The Barbarian

'We cannot get beyond our present level of culture unless we receive a powerful impetus from our primitive roots. But we shall receive it only if we go back behind our cultural level, thus giving the suppressed primitive man in ourselves a chance to develop....The existing edifice is rotten. We need some new foundations. We must dig down to the primitive in us, for only out of the conflict between civilised man and the Germanic Barbarian will there come what we need; a new experience of God.'

Carl Jung

We English need to recognise our roots in Germania, as part of the Germanic Folk, and then we can try to educate those from other nations who are also ignorant of our roots. We also need to recognise that the Sword of Hengest passed from the 'Fatherland' (Germany) to the 'Land of the Son' (England) as foretold in the Beowulf Saga. It was with this sword that Hengest and his brother Horsa came here to these islands to stop the spread of the 'Religion of Evil' and in turn took the land by the sword for the Germanic Tribes already here, and for the English Tribes who came over with him and after him. 

The only reason that the term 'Celtic' is used is because the Old Order is sorely afraid of the arising again of the 'Germanic Barbarian'. Christianity sought to tame the 'Blond Beast' and yet it burst its chains, and since these time fear has been instilled in the enemies of our Gods and Folk - fear of this 'beast' breaking free once more. 

'As the Christian view of the world loses its authority, the more menacingly will the blond beast be heard prowling about in its underground prison, ready at any moment to burst out with devastating consequences.'

Carl Jung (1919).

There seems to be some connection between these ideas and the primitive Serpent-Brain said to be the older part of the human brain. Here we need to reconsider the symbolism of Yggdrasil, where the Serpent lies coiled around the roots of the World Tree. We would thus think of the 'base' of the human spine, where in Indian Lore the Goddess Kundalini lies dormant, waiting to be awoken in order to rise along the spinal column. However....since it seems clear that the Sacred Tree is seen to be upside-down then the Serpent must lie coiled at the top and not the bottom. Its movement is both up-and-down as shown by Ratatosk but when considering this the runes run from top-to-bottom, from Feoh down to Gar. Everything in the Warg Age (Kali Yuga) is upside-down hence the reversal of values. 

On the Sutton Hoo Mask the Serpent starts at the back of the neck, moving across the crown of the head, and then linking to the 'Mind's Eye' or 'Third Eye' between the eyebrows. The eyebrows and nosepiece make the symbolism of the Irminsul which is another version of Yggdrasil. It has been said that the Serpent-Brain lies at the base of the neck so here we may have a hidden secret relating to the awakening of this 'Primal Beast'. Certainly, this part of the brain seems to be linked to the 'primitive'. 

Perhaps the most famous 'barbarian' is Conan the Barbarian the figure created by Robert E. Howard in 1932. The name 'Conan' is from the Irish relating to the 'dog' or the 'wolf' ('canine'); he is said to be a 'Cimmerian', a tribe who lived in the area of the Black Sea next to the Saka or Scythians. These were an Indo-European tribe who obviously migrated there much earlier from more northerly areas of Europe. Howard based it upon a 'pre-Celtic' people originating in Atlantis. In The Phoenix & The Sword he wrote of the time this happened -

'Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas.'

The 'Sons of Aryas' relates to the Aryans, Abir Taha has used the name 'Arya' for the Aryan Goddess of Light in her book Arya. The name was also used in Tibet in such names as the goddess Arya Tara. It is not so well known, and has been kept so, that Howard was in frequent contact with the science-fiction author H.P. Lovecraft and exchanged ideas between them. Lovecraft's work was done through strange and terrifying dreams that he had, dreams of the 'Great Old Ones' and the 'Elder Gods'. 

In some way our own era is not so unlike that of the times when Howard set 'Conan the Barbarian', for we are nearing the end of a cycle that has already brought upon us two devastating world wars, a 'war of terror' that continues for ages, and the world on another brink of disaster, just like Atlantis. From the ashes must arise a new Barbarian Age - an Age of Heroes. This is the 'Fifth Age' known to the Greeks, the age that follows the collapsing Dark Age or Age of Iron. 

'Wotan's reawakening is a stepping back into the past; the stream was dammed up and broken into its old channel. But the obstruction will not last forever...and the water will overleap the obstacle.'

'Wotan' - Carl Jung. 

Woden is associated with the wind, and this is related to his role as a 'Storm-God' or 'God of the Hurricane' (*). In his 'passive' role as Seer and Wise Old Man his 'breath' moves us in a very calm way; in his 'active' mode as the 'Storm-God' he blows like a 'hurricane', smashing down all of the obstacles, breaking the shackles and freeing the 'Blond Beast'. The calm precedes the storm is a common saying that rings true of yesterday and of tomorrow. The Seer and Wise Old Man give way to the 'God of Fury'. This is ever how it shall be.

'He shows that Wotan is not only a god of rage and frenzy who embodies the instinctual and emotional aspect of the unconscious. Its intuitive and inspiring side also manifests itself in him, for he understands the runes and can interpret fate,'

'Wotan' - Carl Jung. 

We are back with the idea of balance and in particular the balance of opposites held within the figure of Woden. When we talk of the 'Barbarian' we are certainly not talking of the 'primitive savage'; this is not how Conan the Barbarian is portrayed. Yes, strong, virile, a warrior-hero, indeed a 'king' in his own right for his strength and warrior-hood gain him a kingdom and kingship in the end, but certainly a man of will and intelligence. He is the product if an advanced age - the Age of Atlantis - but an age that collapsed, as today the era we live in is on the brink of collapse. 

Jung tells us that Wotan is a 'psychic factor which acts on the high pressure of civilisation like a cyclone and blows it away...' Woden is not a god of 'civilisation' but an archetype that bursts out in a frenzy of energy and fire, smashing down everything in its path. Even when Christianity arose to 'tame the Blond Beast' Woden did not die, he slept in the Sacred Mountain (Kyffhauser) awaiting the time when his Ravens would call him back to 'life' -

'He is the God of Storm and Rage, the one who unleashes passions and the lust of battle; moreover he is a superlative magician and artist in illusion who is skilled in all Occult Secrets.'

'Wotan' - Carl Jung.

We are seeing these 'passions' here within the people of England today, a passion that is being channeled in the wrong direction, so as (once again) to stave off the inevitable - the coming storm. Woden stirs the passions, working not through the intellect but through the emotions and instincts. Instinctively, the English know they are losing their freedom, and they will instinctively fight back. Our great Enemy knows this and has taken steps to channel it away from exposing those who have really taken away their freedom. Nevertheless, Woden works deep within the Soul of the Folk and can break out at any time. 

It is down to groups like ours to invoke this aspect of Woden, as we have been doing for some twenty years or more now (this started before WF was founded and was part of the work of the White Dragon Kindred). We recognised that Woden had a very different aspect than the one most Odinists were aware of; in a way this is due to the role of Odin in the Eddas, a work written down by Christian scribes. The figure of 'Arrow-Od' in one of the sagas comes closest to the 'Wild Man of the Woods' with his coat of bark, and even our own figure of 'Robin Hood' has undergone the subtle mellowing through Hollywood. But, from the various bracteates and images of Woden we find a very different god, a much more primal figure, and even with his 'son' (Wid-Ar) we find a return to the image of the Woodland God. This is the image we developed within WF, the archetype of a primal Barbarian God. 

Talking of the 'Serpent-Brain' Woden is not often identified with the Serpent, but in a dream back in 1989 I received the image of a Hooded Serpent (Cobra - which is a symbol of Shiva) and we have the knowledge left from Central America that Votan was of the Race of Chan, a name meaning 'Serpent'. In my own dream Woden was clearly master of this 'Serpent-Force' since he sat before it in complete control. 

The above figure shows a Sun-wise directional force, a rotational Serpent-Force; the Sun has often been symbolised or connected to the Serpent. The heads point in the opposite direction, suggesting that this contains a balance of opposite forces, one Sun-wise and one widdershins - against the flow. This is a spiral-force shown in two-dimensional form - a Coiled Serpent. The Fire-Serpent is certainly the key to the awakening of Higher Consciousness, but it may also be the key to the awakening of the Barbarian Consciousness.

When we think of Rome we think of empire and civilisation, but Romulus and Remus were 'pirates', they were part of a barbarian tribe who raided and plundered - part of the Heri who 'harried', taking women and plunder as they swept in from the North. They founded Rome. The same goes for Hengest and Horsa who were 'sea-pirates' or 'sea-raiders' who raided and plundered these lands that were civilised by Rome, at a time when Rome was losing its grip on power. The Vikings were the same, called Heri by the 'civilised' and Christian English, raiders and pillagers - Barbarians. The Divine Twins are clearly associated with the Barbarian, and even occur in the legends of Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan, both of whom, like Romulus, slew a brother or half-brother.  We find a dim remembrance of this in the Wuffingas of East Anglia - the 'Sons of the Wolf'. As founders of a tribe or dynasty the Divine Twins are Barbarians. 

The 'Global Empire of Darkness' will fall as surely as Rome fell to the hordes of barbarians from the East and the North. But there are today no 'barbarians' out there to crash down on a global scale, so the energy and drive must come from within. The Archetypal Myth is unravelling, and will come about no matter what the obstacles are. We clearly see a pattern unfolding through the Archetypal Myth of the Horse Twins; one twin dies whilst the other lives on and conquers, true of every one of the pairs mentioned above, though not in all cases does one slay the other. We can in fact see that there was a link between Hengest and AEtla the Hun, apart from the legend of the sword 'Battle-Flame' being passed to Hengest. Hengest's son, Octa, has the name of a nephew of AEtla the Hun - Octha - which can be no coincidence. Associated with the Divine Twins is a Magical Sword - Sword of Victory. The legend is found in the Legend of Attila the Hun.

(*) The word 'hurricane' stems from a Central American god name Huracan; the two aspects of the name - 'hura' and 'can' suggest links to some form of Woden ('White God of the Americas') or Votan ('Chan'). Even the name of this clan - 'Chan' - based upon the Serpent, can be related to our Kan-Rune which is itself a 'Serpent-Rune' or 'Dragon-Rune' associated with Fire and Knowledge. The root of 'Kundalini' - kun - can be seen in *kan which is an Indo-European root meaning 'to generate' or 'to kindle', clearly associated with Fire.