WHO LIVES IN THE HOLLOW HILLS?
Whilst everyone seems to be excited about the new lord of the rings tv show and November is just around the corner I thought I would write about elves. Who are elves? In short, elves are our noble dead, our ancestors who achieved nobility in life. In modern times we think of our nobility as entitled, rich snobs who were born into money and privilege by making their fortunes off of the back of others.
in pre-xtian times nobility was hard earned and constantly put to the test. The nobles were always the first into battle, always the ones to take the greatest risk and make the greatest sacrifice for their people. They were much loved with the European heroic ideal being something they aspired to. As in life the elves cared deeply about their folk. So much so that some of them were able to resist the pull of the afterlife due to their strength of spirit and remain in midgarde after death so they could carry on influencing and helping the living. There are also dark elves who are motivated by malice and dwarfs are similar in nature but are motivated by self interest to resist the pull of the afterlife.
It is said that the light elves are often tethered to the burial mounds / barrows that they were buried in. The children of the new generations entered the mounds and held their ancestors swords, walked around with their ancestors jewels and even wore their ancestors bones in their hair. This would free the elves from their tether so they could give council and part of their spirit to their descendants. When you see the ancient burial mounds remember that those intered there were noble folk who made great sacrifices for their folk. The old English tradition regarding saints was the later xtian version of this.
In later centuries during xtian times children would dance in graveyards and wear costumes hiding the flame in a hollow gord or pumpkin so our ancestors couldn't see the flames and thus are NOT attracted to midgarde as they are with bonfires. Children of the poor would go door to door in costumes with their pumkin lanterns to show what good xtians they are and households would reward them with sweets, cake with beer and a snack or ale for adults. You might say that the modern halloween is a xtian way of poking fun at the old traditions and is firmly in opposition to the old ways. Think about this before you allow your children to run around in costumes begging......... Sadly, xtianity changed our culture giving nobility to those who haven't earned it through succession of family lines. This was a devastating change to our culture born of greed and self interest.
SACRIFICE TO THE ELVES - ANCESTORS / Bloodmonath / November in old English - the month of sacrifices / Alfblot in Sweden / Samhain - Halloween / bonfire night / Dziady (in some slavic lands) / Kolyada (Kоляда) in parts of Russia / Kekri in Finland / Apokries in Greece.
In November we sacrifice to the noble male ancestors / elves (Yule is for the female ancestors/ mothers/ Desir). In these dark winter months the veil between midgrade and the hidden world / Hel / afterlife is at its thinnest. Winter is the time when most folk die and pass on to the afterlife due to cold and hardships, explaining why the veil is so thin this time of year. We sacrifice to our ancestors and light bone fires to attract their attention so they might come among us. With a bone fire (bonfire as we call it now) in every field and garden midgarde must look like the stars shining at night to show the elves the way to the afterlife.
Whilst people tend to talk about the Irish tradition of Samhain as the root for Halloween, the reality is that this is just one of the events that we have some information about. All over Europe, our ancestors held an event on or near November to remember our ancestors. Fires were lit and children were involved. The ceremonies revolved around remembering departed souls with a familial connection and inviting the noble dead to return to us so we might benefit from their councel and spirit. Samhain is actually the old Irish name for November so may not even be the original name for this festival in Ireland. One interesting practice from the Irish Samhain version is that they would light old trees on fire in the eve before, extinguish them and then relight them the next night ceremoniously to symbolise giving life again to the departed spirits. Interestingly, Elfheim the land of the Elves is pronounced "Elf -Haim" similar to the Irish Samhain.
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(From "The Hel-Rune´s Claim", chapter: "Sacrifice to the Lord of Elves", Blade Honer - Book Three, by Maria Kvilhaug and some of my own words.
Silently, the House-Bonds of households and Heris of halls passed by and were given a share of meat from the sacrifice, each holding out small vessels in which was filled blood from the cauldron, and Arnulf distributed beer that had been sanctified by the priestess. Then everybody quietly and slowly moved out of the sacred grove. We did not, however, go home immediately.
We walked in silent procession towards the river, and then spread out, separating into smaller groups. We were only Arnulf and his court again, and we walked to a plain north of Aldeigjuborg where I saw some mounds, which I realized were burial mounds. Arnulf went to one of the mounds and said; “To my father, Arnsteinn, and to all the elves, I offer you friendship and gifts, and ask that you watch over us now that Winter descends upon us, and that you make sure we see another spring, and with it abundance and a fertile Earth. May you keep warm the mother of life as she withdraws into Hel, may you be as potent as the lord and retain your life in dark Hel. Here, I strengthen you.” He splattered blood from his flask onto the mound and the ground around it. “Here, I add to your power,” Arnulf Heri said, splattering more blood. “Here, I offer to you the essence of growth.” All the men chanted with him, and when the blood had been splattered, when the elves had been nourished thus, the beer was passed among us all, each drinking a sip of it before the rest was given to the elves, with the ritual words;
“Blood and beer. Beer and blood.
The beer is the seed. The blood is the womb.
May the elves grow strong and keep safe the seed,
Spur growth in the womb of Death.
Hail to the ones in the hollow hills"
The sacrifice to the elves was over, and nobody spoke more that night, but walked home, where we stayed inside for three days on end, nobody going out, and nobody being received. We drank beer, ate horse meat, made sure to keep the bones whole, so as to place them in the hides of the animals for the third day burial, and commemorated our dead ancestors, who would assist us through the coming winter. They even had a little table of their own, a nice table set out for the elves full of food and beer, and with little figurines representing the forefathers of those who wished them to attend the autumn celebration.
I made a little figurine myself and placed it there, offering a cup of beer and a piece of meat. For the first time since his death, I shed tears for my father, my beloved and most revered father, Thunder Bear. Having finally opened up the locked door that had kept away the burden of my loss, the sudden grief was so overwhelming that it made me withdraw into myself, and did not get out of bed. Thióðolf and Zivah, who saw that I was finally grieving, after all this time, let me sleep between them in the bed, for nights on end, allowing me to feel almost as if I had a mother and a father again. Their hearts beat as one with mine.When the three days and three nights had passed, the heartache had lifted from my chest."
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(This next section is from the Æhtemen telegram channel. Some inspiring content on there. Go check it out if you have a telegram account) Some elfish place names in England include Alvescot in Oxfordshire, from Ælfegescota meaning Ælf hēah's cot or Elf’s Cottage. Elvendon, also in Oxfordshire comes from Elvesdenegrof meaning Elves Wood Grove. Aluehou near Tetney in Lincolnshire comes from álfr haugr or the mound haunting by elves – somewhere to give blot on the next full moon as Frēa (Frey) and the ælfe will be invoked in many upcoming rites! Another mound haunted by elves is Elvinhowe in Gosforth, Newcastle, whilst Elveden is a valley near Thetford which is home to the elves.
To be ‘giddy’ has an interesting origin. From the OE gydiġ the word essentially means ‘to be possessed by a god’, Gyd meaning the same as god.
Another OE word which seems to have a similar meaning is Ylfig or being possessed or controlled by an ælf (elf). In English lore seiðr was also considered an elvish practise. The word is attested in the OE ælfsīden meaning elf magic.
Hail to those in the hollow hills,
Hail to the Gods
Hail to our Ancestors
Faith, Folk & Family
