The Weirwood trees and the Old Gods: History and Lore - livestream

[@lizardbreathh]

Thank you for your streams! I struggle with insomnia and listening to this while staring at the ceiling is way better than listening to my own thoughts 🤪

[@dreamzplayern1684]

Same!

[@mirarstudios]

Same although sometimes it's too interesting to sleep to.

[@victoriagill1588]

Me too. He is wonderful

[@lyndsaybain3845]

Same!

[@pernillekaaber8335]

You have the patience of an angel when answering these questions

[@shaunw.7299]

For how many are relatively silly questions, yes he's a saint. And for how many times questions are repeated-per podcast-- its a deffinit patience tester

[@josephbeaulieu1569]

She is in asoiaf fan. He has learned patience the hard way

[@SelphieTheNutter]

He has more patience than me these days, id have lost my patience by now 😆

[@liverdave1977]

This could be my favourite live stream ever! Weir woods, the old gods and all the mysteries they bring 👌🏻👌🏻

[@averongodoffire8098]

Always a sucker for animist faith exploration and esoteric practices of a fantasy world This stream has got it all

[@djerykhornubis2466]

I have'nt read the books, thought "3hours! never going to last that long listening to a livestream..." still here fascinated by Robert's voice.

[@davidmarrazzo774]

I’m starting to re read the books because of this channel. It’s been a long time. Thank you for this channel 🙏

[@pcastromedina]

This is my absolute favorite topic!

[@matttubenitup]

I wonder if Bran was the whisper of the leaves which Jon heard when he found Ghost? (Or Blood Raven) Also, the passageways through Winterfell are big enough for the Children of the Forest... maybe an old connection?

[@Hochspitz]

I also watched the whole stream later in locked down outer Melbourne. I love all the questions and your answers. I also listen to the well told tale when I can.

[@ddmarsh21]

I have no one else to talk to about ASOIF, so I really cherish your videos. Great work, Robert. You’re a legend.

[@nickschulte3915]

Wow, taking a bold stance there, condemning blood sacrifices in our world. Thought you would stay a-political and avoid hot button topics.

[@korypowell3182]

Is a aacrifice not different to blood rituals ie killing instead of some personal rituals

[@iSlack01]

Thank you Robert! I'll be a patron soon. KZbin has given me so many reasons you not use their venue, that I cant wait to cut them out. Another awesome discussion as per-usual. Can't wait till next week.

[@wyzasukitan]

1:52:07 Howl(and)’s moving castle anyone? 😂

[@tonygabagool]

Fantastic

[@jamiemckenna2254]

Looking fwd to this - 3 hours, you legend! Proving Scholar Wights never tire...😉 thanks Ser Robert @in deep geek for sharing your knowledge with us. 🥂 Cheers.

[@jamiemckenna2254]

As I make my way through this, I am more and more sure that the Old Gods & Weirwoods are close to a Druid belief system. A Nature first practice @in deep geek 🌲 and the OG environmentalists. ✌🏻

[@naomibousson]

The religion of the North strongly reminds me of the Western European Celtic religion. Oaks were considered sacred trees, and in many municipalities one was planted in market squares and major intersections. People gathered in front of the tree, not only for religious rituals, but also for marriages and justice. These traditions continued long after the Church was established in our region, and of course the priests were not happy about that. Many of these oaks have been cut down and replaced with statues or chapels of the Virgin Mary. There are quite a few folk songs and stories about priests who failed to destroy the trees. The trees that they did leave were renamed "Maria trees" and were 'decorated' with a statue of Mary or a box with a window was nailed to the tree with an image of the Virgin Mary. The most extreme example of this is Chêne Chapelle in France. This oak tree has been converted into not one, but two chapels. It's really crazy! The second chapel is in the crown (or what's left of it) and you have to take a spiral staircase up to the top of the tree to reach it. It looks like a set piece from a Tim Burton movie.

[@WildeMermaid]

Exactly, I agree.

[@bearislandjosh5279]

I missed this at the time, so I'm glad to be able to listen now. Excellent stream.

[@robbypodobinski824]

Love your in-depth analysis of asoiaf and tlotr

[@daemoniiiblackfyre5296]

You're a legend Robert thanks for everything.

[@michaelshelton5488]

So, what you're saying, is that we will never find out what King Bran's tax policy is? 🤣

[@averongodoffire8098]

Now knowing we will likely not get 4-5 pages of Martin explaining the logistical details of Bran’s tax policy are is truly heartbreaking I am immeasurably disappointed, and my day is ruined.

[@toshiroyamada2443]

​@@averongodoffire8098 its coming its coming

[@moroteseoinage]

Flat tax. Tax credits for job creation. Prosperity trickles down.

[@LordOsirus7]

Think of all these videos you upload as memories of the trees. Each channel is its own tree with its own memories. You can go back in time and see them. When a channel is deleted, the tree is cut down, and those memories are lost. But some trees remember, maybe not exactly the same thing, but the memories might still be there.

[@isabeltorlan337]

Thank you for always delivering the most interesting, deep, and intelligent videos of all the youtube realm. All hail

[@JoniukasVader]

In Deep!

[@ruigerd]

2:55 to the second! Thank you for accommodating to the ocd's among us Robert

[@danjordan1]

Get Deep!!!

[@moiraferreira]

Insightful

[@camcamscrashcourses6223]

Bran and Brynden are just the most powerful left or only ones left. Robert thank you.Your the best. I see you punting the Cam.Cheers mate!

[@PrecariousPorcupine]

Would definitely love to hear more about the religion of the old gods. What are these traditions?

[@camcamscrashcourses6223]

Hi Robert! Thanks for the content. Hail the Old God's! Hail Odin, far wanderer!

[@arcanics1971]

Chrissy of Oldstones, your presence was missed!

[@doktorcool3740]

3 hours!!! :-O

[@ghasisin]

Hello, I am from iran and i follow you in youtube. Your videos are excellent. I have a question. What do you think about bones of ned stark. We know they did not receive to winterfell. Is it important? Would you please answer thanks a lot : leila

[@geoninja3631]

this is fun ty❤‍🔥

[@commietrucker4664]

I was just wondering about the Blackwood’s wierwood tree! Supes!

[@xxfaerietalesxx]

there is always a lot of focus on hostages and their significance; i was wondering if maybe a Stark secret is that they made a pact with the others that included the Stark bones being the hostages that the Others kept. The bones would come back to fight for the dead.

[@daviddynmo4865]

Is it possible that there is no night king, and the wights are controlled by the weirwoods or the children of the forest? Also who was the three eyed raven before bloodraven? Who trained him?

[@jamesnave1249]

I wonder what will happen to wargs at the end of the books? Will they become more known and accepted by the people? Would personally love it if some nirthern lords end up recruiting warga as a form of elite guard

[@cingvaldson]

Thanks, Robert! 😎 As always, a little fun and a little informative. Cheers 🍻

[@dreamzplayern1684]

Nice pfp

[@judithbradford9130]

the Seven can very easily be parsed as the gods of culture-- human life organizing itself into families and communities that transcend individual survival by shaping individuals as receivers and transmitters of heritage.

[@camcamscrashcourses6223]

Boiling everything down to 3 types of magic and the 3 forks of the Trident seems a little simplistic

[@Michael-eq8th]

One possible reason for the abrupt shift of the first men is that one of them became a greenseer and changed the first men’s minds.

[@judithbradford9130]

The recent research on telomeres relating cancerous growth with the mechanisms of senescence and death by old age is kind of fascinating when you map it against the idea of dragons and weirwoods as forms of life that never die unless they are killed. The weirwood network as a sort of uber-consciousness fusing the awareness of all life forms is also very interesting if you think of it in terms of iterative emergence: matter/energy gives rise to life's emergence over time, then consciousness emerges from sufficiently sophisticated life (organizing itself into societies through evolutionary mechanisms). What emerges next, when consciousness within culture (socially organized life) becomes dense and complex enough to support another iteration, existence fecund with something entirely new? I've been curious for years about the "cold" pole of the fire/ice dichotomy and specifically Maester Aemon's remark about how cold preserves-- considering that the magic of the children of he forest hinges on preservation of consciousness and memory participating in weirwood godhead. Skinchanging preserves individual consciousness past the death of the individual, but cannot sustain itself eternally as distinct from the consciousness of the bodies it takes over; when greenseers go into the trees, they become participants in a collectivity sustained by the whole undying web of the tree-roots. Trees feed through both roots and leaves absorbing nutrients and sunlight, but the sacrifices of blood to the weirwoods probably is meant to provide whatever magical capacity that makes them capable of supporting that eternal consciousness. It makes perfect sense that the children's understanding of ice-magic as preservation would enable them to invent white walkers out of men-- it balances nicely with the notion of Valyrian bloodmagic focusing on fire and genetics (the code of life) to produce men capable of bonding with dragons. Dragons are said, many times, to be fire made flesh, dead flesh, the remains left behind after life is gone, is vulnerable to the control of whatever essence of cold/preservation dwells in Always Winter as dragons emerged from the Fourteen Flames.

[@corbinskywalker]

GRRM PLANNED IT ALL

[@bloop5337]

interesting that the tully colouring is similar to that of a weirwood; pale white skin (trunk & bark) with red hair (leaves). and like how bran’s mentor, blood raven, is the weirwood colours due to his albinism, bran is also because of the tully’s (and more likely the apparently very creepy, and definitely mysterious whent family). jon is surrounded by weirwoods figuratively south of the wall with his step-mother/aunt and 4/5 half-sibling/cousins and literally north of the wall with the weirwood grove. jon’s lover is also a red head weirwood type lol wherever he goes he’s haunted by gingers and the weirwood network calling him.

[@Levacque]

18:45 the weirwoods reflect the atmosphere of the place they reside. Compare Riverrun, Winterfell, Harrenhal, and Whitetree in the north - respectively, the expressions are calm and almost kindly, stern and wise, filled with anguish or rage, and angry and consumptive with its gaping mouth. 55:00 Dunk and Egg cross the God's Eye on a ferry and don't seem to catch a glimpse of the Isle, so the lake is significantly large enough to allow people to cross what would seem to be the centre of the lake without ever coming close to the island. Yes, Dunk isn't very observant of the natural world, but a legendary island might be worth noticing.

[@tonygabagool]

Why couldn’t blood ravens ride down it and link up there. Surely there would be benefits

[@charleslefebvre5515]

Awesome video. Have you seen the video from alabastur about the possibility that it was the andals set off the long night?

[@SolaGratia.]

So I had wondered about Euron. He said he had a dream he could fly. Does this mean he did fly in his dream but Bloodraven had already realized he was a bad seed and abandoned him? Probably not, but I just wondered.

[@tyemagee1573]

Roberts talked about this before, he speculates that the lack of weirwoods on the Iron Islands might mean bloodraven was unable go get in touch

[@SolaGratia.]

@@tyemagee1573 Thanks!

[@saelind73]

You mean, you don't think George will tell us what Bran's tax policy will be, after the coronation? Well, damn!

[@MeeraReads]

1:03:15 so crazy I’m just catching this. I just posted a theory about the pact 😅

[@zackaryboulanger6595]

Probably one of my favorite ASOIAF channels. Thanks for all the great content

[@mirarstudios]

Which others ?

[@zackaryboulanger6595]

@@mirarstudios I also like Disputed Lands, Lucifer means lightbringer, gray area, and Joe magician

[@feddy11100]

Reminder: did you ever answer Kelly's question?

[@deonjames1041]

Epic!

[@Djynni]

In the show, Bran says he "became" the 3 Eyed Raven which made it seem like the primary greenseer is always the 3 Eyed Raven - like it's a title.

[@roebuddy01]

As Chrissy of Oldstones once said... It was just a matter of time before the chat started talking about food 😅

[@joaosilva4270]

Thank you! You force me to watch LOR xD

[@youngoutlaw5150]

I always saw old gods religion as ancestor worship

[@camcamscrashcourses6223]

I know they're different,but Odin is a jealous God,and tricky as Loki, so I tread lightly

[@michaelshelton5488]

I love Neil Gaiman's version of Odin in American Gods 🤘

[@toshiroyamada2443]

Obviously qbit late to ask buy have you done audiobook narration for this book series ?

[@SHARKVADERS]

IDG!!!

[@TobeWilsonNetwork]

*”…and all the rest” intensifies*

[@joanenright3867]

The First worshipped was Elen , The Lady of the Wild Ways - The Goddess of Nature.

[@camcamscrashcourses6223]

In ASOIAF?? Or Bible (Edith,Adam's 1st wife) or another tradition like Gaia the earth mother/goddess?

[@camcamscrashcourses6223]

Taoism seems the best modern comparison.

[@babybundon]

Are you a teacher in real life? A professor probably your so smart. I’m like blown away 😎

[@youngoutlaw5150]

If any of you have watch attack on Titan anime do you believe that Brandon Stark is doing the same thing as Mr. Eager ?

[@Majid_Osman]

I misread the titel as “the weirqoods and the weirdos”

[@Djynni]

Horror Botany: Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

[@thebirdcatcher1]

Around the outside, around the outside...

[@misaghkhosravi4541]

Starks deadwoods

[@Randy.Bobandy]

does this game have ghouls

[@xxberzerkerxx90]

I've always personally thought that George rr martin had built a mythology around north America like Tolkien did for Britain I mean come on the children of the forest,,,native Americans beyond the wall is Canada even look at the geography

[@Willz828]

Are thw weirwolds themselves skonchangers? And that the expressions on the tree changing match the facelesss man, all magic being the same thong

[@bevindennett]

GOT!!!

[@theavidreader922]

❤🍁❤🍁❤

[@SmileHeartXD]

:D

[@kylemiller7562]

You have the patience of an angel when answering these questions