Ep. 119 - Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen - Nordic Animism, Myth, & Connectivity

Oct 4, 2023

Historian of religion Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen discusses Nordic animism, myth, and connectivity. Topics include Nordic shamanism, traditional myths, Pre-Christian knowledge systems, land as a shaper of traditions, the role of the trickster, animism and the climate crisis, the power of Nordic mythology, the magical properties of the elder tree, hallucinogenic plants in traditions, reconnecting with cultural roots, and the meaning of runes in Nordic philosophies.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

Nordic Animism, Myth, & Connectivity

02:49 • 3min

Audience Engagement and Traditional Knowledge

05:31 • 18min

Land as a Shaper of Traditions

23:44 • 18min

The Trickster's Role in Disrupting Worldviews and Imparting Wisdom

41:21 • 8min

Animism, Interconnectedness, and the Climate Crisis

49:00 • 13min

The Power of Nordic Mythology in Understanding Deep Patterns of Reality

01:02:19 • 22min

The Magical Properties of the Elder Tree

01:24:29 • 9min

The Role of Hallucinogenic Plants in Christian and Pre-Christian Traditions

01:33:17 • 10min

The Secular Nature of Scandinavia and Reconnecting with Cultural Roots

01:43:37 • 28min

The Significance of the Name 'Rune' and the Meaning of Runes in Nordic Philosophies

02:11:28 • 4min

Wrapping up the Conversation and Expressing Gratitude

02:14:59 • 4min

Hey everybody! Episode 119 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen. Rune was introduced to me by a listener of the podcast. It was serendipitous timing as I had been wanting to bring on guests to speak more about European myth and tradition, especially about Celtic and Nordic traditions. So it was a pleasure to sit down with Rune and have him share in his experience with Nordic animism, myth, his work in general, and also his time with the Brazilian Candomblé tradition. He has a really good YouTube channel as well where he speaks about these topics. I think you all will be interested by and get a lot out of this episode. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!

This episode is sponsored by Real Mushrooms. As listeners, visit their website to enjoy a discount of 25% off your first order: https://www.realmushrooms.com/universe

"Rune Hjarno Rasmussen is an historian of religion, Ph.d., educated from the Universities of Uppsala and Copenhagen.

Rune has lived in many countries and done fieldwork in a number of contemporary (primarily Afro-descendant) religions, but since childhood he has had Nordic religion as a strong field of interest.

Today Rune is working on applying contemporary developments in anthropology to rethink the way we address Nordic religion both in terms of scholarship, but also as a reservoir of cultural knowledge for environmental activism and sustainability sensitization.”

To learn more about or contact Rune, visit his website at: https://nordicanimism.com and his YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@NordicAnimism

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