A3 books Seidr the northern path
Ancient Northwest Europe. Immigrants from the continent continually trickled into Scandinavia. They brought with them their religious customs, priestesses, and priests. Women and men who were praised for their knowledge of the past, present, and future, their connection to the land, and their magical abilities. Over time, their religious beliefs were influenced by those of the already present Scandinavian peoples: the Finns and the nomadic Sami. In ancient legal statutes, the Icelandic sagas, the Eddas, and Norse myths, we read about mysterious people, who, depending on their specialty, were called, among other things, vala, völva, seidkona, or seidhmadr. And about the magic they practiced: seidr.
Much knowledge about religion and spirituality in pre-Christian Northwest Europe has been lost, but traces can still be found, especially in the Scandinavian countries. Traces that speak of magic, sorcery, and shamanism. Ancient laws that deal with curses, magical platforms, and human influence on the weather. Stories that tell of the people who practiced seidr. People who spoke with their ancestors in their burial mounds, communicated with the land spirits, and delivered oracles to the community. They sat on high seats, connected with the realm of the dead, were reviled, feared, and honored. Who were these people? Were they witches, shamans, or priestesses? What was their connection to the land? What exactly did they do? And what can we learn from them?
For this book, Linda Wormhoudt, shaman and ritual leader, worked on two fronts. On the one hand, she gathered the scarce information about seidr that can still be found in Norse prose, historical sources, and archaeological data. On the other hand, she conducted research through ritual, experimental, and fieldwork at sacred sites in Norway, Lapland, and the Netherlands.
"Seidr, the Nordic Path: Working with Magical and Shamanic Traces in Northwestern Europe" is a multifaceted book containing, in addition to a wealth of historical source material, personal experiences with and accounts of ancient rituals and new spiritual paths.
It's time. Time to look at the spiritual practices of our European ancestors, their worldview, their rituals, their gods. Knowledge about them resides in the soil beneath our feet, and the ancient magic still lives in the landscape. Northwest Europe is a treasure chest of wisdom, and that treasure chest is open to those who wish to connect with their roots and the land.
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A3 Books
