A Few Words of Caution
The reason why I have this section on my website is not because I claim to be special, to know everything, or want to be respected as some great spooky guru. (I want to be respected as a Heathen person, and anything else comes secondary.)
Rather, it is because most people who feel pulled to the Vanir rather than the Aesir are going to have mystical inclinations ranging from the occasional wyrd happening and feeling prodded, to the full-time call to service of people through rites, rede, and magic. It is my desire to "pay it forward", to those who are in a similar position to where I was at some years ago, when I was trying to figure things out and had nowhere to turn. So, I don't mind providing a few pieces of information on seership and magic within a Heathen context. However, it also comes with a few pieces of advice. As the advice is free, take it for whatever it's worth to you, but I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say these things up-front.
- Unless you have natural inclinations towards seership and connectivity, you’re better off not looking for it. The basics can be taught, but the real thing always extends beyond the basics. So, let it be known that the material I present in this section is only on the basics. I am not teaching. You will need to experiment and experience things for yourself.
- My spirituality is, truly, a path of love, healing, and joy. That being said, I have been seeing since early childhood and have had the resulting weirdness of being "different". Most of us do carry the mark of being "touched" in this way, for some people this manifests physically, for some it manifests neurologically, for some it manifests emotionally. It is not the same thing as “shaman sickness”, as again it falls into the category of being “an energetical tax”. Doing things like seidhr or spae will take a lot out of you, even if done properly with grounding out afterwards. All things are a system of checks and balances. Nobody is good at everything. To be really strong in one area is going to have weakness in others. Those who are given foresight and spirit communication are at an advantage other people don't have for the most part, and so it naturally comes with a few inherent disadvantages.
- Finding other mystically inclined people is not bad or wrong in and of itself, however the desire to figure out what is going on and to find others who might be in the same position can sometimes do more harm than good, depending on where you go and what you do. There is a lot of really bad information out there (e.g. the "Northern Tradition Shamanism" series and associated books) and a disproportionately high number of dysfunctional people are drawn to mysticism and suck the legitimate sane people in, down, and out.
- If you do decide to find others (see this article
for the special issues of outing oneself as a mystic within Heathenry),
be mindful of the fact that not everyone will accept you at face value
and by being out there you will inevitably attract people who are
delusional and dysfunctional. Sane, functional contacts will be
increased by proving your knowledge of Heathenry and worth as a Heathen
to other Heathens, before getting into too much detail about spooky foo
right off the bat.
Re the last piece of advice, while I have this section of mysticism on my website I have stopped talking about A LOT of my own UPGs and such, precisely because of the weird subcultures that have attached itself to Neopaganism and not wanting to be a bullshit magnet.
I also find more and more that I am uncomfortable sharing my spirituality, not because it's not there and not because it's a source of shame or I fear criticism, but because it's hard to quantify and there are moments so beautiful and precious that sharing them is to cheapen them. Just like if I had a beautiful night of lovemaking with my husband and put the details on the Internet for public scrutiny, that would cheapen it with criticism or crude remarks or jealousy from others.
I think much of the joy of communion with the Divine is that it is very personal, between you and Them alone. I love the Gods, wights, and ancestors very much, and I would not want to spoil those moments of connection by going into too much detail, whether someone wants to criticize or another wants to emulate. We must each work our Wyrd out for ourselves, even if that means some gnoses are not compared and some paths may be lonely. If you are truly embraced in the company of the Gods, wights, and ancestors, you are never alone, and so with that I leave you to some basic pointers on Heathen Wyrd-working, and leave the rest to your exploration.
Essay reproduced by the kind permission of Svartesol.
