Blog Archives
Wednesday for Woden
It goes without saying that I have something like seven household shrines to this God Who owns such a large part of my heart. I keep meaning to write meditations on each of His heiti or epithets, but while much meditation has happened, it hasn’t yet translated itself into my writing. Don’t worry though – several of you have emailed about this – I have a whole new year to work and eventually I’ll write some of it down here! In the meantime, Here is one of my favorite prayers from the small novena book The Ecstasy and the Fury. It’s the prayer for day three. Odin’s name – better spelled Oðinn in Old Norse (I probably left off an accent somewhere), literally means “THE Frenzied One” (or “The Furious One” – I’ve seen it translated both ways) and that Frenzy could be battle hunger, or the seething trance of a shaman, the ecstatic oracular state of a seer, or the frenzied inspiration of a poet. What of that He chooses to share with His devotees is beyond the power of words to capture. But, through poetry and devotion, I do try.
For Odin
For Odin, He Who is Frenzy
The raven has hooked his claws in my heart
tethering me to the interstitial frenzy
pouring out from gallows to God.
Let us praise the furious One,
Who rendered Himself upon the Tree
gore-blessed, ever-hungry,
victorious over Himself first of all.
Let us praise Gangleri,
Who wanders through
all the darkest corners
of our world,
spitting mouthfuls of glacial fire
into the heads and hearts
of fervent women.
Let us praise the One Whose spear
keen and sharp, ever finds its mark,
Gerölnir, blistering across the field of battle
ever ecstatic in His fury.
Let us praise the Burden of Yggdrasil,
Corpse-God and eunuch, ever renewed
through the agony of sacrifice.
He mounted the Tree
and with a war cry like shrieking thunder
swallowed the glory of the Gap –
gasping, gripping, spewing runes, this sovereign Power.
Let us praise the Roaring Thruster, charmed and charming,
Who scatters His seed inciting longing,
carnal and cunning, clever and cruel,
exquisitely adroit across all the worlds,
Glory burning.
Let us praise this God in Whom
all opposites reside, compelling adoration,
devouring opposition, like grist in His teeth,
ground up and grinding, bale-eyed Beguiler,
Who gnawed on fire, this Architect of Being,
throbbing, pounding, aching, wanting,
implacable Force, unsparing Fever,
unappeasable haunting Hunger,
to Whom Being itself surrendered
torn apart and structured anew.
Oh Glad of War, Galdr-Father,
Glad of Battle, God of Gain,
Blinder of Foes, sharp Wand-Wielder,
Gaunt God Splendor, World-willing Wonder,
Incanting Hjarrandi, Herjan, Goðjaðarr,
Lord of Hosts and Valhalla’s hall,
Blazing Ravager, Renewing Ruler,
howling winds herald Your terror.
Odin we call You, vehement and lethal,
vigorous valor, we hail You always.
We ask that You fill us with Your thirst for knowing,
so that our lives will ever be full of color.
Hail to You, oh Frenzied Hunger.
Hail to You, Odin.
(from The Ecstasy and the Fury: 9 Nights with Odin – a Novena, by Galina Krasskova, Sanngetall Press, 2020).
“Odin” prayer card by W. McMillan
(from The Ecstasy and the Fury: 9 Nights with Odin – a Novena, by Galina Krasskova, Sanngetall Press, 2020).
I’ve also written a compilation of all of my work on Odin up to the time of its publication (it does not include the novena work) that includes the full text of Whisperings of Woden, and the English text of Walking Toward Yggdrasil.
Of course on Woden’s day, I’ll be making offerings to Him but I’d also like to offer a rune pull for anyone interested- one rune, no questions. Just shoot me an email at Krasskova at gmail.com by 9pm EST tonight. You can support my work at the Buymeacoffee link below if you are so moved.
Have a happy Wednesday, folks. I’m still waiting for cold weather…this damp, chilly crap is killing my joints. When in my head, I think I’m 20, my body quickly reminds me that No, oh NO, I very much am not. I hope those of my readers who like me have chronic pain issues are doing well. Pain flares are terrible things, but they do not last forever no matter what it seems at the time. As an Odin’s woman, I learned to dedicate the pain to Him, to elevate it and give it purpose – may He feed on it and be nourished, or transmute it into something useful in His work of sustaining creation. It helps me to bear it, so I pass this on. Not every God may want such an offering (I’m not sure if Odin *wants* it so much as sometimes graciously accepts it from me) but if it clicks, if a God accepts it, it does make it easier to carry. Regardless, I wish you well and I wish all my readers health in this new year.
Here’s the link to Buymeacoffee. I like coffee, and tea too and this is a lovely site that allows readers to participate in the work of those writers, artists, et al. whom they follow. It is very much appreciated and I thank all of you who have contributed to my work either at this site, or via PayPal, or by your prayers to the Gods on behalf of my house — particularly when my husband was sick. THANK YOU. You do matter and I firmly believe you are seen in the eyes of your Gods. May They ever hold you kindly in favor.
Bookversary: He is Frenzy
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
Today is the 9 year anniversary of the publication of my devotional book to Odin, He is Frenzy.
“He is Frenzy collects all of the essays and poetry that Northern Tradition author Galina Krasskova has written to honor the God Odin since 1995. Providing a survey of His ancient and modern cultus, it is also a deeply personal exploration of devotion, ordeal work and what it takes to walk the Odinic path.” This includes my work also previously published in Whisperings of Woden, and Walking Toward Yggdrasil.
You can grab your copy at amazon, or support independent booksellers through bookshop.
Bookversary: The Whisperings of Woden
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
This book, first published in 2004 and the first devotional written in modern Heathenry, is a collection of devotional meditations designed to help one draw closer to Woden.
“The Norse God Odin, also known as Woden, is both honored and feared within modern Heathenry and Norse Paganism. He has many names, many faces and stands as a formidable figure in the annals of Heathen lore. Yet, by some, He is also loved.”
“This is a book of interior prayer, designed to provide the first steps in creating a mindful, passionate, contemplative practice. Be it as All-Father, Wish-Father, Master of the Runes, Wandering God or God of Warriors, the reader will find numerous ways to honor the complex and powerful Lord of Asgard and hopefully, to deepen their own spiritual practices at the same time.”
While the book is now out of print, you can find the content along with additional material in my book, He is Frenzy. available on amazon or through bookshop in support of independent booksellers.
Bookversary: Sigdrifa’s Prayer & Walking Toward Yggdrasil
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
Today I have two book publication anniversaries, both books published 15 years ago today.
“An investigation into the meaning of one of the few surviving prayers from pre-Christian Heathenry. Drawing on her experience as a Heathen priest, Ms. Krasskova delves into this prayer line-by-line offering her own unique insights. This monograph is as much an examination of prayer and its place in modern Heathenry as it is an analysis of Sigdrifa’s prayer itself. She raises many questions as to the nature of Heathen devotion and seeks, in her own inimitable style, to provide a few thought-provoking answers.”
Is Sigdrifa’s Prayer: An exploration & Exegesis in your library? You can grab it today on amazon.
“Walking Toward Yggdrasil is a collection of devotional poetry dedicated to the Norse God Woden. These poems celebrate the intimacy, intensity, passion and the terror that He is capable of arousing in His devotees. It is a joyous offering to the All Father by a woman who has served Him for over a decade. The text of the book is given both in English and German.”
The book is now out of print, but you can find all the English language content presented with additional material in He is Frenzy available on amazon or you can purchase it on bookshop to support small, independent booksellers.
Why I Wear My Valknot Proudly
This is a valknot. It is recognized and sacred across all denominations of Heathenry as a significator to all who see that the bearer is devoted to the God Odin. Odin is a God of prophets and shamans, poets and bards, warriors and kings. He is a creator God Who wrought the architecture of creation with His brothers Loður and Hoenir, weaving from the bones of His own ancestor, the scaffolding upon which the worlds were hung. He is a God of wisdom, knowledge, and sacrifice and the valknot signifies His victory over Himself in that quest for knowledge. He is a God of magic and shapeshifting, of runes and sorcery, of power and passion. Those who love and serve Him are fervent in their devotion because we recognize what a privilege it is to have the opportunity to pour ourselves out in adoration before this fiercest of Gods.
These are the ways in which we mark our flesh, ourselves, our souls as belonging to Them. These are the symbols by which we declare our devotion to the Holy Powers far and wide to all who see and most of all to ourselves in the deepest, most secret places of our hearts. These symbols are our shield and vambrace as we fare forth in a world hostile to our Gods and struggle to find our way therein. We will not give them up.
OUT OF PRINT
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
I have several book titles that have now been retired, this means they are officially out of print, and any product at retailers is being sold from any remaining inventory they have, or they are re-selling used product. If you want these books, and do not have them, you better pick them up them sooner, rather than later.
OUT OF PRINT
- Day Star and Whirling Wheel: Honoring the Sun and the Moon in the Northern Tradition
- Essays in Modern Heathenry
- Full Fathom Five:Honoring the Norse Gods and Goddesses of the Sea
- Into the Great Below: A devotional to Inanna and Ereshkigal
- Root, Stone and Bone: Honoring Andvari and the Vaettir of Money
- Sekhmet: When the Lion Roars
- Sigdrifa’s Prayer: An Explanation and Exegesis
- Sigyn: Lady of the Staying Power
- Skalded Apples: A Devotional Anthology for Idunna and Bragi
- Walking Toward Yggdrasil
- Whisperings of Woden: Nine Nights of Devotional Practice
In the case of both Whisperings of Woden and Walking Toward Yggdrasil, this content is also included with additional material in my book He is Frenzy: Collected Writings on Odin, however the German language content of Walking Toward Yggdrasil is not present in any other form.
Root, Stone and Bone, as well as Sigdrifa’s Prayer will be re-printed in a new edition.
[Updated for clarity] Excerpts of content from the other retired books may eventually be seen in other works, but if you want to enjoy the retired works’ complete content, these out of print books will be the only way to grab them.
Day 6 – for Odin
You tore out Your Own eye,
greedy fingers fast as the bite of a serpent,
shoved your own fist into Your brain,
plucked that ocular wonder free and tossed it down.
There is nothing You will not do.
When the worlds were made,
old Ymir’s corpse repurposed,
You and Your Brothers didn’t sit back
awash in self-congratulation,
cooing to each other
about how good it was. No.
The three of You stood around and sighed.
‘It’s all so meta,’ Loður drawled.
“Yeah, meta boring” You responded,
Hoenir rolling His eyes.
Then the three of You took up some driftwood
gnarled, ugly, a little bent, but it had some promise—
pretty much like we’ve remained—
and created humans.
That spiced shit up, didn’t it?
People think creation ended
when the worlds were made.
They have no idea.
Infrastructure doesn’t sustain itself.
What do they think that incident,
the one with Rind was all about?
You were battling fire and ice again,
like an artist with rather violent media.
The worlds need ever renewing,
by Gods and humans alike after all.
No time to rest. Renewal purifies
drives back Your enemies for a time,
and Yggdrasil grows.
That end justifies any means.
Oh, frenzied God,
You are ever laser-focused,
beautifully vicious,
a formidable Power.
Let no one think Your wanderings
are without purpose.
You are the Architect of Creation
and if it takes a little more blood,
gore, and guts to make that creation last,
that’s just fine with You.
It will continue as it was begun,
and You will too.
You fill the head of Your devotees
with ice and fire, flickering in a desolate wasteland,
with glimpses of creation, and that which is to come.
May we ever be smart enough,
devout enough, and sensible,
to aid Your work or get out of Your way.
May we never oppose You,
but nourish Your fury
with venerative fire of our own.
Hail to You, Odin,
Runatyr, Gangleri.
Hail to You, Atriði, Eternal Enemy of the Wolf.
You are the whirlwind that does its own reaping,
the whispering terror on every field of battle,
walking will and brutal splendor.
We are Your grateful retainers.
Hail to You, Odin.
(by G. Krasskova)
A Sneak Peak – exclusive for my readers. :)
Sannion is working on a new book but he’s not been posting any previews. This morning, however, I talked him into letting me share this one, based on what happened in our hof last weekend. I cannot wait for the whole book to be out!
Something to Sing About
by H. Jeremiah Lewis
I’m perched on the edge of my seat,
my whole body rocking to the rhythm
of the drum as the apprentice of the Vitki
cleanses pollution and bad vibrations
from the room, while another sings
an Anglo-Saxon fire song,
circumambulating with a beeswax
pillar candle on a red and black plate.
I can see the face of world-breaking Loki
dancing in the flame,
and behind the apprentice,
as he winds serpentwise round the shrines
burning away the dross in the air,
a legion of those who fell in defense
of their blood and soil and ancestral traditions
against the encroachments of the giant
tyrant Charlemagne, stand at his back
lending their potency to his words and deeds.
Another passes by, sprinkling everything with
ivy-leaf chernips – everything including
the husband of the Vitki, who growls
wolfishly and shakes his head
when the holy drops splash him.
The girl smiles and rushes to finish the room,
as he goes back to chanting, “Nothing can be
so firmly bound – by illness, by wrath or by fortune –
that cannot be released by the Lord Dionysos,”
and shakes a femur rattle.
The Vitki is not home.
Oh, her body is standing right there
before all of them, savagely beautiful
with shaved head, white
ash upon her face and Runes inscribed
in red ochre, blue and silver
Evil Eye charms dangling from her ears,
white shirt, black pants and a red belt
strung with bells and charms,
amulets and chaplets,
and a hand-forged blót knife
sheathed at her side.
She is pacing about like a brooding,
impatient bear who has a hell of a lot to say
and there’s a set of knucklebones,
a pad of paper, and a pen
just sitting right there on the table
waiting for him, so let’s get to it.
Oh fuck. Odin’s not just making a direct call
– he’s here, in the flesh so to speak.
The Vitki’s husband is already shooing
the apprentices out of the room, drilling
them on what will need to be done
by way of aftercare. This is a spontaneous
possession, with no time for prep.
And Odin enters rough.
I sit on the floor facing him,
give a respectful nod,
and prepare to act as sacred scribe,
as I have so many times,
and for so many mediums before.
His voice, when it comes, is crabby
and cold like the gnarled branch
of a cemetery tree after an overlong winter,
like an old man who deals in philtres,
herblore, abortions, bindings and unbindings,
does strange things with animal bits
and has suffered much to come
by his dark knowledge.
Most of all he is like something
that has gone mad on the battlefield,
and stopped being entirely human.
It was an effort to maintain eye-contact
with him as he didn’t quite sing
and didn’t quite speak
and didn’t quite caw
or furiously roar
or rant or rage
with the voice that remade
the raw viscera of his father’s corpse
into the ordered world we inhabit
– but it wasn’t not like all of that either.
No matter how experienced you are
it is always fucking nuts sitting
face to face with your Gods.
Especially when they have as much to say
as Odin did that night.
And also, he was pissed
– like p-i-s-s-e-d pissed –
especially when a little black ant
scuttled into view.
He leaned down and galdered at it.
Odin’s voice was terrible,
violent, mad, like
the shriek of a sword
or a beast’s claws
scratching at the door
– and the creature withered up on the spot.
I knew more was going on behind the curtain,
so I closed my eyes and there in the dark
stood Odin the Slaughterer, Gallows Meat,
the King upon his Mound, Storm-Bringer,
and Warlord.
He held his spear up in greeting
and dangling from it was the corpse
of a thing that looked like an ant
but was the size of a large dog.
It did not always look that way
– we had seen its various forms
over the last couple weeks,
in our restless sleep,
as shadowy movement
out of the corner our eyes,
as the smell of shit and random spikes
in anxiety, depression and surliness
for no discernible reason,
and once as a nag with no head
standing in the mist beyond our yard.
Before I could express my gratitude
I was snapped back to myself by the Vitki
who was seething and singing
how the Runes were revealed
on the wind-swept Tree,
and I oathed to the Old Man
right there on the spot
that I would make poetry of the story
to thank him for protecting
the members of our household,
who are dearer to me than my birth family.
And so I have. I pray, Lord, may I, my Vitki
and our apprentices be always
safe, secure, prepared and immune
to the snares and attacks of our foes
in this and the other worlds,
so that our household may be
a welcoming place for you
and the Gods and Spirits
who stand with you always,
with plentiful offerings,
everflowing libations,
and acts of worship beyond counting
to please your hearts.
Day 4–for Odin
You come like thunder roaring,
shattering, crashing, and pounding into the heart.
Howling God, breathing fury, Your frenzied shrieking
giving life to the runes, sacred synaptic power,
the Tree runs red with Your blood.
It was freely given. Your blessings strike,
like the hammer of Your Son,
like lightning’s fire, inescapable,
ecstatic terror, dancing, burning,
igniting worlds in the heads of those You favor.
A sharp-eyed eagle soaring over Hlidskjalf,
there is no secret You cannot know,
no world You will not plunder.
You and Your mighty Son,
hold up the scaffolding of the Worlds,
girding the elegance of its geometry
against entropy and destruction:
He with His might, You with Your hunger,
Your seeking, Your desire, as once You taunted Him
sardonically flyting in ferryman’s guise.
There is no world capable of containing Your frenzy,
Oh God grey of beard and ravenous of heart.
May Your favor fall upon us always,
until we are as hungry for the holy
as You are for power.
(by G. Krasskova, image by Sam Flegel)
Gangleri's Grove 