Aun: Cannibal Kings, Cosmic Healing and the Recovery of a Nordic Tradition

by Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen

According to Viking mythology Aun was an ancient king who sacrificed his sons to Odin in order to live forever. He is a timeless image of power predicated on violating kinship. In the Viking Age North Europeans congregated from large areas to celebrate and ritualize the Death of Aun and thereby the healing of the wounded connectivity in world. In the Medieval Chronicles we read how eight years they would travel to their most sacred sites, like Uppsala in Sweden and Lejre in Denmark. When the cycles of the sun and the moon align every eight years, and they are born together from the darkest time of the year, the New Moon around the Winter Solstice, that is the call to celebrate Aun’s death, to do ceremony for the healing of the world. But, for about a millennia we North Europeans have neglected our obligation to the ceremony that calls the world back into kinship and connectedness, as it cyclically falls apart. And look at the consequences! The world is falling apart in what is sometimes called the relational crisis! This book is about the present initiative and all the different dialogues that have played out in the current recovery of this ancient and all-important ceremony for North Europeans, their diaspora descendants and anybody who feels the call to try to bring the world back into healthy relation.

136 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Tom Fordham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another insightful read from Rune. It was refreshing to read about like minded people in regards to learning from our ancient myths to recconect with the world and build a better future with what we've learnt. The Aun ritual is a fascinating concept and one I hope to mull over and connect with further in my own mind. Rune is conversational in time and draws comparisons to similar concepts and perspectives throughout the world including Native American, Aboriginal and Hindu. An interesting read about how we can break away from modernity and reaquaint ourselves with something much older while adapting it for a modern world.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that uses cautionary tales from Nordic history and warnings of a coming ragnarok. With a Norse pagan background I found this book as an incredible companion to my practice.