In English:
Don’t be afraid,
go with a light step,
your burden stays behind.
Cross the bridge
leave this life
and only your grave will be between us.
You are expected
there on the other side,
not alone in the afterlife.
A light is shining for you,
a warm smile
and a hand that holds your hand.
Don’t worry
but let us behind,
with a heavy heart and tears on our faces.
Still we know
it’s not the end,
just a veil is separating us.
This story is based on an old Baltic fairy tale. I tried to re-paganize the whole story.
Once upon a time three gods met on a nice spring morning: The sun goddess was going for a ride in her chariot, the god of frost and ice was counting his snowflakes and the thunder god was happily herding a few little clouds. They started talking about this and that, and -because gods are like that- they began to boast who of them would be the mightiest and most powerful one.
The sun goddess shook her head, and her long golden hair flew: „It is quite obvious! People love me: I bring warmth and light to them. So I am surely the most powerful of us.“
But the ruler of the frost laughed: „You might be wrong. They love you, so much is true, but they fear me more. When the humans feel the chill in their bones, their fear grows and grows. That’s why I am definitely the mightiest of us all.“
„Well!, the storm and thunder god, who hadn’t said much up to now, answered. „You must know that actually I am the most powerful god of us three.“
Sun and Frost laughed at him. „You? You think that you are the most powerful of us? You can’t truly believe that.“ And they laughed so hard that Sun became red cheeks and Frost lost some of his snowflakes. The storm god kept cool and simply smiled.
„Why don’t we go and ask the people? Let’s go for a walk on earth and we’ll see who’s right.“
The other two lied the idea and so they went.
After a while they met a farmer returning home from his field. Upon seeing the three gods he bowed deeply to them.
Promptly the gods started discussing.
„You see, he greeted me!“, Sun claimed. „His greeting was meant to me, so I am the winner.“
„No, he greeted me.“, Frost was sure. „He bowed in my direction, so I must be the winner.“
„You are both wrong, because he meant greeting me.“, Storm contradicted both.
„Never!“, the others answered.
So the storm god went after the farmer and spoke to him: „You just bowed, but to whom did you bow?“
„Of course to you, Mr. Thunder!“, the farmer replied immediately.
Whoa, Sun and Frost didn’t like that!
„You’ll hear about that!“ the sun goddess promised, jumped on her chariot and away she went.
„You’ll wait. When winter arrives, humankind will regret this deeply. Thunder, oh really!“ the frost god ranted and was gone as well.
The storm god waited until they were gone. Then he nodded to the farmer, who had gone pale with fear.
„Don’t worry! If you need help, just call me!“ And with these words he left, too.
The farmer was working on his fields, and the first green grew like expected. Summer came, ans the fields began needing some water. Instead it became hotter and hotter, when Sun made her threat come true: The grain on the fields threatened to burn, the animals were suffering in thirst and the farmer became very, very worried. Suddenly he remembered the thunder god’s words, and he prayed:
„Help me, god of storm and thunder!“
And the wind started blowing and became a real storm, that cooled down the heat and brought rain clouds to the sky. When the first thunderstorm poured down on the fields, the farmer knew: His harvest was saved!
Fall came and winter, too. And he came to stay. It seemed as if cold wouldn’t find an end. Slowly the storage and supplies were growing thin, and still there were mountains of snow around the farm. When the farmer brought his last stash of firewood into the house he remembered the thunder god again, and he prayed: „Dear Stormy One, if you can help me, please do so!“
In this night a strong wind came up and blew away the snow bearing clouds, and in the morning he had changed to a mild wind that melted down the frost. Soon the winter’s powers were broken.
The farmer and his family were very happy and they had a big party to honor the storm god.
From this day on the sun goddess and the frost god were much more friendly to the storm and thunder god and had to admit sheepishly that he truly was the mightiest god of them.
Ich grüße dich, Tyr,
einarmiger Ase!
In deinem Dilemma möchte ich nicht stecken.
Um die kosmische Ordnung zu bewahren und Ragnarök zu verhindern,
musst du,
der doch der Gott des Rechts und des Thingfriedens ist,
selbst das Recht brechen
und das Versprechen, das du dem Fenriswolf gegeben hast, nicht einhalten.
Wie du dich auch entscheidest:
Du kannst es nicht allen recht machen.
Irgendwem wirst du zwangsläufig auf die Zehen treten.
Vor diesem Problem stehe auch ich des Öfteren,
und habe daher umso mehr Respekt für deinen Mut
und deine konsequente Haltung!
Lehre mich, Himmelskrieger, ein wenig von deinem Wesen,
wenn du dich an mein Feuer setzt
und meine Gaben annimmst!
In English:
Greetings, Tyr,
one-armed Aesir!
I don’t want to be in your place,
don’t want to hold the wolf by the ears instead of you.
To secure the cosmic order and prevent Ragnarök,
you, the god of justice and thing peace,
had to break the law yourself and
not fullfill the promise you gave the Fenriswolf.
However you would decide:
You couldn’t satisfy all sides.
You had to step on someone’s toes for sure.
That is a problem that I encounter, too, every now and then,
and that is why my respect for your courage and consequence grow every time.
Teach me, sky warrior, a bit of your way of life,
when you sit down at my fire
and take my offerings!
Von grün zu gelb zu goldbraun
wechselt das Feld im Laufe des Jahres seine Farbe.
Ich stehe am Rand und beobachte,
wie ein leichter Wind dein Haar zum Beben bringt,
Sif,
Wellenkämme in einem Getreidemeer.
Göttin der reichen Ernte,
deren goldene Pracht den Menschen so wichtig war,
dass sie eine Geschichte darüber erzählten,
ich grüße dich und heiße dich an meinem Feuer willkommen.
Bald beginnt die Ernte,
wird das Getreide gemäht
und das erste Brot daraus gebacken.
Deine Gaben sorgen dafür,
dass sich Krieger in Bauern verwandeln,
dass aus Kampf und Tod ein friedlicher Wettbewerb wird,
dass statt Ruhm und Ehre das Wohlergehen der Familie im Vordergrund steht.
Gemeinsam mit deinem Mann wachst du über diese Zeit.
Ich bitte dich, goldhaarige Götting:
Lehre mich, meine persönliche Ernte einzufahren,
mit dem Fokus auf dem Wohlergehen meiner Familie
und meinen eigenen Zielen.
Hab im Gegenzug Anteil an meiner Ernte,
und nimm meine Gaben für dich an!
In English:
Green, yellow, golden brown,
the field is changing its colors as the wheel of the year is turning.
I stand at its border and watch
as a small breeze makes your hair shiver,
Sif,
crests in an ocean of corn.
Goddess of the abundant harvest,
whose golden hair was so important to the people
that they created an own story for it,
I greet you and welcome you at my fire.
Soon the ahrvest will start,
the corn will be mowed
and the first bread will be baked from it.
Your gifts make warriors change into farmers,
change war and death into a peaceful competition,
make the responsibility for the well-being of the family more important that fame and honor.
You and your husband preside over this time.
I ask you, golden haired goddess:
Teach me to bring my own harvest in,
with the focus on my family and my own goals.
Let me share parts of my harvest with you in return.
Ich wollte erst etwas Neues schreiben, aber als ich durch meine Sammlung gegangen bin , gefiel mir mein Ritual vom letzten Jahr so gut, dass ich den Text übernommen habe.
Das Omen war: Algiz – Berkana – Eihwaz.
Ich rufe Taranis, den Leuchtenden!
Der Donner rollt.
Ich rufe Taranis, der über den Himmel regiert!
Der Donner rollt.
Ich rufe Taranis, der den Regen bringt!
Der Donner rollt.
Ich rufe dich:
Bringer der kosmischen Ordnung,
Bewahrer der Kontinuität!
Ohne dich würde uns der Himmel buchstäblich auf den Kopf fallen!
Du hältst das Chaos fern,
und du treibst das Rad des Jahres voran,
den Prozess von Tod und Erneuerung,
von Leben und Sterben,
von Frühling, Sommer, Herbst und Winter!
Dein Blitz sei mein Feuer, Taranis,
und ich lade dich ein:
Teile mein Feuer mit mir,
und teile dein Wissen mit mir!
Lehre mich, was du zu geben hast,
und nimm, was ich dir zu geben habe.
In English:
I call to Taranis, the Shining One!
And the thunder rolls.
I call to Taranis, who rules the sky!
And the thunder rolls.
I call to Taranis, who brings the rain!
And the thunder rolls.
I call to you:
Bringer of the cosmic order,
keeper of continuity!
Without you the sky would literally fall down on our heads!
You keep the chaos away,
and you push the wheel of the year,
the process of death and renewal,
of living and dying,
von spring, summer, autumn and winter!
Yur lighting be my fire, Taranis,
and I invite you:
Share my fire with me,
and share your knowledge with me!
Teach me what you have to give
and take in return what I have to give!