Poetry

[Polyhymnia]

Thank you for sharing your words with us. I have been unable to sit at my screen for very long the last couple of weeks, so it's nice to be able to come to the thread and see your poetry.

I've been casually reading some Oscar Wilde lately, and that lead me to exploring the words of Aubrey Beardsley. This is one of my favourites so far.


Dante in Exile

Through sorrow’s mist God’s glory shines most bright,
Then may we feel His presence doubly nigh.
Save for the dark no stars would stud the sky.
Our lamps would be untrimmed save for the night.
Thus Dante, shrouded in misfortune’s blight—
A prince in pilgrim’s guise—trod gloriously
The bitter paths which in the darkness lie,
Strove through the Forest thick, and reached the height,
Raised from the earth where hopes like leaves lay dead.
His vision pierced the clouds, and soul grew strong
Dwelling upon the mysteries, till no signs
Mystic of heavenly love were left unread.
The highest found an utterance in that song
Sung lonesomely beneath Ravenna’s pines.

[Angolmois]

Emanations from the Saturnian Sphere

It was a dying wish of an old man
That the wisdom of the ancients would not vanish
In the follies and vanities of the modern age

A king, a seer, a priest
A wizard cloaked in grey
Tirelessly seeking wisdom
That cannot be found from the world in ruins

The ancient knowledge still lives
In the oases of the desert
Where the stagnant multitudes
See only folly and madness

We all have to die daily
To ourselves and to this world
So we may yet again truly live
In the true light of the wise

Lux affulget dabat locum ita Dominus Saturnum
Luceat lux vestra nobis clementer et benigne illuminantis
illuminantes gressus nostros et custodiamus nos a malo

Would the world end and a new one begin
With a blast or a whimper, who knows
The regal knowledge of the Saturnian sphere
Shall still rise from the ashes of the current world age

[Angolmois]

Now I don't my latin skills, but this is what the latin phrase is supposed to mean:

"Grant as this light shines upon this place, so too, Lord Saturn, shine your light upon us, gently and kindly enlightening us, illuminating our paths, and keeping us safe from all harm!"

[Angolmois]

The Hanged Man

You see me hanging on the tree
Upside down, glancing into eternity
What the profane eyes don't see
It is the world that is upside down

Crows feed on my corpse and pick my eyes
For as long as there's something to feed upon

Until death is profound and total
There will still be an experience of time
And the suffering and despair it entails
So let there be an end to all this

The desert seems eternal and it is everywhere you look
What a cursed journey into the center of everything

Will you let everything collapse on its own
And forget the machinery
Or will you violently fight it
And become one of its very upholders

[Angolmois]

Of Heimdallr's Holy Runes

Carved in birch or bark
Marked with blood
These sacred magical staves
Imparted to save the people from ill will

Holy runes from the guardian of Asgradr
I invoke to guard the folk from all evil
With galders from the halls of the Aesir
I evoke all the blessings of the High One

Hearing I ask from the holy races
From Heimdallr's sons both high and low
Thou wilt Valfather that well I relate
Old tales I remember of men long ago

Knowest how to carve?
Knowest how to read?
Knowest how to color?
Knowest how to judge?
Knowest how to summon?
Knowest how to sacrifice?

Knowledge and wisdom unite
Sacred bonds of might and magic are forged
As Rig teaches the ways of the Gods
To the people of the boreal light

Out of infinite memory's well
The runes of old emerge
Taught to men by the whitest of the Gods
By the bindings of the bringer of light
The ancient wisdom is guarded
From those of malign countenance

[Smaragd]

Beautiful poem Rúnatýr! Although my connection to Scandinavian traditions is weak, it was surprisingly easy to step in to this piece.

[Angolmois]

Thank you Smaragd! These latest ones are actually more lyrics than poetry, made for my upcoming album.

[Polyhymnia]

Excited to listen

[Angolmois]

Excited to listen

Might take a while for the album to come out but maybe we can arrange something.

[Angolmois]

Revelations from the runic mysteries I:
Ur-aett – Through The Hidden Beginning

In the secret beginning
Wild fiery aurochs run rampant and free
And the might of the giants of old
Awakes from the eternal frost

With the inspiration of the thrice great
The secret of the universe unfold
As the journey goes onwards
Into the fires of creation

The gaze of the Gods emanates from the skies above
To illuminate the roots of the cthonic depths
And the joy of truce is made
Between the Master and the mediator

As I step into the rays of the six-pointed star
The seventh ray illumines and destroys
All that is false

Revelations from the runic mysteries II:
Naud-Aett – The Forces of Destiny

The needed fires of friction
Cause trouble and hardship
Yet they point the way
Towards mastery of the art

Ice cold spears of Egoic light
Lead to the way of separation
Of the Gold from the dross

As the cycles turns yet again
That which was yesterday
Turn into the seeds of tomorrow

And as the lot is thrown
It is left for the Norns to decide
Whether the wayweary
Truly follow the primal law

As one ascends and descends the tree
It might be discovered that enlightment resides
Neither in the glorious heights nor in the murky depths
But both and none at the same time

The light of the elders shines ever brighter
When the forces of ascension take hold of the aspirant
Will one turn from grey to white
Or does the light darken in to death

As the electric serpent fire starts to coil
It is imperative to stand one's ground
In the rays of Baldr, the Black God

As the judge king arrives
He gives his arm to the wolf
The scales will need balancing
If the temple is to be on guard

Revelations from the runic mysteries II:
Bjarka-Aettir – The Fruits of the Great Work

When the beautiful birch Goddess
Unfolds her protective arms
In the venereal light of Freya
The sacred inner shrine is forged

The journey continues
Into all eight directions of space
With the common cause of the rider and the steed
The road turns forever upwards

Humanity is made inviolable
From the trespassings of lawlessness
By the light of the Sun and the Moon

The well of Mimir is deep
And its secrets unfathomable
One must ever be vigilant
Against the overflow of the waters

By the might and magic of the Lord of the Earth
The fruitful seeds of glorious future shall be implanted
Into the soil that is made ready for the Master to reside

The land wights demand strengthening
For the benevolent cause of fatherland
In order to witness a new Palingenesis
In the numinous light of the elders

As the widening of consciousness
Transforms from day into the night
As balance is finally achieved between fire and ice
Metanoia will be eventually accomplished

If you tame the wild beast
And sacrifice it to the immortal Gods
The fruits of your labor shall be witnessed
When lead turns to gold