Recently, I re-read an early twentieth century presentation of Norse Mythology in the form of H. A. Guerber’s Myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas. While this book presents the myths themselves in quite an aesthetically pleasing and thorough manner, the typical late nineteenth century interpretation of myth that it displays is a little grating. The main reason for this irritation comes from the trend of that era to only interpret myth from the viewpoint of what Georges Dumézil would term the “Third Function”—a function that is equivalent to the societal role of the farmers, peasants, and thralls. Although Third Function interpretations can help form a basis for the understanding of myth, ultimately, they are not complete, as they only account for the functions of the natural world to explain its meaning. And myth is far more complex than that. …

[read the full article]

In our culture, most basic living skills have been forgotten. There is so much confusion surrounding even simple life choices, that people look more and more to ‘experts’ to assist them. What should I eat? How should I raise my children? How can I have healthy relationships? How do I take care of myself? The problem is, experts all have their own agendas—which are often at odds with what is best for you and your community. Until recently, our ancestors answered these questions through cultural traditions, passed down without much fanfare, generation after generation—which is, unfortunately, an inheritance we don’t always have access to. But where did their ancestors learn them? The common belief seems to be that they learned through trial and error over time. But the idea that people would systematically test all of the plants of a new terrain, to see what was edible—or that they would stumble upon a vast knowledge base of plant lore (with many varied cultures coming to the same conclusions) by accident—seems a bit absurd to me. In fact, the people themselves tell quite a different story… …

[read the full article]