Shamanism may well claim to be the oldest type of spiritual practice still in use among humankind. In order to understand what Hrafnar is trying to do, one needs to know something about Shamanism in general and how it was practiced in the northern lands. The form of divination described above is one of a group of practices referred to as Seidh, which bear a strong resemblance to activities which in other cultures are called Shamanism.
The procedure has undergone many changes during that time, and continues to evolve, but we have now learned enough so that it seems appropriate to share our findings.
In addition to assisting in personal growth, our purpose has been to demonstrate the validity of the shamanic tradition of Northern Europe, and to serve the larger pagan community to which we belong as the Völvas of Scandinavia served their people. The group has worked outdoors in rain or moonlight, in an underground bunker, and in living rooms for groups of forty or more people, or for only two or three. For the past three years, a group called Hrafnar (“the Ravens”) has been performing a reconstruction of the Old Norse seidh ritual as a service to the community. This could be a scene from the world of our ancestors, but in fact the ritual described above took place at a pagan festival in Northern California. And after a moment the seidhkona, her voice harsh as if it comes from a great distance, begins to answer him. Answer the asker ’till all he knows.” says the leader. “Speak now, seeress, ’till said thou hast. What should he do? What fate does the Völva see? He must decide whether to move from his present home or continue where he is. “Is there one here who would ask a question?”Īfter a moment’s hesitation, someone rises. “The gate is passed, the seidhkona waits,” says the woman sitting on the fur-covered stool below the high seat. They are gazing at a tall chair like a throne, but higher and draped with a bearskin, where a veiled figure waits, her body motionless, her face in shadow. As its light grows, it outlines a canvas pavilion and glimmers on the upturned faces of the folk gathered before it. Originally published in Mountain Thunder, Summer, 1993.ĭarkness covers the tents scattered across the drying grass of the festival grounds with a kindly shadow at the far end of the sloping valley, the cliffs are edged by the first silver shimmer of the rising moon.
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