Conan, an Analysis from an Aryan Viewpoint

My favourite author of fantasy fiction is the late and great Robert E. Howard[1906-1936] whose greatness and talent went largely unrecognised during his lifetime but an interest in his works from the 1960s onwards has ensured that he is now more widely read than ever before. His repertoire was extremely varied, ranging from sword and sorcery fantasy to historical fiction, westerns, boxing stories, horror and the supernatural.

With the introduction of Conan by Marvel Comics in 1970 young people were exposed to Conan for the first time. Many authors since Howard have written Conan stories, amongst them are L. Sprague de Camp and Robert Jordan, the better known ones. However in my opinion the only material worth reading is by Howard himself. Anything else is but an imitation and a pale one at that. Howard was an unashamed racialist who was versed in Aryan history and mythology from an early age. This racialism shows itself throughout his entire body of work. Miscegenation appalled Howard and this attitude is demonstrated in many of his Conan stories.

Conan was a Cimmerian and Howard would have known that the Cimmerians were an ancient Indo-European, an Aryan people living north of the Caucasus and the Sea of Azov as far back as 1300 BCE. They were closely related to the Iranians. As an Austrian Teuton Arnold Schwarzenegger was rightly cast into the film role of Conan in both Conan the Barbarian[1982] and Conan the Destroyer[1984].
A third film never materialised although he will apparently return to this role in a new film to be released in 2014, The Legend of Conan.

Bearing in mind that Conan was an Aryan barbarian it beggars belief why a previously largely unknown Hawaiian Red Indian model called Jason Momoa was allowed to play the part! It beggars belief! 
However if they can cast negroes in the role of Wagner`s Wotan why should we be surprised?
Only the Aryan must suffer such abuse and sacrilege. If another character from any other race were to be portrayed by an Aryan there would be accusations of `racism`. My advice is: avoid the 2011 Conan the Barbarian remake! Do not buy it and don`t bother watching it!

Schwarzenegger appeared as Lord Kalidor in Red Sonja in 1985. Red Sonja was loosely based on a character called Red Sonya by Howard and the story is also set in the same Hyborian[Hyperborean] age as the two Conan film. The Lord Kalidor character is a slightly tamer version of Conan but not named as Conan due to film rights, Red Sonja being made by a different studio. However he is Conan in all but name! 
I understand that there is talk of a new Red Sonja film.

The first Conan film ie renown for its opening narration:

"Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And onto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!"

The narration was an adaptation of the words of Howard`s The Phoenix on the Sword story[1932]:

" Know, O prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west."

This narration for me marks the whole tone of the film, a titanic struggle between the Aryan barbarian Uebermensch and the negroid Thulsa Doom, the leader of the serpent cult. Conan`s final triumph and revenge comes with the decapitation of Doom at the end of the film.

There is a definite Nietzschean undertone to the film and this is made clear from the paraphrased quotation from Nietzsche`s Twilight of the Idols at the beginning of the film:

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger."

The original line being:

"What does not kills me makes me stronger. "

The wonderful Wagnerian-like soundtracks of both Conan films by Basil Poledouris are masterpieces of Aryan music. In 2010 both soundtracks have been rerecorded in full according to the original musical score conducted by Nic Raine and the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. They are in my opinion superior to the original recordings and I highly recommend them.

Interestingly it was the original intention of the studio was that Wagner`s music, particularly from Goetterdaemmerung should be used in the soundtrack but due to the makers of Excalibur[1981] beating them to it an original soundtrack had to be composed. The composer certainly relied upon the Wagnerian concept of the leitmotif to run through his work.

Insight into Howard`s mythical world may be gained from a study of his essay, The Hyborian Age, published in both The Conan Chronicles Volume 1 and The Complete Chronicles of Conan.
It is my intention to offer a study of this essay in a future article.

Cremation, the Way to Woden

Over recent years I have given much thought as to the most appropriate method of disposing of the body after death, whether it be inhumation or cremation. This issue as Aryan or Germanic heathens should be important to us because as heathens we should desire to recover both the beliefs and practices of our ancestors prior to their forced acceptance of the alien and semitic religion of xtianity.

It is quite clear to me now after a great deal of study that cremation should be the preferred option for us as devout heathens. In this article I will present some of the evidence and the thinking behind this.

In The Road to Hel Hilda Roderick Ellis (Davidson) [a book published originally under her maiden name of Ellis] Dr Davidson demonstrates that the rite of cremation travelled northward through Germany into Scandinavia.

This should not surprise us as the Cult of Woden has its origins amongst the continental Germanic tribes. Later on He was recognised in Scandinavia. This God is a purely Germanic, indeed a purely German deity. There are very few etymological or theological cognates. Scholars have tried without success to compare Him to deities in other Indo-European mythologies. The closest cognate to Woden is in my opinion the Indo-Aryan God Vata. See my article Woden and Vata-Vayu-a Comparison published on this blog on 2/10/12!

It is through the act and rite of cremation that the Einherjar ascend to Walhall to be with their Lord of the Slain, the Lord of the chosen slain that is.

Initially cremated remains were buried in body-length stone cists. These later were reduced in size to small box-like stone cists which would contain the urn holding the ashes. Sometimes they were placed in mounds or ship graves. Eventually urns were not used at all.
The change from inhumation to cremation occurred at the time of the transition to the Bronze Age when Indo-European language and customs spread out throughout Europe.

Snorri Sturluson in his Ynglinga Saga says that Odin taught His followers to burn their dead:

"every man should enter Valhall with as much wealth as he had on his pyre, and should also enjoy everything which he himself had buried in the earth; and the ashes should be borne out to sea or buried in the earth; but over men of renown a howe should be raised as memorial, and over all men who acquitted themselves manfully memorial stones should be raised; and this continued for a long time afterwards."

We are reminded of the magnificent heathen funeral of Boewulf where he was cremated and his ashes placed in a barrow facing the sea. My readers should recall that the author of the poem was a xtian so such a depiction of a glorious heathen funeral is rather amazing.

"Heaven swallowed the smoke."[Beowulf]

This is the essence of the thinking-the non-corporeal elements of man, some may refer to this as the soul or spirit although the Germanic interpretation is more complex than this, [See my article Death and Afterlife in Germanic Mythology published on my Celto-Germanic Culture, Myth and History blog on 30/1/10!]
is freed from the physical body to return to All-Father Woden. The life force of the individual fully individuated awakened Einherjar is returned to his previous God-like state in Walhall, the abode of those who are awakened and faithful to Woden. Those of us who have sworn sacred oaths of allegiance to Him have the Valknut carved upon our flesh as a sign that we belong to Him and He will take as when He chooses.

"The burning was carried out in very splendid wise. It was then believed that the higher the smoke rose in the air, the loftier would his position be in heaven whose burning it was; and the more possessions were burned with him, the richer he would be."[Ynglinga Saga]

 We cannot enter Walhall in our physical body. Our spiritual essence must be released in order that we may enter a spiritual realm. The existence of our decaying body in the earth delays our transition to this spiritual state and causes us to remain Midgarth bound. This may be the reason for some hauntings. Cremation frees us from ties to this realm of existence. In the Icelandic Sagas we have many curious incidents of the dead walking freely among the living as draugar-vampires in other words and it is only via burning that the dead can be sure to be left at peace from the activities of the malevolent dead.

Cremation both frees the dead so that they can begin the journey to the next realm of existence and protects the living from malevolent spirits. Furthermore it is a mark of reverence to the Aryan Sky or Sun God as Dr Davidson points out:

"The evidence for linking cremation with the burnt offering on the one hand, and with the cult of the sun god on the other, is perhaps the most suggestive."[The Road to Hel]

From the Prose Edda we have a detailed desciption of Baldur`s funeral which was of course a cremation on a pyre. Likewise there is a description of the cremation of both Sigurd and Brynhildr in the Poetic Edda.
There is no shortage of literary evidence from Germanic saga, legend or myth is support of the very Germanic practice of cremation. By committing ourselves to this final act, this final rite we are demonstrating our total loyalty to Woden and our ancestral Gods.

 

Irmin and Krodo, Saxon Gods

In previous articles I have discussed the Saxon God Irmin and His cognates to be found in other Aryan mythologies, ie Aryaman[Indo-Aryan], Airyaman[Iranian], Eremon[Irish] and Ariomanus[Gallic] and how an original Aryan God is postulated, called *aryomn. I have demonstrated that there is a further link with the Germanic Mannus, the Indo-Aryan Manu and a Celtic `Mon`. I have also discussed the connection between Irmin and the Herminones.

Whilst some scholars such as Rudolf Simek question the existence of Irmin as a deity[Dictionary of Northern Mythology] there are others such as Jaan Puhvel[Comparative Mythology] that do not and have identified that Irmin and His other cognates hark back to a Proto-Indo-European God who was the very essence of Aryanness.

I have recently also discussed my intial research regarding the more obscure Saxon God Krodo. Very few have heard of this deity and yet His memory lives on in my ancestral Harz mountains, not only in the form of place names and myths but also He has now become almost a `mascot` or tourist attraction! Whatever way He is remembered it is important that He is remembered and honoured by those of us who follow the Northern Gods. Like Irmin, I discovered that He is not only a Saxon deity but that He has cognates in other Indo-European mythologies: Sativrat and Kirt[Slavic], Saturn[Roman] and Satyavrata[Indo-Aryan]. Like Irmin, Krodo is a solar deity who is associated with the solar wheel[Kolovrat].

I started to ponder what connection there could be between Irmin and Krodo. Obviously they are both Saxon deities and some would say that their existence was disputed. I believe that I have presented enough evidence on my blogs to substantiate the existence of Irmin and there is also sufficient evidence to accept Krodo`s existence. My recent article about Krodo sets out all the available evidence that I have collected thus far.

Apart from being Saxon both Gods were subject to acts of sacrilege by Charlemagne. In 772CE Charlemagne or Karl der Grosse as he is known in Germany  destroyed the Irminsul, a sacred pillar erected for the worship of this God. Shortly after in 780 Karl also destroyed the temple and idol of Krodo. There is evidence for more than one Irminsul but they all appear to have been located in the Saxon lands.

I have to ask myself why was Karl`s hatred towards Irmin and Krodo so intense? We know that the continental Saxons were amongst the last of the West Germanic peoples to accept xtianity. They did so only after appalling persecution and the extermination of their bravest nobles. 4,500 Saxons were beheaded by this monster in Verden after they were caught worshiping the old Saxon Gods. The Saxon Wars from 772 to 804 were in reality religious wars where our Saxon ancestors fought against the forced imposition of xtianity upon their people. They resisted the xtian invader to the very last drop of their blood. For this reason we should be proud of them and remember their holy sacrifice.

Irmin and Krodo must therefore have symbolised to Karl the stubbornness of the Saxon people. For this reason he tried to eradicate all memory of these Gods from our ancestors` memory. He did not succeed!
Whether it be xtianity[now a spent force] or islam we will never bow the knee to an alien and brutal, semitic, psychotic desert tribal `god` who delights in and whose supporters delight in[see recent events in Syria] the torture and beheading of those who think differently to them.

Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology Volume 1 refers to lingering traces of the worship of Irmin in Lower Saxony. He cites an old rhyme which was still in existence at the time of writing[1882] and he says:

"Here there seems unconcealed a slight longing for the mild rule of the old heathen god, in contrast to the strictly judging and punishing christian God."

"Hermen, sla dermen,

sla pipen, sla trummen,

de kaiser wil kummen

met hamer un stangen,

wil Hermen uphangen."

 

Krodo, a Lost Saxon God, Traceable to Aryan Times

Recently whilst reading Legends and Tales of the Harz Mountains, North Germany by Maria Elise Turner Lauder[1885] I encountered a tale called The Steinkirche and the Hermit which refers to both Ostera and a God called Krodo:

"In the grey days long ago, when paganism ruled the land, there stood on the hills near the cave called the Steinkirche-altars to the gods.

Bright were the fires to Krodo in the darkness of the night, and on the opposite cliffs rose the fire pillar in honour of the goddess Ostera.

The crackling flames illuminated the country and the mountains, and invited the inhabitants of the nearlying vales and heights to the wild customs, the bloody sacrifices, and the raving dance of heathenism."

Poetically Lauder goes on to tell us how a xtian holy man converted the heathen Saxons by a supposed miracle and:

"And the hearts of the wild Sassen were opened.....

"They vowed to a man henceforth to forsake the worship of Krodo, to remain true to the new faith....."

Despite having a mother who came from the Harz mountains I had never heard or read this story before and neither had I heard of this God called Krodo. After carrying out some research I have found that He is one of the Saxons` ancestral Gods and thus my ancestral God.

Jacob Grimm refers to Krodo in his Teutonic Mythology Volume 1 and relates Him to the Roman God Saturn.

"But that AS. Saeteresbyrig from the middle of the 11th century irresistibly reveals the `burg` on the Harz mts, built (according to our hitherto despised accounts of the 15th century in Bothe`s Sachsenchronik) to the idol Saturn, which Saturn, it is added, the common people called Krodo; to this we may add the name touched upon in p. 206 (Hrethe, Hrethemonath), for which an older Hruodo, Chrodo was conjectured. We are told of an image of this Saturn or Krodo, which represented the idol as a man standing on a great fish, holding a pot of flowers in his right hand, and a wheel erect in his left; the Roman Saturn was furnished with the sickle, not a wheel."

Grimm tells us that Hrodo may be related to Baldag/Balder and he derives from this that the seventh day of the week[Saturday] may have been called Roydag and thus sacred to Krodo[see supplement 3 on page 248]. Hrethemonath, the Anglo-Saxon month of March is the month heathens normally associate with the Goddess Hrethe.

Grimm draws further connections to the Slavic Gods Sitivrat and Kirt:

"...but beside Sitivrat we have learnt another name for Saturn, namely Kirt, which certainly seems to be our Krodo and Hrudo."

Interestingly he interprets Sitivrat as being:

 "sieve-turner" and that this "would be almost the same as kolo-vrat, wheel-turner, and afford a solution of that wheel in Krodo`s hand; both wheel (kolo) and sieve (sito) move round, and an ancient spell rested on sieve-turning. Slav mythologists have identified Sitivrat with the Hindu Satyavrata, who in a great deluge is saved by Vishnu in the form of a fish. Krodo stands on a fish; and Vishnu is represented wearing wreaths of flowers about his neck, and holding a wheel (chakra) in his fourth hand. All these coincidences are still meagre and insecure; but they suffice to establish the high antiquity of a Slavo-Teutonic myth, which starts up thus from one quarter."

Thus far we have established that not only is Krodo a Saxon and thus a Teutonic deity but His antiquity goes right back to Aryan times with his association with similar Slavic, Hindu and Roman deities. Indeed Krodo`s name is so ancient that Grimm states that it "is rather too ancient, and I can find no support for it in the Saxon speech." Clearly this deity was still remembered by the Saxons and other Aryan peoples long after their dispersion out of the Ur-heimat.

Elsewhere in Teutonic Mythology Grimm states:

"Bothe`s Sassenchronik relates under the year 780, that King Charles, during his conquest of the East Saxons, overthrew on the Hartesburg an idol similar to Saturn, which the people called Krodo."

One is reminded of Charlemagne`s[King Charles/Karl der Grosse] similar overthrow of the Irminsul also in the land of the Saxons in 772 CE.

In Goslar Cathedral there was stored the bronze Krodo Altar, dating back to the year 1040 CE, which is an indication that this God was still remembered with affection several hundred years after Karl`s sacrilege. It can now be found in Goslar`s town museum. A rebuilt statue of Krodo now stands at Harzburg Castle.

Even today there are a number of locations in the Harz that bear His name such as Crodenbeke [Krodo Valley]- now called Kroedlippen, Krotenpful, Crodenleide, Crothensee and Goetzenthal [Valley of the idols]. Ground Ivy is also called Crodokraut which affords protection against witches.

After Karl destroyed Krodo`s temple he erected in its place a chapel and the site of this today is Harzburg Castle. Tradition has it that when Karl asked the East Saxons who was the God they worshipped they replied: "Krodo is our god", to which the emperor replied "Krodo is all the same as kroten-duevel!" Thus "toad-devil" became a German curse. Such curses often involve the names of our ancient deities.

Thunor`s Hammer-a Symbol for all our Folk

I have on numerous occasions discussed the importance of the use of Aryan symbols to awaken both the Racial Collective Unconscious and also the Personal Unconscious. These of course are Jungian terms and we may instead wish to use `Racial Memory` or `Blood Memory` for the first term.
My article The Use of Holy Symbols in the Manipulation of the Collective Unconscious[5/6/10] and The Importance of Wearing Aryan Symbols to Awaken the Collective Racial Unconscious[11/12/11]. Also of relevance may be The Axe, a Cultural, Ethnic and Religious Symbol of our Aryan Identity[17/2/13].

By the outward wearing of an Aryan sacred symbol we can provoke a response in those who encounter it. This response may be a conscious one or more typically an unconscious one as most people will be unaware of the sacred or racial significance of the symbol we are wearing. The majority of people will be aware of the racial significance of the Swastika of course but most will not understand its sacred meaning. Unfortunately because of its past and current political associations wearing it publicly is illegal in many but not all European countries. Here in the United Kingdom it is not illegal. However the public display of the Swastika would probably draw accusations of `racism` or `anti-semitism` by the brain-washed sheep who comprise the majority of the population. I personally use this symbol privately for religious rites and esoteric work.

The European Union and/or Germany have attempted to introduce an EU wide ban on the public display of the Swastika in 2001, 2005 and 2007 but without success. Germany even wishes to go so far as introducing its own draconian `hate` legislation throughout the EU. In Germany the public display of our sacred and ancient Swastika could result in a 3 years prison sentence and in Poland, 8 years. So much for `western democracy` and `freedom`!

The majority of people, even the so-called `educated` ones have no idea at all about the antiquity of the Swastika, its meaning or origins. Many are so stupid to believe that it was `invented` by Adolf Hitler and its sole meaning is the aforementioned `racism` and `anti-semitism`!

Other symbols of our antiquity are also banned in countries like Germany and Austria either because they were used by the National Socialist regime or they have been co-opted by racialists today. The public display of the SS Runes, the Odal and Wolfshook Runes and even the Sunwheel are now on the banned list! The criminals and traitors who govern Germany have even outlawed the wearing of Thor Steinar clothing in the Reichstag and the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony and in some football stadiums! The lunatics are truly running the asylum. Banning anything as history tells us just makes it flourish all the more.

On a number of occasions I have openly worn so-called banned symbols in Germany and even delivered the Aryan salute in the place where Adolf Hitler stood at the Zeppelinwiese in Nuernberg-all after 1945, I may add!

The wearing of Runic symbols and the symbols of our Gods such as the Thor`s/Thunor`s/Donar`s Hammer, the Valknut and Spear of Odin/Woden/Wodan/Wotan  are very good ways of communicating both our racial and religious heritage. Some with a little knowledge may initiate a dialogue with you which can lead to other things. It is perfectly possible for this to then lead to that individual awakening to his true racial and religious heritage. More often than not the effect is unseen and works entirely on the person`s Unconscious. Nothing is truly lost: all things await the light of day whilst they remain hidden in the Blood Memory.

Recently I encountered the website of the English Folk Church who seem to espouse the revival of Aryan, Germanic and Anglo-Saxon culture but at the same time they cling to their xtian heritage. In one of their articles they encourage the wearing of the Thor`s Hammer:

"The symbolism of Thor with his mighty hammer is part of an older myth that includes the ancient Aryan god Perkwunos,....

 "It is a link between our modern folk Christianity and the ancient religion of our people that became known what we now know as historical Odinism or heathenry.

"The symbolism therefore embodies the Aryan notion of evolutionary progress towards something better. A return to the mythical Golden Age of peace and plenty to which we all aspire.

"The Thor`s Hammer, then, is a powerful folk symbol for the Anglo-Saxon and other Germanic people. It need not be an exclusive symbol for the Odinists or Germanic heathens as it belongs to all of our folk and has meaning to us all."

The article makes reference to both the Swastika or Fylfot and Aryans  which I found very interesting. The author encourages folkish xtians-[I never thought that I would ever use that term !] to wear the hammer for both folkish and spiritual reasons. The article is worth reading and here is a link to it:
http://www.englishfolkchurch.com/Lorehoard/hammer.htm

Before I returned to the Gods of my ancestors I too was in this half way house between English xtianity and hearing the Call of the Blood and the Call of the Gods. Likewise I also wore Thor`s Hammer for reasons that I could at that time not articulate but that article says it all for me-at that stage in my development. Organisations such as the English Folk Church may be a suitable refuge for those in that middle stage. At some point it would be hoped that they would fully embrace Wodenism and join England`s primary Wodenist religious order, Woden`s Folk.

My reference to having "returned to the Gods of my ancestors" means that as heathens we do not convert to heathenism: we return to it for it is our natural biological ancestral spiritual path!