Happy Winter Nights

Vetrnaetr or Winter Nights is a time when Summer has ended and we begin Winter. Have a blessed Winter Nights season. Turnips of the old ways instead of pumpkins. The Irish and Norse used turnips for their celebrations this time of year. I wish you all a wonderful Alfablot.

Night time visitor

In the early hours of the morning, I was awake and finishing to get ready for bed. I must mention that I love staying up very late. Then I heard noises coming from outside, that I haven't heard before. Where I live is so silent at night time that, besides the odd car in the distance, a rare helicopter or siren, or even night birds, this was different. I checked outside opening the curtain and I couldn't see much. I looked through the peep hole and still didn't have a range of view. I had to go upstairs and look. There they were. A couple of foxes, maybe more but it was very dark. They were passing through, and I left them alone. Foxes are very nervous and they always run away if I approach them. I suggest to people out there don't try and go near foxes, because of many reasons. They might carry diseases, or they may be so terrified. Humans haven't been kind to foxes, which is sad. Foxes often appear at night and they're beautiful creatures. This is the only wild canine that lives in the UK and Ireland today. Wild wolves were hunted to extinction in the British Isles . The last wolf killed in Ireland was in 1786. The last wolf killed in Scotland was in 1680. The last wolf was killed in 1390 and the last wolf in Wales was killed in 1166. With the wolves gone, the deer population increased and these animals feed on plants and the less forested the country became. Thinking of the UK and Ireland during Medieval Times will conjure up visions of castles, monks and knights, as well as thick forests with wolves hiding in them. Today the wolf's little cousin the Fox, is there in our woodlands, gardens, streets and parks, hiding and being hunted for sport, which is cruel, because foxes keep down vermin. Farmers would say foxes are the vermin because they attack chickens but keep your chickens in better barns and guard the livestock with dogs. This subject has brought me onto talking about the depressing subject of animal cruelty which wasn't my intention. I wanted to share my joy at having foxes pass my house.

Rayne   

(The fox picture isn't mine)

My past life regression

Last week I experienced a form of past life regression while under hypnosis. The purpose was to find out why I've always had social anxiety issues since childhood. The hypnotherapist technique video sent me under a deep calm relaxed state. I listened to her explaining that I may find myself at some point in my past or even in my childhood. I found myself becoming paralysed within and seeing visions or having flashback memories. While listening to her instructions, I was trying to focus on the question of what I was doing this for, and then I was no longer aware of sitting in the chair. I found myself as a child, with bare feet and wearing a long white dress. I had short blonde hair. In my own personal childhood, I never wore my hair short.
I was told to look around and explore. I was in a house with pale walls. There was a window with fruit trees just outside. It was familiar and I knew it was my home. The feeling I had at that very moment was fear. I was terrified of going outside and looking around as I was told to do by the therapist, I simply didn't want to leave the house. I was crying for my mother, who had gone out to the market that day and never returned. The ground had been shaking. This was the point that the hypnotherapist wanted me to understand more. While telling me to go outside, I didn't want to go outside. I was asked to remember the point of death, and I refused to do that so in panic and I cried "No!" When asked what was happening, why I didn't go outside, I just repeated in a childlike voice "ves voos!" "ves voos!"
Later I had experienced past life regression again to find more details. It was clear that I had been a Roman girl of seven years old, who was one of many victims of the volcano Mount Vesuvius that erupted in 79 AD.
From that regression, I still can't link why my past life memory surfaced when under hypnosis to deal with everyday issues, other than become aware of this. My past life self blocked the moment of her death. It feels amazing to have experienced this past life regression but also it saddens me to know what became of her and the many thousands of victims who died on that fateful day.

Rayne

Depictions of Hel

Hel is often portrayed as a monstrous looking woman that is half dead and half alive. In the Eddic texts, she’s described as the daughter of Loki. The All Father god Odin gave her the Underworld to rule over, which bore her name, Hel. It's a place sometimes called Helheim.

She’s considered a Dark Goddess and has much in common with the Roman goddess Proserpina, the Greek Persephone and the Hindu goddess Kali. The Proto-Germanic languages have pronoun feminine words Hell and Hella that come from an ancient Indo European ablaut that sounds like Kel. It means “conceal, to cover and save”. Source.

Worship of the goddess Hel has been around for so long. During the Migration Period there were jewels and bracteate showing the goddess.

It’s possible that the way Hel appears is more symbolic as she dwells in different planes, and will also look half dark and half light, instead of half corpse and half beautiful. There’s a duality in this goddess because she’s more powerful than most people think. She’s like a divine mother for the spirits of the dead. Also she’s said to be a goddess of wisdom with knowledge of the Earth given that she lives deep inside it.

(by Rayne)

Above is "Veil of Death" by artist Cris Ortega