New Shaman Sanctuary Discovered in Europe

Archaeological findings related to shamanism aren't very common to find in European ground. It's easier to come by such findings in the most inhospitable regions where shamanic practices lasted several thousands of years till or modern era, and in some places these spiritual traditional practices are still alive. When it comes to Europe, with major historical changes not only in society but also in the landscape, history itself and religion, the shamanic practices were long forgotten and the place where once shamans worked, were brought down and completly destroyed.

However, archaeologists uncovered an unusual site near Lake Świdwie, in north-western Poland, and this might be one of the major European findings related to the shamanic pratices of the old European peoples. After analyzing the settlement, the team of researchers concluded that it dated back to 9,000 years ago.

One of the most notable findings in this area consisted in a circular design of approximatly 6 meters in diameter where the foundation of strange structures was still visible. A trapezoid building with poles, encircled by an arch of rocks aligned at equal distances from each other. Within this ancient design, sharpen yew sticks were piercing through the ground so that they formed the shape of the Big Dipper – a fragment of the constellation Ursa Major, also known as The Great Bear.

Other enigmatic pieces of wood used in smoking rituals, bark, herbaceous plants and animal bones presumably used as offerings and for driving off evil spirits before a ritual were also unearthed at the site.

A rich collection of different stones with, supposadly, supra-natural properties were also found inside the sanctuary. Among them were syenite, diorite, granite, quartzite, sandstone, gneiss, and even unusual rocks for the Pomerania area such as red marble and green syenite. However, the discovery of black amber and pumice – an extrusive volcanic rock obtained when molten lava is spit out of a volcano – topped off the charts of the discovery list.

The site furtherly proved to be rich in items mostly made of wood such as pendants and wood masks used in the mystic rituals. Thanks to the favorable conditions of the area, all the unearthed pieces were preserved in perfect shape.

As I've said before, this discovery is unique, as other shamanic settlements closer to Europe were only found in Siberia and Mongolia. Apparently this settlement served as a sanctuary from where the spirit-workers engaged into rituals and out-of-body experiences, through trance, frenetic dancing, induced substances and so on.

This discovery adds another dimension to our written history because it proves that shamans once ruled the plains of Europe before Christianity and other religions rushed in and wiped these timeworn culture. It also demonstrates that ancient Europeans had knowledgeable advisors who could read the stars, use advanced remedies from nature, and who knows what other ancient techniques that are now forever lost.

9,000-Year-Old Shaman Sanctuary in Europe

There was a recent discovery in Europe of a 9,000-year-old shamanic sanctuary which shows that there was once a culture very knowledgeable in spiritual working. There are thousands of evidences of shamanism in many places all arround the world, but in European ground ancient shamanism is still a very delicate subject. There are not many findings of shamanism in Europe, and that's why this recent discovery might bring a new light to the knowledge we have about shamanic practices by our European ancestors.

One of the major society figures of the ancient cultures was the shaman, or the person who held the power and the knowledge to communicate with the spiritual world. According to ancient accounts, the practitioners of shamanism helped shape the first human societies. They were both wise and feared by the communities of the ancient world. The role of the shaman was not only being able to commune with the spirits of the land, ancestors, deities and the spirits of the afterlife, but also able to heal both body and soul, curse enemies, cure the land, give good council and basically being the one person everyone went to for all sorts of things. The guide of the community.

This all thing seems something out of a fairy tale; complete fantasy to our modern mind. However, with the help of the human sciences such as Anthropology and Archaeology, we modern humans are getting closer and closer to understand this very delicate subject. So it seems that these people, these shamans of bygone days, were really capable of preforming these wonderful, amazing and also terrible things. The human mind is quite powerful and maybe we have forgotten how to properly use it in some fields of consciousness. This new discovery came to help us understand all these strange facts.

In the year of 2012, archaeologists uncovered an unusual site near Lake Świdwie, in north-western Poland. After analyzing the settlement the team of researchers concluded that it dated back more than 9,000 years ago. One of the most amazing finds in this area consisted in a circular design of approximately six meters in diameter where the foundation of the structures was still visible. A trapezoid-like building with poles, encircled by an arch of rocks aligned at equal distances from each other. Within this ancient design, yew sticks were piercing through the ground so that they formed the shape of the Big Dipper – a fragment of the constellation Ursa Major, also known as The Great Bear. A construction made by our ancestors some time during the end of the Mesolithic Era and the beginning of the Neolithic revolution (dates differ from place to place and it took a good thousand years to spread all over Europe. These were our ancestors who had just found farming, and had begun to settle down in specific places, constructing the first villages, the first communities, and now they also started to have a keen interest in astronomy.

This discovery is unique, because other shaman settlements were only found in Siberia and Mongolia and never so close to European ground. Apparently this structure served as a sanctuary from where the spirit practitioners engaged into rituals and out-of-body experiences which are obviously out of reach from written history, and very difficult for modern science to explain. Pieces of wood used in smoking rituals, bark, herbaceous plants and animal bones presumably used as offerings and for driving off evil spirits before a ritual were also discovered at the site.

A rich collection of different stones were also found inside the sanctuary. Among them were syenite, diorite, granite, quartzite, sandstone, gneiss, and even unusual rocks for the Pomerania area such as red marble and green syenite. These were not picked at random or to only decorate the sanctuary. Such stones had a purpose closely linked to spiritual working. It was also discovered black amber and pumice – an extrusive volcanic rock obtained when molten lava is spit out of a volcano. This is an extraordinary and rich collection of stones, unique among the previously known Mesolithic sites, located both within the vast European Plain, and in the zone of the foothills and highlands. These stones had to be brought to this place. and not only did they came from the surrounding area, but also from distant lands, the best example of which is hornfels, which occurs closest in the Giant Mountains and the Harz Mountains.

The archaeological site later proved to be very rich in items mostly made of wood such as pendants and wood masks used in mystic rituals. Thanks to the favorable conditions of the area, all the unearthed pieces were very well preserved.

This interesting discovery adds another dimension to our written history due to the fact that it proves that shamans once ruled the plains of Europe before pré-christian beliefs and Christianity itself, of course. It also demonstrates that ancient Europeans had knowledgeable advisors who could read the stars, use advanced remedies from nature, and probably a list of other good many things that have been lost to us.

The Sarmatian Shaman

In 2013, archaeologists found in Kurgan (Russia) what seems to be a Sarmatian burial mound. In the southern Ural steppes this amazing finding shows some peculiar items that may suggest that the individual buried there was a shaman.

A little bit of history is needed to know who the Sarmatians were. Most people though for an age that they were natives to Europe in the region we now call Poland. However, the Sarmatians were Iranian (an Indo-European people such as the Alans/Alani, very caucasian-looking) flourishing from around the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. The burial mound found in Russia, dates to early in the range, corresponding to the Early Iron Age within the region. The Sarmatians spoke a Scythian language and later their territory corresponded to the western part of greater Scythia (mostly modern Ukraine and Southern Russia nowadays). Around 100 BC, the Sarmatian tribes ranged from the Vistula River to the mouth of the Danube and eastward to the Volga, bordering the shores of the Black and Caspian seas as well as the Caucasus to the south. The Sarmatians traded with the Mediterranean cultures to the west, although, they retained their own customs and traditions, rooted in their nomadic lifestyle.

In the burial mound, in the grave itself to be more precise, 26 golden deer statues have been found, which may have been representations of Gods or spirits to the people that put them there. Further excavations were carried out and a body was revealed. Archaeologists first found a bronze cauldron (of great size) in the entrance passage to the grave, which might have been especially made for the burial. It is definitely in the Sarmatian style as the handles are made from two griffons. Such animals are prominently features in the art of the region and may represent spirit animals since griffons are mythical creatures. 

The grave was richly furnished and, since the remains comprised those typically found with female burials, as well as a quantity of fine jewellery, the burial was concluded to be that of a woman. A small wicker case was found near the skull. It was stuffed with items including a wooden box, leather pouches, glass, horse teeth with red pigments, a cast silver lidded container, bathroom flasks, silver and earthenware and gold pectoral cages. There was also a large silver mirror that lay nearby. It was decorated with gilded stylised animals on the handle, and an embossed decoration on the back. The image of an eagle sat in the centre of the mirror, surrounded by a procession of six winged bulls. Mirrors at this time were very rare and such intense decoration suggests a spiritual use. It is common to link Iron Age mirrors to Shamanism because they were used for such purposes.

Archaeologists also uncovered equipment used for tattooing, including two stone mixing palettes and gold-covered iron needles, as well as bone spoons used to blend paints. The pens were decorated with animals. It is impossible to say whether the body had tattoos as only bones remain but, elsewhere, waterlogged kurgans reveal tattooed bodies with depictions animals such as those found in this burial mound. Tattooing at this time is often linked with shamanism and many of the other tattooed bodies contain items used in a spiritual lifestyle.

Later tests on the body revealed that the body found is not a woman at all, but actually a man. Now the items on the grave take a total different meaning.

In the Greek literature, there is an account about Enaree (a Scythian shaman described as effeminate or androgynous).Transvestite shamans in Scythian culture lived in the guise of the opposite gender. There are some details about these androgynous figures, suggesting that they received serious damage to their manhood through riding and therefore live the rest of their lives as women. Such transformation clearly marked them out as shamans. Blurring gender and sexual boundaries for spiritual practice still occurs in the area and is also found in many other parts of the world, where many male shamans live as women.

This might explain the items placed with the body in the Samaritan burial mound. This person might have been a male shaman living as a woman, and providing spiritual guidance to the local community. He was buried with his beautiful clothes and jewellery, vanity items, and also the tools of his shamanic trade. Given the wealth of grave goods, he was clearly highly esteemed by his community both during his life but also after his death.

Sauna - The House Of The Ancestors

The Sauna is a very old spiritual tradition, especially for the European peoples. Throughout history we find that the Northern European cultures have an important connection with the sauna. Archaeology in northern Portugal and Spain also found that the Celts and the Lusitanians used to have buildings similar to their houses only for the purpose of cleansing the body through heat and vapours. Nowadays it isn't hard to get into a sauna, but unfortunatelly modern saunas are very different from the old saunas that were used for religious purposes.

The first purpose of the sauna is to honor the powers of the elements, fire, water and stone (earth) and how the spirits of such elements together make "magic", creating steam, thought to be the very breath of the earth and the ancestors. Without these elements, the spirits will not come to you.

For religious purposes, the sauna must have a good source of heat from wood with real flame (nowadays modern saunas have the source of heat through an electric sistem). Also, there is the need of adding stones, most modern saunas have them, as long as there is wood and real flame, it is fine. Now, something very important that isn't taken to account by the people who build modern saunas. Ventilation. Many modern saunas make people sick because the oxygen levels fall too low. Any type of opening will do, the fire needs oxygen to "breath". The best way is having an adjustable vent near the floor, to vent the cooling sinking air, and another higher up to vent the excess heat that follows later.
Also, like I've written, having stones, to throw water on them. Don't pick up river stones, usualy blow apart during temperature changes. You will also need water of course. Our ancestors used to collect the rainwater for these purpose, coming from the sky, it was a direct blessing from the deities. The type of wood used to come from the birch trees, I believe that I have already written about the birch tree in another post, those were consider to be very magical in many cultures, especially the ones ruled by a druidic order.

Do whatever you want in the sauna, but know that the real purpose of it, wasn't to party, so if you really want to do any type of spiritual work, you must behave of course. Being in a sauna, one must be quiet, meditative, peaceful, solemn. This is an opportunity to be in touch with the spirits of the elements, a rebirth ritual, so our ancestors used to go into the sauna, completly naked, the way they came into the world, deprived of any clothing.

Of course people may feel shy for being naked in a community sauna, that is understandable, but modern community saunas don't have the ancestral spiritual purposes. Community saunas used to be mixed gender, however, some rituals during the year only for men or for women, were held inside the sauna (at least part of the rituals) so in that case, the sauna was occupied by only one gender.

The first saunas were made out of stone, but during the later 5th - 6th centuries, these were being built our of timber. The hearth was considered to be the altar of the sauna (the sauna being the temple/house of the ancestors).
The door to a traditional sauna used to be shorter than a an average door, people had to stoop to get into it, showing reverence for the ancestors.

The very first saunas were smoke saunas, the Finns refer to them as savusauna. The fire was lit under stones, and the smoke went out through a hole in the wall or ceiling. The smoke heated the entire room and then the hole was shut and the window opened to let in fresh air come in. There are different claims on the health risks of these smoke saunas, or savusauna. Some say that the smoke is bad for your lungs, others that the smoke creates a bacteria-free and oxygen-rich environment. Don't try these in any circumstances if you are new at this or alone, these might be better in community and with someone outside the door.

The traditional ways of making fire for the sauna, would take long (compared to modern ways of course, it wasn't that long) but it would take longer to get the sauna ready for the spiritual purpose, so people used to sit outside and play the shamanic instruments to call upon a spirit to enter the sauna. In some cases, people would also wait for a family member to die in or near the sauna, so they would be able to call upon them during the sauna rituals.

Our ancestors would call upon guardian spirits to protect them. There was/is one very popular in Finland, named Saunatonttu, a little gnome or sort of faery. It was customary to warm up the sauna just for the gnome every now and then, or to leave some food outside for him. It is said that he warned the people if a fire was threatening the sauna, or punished people who behaved improperly while inside it. The Saunatonttu doesn't seem to be an Alfar (Elf) but more like a being that belongs to the "little people" race. In Russia there was the Bannik or banyanka, also a spirit that protected people from evil spirits. Our ancestors would take refuge in the bath houses and saunas to pray to these spirits for protection.

The purpose of the sauna was to honor the ancestors, to call upon the spirits for protection and to be connected with them and the elements of nature, creating the very breath of the earth, ancestors and gods. Through this "breath" one would cleanse the body and soul.

The Tradition of the Shaman

When communities were much more isolated and self-reliant than modern society is, shamans played and integral part in their cultures, performing numerous and specific dduties. They practised healing in cases of sickness and injury, but they were not specifically healers. Although they cummuned with ancestors, spirits and gods, they were not exclusively priests, and while they offered wise counsel to their communities, they were not solely sages. Rather, they fulfilled a combination of these roles and others besides.

The Shaman Role

To understand the function of a shaman, it is necessary to adopt a world view relative to traditional peoples. Typically, older cultures more in touch with the natural world have been animistic societies. Animism is a term derived from the latin anima, which means soul, and these older cultures held the belief that all things possessed a soul or spirit. The fundamental role of the shaman was to atct as an intermediary in relating to the other spirits of the earth: the animals, the land, the rain, the crops and so on. Because humans were so dependent on the forces of nature and the other beings of the planet, communicating with them was seen as a way of predicting problems of finding a way out of them. The shaman could send his or her soul out on a journey to meet with these other spirits and ensure a successful hunt or determine why a crop was failing, or if there would be a drought. These journeys of the soul could also lead shamans to other dimensions where they would commune with gods, find special knowledge or aquire powers which gave them an advantage when living in difficult times or healing the sick.
It was this ability to travel at will to other realms that marked out the shaman. Very often it was unlooked for, with visions occurring spontaneously, or caused by traumatic experiences such as severe illness or injury. What is iften termed "madness" in modern western society was seen as being "touched by the gods" by traditional people. Shamans usually lived somewhat apart from the rest of the community, because their powers made them diferent from other people. However, individuals who were able to hear voices and experience realities beyond the normal scope of perception were regarded with respect and awe.

Sauna: House of the Ancestors

It is the opinion of those of us who consider the sauna to be a spiritual tool of the Northern Tradition that if you are going to do it at all, you should do it right. Some modern "saunas" have electric heat, or infrared heat, or no steam at all, or not enough ventilation. Except for that last item, which can make people ill from oxygen deprivation, the rest aren't exactly a crime. If you want to use such a "sauna", fine. Go ahead. You can even use it as a purification ordeal, which is part of what the sauna is ... but don't think that you'll get deep religious ritual out of it. Tapping into the original spirit of the sauna/stofa ritual is honoring the powers of fire and water and stone, and the steam that is the Breath of the Ancestors. Without those, the wights will not come.
A proper sauna/stofa ritual should have the following in attendance:
1) A source of wood heat, with real flame. Usually this is a woodstove, although a stone hearth or oven will do just as well.
2) Ventilation. Many modern airtight saunas make people sick because the oxygen level falls too low. Even an open window to the cold is better than nothing - just crank the fire up. The ideal is an adjustable vent near the floor, to vent the cooling, sinking air, and another higher up to vent the excess heat later on.
2*) Stones to throw water on. They can be collected ceremonially and charged with intent, if you like. Do not use river stones, which have a tendency to blow apart during temperature changes.

3) Water to throw on the stones, preferably rainwater.
4) A birch whisk. To make this, collect birch "twigs" - meaning branches less than two feet long - and tie them together. It is best made and used fresh, but of course you may not be able to get fresh leafy birch twigs for a good portion of the year. Think ahead and make a bunch of them, and let them dry. They should be spring or summer branches; fall branches tend to defoliate easier. Hang them to dry and then store them flat in paper bags. You will use each one up every time you do a sauna ritual, so be prepared. (If you have a chest freezer, you can freeze them flat in bags and then thaw them later.)
To use a fresh whisk, simply rinse it off before going into the sauna. During the second round - the Community round - dip it in warm water and turn it gently over the steam. For a dry whisk, rinse off the dry branches and then put them into a basin of warm - not hot - water. This is usually done on top of the sauna stove. As soon as it is rehydrated, it is ready for use. The birch whisks bring a beautiful scent to the hot air. It has a long history as well; among the ancient Slavic people, a certain number of birch whisks were actually paid as tributes by weaker, conquered tribes.
5) Knowledge of the proper sauna etiquette. A sauna is not for partying, rowdiness, or fondling each other. It is a solemn occasion, and a quiet, meditative ambience should be promoted. Being naked is mandatory; one should go in as one came out of the womb. The sauna is a rebirth experience in its own way. In our modern society, some people may feel shy about being naked, but this is fairly critical. Anyone who would be so rude as to comment on someone's body, or give someone an unwanted touch, shouldn't be allowed to be present during such a ritual anyway.
Community saunas are traditionally mixed-gender and mixed-age, although there were occasional saunas specially for men or women (for example, part of a puberty rite might be held in the sauna). One saying held that of the three sauna rounds, one was for men, one for women, and one for the faeries. (One would assume that this refers to firing up the empty sauna for the Saunatonttu; see below.) However, the ancestors of men and women are the same, and we strongly encourage mixed-gender saunas, with everyone well versed in the proper behavior. If nothing else, it obviates the problem of where to put the people who are neither male nor female, some of whom may be the community shamans.
The first step is to build and consecrate your sauna. While the original ones were made of stone, by the 5^th century they were being built of timber. However you make yours, be sure that it has good ventilation. Situate the hearth carefully - remember that it is the altar of the room. You will likely be using some wood, if only for the benches. Traditionally, all lumber scraps were saved and burned in the ceremonial first firing. The door to a traditional sauna should be shorter than a "normal" door; one should have to stoop to get into it, which shows reverence for the ancestors. In Russia, it was traditional to leave the banya backwards, bowing to the spirits. Another of their traditions was burying a sacrificed black cock under the doorstep, a custom which the modern builder may use or not, as they prefer.
The first saunas were smoke saunas, referred to by the Finns as savusauna. The fire was lit under stones, and the smoke went out through a hole in the wall or ceiling. When the smoke had heated the entire room, the hole was shut and the window opened to let in fresh air. There are varying claims on the health risks of savusauna; some say that the smoke is bad for your lungs, others that the smoke creates a bacteria-free and oxygen-rich environment, assuming that you leave the place alone long enough for all the deadly carbon monoxide to leave it.
However you feel about it, the first ceremonial firing of your sauna should be as close to a traditional savusauna as possible. Afterwards, you can do it the "normal" way. To do this, remove the stovepipe from your stove (or stop up your chimney, if there's no pipe). Place containers of water out for heating. (It's also good to have it around in case of fire.) Start your fire using an older method, the sort that is appropriate for sacred fires - flint and steel at the least, or a fire-bow or fire-drill if you have mastered that art. Add pieces of birch, then harder woods as the fire gets going. It is traditional at this point to burn the scrap lumber from the building project.
Make sure that you have your vents open. It will take three to six hours to properly smoke up the sauna, so start it early in the day. Appropriate activities during this time might be to sit outside and drum and sing. What you're trying to do is to call a guardian spirit into the sauna. For some folk, the guardian spirit was an ancestor - in which case they didn't call one in when building the sauna, but merely waited until a family member died in there. Since we are unlikely to want to wait that long, start calling for a guardian spirit during the smoke-out.
Another sort of guardian spirit, popular in Finland, is the Saunatonttu, a little gnome or wizened faery. It was customary to warm up the sauna just for the gnome every now and then, or to leave some food outside for him. It is said that he warned the people if a fire was threatening the sauna, or punished people who behaved improperly while inside it. The Saunatonttu doesn't seem to be an Alfar-type so much as one of the "little people", the earthly nature sprites who live astrally in this world. If you work with them, calling a Saunatonttu might be a good idea. If not, try calling an ancestor to watch over the place, or just ask the land-wight to send the right spirit over. The song that you sing doesn't have to be brilliant, just sincere.
In Russia, the guardian spirit of the banya was the Bannik, a spindly, hairy creature described here by Aleksa: "In ancient Russian culture, the (usually male) spirits of the banyaprovided safety in bad times or against evil spirits, so if you were being chased through a field or a forest by evil beings or bad men, you may take refuge in a bathhouse and pray to the banyanka or the Bannik to protect you. The Bannik controlled your experience of the banya - the heat and steam levels - and it was heated and cleaned once a week to placate him. In Christian times the offering became the sign of the cross (although, ironically, icons were not allowed to be hung in abanya due to their residual pagan associations), but vestiges remained of the pagan practice of feeding the Bannik in offerings of vodka. In order to see the bannik, you had to go alone at night, and you had to sit with part of yourself in the banya and part out - in other words, you had to be in-between. (This was why people didn't bathe alone at night, unless they wanted to meet the Bannik.) If the banya made a purring sound, the Bannik was at home." He was sometimes known to appear to late-night wanderers as a village elder or dead ancestor, and it was important to leave the fourth steam round for him, to propitiate him with food and vodka, and to refrain from bringing anything from the house into the banya and vice versa, as everything in the banyabelonged to him (whereas the rest belonged to the domovoi). If properly treated, he would protect his guests; if maltreated he would become hostile and cause failures of fertility (crop, animal, and human), again showing the connections to the banya as a temple to Mokosh the Earth Mother.

But back to your ceremonial first smoke sauna. When the room is very hot and there is only a small blue flame left in the fire, shut the vents for a while - perhaps 20 minutes. Then open them all up and let the air in for at least an hour, to clear out all carbon monoxide. Pour water on your rocks, which will have been heating on the stove; it helps clear the air. When it's safe to be in there for more than a minute, go in with buckets of water and old rags and wipe everything down - the smoke will have blackened things. Sweep the floor, putting your intent into purifying the space. Then reconnect the stovepipe (or unstop the chimney), relight the fire, and have a regular sauna in the mellow heat from the savusauna. You have now honored the ancestors by doing your first firing in the way that they would have done.

Supported by RavenKaldera

Trance

Note: The Drawing was Made by Me.


Techniques of Trance / Ecstasy

The word "trance" comes from the latin "Transistus", it means a passage, to go over, he who passes through.
Trance is, literaly, an entry - to the other world. The tradicional techniques formed to produce the trance, were often intimidating or painful initiations, self induced mutilation inducing psychological stress, and physiological and chemical changes in the body, the music of drums, songs and chants, dancing, sensory and social deprivation, alertness and general fatigue, lack of food, change in breathing, drugs, exposure to extreme heat and cold, concentration in a single point, meditation, shock, the use of the ritual sex, and others ways.

A brief research of these archaic techniques, is enough to show the variety of methods and the universal need ( and in many cases it still is ) to access to the others worlds. in cultures older than ours.

The music of the drum is the key technique to induce trance. The shaman drum is a specialized instrument. Normaly with an oval shape, and it is covered with horse skin, reindeer, or an other diferent kind of animal, its wood frame was traditionally formed by the world tree, marked with magical and protective symbols. This instrument is the vehicle or "horse" of the shaman, that sends him into a journey to the axis of the world, where we can cross the border to the other worlds.

In ancient times ( and still in many places and cultures today ) when the shaman falls into trance, someone ( his helper ) would put the shaman drum in the back of the shaman, as a sign that the shaman could not be troubled.

Certain rhythms of the drum can affect the patterns of the brain waves to the one who is listening, helping to promote altered states of consciousness.

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.