One of the oldest cult places in Scandinavia is the mysterious island of Sigtuna. Here was the sanctuary of the supreme god Odin - Eddah. And in ancient times, the island was called the Land of Odin. This god, who has a great variety of names and guises, is still revered not only in the Scandinavian countries, but also in Germany, America, England, Iceland.
Lord of the runes
Odin is the god-sorcerer, the first shaman, the creator of magic spells. To gain comprehensive wisdom and the ability to wander between worlds, he, piercing himself with his own spear, hung for nine days on the world tree Yggdrasil, connecting heaven and hell - a purely shamanic initiation, initiation into the secrets of being through pain and death. After that, Odin was bestowed by the eternal Beginning with prophetic runes - cuneiform signs carved on stones, which are still widely used today as an oracle giving wise advice.
But at the same time, Odin was among the Scandinavians and the warrior god, the lord of the military paradise - Valhalla, to whom the famous warlike maidens - the Valkyries, who distributed victories and defeats in battles on his order.
One walks in a blue cloak and a hat pulled low over his forehead. Prophetic crows and fearless wolves serve him. The first is a visible image of his omniscience, the second is his constant readiness for battle.
For modern admirers of Odin, perhaps the most important is his first hypostasis - the divine personification of the mind, inseparable from shamanic intuition and magical knowledge of the world. It is these qualities that they dream of finding when they come to Sigtuna.
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Warriors and prophets
Sigtuna is a small island with a coastline rugged by fjords, small bays protected from the north wind, into which only small boats can enter. Once upon a time there was a sacred city on the island, built by the "sea kings" - the leaders of the Viking seafarers' squads.
In the 9th-12th centuries it was not only the sacred center of Scandinavia, but also a place for tings (courts, litigation), where, by the will of the gods and wise people, who were called “broadcasters of the law,” all disputes were resolved in duels. Judges were the most respected people among the rebellious Vikings. The sagas say: "I am not afraid of your sharp sword, I am afraid of the wise head of your father."
Here on Sigtuna, among the green hills was the shrine of Odin. Around it rose Runestones laid out in circles, on which the history of the ancient clans of the kings - the leaders of the Vikings, who considered themselves the descendants of the shaman-god and warrior - were recorded. These stones, keeping the writing, remained there to this day, although they cracked under the onslaught of time. Initiates ask them questions, and then patiently decipher their erased letters - prophecies.
From afar one could see on Sigtun the sacred "tree of Odin" - a giant ash tree with a dense crown, considered by the Vikings to be the center of the world. But few people knew the way to the underground sanctuary, in which the soothsayers sat. Only they knew the secrets of making the ecstatic honey drink of berserkers - frantic warriors who identified themselves in battles with wild beasts. For each clan, he was special, associated with the totem - "people-wolves", "people-bears", "people-foxes".
In one of the caves of Sigtuna, in the depths of a black well, an unquenchable fire burned, over which blood-bound oaths of life and death were pronounced. Somewhere here there was also a treasury intended for gifts to Odin - the best of the booty was brought here.
Regardless of the conflicts torn apart by Scandinavia, not a single warship has ever approached the island to shed the blood of their relatives. Sigtuna, according to custom, has always remained a neutral territory. But over time, the island began to be exposed to raids by foreigners. Its eponymous capital was taken by assault in 1187 by Novgorod squads - in revenge for past attacks by the Vikings and in search of the legendary untold riches of the northern sea kings.
The last velvas who predicted this invasion died in the fire that engulfed the island. Odin's gold was never found. The Novgorodians destroyed the buildings and, as a sign of their victory, brought the gates from Sigtuna to their city.
So Sigtuna remained a kind of open-air sanctuary museum, the Scandinavian Stonehenge. There, as before, in the bay there are ships-drakkars with a graceful bend of dragon necks, which were built by the modern descendants of ancient families, who returned to the worship of the sorcerer god Odin.
Iron Forest
Roger Swenson is a historian by profession, author of the book "Ancient Scandinavian Medicine". Belonging to an old Swedish family, he owns a place called the Iron Forest, which is located in central Sweden near ancient Sigtuna.
Here, in the Iron Forest, there is another ancient altar of Odin, preserved despite the long centuries during which Christianity dominated the country. Roger
Swenson is its keeper and priest. “Those who want to bow not to the past but to the future come here,” he says. “The old gods must return. The world is a cycle, after death there is always birth”.
Roger has a small ship built according to the old canons of navigation. His ancestors, who once lived on the island of Gotland, had their own military symbol, which he depicted on the bow of the ship - a furious, invincible boar. Naturally, the ship is called "Sea Boar". On it, Roger takes Odin's followers from Stockholm to Sigtuna and his Iron Forest in a little over three hours. At the small shipyard, two more ships are waiting in the wings - one ship is no longer able to accommodate all the pilgrims eager to bow to the god-giver of the runes.
In the depths of the Svenson estate, there is a complex of one-story buildings, built like the long Viking houses. His comrades-in-arms who honor the traditions of their ancestors live in them. They are masters of forging swords, weaving strong chain mail, many are excellent at using ancient weapons. There is also a "rune master" - a chronicler. The inhabitants of the Iron Forest even speak to each other in the language of the time when the runes were "alive." A language that still holds for those who own it, poetry and magic, once bestowed by the gods. According to ancient recipes, beer is brewed and food is prepared here.
One of the few attributes of the XXI century admitted to the Iron Forest is a small modern recording studio: there are recorded old battle and drinking songs, which are very popular at the gatherings of neo-pagans held in the USA and Canada.
In the Forest there are masters of ancient crafts who make jewelry and even fabrics, because the popular all over the world drawing "Norwegian" was once nothing more than protective runes applied to clothing. Rune masters make rune amulets, strictly observing all rituals that bring the owner of the amulet good luck in battle, wisdom or love.
The inhabitants of the Iron Forest are far from sectarian ideology. They simply consider themselves a part of that ancient world and do not at all seek to propagate their ideas or their sanctuary throughout the world. Among them are writers, journalists, artists, doctors, politicians. Moreover, these are people of different nationalities, and by no means only Swedes. The largest of the overseas congregations of "one-worshipers", numbering almost a thousand, is in Breckenbridge, Texas.
We also have such groups, mainly in the North - in Karelia and the Arkhangelsk region. Moreover, interest in the cult of the god of the runes in Russia is constantly growing, as evidenced by the fact that many travel agencies have already appeared, offering travel to Sigtuna with a visit to the Iron Forest by agreement.
I asked ash
Althing festivals are held in the Iron Forest on the days of the equinox and solstice. To get to them, you need to secure an invitation - after all, private ownership. During the festivals, rituals, performances of skalds - singers wielding the magic of words, competitions with weapons take place. Invulnerable berserkers also gather on them - those who have mastered the magic technique of combat werewolf. There are also special holidays in honor of the pagan gods.
So, on January 22nd Roger and his associates celebrate the day of the god Thor, a formidable thunderer, the patron saint of winter. He is celebrated for throwing Mjellnir, a huge hammer with a shortened handle, Thor's weapon, with which he killed evil giants and cut them down in the mountain ranges of the valley. It is a symbol of masculine strength associated with the power of the Sun and thunderstorms, war and crafts. Thor's hammer is still considered a protective symbol in Scandinavia and serves as a sign of authority, giving solemnity to marriage and the conclusion of contracts. There is also a stone of Thor in the Iron Forest - taking an oath on it, you cannot lie. They say: "If your request is sincere, Thor will help you, because he will be the first to hear."
And the first of May is the day of Freya, the goddess of beauty, love and family hearth. She is worshiped by many women who come here. Freya's sacred animal is a white cat, and almost all admirers of pagan Scandinavian gods keep such pussies in their house.
One of the ancient, but eternally living rituals is twinning, described in the old sagas. It is designed to bind people as if they are closest relatives. In the Iron Forest, a classic rite of twinning is carried out: a long piece of turf is cut out so that both of its edges are connected to the ground. Under it, future brothers-in-arms put their spears with runes-amulets inscribed on them, and they themselves pass under the sod. Then they bleed themselves, and it flows, mingling, onto the ground dug out from under the sod. Leaning to the ground, the brothers, calling on the ancient gods as witnesses, vow to protect and avenge each other. Such an oath, sealed by blood, earth and gods, is considered unbreakable.
Many of the local residents and pilgrims who worship Odin, imitating him, acquire assistants - tamed ravens (according to legend, telling God about all the events that take place in the worlds) and even wolves accompanying them to rituals.
Among the rituals of worship of the spirits-elements held here, in addition to the traditional four elements (Fire, Air, Earth and Water), there is also the worship of Ice. According to Scandinavian beliefs, Ice and Fire were the first elements that gave birth to everything else.
Many modern skald singers find inspiration and mystical illumination in Sigtuna and the Iron Forest. They go to sleep under an ancient tree, which symbolizes the giant ash Yggdrasil connecting the worlds, and prophetic dreams descend on them. Everything happens exactly as it is said in the sagas: "Remember the song from the dream and repeat."
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When Sigtuna was threatened with death, each clan took one of the sacred objects for safekeeping. So, according to family legends, Roger's distant ancestor did. The stone with the rune of his clan, inscribed, as he believes, by the hand of Odin himself, is still kept in his Iron Forest. And since the family has survived for almost a thousand years, it is easy to agree that it is difficult to find the best family amulet.
As if time itself protects this sacred place, where tens of generations have kept ancient wisdom and strength. “This is our life, the religion of our ancestors. We are trying to revive the soul of the people, to save it from the faceless civilization of today, says Roger Swenson. “The Old Gods are not dead, they are only forgotten by most people. But forgetting them, we forget part of ourselves."
Alex GROMOV