My dad was in the Army when I was little, and I grew up a "military brat". We moved around a lot. I got to see lots of interesting places, but changed schools a lot. It also meant that I was raised with a pretty high opinion of soldiers, the military and a deep respect for the men and women who fight for the freedoms I enjoy every day. When I was little, I wanted to grow up and follow in my father's footsteps, and when given the opportunity, I joined the JROTC in high school. After 4 years, I realized that kind of structure was not something that I was well suited to live with, and I didn't end up walking further down that path.
But I still hold soldiers in high esteem. They sacrifice so much, even when they come home safely...or don't get deployed to a combat zone at all. Being raised in a military family, I understood some of that, from the eyes of the family of a soldier. My father wasn't always home, and while a part of me enjoyed moving to new places, it was always hard socially. Long time friends weren't something I had growing up, and it was hard to keep up long distance relationships when you're in grade school.
To me, it only makes sense to continue to honor the soldiers after they have passed from this life. Einherjar are the dead warriors chosen by Odin to reside in Valhalla and to join him in the battle of Ragnarok. But I also think that the ranks of the Einherjar include other types of people who have passed but were fighters in life.
This is very much my own UPG (unverified personal gnosis....aka my personal beliefs). I feel that what makes someone a fighter isn't so much about dying in battle, but the spirit with which you life your life. A firefighter who risks his life everyday going into burning buildings to save people has that spirit. So does a mother who fights tooth and nail to defend her children...or to care for them when they are sick or injured.
In the US, we have two days to honor our soldiers: Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. Memorial day focus' on the soldiers who have passed on already, while Veteran's day honors those who are still alive (as well as those who have died). Many Norse practitioners celebrate Einherjar day, choosing either Memorial day or Veteran's day to honor the Einherjar and feast in their honor. I love the practice of making this honoring a part of my own traditions, and I actually think doing both is a viable alternative.
I have talked about beloved dead before, and I don't think that celebrating the Einherjar is the same as many of the other feasts and rituals for working with the dead simply because the focus of honoring the Einherjar is on their sacrifice. More than just remembering and honoring them as people, I am honoring the choices they made in life, the things they gave up, to make the lives of those around them better.
I honor the Einherjar as a way of showing my gratitude for all thing things they did. Many of the people I may remember or honor never knew me. They may have been part of a different era, on the other side of the world, or they may have been family. But they all stood up for what they believed in, and that example is one that should be remembered.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
March and the changing seasons
So technically not March anymore..but still!
This month's topic was on how the seasons change. I tend to feel very restless at this point in the year. This year especially, I think the on and off heavy winter weather left me feeling very trapped in. I am really enjoying the warmer days, the change to go outside and not feel like I am just rushing to get back inside (and not freeze!). It always seems like the air is easier to breathe after winter...it doesn't burn as you inhale.
I also am rather enjoying the days being brighter. It's light when I wake up (at 6:30 on weekdays...ugh) and it's light still after dinner. And in part this is due to Daylight savings time..which I abhor. The world is getting more global now, and it's hard enough to figure out all those different time zones, but add in DST and it becomes a real mess. Not all countries change their clocks on the same days. It's about a month offset, I think, from when we changed to when Europe changed. I play online games with a very global set of people, and trying to organize anything for this month is an absolute mess.
And even within the US, there are some cities that don't participate in DST. Honolulu is one. Indianapolis used to be another, but I've been informed they have been doing DST for a few years now. I personally think it would be less confusing to keep time the same and just have businesses perhaps run summer and winter hours. Or just deal with the fact that the amount of daylight changes in the year. Or finally realize that we have so many things that run on varying shifts (like factories that run 3 shifts and are open 24 hours....or stores/fast food that are open 24 hours) that we should start running more 24 hour things. Imagine a world where you could go to your bank at 8p if you needed to...on a Sunday! And now think of the number of jobs that would be created by doing this....
But enough about DST. Another thing I really look forward to around this time of year is better produce. Sadly, our stores never have good produce, but it's slightly less sad in the spring and summer. Things could actually look decent instead of mostly yellow tomatoes and some wilted lettuce.
Of course, this also makes me a bit wistful. As my husband likes to tease me, I am not very good at growing things (he says I have a black thumb!). The one thing I have managed is some chives I planted probably 5 years ago....we swear they are like zombies, they come back every year, and have been covered in a foot of snow at times, and still they come back. They are quite green right now! Soon they will sprout these little lavender flowers (they look like clover flowers, but purple). And the flowers are edible! You can make a pretty vinegar with them, just wash them really good, and toss them into some white vinegar and you end up with a purple/pink chive vinegar. They can also be tossed onto salads for a bit of chive flavor.
I wanted to grow herbs, both for cooking and magic. In fact that's where the chives came from. I got some little starter peat disks and several herbs: parsley, rosemary, sage (I actually forget what all I got....I think there were six different things). The peat disks were horrid. They had this mesh around them once they were all expanded from watering, and that made everything rootbound. I think the mesh was supposed to dissolve away, but it never did. The chives were the only thing that lived past the first month, although everything sprouted. I may try my hand again sometime...without the peat disks.
This month's topic was on how the seasons change. I tend to feel very restless at this point in the year. This year especially, I think the on and off heavy winter weather left me feeling very trapped in. I am really enjoying the warmer days, the change to go outside and not feel like I am just rushing to get back inside (and not freeze!). It always seems like the air is easier to breathe after winter...it doesn't burn as you inhale.
I also am rather enjoying the days being brighter. It's light when I wake up (at 6:30 on weekdays...ugh) and it's light still after dinner. And in part this is due to Daylight savings time..which I abhor. The world is getting more global now, and it's hard enough to figure out all those different time zones, but add in DST and it becomes a real mess. Not all countries change their clocks on the same days. It's about a month offset, I think, from when we changed to when Europe changed. I play online games with a very global set of people, and trying to organize anything for this month is an absolute mess.
And even within the US, there are some cities that don't participate in DST. Honolulu is one. Indianapolis used to be another, but I've been informed they have been doing DST for a few years now. I personally think it would be less confusing to keep time the same and just have businesses perhaps run summer and winter hours. Or just deal with the fact that the amount of daylight changes in the year. Or finally realize that we have so many things that run on varying shifts (like factories that run 3 shifts and are open 24 hours....or stores/fast food that are open 24 hours) that we should start running more 24 hour things. Imagine a world where you could go to your bank at 8p if you needed to...on a Sunday! And now think of the number of jobs that would be created by doing this....
But enough about DST. Another thing I really look forward to around this time of year is better produce. Sadly, our stores never have good produce, but it's slightly less sad in the spring and summer. Things could actually look decent instead of mostly yellow tomatoes and some wilted lettuce.
Of course, this also makes me a bit wistful. As my husband likes to tease me, I am not very good at growing things (he says I have a black thumb!). The one thing I have managed is some chives I planted probably 5 years ago....we swear they are like zombies, they come back every year, and have been covered in a foot of snow at times, and still they come back. They are quite green right now! Soon they will sprout these little lavender flowers (they look like clover flowers, but purple). And the flowers are edible! You can make a pretty vinegar with them, just wash them really good, and toss them into some white vinegar and you end up with a purple/pink chive vinegar. They can also be tossed onto salads for a bit of chive flavor.
I wanted to grow herbs, both for cooking and magic. In fact that's where the chives came from. I got some little starter peat disks and several herbs: parsley, rosemary, sage (I actually forget what all I got....I think there were six different things). The peat disks were horrid. They had this mesh around them once they were all expanded from watering, and that made everything rootbound. I think the mesh was supposed to dissolve away, but it never did. The chives were the only thing that lived past the first month, although everything sprouted. I may try my hand again sometime...without the peat disks.
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