Tag: ?? sorta

yngvi-freyr9:

“The northern tradition views bodily powers as consisting of two separate but linked qualities: might and main. Might (Old English meaht; Old Norse máttr) is the physical strength of the body, the energy within it that enables it to live, powering its movements and actions. Main (Old English mægen; Old Norse megin) is the inner psychological strength that empowers the personality; it is transferable to other people and to objects. In Old Norse tradition, megin (main) is described in terms of who or what possesses it. The earth has jarðar megin; the gods possess ásmegin. When a magician empowers something with megin, it becomes aukinn, ‘augmented.’ A god or person with his or her own megin can also be aukinn with megin from elsewhere. The god Heimdall, for example, possessed ásmegin but was also aukinn with jarðar megin. Anything to be made aukinn must have an empowerment that aligns with the object or person’s innate qualities. If something is empowered contrary to its nature, it still works magically, but there is an inner conflict, as the empowerment is álag, an ‘on-lay’.

Without main, might is useless, for main includes the will to live. It is main that enables a person to exert his or her will in all realms of life. It empowers the magical arts of the human being. We must have both might and main in order to live effectively. Without one or the other, we are close to death. Inner power corresponds with outer powers, by means of being in the right place at the right time to achieve what is needful.”

–Nigel Pennick, Pagan Magic of the Northern Tradition, 2015, pp. 28-29.