ensom-heks-deactivated20170316 asked:
Dear Fjorn, I don’t know if you have some information about witchcraft but do you have a prayer to the Gods for cleansing a room? if so I’m thrilled to hear about that. Sincerely, Ensome heks
I see that you are a wanderer like me, perhaps, because you are a newcomer in a complex world with much to explore. I am by no means familiar with Wiccan ways, so I am not a preferable source to ask when it comes to spiritual concerns. Though, I never turn away a guest, and so I will at least bring you into my hall and offer you a gift of knowledge.
I want to begin with mentioning that I am far better as an academic than as a spiritual guide. That being said, I hope to not mislead you with any of the information I provide below. Others will surly chime in if I have said something terribly misleading, though, since plenty of people knowledgable in this subject tend to at least track the tags that I have used. Still, I believe you should always do what you personally find suitable and comfortable. History provides a basis to work from, but don’t let it bind you down.
I do not have an exact prayer, unfortunately. Though, I don’t see why you couldn’t be a bit creative on making one yourself, perhaps. From my knowledge on the subject, or at least the advice that I can offer from my perspective (Norse), I would recommend speaking to spirits rather than to gods. Although there are a few gods that could help you with certain aspects of a ritual I know of, such as (but not limited to) Óðinn or Freyja, spirits tend to be the ones that more directly govern regional or local matters. Below is a list of relevant terms and mythological figures that could be of use to you:
- Vættur (Nature Spirit):
- This includes a wide variety of spirit types, such as the álfar (elves) and landvættir (land nature spirits). The latter, for example, were very important, and the people of the country depended on them for welfare and support (Hreisson, 413).
- Dísir (Disir):
- These are high-ranking females guardian spirits that “watched over farms, families, and occasionally individuals” (Hreinsson, 407). They are like minor, local deities. A sacrifice is made to them every year during Veturnætur (mid-October).
- Fylgja (Fetch):
- These are similar to the Dísir, but are personal spirits “which were closely attached to families and individuals, and often symbolized the fate that people were born with” (Hreisson, 408). Once they appear to an individual, it usually means certain doom. They also can often appear in various forms, such as animals.
- Draugar, Afturgöngur, Haugbúar (Ghosts/Spirits):
- Although ghostly, these were considered corporeal, meaning they had physical bodies and could thus integrate physically with the world. This is what fueled the traditions of equipping a dead body with grave goods, for the body would live again and need those items. Various measures were taken to make sure these spirits were kept happy so that they would not do any harm to the living (Hreinsson, 409).
- Seiður (Magic Rite):
- The exact nature of this is obscure, but we know that it had two main purposes: to influence people or the elements, or to find out about the future. It was also mostly practiced by women, though men, including Óðinn, did as well (but it would have been considered ‘effeminate’) (Hreinsson, 412).
- Seiðmaður (Magician):
- Literally means “a man who practices seiður” (Hreinsson, 413). Of course, the word maður does not only apply to men.
- Völva (Seeress):
- These were essentially the female equivalents of seiðmaður, although it should be the other way around, since seiður (the activity) was originally a female one. These women typically gained knowledge of the future and could gather information from sitting outside through the night on graves, crossroads, or other powerful natural sites (Hreisson, 415).
You can find a bit more information from the following post, but it is not nearly as cohesive as it needs to be. Still, I shall be updating that post over time, so keep your eye out.
Víkingabók Database Project: A Short Jól-and-Related Reading List.
Now that you know what all of that is, I want to bring up an example of a seiður that I know of, which is from chapter 4 of Eiríks saga rauða (Erik the Red’s Saga). Although we do not know much about this particular practice, this should give you a basis to work off of, because I do not see any reason to restrict your personal, spiritual practices to some historical code or standard (because this is but a sliver of a complex reality that we hardly have any resources for). (Any […] just means I skipped a few sentences):
In the district there lived a woman name Thorbjorg, a völva who was called the “little prophetess.” She was one of ten sisters, all of whom had the gift of prophecy, and was the only one pf them still alive.
[…]
When she arrived one evening, along with the man who had been sent to fetch her, she was wearing a black mantle with a strap, which was adorned with precious stones right down to the hem. About her neck she wore a string of glass beads and on her head a hood of black lambskin lined with white catkin. She bore a staff with a knob at the top, adorned with brass set with stones on top. About her she had a linked charm belt with a large purse. In it she kept the chairs which she needed for he predictions. She wore calfskin boots lined with fur with long, sturdy laces and large pewter knobs on the ends. On her hands she wore gloves of catkin, white and line with fur.
When she entered, everyone was supposed to offer her respectful greetings, and she responded according to how the person appealed to her.
[…]
Late the following day she was provided with the things she required to carry out her seiður. She asked for a woman who knew the chants required for carrying out seiður, which are called varðlokkur (ward songs). But such women were not to be found. Then the people of the household were asked if there was anyone with such knowledge.
Gudrid answered, “I have neither magical powers nor the gift of prophecy, but in Iceland my foster-mother Halides taught me chants she called varðlokkur.”
[…]
Thorkel then urged Gudrid, who said she would do as he wished. The women formed a warding ring around the platform raised for sorcery, with Thorbjorg perched atop it. Gudrid spoke the chant so well and so beautifully that people there said they had never heard anyone recite in a fairer voice.
The völva thanked her for her chant. She said many spirits had been attracted who thought the chant fair to hear – “though earlier they wished to turn their backs on us and refused to do our bidding. Many things are now clear to me which were earlier concealed from both me and others.” (2.)
I have given you the information that I know, which, I am sad to say, is not very much in this case. I have merely provided you some raw material, but it is up to you, and perhaps to those who see this and reach out to you, to bring it all together in a way that is appropriate for your needs. Once more, I dod not think you need to bind yourself too this information, rather you can choose to use it as a base for construction your own rituals. I do hope that I have done a fair job at passing on some advice, and I truly hope that I have not presented any material that would mislead you (or worse, misrepresent any of the things mentioned above).
Anyway, I wish you the best of luck on the rest of your wandering, my friend. I am sure that you will find your way to a hall you may call home eventually, perhaps after a few more stops and with the advice of a few more gracious hosts.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Viðar Hreinsson, Robert Cook, Terry Gunnell, Keneva Kunz, and Bernard Scudder ed., The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, vol. 5. (Reykjavík: Leifur Eiríksson Publishing, 1997), 407-417.
2. Keneva Kunz trans., Eiríks saga rauða, in The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, vol. 1., Viðar Hreinsson, Robert Cook, Terry Gunnell, Keneva Kunz, and Bernard Scudder ed. (Reykjavík: Leifur Eiríksson Publishing, 1997), 5-6. You can also read this saga for free on the Icelandic Saga Database.
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