This is probably the best explanation out there. It's a meme in the purest sense of the word. A few thousand years ago (2000, 3000, 4000, whatever), some unnamed farmer built a nice maze out of rocks he'd cleared off his farmland to entertain his kids. His kids grew up, married, and recreated the maze for their own kids. Fast-forward a few generations and you have people in different places reproducing the same maze but attributing different origin stories and purposes to it. Suddenly, it's a representation of ancient city walls, or a fertility symbol, or a way to keep water spirits out. Won't be long now until it's added to the ADL's hate symbol database.
@Divine Intervention You underestimate the mobility of ideas in prehistoric times. Look at cave paintings across Europe - a lot of them, made across hundreds of miles over the course of 30,000 years, have the exact same abstract symbols.
About one hundred stone labyrinths are located along the coastal line of Finland, the oldest ones being from around bronze age and the latest little more than a hundred years old. The common name for them here is Jatulintarha, which means Giant’s Garden or Jungfrudans -Maiden’s dance. They are also found in illustrations on the walls of some of the medieval stone churches, for example in Sipoo old church.
American farmers sometimes cut "corn mazes" around harvest time, particularly in areas settled by Scandinavian and German descendants. They often don't follow these forms any more, but this video made me realize it is probably a continuation of the traditions you've featured. Good work.
@@Competitive_Antagonist America has plenty of history, especially on the East coast. The English established their first settlements over 400 years ago.
I guess 400 years is enough to think of Scottish music when you let the wind blow your face while staring at the local landscape, without being culturally inappropriate.
The Etruscans will always be super fascinating to me. Or really any of the "later" European pre-IE civilisations with writing, which also includes the Minoans and to a lesser degree the Basques. I know your main interest is IE, but I'd love to see some videos touching on this.
In India there are many more labyrinths like this its fighting formation in war, Chakravyūha or Padmavyūha are such examples the one who knows the easiest method to penetrate the formation can get to the centre without going through entire maze which you will never get through due to different layers of soldiers, you will be dead before you reach the centre.
Altair thanks for the tips. Very interesting examples but they are not the same symbol exactly. I gather this is mentioned in Mahabharata as a military formation which is interesting and dates it to post Aryan invasion
The is a very beautiful turf labyrinth cut into the village green of Saffron Walden near where I live. No one knows it's origin but there is a record of a payment made from its upkeep in 1699. Very interesting symbol.
I begun to think when I saw that fresh couple walking the maze together that the maze's meaning might be the journey as "ONE" towards transcendence (the type that Evola speaks about).
I think there's one on the top of St Catherine's Hill, Winchester, Hampshire. I remember having picknicks on it and running around it when I was a kid.
As luck would have it, I recently read an article on the subject. If you collect all the preserved labyrinths and customs around it, it seems that the labyrinth is a "blueprint" of a ritual dance from ancient times. In the middle, there was often a (May-)tree around everyone danced. First in three rows three times in one direction and then three times in the other direction. Then everyone grabbed their hands and the chain became so long that inevitably a labyrinth had to form if everyone wanted to circle the tree.
You're right most of the labyrinths I have seen didn't have a tree either. Maybe in some cases, the tree is a later addition or old trees died and have not been replaced. Or the center was always empty. I don't know. The article has some examples with a tree in the middle: www.cantab.net/users/michael.behrend/repubs/et/pages/moessinger_en.html The Rad in Eilenriede near Hannover: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilenriede#/media/File:Eilenriede_Rad.jpg The author speculates that the labyrinths originated from the "Plantanz", a common dance in Germany where the people danced in chains around the village lime tree. They had to turn-around because the chain was too long (700 people in one recording). Therefore the spiral and kidney form. Beside that, of course, I know about the sun-hero that frees and marries the spring-maid, I'm sure you will cover that in the video. I'm looking forward to it.
We have a old dance in sweden called kanelbullen, where everyone holds hands and walk in a mace like circle and then everyone tries to walk out of the labyrinth circle in a line still holding hands.
Sincere apologies for any mistakes. Just feeling inspired... I'm just went for a hybrid, reuniting, back to Indo-Europe. I thought about using Thorn, but I thought it was more an F sound than the "th" for the.
This story about the fisherman tricking spirits into a maze remind me of a custom from here in Norway called kroting. You would paint or carve patterns on the inside of the house, the pattern would go all around the room on the log at the height where the smoke would become too thick to see, this was when they would have open fire pits inside. You can see some examples here: digitaltmuseum.no/search/?aq=topic%3A%22Kroting%22 The idea was that spirits would get trapped going around the pattern and never reaching the people below. Maybe this just points to a general perception in Scandinavia that spirits get tricked by mazes?
Brilliant video as always! These carvings definitely look like the turf labyrinths. There's a fantastic example of a turf/brick maze in Saffron Walden.
It is the sacred path, representing life and death, death and rebirth, a representation of the womb, especially when trekked on a mound as at Glastonbury, representing a gravid belly. IMO.
According to Bock Saga from Finland "labyrinth" comes from "labia" and was a dancing path for young women who were then selected as future mothers next to or in Troy Castles (Swedish tro = faith; ja = Jarler). Maybe worth consideration ...
Symbolism is universal and eternal. Arkaim's IE case doesn't exclude the idea that pre-IE mediterranean peoples such as the Cretans and the Etruscans had always had this kind of symbol. We don't have to resort to the usual "loan theories". Certain symbols and knowledge can simply exist in separate cultural areas even without any contact existing between the two. The interpretations and cultural associations of the symbols, however, might differ even significantly. From what i've been able to understand through my studies so far, the symbolism is a fairly complex one, with many shades of meaning in it. Essentialy it symbolises the Cosmos or the Cosmic Cave, bearing a particularly strong initiatic meaning to it. Theseus can be understood as the "bringer of Order", the Illuminated Initiate who would be able to "kill" his interior demon a.k.a. the Minotaur. The Minotaur is the chaotic centre of the maze, the incarnation of the unfathomable primordial power of Chaos, which is to be dominated and ultimately slayed by the initiate in order to awaken his Divine Inner Self. Thus the chaotic centre becomes an authentic centre, that is a centre of Order. We're basically talking about a cosmogony, but on an individual, initiatic plane. Furthermore, as the Hero conquers Chaos and establishes Order he will unite with the Maze Mistress, who represents the radical "Shakti/Yin" power now in harmony with the solar "Yang". Before the initiatic trial, in fact, the two were confused in the chaotic figure of the Minotaur and only the victory of Order allows an harmonic union of the two principles (Theseus-Yang/Ariadne-Yin). Thus the sexual symbolism. The maze is also a symbol for the cosmic Yoni (vagina), the initiatic darkness that the Hero must "penetrate" into and conquer. The Cosmos is therefore a Yoni and we get this concept also through the latin term "Materia" (matter, the material world, the world of the mother). The same concept was expressed by Aristotle about the Yle (matter), which he described as being "wet" and feminine. Finally Theseus' "crane dance" can be understood as a symbolic ritual of initiatic rebirth and uplifting: the victorious Hero ascending to immortality after defeating Death. It is the same symbol as the Christ resurrecting from the Sepulcher (the Cosmic Cave) and ascending to Heaven. I know this might sound a little exaggerated or claims with little evidence, but still i hope i contributed positively to somebody's knowledge.
Very interesting! I totally agree about universal symbolism. I think human brains from different cultures without contact can develop similar symbols (with differences in exact meaning) because the part of our brain that is involved in symbolic thinking work in similar ways.
@@AriaIsara True that. But i think, more radically, that knowledge of the divine is in fact of transcendental origin and, therefore, it is revealed to man whenever he is able to uplift himself out of the darkness of the material plan.
@Francesco Savini Good observation my friend. Yes the beast at the centre IS the ego (ahamkara as the hindus call it). It is, on a subtle level, also the great primordial power of Chaos as i already said. It is therefore a frightening source of power, but it must be "ordered" and dominated in order to let the initiate transcend the limits of his/her human nature. The feminine we're talking about here is not a generic feminine, just like the heroic masculinity of Theseus is no ordinary masculinity. Heroic masculinity is the divine spark in man, manifesting itself with martial prowess in an active and conscious struggle against the lower self...for this reason great ascetic masters of the East have been called "vira" or "mahavira" in sanskrit, meaning "hero" or "great hero", like the founder of Jainism, Mahavira, who was, curiously enough, non-violent, meaning that his heroic struggle was purely spiritual. The feminine power helping the hero in his journey at the centre of the maze and all the way out is a bit like the dakinis of vajrayana buddhism who would manifest as vibrant powers to the monk and help him in his spiritual quest. She is basically a "yin power" allied to the "yang power", helping him to become whole and, by doing so, becoming a whole herself. The cave is the realm of the yin (the cosmic Yoni, in human terms a vagina), therefore who better than the Maze Mistress herself to help the hero in his journey in and out of the cosmos? In fact, when Theseus gets out of the cave (symbolic for abandoning the cosmos) the myth says Ariadne is left alone...because her realm IS the cave/cosmos...
Labyrinths are fascinating. I'm intrigued by the ones in churches, like in Chartre. The story goes that pilgrims who could not travel to Jeusalem could walk the labyrinth on their knees and repent...
It certainly looks like either a placenta or a tree. The examples from India and Peru may not be identical to European examples, but due to the clear stylistic and compositional similarity, they are clearly related. Fascinating video, Tom.
I disagree as it looks like neither. it has no trunk or branches. Its distinguishing feature is the path through the centre and in circular motions back and forth which does not resemble either a placenta or a tree. The Indian one is the same as european ones for sure (7 layers and a cross in centre) but the Peruvian one is a different symbol, with a long stalk going in and fewer layers in a different pattern. Also important is that the format of the Peruvian on as a geoglyph is not found elsewhere in the world. It can't be lumped in with the others as there is no stylistic, functional or historical connection between them
This exact figure is called Chakravyuha which means a war formation or encirclement in Sanskrit and finds first mention in Mahabharata 600 BCE. You compltely missed it.
Hello Tom, that exact symbol and some very similar carvings can be found in NW Spain, in Galicia. We have some of the biggest rock carvings density in the whole of Europe. There are some very interesting designs, a lot of horses, a lot of concentric circles, labyrinths, sacred deers... If you want to search a bit more try with "galician petroglyphs"
Really interesting that these have such a similar shape yet appear in many cultures. Was this passed down through generations? The spiral path on Glastonbury Tor is mentioned in the Mists of Avalon books, btw. It's fiction but very intriguing. I'm glad I found your channel; seemingly an endless range of topics from prehistory.
The first place I saw a VKING ad was a woodworking channel called Epic Workshop. The shield, helmet, and axehandle in the background of the add look exactly like the props he's built in his videos. I checked the design on the shield, and the eye-holes of the helmet match up.
Last week my two sons were playing in one of these in the Swedish city of Värnamo at the park in the centre. It's probably not that old and is circular with a larger stone at the middle. I didn't know about this topic at the time. Very interesting!
Hey Tom, what are your theories on ancient underground cities such as Derinkuyu? Do they have an indo-European origin? Would be great if you made a video about them
Seen labyrinths used by a volva. for blot application on vid. Seems like they represent a subtle but powerful representation of the defender of the valuable
Nine Mens Morris is a game in which players alternately place game pieces on the playing surface trying to place three in a row. This row of three is called a mill and when formed allows the player doing so to remove a game piece of the other player which is not itself in a mill. The playing surface consists of three concentric squares. Pieces may be placed at the corners and in the middle of each side with the middle position on each square linked to the other squares. This line doesn't extend across the smallest square. From what I have read this game configuration is found in stone associated with ancient Egyptian tomb construction. It has been found on the underside of church furniture from the middle ages. The game was commonly played both inside taverns on tables and outside as Shakespeare described in the passage sort of like horse shoes is now. As always a great video.
@@Survivethejive I am just repeating what the literature about the game says and it points to that passage as a literary reference. I don't have the capacity to produce a visual representation of what I described and perhaps my description is lacking but if you were to cut turf in that pattern just as in your video I would say it certainly looks like a maze.
@@johnkilmartin5101 I see now my mistake. The first line refers to the game you described, the second line refers to a turf maze and there is no connection
IIRC, Basque fishermen used fish traps that look a bit like these. Some old eel fishing techniques use poles and suspended nets in patterns somewhat similar to these. This trapping was brought to North America by the Basques before and during the 16th century. Although with the Basques being pre-indo-european, I guess that kinda doesn't fit in with the rest. Maybe more coincidence then.
It is analogous of the Beehive. The Queen Bee Goddess and her nymphs that dates to the Minoan era. Makes you wonder if it’s why petroglyphs around the world depict these mazes and insect/ant people with wings.
There's a trick to drawing those things, you basically do a cross, then four dots in a square around the cross, then four 'C'-shapes facing outward, between the cross and the dot so that the dot is in the gap of the 'C', then you just do loops around all the external points starting with the top of the cross and joining that to the end of the first 'c' and so on. These are obviously quite distinct from the medieval type of labyrinth, which is more concentric (one of the more famous examples of the latter type being in the floor at Chartres Cathedral (which has unfortunately been the subject of a heavy- handed 'restoration' programme in recent years, greatly detracting from its historic atmosphere). The earlier labyrinth type is hard to make perfectly circular, it ends up more like the shape of the cross-section of a brain, which some think may be intentional. Both types are made of continuous winding paths, so they aren't mazes you can get lost in. This casts doubt on any connection to the Minoan labyrinth, which was a maze with dead ends, hence the need for the hero Theseus to use a ball of string in order to find his way out again after confronting the Minotaur, according to the myth. If it were a continuous passage then the string would be unnecessary. The mention of circular cities surrounded by rings calls to mind Plato's description of Atlantis, by the way. Recently I heard of a possible inspiration for this being the 'Eye of Africa' formation (aka Richat structure) in Mauritania. Definitely something to look into.
Perhaps the Etruscan image offers the best clue. I'm thinking it could be a stylized phallus and womb in a circular continuous line to symbolized the unity of masculine and feminine within coitus, emphasizing the eternal cycle of life, as it were. Could this be the Indo European version of the yin yang symbol?
If you're in Sweden you must visit Rösaring in Uppland, close to Stockholm, where you'll encounter both a labyrinth, bronze age graves and a viking age religious procession road.
In the Iberian Peninsula, northwest with the Galicians and Lusitanians, labyrinths are generally associated with the Goddess Bandua who was a Divinity associated with protection.
In North America, the O'odham have a symbol called I'itoi, or "Man in the Maze". The shape is circular, but it's exactly the same symbol (same flow of lines).
These are very common in the north Caucasus. They can be found of the ancient villages in Tusheti in the form of stone carvings. And are quite frequent across Dagestan too. They are particularly common in Avar architecture. The book by G Movchan called "Old Avar House" (Старый Аварский Дом) shows many of these symbols. As well as the books by Khan Magomedov on the architecture of other peoples in S Dagestan. Ive looked at many books on the vernacular architecture of East Europe and haven't seen this symbol very often. But for whatever reasons it is still extremely popular amongst the NE Caucasus peoples.
Exactly. You cannot date a carving by the carving itself. If a cave is discovered that has been closed off, then radiocarbon dating on the floor dust can show when it was sealed off, and then we can tell the painting in the cave are from before that date. if a runic script is carved the linguists can date it by the language itself. But for a shape, there is no way to date it with any confidence at all except by the context.
Could the labyrinth be a agricultural calendar? Winter time the days are shorter, close to the center, spring and summer are longer days, therefore further away from the center
It's symbolic of the brain, IMO. The maze and labyrinth symbolism is about delving into one's subconscious and overcoming the beast (man's primal instincts) that dwell in the heart of the human race. Hence its connection to Ariadne and the Minotaur. This occult symbolism was redolent during the recent Manchester Area bombing.
In the old craft spirals are the ancient symbols linking family. They represent the Goddess. The spiral comes from how the Queen bee moves in spirals and many natural beehives are built in spirals. Honey has healing properties. Bees have been here since dinosaur times. Ireland ancient sacred mounds have them. That's why spirals represent ancestral tradition of family and old magic. Just thought to let you know one of the hidden secrets of the old craft.
My theory is everywhere you see very old labyriths you are seeing an area that was a settlement of Minoans. They would travel looking for mining minerals and metals. They would also settle and mix with the locals of an area. When the Minoan empire collapsed these settlements became there own cities/towns forgetting in time their Minoan roots.
Very interesting. So many over such a period of time over a huge area of land. So amazing to me that we know so little about who WE are . Blessings and happiness to you all 🌍🌏🌎☀️
It's difficult to call it a labyrinth because it runs along 1 direct path. Also I don't think it relates to the mound because the path goes in then out then in whereas a mound path would maneuver continually inward. At most it's a maze to the eye because it's difficult to visually follow. Therefore I don't see it originating as a physical path but something smaller.
Who knows? But Glastonbury Tor is a natural hill, whereas Silbury is definitely all man made . In my humble opinion Avebury and Silbury are every bit as intriguing as Stonehenge and Glastonbury but receive far less attention
A lot of these old rituals are based on the concept of death& rebirth, like the nature cycle. Like there are many other rituals (in mystery cults/initiation) where you descent into a spiral to get to the underworld in order to get out of that in the opposite direction for a rebirth. I would not be surprised if this is the purpose here…there is also this theory that the name of the city of “Troye” is from North-European descent. Several place names in are etymologically linked to it. (Trojin-Scandinavia, Tröborg-England, Caer Droidd,Trubenschloss, Treiborg. ***this is just a theory*** I’ve also read that it is linked to the movement of the sun/solstice. I live in Belgium, my motherlanguage is Dutch. There are some old/more modern books in Dutch on this subject. There is also the assumption that the labyrinth and the Troy labyrinth only look different but that the purpose is somehow the same. The Labyrinth (according to the author) is connected with the “Labrys”-a cultic “axe” which is a solstice symbol like the hammer, besides that it is linked to the mother earth godess “Mater Kybile”. They performed ritual dance on the mount Ida of troy with the axe in their hands…an other word for “Labrys”= double axe which is also the symbol of “the horned one” the savor of the sun in mother earth (winter solstice)-also look at the labyrinth of Minos. My two cents… Regards
Off topic, but at 1:31, on the wine jar: does anyone have info as to the species of creature behind the rider of the left-most horse? It looks like a shell-less tortoise with human limbs.
What about Woodhenge (Durrington, uk), and the Sanctuary in Avebury? Fences between poles could have created labyrinths... Labyrinths thought as sacred symbols for the path of life? Walking them creates experience of winding roads of future own life, where pathes suddenly are ending? Bless you all, sisters and brothers!
Tom, currently researching paganism and appreciate the content of your channel immensely. I am wondering what your belief system actually entails. I recall watching a video which includes a view of your home altar which includes idols of different european/ proto-european religions (which is then interspersed with images of a hindu-esque altar). Do you worship many different gods perusing the idea of the one God which all these different deities stem from in a perennial truth fashion? Wondering this as I'm currently navigating the idea of pagan worship myself.
A Druid wheel? Just something fragment of a memory of calling something about wheels within wheels or turning wheels turning wheels I'm not remembering exactly but perhaps someone out there can fill in the blank
Question: does it matter if you follow the worn path, the line? Or the negative space, the grass, the Germans were walking on the grass? If it's the line you follow, seems like you enter to the center then work your way out. If you follow the grass you are working your way in.
World's first meme
This is probably the best explanation out there. It's a meme in the purest sense of the word.
A few thousand years ago (2000, 3000, 4000, whatever), some unnamed farmer built a nice maze out of rocks he'd cleared off his farmland to entertain his kids. His kids grew up, married, and recreated the maze for their own kids. Fast-forward a few generations and you have people in different places reproducing the same maze but attributing different origin stories and purposes to it. Suddenly, it's a representation of ancient city walls, or a fertility symbol, or a way to keep water spirits out.
Won't be long now until it's added to the ADL's hate symbol database.
@Divine Intervention You underestimate the mobility of ideas in prehistoric times. Look at cave paintings across Europe - a lot of them, made across hundreds of miles over the course of 30,000 years, have the exact same abstract symbols.
@Bear hn you cannot scientifically date carvings actually. There is no connection to Troy! It is just a medieval fantasy
@@Survivethejive has anyone directed you to the mazes on the Solovetsky Islands, in the White Sea, in northern Russia? Very far north
First map of Kekistan, as depicted by Pepe the 1st himself.
About one hundred stone labyrinths are located along the coastal line of Finland, the oldest ones being from around bronze age and the latest little more than a hundred years old. The common name for them here is Jatulintarha, which means Giant’s Garden or Jungfrudans -Maiden’s dance. They are also found in illustrations on the walls of some of the medieval stone churches, for example in Sipoo old church.
in dutch a maiden is a jonkvrouw, jungfru is obviously the same. Interesting.
American farmers sometimes cut "corn mazes" around harvest time, particularly in areas settled by Scandinavian and German descendants. They often don't follow these forms any more, but this video made me realize it is probably a continuation of the traditions you've featured. Good work.
As an American, I'm often envious of Europeans for having a history that is imprinted onto the landscape which they still inhabit.
Almost as if you don't belong there.
@@Competitive_Antagonist America has plenty of history, especially on the East coast. The English established their first settlements over 400 years ago.
We have a folk history too, you just have to find it. Check out this video. Traditional American stuff. ua-cam.com/video/nz-hqyi8-wk/v-deo.html
I guess 400 years is enough to think of Scottish music when you let the wind blow your face while staring at the local landscape, without being culturally inappropriate.
Europe is your heritage too.
Q. What does the symbol mean?
A. we just don't know.
There are several of these in Galicia and Northern Portugal. The most famous one being the Mogor Labyrinth.
The Etruscans will always be super fascinating to me. Or really any of the "later" European pre-IE civilisations with writing, which also includes the Minoans and to a lesser degree the Basques. I know your main interest is IE, but I'd love to see some videos touching on this.
re hash so if there not indo Europeans then what are they?
Phoenicians.
Taulanti Illyrian no they were there before them.
European Natives?
@@antiantifa886 holdouts of pie cultures heavily influenced by ie as the time passed
In the Swedish-speaking part of Finland they are called "jungfrudans" which translates to virgin dance, and they were used in fertility rites
In India there are many more labyrinths like this its fighting formation in war, Chakravyūha or Padmavyūha are such examples the one who knows the easiest method to penetrate the formation can get to the centre without going through entire maze which you will never get through due to different layers of soldiers, you will be dead before you reach the centre.
Altair thanks for the tips. Very interesting examples but they are not the same symbol exactly. I gather this is mentioned in Mahabharata as a military formation which is interesting and dates it to post Aryan invasion
The is a very beautiful turf labyrinth cut into the village green of Saffron Walden near where I live. No one knows it's origin but there is a record of a payment made from its upkeep in 1699. Very interesting symbol.
I begun to think when I saw that fresh couple walking the maze together that the maze's meaning might be the journey as "ONE" towards transcendence (the type that Evola speaks about).
Nice idea...but impossible to prove! There is also a theory i didn't mention, that instead of a dance, this represents a military manoeuvre
@@Survivethejive something about chariot warfare?
Looks like the God code 3- 6- 9
I think there's one on the top of St Catherine's Hill, Winchester, Hampshire. I remember having picknicks on it and running around it when I was a kid.
It's the floorplan for Ikea, to make sure you can't find your way out before visiting every single department.
As luck would have it, I recently read an article on the subject. If you collect all the preserved labyrinths and customs around it, it seems that the labyrinth is a "blueprint" of a ritual dance from ancient times. In the middle, there was often a (May-)tree around everyone danced. First in three rows three times in one direction and then three times in the other direction. Then everyone grabbed their hands and the chain became so long that inevitably a labyrinth had to form if everyone wanted to circle the tree.
Not a single example i studied had a tree in the centre. The legend of the dance is addressed in this video
You're right most of the labyrinths I have seen didn't have a tree either. Maybe in some cases, the tree is a later addition or old trees died and have not been replaced. Or the center was always empty. I don't know. The article has some examples with a tree in the middle:
www.cantab.net/users/michael.behrend/repubs/et/pages/moessinger_en.html
The Rad in Eilenriede near Hannover:
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilenriede#/media/File:Eilenriede_Rad.jpg
The author speculates that the labyrinths originated from the "Plantanz", a common dance in Germany where the people danced in chains around the village lime tree. They had to turn-around because the chain was too long (700 people in one recording). Therefore the spiral and kidney form. Beside that, of course, I know about the sun-hero that frees and marries the spring-maid, I'm sure you will cover that in the video. I'm looking forward to it.
We have a old dance in sweden called kanelbullen, where everyone holds hands and walk in a mace like circle and then everyone tries to walk out of the labyrinth circle in a line still holding hands.
I wrote an essay for one of my archaeology classes on this symbol. It also appeared on ruins in the southwest. Montezuma's Castle if memory serves.
Such beautiful music in your videos.
Absolutely fascinating! Thanks for doing a video on this.
-Very Indo-European- -Survive The Jive-
ᚹᛖᚱᛉ ᛁᚾᛞᛟ - ᛖᚢᚱᛟᛈᛖᚫᚾ ᛋᚢᚱᚹᛁᚹᛖ ᛏᚺᛖ ᛃᛁᚹᛖ !!!
Writing modern English with elder futhark, oh boy "the" with tiwaz and hailaz lol and you should've used fehu for very not wunjo
Use the thorn rune for “TH”
@@Survivethejive I forgot to say that, thank you
Wouldn't it have been better to use Anglo-Saxon Futhorc for English rather than elder futhark? As Elder is used for proto-Norse.
Sincere apologies for any mistakes. Just feeling inspired...
I'm just went for a hybrid, reuniting, back to Indo-Europe.
I thought about using Thorn, but I thought it was more an F sound than the "th" for the.
This story about the fisherman tricking spirits into a maze remind me of a custom from here in Norway called kroting. You would paint or carve patterns on the inside of the house, the pattern would go all around the room on the log at the height where the smoke would become too thick to see, this was when they would have open fire pits inside. You can see some examples here: digitaltmuseum.no/search/?aq=topic%3A%22Kroting%22 The idea was that spirits would get trapped going around the pattern and never reaching the people below. Maybe this just points to a general perception in Scandinavia that spirits get tricked by mazes?
Thank you for your Catholic Hindu wisdom.
The Modern Hermeticist Namaste deus vult
kek
Lol what
Brilliant video as always!
These carvings definitely look like the turf labyrinths. There's a fantastic example of a turf/brick maze in Saffron Walden.
Google Earth gives a pretty good view from above Glastonbury Tor....
I remember drawing those while bored during class when i was a kid for no particular reason at all, lol.
Interesting. Me, too. And I love 'playing' and solving mazes to this day.
Me too that is very interesting
It is the sacred path, representing life and death, death and rebirth, a representation of the womb, especially when trekked on a mound as at Glastonbury, representing a gravid belly. IMO.
Very thought provoking. A great vid STJ
Fascinating as always.
It's a womb and placenta
The idea of a female being in the middle (egg) and a man (sperm) going through the maze to get to her does make this convincing though.
t. Barg :-DDDD
@@mevorathfjorathk.6219 Already proven to be connected to fertility rites, one which involves 9 dancers. It's not exactly a leap here.
There might be several correct explanations. Why not both? Myths often have multiple esoteric stages.
@@mevorathfjorathk.6219 prehistoric people couldn't see sperm cells!
I've ordered my own Survive the Jive Tshirt
A brilliant and informative video. Thank you
According to Bock Saga from Finland "labyrinth" comes from "labia" and was a dancing path for young women who were then selected as future mothers next to or in Troy Castles (Swedish tro = faith; ja = Jarler). Maybe worth consideration ...
Fascinating video; something I previously knew nothing about. Thanks!
Symbolism is universal and eternal. Arkaim's IE case doesn't exclude the idea that pre-IE mediterranean peoples such as the Cretans and the Etruscans had always had this kind of symbol. We don't have to resort to the usual "loan theories". Certain symbols and knowledge can simply exist in separate cultural areas even without any contact existing between the two. The interpretations and cultural associations of the symbols, however, might differ even significantly.
From what i've been able to understand through my studies so far, the symbolism is a fairly complex one, with many shades of meaning in it. Essentialy it symbolises the Cosmos or the Cosmic Cave, bearing a particularly strong initiatic meaning to it. Theseus can be understood as the "bringer of Order", the Illuminated Initiate who would be able to "kill" his interior demon a.k.a. the Minotaur. The Minotaur is the chaotic centre of the maze, the incarnation of the unfathomable primordial power of Chaos, which is to be dominated and ultimately slayed by the initiate in order to awaken his Divine Inner Self. Thus the chaotic centre becomes an authentic centre, that is a centre of Order. We're basically talking about a cosmogony, but on an individual, initiatic plane.
Furthermore, as the Hero conquers Chaos and establishes Order he will unite with the Maze Mistress, who represents the radical "Shakti/Yin" power now in harmony with the solar "Yang". Before the initiatic trial, in fact, the two were confused in the chaotic figure of the Minotaur and only the victory of Order allows an harmonic union of the two principles (Theseus-Yang/Ariadne-Yin). Thus the sexual symbolism. The maze is also a symbol for the cosmic Yoni (vagina), the initiatic darkness that the Hero must "penetrate" into and conquer. The Cosmos is therefore a Yoni and we get this concept also through the latin term "Materia" (matter, the material world, the world of the mother). The same concept was expressed by Aristotle about the Yle (matter), which he described as being "wet" and feminine. Finally Theseus' "crane dance" can be understood as a symbolic ritual of initiatic rebirth and uplifting: the victorious Hero ascending to immortality after defeating Death. It is the same symbol as the Christ resurrecting from the Sepulcher (the Cosmic Cave) and ascending to Heaven.
I know this might sound a little exaggerated or claims with little evidence, but still i hope i contributed positively to somebody's knowledge.
Very interesting!
I totally agree about universal symbolism. I think human brains from different cultures without contact can develop similar symbols (with differences in exact meaning) because the part of our brain that is involved in symbolic thinking work in similar ways.
@@AriaIsara
True that. But i think, more radically, that knowledge of the divine is in fact of transcendental origin and, therefore, it is revealed to man whenever he is able to uplift himself out of the darkness of the material plan.
Giuseppe Arminio De Falco
I like that explanation too :-)
@Francesco Savini
Good observation my friend. Yes the beast at the centre IS the ego (ahamkara as the hindus call it). It is, on a subtle level, also the great primordial power of Chaos as i already said. It is therefore a frightening source of power, but it must be "ordered" and dominated in order to let the initiate transcend the limits of his/her human nature. The feminine we're talking about here is not a generic feminine, just like the heroic masculinity of Theseus is no ordinary masculinity. Heroic masculinity is the divine spark in man, manifesting itself with martial prowess in an active and conscious struggle against the lower self...for this reason great ascetic masters of the East have been called "vira" or "mahavira" in sanskrit, meaning "hero" or "great hero", like the founder of Jainism, Mahavira, who was, curiously enough, non-violent, meaning that his heroic struggle was purely spiritual.
The feminine power helping the hero in his journey at the centre of the maze and all the way out is a bit like the dakinis of vajrayana buddhism who would manifest as vibrant powers to the monk and help him in his spiritual quest. She is basically a "yin power" allied to the "yang power", helping him to become whole and, by doing so, becoming a whole herself. The cave is the realm of the yin (the cosmic Yoni, in human terms a vagina), therefore who better than the Maze Mistress herself to help the hero in his journey in and out of the cosmos? In fact, when Theseus gets out of the cave (symbolic for abandoning the cosmos) the myth says Ariadne is left alone...because her realm IS the cave/cosmos...
Thank you for the appreciation. My pleasure to share something with people capable of understanding and profitting from it =D
Labyrinths are fascinating. I'm intrigued by the ones in churches, like in Chartre. The story goes that pilgrims who could not travel to Jeusalem could walk the labyrinth on their knees and repent...
It’s very charming that you brought your pet tribble along at 3:20.
It reminds be of the folds of a brain. In any case they are interesting to walk.
Yes it is reminiscent of that.
Fantastic video, thank you.
thanks, very informative!
It certainly looks like either a placenta or a tree. The examples from India and Peru may not be identical to European examples, but due to the clear stylistic and compositional similarity, they are clearly related.
Fascinating video, Tom.
I disagree as it looks like neither. it has no trunk or branches. Its distinguishing feature is the path through the centre and in circular motions back and forth which does not resemble either a placenta or a tree. The Indian one is the same as european ones for sure (7 layers and a cross in centre) but the Peruvian one is a different symbol, with a long stalk going in and fewer layers in a different pattern. Also important is that the format of the Peruvian on as a geoglyph is not found elsewhere in the world. It can't be lumped in with the others as there is no stylistic, functional or historical connection between them
This exact figure is called Chakravyuha which means a war formation or encirclement in Sanskrit and finds first mention in Mahabharata 600 BCE. You compltely missed it.
It seems to me you are right. Its a military formation
The form of this symbol is similary to the representation of the Atlantis
Hello Tom, that exact symbol and some very similar carvings can be found in NW Spain, in Galicia. We have some of the biggest rock carvings density in the whole of Europe. There are some very interesting designs, a lot of horses, a lot of concentric circles, labyrinths, sacred deers... If you want to search a bit more try with "galician petroglyphs"
Really interesting that these have such a similar shape yet appear in many cultures. Was this passed down through generations? The spiral path on Glastonbury Tor is mentioned in the Mists of Avalon books, btw. It's fiction but very intriguing. I'm glad I found your channel; seemingly an endless range of topics from prehistory.
Thorough and self-illuminating
The first place I saw a VKING ad was a woodworking channel called Epic Workshop. The shield, helmet, and axehandle in the background of the add look exactly like the props he's built in his videos. I checked the design on the shield, and the eye-holes of the helmet match up.
Great video. Always been interested im this. Can you do a vid about the green man.
I somehow remember drawing these when I was a little child and bored lol
Last week my two sons were playing in one of these in the Swedish city of Värnamo at the park in the centre. It's probably not that old and is circular with a larger stone at the middle. I didn't know about this topic at the time. Very interesting!
Very helpful video
This channel is amazeballs, your subscriber count should be 460K not 46K.
Hey Tom, what are your theories on ancient underground cities such as Derinkuyu? Do they have an indo-European origin? Would be great if you made a video about them
Seen labyrinths used by a volva. for blot application on vid.
Seems like they represent a subtle but powerful representation of the defender of the valuable
Great video
Jolly good shøw‼❣ 👍 🎄 For some reason watching it makes me feel peace inside.
Nine Mens Morris is a game in which players alternately place game pieces on the playing surface trying to place three in a row. This row of three is called a mill and when formed allows the player doing so to remove a game piece of the other player which is not itself in a mill. The playing surface consists of three concentric squares. Pieces may be placed at the corners and in the middle of each side with the middle position on each square linked to the other squares. This line doesn't extend across the smallest square. From what I have read this game configuration is found in stone associated with ancient Egyptian tomb construction. It has been found on the underside of church furniture from the middle ages. The game was commonly played both inside taverns on tables and outside as Shakespeare described in the passage sort of like horse shoes is now. As always a great video.
John Kilmartin but he described a turf maze
@@Survivethejive I am just repeating what the literature about the game says and it points to that passage as a literary reference. I don't have the capacity to produce a visual representation of what I described and perhaps my description is lacking but if you were to cut turf in that pattern just as in your video I would say it certainly looks like a maze.
@@johnkilmartin5101 I see now my mistake. The first line refers to the game you described, the second line refers to a turf maze and there is no connection
IIRC, Basque fishermen used fish traps that look a bit like these. Some old eel fishing techniques use poles and suspended nets in patterns somewhat similar to these. This trapping was brought to North America by the Basques before and during the 16th century. Although with the Basques being pre-indo-european, I guess that kinda doesn't fit in with the rest. Maybe more coincidence then.
It is analogous of the Beehive. The Queen Bee Goddess and her nymphs that dates to the Minoan era. Makes you wonder if it’s why petroglyphs around the world depict these mazes and insect/ant people with wings.
We have many of these in Finland,about 200, it's also called "Jatulintarha" in finnish.
I hope I can't download all of your work directly into my head one day
There's a trick to drawing those things, you basically do a cross, then four dots in a square around the cross, then four 'C'-shapes facing outward, between the cross and the dot so that the dot is in the gap of the 'C', then you just do loops around all the external points starting with the top of the cross and joining that to the end of the first 'c' and so on. These are obviously quite distinct from the medieval type of labyrinth, which is more concentric (one of the more famous examples of the latter type being in the floor at Chartres Cathedral (which has unfortunately been the subject of a heavy- handed 'restoration' programme in recent years, greatly detracting from its historic atmosphere). The earlier labyrinth type is hard to make perfectly circular, it ends up more like the shape of the cross-section of a brain, which some think may be intentional. Both types are made of continuous winding paths, so they aren't mazes you can get lost in. This casts doubt on any connection to the Minoan labyrinth, which was a maze with dead ends, hence the need for the hero Theseus to use a ball of string in order to find his way out again after confronting the Minotaur, according to the myth. If it were a continuous passage then the string would be unnecessary. The mention of circular cities surrounded by rings calls to mind Plato's description of Atlantis, by the way. Recently I heard of a possible inspiration for this being the 'Eye of Africa' formation (aka Richat structure) in Mauritania. Definitely something to look into.
Always been interested in cup and ring markings in Northumberland interesting to see these versions. I think it might represent the womb.
Perhaps the Etruscan image offers the best clue. I'm thinking it could be a stylized phallus and womb in a circular continuous line to symbolized the unity of masculine and feminine within coitus, emphasizing the eternal cycle of life, as it were.
Could this be the Indo European version of the yin yang symbol?
5:49 I can imagine a ceremonial procession winding up those "indentations".
Nice to see St. Mary Redcliffe crop up in an STJ video.
I like the Arkaim theory. But maybe Arkaim was designed to, and the symbol represent a concept like Mandala.
The structure that makes up the step pyramid is designed to harness plasma energy from plasma released in lightning.
If you're in Sweden you must visit Rösaring in Uppland, close to Stockholm, where you'll encounter both a labyrinth, bronze age graves and a viking age religious procession road.
Great job my brother from another mother 😎
In the Iberian Peninsula, northwest with the Galicians and Lusitanians, labyrinths are generally associated with the Goddess Bandua who was a Divinity associated with protection.
Awesome! Hope to see some folk German videos at some point.
In North America, the O'odham have a symbol called I'itoi, or "Man in the Maze". The shape is circular, but it's exactly the same symbol (same flow of lines).
Do you have other videos on the Arkaim site? Or perhaps even a list of resources where I could read more about it?
My gut feeling is that the maze is a representative image of the Tree of Life, which is a popular pre-Christian motiff.
These are very common in the north Caucasus. They can be found of the ancient villages in Tusheti in the form of stone carvings. And are quite frequent across Dagestan too. They are particularly common in Avar architecture. The book by G Movchan called "Old Avar House" (Старый Аварский Дом) shows many of these symbols. As well as the books by Khan Magomedov on the architecture of other peoples in S Dagestan. Ive looked at many books on the vernacular architecture of East Europe and haven't seen this symbol very often. But for whatever reasons it is still extremely popular amongst the NE Caucasus peoples.
What is the most famous one in Dagestan? I would like to look this up
How do you date a rock carving? I understand if you are looking at artist style etc. But how accurate can the dating of the oldest stone labyrinth be?
Exactly. You cannot date a carving by the carving itself. If a cave is discovered that has been closed off, then radiocarbon dating on the floor dust can show when it was sealed off, and then we can tell the painting in the cave are from before that date. if a runic script is carved the linguists can date it by the language itself. But for a shape, there is no way to date it with any confidence at all except by the context.
The Russia city you mention that the end (made with 3 concentric rings) looks very similar to Plato’s Atlantis too
There’s also a troy town carved into the floor at the Undavalli Caves in Vijayawada, Andra Pradesh, India. I found it myself!
If it was covered up at all then the earth above could have been dated
Could the labyrinth be a agricultural calendar? Winter time the days are shorter, close to the center, spring and summer are longer days, therefore further away from the center
I used to draw these in middle school when I was bored.
Remembering Norman Rowsell
It's symbolic of the brain, IMO. The maze and labyrinth symbolism is about delving into one's subconscious and overcoming the beast (man's primal instincts) that dwell in the heart of the human race. Hence its connection to Ariadne and the Minotaur. This occult symbolism was redolent during the recent Manchester Area bombing.
Scotbot i like that interpretation however some uses obviously contradict it
Another fantastic video. What are your thoughts on it symbolising the souls journey to the underworld and then back towards rebirth?
Sounds cool but where is the evidence?
@@Survivethejive indeed. I'd imagine it comes from Greek concepts of the labyrinth, most notably the story of Theseus.
In the old craft spirals are the ancient symbols linking family. They represent the Goddess. The spiral comes from how the Queen bee moves in spirals and many natural beehives are built in spirals. Honey has healing properties. Bees have been here since dinosaur times. Ireland ancient sacred mounds have them. That's why spirals represent ancestral tradition of family and old magic. Just thought to let you know one of the hidden secrets of the old craft.
Absolutly the same labyrinth found in Ossetia, the Mahchesk labyrinth stone
My theory is everywhere you see very old labyriths you are seeing an area that was a settlement of Minoans. They would travel looking for mining minerals and metals. They would also settle and mix with the locals of an area. When the Minoan empire collapsed these settlements became there own cities/towns forgetting in time their Minoan roots.
Very interesting. So many over such a period of time over a huge area of land. So amazing to me that we know so little about who WE are . Blessings and happiness to you all 🌍🌏🌎☀️
It's difficult to call it a labyrinth because it runs along 1 direct path. Also I don't think it relates to the mound because the path goes in then out then in whereas a mound path would maneuver continually inward. At most it's a maze to the eye because it's difficult to visually follow. Therefore I don't see it originating as a physical path but something smaller.
Is there any connection between the terraces or pathway on Glastonbury Tor and those on Silbury Hill?
Who knows? But Glastonbury Tor is a natural hill, whereas Silbury is definitely all man made .
In my humble opinion Avebury and Silbury are every bit as intriguing as Stonehenge and Glastonbury but receive far less attention
You research on the petroglyphs of the beach of Mogor in Marín, Pontevedra province (Galicia, northern Spain) 👍🏻
A lot of these old rituals are based on the concept of death& rebirth, like the nature cycle. Like there are many other rituals (in mystery cults/initiation) where you descent into a spiral to get to the underworld in order to get out of that in the opposite direction for a rebirth. I would not be surprised if this is the purpose here…there is also this theory that the name of the city of “Troye” is from North-European descent. Several place names in are etymologically linked to it. (Trojin-Scandinavia, Tröborg-England, Caer Droidd,Trubenschloss, Treiborg. ***this is just a theory*** I’ve also read that it is linked to the movement of the sun/solstice. I live in Belgium, my motherlanguage is Dutch. There are some old/more modern books in Dutch on this subject. There is also the assumption that the labyrinth and the Troy labyrinth only look different but that the purpose is somehow the same. The Labyrinth (according to the author) is connected with the “Labrys”-a cultic “axe” which is a solstice symbol like the hammer, besides that it is linked to the mother earth godess “Mater Kybile”. They performed ritual dance on the mount Ida of troy with the axe in their hands…an other word for “Labrys”= double axe which is also the symbol of “the horned one” the savor of the sun in mother earth (winter solstice)-also look at the labyrinth of Minos.
My two cents…
Regards
Off topic, but at 1:31, on the wine jar: does anyone have info as to the species of creature behind the rider of the left-most horse? It looks like a shell-less tortoise with human limbs.
What about Woodhenge (Durrington, uk), and the Sanctuary in Avebury? Fences between poles could have created labyrinths...
Labyrinths thought as sacred symbols for the path of life? Walking them creates experience of winding roads of future own life, where pathes suddenly are ending?
Bless you all, sisters and brothers!
Do you have additional content on patreon?
History Geek777 yes
It looks like a growing tree with outgoing glowing
Thomas, please please please do something on Akaim!
I wanna see a video about this Arkaimian city. Doesn't seem like theres much about it on youtube.
Looks like a road map to a town to me
Tom, currently researching paganism and appreciate the content of your channel immensely. I am wondering what your belief system actually entails. I recall watching a video which includes a view of your home altar which includes idols of different european/ proto-european religions (which is then interspersed with images of a hindu-esque altar). Do you worship many different gods perusing the idea of the one God which all these different deities stem from in a perennial truth fashion? Wondering this as I'm currently navigating the idea of pagan worship myself.
See my video on Freyr
A Druid wheel? Just something fragment of a memory of calling something about wheels within wheels or turning wheels turning wheels I'm not remembering exactly but perhaps someone out there can fill in the blank
Question: does it matter if you follow the worn path, the line? Or the negative space, the grass, the Germans were walking on the grass? If it's the line you follow, seems like you enter to the center then work your way out. If you follow the grass you are working your way in.
It means a cross, 4 Ls, and 4 dots can cause a ton of doodling on notes when I should be listening.