Neolithic Shamanism: Spirit Work in the Norse Tradition - Raven Kaldera 2012

Spring Equinox
The Golden World: Sun

Here we are going to talk about blessing things, people, and situations. Among shamans in some Siberian tribes, blessing the spring planting and the autumn harvest were among their yearly tasks. In more civilized areas, these tasks were likely taken over by priests as populations grew, temples were built, and priestly hierarchies emerged, but in small nomadic tribes (and probably in places too remote to support priests), the shaman was the holy person to turn to for blessings, sanctifications, and other religious necessities. Since the folks who might call on a shaman or shamanic practitioner don’t always have large religious communities that they can turn to, sometimes we get to do that priestly work for them as well, and we should know how to do it. As we’ve said before in this book, many neoshamanic traditions downplay a religious aspect, but this tradition is solidly planted in our faith, and all shamans are also priests of some sort (although obviously most priests are not shamans), and should know how to do simple things like dispense blessings. If you can pray, you can bless. It’s the same operation in reverse, with the aid of that sacred being.

However, there are different levels of blessings. If you’ve ever seen the average modern minister or priest bless something, they are basically inviting God or whomever to bless the person or thing they are touching. For a spirit worker who has actually made contact with real entities, the responsibility of blessing is much larger. Our duty is, whenever possible, not to merely invite a sacred entity to bless something and hope that the entity notices our plea, but to actually get the being’s full attention if only for a moment, and to open ourselves as the living conduit for their energy. For us, it should not be a shot in the dark, but a reasonably certain process that gets results. When we pray in a public ceremony to an entity we have touched and could touch again, we are expected to get that entity on the line and be clear enough to be used as its tool in this way.

Exercise: Blessing the Seed

Ideally this should be done on the spring equinox, but if the climate is not right, it can be delayed until later in the spring. For this exercise, you will need a patch of garden for planting seeds, and some seeds of the early Stone Age wheat variety Einkorn hornemanii. (Numerous specialty seed companies carry packets of Einkorn; one Internet search will find several of them.) The best way to plant a packet of Einkorn seeds in a small garden patch is to reserve some good dirt in a bucket, distribute the seeds over the area fairly thickly—at least one per square inch, and more is fine—and sprinkle a half-inch of dirt over them. But first, hold a single seed in your palms and extend your hands to the Sun, saying:

Hail, waxing golden one

On this your day of equal night,

In this your time of opening.

Bless these seeds that will go down into darkness,

And coax it forth again into the light,

Pulling the leaves up toward heaven.

Sow all the seeds and cover them. Then say this prayer to the land spirit:

Hail, sacred spirit beneath us,

You who hold up our feet as we walk,

Bless the seeds we send to your realm

And feed them well, that they grow tall

And someday give back their essence to you.

Sprinkle the garden bed with a watering can of rainwater, and say this prayer:

Children of all the clouds, I hail you.

As I lay you here, so shall you be drawn here.

Bless these seeds with every drop.

Once you’ve made your three blessings, you are done until the fall. You do not need to use these exact prayers; they are offered here for those who don’t know what to say on their own. You can sing or chant instead of speaking; the method doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you not merely mouth the words. You must reach out your consciousness and connect with the spirits as you pray, and then you wait a moment for their response. Visualize yourself as an open channel for their blessing energy. It may be easiest to visualize the channel going out through your hands to pour the blessing forth. If you have to stop and do each step over and over again in order to get it right, that’s not a tragedy. You’re practicing, after all, and if it takes hours to get a single packet of seeds planted, so be it. If you don’t have a feeling of connection to something greater while you pray, it may be that it is not the right day to do this. (For all you know, there will be a flood tomorrow and the spirits are aware of that.) Try again the next day.

How will you know if the blessing comes? You’ll feel it. A blessing is one of the loveliest things to ever rush through one’s energetic pipes. The energy rubs off, of course, and as a channel for blessings, you will be blessed yourself. It may bring tears to your eyes; don’t be ashamed. There is nothing shameful about being moved by the touch of sacredness.

When you are finished, as a thank-you, it is good to leave an offering of bread and milk to Mother Earth, and milk and honey to the land spirits. There is even a very old Anglo-Saxon charm that teaches people to do just that. (See the Resources.)