Heptarchy
By Eadweard of Angelþeod
Seven lords in crowned helms,
Seven kings of seven realms.
Bone and horn and steel and rime,
Locked in court for all of time.
Great oaken doors bound up in frost,
The locks are frozen, keys are lost.
They groan and roar, the ice unsealed,
An ancient scene therein revealed.
The hall was long and broad and tall,
And glowed with mirth before the fall
But now stood empty, dead, a shell,
As still as stone, as cold as Hell.
Icebound sword in icebound grip,
Icebound axe at icebound hip.
Golden hall and silver Earls,
Brought low by ambitious Churls.
A riven folk, Othala lost,
But honour was the greatest cost.
The fire gone from heart and hearth,
As cold as outside frosty earth.
In frozen North, the hall doth lie,
A curse befell, the land did die.
The curse undone again shall be,
By will and wits and ancientry.
The lost shall once again be found.
Upon this sacred hallowed ground
This oath we swear, this oath we hold
By ancient Gods and laws of old.
Deadkings rest upon their thrones,
All they've lost, that once they owned,
Long lost noble Lords of men,
Till fate shall deem they rise again.
By Eadweard of Angelþeod
Seven lords in crowned helms,
Seven kings of seven realms.
Bone and horn and steel and rime,
Locked in court for all of time.
Great oaken doors bound up in frost,
The locks are frozen, keys are lost.
They groan and roar, the ice unsealed,
An ancient scene therein revealed.
The hall was long and broad and tall,
And glowed with mirth before the fall
But now stood empty, dead, a shell,
As still as stone, as cold as Hell.
Icebound sword in icebound grip,
Icebound axe at icebound hip.
Golden hall and silver Earls,
Brought low by ambitious Churls.
A riven folk, Othala lost,
But honour was the greatest cost.
The fire gone from heart and hearth,
As cold as outside frosty earth.
In frozen North, the hall doth lie,
A curse befell, the land did die.
The curse undone again shall be,
By will and wits and ancientry.
The lost shall once again be found.
Upon this sacred hallowed ground
This oath we swear, this oath we hold
By ancient Gods and laws of old.
Deadkings rest upon their thrones,
All they've lost, that once they owned,
Long lost noble Lords of men,
Till fate shall deem they rise again.
A Masterpiece of Greco-Buddhist Art
The Bimaran Casket is a gold relic found by the archaeologist Charles Masson in the late 1800s, along with many other Buddhist relics and coins of the Indo-Scythian King Azes I. It features many artistic motifs also found in Greek art and was found in Gandhara, Pakistan, where Greco-Buddhism flourished and where we find the most Greek inspired Buddhist artwork. This includes some of the earliest anthropomorphic depictions of the Buddha or Prince Siddharta. In this representation we see Brahma on the left and Sakra (another name for Indra) flanking the Buddha, which is a common design found in early Buddhist art.
- Kalin, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
The Bimaran Casket is a gold relic found by the archaeologist Charles Masson in the late 1800s, along with many other Buddhist relics and coins of the Indo-Scythian King Azes I. It features many artistic motifs also found in Greek art and was found in Gandhara, Pakistan, where Greco-Buddhism flourished and where we find the most Greek inspired Buddhist artwork. This includes some of the earliest anthropomorphic depictions of the Buddha or Prince Siddharta. In this representation we see Brahma on the left and Sakra (another name for Indra) flanking the Buddha, which is a common design found in early Buddhist art.
- Kalin, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
In the Doric order of Classical Architecture, a common feature is the gutta. (circled)
Interestingly, guttae represent the pegs that used to be hammered in to the wooden beams of the wooden temples that were built in Greece before stone temples became popular.
- Owen, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Interestingly, guttae represent the pegs that used to be hammered in to the wooden beams of the wooden temples that were built in Greece before stone temples became popular.
- Owen, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Going Inward
Eastern meditation and yoga practices found in Buddhism, Shaivism and other branches of Hinduism are a deep and worthy subject. All these practices stemming from Vedic or Indo-European thoughts and practices, they have evolved into deep and profound tools for inner realization. For western polytheists today it could be beneficial if we use these tools to raise our subconscious and heal our psyche from the constant ego-grasping of the modern world. This is by no means a comprehensive overview of these practices but hopefully it opens the door to incorporating a Yogic view to your own practice.
https://telegra.ph/Going-Inward-06-02
- Kalin, the Sun Riders
@solarcult
Eastern meditation and yoga practices found in Buddhism, Shaivism and other branches of Hinduism are a deep and worthy subject. All these practices stemming from Vedic or Indo-European thoughts and practices, they have evolved into deep and profound tools for inner realization. For western polytheists today it could be beneficial if we use these tools to raise our subconscious and heal our psyche from the constant ego-grasping of the modern world. This is by no means a comprehensive overview of these practices but hopefully it opens the door to incorporating a Yogic view to your own practice.
https://telegra.ph/Going-Inward-06-02
- Kalin, the Sun Riders
@solarcult
Telegraph
Going Inward
The Foundation of Yogic Philosophy
Forwarded from The Classical Wisdom Tradition
You'll have to excuse the length of this post, but I thought it was worth sharing since it is one of the more detailed descriptions of ancient sacrifice in Europe.
"[The ox] is sacrificed if it makes a deep bow to Hestia. The kings' share-receiver makes the sacrifice and provides the offerings and offers in addition a half hekteus of offerings. He takes his share, the skin and a leg, the hieropoioi take a leg, and the remaining meat belongs to the city.
The heralds lead the ox selected for Zeus to the agora. After reaching the agora, the owner of the ox or the person deputizing for him calls out: 'For the people of Cos I am providing the ox; let the Coans give the price to Hestia.' And let the chief magistrates immediately take an oath and make a valuation; when a valuation has been made, let the herald announce how much the valuation was. Then they drive the ox to Hestia Hetaeraea and make the sacrifice. The priest puts a ribbon upon the ox and pours a cup of wine mixed with water as a libation in front of the ox. Then they lead the ox away, together with the burnt offering, seven cakes, honey, and the ribbon. As they leave, they call for respectful silence. At this point they untie the ox and begin the sacrificial ritual with olive and laurel. The heralds burn a pig and its entrails upon the altar, pouring on libations of honey and milk. After washing the intestines, they burn them beside the altar. And once they are burnt without wine, let him pour upon them a libation of honey and milk.
Let the herald announce that they are celebrating the annual festival as a feast for Zeus Polieus. Let the priest make an additional offering together with the intestines, incense, and cakes, libations mixed and unmixed, and a ribbon. Then let the priest and herald go to the hieropoioi at the public building, and let the hieropoioi entertain the priest and the herald during this night. And let the heralds choose whoever they want from their own number as slaughterer of the ox and let whoever of them wishes to proclaim the choice to the person chosen.
On the same day: to Dionysius Scyllites, a pig and a kid. The pig meat is not to be taken away [from the sanctuary]. The priest makes the sacrifice and provides the offerings. As perquisites, he takes the skin and leg.
On the twentieth: the selected ox is sacrificed to Zeus Polieus. What has to be wrapped is wrapped in the skin. On the hearth a sacrifice is made of half a hekteus of barley, two half-hekteus loaves, one shaped like a cheese, and things wrapped in skin. On these the priest pours a libation of three mixing bowls of wine. Perquisites from the ox: for the priest the skin and a leg (the priest provides the offerings) and half of the breast and half the stomach; for the incense-bearer the hip-end of the leg given to the hieropoioi; for the heralds, a double portion of meat from the back, shoulder meat, a three-spit share of blood meat; for the Nestoridae, a double portion of meat from the back; for the doctors, meat; for the flute-player, meat; to the smiths and potters, the brain. The rest of the meat is for the city. All of these are not taken out of the city.
On the same day: to Athena Polias, a pregnant sheep. The priest makes the sacrifice and provides the offerings. As perquisites, he takes the skin and a leg. On the twenty-first: to Dionysius Scyllites a pig and a kid: the meat of the pig is not to be taken away. The priest makes the sacrifice and provides the offerings. As perquisites he take the skin and a leg."
A description of sacrifice in Cos to Zeus Polieus (of the City) from an inscription on a fourth century BCE calendar. Quoted from Greek Religion: A Sourcebook by Valerie Warrior p. 67.
"[The ox] is sacrificed if it makes a deep bow to Hestia. The kings' share-receiver makes the sacrifice and provides the offerings and offers in addition a half hekteus of offerings. He takes his share, the skin and a leg, the hieropoioi take a leg, and the remaining meat belongs to the city.
The heralds lead the ox selected for Zeus to the agora. After reaching the agora, the owner of the ox or the person deputizing for him calls out: 'For the people of Cos I am providing the ox; let the Coans give the price to Hestia.' And let the chief magistrates immediately take an oath and make a valuation; when a valuation has been made, let the herald announce how much the valuation was. Then they drive the ox to Hestia Hetaeraea and make the sacrifice. The priest puts a ribbon upon the ox and pours a cup of wine mixed with water as a libation in front of the ox. Then they lead the ox away, together with the burnt offering, seven cakes, honey, and the ribbon. As they leave, they call for respectful silence. At this point they untie the ox and begin the sacrificial ritual with olive and laurel. The heralds burn a pig and its entrails upon the altar, pouring on libations of honey and milk. After washing the intestines, they burn them beside the altar. And once they are burnt without wine, let him pour upon them a libation of honey and milk.
Let the herald announce that they are celebrating the annual festival as a feast for Zeus Polieus. Let the priest make an additional offering together with the intestines, incense, and cakes, libations mixed and unmixed, and a ribbon. Then let the priest and herald go to the hieropoioi at the public building, and let the hieropoioi entertain the priest and the herald during this night. And let the heralds choose whoever they want from their own number as slaughterer of the ox and let whoever of them wishes to proclaim the choice to the person chosen.
On the same day: to Dionysius Scyllites, a pig and a kid. The pig meat is not to be taken away [from the sanctuary]. The priest makes the sacrifice and provides the offerings. As perquisites, he takes the skin and leg.
On the twentieth: the selected ox is sacrificed to Zeus Polieus. What has to be wrapped is wrapped in the skin. On the hearth a sacrifice is made of half a hekteus of barley, two half-hekteus loaves, one shaped like a cheese, and things wrapped in skin. On these the priest pours a libation of three mixing bowls of wine. Perquisites from the ox: for the priest the skin and a leg (the priest provides the offerings) and half of the breast and half the stomach; for the incense-bearer the hip-end of the leg given to the hieropoioi; for the heralds, a double portion of meat from the back, shoulder meat, a three-spit share of blood meat; for the Nestoridae, a double portion of meat from the back; for the doctors, meat; for the flute-player, meat; to the smiths and potters, the brain. The rest of the meat is for the city. All of these are not taken out of the city.
On the same day: to Athena Polias, a pregnant sheep. The priest makes the sacrifice and provides the offerings. As perquisites, he takes the skin and a leg. On the twenty-first: to Dionysius Scyllites a pig and a kid: the meat of the pig is not to be taken away. The priest makes the sacrifice and provides the offerings. As perquisites he take the skin and a leg."
A description of sacrifice in Cos to Zeus Polieus (of the City) from an inscription on a fourth century BCE calendar. Quoted from Greek Religion: A Sourcebook by Valerie Warrior p. 67.
We call your Wolves
This poem to Wodan and the Aesir was made by Friedrich Hielscher. He was a syncretic pagan mystic who founded a pagan group and theology based on Goethe and other philosophical currents of the time in the 1930s German Esoteric movement. He was also a friend of Ernst Jünger, who praised him for his disdain of technology and love for ancient religious views such as Gnosticism. This poem has since been made into a song by various neofolk groups.
Wir rufen Deine Wölfe
und rufen Deinen Speer,
wir rufen alle Zwölfe
vom Himmel zu uns her.
Wir rufen Dich vor Allen.
Nun kommt die wilde Jagd,
nun laßt das Horn erschallen,
um keinen Toten klagt.
Der Feind ist schon verfallen,
eh daß der Morgen tagt.
Das Wild hat keinen Namen,
der Feind hat kein Gesicht,
das Aas hat keinen Samen,
gerecht ist das Gericht.
Die Ernte ist vergangen,
die Spreu ist täglich feil,
die Raben jetzt verlangen
ihr angemessnes Teil,
die Jagd hat angefangen:
nun hält uns, Herr, Dein Heil.
This poem to Wodan and the Aesir was made by Friedrich Hielscher. He was a syncretic pagan mystic who founded a pagan group and theology based on Goethe and other philosophical currents of the time in the 1930s German Esoteric movement. He was also a friend of Ernst Jünger, who praised him for his disdain of technology and love for ancient religious views such as Gnosticism. This poem has since been made into a song by various neofolk groups.
Wir rufen Deine Wölfe
und rufen Deinen Speer,
wir rufen alle Zwölfe
vom Himmel zu uns her.
Wir rufen Dich vor Allen.
Nun kommt die wilde Jagd,
nun laßt das Horn erschallen,
um keinen Toten klagt.
Der Feind ist schon verfallen,
eh daß der Morgen tagt.
Das Wild hat keinen Namen,
der Feind hat kein Gesicht,
das Aas hat keinen Samen,
gerecht ist das Gericht.
Die Ernte ist vergangen,
die Spreu ist täglich feil,
die Raben jetzt verlangen
ihr angemessnes Teil,
die Jagd hat angefangen:
nun hält uns, Herr, Dein Heil.
English translation:
We call your wolves
and call your spear
we call all twelve
from heaven to us.
We call you before everyone.
Now comes the wild hunt
now let the horn sound
mourns for no dead.
The enemy has already fallen
before the morning dawns.
The game has no name
the enemy has no face
the carrion has no seed,
The judgement is just
The harvest has passed
the chaff for sale every day,
the ravens now demand
Their fair share
the hunt has begun:
now, Lord, your salvation holds us
We call your wolves
and call your spear
we call all twelve
from heaven to us.
We call you before everyone.
Now comes the wild hunt
now let the horn sound
mourns for no dead.
The enemy has already fallen
before the morning dawns.
The game has no name
the enemy has no face
the carrion has no seed,
The judgement is just
The harvest has passed
the chaff for sale every day,
the ravens now demand
Their fair share
the hunt has begun:
now, Lord, your salvation holds us
The Enghøj brooch is an interesting Viking age artifact. Buried with a rich woman of Norwegian descent, she was interned in the Jutland peninsula region of Denmark.
Of note, the artifact is adorned with ornate swastikas. Likewise, it is at least a century older than the woman it was buried with, and the object is of Irish/Scottish (Celtic) origin.
Overall it suggests there was quite a lot of movement of people and goods between these regions.
-Hariwulfaz, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Of note, the artifact is adorned with ornate swastikas. Likewise, it is at least a century older than the woman it was buried with, and the object is of Irish/Scottish (Celtic) origin.
Overall it suggests there was quite a lot of movement of people and goods between these regions.
-Hariwulfaz, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Valkyrie (1834-1835)
Bronze statue by Danish artist H.W. Bissen
Held in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen.
Bronze statue by Danish artist H.W. Bissen
Held in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen.
Forwarded from Ro Shai
The Ateshgah Fire Temple in Azerbaijan, a Zoroastrian holy site for hundreds of years
Drihten of Death
Woden, truth's body and wisdom
Of awakened mind and might
I have called on your starry kingdom
Drihten of Death and heaven's light
We drink from skulls way up high
Ashes of the world on our skin
With skilled love does it die
Cured of cruel, titannic sin
Woden you are the very void
Where all things we know come
The good and gruesome, all enjoyed
With your will of power, never done
Crazed and loving without illusion
The intellect in all, the all knowing
Grim and cold, without confusion
crossing the vast river current, far-going
We are dancing blood-drinkers, blithe
Gathered 'round gorey fires
Under the Sky's pale scythe
A slightly esoteric poem I made with the help of the great O'Gravy. It is inspired by my studies into Eastern traditions and the connections to the Germanic tradition I have seen. May it inspire you and not come off as too edgy.
- Kalin, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
Woden, truth's body and wisdom
Of awakened mind and might
I have called on your starry kingdom
Drihten of Death and heaven's light
We drink from skulls way up high
Ashes of the world on our skin
With skilled love does it die
Cured of cruel, titannic sin
Woden you are the very void
Where all things we know come
The good and gruesome, all enjoyed
With your will of power, never done
Crazed and loving without illusion
The intellect in all, the all knowing
Grim and cold, without confusion
crossing the vast river current, far-going
We are dancing blood-drinkers, blithe
Gathered 'round gorey fires
Under the Sky's pale scythe
A slightly esoteric poem I made with the help of the great O'Gravy. It is inspired by my studies into Eastern traditions and the connections to the Germanic tradition I have seen. May it inspire you and not come off as too edgy.
- Kalin, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
These excerpts are both from In the Buddha's Words (page 67 and 117) by Therevadin monk, Bhikku Bodhi. It is a collection of passages from the Pali canon of Buddhist literature, which is some of the oldest texts we have on Prince Siddartha's teachings. This paints an interesting picture of what the teachings truly mean, with the analogy of "the ancient city" we see the Buddha's attitude reflects ours as traditionalists and Indo-European reconstructionists. The offering to the ancestors, maintaining the traditions of your forefathers and honoring your parents also is a sign that the Buddha's goals were the same as ours. So as reconstructionists and traditionalists we are on the same path of enlightenment as the Buddha.
- Kalin, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
- Kalin, The Sun Riders
@solarcult
🌊MANANNAN IS AGNI🔥
The YouTuber Fortress of Lugh has asked the question of how the Irish Sea God, Manannan, can really be the Fire God, equivalent of Agni.
Not only is this a certain fact, but none of Manannan’s actions can be understood without knowing this identity, nor can the very creation myth of the Celts be understood without this knowledge.
The Manannan question is a classic litmus test to see if someone knows the Vedic and comparative material well enough to differentiate Agni from the related Descendant of the Waters god, Apam Napat (the defender of the “Shining Glory” in the waters, see: Heimdallr), and then to correctly see this Agni underneath the outward form of the Irish Sea God.
For the convenience of the reader, I will give here the short version of the evidence showing Manannan to be the Celestial form of Agni.
- Manannan uses fire to kill 2 other gods (Fuamnach and Midir), and decides whether to use fire to kill a criminal. Irish gods using fire as a weapon is not a common occurrence, so why is a supposed “sea god” burning other gods to death and deciding whether to burn people?
- Manannan has scorched red and yellow spears, while Agni also has a flaming spear.
- Manannan has the cup that tests truth and falsity, which is a main feature of “trial-by-fire” as can easily be found in Indo-Iranic tradition with the “cup of brimstone” that tests truth, along with other variations. Only the Fire God would have the trial-by-fire cup, the cup of truth and falsity.
- Manannan shapeshifts to test humans just like Agni does, this also embodying the idea of trial-by-fire, fire as the tester of virtue and that which transforms and purifies.
- Agni has 3 legs, Manannan is described as rolling around on 3 legs in Irish folklore.
- According to AA Macdonell (Vedic Mythology), the most well-established detail about Agni is that he is born from the waters and his domain is the waters. Manannan is “son of the sea” and his domain is there. He is simply a version of the Fire God who became more identified with his watery domain.
- Manannan is a psychopomp like Agni and both are associated with the East.
- Manannan crafts various items and has the hook and belt of Goibniu the Smith, yet he is distinct from the Smith God proper. Why does he do and have these things but isn’t the Smith per se? Because fire is necessary to the smith and the Fire God was seen as the arch-Smith (Greek Fire God Hephaestus is an Agni parallel who has more fully been identified with his smith role).
- Manannan’s wife Fand (“Tear of Beauty”) becomes lover of warrior demigod Cuchulainn and then Manannan has to intervene to bring her back using his magical cloak that he places between them. This is the parallel of when Fire God Hephaestus’ wife Aphrodite (goddess of Beauty) becomes lover of war god Ares and Hephaestus intervenes with his magical net that he catches them in, and this again parallels when Agni’s wife Svaha becomes lover of warrior god Krishna but Krishna says she has to go back and be wife of Agni first.
- Manannan serves the food to the gods at the Feast of Age, while Agni brings the burnt sacrifices from Earth to the tables of the gods as their food.
- Agni is the overseer of marriages (hence the importance of circling the fire in Vedic marriage ceremonies), as Manannan also is said in The Fosterage of the House of Two Pails to be given authority over all marriages and births.
The YouTuber Fortress of Lugh has asked the question of how the Irish Sea God, Manannan, can really be the Fire God, equivalent of Agni.
Not only is this a certain fact, but none of Manannan’s actions can be understood without knowing this identity, nor can the very creation myth of the Celts be understood without this knowledge.
The Manannan question is a classic litmus test to see if someone knows the Vedic and comparative material well enough to differentiate Agni from the related Descendant of the Waters god, Apam Napat (the defender of the “Shining Glory” in the waters, see: Heimdallr), and then to correctly see this Agni underneath the outward form of the Irish Sea God.
For the convenience of the reader, I will give here the short version of the evidence showing Manannan to be the Celestial form of Agni.
- Manannan uses fire to kill 2 other gods (Fuamnach and Midir), and decides whether to use fire to kill a criminal. Irish gods using fire as a weapon is not a common occurrence, so why is a supposed “sea god” burning other gods to death and deciding whether to burn people?
- Manannan has scorched red and yellow spears, while Agni also has a flaming spear.
- Manannan has the cup that tests truth and falsity, which is a main feature of “trial-by-fire” as can easily be found in Indo-Iranic tradition with the “cup of brimstone” that tests truth, along with other variations. Only the Fire God would have the trial-by-fire cup, the cup of truth and falsity.
- Manannan shapeshifts to test humans just like Agni does, this also embodying the idea of trial-by-fire, fire as the tester of virtue and that which transforms and purifies.
- Agni has 3 legs, Manannan is described as rolling around on 3 legs in Irish folklore.
- According to AA Macdonell (Vedic Mythology), the most well-established detail about Agni is that he is born from the waters and his domain is the waters. Manannan is “son of the sea” and his domain is there. He is simply a version of the Fire God who became more identified with his watery domain.
- Manannan is a psychopomp like Agni and both are associated with the East.
- Manannan crafts various items and has the hook and belt of Goibniu the Smith, yet he is distinct from the Smith God proper. Why does he do and have these things but isn’t the Smith per se? Because fire is necessary to the smith and the Fire God was seen as the arch-Smith (Greek Fire God Hephaestus is an Agni parallel who has more fully been identified with his smith role).
- Manannan’s wife Fand (“Tear of Beauty”) becomes lover of warrior demigod Cuchulainn and then Manannan has to intervene to bring her back using his magical cloak that he places between them. This is the parallel of when Fire God Hephaestus’ wife Aphrodite (goddess of Beauty) becomes lover of war god Ares and Hephaestus intervenes with his magical net that he catches them in, and this again parallels when Agni’s wife Svaha becomes lover of warrior god Krishna but Krishna says she has to go back and be wife of Agni first.
- Manannan serves the food to the gods at the Feast of Age, while Agni brings the burnt sacrifices from Earth to the tables of the gods as their food.
- Agni is the overseer of marriages (hence the importance of circling the fire in Vedic marriage ceremonies), as Manannan also is said in The Fosterage of the House of Two Pails to be given authority over all marriages and births.
(continued)
- I discovered a structural pattern that repeats across nearly all the branches which confirms Manannan/Manawydan is the Fire God. Manawdyan being the second husband of Rhiannon is a mythic expression of the ancient Indo-European marriage rite, as recorded in Rig Veda 10.85: the archetypal bride and sunbeam goddess (Surya) is passed first to Soma, then to the Gandharva, then to Agni. This sunbeam goddess appears in Welsh myth as the wife of Arawn (Soma) who Pwyll (Gandharva) sleeps next to for a year, then as Rhiannon who Pwyll subsequently marries for himself, with Rhiannon lastly marrying Manawydan after Pwyll dies, thus transferring from “Gandharva” to “Agni” as in the Rig Veda hymn. In the tale of Rhiannon, Manawydan specifically parallels Vasistha, incarnation of Agni and priest of Samvarana.
- Manawydan outwitting the hostile sorcerer and dispelling his magic at the end of “Manawydan, son of Llyr,” is another coded enactment of the Fire God role. One of the main functions of Agni in the Vedas is to dispel hostile magic and sorcerers, especially to open the sacred rite in a purified space. This is what Manawydan is actually doing in his tale. This is why his tale is followed by the myth of the sun rising (Math fab Mathonwy = Savitar, god of the rising sun), which Manawydan, acting as sacred Fire, has brought about (this is Bealtaine).
- With this context Manawydan’s role in “Branwen, Daughter of Llyr,” the Welsh creation myth, can finally be understood. Efnisien, Nisien, and Manawydan, who break apart the “marriage” of Earth and Sky (Branwen and Matholwch) and then confront a child named “Alder” are = to Odinn, Hoenir, and Lodurr, who = Rudra, Shiva, and Agni. Vedic theology saw this trio as one triple god on the esoteric level: the flame (Agni) and the destructive and auspicious luminosity of the flame (Rudra-Siva).
Although the Sea God being secretly the Fire God may be hard to believe at first, little in Irish myth is so well-supported as this counterintuitive conclusion. It would be an uphill battle to assert for Manannan any other identity than that of the Fire God in the face of such evidence. The domain of the ocean is Manannan’s, but this is only the surface level of who he is.
Very fitting for a god of disguises and tests to pass himself off for only a sea god for so long, when in truth he is far more.
See my article on Manannan for an even more in depth look at the details of the evidence: https://taliesinsmap.blogspot.com/2021/06/manannan-and-agni.html?m=1
- I discovered a structural pattern that repeats across nearly all the branches which confirms Manannan/Manawydan is the Fire God. Manawdyan being the second husband of Rhiannon is a mythic expression of the ancient Indo-European marriage rite, as recorded in Rig Veda 10.85: the archetypal bride and sunbeam goddess (Surya) is passed first to Soma, then to the Gandharva, then to Agni. This sunbeam goddess appears in Welsh myth as the wife of Arawn (Soma) who Pwyll (Gandharva) sleeps next to for a year, then as Rhiannon who Pwyll subsequently marries for himself, with Rhiannon lastly marrying Manawydan after Pwyll dies, thus transferring from “Gandharva” to “Agni” as in the Rig Veda hymn. In the tale of Rhiannon, Manawydan specifically parallels Vasistha, incarnation of Agni and priest of Samvarana.
- Manawydan outwitting the hostile sorcerer and dispelling his magic at the end of “Manawydan, son of Llyr,” is another coded enactment of the Fire God role. One of the main functions of Agni in the Vedas is to dispel hostile magic and sorcerers, especially to open the sacred rite in a purified space. This is what Manawydan is actually doing in his tale. This is why his tale is followed by the myth of the sun rising (Math fab Mathonwy = Savitar, god of the rising sun), which Manawydan, acting as sacred Fire, has brought about (this is Bealtaine).
- With this context Manawydan’s role in “Branwen, Daughter of Llyr,” the Welsh creation myth, can finally be understood. Efnisien, Nisien, and Manawydan, who break apart the “marriage” of Earth and Sky (Branwen and Matholwch) and then confront a child named “Alder” are = to Odinn, Hoenir, and Lodurr, who = Rudra, Shiva, and Agni. Vedic theology saw this trio as one triple god on the esoteric level: the flame (Agni) and the destructive and auspicious luminosity of the flame (Rudra-Siva).
Although the Sea God being secretly the Fire God may be hard to believe at first, little in Irish myth is so well-supported as this counterintuitive conclusion. It would be an uphill battle to assert for Manannan any other identity than that of the Fire God in the face of such evidence. The domain of the ocean is Manannan’s, but this is only the surface level of who he is.
Very fitting for a god of disguises and tests to pass himself off for only a sea god for so long, when in truth he is far more.
See my article on Manannan for an even more in depth look at the details of the evidence: https://taliesinsmap.blogspot.com/2021/06/manannan-and-agni.html?m=1
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Manannan and Agni: the Celtic Sea or Fire God?
Manannan and Agni
There is nothing in particular in our previous investigations (see: The Great Lunar Cycle ) to suggest that Njörðr,...
There is nothing in particular in our previous investigations (see: The Great Lunar Cycle ) to suggest that Njörðr,...