A warrior trains his body to be an instrument of war and his mind to be at peace with his final breath. By his decision, his fate becomes his craving. Thus for a warrior to be complete, he must not hide from death, but seek it. For a Spartan to fall gloriously in battle, in duty to his folk was his gift and fulfilment.
Death in our modern world is hardly talked about, its a subject that makes many silent. We dont know what to say when someone tells us they have lost a loved one, or where to look when their face can no longer hold its composure. Its almost become a taboo subject. Even on the news, when tragedy strikes, its all just hopes, prayers and empty stares.
The wild Boar is one of the most prolific symbols of the North, appearing on Celtic banner, and Germanic warriors helmet alike. This enigmatic symbol has had a profound effect upon my own views, in fact no other symbol draws me to it in quite the same way.
I spend much of my time reading ancient works, digging through archaeological reports, trying to better understand our forebears and their beliefs. Whilst this has been an invaluable source of information and given me much to ponder upon, nearly two years ago now I had an urge to get more “hands on”.
You enter this world, naked, exposed and dependent. A vulnerable and fragile seed of life. Crafted from ancestral blood and soil in familiar image, through divine breath you were animated from your lineage.
I am sure all of us as children threw a penny into a wishing well. With eyes closed, gripping the coin tightly, holding the image of our desire in our minds we threw our coin and our dream into the mystical waters of the well. To many an adult observer it may appear like some innocent childish ritual, nothing more than some novelty to tell gullible children. The child though, not yet tainted by the limits of his elders beliefs believes in the magic within the waters. Despite first appearances the child stands on solid ground with their beliefs too. What most do not know is that the act of throwing a penny into a wishing well has its origins in one of the oldest religious practices known to man.
One of the most profound things I have learnt from looking back, is, we must go forward. Our forbears whilst they held their ancestors in great reverence, are marked not by longing of the past, but rather a drive to strive forward. They wished to build upon the lives of those before, to make mightier their inheritance, not curl up into fetal ball longing for the womb of before.
In Part one I presented the idea that the “Three Marys” of biblical story telling have much in common with the ancient Greek Moirai. We looked at their appearance at pivotal points in the Jesus narrative, the death and resurrection. Whilst these connections are all good and well, if the Marys are just a slight variation of the Moirai, then we would expect to see them at the initial birth of Jesus. This is of course the most common place the Divine fate weavers appear in mythology, from Greek to Norse often bearing magical gifts. As most people are quite familiar with the story of Jesus, you will all be quite aware that whilst three people bearing gifts do appear they are not called Mary, nor are even female- or are they?
“From Her Eyes A Doctrine” is the second book from the author Ash Donaldson. The book takes place in a dystopian future where western civilisation has crumbled and the European stands on the edge of existence. Whilst it is set in the future, the book takes the tale into the ancient ways of European spiritual traditions, a “rebirth” of an ancient spirit. Two of the main characters being named Aethelstan and Leonidas should give the reader some indication of exactly how this “rebirth” takes form.
In short we have three women by the name of Mary being the ones not only to find Jesus has gone, but also to be among the first to see him Resurrected. This all takes place around a tomb, or a cave, places that were held as sacred to the Moirai. Given that they are also shown to have the power of resurrection,