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from 2001 blue vol II | |||
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by Ralph Metzner extracts selected by Richard Reese
Patriarchy, warfare, and suppression of Goddess worship came with the invasions of Aryan warrior-herders around 4000 BCE (aka Kurgan-Aryans and Indo-Europeans). [13] Hitler to Hermann Rauschning: "one is either a Christian or a German...but one cannot be both." [22] German children who had grown up during the war knew that their parents had participated in "one of humanity's most monstrous collective crimes, yet they experienced almost total denial and silence on the part of their elders toward this crime." [27] 28 The Vanir was the nature-deity pantheon of Old Europe. The Aesir was the sky-god pantheon of the Kurgan-Aryans. The Aesir, with an all-father, are similar to Roman and Greek pantheons. [28] Indo-European hunter-herders came from southern Russia and Ukraine. Moved into eastern Europe, Balkans, Mediterranean basin, Turkey, Middle East, and towards Persia and India. These Kurgans invaded Europe in third millennia BCE. The Aryans moved into Persia and India - this was what they called themselves. They are the ancestors of the Indo-Germanic peoples. [31] In their homelands, the nomads built no cities. Kurgans into SE Europe around 4300 BCE. Hilltop forts, destroyed farming areas. A second wave of nomads 800 years later, with wheeled chariots, horses, and bronze weapons. More waves with time. They brought a religion of male warrior gods, personifying the sky, sun, fire, storm, thunder, and warrior skills. From 9000 to 7000 BCE, hunting gradually shifted to herding, as animals were domesticated. [32]
34 Farmers were no match for the predatory nomadic herders. Old Europe had cattle, but nomads had horse too. Horse gave them military power and mobility. [Odin had horse].
For 3,000 to 4,000 years, the two cultures battled, like the wild west in US later. [36] Indo-Europeans took Greece. They were known as Pelasgians. In 1450 BCE, Minoan Crete and Thera were destroyed - the last big centers of goddess worship. The Mycenean art of the conquerors was rigid, often featuring armies of men with spears. Romans were Indo-Europeans from Turkey. Etruscans were mysterious and highly cultured, and non-Indo-European. [38] Indo-European Celts dominated central Europe in the 1,000 years before Christ (which was the Iron Age). Celts invaded Iberian peninsula in 600 BCE. Basque language is one of the few surviving non-Indo-European languages in Europe. Celts migrated into British Isles, which they called Albion, and into Ireland, which they called Ierne. They met the indigenous builders of monoliths and stone circles. [39] Britain was later invaded by Romans, Nordic and Germanic tribes, Angles from Denmark, Saxons from Germany, Normans from France. King Arthur (or Artus) fought the Saxon invaders in 5th or 6th C. Germanic languages include English, Dutch, German, Norse, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, and extinct Gothic. Today, is most widely dispersed language group, spoken by 600 million people. [40] Balts still revere snakes and amphibians, traces of goddess cult. Balts not Christianized until 13th or 14th C, and then under duress. Britons were Celts, but Scots and Picts were pre-Indo-European. [41] 42 Wherever Indo-Europeans went, they established a "dominator" system, according to Riane Eisler. It had a military caste, patrilineal inheritance, and patriarchal property rights. This is the system which appears in the earliest written records. It suppressed women, and destroyed goddess worship. Similar to Semite civilizations in Middle East. [42] Yahweh and Zeus were storm and mountain gods, associated with Mount Sinai and Mount Olympus. Aesir gods fought against the Vanir, who were probably Old European. [43] Indo-Europeans left a tradition of warfare, and a passion for weapons, and a tradition of social inequity. [44] 46 Christianity destroyed Indo-European religions and cultures. [46] Religion of Old Europe was interwoven with plant and animal worlds. Images of goddesses outnumber images of gods ten to one, and had animal components. Humans were not regarded as superior. Indo-Europeans had humanoid images, not semi-animal. Animals were domesticated by gods, used to ride or pull carts. [47] Christian god was male and human. Animism survived into Christian era - all natural forces are animated by a vital force. Animals and plants had souls or spirits. There was no distinction between animate and inanimate. [48] No dichotomy between sacred and profane. Deities lived in rivers, sky and wind, mountains, trees, and animals. Holy places were groves, moors, springs, caves, outstanding trees or rock formations, hilltops, and mountain peaks. Contained strong shamanic tradition. World tree, which Odin hung from, and then discovered runes. Christians considered heaven divine, and nature was profane, or even demonic. [49] 50 Among animists, world tree and earth mother are two images that are most widespread. With Indos, sky father gradually rose to dominance. [50] Christians demonized shamans, healers, and midwives, because their powers came from a pact with the devil, a unique Christian deity. [Could the devil be a personification of the Self, the me-focus?] [51] "In the historical period, as alienation from the natural world increases, so does the fear of death and the creation of elaborate eschatologies in the monotheistic religions. This is followed in the modern era, under the sway of the materialistic worldview, by a more or less complete denial of any kind of afterlife." [52] In Old Europe, dead were sometimes buried in an egg-shaped pit, in the fetal position, sometimes surmounted with a carved or etched vulva triangle. In some places, corpses were exposed to decay and vultures for a while, and then their skulls and skeletons were buried separately in communal chambers. [54] The presence of gods was directly sensed, but with Greeks, and more with Christians, the concept of deities became more abstract. [56] Biggest forced conversion is when Charlemagne killed 30,000 Saxons in 772, because they refused to convert. He then cut down their Irminsžl tree. [57] Starting in 11th C, church became obsessed with heresy, with those who left the church and worshipped otherwise, and those who never joined the church in the first place. Thousands of Cathars, a devotional, celibate, and mystical sect in Languedoc in France, were massacred and publically burned. [58] The Inquisition created the Dominicans for the purpose of pursuing heretics. In 1492, the Moors and non-converted Jews in Spain were expelled, and their property seized. Then, their attack was directed against pagans. This lasted 300 years, and killed several millions. The majority were women. [59] Arnold Toynbee said monotheistic religions destroy the human-nature relationship, and remove constraints to greed. [60] Romans, Greeks, Germans, and Celts had similar religious conceptions, based on Indo-European model. Christianity declared to be the official Roman religion at the Council of Nicaea in 325, and massive conversion campaign began against the Germans. [62] Celts and Germans had councils called Things. Artistic and religious practices were private individual matters. The exception was the Druids, who had an extensive organization of education, the arts, religious ritual, and trade. Germans lived in villages, and Romans lived in cities. With conversion, urbanization came in parallel. Urbanization and conversion increased separation and psychic distance from forests, heaths, and mountains. [63] With Indos, patriarchy and warrior castes grew in parallel. Egalitarian systems were replaced with warrior chiefs or kings as absolute rulers. Before, villages centered around elder mothers, and women served important role as priestesses. [64] Priestesses often had special springs or caves. Their oracular advice was revered through the Middle Ages. German priestesses were called všlvas, and their oracular ceremonies were called seidrs. They interpretted runes, foretold of future events. [65] German social order based on family, clan, and tribe. Families lived in large wooden farmhouses that included a barn space for animals. A clan lived together in a village or hamlet. Some land was held in common, for grazing. Tribe was collection of clans in a region who spoke the same language. Individual identified with clan, and took the clan's name: Wolfbert was radiant wolf. Wolfgang was "One who walks as a wolf." Each clan was associated with an animal. Clan included both the living and the dead. [66] In Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures of Old Europe, the clan and village organization was matricentric. [66] A child's mother's brother was more important than biological father to child. Men's names were derived from their mothers. Property was transmitted through female line. Clan-mothers or queens often ruled with their brothers, rather than with their husbands. Inheritance was matrilineal, from mothers to daughters. With Indos, fathers and brothers took over, with patrilineal inheritance, and name-giving. Women's sexuality and reproduction brought under control. A woman having a son by another man could mess up inheritance game. [67] In the Middle Ages, the commons were expropriated by the landed gentry. Lesser farmers became bonded serfs, and many were forced out to the cities. This was enclosure, similar to privatization. [68] In old Europe, husbands would move into the wife's family home, along with her brothers and sisters. Women staying in mother's home continued into 20th C in Scotland (matrilocality). A Great Mother of the clan, with her brother or uncle led the clan, and a council of women was the governing body. Leadership was matrilineal, succession followed the female line. [69] Ancestors were often buried under the floor of the house. In patriarchal Germany, the man carried his new bride through the door, and the bride circled the hearth three times to show respect for her husband's clan. [71] Snorri says that sibling marriage was common, among the Vanir (Old Europe). To this Aesir, this was incestuous. In patriarchy, absolute fidelity demanded of women, but male promiscuity is permitted. The birth of the double standard. [72] Military caste remains in rule. History is a military history of monarchies, empires, and nation-states. Berserkers were warriors who wore bear-skins, and ulfhednar were wolf-skins. They developed a holy rage prior to battle. They went without armor, and fire or iron did not affect them. In battle they could perform miraculous feats, and had super-human endurance. They could change size and shape. They had amplified power. Acheived fierce state by songs, shouts, and dancing. Women often accompanied them and encouraged them. Some warriors fought naked. [74-77] To be killed in battle was desired, for it led to Valhalla. Those who died otherwise went to Hel. Warriors were devoted to Odin, like poets, seers, soothsayers, and shamans. They fought with divine inspiration. Warriors fought with their clans, which demanded their bravery and honor. Women bared their breasts to rally their men, reminding them of their immanent enslavement and rape. Všlvas predicted the fates of planned battles, and bad predictions led to changes of plans. [78-80] Furious berzerkers sometimes killed not just the enemy, but everyone in sight, including friends. Battle rage was sometimes hard to shut off. In Ireland, Cu Chulainn was so overheated that a group of naked women was sent out to calm him. He was put in vats of cold water, which boiled and evaporated. [82] Runes date from first centuries AD, during the time of great migrations of Germanic and Nordic tribes. In earliest times, runes used for divination and magic, not writing. "Rune" comes from word for secret or mystery. Each rune was a sign for a being or a concept. To know the secrets of the runes was to know how to interpret the meanings of the signs in relation to a question, in other words, to know the will of the gods in a given situation. Battles were cancelled because elder mothers said that the runes advised against it. [85/6] Všlvas, and women in general, specialized in prophesy and oracles. Freya (Vanir) taught Odin and Aesir of runes. First written script in 4000 BC, in Sumeria. Gimbutas says there was script in east-central Europe in 6000 BC. This is not related to runes. Divination, finding hidden knowledge via the gods, was soothsaying. Soothe means to verify. Latin word is augury. Roman augurs made predictions, based on the flight of birds. Besides rune casting, among Germans, there was horse augury, where a sacred horse, yoked to a chariot, walked over spears on the ground. Bird augury - seeing a raven before battle meant victory. Augury by duel. Všlvas conducted seidrs, where incantations were chanted by a choir of youths or maidens, and a state of enchantment was created. Rythmic chanting is used in many places. {87-89] Necromancy, divination via spirits of the dead. 90 Odin attended hangings to communicate with man entering the other world. Or, consulting ancestral skull Ñ Celtic myths of Bran the Blessed, and Odin's use of Mimir's head. Or, Odin descends into the underworld, awakens a dead všlva, and asks her questions. It is very important to ask the right question, in order to acquire the desired knowledge [Asking poor questions can lead to destructive ignorance Ñ bad questions have a price too.]. Some people had a special ability to interpret dreams and visions. The right question must also be asked with the proper attitude. Prophetic dreams also provided knowledge. Knowledge of both the past and the future could be acquired. Church said divination was received from Satan. People lost ability to achieve non-ordinary states of consciousness. People became less clairvoyant, and telepathic and precognitive abilities atrophied. The specially-gifted were the most likely to be killed by the Church, ending genetic continuity. This was part of a larger dissociation and alienation of human consciousness from a communion with the natural world, including psychic and spiritual channels. Astrology and tarot are reviving, along with new systems of using runes. [90/91] Eddas provide much info. There is the Elder Edda (Poetic Edda), and the Later Edda (Prose Edda) by Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241). Snorri also wrote the Ynglinga Saga, the tale of a royal Swedish family. Edda means great-grandmother. Tacitus wrote Germania, and Agricola (England). Saxo Grammaticus wrote of Danes, and Gregory of Tours wrote of the Franks. Tacitus on Germans: Their holy places are woods and groves, and they apply the names of deities to that hidden presence which is seen only by the eye of reverence. [92/3] Northern poetry was a "unique mixture of heroic narratives, divinatory incantation, visions of times past and future, prophetic riddles, magical formulas, and moral exhortations." Kennings were obscure metaphorical allusions (i.e., "gold" is represented by "Rhine fire"). Kenning is related to English can, could, couth, keen, and know. Kennings express knowledge, ability, and power, based on knowing something and speaking its true name. Eddas conceal knowledge from ordinary folks, but reveal it to those who have ears to hear. [94/5] Fantastic names and kennings in Eddas refer not only to physical reality, but beyond. The Nordic-Germanic cosmos was a three-fold or nine-fold structure, arranged along a central axis mundi, or World Tree. Gods, giants, dwarves, elves, and humans all live in their own worlds, although travel between realms is possible by seers, shamans, and sorcerers. After descending from hanging on world tree, Odin learns nine songs, each which can allow him entrance into one of the nine worlds. Visions in Eddas go thousands of years forwards and backwards, including today. [96/7]
Odin is god of shamans, sorcerers, poets, singers, storytellers, prophetic seers and seeresses, soothsayers, and berserker warriors - who are seized by Odin in their special state of ecstatic inspiration. [112] While hanging nine days on World Tree, Odin became a master of the power of speech. He was a wind god. As a truth-seeking sorcerer or wizard, Odin was the Wanderer, rune-carved staff, two wolves, two ravens. As war god, carried runed spear. Odin had Draupnir, a golden ring, like the temple ring used for ceremonies and for swearing oaths. [115]
Odin's ravens find lost or hidden knowledge. Elder Edda, the Grimnismal poem [116]:
Huginn = thought, and Muninn = memory. [Memory is more important than thought.] Knowledge of the past, ancestral memory. Modern Europe has gone crazy in maniacal pursuit of scientific knowledge. Odin didn't separate observation of earthly events from an understanding of spiritual values. [Science has.] Snorri says that Aesir gods were human men and women from Asia who acquired supernatural powers (indos?). They migrated into northern Europe. Aesir lived in Asgard (garden of Aesir), in the crown of the world tree. Humans lived in Midgard (middle garden). [120-124] At beginning of world, Fenrir the wolf is bound up by the gods, so that he doesn't devour the world [the domestication of the wild natural world?] At Ragnaršk, the end time, Fenrir bursts loose [nature's revenge?] He devours the sun, destroys much of the Earth, overcomes Odin, before being killed by Vidar (the eternal forest). Ragnaršk is initiated by the death of Baldur (light) who is killed by Hšdur (blindness) via Loki's deceit. [consciousness vs. unconsciousness?] Baldur has an Achilles heel - misteltoe. [125-129] Snorri says that the Freyja and Freyr sister-brother marriage (Vanir) was customary among the Vanir, but the Aesir disapproved of it. Freyja had a magical necklace called Brisingamen ("fire" and "shining"). It was not an ornament, but an instrument of magical transformation. The necklace was made by four dwarves, master smiths. Freyja spent one night of love with each of the dwarves, exchanging magic for magic. Give love in order to receive magical, transformative power. Všlvas have seidrs. The seeress sits on a high platform. Songs and incantations sung by young girls induce a trance. The spirits then come to her. She is able to ask questions, usually about the future. In Norse myths, there is Freyja (Vanir) and Frigga (Aesir). Frigga is the goddess of married women and mothers. Freyja is like Aphrodite, feminine beauty and erotic power, married or not. Vanir gods and goddesses celebrated by carrying their images around in a cart, blessing the land. [153-162] Freyr is associated with fertility, peace, and abundance of nourishment from land and sea. Rules over rain and sunshine, and the fruitfulness of the earth. Invoked for good harvests and for peace. Vanir are older gods of earth and vegetation, associated with nature and its forces. They are matricentric, and they possess the seidr, powerful magic. Aesir are younger gods of air and war, patriarchal gods of conquest. Their magic is the magic of words. They reject the magical knowledge of the Vanir, except for Odin, who learns magic from Freyja. Freyja is of sensual, physical, and passionate love. Did not adopt Aesir marriage form and monogamy, remains a free woman. She loves men, gods, and dwarves, but also maintains love to Odr, who is the father of her two daughters. Modern men prefer a goddess who nourishes, protects, understands, and forgives. Women don't go for this model, despite heavy social programming. Freyja's sexual freedom seems indecent even to many modern witches, because of our social programming. For centuries, women have had their sexuality branded as diabolical and have been punished for it. As late as the turn of the century, it was denied that women could have orgasms. [163-181] When the gods told Freyja to marry a giant to settle a problem (recover Thor's hammer), she refused with a terrible wrath of anger. She freely loves who she will, but she will not love when told to do so. Freyja the goddess of prophesy: "The great seeresses of ancient times must have known every corner of the shadow world, both their own and that of their people. The view is unerring and merciless. Nothing is concealed, nothing is beautiful. All one can do is to look at it." [182-184] Freyja, goddess of battle. There are times when women must take up ancient weapons, visible and invisible, and fight for survival. "Malice has its merits." "The woman who emerges is not nice, not harmless, not good-natured. She disturbs the apparent peace, breaks the silence that has been politely observed till now. She is radical, questions everything, and stands everything on its head. She calls injustice by its name, insists upon clear convictions, confronts all without pity, herself included. She draws conclusions and accepts responsibility." [187] When Odin hung from the tree, he discovers access to the hidden inner intelligences of nature. Christian view condemns direct spirituality (Gnosticism). Science denies the reality of spiritual forces in the world. We have long been separated from the awareness of the interior dimensions of this reality. We have lost this path to knowledge, and we would be wise to remember it. When Odin discovers runes, he discovers the secret language of nature. [192-195] Dwarves are spirits of stone, rock, metal, and fire. Elves are spirits of winds, trees, plants, and rivers. Both are different from gods, giants, and humans. Dwarves are craftsmen. They made Mjšllnir (Thor's hammer), Brisingamen (Freyja's necklace), Draupnir (Odin's ring), Skidbladnir (Freyr's magical ship). They made the bonds that held Fenrir the wolf, and the made the mead of poetry. [207/8]
Marija Gimbutas says that old goddesses have three aspects [210]: Dwarves are subterrannean spirits of metal and stone. They magical and powerful things. They are like modern amoral and asocial scientists. [bullshit!] Elves live to this day in plants, trees, water, etc. They are the guiding spirits of musicians, poets, painters, dancers, and sculptors. They are the creators and inspirers of beauty in form. Giants are the oceans, winds, mountains, deserts. They sometimes explode with violence. They are not under the control of humans. Today we have manmade giants: corporations [bullshit!] The giant Mimir is the Wise One or the Rememberer. Odin drinks at Mimir's Well of Remembrance to learn of the past, the origins of things, ancestral knowledge. For this drink, he must pluck out one of his eyes. Understanding remembered knowledge can shed light on possible futures. [212-219] Some German translations call Mimir's well mŠrchenreich, "filled with stories." Stories tell us about our past, and visions tell of the future. Mimir's name means memory. Všlvas access past and future knowledge using special states of consciousness, and a question and answer format. Constant theme in Nordic myths is that knowledge has to be asked for and paid for - there is always an exchange. Real knowledge has to be earned or paid for. Must offer something of personal or symbolic value. [220-223] To settle an Aesir/Vanir conflict, the Aesir sent HÏnir and Mimir as representatives. HÏnir is thought, and Mimir is memory. HÏnir never spoke a word without first consulting with Mimir. He sat silent. Thought was useless without memory. The Vanir got pissed, cut off Mimir's head, and sent it back to Odin, who preserved it and used it. Without a head, there is amnesia. Without remembrance, we are cut off from our sources of true understanding. In Asia, shamans keep ancestral skulls and consult with them prior to any important decision or action. The severed head of the Welsh warrior Bran continued to accompany his followers, singing at banquets, and giving prophecy and guidance. [224-226] Moderns suffer from amnesia. We do not honor our ancestors, even those living among us. Since we believe that death is the end, we make no attempt to contact the dead. We are very motivated to help our children and grandchildren, and if possible we would continue to do so after death. But we want to forget prior generations -the Nazis, the conquerors of America, the Inquisitors. We are ashamed of them. Many of todays problems are the results of our ancestor's actions. Our current mistakes are sometimes the consequence of blindly following status quo. We do not learn the lessons of past mistakes. We repeat the same destructive patterns over and over again. [227/8]
Odin had three paths of knowledge: The Aesir and Vanir came together to make peace. They sat in a circle, and all spit into a vessel, which led to the creation of a human being named Kvasir, who was so wise that he could answer any question. The mead of inspiration could turn any drinker into a poet. Thus, there is great wisdom in combining the spit of opposites (ego & shadow, anima & animus, etc.). The wisdom of reconciliation comes from loving, not fighting; from honoring and celebrating differences, instead of fearing them. There are many other stories of reconciliation in European myths. In Ireland, when the Indo-Celts took over the goddess folks, the warrior king married the goddess of the land, who honored the kingship because the land was then named after her. Her name was ƒriu, and the ancient name for Ireland was ƒire (hence, Ireland). America's big guilt trip is the extermination of the natives, which was supported by the Church. A reconcilation is needed. [232-236]
The Council of All Beings gives voices to the spirits of animals, plants, ecosystems, and bioregions. This process has three themes: Odin is a powerful archetype because he is filled with contradictory elements: shadowy treachery and illumined wisdom seeking. He is not idealized or blindly adored - his sexist and exploitive attitudes and behavior are clearly and soberly admitted. [243] The end of the world was part of German, Indian (India), Iranian, and Israeli myths. In Norse myths, three survive ragnaršk: Balder, Hšdur (two sons of Thor), and "a daughter of the sun." [Where is Vidar?] They start a new world, with a new generation of humans. [Search author: Jan de Vries] After the conversion of Iceland, people were allowed to continue practicing the old religion. On December 31, 999, at midnight, the Pope delivered what he thought and proclaimed was the last mass on Earth. Ragnaršk begins after Balder's funeral. Odin does not will his destruction, or the destruction of the world, but he foresees it, tries to prevent it, and fails. [244-249]
Ragnaršk has three themes [250]: There was a cold period around 500 BC. Weather was warmer from 1000 to 1300 AD. 1430 to 1850 was known as the Little Ice Age in Europe - major rivers froze, as did the Baltic Sea and parts of the Mediterranean. Harsh winters reduced the growing season and caused famine, especially in northern Europe and Iceland.[251] At creation, gods bind world-destroying monsters, enabling human life. At end, monsters are released. This binding is done by the male sky and warrior gods Ñ the Aesir or Indo-European gods. Knowledge, courage, justice, and generosity bind and control the immense, violent, and potentially destructive forces of nature and chaos. The sea surrounding Earth island is the home of the serpent named Midgard. Midgard can be wild and chaotic. Thor fights with him many times, and at the end, they both destroy each other. [256/7] Odin vs. Fenris = knowledge and inspiration defeated by greed and aggression. [Fenris is natural fury and chaos, and Odin is human domestiction and attempted domination? When Fenris the devourer is bound, do humans become the central devourers?] At ragnaršk, four forces are unleashed: destruction (Midgard), violence (Surt), greed (Fenrir), and treachery (Loki). They destroy the world. There is karmic justice in the destruction of the Indo-European sky gods, who brought war and patriarchy. The Aesir and their human allies are destroyed. The monsters themselves are killed or driven back, providing an opportunity for renewal and restoration. [258/9] Snorri says that Freyja alone survived ragnaršk. Another poem says that Njšrdr survived (god of the sea). Freyr is the only Vanir to die. [Or Vidar? Perhaps the conflicting conclusions offer multiple possible futures.] In 1993, the Pope issued a formal denunciation of the revival of Goddess spirituality and "nature worship." "Starting in the Age of Reason, the Christian religion itself was then attacked and gradually lost its position as the dominant ideology of European civilization. The dominant worldview of the modern era is, as we know, god-less, spirit-less, value-less, senseless, and alienated from nature." [260/1] Rudolph Steiner says Balder (light) vs. Hšdur (blindness) is Vision and Knowledge vs. Unconsciousness. After the end, both will return. One poem says gods of the new age will be Vidar, Vali, Modi, and Magni. Hšnir will also return and set up wooden pieces for divination. Hšnir is an Aesir god, and the other six are sons of Aesir gods. Of the Vanir, Njšdr returns, plus a "daughter of the sun", perhaps Sunna of the ancient Germans. [263/4] Christianity annihilated local religions. Buddhism spread with little bloodshed. It integrated, harmonized, and blended Buddhist teachings with the local religions. Aesir and Vanir reconciled, but Christianity and Pagans have not. [274] Our ancestors want to help us on our ways, just like we want to help our children and grandchildren. In the Všlusp‡, the všlva's vision sees "the Earth rising from the waters, growing with greenness...the fields will grow high without being sown." Metzner says that this doesn't mean that we should do without agriculture completely. I question his opinion. [276/7] Mary Condren, The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion, and Power in Celtic Ireland. The king participated in an annual rite of marriage, where he mated with the goddess. In patriarchal myths, the king found the goddess in the form of an old hag, and his embrace turned her into a young and beautiful woman. [315] - Richard Reese
Email: rmetzner
Ralph Metzner, Ph.D. has been exploring states of consciousness and transformational practices for over thirty years. He is a psychotherapist and professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he teaches courses on ecopsychology and ecological worldviews. He is the author of several books, including The Psychedelic Experience (with Leary and Alpert, 1964), Maps of Consciousness (1971), Know Your Type (1978), Opening to Inner Light (1986) and The Well of Remembrance - Rediscovering the Earth Wisdom Mythology of Northern Europe (Shambhala, 1994). He is co-founder and president of the Green Earth Foundation, an educational organization devoted to the healing and harmonizing of the relations between humanity and the Earth. His most recently published work is The Unfolding Self. Other books include Green Psychology (Inner Traditions International, 1999) and Ayahuasca - Human Consciousness and the Spirits of Nature (Thunder's Mouth Press, 1999).
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The first communication that he received from his ancestors was that the basic lesson is one of survival. [6] A Paiute medicine man, in time of healing, would ask all in the circle to call in their ancestor helpers, both known and unknown, all the way back to the beginning of time. [7] Odin is the core of the Germanic psyche with its relentless pursuit of knowledge. [10] Gimbutus. Old Europe (modern Balkans) and Anatolia (Turkey) were not patriarchal or warlike. No weapons have been found on sites going back to seventh and eighth millenium BCE. No forts or defensive walls. [11]
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