Picture one: Niding Pole
Picture two: Douglas P
In the Viking age the most spectacular way of cursing an enemy was by the Niding Pole (the Nithstong or Scorn-Post). They were poles about nine feet (2.75 meters) long upon which insults and curses were carved in runes. Ceremonies were performed to activate the destructive magic of the pole. A horse’s skull was fixed to the top of the pole, and it was stuck into the ground with the skull facing towards the house of the accursed person. The pole channeled the destructive forces of Hela, goddess of death. These forces were carried up the pole and projected through the horse skull. The runes carved on the pole defined the character and target of the destructive forces. Among others, triple Thorn [Thurisaz] runes and triple Is [Isa] runes, were used to smite the enemy. When used maliciously, these had the effect of disempowering the accursed’s will and delivering him or her to the forces of destruction. Here, the Thorn rune invokes the power of Thurs, the demonic earth-giant sometimes called Moldthurs. An example of this comes from Skírnismál, where the spell used by Skirnir against Freyr’s reluctant lover, Gerdhr invokes harm using the Thorn rune. This provides the power for three other runestaves: ‘I shall inscribe Thurs for you, and three runestaves: lewdness, and rage and impotence.
Magically, the Niding Pole was intended to disrupt and anger the earth sprites (Landvaettir, Land-Wights or earth spirits) inhabiting the ground where the accursed’s house was. These sprites would then vent their anger upon the person, whose livelihood and life would be destroyed. Niding Poles were also used to desecrate areas of ground. This technique is called álfreka, literally the 'driving away of the elves’, by which the earth sprites of a place were banished, leaving the ground spiritually dead…
On the Niding Pole, the horse skull invokes the horse rune Ehwaz, using the linking and transmissive power of the rune for the magical working. The horse is sacred to Odin, god of runes and magic…“
From Rune Magic: The History and Practice of Ancient Runic Traditions, by Nigel Pennick.
(Except from an interview with Douglas P. of Death in June about his use of horse heads in the booklet for the DISCriminate CD.)
First of all, I’m totally against cruelty to animals. Some years agoI even got into a very serious fight with a man who was shooting birds on the roof of my house in England. As I nearly killed him the police were called and the situation became very difficult. Fortunately, the police were very sympathetic towards me so the matter was dropped. The horses heads were bought from a horse butcher in Brussels, Belgium, and had already met their fate. My purpose with them in the photo shoot, which took place in a wood just outside of Brussels, was to turn them into the most powerful of wands - the Nyding stick. In ancient times a village, a community, a warrior would slaughter a horse and create this magick weapon when they really "needed” something to happen. Horses were worshipped and a sign of wealth and luck so this was undertaken only with the greatest reluctance and respect. I, too, was in a position where I really “needed” something to happen so this ritual comnenced. I feel that during this ritual the horses regained their dignity and power. They almost came alive again and no longer were they just dead meat. Even the photographer and his assistant acknowledged this and they had initially been so disturbed by the scenario that they had refused to help me set up the shots! Eventually, they even had their photos taken with them. That Nyding stick is also where the children’s toy “hobby horse” comes from. Time distorted the most powerful magick weapon into the most banal of children’s play things!
History seems to forever reinvent itself
