The Origins of The Stork and Newborns

By Gothi Arinbjorn OR

To those who follow the path of the ancient Northern Europeans, the spirit of man is eternal and immortal, living a number of lives as works towards enlightenment, what we call the Odic Consciousness.

When the living body dies, the spirit passes through the Blessed Realm and is judged by the gods to be working towards improvement or degradation. Those who improve are allowed to rest in the shining fields and rolling hills of the Blessed Realm to commune with their ancestors and the Gods and spirits of the Nine Realms, and reflect on the lessons of its pasts lives.

When the time comes for the spirit to return to this realm, to Midgard, it journeys once again to Urd’s Well, the Well of Wyrd. At this time the Holy Norns, the Goddesses of Wyrd, begin to weave another earthly life for the spirit. The span of the spirits new existence is set into motion and planed out so that it will have the opportunity to further evolve during its time on Midgard. When the spirits Wyrd is ready, it is given a special drink, a mixture of the Three Sacred Wells that water Yggdrasil, the World Tree. This drink binds and hides the memories of past lives so that the newly re-born spirit may start its new life with a clean unbiased slate.

With the taste of the Hel Drink still on its lips, the spirit wades out into the depths of Urd’s Well. The well has been described as resembling an ancient pond, lined with reads and teaming with life. As the spirits body enters the water, its essence begins to dissolve, but maintains its consciousness and self. When it has become completely immersed in the water of the well, the spirit is absorbed by the southern root of Yggdrasil and for a while becomes one with it.

The branches of Yggdrasil that shade Urd’s Well also bare fruit. Each fruit is a spirit, passed through the roots and trunk of the great tree and infused with that universal essence and ready to return to Midgard. When the fruit is ripe and ready, it falls from the tree and splashes into the water of the well and waits for its time.

As stated, Urd’s well is full of life – fish, frogs, and water fowl including swans and storks. The storks that wade through the waters are one form of the ancient god Hoenir, brother of Odin and one of the creators of both Midgard and the first Man and Woman. The storks pluck the fallen fruit from the water, and holding the young spirits gently in their beaks, take flight to Midgard. Each life is assigned to mother by both the spirit itself and the Holy Norns. This mother will provide the right environment for its evolution, to help it when it is most vulnerable and will give it the best footing for its journey through life. Each Mother and Child are truly fated to each other, and it is the duty of the stork to see that the two are united. As the physical body begins to grow within the womb, the stork arrives– unseen by man as is usual for beings of the other realms– and places the spirit within its new body. Within the womb, the spirit is given time to re-acclimate to a physical existence as its body develops and grows. Also, whether she is aware of the pregnancy or not, the mothers spirit begins to form the bond with the child’s that will last them the rest of their time on Midgard and onto when they have returned to the Blessed Realm.

Hail Life
Hail Light
Hail Mothers and the Children