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Chapter 2. Connections 32
a manner which was consistent with their community and their time. They gained
their knowledge through close observations of the things of their world, the World
Tree, such as the behaviors of horses, the flight of birds, and other omens. Direct
access to the knowledge of the Well of Mímir was only for those few who were
destined by their lineage:
“. . . men do not know directly anything of the nature of the reality of
the well. It is clear, though, that it is, in opposition to tree-oriented reality,
conceptual rather than physical, abstract rather than three-dimensionally
real. Within the well, the interrelations among actions rather than actions
themselves are of paramount importance; here, within the realm of the well,
are the motives and reasons for and the final causes of the acts that occur
within the realm of the tree. Within the well, the power of all events past still
surges, writhes, twists, whelms, and weaves the whole of this greater reality
‘out’.” 15
Although most of the ancients may not have been able to “look up and see the strings
operating the cosmic puppet show,” by engaging in proper action as defined in their
overall worldview, they were able to live out their lives within the community with
few problems. When need arose, the Cunning Man was usually available, to crawl up
behind the scenes and untangle snags and knots. For the early Germanic peoples we
know that this had much to do with the loss of luck, health, missing farm animals,
irrational fears, and unexplainable ill health.
Germanic ritualistic behavior was “proper action” which served to groom and
strengthen relationships between men and men, men and Gods, men and the ancestors,
and men and the forces of nature. The symbel or “sumble” as it is now written,
according to Bauschatz, served to relate man to man through the ritualized sharing
of drink, oath-making, and gift-giving:
“No Gods are mentioned in the Germanic feast; indeed, the symbel does
not seem to be an occasion upon which men’s affairs are related to those of the
Gods. As a matter of fact, a good deal of the material (literary) . . . indicates
that both men and Gods share the practice of the symbel. Thus, there are
no prayers in the Germanic ritual. In the symbel \ldots the emphasis is
on drinking, pledging, and swearing oaths. Those taking part directly and
literally associate themselves with the flow of events and hold themselves
responsible for forthcoming actions.” 16
15 Bauschatz, p. 125.
16 Bauschatz, pp. 80-81.