The Well of Remembrance Rediscovering the Earth Wisdom Myths of Northern Europe

by Metzner, Ralph; Gimbutas, Marija

• ISBN13: 9781570626289
• ISBN10: 1570626286
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

In his introduction toThe Well of Remembrance,author Ralph Metzner provides a telling explanation of the theme of his work: "This book explores some of the mythic roots of the Western worldview, the worldview of the culture that, for better and worse, has come to dominate most of the rest of the world's peoples. This domination has involved not only economic and political systems but also values, basic attitudes, religious beliefs, language, scientific understanding, and technological applications. Many individuals, tribes, and nations are struggling to free themselves from the residues of the ideological oppression practiced by what they see as Eurocentric culture. They seek to define their own ethnic or national identities by referring to ancestral traditions and mythic patterns of knowledge. At this time, it seems appropriate for Europeans and Euro-Americans likewise to probe their own ancestral mythology for insight and self-understanding." Focusing on the mythology and worldview of the pre-Christian Germanic tribes of Northern Europe, Metzner offers a meaningful exploration of Western ancestry.

Author Biography

Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist and a professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. One of the pioneers in the study of nonordinary states of consciousness, he has written several books, including Maps of Consciousness and Opening to Inner Light.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	x
Foreword	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	1	(16)
Prologue: The Nazi Curse on Germanic Mythology	17	(14)
PART ONE THE INDO-EUROPEAN AND NORDIC-GERMANIC PEOPLES
Migrations and Invasions of the Indo-Europeans	31	(15)
Origins of the Indo-Europeans	31	(6)
The Descendants of the Kurgan Invaders in Europe	37	(6)
The Indo-European Legacy	43	(3)
The Religion and Worldview of the Indo-Europeans	46	(15)
Animism, Shamanism, and Paganism	48	(3)
Changing Conceptions of Death and the Afterlife	51	(4)
The Destruction of the Old Religion	55	(6)
Ancient Germanic Society	61	(12)
Patriarchy	63	(2)
The Family, the Clan, and the Tribe	65	(3)
From Endogamy to Exogamy	68	(5)
Wodan's Warriors and the Heroic Mystique	73	(12)
Berserker Fury and the Rituals of Battle	75	(4)
Women in War and the Valkyrie Battle Maidens	79	(2)
The Transformed Berserkers	81	(4)
Sacred Runes and Mythic Poetry	85	(26)
Runes and Divination	85	(6)
The Edda: Songs and Visions of the Elder Mothers	91	(20)
Chronology	98	(13)
PART TWO NORDIC-GERMANIC MYTHS AND THEIR MEANING FOR OUR TIME
Odin and the Aesir Sky Gods	111	(22)
Odin the Wandering Truth-Seeker	112	(10)
Other Aesir Gods: Tyr, Thor, Balder, and Loki	122	(11)
The New Berserkers	133	(17)
Norbert Mayer
Freyja and the Vanir Earth Deities	150	(23)
Freyja: Goddess of Earth, Sexuality, and Magic	152	(9)
Other Vanir Deities: Njord and Freyr	161	(4)
Gullveig and the Origins of War	165	(8)
Visions of the Fourfold Goddess	173	(18)
Barbel Kreidt
Odin's Self-Sacrifice and the Tree of Worlds	191	(24)
Odin's Self-Sacrifice	192	(7)
The Tree of Nine Worlds	199	(12)
Dwarves, Elves, Giants, and Gods in the Twentieth Century	211	(4)
The Well of Remembrance and the Knowledge of the Ancestors	215	(14)
The Three Norns	215	(4)
Mimir's Well and the One-Eyed God	219	(5)
The Revenge of the Vanir and Mimir's Head	224	(5)
Rituals of Reconciliation and the Quest for the Mead of Inspiration	229	(15)
The Reconciliation Ritual and Kvasir's Blood	230	(4)
Twentieth-Century Rituals of Reconciliation	234	(4)
Loss and Recovery of the Mead of Inspiration	238	(6)
The Twilight of the Sky Gods and New Dawn of the Earth Goddess	244	(23)
The Volva's Vision of the Ragnarok	246	(4)
Cataclysmic Earth Changes	250	(5)
The Loosened Monsters and the Final Battle	255	(4)
Defeat and Return of the Pagan Deities	259	(8)
Epilogue	267	(12)
Appendix: The Mead of Inspiration and Magical Plants of the Ancient Germans	279	(18)
Christian Ratsch
Notes	297	(28)
Index	325