Scarification Blade

This is a test run for the Viking Mythos Project.   Conceptually, it's a shamanistic blade for applying ritual scars.  The handle is antler and the gar scale blade is mounted with real pitch.  For a first attempt it's not a bad effort, but there's obviously a lot of room for improvement.

The biggest issue with carving antler is it's variable density.  The outer layer is incredibly hard, but the core is considerably softer.  It requires a very firm hand to keep the engraving head from skittering across the surface.  That's something that will come with practice.  It is a bit humbling to realize that even with the benefit of a power engraver I'm a long way from duplicating the delicate work done in-period with simple hand tools.

Brass Bell

There were a couple of requests for a closer look at the brass bell from yesterday.  I don't remember where I picked this up, but it was probably from trolling junk shops.  I love the cast handle and hammered finish of the bell mouth. 

The Viking Mythos Project Rolls On

 Another week, another batch of acquisitions for the Viking Mythos project.  One nice thing about an effort like this is that I can work on it when time is available.  At this point that consists mainly of gathering the parts before putting things together.

Starting from the upper left we have a hammered brass bell, a beautiful primitive knife, a leather pouch with antler closure, some off-the-shelf bentwood containers, a wooden dish holding metal beads and mail links, a collection of animal bones, some drying herbs, and linen cordage.

I scored the beads and wire rings at a garage sale out in the middle of nowhere.  It looked like someone had tried out jewelry making as a hobby and then given up, leaving little bundles of supplies to be sold off by their family.  They're a mix of plain steel and steel washed with copper and brass.  Not period accurate by any stretch, but more than cool enough for a project like this.

The wooden containers on the left have slowly grown on me.  They're "Mini Craft Boxes" from Hobby Lobby.  I need something to hold spell components and glass containers really aren't appropriate.  Once these have a coat of stain and some weathering I think they'll do a good job of replicating period Norse examples.

Speaking of spell components, here we have some bundles of thistle and galium.  These are two of the plants specifically mentioned in the Galdrabok Grimoire.  That treatise dates to long after the Viking period, but it's one of the few resources available regarding Icelandic magical practices.  For now I'm contenting myself with getting the right species, but I'd like to eventually get an exact match for the plants available to the Vikings.  Based on my preliminary research most of the Galdrabok plants (thistle, galium, yarrow, and wild leek) can be found in my area of upstate New York.  I just have to get up to speed with their identifying characteristics and get out into the woods to find them.

The highlight here is the primitive knife that CoastConFan generously posted off to me.   It's a forged carbon steel blade from his personal collection, and I can't thank him enough for his kindness.  Now I just have to come up with a horizontal Viking-style sheath for the piece.

The leather pouch showed up at one of my local junk shops.  I think it was originally for tobacco.  I'm not crazy about the visible black stitching, but the antler catch does a lot to make up for that.

The linen cordage is from a vendor on Etsy.  There's solid archeological evidence of both hemp and linen cordage in the Viking era, but most of their twine and light rope was actually made from bast.  Those are the tough fibers found in the inner bark of trees like oak, lime, and alder.  Two out of three are common here in New York, while European Lime is occasionally found as a landscaping plant. I just need to find the source trees, learn how to render the fibers from bark, and teach myself to hand-roll cordage.  Easy peasy.  Heh.

Tools of the Trade

The Viking Mythos project continues to putter along.

On the left we have a troll tooth used as a protective charm.  To the right a selection of wooden needles used for putting down Druagr, Viking undead.  I'll add some iron nails to the set when I find some that have the right length and don't look machine made.

I suspect a Norse cultist would have few qualms about trafficking with the undead, but it's always wise to have a bit of leverage.  "Do not call up any that you can not put down," as Lovecraft points out in "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward".  The sagas have various portrayals of reanimated corpses, but driving needles into their feet appears repeatedly as a means of stilling their spirits, or at least preventing them from walking.

Taint of the Wolf

The latest bits for the Viking Mythos project veer into more traditional Norse culture.  The Úlfhednar were berserker warriors who embraced the spirit of the wolf, as opposed to the more traditional bear.  Historically, the transformation was assisted by donning pelts and body parts from wolves.

I want to take that idea and give it more of a Mythos spin.   These coyote teeth, stand-ins for the far more expensive wolf teeth, will be part of a ritual fetish.  I'm envisioning a pelt adorned with teeth and claws.  Tying that imagery back into the Mythos, I'm planning to put together the accoutrements for whipping up the Draught of Ubbo-Sathla.  That Elder God's protoplasmic, ever-shifting nature seems like a good match for the "truth" behind the Viking legends.

Idol of Shub-Niggurath

The Viking Mythos project continues.  This week saw the addition of some leather pouches and this absolutely perfect idol of Shub-Niggurath from Copper Centipede. He has a couple of variations available in his Etsy store.

Deep One Fetish

Work on the Viking Mythos project continues.  One of the nice things about a suitably vague concept like this is that I can break it into a lot of smaller pieces and work on them as I have time.

Last night I started sculpting a Viking-style Deep One fetish.  Conceptually, it's a magical artifact used for summoning and protection from the Deep Ones.  Given the close relationship between 10th century Norse culture and seafaring it would be a handy item to have.

The stylistic inspiration is this statuette of the Norse god Freyr recovered near Rällinge in Sweden and currently residing in the Swedish State History Museum.  The second photograph is by Christer Åhlin at The Museum of National Antiquities.

The rampant penis removes any doubt about this being a fertility idol.  I did find it interesting that the beard pulling depicted is also sexual.  Depending on the expert talking it's symbolic of sexual wantonness, masturbation, or homosexuality.  I'm sure there's a wag out there ready to suggest that on a good night it's all three.  Heh.  Given the Deep One propensity for inter-breeding with humans, sometimes willingly and sometimes not, it would be a waste not to incorporate some of that beard imagery.

Here's the first pass at taking the statue, more particularly it's head, and translating it into a Deep One.  I just wanted to get the general look down, so this is very rough and totally asymmetrical.  Now it's a matter of refining this basic shape into a final form.

There are two tools that are going to be really important heading into the next stage- calipers and silicone shapers.  For a hack sculptor like me calipers make spotting asymmetrical details a lot easier.  Once I've identified two symmetrical points I can go in with metal tools and refine each side into a mirror image of the other.  That step will leave tool marks, something silicone shapers are ideal at removing.  Their soft, flexible heads are perfect for removing imperfections and creating smooth, flowing curves.

Ægishjálmr, the Helm of Awe

Another runic sigil- Ægishjálmr, the Helm of Awe.  I'm trying to combine the look of the traditional Norse symbols with some of the design cues from later magical traditions.

Vegvísir

The Vegvísir magical stave, for the Viking Mythos project. I was going for something clearly Norse in origin, but slightly twisted in interpretation.  As we all know, evil is spiky so...yeah.  You can download the full sized version by right clicking on the image and opening the link in a new tab.

This is a clean version since I was too lazy to roughen it up in Illustrator.  For some reason the program determines the level of distortion based on the size of an element, which means long lines and large symbols get jagged while smaller details are barely touched.  When I have time I'll go through and give it the appropriate level of distressing.

The staves, or runic sigils, are the most visually striking elements of Norse magical practice.  I plan on working up a small library of re-interpreted versions for use on items and documents.

That Ol' Time Religion

Here's the start of the Viking-age Mythos project.  Conceptually, I'm aiming for a collection of items that a 10th century Norse cultist would have on hand.  The centerpiece is Fox Henderson's excellent Norse Cthulhu idol. Frankly, the pictures don't do it justice. It's a beautiful sculpt and the piece has a really nice heft to it.

The coins are hand-struck reproductions of period examples ranging from Middle Eastern Dirhems to Viking silver pennies. They're based on documented examples recovered from buried Viking hoards.  A black wash will bring out the details of the coin faces.

The amber Elder Sign is the polymer clay test piece I mentioned last week.  It does a good job of replicating the look of the real stuff and I plan on doing a number of small faux-amber items.  The Elder Sign is just a stand-in at this point, since it obviously makes no sense for a cultist to have one. 

The flint and steel are, well, flint and steel.  C-shaped strikers are period, but I'm going to try and track down one with some interesting ornamentation.