The Golden One

Calling Us Home by Chris Lüttichau

Posted on February 12, 2023

I have read Calling Us Home – Find your path, your balance and your inner strength by Chris Lüttichau. I became acquainted with Lüttichau’s work after he was interviewed by Thomas Rowsell (you can watch the interview here: JIVE TALK: Danish shaman Chris Luttichau). I was intrigued and wanted to know more – what Chris said in the interview resonated with me. Thus, I decided to read his book – and I am happy I did! The book is well-written and presents spiritual concepts in an accessible manner. Many of the teachings and perspectives are of a perennial nature; meaning that they appear in spiritual teachings throughout space and time. The author’s spiritual teachers are of Native American blood, and he shares interesting insights from his travels in the Americas.

Shamanism and Animism

The author refers to the anthropologist Michael Harner; according to the latter, the word shaman (pronounced SHAH-maan) comes from the Siberian Tungus Evenki tribe. The term is said to mean ‘the one who knows’ or ‘the one who sees.’ Keeping this in mind, it becomes easier to understand the duties of a Shaman as well as the Shaman’s need for a connection to the divine (so that the Shaman may gain otherworldly knowledge). The author says the following about Animism:

‘The understanding that everything is connected and alive has a name: ‘animism.’ Its root is the Latin animus, meaning ‘soul’ or ‘life.’ Animism is a view held by most, if not all, First Nations people worldwide, and it implies that everything in the Universe, all of creation, has consciousness or a soul essence, and thus is alive.’

Chris Lüttichau – Calling Us Home. Page 3.

The Inner Mind and the Outer Mind

A central theme of the book is the distinction between the Inner Mind and the Outer Mind. The Outer Mind is often dominant in most people; it is the mind responsible for the constant stream of thoughts. The author makes it clear that the Outer Mind is not evil or bad, only that there is a danger in letting the Outer Mind take complete control and dominate. To give an example: someone with a totally dominant Outer Mind is perhaps under a constant barrage of worries about potential negative scenarios. Someone with a strong Inner Mind, on the other hand, can live in the moment without being distracted by unproductive thoughts – a strong Inner Mind can facilitate a total focus which can be hard for a mind in turmoil to attain. The teachings of the Inner Mind and Outer Mind reminds me of a Buddhist teaching that we encountered in Evola’s The Doctrine of Awakening (review). It is a beautiful passage worth sharing again:

‘As a perfectly tamed elephant, led by his mahout, will go in any direction; as an expert charioteer, with a chariot ready on good ground at a crossroad and harnessed to a thoroughbred team, can guide the chariot where he wishes; or as a king or a prince with a chest full of clothes, may freely choose the garment that most pleases him for the morning, the afternoon, or the evening – so the ascetic can direct his mind and his being toward one state or another with perfect freedom.’

Julius Evola – The Doctrine of Awakening. Page 80.

I, a Prince of the Ages, am in control of my thoughts. I choose good thoughts, just as I choose to clothe myself in the garments that please me the most – as pictured below, the Norse-Gaelic Woollen Sweater.

The Chakras

The author discusses the Energy Centres (Chakras in Vedic tradition). It is common to believe that all thinking happens in the brain, but the body actually has many different places where thinking happens. Gut feeling is a good example of this – you know something is going on based on the signals your gut gives you. Aligning and bringing attention to all of the Chakras is a good idea for optimal health. There are guided Chakra meditations (link) on YouTube; it can be good to follow one such meditation to get further acquainted with the Energy Centres.

Anger

In the chapter about the Heart Centre (the green one in the picture above), the author beautifully states the following:

‘In the teachings that were passed on to me, anger is viewed as a resource that can be used to do some good in the world. In order to transform anger into a constructive force, it needs to be lifted from the Power Centre into the Heart Centre. Once you have brought the anger up to the heart, you can use it to make changes in yourself or in the world around you. This is a magical key, and it is the way of the spiritual warrior.’

Chris Lüttichau – Calling Us Home. Page 190.

Learning how to use anger in a productive manner is indeed a magical key. I have done it myself throughout the years.

Giving Thanks Daily

Also related to the Heart Centre is the feeling of gratitude. The author notes that giving thanks daily is an integral part of the Shamanic path – traditionally one can begin the day by facing the Sun and giving thanks for the light of the new day. Feeling grateful for what you have is a great way to instantly feel better. Giving thanks in the morning is a good way to start the day; it can also be a good way to end the day – thinking about the luxury of falling asleep in a nice, warm bed will instantly relax you (optimising the chances of a more harmonious sleep).

Vision Quest – Sitting Out

The author notes that Native American shamans would go on Vision Quests – praying and fasting at a secluded place in nature to receive visions. The Norse equivalent, as attested by Icelandic sagas, is called sitting out (udesidning in Danish and utesittning in Swedish). Related to this practice is the story of Odin taking up the Runes:

‘I know that I hung on that windy tree,
Hung there for nights full nine;
With the spear I was wounded, and offered I was
To Odin, myself to myself,
On the tree that none may ever know
What root beneath it runs.

Neither horn they upheld nor handed me bread;
And there below I looked;
I took up the runes, screaming I took them,
And forthwith back I fell.’

– Hávamál

These are my favourite two stanzas from the Poetic Edda. Pictured below: a humble druid on top of a cave. Come spring, I will try an utesittning when opportunity presents itself – perhaps when doing a 24-hour fast!

Plato’s Forms and Shamanic Presence

The author refers to Plato’s Theory of Forms, which stipulates that every object in ‘the real world’ is but an approximation of the ‘ideal’ form that exists independent of time and space. On a side-note, I have actually thought about making a video in which I will say that training in the Temple of Iron is a form of piety – as Gym training enables us to get closer to our ideal form. The author says the following about the matter from a Shamanic perspective:

‘Yet in shamanism, these things are not in such a stark opposition to each other as they might appear. One of the ways that a shaman can enter the gateway into the reality of spirit or essence, beyond what the senses can reveal, is by becoming intensely present with the world of physical forms in nature.’

Chris Lüttichau – Calling Us Home. Page 49.

On a personal note, I view this as a life-affirming and reasonable attitude.

Conclusion

In addition to many interesting insights and perspectives, the book also contains practical instructions for meditations. As I have noted before, I always appreciate practical instructions in spiritual books. Moreover, the book contains biographical elements, which I appreciate – this gives the book a certain spirit that adds to the reading experience. I stumbled upon one factual error; on page 273, Mircea Eliade (whom we have encountered before: link) is presented as Hungarian. In fact, he was Romanian. Aside from that small detail, it is a great book.

The book is 364 pages and is worth a read. Good stuff!

The Northern Dawn by Stephen E. Flowers

Posted on February 8, 2023

I have read The Northern Dawn – a History of the Reawakening of the Germanic Spirit by Stephen E. Flowers. As has been the case with the other books of his I have reviewed, I can warmly recommend this one as well. The book contains the following four chapters:

• Ways of Understanding
• The Germanic Tradition
• The Coming of Christianity
• Ages of Darkness

Christianity – Paradigm Shift or Conversion?

The author references The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity by James C. Russel (review) throughout the book, so the two books are good to read one after another. He notes that the term conversion is problematic (absurd and impossible, even), and that paradigm shift is a better term to describe the slow entry of Christianity into the societies of the Germanic peoples. As we noted in our review of Russel’s excellent book, it was indeed a very Germanised Christianity that was the dominant religion during the Middle Ages, and Christianity only became less Pagan during the Reformation.

The Indo-European Acceptance of Foreign Influences

The author notes that it is an Indo-European trait to be open to foreign influences (as opposed to the parochial attitudes of most other biocultures). This is a very important insight to keep in mind both for understanding European history as well as for approaching the modern world. A few years ago, someone commented on a social-media post of mine that he did not want to train Thaiboxing because it was not European. Instead, he only wanted to train Glíma. Funnily enough, this was one of the most un-European (or un-Aryan, rather) things I have ever read (hence it stuck with me even after many years). The true attitude is, of course, to embrace good cultural influences – such as Thaiboxing. This must, needless to say, not be misinterpreted as an acceptance of destructive phenomena such as mass immigration from the Global South into European nations. It must also be noted that the safekeeping of biological integrity is also an Indo-European trait (hence caste-systems). The openness for foreign influences is relevant to the discussion of Christianity in Europe since it makes it easy to understand why many were open to another powerful God (Christ) in the already existing pantheon.

Graeco-Roman Influence on Christianity

As we noted in our review of The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity by Russel, it was an already Indo-Europeanised Christianity that the Germanic peoples encountered. For example:

‘The calendar of festivals, sacrifices, and ceremonial occasions was altered to conform to Christian mythology. This transformation had already taken place in the Greco-Roman world, so the form of Christian ceremonial that confronted the Germanic peoples was entirely Roman with little to nothing of a Middle Eastern or Judaic character. The same can be said about the liturgical forms.’

Stephen E. Flowers – The Northern Dawn. Page 78.

Jesus as a Warrior-Lord

Throughout the book, the author discusses Germanic literature. He presents the Old Saxon poem Heiland (meaning saviour in Old Saxon). The epic verse was composed around 830 by a poet-monk (or perhaps an ex-warrior, as noted by Murphey in the book The Heiland). Flowers says the following about it:

‘It is a retelling of the story of the life of Jesus in Germanic alliterative verse. This is not a translation of the gospels, but an original composition that allows the poet to recast the Christian myth in almost entirely Germanic terms. Jesus becomes a warrior-lord (OS drohtin) with a retinue of twelve warriors who fight against Rome.’

Stephen E. Flowers – The Northern Dawn. Page 104.

Presenting Jesus in a way that was attractive to the Germanic peoples was a key to success in introducing Christianity in Europe. OS in the quote above means Old Saxon.

The Teutonic Knights

The author discusses the Teutonic Knights and notes that they combined martial prowess with mystical fervour and asceticism.

‘The Teutonic Knight not only carried out a “crusade” in the material world, but within his own mind as well.’

Stephen E. Flowers – The Northern Dawn. Page 116.

This is similar to what Evola discusses in Metaphysics of War, where he notes that, in many traditions, the holy war in one’s mind is the greater of the two. For example, the Inner Jihad is the Greater Jihad and the Outer Jihad is the Lesser Jihad. The overcoming of one’s own lower nature is a reoccurring theme in many a spiritual tradition. Speaking of the Teutonic Knights, I will make a Podcast episode discussing them at length (I have a few episodes planned before that).

St Erik as Frey and St Olaf as Thor

The author shares a very interesting insight that I was actually not aware of (despite both Uppsala and Stockholm being close to my heart). He notes that Christian kings could take on Pagan attributes in the folk beliefs and practices that surrounded their persons. For example, St Olaf (who ruled Norway between 1015 and 1030) bashes trolls with his cross (reminding us of Thor fighting giants with Mjölner). St Erik (as seen on the banner in the picture above), king of Sweden between 1156 and 1160 and patron saint of Stockholm, took on the aspect of Frey (who was a particularly important God in Sweden):

‘During the Middle Ages a procession went forth from Uppsala on 18 May (St. Erik’s Day) in which the banner of St. Erik was borne att helga Fruchten medh på Jorden (“to sanctify the fruits of the earth”).’

Stephen E. Flowers – The Northern Dawn. Page 152.

The Germanic Gods are of two tribes: the Aesir (Odin and Thor, among others) and Vanir (Frey and Freya, among others). Frey is a God of fertility and kingship. Next time we are in Gamla Uppsala, I will pour a libation to him. Last time my wife and I were there, we poured a libation to his sister – Freya. Pictured below: a humble aspiring Enlightened Despot admiring a garden in sacred Uppsala – City of the Gods.

Conclusion

As already mentioned and as with all of Flowers’ book, I can highly recommend The Northern Dawn – for Pagans as well as Christians, or indeed for the historically interested person. The book is 174 pages. Good stuff!