One of Loki's Best Gigs

'Loki' B Mara 2012

An inspiration from my favourite Norse ‘God’ who apparently inspired and motivated me. One of my favourite Norse Myths:

 Norse Myth (and Loki) enthusiasts and never to ignore those followers of Joanne Harris’ Runemarks and Runelight, the following is one of my favourite tales:

THJAZI, LOKI, SKADI AND A GOAT

According to Bragi:

Odin, Loki and Hoenir once travelled from home (Asgard). They crossed the mountains and deserts beyond. They found very little food and were hungry.

They came to a field of oxen and killing one, they cooked it. Although they continually broke open the cooking pit the oxen never seemed to properly cook and the meat was raw. After discussing the cause, they heard a voice coming from a nearby oak tree. A large eagle perched there.

The eagle said: “If you will give me my fill of the meat, it will cook.”

It was agreed and the eagle ate more than its fill.

However Loki took exception to this and picking up a large stick, with all of his strength, he struck the Eagle.

Unfortunately for Loki, the stick stuck firmly in the eagle’s body and it bore him away. Terrified, Loki’s feet hung at times hundreds of feet over the ground but worse, brushed the ground, the rocks and the sharp stumps and branches of trees. Loki held on but realised this was certainly not a good position to be in. He feared his arms would be pulled from their sockets or he would be torn apart by the rocks and trees… He dared not let go of the stick.

Loki finally cried out to the eagle and begged for mercy. The eagle in reply said that Loki would face an unfortunate situation or death unless he gave an oath that he would deliver the goddess Idun, out of Asgard, with her apples of youth, to the eagle.

An oath was unbreakable. The consequences would be extreme if an oath was broken.

Loki was set free and returned to his companions, but kept his secret.

Shortly after he enticed Idun into leaving Asgard and going into the forests in order, as he said, to procure apples rarer and more worthy then the apples of youth she collected. He cajoled Idun into following him.

The eagle returned immediately in the form of Thjazi (a Jotun or giant) who seized Idun and bore her away.

When Idun was seen as missing, and obvious culprit was Loki, (as always right or wrong) the gods seized Loki. They attacked Loki and threatened him with torture, dismemberment and death. Idun’s presence was cherished. not only as a beloved goddess but also as the one who kept the gods from old age with her apples. was invaluable.

Loki knew that this was no bluff and had no desire for the consequences the Gods promised him. He therefore took a falcon shape (being a shape shifter, and in some versions having borrowed Freya's falcon cloak) and flew into the Giant’s (Jotunheim) land. The Jotun, Thjazi was away at sea and Loki was able to find Idun and transform her into a nut, and therefore within his talons, Loki bore Idun back to Asgard.

Upon returning Thjazi immediately noted the disappearance of Idun. In fury, he transformed once again into an eagle and flew to Asgard.

The Aesir, knowing Loki’s success in saving Idun, saw Thjazi in his guise of an eagle and had prepared. Wood shavings lined the walls of the fortress and were lit. The eagle, Thjazi, dived and could not stop before he met with the flames which ignited his falcon feathers. Therefore, although there was great peril for the Aesir, Thjazi was consumed by the flames and died.

Of course Thjazi’s daughter Skadi was overwhelmed with grief and vengeance, and donned her mail. She approached the Aesir and demanded an apology and compensation. The Aesir offered Skadi reconciliation and compensation. They told her to choose from amongst the Aesir a husband. Skadi’s fault, despite being a warrior and a hunter, was that like most women, she desired Baldr – son of Frigg, Odin’s wife. Baldr was considered the fairest of men. Skadi faced the line up. Nothing but the feet of the men was exposed. Skadi thought Baldr MUST have the fairest feet of all.


Skadi was mistaken. Njord (or Noatun), god of the sea, an old man, had the fairest of feet from his continual walking in the salt water and sand. Thus she chose Njord without knowing and thus was her fate. She was married to Njord - a union which did not survive.

As a concession, the Aesir took Thjazi's eyes and threw them into the heavens thus creating two new stars in the firmament.

The second condition was that the Aesir must make Skadi laugh.

Skadi? Laugh? Skadi was stern. She did not laugh.

Of course Loki was put into play. Loki was charming, Loki was clever, Loki didn’t worry much about the opinion of others (particularly if he was proving a point – he already knew that no matter what he did or said to benefit the gods, their opinion of him would remain the same). So Loki took the situation into his own hands. He felt a bit of humour at his own personal expense would certainly fix the situation.

Loki found a goat. He tied a cord to the goat’s beard. The other end, he tied to his own testicles. (Give him credit for this!) Thus, ensued a sort of ‘tug of war’. Of course the goat protested and Loki squealed. Eventually the cord loosened and Loki fell into Skadi’s lap. How couldn’t she laugh? Though distressed, Loki looked up and started to (albeit painfully) laugh and thus Skadi also began to laugh.

Thus the conditions were sealed.

Though Skadi and Njord’s marriage failed (another story) she lived amongst the Vanir and the Aesir in relative peace.

Loki? Well…he still managed to father children and brushed the whole affair off…

Though I believe he must have limped for a long time.

Eleanor Ford - November Winner of Joanne Harris' Runelight Competition

The Silver Bough wanted to write a Blog Interview/Article profiling the winners of Joanne Harris’ competition for her recently launched book Runelight.

http://www.joanne-harris.co.uk/v3site/books/runelight/index.html

The first and November winner of this competition is Eleanor Ford who created a video for the Runelight Competition, second in the series following the very popular, much loved and evocative Runemarks.

http://www.joanne-harris.co.uk/v3site/books/runemarks/index.html

Thank you Eleanor for emailing us with your profile.

We hope we hear from the December winner (Kaitlin) and January winner (Anna) in order to also include them in our Blog articles.

All three videos submitted are wonderful and all very different. The time, skill and thought which accompany these videos are truly amazing and show a great deal of love, inspiration and hard work.

ELEANOR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZldIugYoxQM

Eleanor chose ‘Aesk’ (Maddy’s rune from Runemarks) as the rune appearing on her silver pendant. This was the first ‘Aesk’ that The Silver Bough created so very special indeed.

Eleanor is 28 years old and lives in Shropshire (West Midlands in England) where she grew up. In her spare time she loves to read, reading almost 150 books last year! She has been reading since she can remember.

Eleanor: My favourite books always had a mystical twist to them somewhere, but somehow I ended up reading horror fiction as I got into my teens, at the time Stephen King was my favourite author. As I got older I started to like science fiction and fantasy novels more and more but the market for older readers always seemed to be aimed at men. I’d read the Harry Potter books a few years earlier, but hadn’t ventured into books for children or young adults since then, somehow I stumbled into reading Anthony Trollope! In early 2007 one of my friends got me back into reading fantasy fiction by suggesting that I would love to read the Eragon by Christopher Paolini, since then I’ve never looked back! Most of the books I’ve read since have been young adult science fiction/fantasy novels.

Eleanor: As it was over 4 years ago I don’t clearly remember how I discovered Runemarks, I do remember that I bought the book soon after it came out (and I also managed to win myself a signed copy through signing up for the newsletter on the official website!) It was the first fiction I’d read that was based on Norse mythology, in fact I can’t remember reading anything based on it since then either! Runemarks captured my imagination and I was fascinated by the Gods and the meanings of the runes, which is why when the video competition for Runelight was announced I was very excited to produce something to enter. The subject of the books is very inspiring and I found it very easy to produce the artwork I made for the video just from reading descriptions of the Gods.

Eleanor states that she has not yet read her copy of Runelight, but emphasises that this will be rectified soon.

Eleanor: I’m sure it will be as thrilling and fantastic as Runemarks is!

The Silver Bough: Eleanor, we assure you it is!

Eleanor we hope you will continue loving the books. We all look forward to the next in the series - be it a sequel or a prequel and of course thank Joanne for bringing the 'Gods' to life with her own touches. Long may the saga continue!

Winners - Runelight Competition Winner for November and New Designs

The Silver Bough are thrilled with the rune pendant ‘Aesk’ (Maddy’s rune from Runemarks and Runelight) which we created for competition winner Ellie. We were very pleased as when we posted the pendant to Joanne Harris she too loved it. Congratulations Ellie on a wonderful video!

The Silver Bough has officially added new designs to our shop: A bas relief large oval pendant (the same size as our large rune pendants) based on a stylised ancient Norse ‘dragon’ (a similar authentic design can be seen at the British Museum) and runic earrings (which are quite light and will not pull on the ear lobe). Although we love the more ‘antique’ oxidised finish of both the dragon pendant and the earrings, we will offer these in either an oxidised finish or a polished finish depending on our customers’ preference. The dragon pendant will have the actual bas relief dragon polished if desired.

In the case of the earrings if the oxidised finish is preferred we can also oxidise the earring wires (pierced) and will be soon offering the option for non pierced ears. As with our rune pendants, the choice of runes is dependent on our customers. If a customer prefers two different runes, that is also possible.

We will soon be working in bronze and copper – very beautiful metals and the cost will be lower than with 99.9% silver although we will always adhere to our top standards of hand craftsmanship and hand finishing.

We have completed and posted our first pendant to Australia. This has brought us around the world. Our sales have been UK based, North American based, Mauritian based and now Australian based. We are proud that each order has been loved by the people who have bought them.

The Silver Bough has also added to Joanne’s interpretations of ‘The old Script’ rune (which Joanne has drawn on from ancient Norse and Old English sources) from Runemarks and Runelight, along with her interpretation of ‘New Script’ runes. Readers of Joanne’s books now can have the rune pendants which coincide with her books. We happily await further sequels (and a prequel).

Of course I am so honoured and proud to be acknowledged in Runelight. Thank you Joanne! A very special book to me as she knows..And the characters are friends to me.

Our original photograph cards will soon be available and more will follow. Although these are not necessarily related to Norse or Celtic history/mythology (some of ancient sites are of course and some have that certain ‘flavour’) all photographs are beautiful. The cards are top quality and provided with an envelope and in a plastic sleeve to protect them.

If handmade rune cards (aside from our Yggdragsil cards) are desired these can be created as an individual rune or as a ‘Sigil’ which is a combination of runes. Any subject is explained on the back of the card.

We hope soon to be working in glass as I studied stained glass and we plan to launch votive lights (free standing and hanging), ‘sun catchers’ and sun catching mobiles in various themes.

The year is winding down. We will soon have ‘Christmas’ posting guidelines on our site.

All of our best.

B

Runelight Talk/Launch at York

Joanne Harris’ eagerly anticipated and wonderful novel 'Runelight' (sequel to her amazing, entertaining novel 'Runemarks') is on the cusp of its public sales launch on 3 November 2011. Of course The Silver Bough team is thrilled.

I had the privilege of being invited by Joanne to her talk/introduction to Runelight at York's ancient and amazing Merchant Adventurers' Hall. As always Joanne’s talk was compelling as well as informative and the wonderful audience’s comments and questions were interesting. Joanne excels in conveying not only her own talents as a story teller but also her knowledge of the Norse myths. She always brings her stories and characters to life.

Always charming, Joanne had her audience captivated. I personally love the fact that children of all ages embrace these books. However for me, even better was that the audience consisted of adult readers (young and older) who are all lovers of Joanne’s unique novels.

The Silver Bough is always so proud of Joanne’s writing and her wonderful support of our designs. However, most of all is the incredible friendship that has developed between us (prior to The Silver Bough’s own launch) and her wonderful daughter Anouchka and husband Kevin.

Both The Silver Bough and Joanne have a wondrous and deep seated love of the Norse myths, Norse history and archaeology.

All of Joanne’s themes (no matter what the genre) usually contain a subtle reference to each of her novels previously written. This is delightful to the observant reader.

We are honoured to have such a fantastic and supportive friend in Joanne. She is inspiring and to feel very much a part of this book and hopefully future sequels/prequels is a gift.

I personally am very proud of my mention in the acknowledgments in Runelight and have to say I couldn’t (and can’t) stop smiling. Yes, Joanne, I do love your characters probably as much as you do.

Regarding The Silver Bough – The Jorvik Centre organisers were wonderful. Danielle and Chris were lovely. We hope that we will be able to showcase our designs in York at the Jorvik Centre Shop. We have been approached by their shop buyer following an email from us and now hope we have the support of those involved in The Jorvik Centre. I thank Chris for his interest, Danielle for her hospitality and organisational skills. I am so glad that such an organisation exists to promote the ancient Norse history of York and these Isles.

The evolution of The Silver Bough has seemed to coincide with the evolution of the Runemarks/Runelight novels and hopefully will always grow with Joanne’s ongoing development of this series of books.

Becca

Runlight's Release and News from The Silver Bough.

23 days until the much anticipated release of Joanne Harris’ ‘Runelight’ the sequel to her original exciting novel ‘Runemarks’. Continuing on from the adventures of Maddy Smith, Jed Smith’s daughter who discovers that in reality she is the daughter of the Norse God Thor and Jarnsaxa of the Jotuns. Her life as an outcast amongst the Folk is turned upside down by the friendship of her mentor and friend, One Eye (Odin) and the crafty revelations of Loki, his blood brother. The adventures continue three years on whereby the Gods, bereft of much of their power once again must face the potential destruction of the Worlds by Chaos released by Loki via Dream in Runemarks into the world and they must also attempt to prevent a strange new alliance whose actions threaten to fulfil the ancient prophecies which would exacerbate this ruin. Who will die? Who will live? Who will come again? Will Asgard be reborn?

ttp://www.joanne-harris.co.uk/v3site/books/runelight/index.html

This Runemaker is looking forward to her invitation to Joanne’s introduction to Runelight in York at the Merchant Adventurers' Hall on 27 October (2pm), and seeing the ever mystic Posh Shed of creativity.

http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/event-calendar/88-Joanne-Harris-introduces--Runelight/

Of course we are also looking forward to the release of Runelight which is a very special novel to me. Joanne has been a great friend and very inspirational in The Silver Bough’s evolution and of course in her support.

I promise our blog readers and Joanne’s readers that Runelight will not disappoint – it will however leave you craving the next book in this series.

On the Silver Bough news front the evolution seems to have accelerated from new techniques to new items offered on our site: Beautiful handmade Yggdrasil cards which have already proven popular in private commissions, followed soon by a selection of eclectic original photograph cards. We hope that these cards may be worthy not just as a beautiful card suitable for any occasion but something that the receivers will want to keep.

We have also created a Norse inspired stylised dragon bas relief pendant and this new method opens the door for many new design applications both as pendants, necklaces and rings. The finish on this pendant is more in line with actual finds as opposed to the smooth polish of our silver rune pendants, being oxidised a dark charcoal colour with hints at times of iridescence. However if requested the relief of the dragon could be polished along with the smooth back of the design. We love the feeling of antiquity this design and finish evokes. This pendant is 99.9% pure silver as are all of our silver designs.

The Silver Bough has been researching actual ancient Norse and Iron Age/Bronze Age/Celtic artefacts and trying to closely reproduce these. The first design has been a Mjolnir (Thor’s Hammer) found at a Viking grave site in York. We are also in the process of creating a Celtic ‘serpent’ ring based on an original find – although we have used a bit of our own artistic interpretation on this ring.

We also have ideas for a Norse Shield. There is always something new and exciting for us to enthuse over and hopefully for our customers to desire and appreciate.

As we are soon to be also working in bronze, larger designs will be more affordable as silver is currently at a premium and the costs rising quickly and regularly.

Next step? Setting gem stones in our designs; working in silver/bronze/copper sheet metal.

As they say – The World is our Oyster and it seems ‘pearls’ come in many shapes and sizes.

We thank all of our loyal customers who have purchased our designs and have expressed such appreciation and love for what they have received. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Taliesin's Revolt Against The Establishment

Even as a very small child Taliesin was able to inflict havoc on the dignity of Maelgwn Gwynedd’s Druidic Poetic company. Maelgwn Gwynedd was the King of Gwynedd (in Wales) who reigned from an unknown date until his death in c. 547. Mael Gwynedd is known more formally as Maelgwn ap Cadwallon (or in English, Maelgwn son of Cadwallon and also Maelgwn Hir Maelgwn the Tall).

Although Taliesin was made an Ollamh and head of that particular Druidic Council or Society by his foster father Gwyddno Garanhir. He preferred to use the slightly lesser title of Anruth, the bearer of the Silver Bough, a branch of wood festooned with bells. When an Anruth approached and then entered a hall, all knew to respect the Anruth and to stop and listen - for the Anruth sang and spoke of poems and tales (usually accompanied by a simple harp for unending hours) of the great deeds of heros, Kings and Queens, of romance, mysticism, and all that the people considered enlightening, proper and entertaining for the age. (A possible example is attached at the ending of this blog. A Minster Lovell Harp which with the help of a friend and expert harp maker was made by myself and is completely handmade with carvings, silver gilt, silver inlay and all natural materials, whether purchased or made)

In Taliesin’s infancy (childhood) after his adoption by Gwyddno Garanhir, the Poetic Company of Maelgwn Gwynedd went to the king to demand their payment as was due. These 'Bards' passed Taliesin, who was sitting quietly in a corner. Taliesin played ‘blerwm, blerwm, blerwn’ on his lips with his finger. They looked upon the child and of course promptly ignored him.

These great Bards then stood before the King to demand their payment. They stood in unison to ask for their just demands, but the only utterance they could make was ‘blerwm, blerwm, blerwn’. Thus Taliesin made fools of them.

Amazed at the behaviour of such revered and highly regarded Bards and Anruths, Maelgwn Gwynedd demanded to know if they were indeed drunk! Despite their fury at this accusation, the Bards were forced to admit that it was due to the ‘power’ of the child Taliesin which caused them to act in such a way.

Thus we see Taliesin as not only an acclaimed bard and Anruth, but also as a Trickster with great wit even as a a mere child. It is also claimed that he was a shape shifter as shown in other stories regarding his life.

It is debated whether Taliesin was indeed a verified historical person or a myth. There are texts which are allegedly written by him. Traditionally his grave lies in Wales. Taliesin, the greatest of Welsh poets who  grew up and lived in the area around Llangynfelyn. It is thought that he returned to this area in his old age to die and is buried in the hills about Tre-Taliesin, the village which carries his name. There they claim his grave is still in this place and according to tradition is to be seen.

I believe that myths, folklore and tales have their roots in forgotten imaginations which are based partially on fact, archaeological evidence and history and perhaps what was believed was imbellished in order to explain that which was 'unexplainable' at the time, or simply to make it more interesting, enjoyable and/or to add impact to the stories/beliefs. But consider that that they may well bear a seed of truth. As with any myth or belief, for me at least, they are often inspirational and who knows?
;)

International Musings

It is so rewarding to conceive that since our beginnings in 2010 we have become internationally respected designers. Our rune pendants and carved stone runesets have found homes as far as Mauritius, Canada, the U.S., England and Shetland (Scotland). The feedback we have received from our customers has been phenomenal. The talented and illustrious internationally acclaimed author, Joanne Harris (author of Runemarks, Runelight, Chocolat – amongst other amazing books) endorses us and has included us as Runemakers to provide rune pendants in an international competition for her soon to be released novel Runelight (sequel to Runemarks).

We cannot thank our customers and friends enough for their support and comments/suggestions.

Initially we provided velour velvet bags for the runesets, however after the suggestion of a customer that perhaps more natural eco-friendly bags would be more complementary, we have recently changed our bags to wonderful, quality, natural jute bags. This seems to have gone over very well. We also include parchment inserts with the runesets which explain the history of the various systems, definitions of the runes’ meanings, an idea of  how runes can be cast, along with a prologue from ‘Odin’, ‘Sayings of the High One’ (Poetic Edda) which describes the secrets of runes and his knowledge of spells.

As always, our runic pendants are supplied with sterling silver findings and an adjustable leather cord, presented in a beautiful velvet box along with a small parchment insert describing the rune according to the rune system ordered (Elder/Younger Futhark).

On our site we have examples of individual original designs (Jormangund – World Serpent, Double Spiral Celtic Ring and Yggdrasil handmade cards). Although we do not list these in our shop, queries and quotes are available upon request. The Yggdrasil cards have already been commissioned and we hope that these cards, along with a ‘Glastonbury Thorn’ design will be listed on our site very soon. We also will be introducing a large selection of original photo cards. We are constantly experimenting and evolving new products and designs including ‘charm’ bracelets which again we hope to be listing very soon. We also hope to be working soon in bronze and have a beautiful ‘reproduction’ of a Viking grave artefact, Mjolnir (Thor’s Hammer) which we hope we can ‘cast’ soon. Of course we always welcome commissions and custom designs.

Although our rune designs are simple, they convey a tactile pendant/stone rune and are historically accurate. As each item we make is completely hand crafted, each design will vary and be a unique piece that only you will own. No one will have a piece that is identical to yours.

We are thrilled that our designs have touched people across the globe. We pride ourselves on our workmanship and quality, both in creating our designs and in our presentation which of course is included in the price.

We must say we were particularly pleased when we received an order from Shetland. These remote and ancient islands are strongly associated with the Norse and to have one of our pendants find a home there has made us very proud indeed!

Believe us when we say that what we create is not just something that we sell, it is something that we put our hearts and souls into and every time we post anything we offer, a bit of us goes with it.