Under Construction… Literally
Heja, Odinites. Got some good news and bad. The good news is that I am now a mead hall owner. No, I didn’t just purchase a bar… my wife and I finally got our act together and purchased a house! The bad news is that I have to take a little break from the cartoon while I get the place in working order and move in. According to the home inspector, the place is “in a state of deferred maintenance,” which means I have a giant list of things to do to before moving in. So Odin and Friends will be on low power for a little bit. But stay tuned! I’m going to try and sneak out a few cartoons here and there while pushing to get back on schedule in about a month or so. And if anyone knows any Norse housewarming rituals, let me know!
Virtually every culture has a traditional ceremony to celebrate and bless a new home. Russians sweep their new homes with rock salt, which they believe releases negative vibrations. Norse pagan rituals included bringing a living tree into the home in the middle of winter, believing that it held the earth spirit, which would fill the rooms with its blessing – a precursor, of course, to the Christmas tree.
Much of modern society has replaced these rituals with housewarming parties and presents, but in the process, the spiritual aspects have disappeared. A ritual blessing will last longer than the plant you received, and it will far more illuminate your perception and experience of home.
The Vikings associated oak trees with Thor, the god who created thunder and lightning with his great anvil and hammer. Because the tree attracted lightning, it was sacred to Thor. Thus they believed that the Acorn, the fruit of the oak tree, was always spared the god’s wrath, and so they began putting a lone Acorn on their windowsills to protect their houses from lightning’s wrath.
Thanks, Drago! We definitely need to add an acorn to the window sill. Not only do we have some big trees, but we’ve got serious lightning in these parts. And as much as I enjoy watching bolts of Thor’s fury streak through the sky, I’d prefer he not send a giant flaming branch through the roof of the house or blow out all the electrical appliances (like what happened to my rental house in college). 🙂
7/15/13 – It’s been a year now; any chance of resuming the comics again?
Make that about 2 years now.