Very Unruly Wights and Other Issues
I’ve come to the opinion that the wights or landsvaettir around my home tend to be tense and sometimes malevolent little buggers. I’m still agnostic about them, mainly because I just don’t see them. Even so, I can still remark about them. While some days it seems we get along really well, there are other times when life is total shit with them. I’d like to say I make them happy — I give them extra eggs, milk, chocolate, mead, and even meat scraps from butchering animals and hunting, but I’ve had a number of animal deaths in my herd that, well, not even the veterinarians have great clues about why it happened. I blame the wights and just overall bad luck.
Annoyed Wights and April Fools Jokes
Thor, the Saint of Scaring the Crap Out of Unruly Wights
Then, there’s misplacing stuff. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve threatened to call Thor down on them when stuff that suddenly disappears that I need. I use Thor’s name, and by mjolnir, that item shows up immediately. Catholics may have Saint Anthony; I have a thunder god who scares the crap out of our wights. Probably not the best politics with the wights, but it does work.
Ideas from Fairy Tales
I think I got the idea of Thor being scary to wights when I had read a Norwegian fairy tale about a farmer who was having his daughter baptized and didn’t want to invite his troll neighbor because it would offend all the Christians. So, he knew the troll didn’t like loud crashing noises (aka thunder) and warned the troll not to come because there would be loud drums and other crashing things. You can sort of see how the Jotunn dwindled to trolls — and the thing that scared them is Thor.
Fairy tales used to not be children’s stories. They were just stories. Stories people told to amuse themselves. Stories that teach. Stories that tell us of our past. It’s really cool to read stories where you can see pagan influences throughout. It’s also interesting when they give a nod to Christianity. The more they try to sell you Christianity, the more likely it’s a pagan story that they “cleaned up.”
Calling Thor or the Gods Refuse to be my Bitches
One time I got annoyed that it wasn’t raining. You see from early July to September, we’re in the midst of fire season. I took the rain maker my sister gave me and said in my most angry voice, “why the fuck won’t it rain?” I turned the rain maker over. Thor answered me with a low rumble. I could not have timed it better if I had tried. We didn’t get rain, though. And that was the only thunder I heard that day.
Just goes to show how uncooperative the gods are. Once again, they refuse to be my bitches. Go figure.
I Need a Better Relationship with the Wights
I’ll admit, I’m better dealing with the gods than I am with the wights. And I know that’s kind of topsy-turvy, but that’s the way it is. I often think when I talk to the wights, ancestors, and gods and ask for their help, I can forget that I’m dealing with creatures that have their own agendas, thoughts, and wills. I suspect other people fall into this trap as well. Even with the best intentions, I’m not the best person to ask how to deal with wights.
I have a place for my wights to hang out in my house, but whether they decide to be positive or negative is their choice. I think they are a mixed bag of critters — some helpful, some not so helpful. The one that was mucking with my computer connection is definitely not a fave. I get that there was some apprehension over the April Fools post, but it was all in good fun. Still I heard the words “don’t diss the Huldufólk” in my head. Well, kids, you need a sense of humor, and if you’re hanging around me, it’s kind of important to realize when I’m not serious.
Now, what I really need are kitchen wights who will do the dishes. I realize I have the electric dishwasher wight, but it still needs to be loaded.