Hospitality as a Spiritual Metaphor: Part 2
Since it runs he risk of turning into an essay rather than a blog post, I would like to discussion women as the servers as mead on a surface level, rather than an intensive study. In essence I will generalize here for the sake of brevity.
We have established in the previous post that the act of ritual drinking is a historically as well as spiritually relevant practice in heathenry. Now let us examine exactly how this is portrayed in myth, and what I feel gives it a connection to spiritual power.
Those who serve mead, be it in the Halls of the Gods or common men, are traditionally female. I have yet to hear of an instance of a male figure who served mead at feast or gathering, but correct me if I'm wrong please, because I would be fascinated if such evidence exists. So the ritual serving of mead id overseen or controlled by the feminine. Also, we learn that this role as hostess was often reserved for the women of the highest status within these communities, though not always in terms of age or experience. Many instances of mead serving are traditionally held by maiden women, which in itself is worth noting in a deeper extermination, but not relevant to my blog here.
So we see that this ritual drinking was overseen by female figures, in essence representatives of feminine energy. Which for most seems to indicate a connection to creative powers. This would also make sense for the traditional role of the maiden as hostess, in that the maiden would signify a feminine force which is still in possession of her full creative potential undiluted. It also makes sense in that the mead itself was also connected with creativity itself, in the guise of "poetry" or "inspiration", etc.
Another prominent connection between mead and spirituality comes in the symbolism of the world tree, Yggdrasil. More importantly with the earth itself. Let us remember that Mimir's well is buried deep within the earth, at the roots of the tree. Also let us remember how Odin himself is said to have stolen the mead from the unwitting giant maiden Gunnlod's protection. Let us not forget that this mead was kept in a cave beneath the earth, before Odin himself claimed it and took it into the heaven's in eagle skin. It seems most all of the myths surrounding the mead place it's origination inside of the earth. For me this speaks volumes.
Freyja herself is said to have served mead in Odin's Hall, which for the more Vanic minded pagan might beg a bit of research into the sexual aspects of the ritual itself as well. Loki made much of Njord's drink from the loins of giant maidens, but could this be a metaphor about the sacred drink and female energy as well? There is much which could be discussed, but for this post I will only touch upon that particular subject.
For now, I will restate some of the mead's connections to spirituality. For one, the mead is in a sense rationed by feminine figures, and seems to indicate a connection to creative powers. It is also traditionally connected to the earth itself, which only adds to the concept of creative force and perhaps passion as well.
It is my personal opinion that hospitality, particular the ritual drinking of mead, was a process by which not only was male hierarchy established and in some sense controlled by women, but also a spiritual process by which female, creative energy could be bestowed upon men as well. Of course I am not suggesting that these women could simply pick and choose, their were of course established rules, but in some instances, such as those were valkyries served the mead, this might be true in a sense.
For me, the ritual drink is a powerful instance of female divinity and power within the heathen community. As much as modern man might like to believe that these women were powerless, or that the Vikings were simply a balls out warrior cult, I think even a surface evaluation of myth indicates that the female was a very real and important source of spiritual power for the Norse.
Hospitality then, in a sense, can be viewed not only as a common courtesy, but an act of nurturing power for the entire community. By sharing a drink with the Gods, one is indeed creating a spiritual bond, and returning the favor of the God's blessings. There is no doubt a spiritual process there, or this ritual would be irrelevant then and now. I think it begs further examination, as well as meditation on the virtues of the practice.
As the holidays approach, many of us feel disconnected from our families, and gatherings can be at times strained and at others unbearably boring. Yet perhaps we might feel more fulfilled if we concentrated more on the spiritual aspects of it rather than the mundane. See the food you prepare, and the gifts you give, not as a duty. See them as your own personal gift, regardless of the price, which empowers those you call kindred.
In Frith,
Cena
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| depiction of Yule from golden drinking horn found in Denmark, 400 AD |
We have established in the previous post that the act of ritual drinking is a historically as well as spiritually relevant practice in heathenry. Now let us examine exactly how this is portrayed in myth, and what I feel gives it a connection to spiritual power.
Those who serve mead, be it in the Halls of the Gods or common men, are traditionally female. I have yet to hear of an instance of a male figure who served mead at feast or gathering, but correct me if I'm wrong please, because I would be fascinated if such evidence exists. So the ritual serving of mead id overseen or controlled by the feminine. Also, we learn that this role as hostess was often reserved for the women of the highest status within these communities, though not always in terms of age or experience. Many instances of mead serving are traditionally held by maiden women, which in itself is worth noting in a deeper extermination, but not relevant to my blog here.
So we see that this ritual drinking was overseen by female figures, in essence representatives of feminine energy. Which for most seems to indicate a connection to creative powers. This would also make sense for the traditional role of the maiden as hostess, in that the maiden would signify a feminine force which is still in possession of her full creative potential undiluted. It also makes sense in that the mead itself was also connected with creativity itself, in the guise of "poetry" or "inspiration", etc.
Another prominent connection between mead and spirituality comes in the symbolism of the world tree, Yggdrasil. More importantly with the earth itself. Let us remember that Mimir's well is buried deep within the earth, at the roots of the tree. Also let us remember how Odin himself is said to have stolen the mead from the unwitting giant maiden Gunnlod's protection. Let us not forget that this mead was kept in a cave beneath the earth, before Odin himself claimed it and took it into the heaven's in eagle skin. It seems most all of the myths surrounding the mead place it's origination inside of the earth. For me this speaks volumes.
Freyja herself is said to have served mead in Odin's Hall, which for the more Vanic minded pagan might beg a bit of research into the sexual aspects of the ritual itself as well. Loki made much of Njord's drink from the loins of giant maidens, but could this be a metaphor about the sacred drink and female energy as well? There is much which could be discussed, but for this post I will only touch upon that particular subject.
For now, I will restate some of the mead's connections to spirituality. For one, the mead is in a sense rationed by feminine figures, and seems to indicate a connection to creative powers. It is also traditionally connected to the earth itself, which only adds to the concept of creative force and perhaps passion as well.
It is my personal opinion that hospitality, particular the ritual drinking of mead, was a process by which not only was male hierarchy established and in some sense controlled by women, but also a spiritual process by which female, creative energy could be bestowed upon men as well. Of course I am not suggesting that these women could simply pick and choose, their were of course established rules, but in some instances, such as those were valkyries served the mead, this might be true in a sense.
For me, the ritual drink is a powerful instance of female divinity and power within the heathen community. As much as modern man might like to believe that these women were powerless, or that the Vikings were simply a balls out warrior cult, I think even a surface evaluation of myth indicates that the female was a very real and important source of spiritual power for the Norse.
Hospitality then, in a sense, can be viewed not only as a common courtesy, but an act of nurturing power for the entire community. By sharing a drink with the Gods, one is indeed creating a spiritual bond, and returning the favor of the God's blessings. There is no doubt a spiritual process there, or this ritual would be irrelevant then and now. I think it begs further examination, as well as meditation on the virtues of the practice.
As the holidays approach, many of us feel disconnected from our families, and gatherings can be at times strained and at others unbearably boring. Yet perhaps we might feel more fulfilled if we concentrated more on the spiritual aspects of it rather than the mundane. See the food you prepare, and the gifts you give, not as a duty. See them as your own personal gift, regardless of the price, which empowers those you call kindred.
In Frith,
Cena
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