I began teaching a three part class on the Runes of the Elder Futhark last Monday. The class was well attended and during the class we were surprised by this great thunderstorm. I was honored that the elements showed up for class in this way.
Veering off topic, as does happen from time to time in my classes, we talked about the lore of Thor and his mother Jord and the "incestuous" cycle of mother giving birth to son and son returning to impregnate the mother. Of course, these are concepts that bring most of us to an abrupt halt. We have no way of understanding that completely, nor would we be able to. In fact, it makes me wonder if the story was translated or passed down correctly. Was it changed to make the "old" Gods seem dirty and impure, unworthy and lower than the newly imported Christian God?
Anyway, as I prepared for bed that night I found myself reaching for my Giants Tarot by Raven Kaldera. I shuffled and pulled a card. I love these cards not only because they represent and focus on the Giants of the Northern Traditions, but because the book gives you a short history of each; so cool. The card I pulled was Farbauti, The Tower. After correcting that initial shock and awe moment that had been ingrained in me when seeing the The Tower card, I pulled out the book to gain a better understanding of what Raven intended.
Farbauti, The Tower, really made me look again at the cycle of death and life. Something has to die for something else to be created. The card also led me to the affirmation that yes it is time to pare down my shit and get rid of stuff that just takes up space. Also, I remembered that Farbauti is the Chief of the Lightning Clan of the Iron Wood. He perhaps held the place of the Lightning God before Thor came along; even back then the old was replaced by the new that was seen to be more civilized, dare I say domesticated.
One day I hope to see the whole story and it progression. I hope to understand the origins of the people of the Northern European Traditions. I hope to connect with my Ancestors and Gods on a level unattainable to me now because the stories have survived through the eyes of the conquerors and my life in this era is very different from theirs. I hope to connect more fully to the cycle of the earth that is death and life.
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