ in Journal of Geomancy vol. 3 no. 4, July 1979 
• Sansoni, U., ‘Alpine and Scandinavian rock art in the Bronze Age, a common cultural matrix in a web of continental influences’ In Picturing Bronze Age ( Swedish Rock Art Series: volume 3 2015)
• Renner-Volbach, D., ‘Die durchbrochenen Zierscheiben der Merowingerzeit’ Dorothee Renner. Rom.-German. Zentralmuseum zu Mainz, (1970) 
• Toreld. A., Andersson. T., hallristning Field report (2012) 
• Theune-Grosskopf, B., & Nedoma, R. (2008). Chairs in graves of the Migration and Merovingian period mirrored by a new find with rune inscription from Trossingen, Lkr. Tuttlingen. Archaologisches Korrespondenzblatt. 38. 423-436.

HYPERBOREAN ODYSSEY 1: Norway

 

 

I spent half a month working on a cruise ship, travelling around Norway and the Scottish islands. Part 1 of my Hyperborean Odyssey is in Western Norway, beginning with the ancient burial grounds of Gunnarshaug and Rehaugane near Norway's Viking capital Avaldsnes, then admiring the fjords around Ulvik and Olden and finishing off in the rainy city of Alesund. This is a historical travel series.

Pagan Iconography on Bracteates with Dr Scott Shell

Scott Shell received his Ph.D. in Germanic Linguistics from the University of California at Berkeley. The emphasis of his study has been on historical linguistics, runology and mythology. He runs a YouTube channel called @Scott T. Shell (Continental Germanic Heathenry) which focuses on the pagan religion of the Old Saxons. Tonight he will discuss the iconography and runic inscriptions found on Germanic bracteates of the Migration era.

Burying animals under foundations: An Indo-European pagan folk custom

 

The custom of burying an animal under the foundations of a house is not only very widespread, found in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Finland and beyond, but is also very old, dating back to the Indo-Europeans of the Bronze Age Europe. It even spread as far away as America and India! In this video I trace the customs origins and dispersal and explain the magical function of the animal and human sacrifices underneath the home.

 

Sources

• Eliade, Mircea - Zalmoxis - The Vanishing God-The University of Chicago Press (1972)
• Hukantaival, Sonja. (2009). Horse Skulls and "Alder-Horse": The Horse as a Depositional "Sacrifice" in Buildings. Archaeologia Baltica. 11. 350-356. 
• Kuzmina, The Origins of Indo-Iranians, 2007
• Manning, M. Chris. “The Material Culture of Ritual Concealments in the United States.” Historical Archaeology, vol. 48, no. 3, 2014, pp. 52–83. JSTOR
• O’Reilly, Barry. “Hearth and Home: The Vernacular House in Ireland from c. 1800.” Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature, vol. 111C, 2011, pp. 193–215. JSTOR
• Ó Súilleabháin, Seán. “Foundation Sacrifices.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 75, no. 1, 1945, pp. 45–52.
• Søvsø, M., et al. 'Om hugorme, dyrekranier og tordensten– bygningsofre og andre skikke med rødder i folketroen'

JIVE TALK: Where did blondes come from?

Documentary: The Egtved Girl - Nordic Bronze Age

Stone Ships and Goddess Cult of Västmanland

Nordic Boats and Aryan Chariots

Documentary: Brainwash, Sociology Vs Biology

The NIKK Nordic Gender Institute was the institutionalised manifestation of “Gender Theory”, providing a pseudo-scientific basis for social and educational policies that, from the 1970s onward, transformed the Nordic countries to become the most “gender sensitive” societies in the world.

The following videos are from episodes of a Norwegian television documentary called Hjernevask "Brainwash" in which a comedian called Harald Eia balances the arguments of sociologists and gender theorists with those of real scientists like geneticists. The TV series exposed the falsehood of the NIKK and resulted in The Nordic Council of Ministers (a regional inter-governmental co-operation consisting of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland) deciding to close down the NIKK.


Part 1 – ”The Gender Equality Paradox"
Part 2 – ”The Parental Effect”
Part 3 – ”Gay/straight”
Part 4 – ”Violence”
Part 5 – ”Sex”
Part 6 – ”Race” (password: hjernevask)
Part 7 – ”Nature or Nurture”

Jean Sibelius - Finlandia

In this video from Wild Scandinavia, the symphonic poem Finlandia by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is set to scenes of Finnish landscapes and nature. The first version of Finlandia was written in 1899, and it was revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the Russian Empire, as the last of seven pieces, each performed as an accompaniment to a tableau depicting episodes from Finnish history.

The premiere was on 2 July 1900 in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus. A typical performance takes anywhere from 7½ to 9 minutes.

A recurrent joke within Finland at this time was the renaming of Finlandia at various musical concerts so as to avoid Russian censorship. Titles under which the piece masqueraded were numerous, a famously flippant example being Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring.

Most of the piece is taken up with rousing and turbulent music, evoking the national struggle of the Finnish people. But towards the end, a calm comes over the orchestra, and the serenely melodic Finlandia Hymn is heard. Often incorrectly cited as a traditional folk melody, the Hymn section is of Sibelius's own creation.

Although initially composed for orchestra, in 1900 Sibelius arranged the entire work for solo piano.

Sibelius later reworked the Finlandia Hymn into a stand-alone piece. This hymn, with words written in 1941 by Veikko Antero Koskenniemi, is one of the most important national songs of Finland (though Maamme is the national anthem). With different words, it is also sung as a Christian hymn (Be Still, My Soul), and was the national anthem of the short-lived African state of Biafra (Land of the Rising Sun).

Created by
Wild Scandinavia / Wildes Skandinavien / (2011)
Directors: Uwe Anders, Oliver Goetzl
Writers: Jan Haft, Oliver Goetzl

Rock Carvings and Runestones of Sweden

Danish language

Nordic Idolatry

The worship of idols was by no means a universal practice amongst European polytheists. Some are recorded by Ibn Fadlan as worshipping posts in the ground with the faces of the gods carved into them, while King Raedwald of England is said by Bede to have worshipped many wooden carvings of the Gods in a temple. Others are said only to have worshipped in woodland groves, to trees and to rocks rather than man made representations of the deities.

For this reason most idols associated with the Nordic pantheon are long gone. Those not burned by Christians would have rotted away by now. The stone and metal examples below are amongst the few exceptions.


Thor - Iceland

Thor - Iceland

These represntations can be identified as Thor by the presence of the cross shaped hammer he holds. in iceland the hammer resembling a crucifix turned upside down became a symbol of pagan resistance. In each of these cases, Thor is shown to be stroking or pulling his beard, this same gesture is shown in the idol from Sweden below. The gesture may signify deep thought, wisdom or meditation.

Ragnarok - Sweden
This rune stone depicts the final battle of the Gods and the end of the world.

Odin - England
Although this carving is to be found in a church in York, it can clearly be indentified as Odin by the presence of his two ravens.

Odin - Sweden

Frey - Sweden

Pagan Metal is Awesome!

Check out this article from the Guardian on pagan metal. Some pagan metal is just fiddly dee bollocks, some is just goths with long hair shouting - but some is fucking awesome. Here are my favourite pagan metal bands!

WOODS OF INFINITY


ISENGARD


BURZUM


DARKTHRONE


XASTHUR -This band might not be pagan but I don't care