©2013 Rodney Cox
This information comes from an extensive trance journey work where I visited Odin and Freyja and asked Them about magical theory. A lot of this information is rather geared toward being used with my Rún Valdr system, but can be used outside of that system as well.
First let us define what “magic” means. Aleister Crowley’s definition seems to be popular and states that magic (or magick) is “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.” This is a good definition and many authors of magic use it. This then leads to discussions of the Will, what it is and how to apply it towards magic. Essentially the Will is the force behind your magic. It is the vehicle for the magical act. Crowley liked to define the Will as an aspect of one’s Higher Self and all acts of magic should be used to a greater understanding of this Higher Self. Crowley, of course, used magic for plenty of practical goals, so don’t be concerned with that.
Odin’s definition of magic is “Interfacing with the forces of Nature and/or the mechanisms of the Universe to manifest a desire or goal into the realm of Midgard, or elsewhere.” This definition places less importance on the individual Will, but instead focus on working with the existing meta-systems to get the work done. One thing that Odin and Freyja mentioned was the importance of gaining authority in order to make the change. In this case authority is having the right or dominion over something. Thus, to work magic you would need to gain authority, even if it’s temporary, over something in order to make the changes you need.
To use an example, if I wanted plumbing done in my house I could call a plumber. The plumber has the proper training and has authority over plumbing issues and I would, in this case, be borrowing the plumber’s authority for awhile (Which is kind of like Theurgy). I could learn to do plumbing myself and thus gain my own authority (Thaumaturgy). However, if I wanted to make changes to plumbing techniques for all of the United States of America, or to change the type of materials used, I would need to be able to influence either a large plumbing union or the plumbing trade commission (or some similar organization) for the country. Otherwise a single individual could not hope to change how every plumber in the country does things. This is the challenge of working magic. To gain the correct amount of authority so that the changes you make actually are taken seriously.
Traditional magic perhaps relies on the Neo-Theosophical idea that reality is made up of several planes of existence, each eventually leading to manifestation in the physical plane. This is the foundation of creative visualization and a majority of modern magic. Even the Kabbalah starts with Kether (nothingness or totality of everything) moving down the Tree of Life until you come to the physical world, thus creating a map of manifestation or creation. The idea is that anything physical first existed in the causal plane, then the mental plane, then the astral plane, to finally it is manifested in the physical (the number of planes and how they are named seems to vary depending on what source you use). However that idea needs enough energy to carry it through the manifestation process. In a way, having enough energy to carry through to the next lower plane is a form of authority. The idea needs to be potent enough to manifest.
Common day dreams are the stuff of the mental and astral planes. However, these idle thoughts have little energy to actually manifest. With creative visualization or other magical practices where you consistently and repetitively visualize your goal, you are empowering your thoughts so that they have weight, gravity, density (authority), what have you, to actually be manifested. You could say that there is a current towards manifestation so that any thought with enough energy will eventually manifest. This creates a sort of consensual reality where a lot of people expecting something will get it, as all that energy is being focused on one thing. It also explains why ideas before their time fail.
Look at e-readers. Sony had electronic book readers long before Amazon came out with the Kindle. However the time was ripe when the Kindle hit the market and the whole idea took off to the point where Amazon says they sell more electronic books than physical ones and large book stores like Borders closed because they could not adapt to the new electronic market.
Odin stated that these different levels of reality are more interconnected than I had thought. For example, I could think about a sculpture that I may want to create. I could see it in my mind, plan it out, and go through the motions of sculpting it. This would follow the traditional idea that things manifest from the mental plane down. However, Odin said that one could just start slapping clay together and see what kind of sculpture you get. You could create a wonderful sculpture without thinking about it first. So the linear descent of idea into physical manifestation is not always that linear.
To create change magically sometimes half the battle is making sure you are not swimming against the tide. You could be an excellent swimmer, but won’t make much headway if the tide is against you. Knowing the direction of the tide first is a great benefit. If you could change the tide, that would give you the greatest advantage. In my mind, gaining the proper authority over something can allow you to change the tide. The rest after that is easy.
Well if we look at orlog, or the Norse idea of fate, we can see the ancient Norse equivalent of a consensual reality. Orlog is fate in that it is the momentum of everyone’s past actions upon the moment, this weight and momentum is more or less headed in a certain way. In other words, it has force and a vector. While you can change orlog, it is tough because it has all that weight behind it. I look at orlog as everyones’ wills trying to find manifestation. The world you see around you is the result of this combined effort. It is like a tide of human will. Orlog can be changed, even drastically, however, you need the proper authority in order to make those changes. And because everyone is trying to manifest things you may need a greater authority to fight against the chaos.
Instead of a system where manifestation flows from the causal plane to the mental plane, to the astral plane, to the physical plane, Odin and Freyja talked about how the other realms, Upper and Under act as places where authority is derived. The Gods can do a lot, however there are a lot of Gods and they have their own consensual reality to deal with. There are many Gods of the air who deal with weather, but They won’t interfere with each other, so they limit what they can or will do directly.
So human magicians need to find authority to do their work. There are three ways to gain authority.
1. Ask for it.
2. Work for it, gaining skills, put energy into it.
3. Gain enough understanding/sympathy/resonance with an area to gain authority.
Asking for authority would come from the Gods and may be temporary, at least as long as the magical work you are doing needs to last. Of course the mere act of asking some other being to do the work is borrowing their authority in the matter, or get them to do the work. Whether you are praying for a specific result or directly asking for help with your magic from a Deity it would all fit under asking for authority. This is also what I consider to be Theurgy. Getting the Gods to do the work for you.
Most shamanic work also deals with meeting various entities to gain their help to do things, thus sharing in that being’s authority. If you want to change the weather, make friends with Gods or other entities that are responsible for weather change and ask/gain authority to do the same.
The second way would, perhaps, be more applicable to mundane activities. If I want to be a plumber, I need to go to school for plumbing, learn the trade, become an apprentice, etc. Or if I want to be a great athlete, I would need to practice every day, study everything about my chosen sport, etc. However, creative visualization uses the same techniques. By constantly imagining the goal as already manifested you are empowering that image with energy so that it will eventually manifest. While a lot of magic is fire and forget, and actually demands that you forget about the working after it’s done, creative visualization demands a lot of work and focus on the goal. I would also place psychic phenomenon in this category. Psychic abilities are skills and need work to improve and expand.
The third type of merging or gaining resonance is similar to the second method, but could possibly take longer. You are essentially attuning yourself to area of influence so much that you are seen as a key part of that area so that when you make changes it is accepted naturally. Nikola Tesla, the inventor of AC electricity dealt with resonance later in his life and there are stories of his experiments shaking the building he was living in. He reportedly said that if he could find the resonance of the planet he could crack it open. Thus resonance can be a tool to make changes or to gain authority.
This is the method used mostly be ceremonial magicians who vibrate various names of God and enflame themselves with prayer in order to gain enough of God’s authority to do what they want. Traditional magical work with spirits, sometimes called Spirit Arte is famous for this kind of authority. By enflaming themselves with prayer the magician would gain the necessary authority of God (by associating themselves with Gods might) to command the spirits, demons, or angels to do whatever the magician required. Technically this would be a hybrid of the first and third ways. You are gaining resonance in order to gain help of others and thus make use of their authority to get what you want.
Going back to the weather analogy, if you want to change the weather you could spend time trying to become one with the sky and all the things in it. By identifying with the sky completely you become one with it, or gain resonance with it. Thus when you want to change the weather you merely plug in your wish and the sky accepts the change because it has come to accept you as being a part of it. I came up with an elemental magical model based on this. You would fill yourself with one of the four classic elements (earth, fire, air or water) and use that energy to accomplish a goal. The idea was that you were not only filled with it, but you were in contact with the infinite element allowing it to manifest within you. You became infinite earth, or fire, etc.
Looking back, I also cured myself of my migraines by a similar method. I would visualize myself as being filled with pink light, the color of bubble gum or rose quartz. This would lessen the severity of the migraine and over time would prevent them, and finally I stopped getting them altogether.
I suppose that creative visualization would overlap with this as well. You are spending so much time attuning with the final result that you gain authority to manifest it.
On a quicker note, a lot of kitchen magic, or natural magic makes use of this kind of authority. This springs from magical laws of sympathy. Putting energy into a green candle, which represents wealth will then bring wealth when lit. I will go more into how the various magical laws are connected to the idea of authority and resonance a bit later.
Once you have your magical authority sorted out the magical work is then broken down into four steps.
1. Asking/gaining authority.
2. Merging or gaining resonance with area to change
3. Make the changes
4. Finishing up.
In step one you would ask for authority for the magical working. Or you would have gained the authority in some way. If doing a more complete or full ritual you could make offerings to whatever Deity you are getting help from at this point.
In step two you would spend time attuning yourself to the area that you are trying to change. This part is separate from the third method of gaining authority in that instead of trying to gain authority you are trying to create resonance to make the change you want.
Step three is the meat and potatoes of the working. Since you have made a connection in step two you should reach out and feel/see the changes you are making. Kind of like sculpting. Feel the change happening and know that it is changing reality.
Step four is equally as important. You need to finish correctly or your efforts could be in vain. If sticking with Rún Valdr, you would obviously use the sealing symbol, Tunai. I would also recommend stating out loud a definitive statement such as, “By my authority over X, let this be so!”, or “By my authority, I set these changes to be made manifest.”
Rún Valdr also has a new rune that represents authority. This can be used as well.
For gaining authority, you could use the Deity symbol within you and allow the energy to fill you to overflowing. Deity symbols are an idea I got where you visit your Deities and ask Them to give you a symbol representing Their presence. You then use this symbol within yourself to immediately be connected with Them. You can also gain symbols for things like the Universe, or other powers.
There is also a symbol, for gaining resonance with another object, person, or being.
Here is a sample Galdr working using this basic theory.
1) Galdr Ritual Structure..
a) Outdwellers: Standard to get rid of unwanted influences.
b) Earth mother: Manifestation of magical goal
c) Open Portals/Gatekeeper: Whomever you deem appropriate. Gates used as power sources as well as ways to access Kindreds
d) Kindred. Not really that necessary except for protection, if wanted.
e) Deity or Kindred of Focus. Make offering and ask for aid and authority in magical working.
f) Omens can be taken to see if the offerings to gain authority/power have been accepted. If so, continue
g) Doing the working.
i) Reaffirm authority. If necessary use techniques to achieve resonance with source of authority. Here resonance is only to identify with the source of authority in order to gain that authority.
(1) If using Rún Valdr use resonance symbol, Skowron with the authority source. Also Fauwen, a new rune for authority.
(2) If not, picture yourself filled with, or becoming source of authority, until you feel a oneness with that source.
ii) Gaining resonance with target. Trick can be taking an abstract target and working with it. Creating symbols or sigils can be helpful. Here resonance is used to become one with something in order to change it. Fight fire with fire concept.
(1) Again one can use Skowron with Rún Valdr
(2) Or you can fill yourself with the target until you connect and identify with the target.
(3) Once this is achieved you can then visualize the changes you want. See them as already done.
h) Sealing the working. I feel it is important to put a final and proper ending on the work.
i) If using Rún Valdr you can use Tunai, the sealing symbol.
ii) If not you can make a statement such as: “By the authority of (Deity or other source of authority) that I have gained, let this be!
i) Thanking Deity or Kindred of Focus
j) Thank Kindreds (if used)
k) Thanking Gatekeeper/closing gates
l) Thanking Earth mother
m) Thanking Outdwellers
n) End of rite.
o) Variations – Setting up warded area. As a Norse person I would recommend using rune Othala for this.
Thoughts on Seidh Work
I had another conversation with Freyja and Odin about seidh work and trance journey work in general. Seidh work deals with traveling to the other worlds and making contact with various spirits for a variety of purposes. This type of work is the heart and soul of shamanic work of all kinds. Seidh can be seen as Norse shamanism to a great extent.
Either you are trying to gain knowledge, or you are trying to get a spirit to do something for you. Typically the knowledge aspect involves you traveling to a specific location; Helheim, Asgard, or some other place and asking questions of spirits or Deities, and is how I got the information for Rún Valdr from Odin and Freyja. I am also including in seidh work, contacting specific spirits to do magical work for you.
This is similar to grimoiric magic that may be familiar to those with some training in ceremonial magic. This is the kind of magic you see in grimoires such as the Lesser Key of Solomon (also known as the Goetia), or the Greater Key of Solomon, that have great list of demons and angels, each with a description of the spirit, what they do and also what their sigil is. I’m sure ancient seidh workers had friendly spirits that would help them by performing tasks. But from lore this idea is not supported very well.
I was inspired by this new way of doing grimoiric magic by Ian Corrigan’s work with the Court of Brigid, and decided to adapt the practice to the Norse Pantheon. I’ll discuss more about this below.
Traditionally, at least from a Norse lore perspective, a seidh worker would travel to Helheim to speak with the spirits of the dead for information (as seen in the Voluspa), or would attract spirits to the seidh worker where questions would be asked (as used by the seidh woman described in Eirik’s Saga). There are also stories of sorcerers using seidh to harm others which in one story involved them sitting on the victim’s roof chanting songs that ended up killing a boy who was lured out, also by the songs. These techniques (hopefully not the killing parts) can be adapted to a modern scenario, and also can be simplified to some extent by using tools from Rún Valdr.
You are not limited to just traveling to Helheim. You could go to Asgard or Vanaheim to talk with the Deities there. You could go to both Alfheims to gain knowledge of nature and crafting. You could go to Muspelheim, the land of fire, and Niflheim, the land of ice where the two basic forces that created the universe come from. You can even make offerings to Yggdrasil to gain the World Tree as an ally. This is basically what Odin did when He won knowledge of the runes. His offering to Yggdrasil was Himself and, in this case, Odin was granted resonance with Yggdrasil where the knowledge of the runes flowed out and into Him. Yggdrasil, being in contact with all the worlds, kind of acts as a repository for wisdom, like the akashic records.
I asked about gaining authority over the spirits involved. Odin stated that having Himself and Freyja as patrons leaves a mark that grants authority, or a tendency for certain kinds of spirits to be more open or friendly with those having such a patronage. Thus spirits associated with things that Odin and Freyja have authority over; war, abundance, poetry, battle, wisdom, magic (galdr and seidh), sex, as well as raven, wolf, boar and falcon spirits would be more friendly towards you. Basically any Deity that acts as a Patron for a human, will leave this mark that helps smooth the way for the human. Even marks from old Patrons that may not actively be around anymore will still be valid.
Freyja said, “Oh you and your ‘authority,’” in a rather dismissive fashion. She wasn’t very impressed with having authority and her chastisement was directed at Odin as well as to myself. Freyja explained that authority was only important with galdr where you are trying to directly change things. With spirit, or seidh work, less emphasis is placed on authority and more on reciprocity and forging alliances with spirits. It is the spirit who does the work, and they already have the authority. You are just trying to get them to cooperate. This is like my plumbing analogy above where you are borrowing the authority of the plumber by getting them to do the work for you. However, you are not seeking to have authority over the spirit, instead you are building a working relationship with that spirit.
However, both Deities agreed that the magician should have a staff when doing Seidh work. I believe this acts as a symbol of authority. The staff can also be a spear if the magician so chooses.
You gain cooperation by making offerings to the spirits. When making contact with specific spirits who will be doing magical work for you, this amounts to two different things. Making offerings, either physical or energetic and also making a very specific kind of physical offering. Normally in spirit arte, much is made of having a sigil of the spirit to aid in the calling of them to you. This sigil or symbol can be carved into a physical substance (wood, metal, etc). This kind of offering is attractive to spirits as it gives them a greater tie to the physical world. The engraving of the sigil is usually done after the spirit has agreed to work with you. They may require other offerings for the actual magical work.
Regarding offerings, alcohol or food make good offerings, as does incense. When dealing with spirits of the dead, however, the food should not have any salt in it. Spirits of the dead, according to Martin Coleman in his book Communing With The Spirits, are unable to absorb energy from food that contains salt. It is a good idea to ask the spirit, once you have contacted it, what kind of offering they would like in exchange for their work. Don’t be afraid to negotiate with the spirit if it asks for something inappropriate. For example if an abundance spirit asks for a hand full of solid gold coins, feel free to say no, and seek an offering that you could actually make.
You can also offer your own energy. I was told that you could draw energy from your body, this is kind of like the energy used when exercising or while doing physical excursion. I see it as a blue ball of energy that I draw from by chest and then hand to the spirit. This is a general currency type of thing that can be given to any spirit as an offering when negotiating with them. I was told that under no circumstance should this be an offering of parts of your soul. You are basically taking energy from the physical body only. Freyja also mentioned, in regards to offerings, that the energy from orgasms is a particularly good offering to make and is usually very well received.
Getting back to the idea of having a sigil of the spirit to be engraved, there are techniques to create the sigil from the name of the spirit where letters are carefully arranged in a certain pattern and you spell out the name by moving from one letter to the next. The picture you end up with is the sigil. However I like the idea of asking the spirit for the symbol better. It is basically what I did with Odin and Freyja to get the symbols used in Rún Valdr. I would ask them for a symbol that would do X and they gave it to me. Basically after contacting a spirit and it agreeing to work with you, you would ask it for a symbol representing its presence which you can then get engraved on some object.
Freyja also talked about coming up with a sigil to represent yourself and offering this to the spirit as well. This helps create a closer relationship between you and the spirit. To be honest I had never heard of doing this before but it makes sense from a reciprocity/partnership point of view.
When dealing with offerings for spirits where you are visiting a specific place and asking whatever spirits happen to be there for information, more general offerings would be in order. Using Reloxoné to fill an area with energy comes in handy. Or before your travel you could have made a general offering of alcohol or food to the spirits. If you are so inclined you could also use Reloxoné on yourself and then project the energy to the spirit. Dorva is a great symbol for sending energy.
There are groups today that do seidh work. Two of these are Diana Paxson’s group and Katie Gerrard’s group. Diana Paxson has written Taking Up The Runes and Trance-Portation. Taking Up The Runes is highly recommended for the beginner learning about the runes. Trance-Portation is also for beginners in trance journey work and is also highly recommended. Katie Gerrard’s books, Odin’s Gateways is about using the runes for magic and divination and Seidhr: The Gate is Open deals with Seidh work specifically and has good techniques. For those with interest in seidh and trance work I would highly recommend Trance-portation and Seidhr.
A key point that Gerrard makes is raising energy for the spirits to use during the seidh working. Her group uses ecstatic dance, which seems odd to me. With Rún Valdr, you already have tools to easily dump a lot of energy into any area. Simply use Reloxoné to start a conduit of energy. I would recommend this be done, with one end around the energy source and the other end around your whole working area.
A second key point is the use of songs, called vardlokkurs to attract the spirits. Freyja said that this is more important than providing energy, as not a lot of energy is needed to attract spirits, especially since you will be giving offerings to them anyway elsewhere in the rite. The vardlokkurs attract spirits, calling to them.
Freyja endorsed Gerrard’s methods, although said that a substitution for ecstatic dance can be made to provide the energy needed. Again, using Reloxoné to flood the area with energy for the spirits’ use is an easy way to accomplish this.
One surprising thing came from Odin. He said that the runes are spirits and could be treated with in the same way as other spirits. To be honest, I’m not sure how to take this information. I’m at a loss how this would be used or how this could affect how I approach the runes from now on. If the runes are spirits then they seem to be odd spirits. Runes, at least for me, have always seemed fairly mechanical patterns of energy. They each had its function, even though each rune was rather complex and possessed multiple levels of meaning and purpose. But they never seemed to me as being alive.
Even in the sagas, runes are used in a mechanical function. Plug in runes A, B, and C, and get result X, Y, and Z. This mechanical function made them perfect for Rún Valdr. But now they have this whole other dimension to them that I never suspected. I wonder if making offerings to Fehu could be used to increase your prosperity, or Wunjo to increase your joy.
With this new idea, you could do a formal spirit summoning for any of the runes, make your offerings and ask for help with your work. Or just make offerings as part of your regular devotional work. I supposed when dealing with runes as spirits or other abstract things you can ask for them to take human shape to make it easier for you to interact with them.
It does bring up other possibilities, such as working with the spirit of Yggdrasil itself, or of the Universe. Or other seemingly abstract ideas like Love.
I would like to look at the basic formulas for the different types of spirit work and then go into more details of the actual practice and techniques to be used as well as tips I received from Odin and Freya.
The basic formula for the information gathering seidh work is either go into a trance and journey to a location where spirit are, usually Helheim. Once there, questioners ask questions of the seer and she/he gets the answers and responds to the person. Or you attract the spirits to you and listen to their answers in response to the questions from the audience. I would make offerings before the trance work. Or you could make offerings of your own energy when you meet with the spirits, use Reloxoné, etc.
The traditional formula for spirit magic is to summon a spirit to you, usually inside a magical circle, where you bargain/threaten the spirit into doing your bidding. This method actually involved a lot of attempts to gain authority over the spirit to force it to do what you want. In ADF, attempts have been made to use the ADF core order of ritual and the model of reciprocity to make contact with spirits in a more friendly and hospitable way. This method works very well and follows Freyja’s model of reciprocity. I myself have done a ritual at a festival to summon spirits of the Goddess Sif to find those willing to act as magical allies. Overall the ritual was a great success and a number of spirits were contacted.
Regarding specific techniques for trance work, Freyja mentioned that triggers are important. By triggers, I mean actions that you repeat every time you go into trance that end up acting like triggers to make it easier to enter and exit trance. Diana Paxson talks about this in Trance-portation as well. Triggers are very important, for the practitioner as well as the audience. In the saga of Eirik when the seidh woman showed up. She is described in great detail as to what she is wearing. I would say that her outfit was a trigger for the audience to help put them into a receptive state so as to accept the things she would be telling them during the rite.
One important part of a seidh worker in the ancient Norse world was the high seat. This was literally a chair that sat a lot higher than normal. Think of a lifeguard chair. Being up high was important in general for seidh work, which explains why the sorcerers, discussed earlier, needed to be on the victim’s roof. Getting back to the seidh woman in Eirik’s saga, again, this was a trigger for the practitioner to get her in the proper mind set and also told the audience to expect otherworldly wisdom. Whether or not you want to do this for your own practice is up to you; but it is good to look at the types of triggers that were important to the ancients.
The saga goes on to describe the ritual meal the seer has, the need for the proper songs, etc. All of these were known to both the seer and the audience, and all the different parts would draw both parties deeper and deeper into the whole experience.
You need to establish your own triggers for regular trance work. Freyja suggested that when you are starting your trance, you count to ten. On each count, you see yourself moving away from your body and into the other world. On the count of ten you visualize yourself surrounded and filled by a magical fire that transports you to a location in the other world. On the return, count to ten again, but this time take a step backwards towards your body.
An inner temple (or hall) is an important thing to have, and will be a vital tool, as it becomes a staging area where you always start from. I would recommend that, if you are new to trance journey work, you start here. Even if you are experienced and do not have an inner temple I would encourage you to make one. Think of this space as a metaphorical front porch, a place that acts as a liaison between your mind and the other objective inner worlds that exist all around us. Any time you do a trance journey, you will start from this inner temple. When you first start making your inner temple you will be basically creating a space in your mind. It will be very subjective at first, but as you put energy into it, it will take on a life of its own.
Your inner temple can look like anything. An elaborate temple, a pyramid, a quiet grove of trees in a forest, a high plateau on some other planet, anything you like. Just be aware of what this space is and what it’s for. It should have doors or doorways, or some sort of gate leading into the inner realms. As you progress you may find new doors appearing in your inner temple.
For my trance work, I also have created a bracelet to help with trance induction. This is basically an inexpensive cloth bracelet that is adjustable that I bought from the Oriental Trading Company. I used this for the Sif spirit ritual I did, where I handed them out to people to use during the ritual. I attuned them all with all the symbols having to do with astral projection, meditation, and protection. Not only is the energy the bracelet putting out designed to help with trance journeys, but by putting it on every time I go into trance it acts as a trigger.
Having guides can be a great benefit when on a trance journey. Shamans all over the world have guides to help them travel the inner worlds. Guides can help smooth the way when you travel or warn you of trouble. I would suggest asking your Deities for a guide and calling on them whenever you leave your inner temple.
Summoning spirits to do work for you is a traditional ceremonial magical idea and has an old and rich history. This kind of magic was very popular in the Middle Ages to the Renaissance periods. Above I mentioned using the ADF core order of ritual in context of making contact with spirits willing to work with me magically. This is actually quite different from the traditional way of dealing with spirits. However, since I am a member of ADF, the newer model fits how I see the world and have come to interact with the Kindred in general. I’ll go over what I did here.
I first came across this process at an ADF Festival. Ian Corrigan did a ritual to the Goddess Brigit in order to gain working spirits to help with magic. He looked at Brigit and the areas She had authority over, namely Smithing, Poetry, and Healing. These then became her Powers, or Queens, each being represented by a spirit, sort of like a vice-president in a corporation in charge of a particular department. Under each Power is a host of smaller spirits whose job is to do the real work. It is these working spirits that the magician wants to make contact with.
During the ritual we, the participants, made contact with a wide variety of spirits who worked for one of the three Powers of Brigit. Key in this contact was their name, what they did and what they wanted as an offering for their services. I was fascinated by this process and thought that I could do the same thing for a Norse Deity. Ian chose Brigit because She has no war-like aspects and could be considered safe when doing a festival public ritual. By the same token I chose Sif to work with for the same reason.
Having chosen Sif, I did some trance work to get Her permission for this working. She was agreeable and said She had five such Powers. Later She said to call them her Chieftains. I looked at the Troth Book, Our Troth, volume 1, History and Lore for more information on Sif, particularly to learn what She had authority over. I read the part about Sif and took notes, writing down each aspect I came across. When I was done and counted them up, I indeed had five. These are Beauty, Abundance, Kinship (particularly through wedlock), Prophesy, and Protection. These basically became their names and I eventually came up with Old Norse equivalent: Friðr, Gnött, Frӕndi, Spá, and Hlif, respectively.
The next step was to meet with each of the Chieftains and gain their permission for the working I had planned. After more trance journeys, I met them and gained their permission, also learning what each wanted for an offering. This was the following: locks of hair for Friðr, coins for Gnött (denomination was not that important, but had to be real currency), bread (especially home made) for Frӕndi, mead for Spá, and rowan wood (touched to the tongue before offering) for Hlif.
After this I had to plan out the ritual. This would follow a full core order of ritual for ADF (Ár nDraíocht Féin). The ritual is based on reciprocity in that offerings are made and then blessings are given in return from the Kindred (Ancestors, Nature Spirits, and the Gods)
Rituals usually start out with some offering to the Outdwellers, those beings who are antagonistic to our Gods and to humans. In a Norse perspective this would be the Jotuns, or Giants. The offerings are made so that they will leave you in peace. Then offerings are made to the Earth Mother, and the spirits of bardic inspiration. Then the Portals are opened. This is a key point in ADF rituals in that the Well, the Fire, and the Tree become portals that reach to the other worlds so that the interaction between these realms and Midgard are strengthened. A gatekeeper Deity is often used to help open these Gates and to watch over them. Then offerings are made to the three Kindred and finally to the Deity of the Occasion, the Deity that is the focus of the ritual. After all the offerings have been made an omen is taken to determine if the offerings have been accepted or what blessings we can expect in return. This is the part of the ritual where actual dialogue (albeit indirect) can be gained between those present and the Kindred. If the offerings have been accepted then the return blessings are prepared, blessed and passed out to the participants. Then we thank everyone involved in reverse order, including closing the Gates.
I find it to be a very powerful devotional rite and it worked well when used in the working with Sif and Her spirits. I had bought a prodigious amount of alcohol for offerings and made the magical bracelets for everyone to use.
For the ritual I made offerings to the Jotuns for the Outdwellers, Jorð for the Earth Mother, Bragi for bardic inspiration, used Thor as the Gatekeeper, and made offerings to the Kindred to gain Their help in protection for the rite. Sif got a couple of offerings and each of the Chieftains as well. The working spirits got a bottle of single malt scotch. I also made sure to use vardlokkur to attract the spirits.
This ritual required the participants to go into a trance journey state to interact with the spirits summoned and this was a tricky part. But in steps I led them further and further along the path so I feel that when the time came for the actual trance work they were prepared.
After all the offerings were made, the vardlokkurs sung, the participants were in trance journey mode, I asked the spirits assembled to only stay if they were willing to work with us in safety and frith. I asked this three times and there were spirits that left. Those that remained were invited to interact with the participants.
Contact was made with sixteen spirits from all the Chieftains except Friðr. In this case, I asked the participants to ask for their name, what they did, what offering they wanted and what their symbol was.
If you are interested in doing this with your own Deity, and do not want to bother with a big festival ritual, I recommend the following suggestions. First do trance journey work to visit your Deity and see if They are willing to help you in this fashion. After doing research to find out exactly what Their Chieftains will be, have your Deity make the appropriate introductions, again as part of trance journey work. Then you can work with each Chieftain asking for introductions to individual spirits, either depending on what you want or up to the whim of the Chieftain. When talking with the individual spirit, get their name, what they do, and what they want in return for their work. If you can, get their symbol.
The next step after identifying a spirit you want to work with is to come up with some ritual to actually work with them. I decided that a modified ADF core order of ritual would work. You would leave out a lot, sticking with the very basics. It would require trance journey work in the middle of it, so having an inner temple would be crucial. Having a spirit manifest physically in the physical world is not very realistic, despite the lore. However, summoning them to your inner temple solves this problem. Either that or you do lots of work to see and hear spirits from the physical, waking world. I find using an inner temple and a trance journey work to be the easiest solution.
The outline is based on a Norse cultural perspective, but it can be modified to fit your own needs.
Outdwellers: The mighty Jotunkind
Earth mother: Jorð
Open Portals/Gatekeeper: Whomever you deem appropriate.
Deity offering. Make offering and ask for aid and authority in magical working.
Chieftain in question offering. Make offering and ask for aid and authority in magical working.
Worker spirit in question offering. Make offering that they prefer, asking that they appear when summoned.
Trance induction to inner temple (this section will be done during a trance journey)
Summoning of spirit (use of symbol as a focus, calling by the authority of Deity and the specific Chieftain)
Interaction with spirit (asking for task to be done, settling on final price, establishing time frame, etc.)
License to depart and thanks to the worker spirit
Come out of trance to finish rite.
Thanking the specific spirit
Thanking Chieftain
Thanking Deity
Thanking Gatekeeper/closing gates
Thanking Earth mother
Thanking Outdwellers
End of rite.
Again, the real key is the trance journey work with the other parts of the ritual acting as a framework for the trance work and as a place to make physical offerings to prepare for the meeting and conversation with the spirit.
Your inner temple should have an appropriate place set up, complete with a space for the spirit to arrive and depart. Depending on your needs, this summoning place may be in a separate area from your normal space.
After the spirit has done the work you have requested you can do another ritual to thank it and to perhaps make more offerings. This follow up is important as it helps to further establish and to grow your relationship with the spirit you are working with.
Here’s a basic ritual outline for both the kind of working where you are traveling to meet the spirits, or if you are attracting them to you.
1) Seidh Working format – Traveling version
a) Getting to the home base.
i) Find a trigger that is used every time before you enter trance and your home base.
b) Once in the home base, you can then find doorways that lead elsewhere, to other realms.
c) Call upon one’s Guide
d) Travel to your destination.
e) Meet with whom you are going to see.
f) Travel back to your home base following the same route you took. Avoid “teleporting” back.
g) Once back at your home base, make transition back to physical self. Again using the same trigger each time.
h) Take time to ground. Symbol Jutenhowr excellent for grounding.
i) Journaling. Write down what you experienced and any information you received.
2) Seidh Working format – Attracting spirits version
a) You can follow basic ritual format from Galdr, except you will be making offerings to specific spirits to come to you.
i) After offerings to spirit you may take omens to see if they are willing to continue. If so, then enter trance to your home base. Home base should have summoning area where you can then summon the spirit to negotiate work.
ii) When done, exit trance state and do closing for ritual as normal.
b) Provide energy for spirits, by whatever method works best for you.
c) Vardlokkurs – Spirit songs are important to attract the spirits. You may work with specific spirits to find specific songs that they like.
d) Sigils/symbols of spirits. Used to make contact with spirits easier.
Ethical Considerations When Doing Magic
If you want something to eat, you may get in your car and drive to a grocery store or a restaurant. We all do what we can to influence the world in ways that we want, whether to gain what we want or to avoid things we don’t want. We can use skills to dig a hole, build a house, fix a car, create a landscape painting, do the dishes, or get a job. Magic is a tool, much like any other skill you possess. Is there any difference ethically whether you use magic to do something or use mundane means?
When reading books on the occult in my youth, they spoke a great deal of not using magic to harm others or to allow harm to come to others from the result of doing magic. One book on teleportation even went to far as to say that after you got to your destination you should not disturb anything, even picking up a rock, as you didn’t have the right to change anything. This seems needlessly and overly liberal. I mean if I were to walk to the same location and pick up a rock to take home no one would think twice about it. But because I’m using “magic”, i.e. teleportation, suddenly I don’t have the right to impose my will on a rock? I’m not buying it. We impose our will on the physical world on a daily basis. From driving to work to eating food to trying to convince your boss to extend the deadline of your project. As physical beings, we have no choice but to impose our will upon the world. There are, however, lots of rules, like not stealing, or killing others. Traffic lights need to be obeyed, etc. Same with magic.
Like I said, magic is a tool much like any other skill or tool you possess. Why not use it to get what you need or want? I could argue that those who are inherently successful are subconsciously using principles of magic to get what they want. In the above example about driving to the grocery store in a car to get food. Your car is a valuable tool. It can take you places. It can also be used to hit people in an attempt to harm them. Does this make a motor vehicle intrinsically bad because it can be used to harm? I would argue no, just like a kitchen knife that one might use to chop up vegetables for a soup can also be used to stab someone. Neither the car nor the knife, or even a gun by itself, is intrinsically evil or harmful. They are just tools. Magic is the same and I don’t really make a distinction between using magic and any other tool. I could use magic to heal someone with an infection, or just give the person some anti-biotics. I could use magic to harm someone or I could walk up and hit them with a baseball bat. The tool I use makes no difference, only the result I create.
However, how tools are used determines if the will you are imposing on the world is good or bad. There are ethical considerations in how you use the available tools. Knowledge and a wide variety of tools allow you to do more. As Odin teaches, knowledge is power and power is the ability to do work. The more you know, the more you can do. Magic is simply more tools we can use to create an environment we want.
I’m firmly in the camp that feels the Gods don’t do too much in the physical world. If They do, They would interfere too much with our free will. This explains why bad things happen even though the Gods love us. Humans have the capability to do both good or evil. The choice is ours. It is up to us to learn to live together. The Gods can guide us, teach us and love us, but They can’t live our lives for us, just like parents can’t, ultimately, live the lives of their children.
This leaves us with the freedom to do as we please (within reason) because the Gods don’t have some plan that They are forcing us to live by. Christians are big on saying that God has a plan for us and expects Him to pretty much run their lives for them. Then they get upset when they read about some child being killed by a psycho killer. The question as to why God allows evil to exist is pretty much the core of any Christian who doubts their religion. They fail to realize that any God will not intervene too much for fear of abrogating free will. I’m sure They will nudge things if they can find plausible deniability, but directly intervene? I find this increasingly hard to believe. Although I will admit that if we invite the Gods into our lives, we give permission for a certain amount of interference from Them. I tend to take the Norse view that this world is ours to shape as we see fit. The meaning of life is to live this life as fully as possible.
What does this all have to do with magic? Well even though the Gods may not (or will not) directly intervene in the mortal realm, we are born with abilities beyond the physical that can be used to get things done. I would not worry about upsetting some grand divine plan by using magic, no more than one would worry about dismantling some cosmic plan by driving faster than the speed limit dictates because you are running late.
However since magic can affect things on a large scale (weather working comes to mind) it is always good to look to see what the outcomes may be of our magical working. The concern is not so much will it succeed or not, because if you are going to bother to use magic you need to believe and accept that it will work or you shouldn’t bother. However, if we push things this way, will we be screwing ourselves down the road in a way we hadn’t anticipated? Being human our view is much more limited than that of the Gods. Gods can read the patterns of our actions and have a pretty good idea as to how things will turn out. Not being Gods it behooves us to try to learn how the outcome of our magical practice has in the long run. Basically we need to know if our magical working will cause any harm. If not, great. If so, then we need to know how and whether this is acceptable.
Before you condemn me as a heartless monster it should be reminded that in 2010 there were 32,885 automobile related deaths in the United States. While this is a tiny fraction of the population, it is the size of a small town. Losing a small town a year is a price we pay for the convenience of using automobiles. This seems to be an acceptable loss or drastic steps would be taken to eliminate automobile related deaths which would most likely make driving a car very problematic compared to the relative freedom we have now (even with all the rules we are to follow).
I am not condoning an attitude that we can do whatever we want and to hell with the consequences, but some harm is more acceptable than others. As humans, our bodies kill billions of bacteria every day. Is this violence good? Necessary? I would say yes. Demolition of old buildings to make way for new ones is good, unless you don’t make sure all the people are out of the building first, or if you don’t bother to protect the area surrounding the building and just plant the explosive willy nilly. The first step is determining how the outcome of your magical working will affect things. Divination is a good way to do this.
I would of course suggest that the runes be used in this endeavor. A simple three rune reading can be done asking the question, “what will be the final outcome of my magical work to do X?” or “What will be the outcome if I use magic to do X?” As Donald Michael Kraig says in his book, Modern Magick when talking about doing tarot readings to determine the outcome of a magical working, “Do not ask ‘Should I do such-and such?’ as this puts the responsibility for your actions on the cards rather than on you. You should be seeking advice, not asking a pseudo-mommy for instructions.”
I agree with this. Asking whether or not you should do something should be determined much earlier. To use an analogy, you are not asking if you should go to restaurant Y or restaurant X, you are asking the outcome if you take route Z to get to the restaurant that you have already chosen. Will there be a traffic jam? Will you be delayed due to construction? Will you get lost? Will you end up in an accident? Will you get food poisoning from the lobster?
By asking what the outcome will be if you use magic to achieve X results you are trying to get a glimpse beyond your normal limited human vision to see the broader scope of things. No one exists in a vacuum and your actions do affect others. The aim is to make sure your actions are as positive as possible.
And of course the scope of the magic comes into play here. If you are doing magic to help youself have a positive attitude there is no need for divination as you are affecting only yourself. Most people don’t do divinations to see the outcome for a shopping trip either. However, doing weather magic can have widespread negative consequences if you are not careful. Any time you mess with systems larger than just yourself you run the risk of affecting things in a negative way simply because you are not aware of all the variables. But I would caution against getting too obsessed with this or you will find yourself unable to do any magic for fear of harming a passing mosquito or dust mite. Keep things in perspective.
Getting back to the divination. I find that using a three rune reading can give a lot of detail. I normally look at the three runes together to make a story. I am usually not reading them as past, present future, but kind of like a sentence. A lot of times the runes need to be read “out of order,” that is not being read from left to right, but assembled together in a way that makes the clearest story.
If the outcome is positive, then go ahead with your magic. If it is negative you might want to hold off until a better time. Or maybe you need to re-think what you are doing or the goals you had in mind.
Other ethical considerations is in getting permission to do healing for someone before you start your working as I’ve already discussed in Chapter Four. Or for any other work that directly affects someone else. Having someone come up to you and ask for healing is great, but what if they relate that their Great Aunt is suffering from arthritis and could use some help? If you don’t have explicit permission from the recipient should you continue, even with something as benign as healing? Most people will say, yes, you need permission before doing any working. You could do a distance working, and after using Reloxon to connect you with the recipient you could talk to their Higher Self, or other part of them open to communication and explain what you want to do. Tell them (and also have the intent) that you will doing healing work and if they don’t wish to receive it then the healing will be blocked. Then go ahead and do the working. Or you could just physically ask permission.
Laws of Magic seen from the perspective of Resonance and Authority
One can look at the different laws of magic and apply the concepts of resonance and authority to them. This shows how important these two ideas really are.
Laws of Magic – From The Divine Thunderbolt by Jane Sibley, Appendix. The laws and examples are quoted straight from The Divine Thunderbolt. In fact this Appendix is well worth the cost of the book alone. Any additional comments are my own. I have rearranged the laws in order to group them appropriately by resonance, authority or both.
Those laws dealing with resonance show that one thing can affect another by being similar to it, or by resonating with it. Laws dealing with authority set rules for what can be affected and how. Laws dealing with both are a blend of resonance and authority behavior.
Resonance Laws
1. The Law of Similarity: Magic performed on (or using) one object which is similar or identical to another will affect that other object. Resonance
Example: A drawing or simulacrum of an axe will be as effective, magically speaking, as a genuine axe.
A clear example of how one item once it has gained resonance with another item can affect that other item. Because they are similar or identical looking they have obvious and strong resonance and each can affect the other. In the case of a picture representing an actual physical item one sees that the mere form of something is enough to grant resonance.
2. The Law of Identity: A piece of an object or organism is as effective, magically speaking, as the entire object or organism. Resonance
Example: A picture or symbol of the beak of a curled beak bird provides the same effect as a picture or symbol of the entire bird.
Again, a part of something gives resonance so that it can represent the whole. A part is not truly disconnected from the whole.
3. The Law of Contiguity: Any piece of a given item remains, magically speaking, part of that entire item, and retains the thaumaturgical identity of the whole. Resonance
Example: Each granule of powder scraped from a belemnite “thunderbolt” retains the identity and curative powers of that particular intact belemnite.
This is very similar to the Law of Identity but from the other direction. Where with the Law of Identity if you start with something that is a part of a whole such as a beak of a bird this small piece can act as if it is the whole bird. With the Law of Contiguity if you take a piece from the whole it retains the properties of the whole. Thus if start with a bird and break off the beak, or feet, those pieces would retain the qualities of the whole bird.
Both Resonance and Authority Law
1. The Law of Attraction: If a certain phenomenon or effect is desired to occur at a given location, a dramatic enactment incorporating or mimicking essential features of that desired phenomenon should attract the genuine article. Resonance and Authority
Example: Attracting a thunderstorm by making sparks fly, sprinkling water on the ground, firing a cannon, or beating on a drum or cooking pans; attracting wind by whistling. Everyone knows that washing one’s car tends to bring a rainstorm.
This is standard resonance practices and a good example of ways to gain resonance with something. However you are going further in that you are specifically linking sprinkling of water on the ground as being equal to having the “Good Rains” fall. Otherwise sprinkling water on the ground is just normal water falling to earth with no magical connection or power behind it.
Thus you are seeking authority over the greater at the same time you are trying to achieve resonance with the greater.
2. The Law of Sympathy: A given magical effect will occur in greater format if induced in the lesser. Resonance and Authority
Example: Pain or disease induction may be induced in a subject by using a doll or miniature model which resembles or stands for that subject.
This is the classic voodoo doll that most are familiar with. Usually the doll has a lock of hair or nail clippings to add to the resonance. Not only that, but the lesser form grants access or authority over the greater. As above, so below and as below, so above.
3. The Law of Assimilation: The magical effect which has been produced in an item is transferred to the living being which ingests it. Resonance and Authority
Example: Water in which a thunderbolt core has been placed is given to a sick cow in order to cure her.
Here you see both resonance, the water in which the thunderbolt core gains resonance and thus the power of the thunderbolt core. But that power is transferred to another medium that does not have any other obvious resonance with the power object. There is not really any obvious connections between water and a thunderbolt core, but through the Law of Assimilation, the water gains authority to gain resonance with the thunderbolt core.
Authority Laws
1. The Law of Transference: A given magical effect can be transferred or sent from one object to another. Authority
Example: A thunderbolt core placed in the loft of a house confers its protection from one object to another.
Here you are taking the magical properties of one thing and transferring it to another. Thus you are seeking the authority to link one item with another dissimilar item in order for them to work together. Basically you are telling the magical effect what its boundaries are.
2. The Law of Relevance: One or more items or organisms which have been acted upon (or changed in some way) by another item or organism remain linked to that specific item. Authority
Example: The specific warriors over whom a spearshaft inscribed with a magical spell was thrown would be relevant to that specific spearshaft and its’ magical spell. Other warriors, who had another enchanted spearshaft pass over them, would not be relevant to the first spell, even though the end result produced by each spell may have been the same.
A clear case of authority. Even though both spells mentioned in the example do the same thing, their targets are different and specific. One spell that targets x, y, and z, can’t interfere with a spell that has already targeted a, b, and c. Even if the magical effects are essentially the same specific authority has already been established.
3. The Law of Contagion: The magical effect which has been imparted to a specific item can “infect” whatever touches it. Authority
Example: A cursed object will case bad luck to anyone who touches, owns, or takes possession of it, sometimes even if the cursed object is discarded or destroyed afterward.
Another case of authority. The cursed item has a great deal of authority on the target. It is granted authority over anyone who fulfills the criteria set for it regardless of lack of prior resonance.
4. The Law of Association: A magical effect is produced in an item by naming it and using it as a given, specific magical item. Authority
Example: Defining and using a spearhead as a thunderbolt core will cause that spearhead to display supernatural thunderbolt related effects as a result.
This is a purely authoritative driven law. By naming something as magical thing X, item Y will have the same qualities of magical thing X. In a way this is what the Wizard of Oz does with the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Cowardly Lion in the movie. He gives a diploma to the Scarecrow thus naming him smart, and he is. He gives a “heart” to the Tinman, who suddenly gains emotions, and he gives a medal of bravery to the Lion who then becomes brave. Granted by the time of the awards, each had already proven themselves, but that final seal of approval was important.
One could also extend this out to a Law of Naming, where being able to name a thing gives one power over it. Thus it confers authority by virtue of knowledge. Knowledge is power. The more you know about something the more you can manipulate it to suit your own needs. Look at humans, we went from waiting for lightning to strike to get fire to creating nuclear furnaces.
5. The Law of Exclusion: If a given phenomenon or series of phenomena have been induced, certain other effects or phenomena cannot take place at the same time. Authority
Example: If one has induced a thunderstorm to come and the Good Rains fall, then a “fair weather/bright sun” spell could not work at the same time.
An important law for the physical world. You can’t have to contradictory things happening at once. It cannot be both nightime and daytime at the same moment. This sets limits on effects to avoid paradoxical results.
6. The Law of Specification: If specific parameters are set, a given spell will selectively affect only those targets which fall within the specifications. If no limits are set, anyone or anything can be affected. If blurry or ambiguous parameters are set, the results could be quite unexpected. Authority
Example: If a spell is set to target anyone with red hair, then blondes cannot be targeted. The spell would also include those who had dyed their hair to make it red. Redheads who had dyed their hair black would not be affected, since they now had black hair. But if any hair on their bodies was still red, then they could be affected.
This law is also about setting limits on the magical effects. If there are no limits the spell may try to do too much and be spread too thin. Also, the more clear-cut and specific the targeting is, the easier it is for the spell to do its job.
7. The Law of Resistance/Immunity: In a given grouping of similar beings or things, some individuals will be more resistant to a given effect or spell than others. Authority
Example: In a herd of cows, all of which appear to be similar, some will be more easily affected by elf-shot than others.
Another example of authority. You will not be able to affect things you don’t have proper authority over. Some things will resist because they have more authority than you do.
8. Law of Perversity: If something can possible go wrong, there is a good chance that it will. Authority
Example: A lightning spell may go awry or may ricochet back upon the hapless spellcaster who hadn’t plugged loopholes or been careful about details in his spell. This may also result in interesting, bizarre, or lethal effects upon the named targets or innocent, unfortunate bystanders, trees, buildings, etc.
This law reflects on the authority of the spellcaster and punishes those who have made mistakes (thus abusing or mis-using their authority).
9. The Law of Deflection: Also called “the Medusa Effect.” Here’ one spellcaster may reflect an incoming spell back upon its caster via a previous activation of a mirroring spell, charm, or amulet. Authority
Example: If one spellcaster sends shot at another person, animal, or structure which had superior wards installed against that particular spell, then the shot would either ricochet back upon the sender or scatter out to secondary targets.
If the protection of the target is strong enough it has the authority to repel the spell being sent against it. If your authority isn’t greater than the target you will fail. This is similar to the Low of Resistance/Immunity.
Organizing these Laws of Magic into categories formalizes the concepts of Resonance and Authority can offer new insights in the laws and how they operate and how they can be exploited by the magician.
I hope that the reader can gain a greater understanding of magic with this discourse of theory and be able to apply it to their own magical work.
