Sleipnir - The Shamanic Riding

Note: The picture was taken by Missloony and it is i, enjoying a cheerful day with her.



I will talk about Sleipnir as a shamanic symbol but first i will tell his story and how he came to be...Right at the beginning of the gods' settlement, when the gods had built Valhalla, an unnamed builder appeared, he has offered to build a fortification for the gods that will keep out invaders in exchange for the goddess Freyja. After some debate, the gods agreed in this, but had placed a number of restrictions on the builder, including that he must complete the work within three seasons with the help of no man. The builder makes a single request; that he may have help from his stallion Svaðilfari, and due to Loki's influence, this is allowed. The stallion Svaðilfari performs twice the deeds of strength as the builder, and hauls enormous rocks to the surprise of the gods. The builder, with Svaðilfari, makes fast progress on the wall, and three days before the deadline of summer, the builder was nearly at the entrance to the fortification. The gods convened, and figured out who was responsible, which resulted in a unanimous agreement that, along with most trouble, Loki was to blame.

The gods declare that Loki would deserve a horrible death if he could not find a scheme that would cause the builder to forfeit his payment, and threatened to attack him. Loki, afraid, swore oaths that he would devise a scheme to cause the builder to forfeit the payment, whatever it would cost himself. That night, the builder drove out to fetch stone with his stallion Svaðilfari, and out from a wood ran a mare. The mare neighed at Svaðilfari, and realizing the kind of horse it was, Svaðilfari becomes frantic, neighs, tore apart his tackle, and runs towards the mare. The mare runs to the wood, Svaðilfari follows, and the builder chases after. The two horses run around all night, causing the building work to be held up for the night, and the previous momentum of building work that the builder had been able to maintain was not continued.

When the Æsir realize that the builder is a Hrimthurs ( a frost giant tribe who live in the land of Niflheim ) they disregard their previous oaths with the builder, and call for Thor. Thor arrives, and kills the builder by smashing the builder's skull into shards with his hammer Mjölnir. However, Loki as a mare, later gave birth to a gray foal with eight legs; the horse Sleipnir, "the best horse among gods and men. The horse later was given to Odin, and he became his horse.

Now that i have given you his story, i will talk about Sleipnir as a symbol of the shamanic ridings, the shamanic journeys.

The horse has always been a great symbol and actualy a living key in most of the cultures of the world, especially in Europe, all the way to the Mediterranean, to the far east of Siberia. For exemple, the horses take the Norse warriors to Valhalla, and in the case of Sleipnir, he helped Odin become a shaman and reach the other world, in search for the great knowledge.
Sleipnir is like the galloping of the shaman in his journey, the constante sound of his hooves is like the rhythm of the shaman drum, in which he journeys to the other side searching for protection and knowledge, from the spirits and ancestors, sleipnir alludes to move fast, and to everything that escapes the fisical control, like climbing the world tree of Yggdrasil into other realms, other worlds, the great journey, riding in a altered consciousness. Like i have said, the constante sound of a horse hooves when galloping, his like the beating in a shaman drum, a magic musicality, that induces rhe shaman to go in a slowly and progressive diving in his most deep corners of his mind, the instrument that makes you flow and enter in ecstasy.
The shaman rides his drum like Odin rides Sleipnir, and both free themselves from every limitations of space and time, "flying" towards the spiritual dimensions.
In many ways a shaman can enter in trance, there are use of drugs ( in which i dont aprove ) but those are a rare situation, at least in Europe, there are other ways, some too gruesome, and others more safe, such as the Drum or in a state of close to death, like Odin when he cut himself with his spear, and hung from Yggdrasil for nine days and nights, losing blood, he entered in a stare close to death, and his spirit journeyed to the world of spirits, to gain the knowledge of the runes and their power, after arriving there, he was congratulated by a Valkyrie who gave him mead, to celebrate his status as a shaman.
The constante sound ot the beating of the drum, takes you to a relaxation point when your body seems to fly,, just like the beating of the heart when the body and mind his calm, the constante sound of the heart pulsing, gives the baby inside of the mother, a state of relaxation, and it calms the baby, you notice this, that is why there are lots of toys for newborns, with the sound of the heart, a constante music like a drum, that can prove very useful indeed.

I hope this information gave to the readers any useful information.

Best Regards

Arith Härger

Shamanism of Today

NOTE: The image is a drawing made by me, you can watch my works by clicking on the Portfolio bellow this blog or clicking in the [Link]

Shamanism is not a religion, nor a choice you make of your own mind, Shamanism is a spiritual way, an achieve, an "event", being in touch with nature, the spirits, the Gods and the world it self, a jorney to help your self and all the others around you. It is not something you wish to be in a time, and then forget, like so many have a religion and then they change religions like they change a shirt. Shamanism has been with all of us, sinse the dawn of time, sinse the first humans appeared, and it is a spiritual path way that has survive till today, it wasn't curropted but each people in each place of the world and in their own ways, have a conection with shamanism, it has runed throughout our DNA always, from father to son and so on, deep in the corners of our very brain. Nowadays we do not use entirely our brain, sinse the times of industrialization, our brains are lazy, and the more we live under the shadows of tecnologies, sellphones, cars, and factories, all contributing for the mass polution of the world and for ourselves, and this we pass to our decendents. Also with the dak ages and the coming of chistianity, we closed our mind in subjects that dont let our minds flow in freedom.
For a Shaman, there are many ways to enter in trance, to work out of the body, with is very spirit, many may be familiar with the ways of the natives of America, or the Maya, and the Siberian and mongol in their Yurts, but all around the world, people had shamans and practice shamanism.
Today i see an "hunger" for spirituality, people searching eveything, wanting to belive in something, it is not hard to find, but it is not easy to chose correctly, we are free to belive in whatever we want, but if we do not study and learn deep what we want to belive in or follow, that will be just an useless occupation, to go into the right path, first you have to study, learn and accept your own roots, where you come from, by accepting that, is half way made.
In terms of Shamanism, those who are not shamans, may learn what it is about, the true essence, by asking to the right people and learn the right books, which that you have to figure it out by your own account.
Today is hard to know a true shaman, or perhaps too easy to distinguish if i tell you how, because today, there are many books of it, books from people who are not shamans but have study hard, books from shamans, and books about shamanism in general, and of course books about the subject written by people who dont understand nothing about it, and turn it in a more magical of fantastical way, everything is sold, and anywhere in the internet you may find lots of texts about this subject, not all of them are true, the real shaman doesn't work in group or i might say, in a group of people who are not shamans and they just want to watch, the real shaman did not chose to become one, often they are in a lonely path, no one knows in what they are working with, unless it is tould to the person who askes for help and help is given, also a true shaman, never says he is a shaman, he/she does not brag about it, they do not expose them selves, but they are eager to teach what they know and to guide those in need.

Water Element

Note: The Photo was taken By Missloony all rights reserved. By clicking on her name, you can watch her Deviantart or at her blog in HealingByLiving


The water Element, it runs through the very veins of the earth, deep into the oceans and rivers, it is a self sustaining resource in that it can create itself through a cycle. It is created by oxygen which is the most common element of the earth's crust and hydrogen is the most common element of the universe, so it is almost inevitable that the two molecules would find each other and form bonds, and now that water is creaded, in the lakes and oceans is evaporated by the heat of the sun and forms a vapour that joins together to form clouds. When the temperature is warm enough, the vapour condenses into drops which is what rain is made out of. The rain falls onto the earth, into the land as well as back into oceans, lakes and rivers. From the water bodies it evaporates and the cycle starts all over again.
This element, is an emotional element, it provokes emotions on the human mind, that in turn is reflected on the body. We always think about water, as a wet and cold element, but it can prove very useful in terms of relaxation. Many dont like the rain or the sound of it, it gives them a dreadful chill in their soul, and depression. For those who love the rain and the sounds it makes falling on the earth, trees and their leaves, know better how it calms, especially if you are indoors. Others may find alternative ways of relaxation with water, try taking a shower or a long bath with hot water, and when your body is warm enough, wash your entire body with cold water, the shock is a realy good and natural therapy for your heart and it helps the blood run in your veins, or you can do the same but washing progressively with water less hot then the first one, and so on till it reaches the cold, you will feel nothing because your body is too warmed up, when it starts to cool down, the sensation is outstanding. Also if you know and like to swim, you can dive deep in a pool, "sliding" in the bottom and come back up, exercise your body and your lungs, it helps you in breathing problems and, exercising your body, it will help you in locomotion problems and ofcourse in spine problems, Swiming is the greatest sport you can make, it is good for your health in every way, and you feel the freedom of your movements, outside the water you will feel lighter.