#33 | The Return of Ragnarok & Our Apocalypse Now - Rune Hjarnø (Nordic Animism)
“These old myths and stories are like drinking from the cup of memory.”
My guest today is Rune Hjarnø, a doctor of History of Religions, educated from the Universities of Uppsala and Copenhagen.
He has lived and worked in a number of countries - with a particular focus on Afro-Atlantic and Nordic religions. He is the creator of Nordic Animism, a popular Youtube channel that explores the themes of Nordic religion, culture, and history in short accessible videos. As well, he is the orginator of the Rune Animist Calendar that introduces seasonal animism from Northern Europe.
In our conversation today, we look at the function of mythology as the capacity to create relationship. We explore the challenges of modern culture, where the absence of functional mythology gives rise to conspiracy theories, and we learn how the pantheon of Nordic gods can provide expressions of transgressive masculinity.
Finally, we explore the myth of Ragnorak and what guidance it might offer us in these apocalyptic times.
LINKS
JOIN THE MYTHIC MASCULINE NETWORK
SHOW NOTES
Traveling and learning from the Lapland to Ghana
Mythology has the function of creating relationship
In the absence of mythological capacity, conspiracy arises
Overview of Nordic Animism
Introduction of Christinanity
Fetishizing Vikings as an essential whiteness
The urgent need for mythological basis to engage apocalyptic times
Traditional knowledge Northern Europe
The old man and the astronomical staff
Regaining time and the calendar
The marriage between a Sky deity and the Earth goddess
Northern Europe as an erotic culture
Masculinity and the transgression of the gods
Ragnarok and climate breakdown
The consequence of rupture
The storming of Washington
Conspirituality as dysfunctional mythologies
“Humans are spectacular at forgetting”
Drinking from the cup of memory
