The ritual of the Earth Goddess Nerthus,
who may originally have been the consort or twin of Njörðr the Ocean God, and the
mother of Frey and Freyja, is of the ancient Vanir tradition. This fertility festival was celebrated throughout
Northern Europe by Nordic and Germanic tribes, and in another form, in ancient
Greece, both of which presumably were derived from a ritual of even greater
antiquity.
The major source for this
festival is Tacitus, who tells an enigmatic tale of how the Goddess’s spirit is
embodied within a sacred chariot, covered by a cloth and hidden by it. Either the Goddess herself, or her image, is
placed in a chariot drawn by white heifers, and together they make a ritual procession.
When the Goddess retires from the view of the common mortals, she returns to a sacred
grove on a remote island in the sea where she resides in a temple. At this
place, Nerthus and her chariot and the cloth or veil are bathed by servants,
who are then drowned as sacrifices to her so they cannot reveal the awe
inspiring secrets of the mysteries that they have witnessed.
As in the Makahiki festival in
Hawaii, which may faintly echo ancient European festivals in Asia too, since
Europeans were present there in Northern China 1000 years before the ethnic
Chinese, no war is permitted during this time. In Northern Europe all weapons
were stored away and hospitality embraced, as was also the custom during the
ancient Greek Olympics. I suggest that the putting away of the iron weapons mentioned by Tacitus may be part of the origin of the later superstition that
witches could be warded off with iron.. It may also refer to the magical abilities
of amulets.
During the Dark Ages, our Divine
Ones were demonized by christians and their wisdom and power temporarily
obscured from view. They have been presented
as caricatures of themselves and objects of evil or fear by fanatics who have
bowed down to the oppression of semitic cults. Now as the willful ignorance of
christianity and its false gods is ending, the true nature and beauty of our
Gods are revealed again.
Zeus and Hera by Carracci
Nerthus is a fertility Goddess,
and more. I believe her ritual is paralleled in the festival of the Greek Goddess
Hera, whose cult image was also carried in honor by a chariot decorated with
draperies and pulled by white heifers. In Hera’s procession there is also a
sacrifice, and also a ritual bath to restore her virginity, which Hera takes
before renewing her marriage to Zeus. Bathing in cold scared springs was
believed to increase fertility in Nordic lands, and indeed, this is
scientifically accurate, since bathing in water in very low temperatures is
known to regularize and enhance hormones necessary for conception.
There are also aspects of
Persephone and other chthonic deities which may be related to Nerthus. The Earth Goddess, who is also the Queen of
the Underworld, Persephone, joins her husband in the Netherworld in autumn, and
renews her marriage as well. The earth lies fallow in her absence, awaiting her
return. I think it is appropriate for Odinists to celebrate the Nerthus
Festival again, at this time of year especially.
