The Path of the Modern Valkyrie part -1

(Image credit Tianhua Xu)

If you think Valkyrie what springs to mind?
The voluptuous SBBW opera singer from a Wagner Opera?

(Image credit eco theatre altered by myself )

some Americanised Marvel movie interpretation?
or is it this ?

While all the above have their place in our culture and pop culture today there is far more to the story.The Valkyrie not only have mythological and cultural significance within norse , scandinavian and Icelandic culture but also are very alive today within the religion of the norse pagan community. Some even call themselves Valkyrie although the implication vary between the factions. I will be making a series of posts dealing mostly with the Valkyries I was introduced to and who I was a part of for several years in my youth. As well as the general history and mythology around Valkyrie. While I no longer am part of any group, and have also expanded my spiritual path as an adult, a part of my everyday ethics still lay in what the sisterhood believes in and some of my personal rituals are very much still rooted in their practises and Norse Paganism.

Many people have misconceptions about Norse pagans they think they are either permanent residents at the renaissance fair, Hippies, Nazis and /or White supremacists. Fact is that White supremacy only started becoming part of the norse tradition for some practitioners around the 1920's. While some are rooted in this Ideology it is not the majority, like christianity there is a lot of variation in practise and interpretation. Frankly Asatru and Odinists come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. While the majority are white (not all) that has more to do with where the religion is practised. While you have Asatru all over the planet the great majority live in Iceland, germany england and the scandinavian regions.Some strive to worship as their ancestors did others make their own traditions. some believe in the gods, others see them as personifications of universal forces and concepts.

Norse pagans vary in social status, education political ideology and personal aesthetics. They can be bearded bikers,off the grid hippies, shaved right wing skinheads, raver hipsters or your conservative neighbor with 5 kids who works in a bank.You will have serious somber believers who practise strict and retulised others who are more eclectic and non structured. You will have people who are knowledgeable and respected and the down right wacky like the Gelifiten from the black forest who dance in wooden shoes and perform odd rituals in front of a picture of hitler accompanied by bad bontempi organ music. Like in any religion you have the truly spiritually devout and the clinically insane there really is no one size fits all. While all are aligned with the norse pantheon, follow the same greater holidays and most follow the 9 noble virtues (established by modern neo pagans who pulled them from the essence of Norse mythological texts like the Edda) the interpretation can vary vastly as can the practises.

So back to the The 9 noble virtues which are: Courage-Truth- Honour-Fidelity-Discipline-Hospitality-Self Reliance-Industriousness-Perseverance.

So how did that translate in my sisterhood? I will do a basic breakdown as these virtues are foundation and the agreed code of conduct our sisterhood acted upon.

Courage- basically be a bene gesserit! Fear is the bloody mind killer and if you let it control you you will never get anywhere or be effective.

Truth- Lies poison everything even well intended ones. If you lie you basically defile the strength of your word but also open your core up to corruption. While lying can get you places anything built on them is doomed to crumble; be it because your lies are uncovered or the cosmic baseball bat has a wack with your name on it. Also if you lie you expend energy in having to maintain the lie, it fills you with subconscious worry that will eat at your personal strength and effectiveness. You are only truly free if you are honest to yourself and to others.

Honour- Don't be a wiesel (sorry wiesels I know you are better than your human equivalents). Don't defame , manipulate, engage in relationships for pure personal gain. Never promise anything you are not planning to keep. Never forge alliances with people you find to be unworthy. Don't pretend to be anything else than you are just to get something out of it or to fit in and be loved/liked only insecure idiots do this and the relationships that come from it are as sustaining as a diet coke. Say what you do and do what you say pure and simple!

Fidelity- if you pledge allegiance to a group, faith other life form then be loyal. Don't sell them out if something better comes along or the tide is getting rough. Yes of course there are times where you evolve away from things and people but then be truthful to yourself and them and give notice. And after leaving don't backstab them just because your paths might no longer be the same. Loyalty is essential to any relationship worth having and sadly not a common commodity nowadays.

Discipline- can drastically improve your life and is essential to a well functioning team. While we have the butterflies and "oh look shiny" types who seem to rock the gig and still get places most people are not that lucky; and while these people can be charming dealing with them can be more than stressful and working with them near impossible. Discipline brings focus, and routines can save your life in hard times where everything seems almost unbearable. Discipline will help you maneuver and organize chaos, it also can help you balance both body and mind. It can help you live better, if you suffer from mental illness. And make you recognise when you are "off" very much quicker- which can prevent you from derailing your life. As I said it brings focus and there is no lasting success without focus- it is the nexus of everything.

Before we build a boat there is the idea of the boat. Before we live our future we create possible versions of it. Our thoughts are nonphysical. In the case of the boat one could say that action and our very hands transport the idea from the nonphysical into the physical. In case of future creation it is similar. This is possible through focus and discipline the better you are at it the better you manifest the things you want.

Hospitality- Don't be a Schmuck if someone asks you for shelter and food give it freely. Treat people who visit your home well, generously and with respect. Make sure their needs are taken care of. This however does not mean that you have to let people take advantage of you, if they act badly or dishonorably kick them out and be done with them. This virtue is not an invitation to let people take you for what you have or abuse you, it is a reminder to take people on a case to case basis not assume or project. Not to be greedy or unkind and/or let others go without if you have the means to help.

Self Reliance- There is nothing wrong with asking for help, there is nothing shameful in it either. That being said knowledge is power as is the application of knowledge. The more you know how to do yourself the less life can do to you and the more situations you can be in control of. The more you know the more solutions to your problems you will find. The more you refine the execution of you knowledge the better you can apply it toward goals and daily life. See it like this if you go hiking in the mountains with your friend who is a doctor and you break your leg you know your friend is better at setting legs you let the friend do it if you have any sense in your head. But if you go hiking alone and you break your leg wouldn't it be great to know how to set it to prevent nerve damage? (been there done that while my oh so tough ex-military then partner was puking because he could not stand the sight of my bone sticking out :P ).

Let’s look at our boat again. We have this image of the boat and now we are making it reality, how accurate its transformation in the physical will be depends on the tools we use and our skill set. Truth gave us a foundation to stand on, honour a course to follow and a blueprint of proper design, fidelity teaches us to commit, discipline the means and strength to properly execute, and self reliance brings us the knowledge of the how, when and where-without knowing how to execute our ideas they stay what they are, ideas < self reliance opens the door to execution, hospitality teaches us to share what we learn for the betterment of all. It is simple if we elevate the least of us to their highest potential we elevate our whole society. To make our boat the best boat we still are missing two pieces of the puzzle let's bring this home.

Industriousness - let us use our boat analogy again. To build it we we need to use the appropriate tools - try building a boat with a spoon. I am not saying it is impossible but more than likely it will take a very long time to accomplish and the results might not be satisfying. industriousness teaches us how to obtain the things and tools we need to attain our goals. It also teaches us flexibility. Anyone engaging in a project will tell you that nothing ever goes completely as planned. One needs to be flexible, be able to adapt to changing parameters, and be able to incorporate new incoming data into the equation. also if you are in a situation where you can’t get a hammer what are you going to do?- break down and have a tantrum? Stomp your feet? or will you be industrious and get a nice heavy rock, use it instead and make the best of the situation? This is what industriousness teaches us. Knowing how to get somewhere, have a plan on how to get there in one piece and a plan B,C, D,X,Y,Z incase there are obstacles on the way.

Perseverance -the last and final piece is perseverance. It teaches us two things. To quote a movie I like if you really want something " Never give up, never surrender!" if you keep on hitting obstacles try another angle. Retrace your steps try to see where things are getting wonky and what is standing in the way. Find out if the obstacle can be removed and if it cannot find another way to the prize. The second thing perseverance gives us is the key to mastery. While some of us are more talented in some things as others no one is born a master. You need to hohn and refine your skillset. Practice makes the master, practice refines the execution and elevates the goal. Perseverance tells us to keep going even when you want to throw everything out the window. If you really want it, keep going eventually you will get there if you stick to it . If you don't really want it you should be pursuing other goals more attune to who you are. Which brings us back to honesty make sure your motivation is pure and everything else will fall in place.

This wraps up Part 1 of this subject until next time stay safe.