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For the midsummer rite I'm going to be involved in leading later this weekend, our group will be honoring the Norse god Thor, particularly in his role as defender of the crops and common people. He would be a welcome presence right now, in a time with lots of enemies to keep at bay, and also in the middle of a local dry spell that has me concerned about water supplies for both humans and plants. Thor is the subject of many myths (which have nothing to do with Marvel, I might add), and a strikingly large percentage of them involve some complex adventure which ends with a WHOMP! from Mjollnir. This song thus highlights a few of those myths for your listening entertainment.
One meaning of the season of Beltaine not often understood by modern folks, who are used to food just kind of appearing at restaurants and groceries, is that historically by this time of year it was not uncommon for people to be running low on food or even be starving. In a well-managed home where nothing had gone wrong, there was food into the spring, but this was really the season where you found out whether last fall's harvest was going to be enough to keep you going. And to make matters worse, food preservation techniques weren't what they are now with refrigeration, so rot was a real problem. This all meant that around this time of year, an average person was eagerly awaiting fresh vegetables, and the Beltaine celebration is in part about seeing the signs of fertility and growth that tell us that we'll be able to eat fresh food and won't starve to death in the next few months.
This song started with a simple observation: Despite all the trouble with Covid-19, my daffodils were still blooming right on schedule, trees were budding, birds were migrating back to the area, and the world was still warming up. This gave me a comfort that I badly needed, and I wanted to share that comfort in song form.
This song arose from my understanding of Brighid as a hearth goddess, and three of her more famous symbols and aspects (the harp of inspiration, the cup of healing, and the hammer of the forge) come out of that role as the creator and protector of homes. Throughout the Indo-European range, a fire was what made a building a home at least as much as having, say, a bed, which makes sense as something humans have been using for warmth and protection since before we were modern humans.
As yet another new season comes around, it's time for another new song, this one with a Norse cultural focus. This started from the idea that while modern winters might feel fun as we stay safe and warm inside well-insulated homes celebrating with friends and family, for our ancestors there was always a fear lurking in the back of their minds: What if the world doesn't warm up again? What if next year's crop fails? What if I get caught outside in -20C weather? What if the sun doesn't come back after the long night, as foretold in Vafþrúðnismál? That sense of mortal peril is built into the season just as surely as fir trees and holly berries.