Brynhild Tudor
May 29th, 2011, 02:32 AM
Hi everyone,
I'm not sure where this thread would fit, so please move to a more appropriate forum if needed.
When I first became Pagan in 2003, I took the public name Morgan Willowmoon, after one of the goddesses I follow. I also took a private name, Brynhild, after reading it in a book and instantly feeling a connection with it (I picked the book back up after dinner, flipped open to a random page without knowing what I was doing, saw the name and went "That's it!) without knowing why, or even what I was looking for.) Even though I still follow Morgan to this day, after a couple years I felt the public name no longer fit and it was time for a change, so I decided to make the private name public. I decided to add "Tudor" because I love said period in England.
Here's the problem. I have zero interest in Norse deities, though I tried them on for size, and find the mythology quite depressing. I have a feeling that Sigdriffa is the valkyrie in those sagas, and that she and Brynhild are 2 different people. But it's not like I can go asking Brynhild about all this because she *is* me, you know? And talking to myself generally doesn't help matters. I'm interested in finding connections, so I don't feel like I just cobbled something together. Here are the ones I've made so far.
I connect to the Welsh pantheon, and apparently, in Welsh, the word "Bryn" means "hill." For some reason, when I imagine Glastonbury, though I've never been there, I imagine a hill with a door in the side of it. Does "hild" mean anything in Welsh, or is it strictly the Germanic word for "battle?" I've had to struggle a lot my whole life and really don't want to anymore, and I've also been told I have warrior energy, though I'm a soft-spoken, conflict-avoidant girl. Conflict might bring change, but it's no fun, so I don't participate in it, letting others do that, and feeling that change can be peaceably accomplished through other means. A friend said, out of the blue one day, that I was a "petite warbling warrior", and I was like, "where did you come up with that?" She said it was because I was small in stature, loved to talk, and pretty much just knock things out of my way. Whenever there's drama around me, I'm never sucked into it... it's almost as if I'm above it in some way. Nobody bothers me. People don't come to me with their problems. I'm nurturing to a point, but I'm not gonna listen to people complain or pour out their hearts to me. Even if that's what *they* need, I don't wanna hear it. There are plenty of women who love to commiserate about their troubles for hours, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just not one of them! I balance empathy with action, but don't have a lot of women friends because of it. I just like women without physical stuff in their homes or issues in their life. (they're few and far between.) I'm nice, and will listen for awhile, but am more apt to help them find multiple solutions than to give them a shoulder to cry on. I get accused of not being compassionate or understanding enough. I could play the role and do as they request, but then am not happy.
So that's my warrior side. The only thing I liked about valkyries was their beauty, that she was Odin's favorite, and that instead of killing her when she disobeyed him, he put her to sleep.
My full craft name isn't a numerological match to my birth name, and I'm starting to wonder if my former public name was a better fit after all. Morgan was a moon goddess and willows were connected to the moon, not to mention I do like nurturing types and need a lot of that, which is probably why I'm attracted to motherly deities.
Anyone else go through this? Thanks for any insights! BTF
I'm not sure where this thread would fit, so please move to a more appropriate forum if needed.
When I first became Pagan in 2003, I took the public name Morgan Willowmoon, after one of the goddesses I follow. I also took a private name, Brynhild, after reading it in a book and instantly feeling a connection with it (I picked the book back up after dinner, flipped open to a random page without knowing what I was doing, saw the name and went "That's it!) without knowing why, or even what I was looking for.) Even though I still follow Morgan to this day, after a couple years I felt the public name no longer fit and it was time for a change, so I decided to make the private name public. I decided to add "Tudor" because I love said period in England.
Here's the problem. I have zero interest in Norse deities, though I tried them on for size, and find the mythology quite depressing. I have a feeling that Sigdriffa is the valkyrie in those sagas, and that she and Brynhild are 2 different people. But it's not like I can go asking Brynhild about all this because she *is* me, you know? And talking to myself generally doesn't help matters. I'm interested in finding connections, so I don't feel like I just cobbled something together. Here are the ones I've made so far.
I connect to the Welsh pantheon, and apparently, in Welsh, the word "Bryn" means "hill." For some reason, when I imagine Glastonbury, though I've never been there, I imagine a hill with a door in the side of it. Does "hild" mean anything in Welsh, or is it strictly the Germanic word for "battle?" I've had to struggle a lot my whole life and really don't want to anymore, and I've also been told I have warrior energy, though I'm a soft-spoken, conflict-avoidant girl. Conflict might bring change, but it's no fun, so I don't participate in it, letting others do that, and feeling that change can be peaceably accomplished through other means. A friend said, out of the blue one day, that I was a "petite warbling warrior", and I was like, "where did you come up with that?" She said it was because I was small in stature, loved to talk, and pretty much just knock things out of my way. Whenever there's drama around me, I'm never sucked into it... it's almost as if I'm above it in some way. Nobody bothers me. People don't come to me with their problems. I'm nurturing to a point, but I'm not gonna listen to people complain or pour out their hearts to me. Even if that's what *they* need, I don't wanna hear it. There are plenty of women who love to commiserate about their troubles for hours, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just not one of them! I balance empathy with action, but don't have a lot of women friends because of it. I just like women without physical stuff in their homes or issues in their life. (they're few and far between.) I'm nice, and will listen for awhile, but am more apt to help them find multiple solutions than to give them a shoulder to cry on. I get accused of not being compassionate or understanding enough. I could play the role and do as they request, but then am not happy.
So that's my warrior side. The only thing I liked about valkyries was their beauty, that she was Odin's favorite, and that instead of killing her when she disobeyed him, he put her to sleep.
My full craft name isn't a numerological match to my birth name, and I'm starting to wonder if my former public name was a better fit after all. Morgan was a moon goddess and willows were connected to the moon, not to mention I do like nurturing types and need a lot of that, which is probably why I'm attracted to motherly deities.
Anyone else go through this? Thanks for any insights! BTF