New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
| In many ancient European traditions, winter was the proper time to gather inside for the recitation of sacred tales, poems, legends, and lore. Some were intended to make the listener think about the sacred images and ideas encoded within them.
Here is an example of a gnomic poem from Anglo - Saxon tradition which talks about the meaning of winter: It is for frost to freeze For fire to consume wood For the earth to grow For the ice to make a bridge And for the water to bear a covering Wondrously to shut in The seeds of the earth The gods alone unbind the getters of frost The winter sea is unquiet The warm season returns Summer is brilliantly hot The sea is unquiet The somber path of the dead is longest secret It is for holly to be in the fire For the possessions of a dead man To be divided up Glory is the best reward. |
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