The Ancient Fires of Midgard by Andrea Haugen (2008).pdf

he Ancient Fires

of Midgard

Andrea Haugen

he Ancient Fires of Midgard

Andrea Haugen

CONTENTS:

he Ancient Fires of Midgard :

Introduction

he Past is Alive

Understanding the Myths of the Germanic Pagans

he Nine Worlds

Northern Traditions and the Natural Lore

he Magic of Trees

he Arcane World of Plants

he Runes

What is Magic and How Does it Work?

Seidr – Northern Shamanism

Getting in Contact with the Animal Spirit

Wolf – he Call of the Wild

he Self

Natural Birth and the Beloved Pagan Child

Garments and Accessories for Magical Purposes

Sources and recommended Reading

Biography

Andrea Haugen

First printed in 2000, re-edited in 2008

Lyrics by Andrea Haugen, taken from the albums

“he Winds that sang of Midgard’s Fate”, “Volven” and

“Frigga’s Web”, published by Amazonian Music and

Edition Wolfackel, c/o Hanseatic Musikverlag GmbH

Drawings by Petter Jensen

Photos by Hanne Englund and N.A.P.

Nebelhexe fantasy art by Vebjørn Strømmen

Typography and layout by N.A.P.

For Alva – my lovely little elf…

INTRODUCTION

I have always felt diferent from the crowd. I thought much more about

life than others my age did. I had deep emotions, intense dreams, visions

and magical experiences, I felt very connected to animals, had a great

interest in ancient cultures, and I loved gloomy and gothic images. I was

intensely drawn to ‘creatures of the night’ like vampires and werewolves

(who really are merely symbols of our natural instincts), supernatural

tales etc.

Many things the ‘ordinary’ people did, made not much sense to me. I

reacted to the respectless way people treated nature and animals with,

the way they treated each other. I reacted to the kind of low behaviour

I oten saw in the streets. I felt really out of place. As a child I was

very fond of the American Indians. hey had pride, they knew how to

survive. When I saw these stupid wild west movies I was angry to see

how the American Natives were demonised... the cowboys’s low life

behaviour is a true representation of all I dislike...

I was always searching for something deeper, higher, more passionate –

perhaps a life in another world. I always believed that there were other

worlds, worlds parallel to our own world. I still wonder if beings from

these parallel worlds visit our world, yet most of us cannot see them.

Oten when I walk, alone with the wind blowing around me, I wish that

time could stand still. I yearn to go “home”, a home that I don’t know

where to ind.

I always wanted to feel truly alive, to try everything once, to dare, to

play with life… and I have at times put myself into negative situations…

simply to test if I was capable of getting myself out of them again…

which I always did. Life is a peculiar game…

In the early 90’s I moved to London, where I was a part of the gothic-

and alternative music scenes. Here I met my irst inluences and

inspirations to explore the darker aspects of life. I travelled around

Britain, living short periods of time in places that seemed interesting.

hen I moved back to London, where I studied “the biological basis of

human behaviour”. Here I really learned how biologically close we are to

animals and how unaware people are of their natural instincts.

and writings is that people free their minds and think for themselves.

More and more people become free thinking individuals and show

respect for the earth, for animals and search for life’s mysteries. And I

really hope this is a true step in the right direction and not just a fashion.

Life as a journey, with new possibilities and also many obstacles... there

are always new beginnings in life...

I realised how the patriarchal religions are responsible for much of the

unnatural behaviour we see in our society. he lack of respect for nature

and animals, suppression of the feminine forces, no tolerance to other-

thinking people and other religions. It’s all in their holy books.

I hope this book will inspire you. To really understand the Pagan way of

thinking you have to look inside yourself. Let your inner voice be your

guide.

he natural spiritualities on the other hand teach a balance between

forces, balance within, respect for nature and all other creatures… and

most of all self-respect. If one respects the self than one also respects

others.

I connected with diferent witch- and magical organisations (and the

early Neo-Folk music movement, whose occult outlook inspired me a

great deal…) and truly started to work with my inner self. With it I got

really interested in the myths and mysteries of my ancestors. I think it

is really important to know and understand our own culture and why

we practise our local customs. I wanted people to understand why we

celebrate Christmas and Easter, what our traditions originally were

about. his is why I wrote this book. I try to interpretate the spirituality

of northern Europe - the myths, folklore, superstitions, natural wisdom

and magical traditions. In my very own way.

But even though this book focuses on the myths and traditions of

northern Europe, many chapters discuss life’s mysteries, magical

practise, goddess worship and my thoughts on human nature in general.

Ater all I am inspired by the mysteries of life... and particularly the

lunar side of life in general... Please keep this in mind. Even though I

know a lot about the old Germanic traditions I am not a representative

for the Germanic religion. I consider myself to be more of an ‘universal’

pagan or witch. I am a seeker, an artist who has experienced many

strange things in her life. And what I want most of all with my music, art

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