When is a beggar a god?

In traditions around the world we see the same mythic trope of a god disguised as a beggar so that he can test mortals. Very often this is based on a moral that one should uphold the ancient tradition of honouring the guest in one's home. The myths usually show the god, who can be Zeus, Shiva, or Odin, punishing the mortals who fail to show them proper hospitality when they visit. What lessons can pagans learn from these myths

Art 

Baucis and Philemon by Ryan Murray

The Chandala by Christopher Steininger

Sources

Primary:

Atharvaveda
Heimskringla
Homer, The Odyssey
Ovid, Metamorphoses
Orchard, A., (trans) The Elder Edda (2011)
The Rigveda
Sturluson, S., The Prose Edda
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga
Vidyaranya Swami, Shankara Digvijaya

Secondary:
von Glinski, M. L., Simile and Identity in Ovid's Metamorphoses
Murnaghan, S., Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey

From Runes to Ruins (2014) / Watch Online

Watch From Runes to Ruins (2014) online for free.

What is Survive the Jive?

Channel trailer for Survive the Jive

Death & Burial in Vedic India

Film Discussion: Four Films Set in Rural Britain

Odin and the Horned Spear-Dancer

Viking and Anglo-Saxon artwork often includes a man with bird shaped horns. This mysterious figure is known as the horned man or the weapon dancer. The motif shows up in various different contexts and over a huge geographic range and timeframe - from early Anglo-Saxon England to Viking age Russia. It is commonly associated with the cult of the Nordic god Odin or the Anglo-Saxon god Woden and with extraordinary shamanic rituals as I shall explain in this video.

Sources:

• Mortimer, Paul, 'What Colour a God's Eyes' (2018)
  
• Oehrl, Sigmund, 'Horned ship-guide – an unnoticed picture stone fragment from Stora Valle, Gotland' (2016)
  
• Oehrl, Sigmund, 'DOCUMENTING AND INTERPRETING THE PICTURE STONES OF GOTLAND' (2017)

Artwork

The following paintings of the horned spear dancer are by Hungerstein.

Jive Book Review: Odin's Wife (Frigg and Jord)

Is Odin's wife Frigg the same as his lover Jord the Earth goddess? William P. Reaves thinks they are the same figure and that her cult survived in to recent times among German peasants who called her Frau Holda. I will briefly review his book on the subject here.