Donnerstag, 21. Dezember 2017

Luzie and the sica... ;-) a Yuletide post

 Those who know me know that I have been growing ever more fond of the Dacian sica. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sica). This is a weapon / knife that dates back to the iron-age geto-Dacians, an Eastern tribe with presumeably Illyrian and Scythian roots, and which was feared and respected by the Roman empire even after their defeat. The Sica came in several sizes, the largest being resemblant of the Greek Makhaira (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makhaira). Technically a type of sickle, the Sica offers a more pronounced tip and it makes for a very effective cutting motion. 
 This is a Sica I made from a piece of steel I found in the woods. It is stain-resistant and has a hardness of about 63HRC with a selective temper. This steel is frightening me a bit... for it also offers a very fine edge.
 Forging was a bit awkward, though.
 This is another one I made, it´s called Úlenkláwe in Nether German (Húljankrampja in Dhiudha na n Iampárai ;-) ), made from old crucible steel, also from my local woods.
 There´s a legend involved in the making, and for me the Sica always portrayed meaning in itself.
So I asked myself: Might it be that the Sica had a sort of apotropaic meaning in itself, or is it just wishful thinking? The fact that many of the artifacts found were richly decorated, often with circular patterns, raven etc. might hint of a somewhat symbolic meaning. For more contemporary examples read more at : https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?/topic/34961-thracian-sica-dacian-falx/

At https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c7/47/1e/c7471eb86ac0c940ddbece82760daf6b.jpg I found an image of the insigns of a Saturnic grade of the Mithraic mysteries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraism)

Mosaic of the Orientation Grades. A mosaic depicting the seven stages of initiation from the Mithraeum of Felicissimus in Ostia. Detail of the seventh rectangle: the planet Saturn (sickle), Pater’s degree, the hierarchy’s supreme one (Phrygian cap, Mithras’ hat), with the command stick and patera for libations.

The Saturnalia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia) in ancient Rome was a festival taking part from 17th of December to 23rd of December. Gifts were given to the rich and poor alike, and the toga, a symbol of Roman citizendom, was set aside in favor of more colourful festival clothes (or none at all ;-)). During this time, Saturnus or Dith Pater, reigned supreme, one of his attributes being a scythe or a sickle which bore a close resemblance to the Sica or Falx Dacica (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falx) 

(https://www.google.de/search?q=Falx+Dacica&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7rqO92JvYAhULfFAKHQR6Ba4Q_AUICigB&biw=1680&bih=919#imgrc=u8XiKszDJemxxM:)

According to Plinius the elder the Celtic druids cut the mistletoe with a golden sickle. So, in fact the Sica does have a lot to do with Chrismas or Yuletide. The fool king had to die, Uranos was emasculated by his son Kronos (the titan of time), presumeably with a sickle (this is a speculation, of course).

In Germany, there is a Chrismas demon named "Bluadige Luzie" (Bloody Lucy) playing a role in Bavarian Catholic folk customs (http://www.ausflugszielebayerischerwald.de/wo-kann-ich-eine-rauhnachtfeier-live-erleben/). It is a witch cutting open the bellies of naughty kids with a sickle or scythe and filling them with stones. The scythe of Death ends life; and the life of the year is ritually ended with the solstice: With the longest night the year ends to be born anew. The sickle or Sica plays an important role in the harvest / death myths all over Europe. The myth has thusly survived from the iron age on to modern times.

I wish you all a good Yuletide, Chrismas, or whatever it is that you celebrate. The year will die on the darkest night, and in the darkest night it will be born again and hopefully be prosperous and fertile for you all. May a light be with you always, especially in the darkest hours. And may a Sica be by your side to end what is dying.

Sól invictus esse!

All the best to y´all. 


Mittwoch, 6. Dezember 2017

Krampus, Yule time, skóggángr and penitance of the wicked



 Whether you call it Chrismas time or Yule time, there is no denying of the fact that these are special times. Being fed up with the clash of religions and all the ranting and self-entitlement going on on the web and elsewhere, I took some time to contemplate: What is it that makes this time special, and what do all the opponents have in common? The answer is quite easy. Remove the names and all that paraphernalia and you have one fact. Up until the 21st of December, which was the original date for Chrismas eve, the nights become ever longer, and the 21st. December as the winter solstice is the longest night. It is the triumph of darkness, if you so will-and its ultimate defeat. But darkness and light are both necessary sides of the same coin... no winter, no summer, no death, no life. The birth of the light unfathomed (Sól invictus) was allegorically transponed into the birth of Christ, but contaminated with a lot of ancient pagan beliefs, customs and traditions, one of which is the "Chrismas demon". In the Alps and in the South of Germany, there still is the figure of "Krampus", a word which derives from Old High German "Krampa"/ "Krampan", Old Gothic: "Krampja", meaning claw /claws, a horned spirit with a load of fangs and claws.

Bild könnte enthalten: eine oder mehrere Personen
(source: Mörk djevels, Ennstal, Steiermark, Austria)

While in Christian times everything with horns on is evil, the Krampus actually acts as a bringer of morale, even in a Christian sense. Krampus is a part of St. Nicolas host, something like the minion who takes the evil children to hell. Krampus was said to be a descendant of Loki, son of Hel, but also derives from the horned Gods of nature. One aspect is the holly king.

Kein automatischer Alternativtext verfügbar.

(Source: https://scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/1743556_234785993373145_1520561743_n.png?oh=671d55cc72782d00bd00ca3b777a65e3&oe=5AD1FC17)

The holly king is the "green man" of English folklore and shares a lot of similarities to Cernunnos, the horned god, Herne the hunter, Robin Goodfellow and others.

Image result for Robin Goodfellow
(image source: Wikipedia)

Back to the figure of Krampus. He is never depicted as outright evil, but as a kind of negative psychopomp and acting as a cautionary mythological figure. The Krampus is a wood sprite (said to live in the deepest woods) in some traditions, and stands for the violent forces of nature. In a different place on this blog I have already referred to my presumption or theory that the Norwegian "Trolls" might have something to do with the "skóggángr mannar", the wood-walking men, people who had been banished from society due to a sentence, denying them the privilege to be a part of human society any longer. With the Krampus, however, I found a striking example of a Mongolian shaman costume:

Image result for mongolian shaman costume
(image source: pinterest)

This costume shares a lot of similarities to the Krampus costume. These are: Horned mask, sound-producing implements, a "shaman´s whip" (in the case of Krampus the bundle of birch twigs serves the same purpose besides being used to punish nasty children), staff (often a Krampus also holds a staff with bells on), shaman´s sword:

Image result for Mongolian shaman´s sword

(image source: pinterest)

bells and drum. The shaman in Mongolian society, while being called a holy man, often came to shamanism via a mental illness or any other character trait that distinguishes him from the norm. He is ab - normal in a purely descriptive sense. Often he is a person of higher intellect and education, but not necessarily so. In most cases he lives away from the community of other men. Robinson (1985) postulated a correlation between introversion and emotional intelligence, just to mention it along. In any way, the shaman is seen as someone sitting on the hedge between the worlds. Having had the privilege to converse and make closer acquaintance with a genuine Mongolian shaman several years ago I can say that this quite certainly distinguishes a genuine shaman from all those self-entitled morons running around selling their so-called dream-travels. That gentleman was extremely practical-minded and saw his spirituality in much the same way in which he put up to everyday tasks. He was actually quite down-to-earth, but also had the capacity of having "one foot in the spirit world", as he put it.

In Mongolian society, the shaman is living apart from human society, not because he is despised or in any way banished, but because he is dangerous in a sense, dangerous because of a power that elevates him from human society. He is not entirely human, but able to share characteristics with spirit and animal. He is the one who talks to the world of spirits. In Saami culture, there are stories of shamans you could only look at through an iron ring to be able to survive their gaze.

The Krampus is something that lurks in the darkness and stands for the dark half of the year. Like trolls and dwarves, like elves and dragons, like white women and death itself, he stands for the uncivilized, for the woods, for the counterworld of civilization. In Arthurian romance we find the hero venturing into the woods where adventures, monsters and fair maiden dwell, to test his fortitude and then return as initiated to the court. It is a rite of initiation. 

 The light dies, and the forests are covered in twilight. Moonlight reigns supreme, and if you really venture into the woods in actual these days, chance is, you will be faced with darkness sooner or later. It is quite realistic that even on a short bimble in winter you will be having a problem with falling dark. Now I love being outdoors in the woods, and I also do it in winter, and I long ago learned that a handtorch is of little use in nocturnal forests.
 There is something soothing as well as terrifying in the falling night in the forest. The terrifying thing is that things awake that were asleep at daytime. The trees move and creak, and, being rapt of other notions, your stimulated hearing makes a show of even the faintest of noises-of the rustling of dry leaves in a breeze, of the hooting of an owl and the stealthy stride of the fox.
 You can still see the faint outline of light, but the forest grows ever darker.
 And in the twilight, unseen wonders emerge.

 The message of the Krampus is that there is terror lurking beyond, a terror that is not evil, but violent in its magnificience. It contains wonders unfathomable by man and not made for man to hold. Like the fairy gold or the elf - shit at the end of the rainbow ;-) as a positive connotation, there are monsters hiding in the darkness, spirits like the wood - devil. They belong to the dark side of the year, into winter and autumn. They are dangerous to even look at, but come with a message.
 In our world, however,we have lost this balance. We have banished the dark forces of nature from everything and thusly also robbed the force of light of its power. We know not how it is to huddle besides a fire while outside the wolves and winds howl through the chimney. We like to have a hot drink in winter-on the couch, while watching TV. But we do not know anymore how it feels to have a fire going in a cold winter storm and getting warm and closing one´s fingers around a steaming hot mug of cocoa while around one the storm is driving snow against one´s lean-to. We do not know anymore how it is to walk through a dark forest, when your imagination and your mind lead you on a different path.

To me, Chrismas season, or Yule tide, if you so will, always was a war between the dark and the light forces. The message of the winter solstice is simple: Do not despair-after the darkest night the light will return again, and a different year is born anew.


Now our society puts a lot of emphasis on stating that we are the good ones. We are praying to the forces of light, we bring other cultures the "light of civilization", the enlightenment movement has convinced us finally that there are no gods and no god at all.


Let me put it this way: St. Nicholas and Krampus do not agree at all. ;-) What we have done to nature and our fellow human beings, and what we are doing even now as I write, is worthy of the worst of the bad guys. We do not need to fear any devil anymore; we were better to fear ourselves.


 But there are good news-or bad, that depends on your perspective. The old myths currently somehow rewrite themselves. Somehow old Krampus jumped out of the box this year, being all the rage (pun intended). If you listen, he might have a message for you.

I personally feel that Krampus has a lot to do with Skóggángr. Having had a hearty fill of mankind just recently, with all the frustration and shitstorming going on as usual, I was feeling disgusted and again I thought the fault was that of the others. My shitty job, my shitty employer, my so-called friends that turned out to be absolute morons again, all their fault, isn´t it? But it´s not. It´s all mine. I thought I was a social guy and did a lot for others and forgot myself as usual and still got mobbed. Now I get mobbed since I went to a Kindergarten, and ever since, with no exception whatsoever. All by perfectly normal guys, and it does not help me any that I always was right in the end. The truth is, I do not belong into the enclaves of mankind. I grew up in a forest. The terrors of the wildwood are soothing for me. I talk to spirits and dance under the moon. I am wild, and I always was. I walk paths in moonlight that others would not dare even considering in broad daylight.


No, this is not braggery, but merely a fact, and a fact I could live without or maybe not. In fact, I cannot be anyone else than I am, with the exception of the many things I have to work on and work on.

 This is my world, the world of twilight. I do fairly well in the world of daylight, but this is where I belong.
 I walk out of their world deliberately, and I return to tell the tales, as I do with this post.
 That Mongolian guy laughed hard when I asked him to tell me what I was, what he saw in me, and he just said that I would see in time.

"Sympathy with the Devil", if you so will, but is it? I daresay Krampus can take you for a wild ride. He will die, and his death is right and righteous and necessary for the birth of light, but he is the psychopomp that can lead modern man into the woods still, into the actual woods as well as into those of your mind, where fairy tales are born. Oh yes, some get lost in the process and chucked to hell... but even hell is a far more agreeable destination than the world we are about to create. And the hell of legend always is a purgatory, a place of initiation. Skóggángr is something that somehow occured to me. The term just fascinated me, and I daresay there is a lot more to it to be discovered.

Become a creature of the wildwood. And walk the world of man to remind them that you´re dangerous, not because you mean harm to anyone, but because it is your very personality and character. Become dangerous not like a mass - murderer or lunatic is. But because you are one with a wolf, an owl, or winter. Be Yule, and Yule will reward you with the gift of light in the darkest hour.

And remember to fill your boots with leftovers from the feast for Krampus and put them outside! You never know... ;-)


Donnerstag, 23. November 2017

Alive. Just so. Hobbit Day 2017 galore impressions



 Hobbit Day 2017 was a HUGE success. It is only natural that the chairmen of the club decided to cancel the layout for 2018, making it a slightly medieval crafts fair in actual. I was really fond of a lot of people contributing, and I post this to give them a big "Thank You". One of the biggest thanks goes to Stefan Dieke, chief instructor for www.alte-kampfkunst.de, an  internationally renowned HEMA school in Wuppertal, who gave us valuable insight in fighting with a longsword after the Liechtenauer system.


 He had us training in pairs, and it became abundantly clear very soon that swordmanship is not at all like the stuff you see in movies. It is a highly complex martial arts.
 The moves we learned were basic... and still, yours truly really got confused with leg work and sword coordination. This was only partly due to a slightly Eastern background, so to say, but to the complexity in the first.
 Jonas apparently had fun learning...
 Olaf had dropped by, with his son. I learned last week that Olaf has died from a heart attack. He called me brother, and I tried my best to be a friend, but I fear did not do enough. He will be remembered, so much I can say. I like to think that he was happy in the smithy... he will not go to Vallhalla, as he so much yearned for... but I hope, his soul will find a way to another golden hall. He would certainly deserve it. #rememberolaf
 Two cuties who would bang the shite ouutta me for calling them cuties... Tina and Ben dropped by, as well as my lovely magic troll. People from all over Europe came for the event.


 I was really astonished to see Irmi and her man coming over from Wien, and people from all over Germany. The magic troll came from Marburg, as well as Ulrike and Siggi and Doro,Tina and Ben from the Westerwald region, Erich and Danuta from Bavaria, and other people from Ireland and Czechia were thinking about coming, and while they did not manage this time, they are still thinking about it. This means a thing or two.
 Jonas etch-burning a sign for the reenactment camp.


 Our lovely Homie band, Amulett, www.amulett.jimdo.de, came over and played for us.
 De Coggenmakerey, in person of Dietmar, came from Lüdenscheid.
 Tina was offering leatherworking tutorials.
 Harald from Lüdenscheid proved the good spirit of the encampment, always laughing, always willing to help, and a big help at that!
 But the most important attraction of all the days was the Bingo lottery. Never yet seen before. Prominently displayed. Professionally organized.
 Jürgen had his goodies on hand. Jürgen is a beeskeeper from around the corner, a good-natured fellow with lots of ideas.
 A big and fond personal "Thankyou" goes to Doro, who gave me two lovely Khukhuris as a gift. They had a very personal meaning to her, and I will value them and hold them in high esteem. Your true friends you find on a battlefield, and a battlefield it was for me. Don´t take me wrong: It was a cool event, but due to many adversaries and adversities I had to face, it was burning me out. Thanks go to Erich, danuta and my beloved magic troll for just packing me up after the event, and for Doro for offering me  a drive back home from Prichsenstadt.
 Nick preparing the pig roast.


 Thiemo helping out.
 Piggy ain´t feeling too well... ;-)






Senior blacksmith and Kaetzler clan.





We roasted the pig Asado -style this year.


Did not work that well.
;-)
 Danuta, upon arriving, headed straight for the swing... slightly irritating the elderly persons... ;-)

 One thing with this beauty is...
 That her beauty lies in things like this. The magic troll was one of the few reasons to stay sane that weekend.
 Ericxh showing off his new oldtimer car to Harald...
 ...and the van...

 Piggy wasn´t feeling well...
 ...so resolved to the bottle...
 ....
 When all was running more or less smoothly I headed for the woods to do some foraging.


And nearly needed a scythe to harvest all the ´shrooms!


 With that stuff I made a stew for myself, since noone cared to join in.
 ...and soup for all...
 Morning coffee by the fireside...
 ...or morning beer... everyone to one´s liking... ;-P
 A man´s meal. innit? ;-)

Piggy was feeling even worse in the morning....

 Erich preparing the pig´s head for stew...
 Nick and the magic troll preparing stew...

 A lamb´s leg with rosemary and garlic, honey and whisky.








 More impressions from the tutorial.












It was a very arduous weekend for me. I had done a lot of work beforehand and was on my feet 14 hours each day, constantly facing adversities, abuse and disrespect.

But there´s a learning effect involved.












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