Showing posts with label Powwow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Powwow. Show all posts

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Holle's Mill

This post is spurred on by an article in Denali Institute of Northern Traditions' May 2013 issue of True North. The article, The Magical Mill, referred to the presence and role of mills in various European mythologies, including Norse and Finnish.

As is the case with so many European folk religions and traditions, Urglaawe retains lore and knowledge of a major mill from Braucherei oral tradition. “Die Miehl” is by the hall of Holle, and it is in this mill that Holle takes the souls of the departed for processing between lives. 

The mill is said to separate the different pieces of the soul in order to release the returning components. In Urglaawe understanding, the portions of the soul that are released are the Urleeg (Ørlög) and the eternal Hoch (Higher Self; the divine spark). The Glick (Luck/Hamingja) is sometimes also passed from construct to construct. Additionally, the Folyer (Fetch/Fylgia), which, in Urglaawe, is seen as an independent entity that attaches itself to a new soul constructs, is freed to find another symbiotic host. The Urleeg, Glick, and Hoch may remain together or be separated into new soul constructs.  

The purpose for the milling is, in Urglaawe belief, to prepare the Hoch quickly for a continuing upward spiral of advancing consciousness. In the deities’ effort to thwart the forces of chaos (which in Urglaawe feature ignorance, apathy, rootlessness, and unenlightened self-interest along with the physical threats described in the story of Ragnarök), the advancement of human consciousness is one of their biggest investments. 

With each lifetime and variation in the interaction of the soul components, the Hoch is to increase its ability to understand existence and to assert its will into improving the existence. In short, the deities want us to be, at the end of this cosmic cycle, where they were at the beginning of it. It is, therefore, in the deities’ interests to keep the Lewesraad (the cycle of life, death, decay, and rebirth) moving along expeditiously.  

In fact, the Urglaawe view of the Wild Hunt pertains directly to this battle with chaos. In our oral lore, it is Holle who leads the Wild Hunt (though Wudan and She are often together, too). Her purpose is to find any souls that have fallen out of the Lewesraad cycle and to bring them back into it. She is followed through the skies by the souls that She has found or that have sought Her out. It is for this reason that the Deitsch culture associates Allelieweziel (Halloween) with the departure of Holle from this plane.  

In Braucherei, there are intervals in the spiritual year that the veil between the physical and spiritual planes (or among the worlds of the multiverse). Allelieweziel and Grundsaudaag (Groundhog Day), in particular, are times at which many Braucherei practitioners engage in soul work to direct lost or distressed souls towards the Miehl. It is also noteworthy that the same processes and cycles pertain to animal and plant spirit constructs, though they differ from those of humans.  

Holle’s Miehl plays a central, critical role in the purpose of human existence, purpose, and advancement. Many of us believe humanity is currently backsliding due to the dereliction of responsibility for one’s own advancement (another article unto itself), and it up to us to aid our deities’ efforts by striving to live our lives more deliberately, being conscious of the impact of our thoughts, words, and actions.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Hollerbeer Haven 17 - Winter 2013

The PDF version of Hollerbeer Haven 17 (Winter 2013) is now available.

This issue continues the discussion of Braucherei in the Urglaawe context with the first installment of a description of Urglaawe philosophy. As this is a complex topic, the next few issues will also continue this discussion.

The featured herb of this issue is Boneset, and, as always, news and pictures of Distelfink events are included.

This is a large file that is intended for professional printing, so please be patient during the download.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Hollerbeer Haven Issues

Hail!

All old issues of Hollerbeer Haven, the Journal of Urglaawe, Braucherei, and Detisch Wisdom, are now available here on Urglaawe.net.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A Dictionary of Urglaawe Terminology

The first widely accessible Urglaawe book is now available on Lulu.com.

This book is a repository of the terms, concepts, symbols and mythological references used in the Heathen path of Urglaawe. The entries include the cultural values, spiritual awareness, and wisdom carried through the centuries in the oral lore of the Elder healing practice of Braucherei, which is also known as Pow Wow. Included in the entries are traditions and customs that are part of the living Deitsch, -- Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch -- folk culture. Adherents to Heathen paths, including Ásatrú, Irminenschaft, Theodism, Forn Sidr, Odinism, and other traditions, will find these entries useful as they provide another voice to the totality of the Teutonic folk experience.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Hollerbeer Haven

Hollerbeer Haven, formerly Hollerbeier Haven, the journal of the Three Sisters Center for the Healing Arts, is now a quarterly publication of Distelfink Sippschaft! 



We are making Hollerbeer Haven 14 - Volume 5, Issue 1 - Spring 2012 available in .PDF format at no cost. Former active subscribers to the Three Sisters Center guild will receive printed copies of the first three issues.

We hope you find it enjoyable!