Spinning Wyrd: A Journey through the Nordic Mysteries

About the Author

Ryan Smith has been a practicing Pagan since his teens with over fifteen years of experience in inclusive and antiracist Heathen spirituality. He is the author of The Way of Fire and Ice: The Living Tradition of Norse Paganism and has contributed to the anthologies Bringing Race to the Table: Exploring Racism in the Pagan Community and ¡No Pasarán!: Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis. He has also been published at Huginn’s Heathen Hof, Patheos Pagan, and Truthout and has presented talks and rituals at Pantheacon, the Gathering Paths presented by Between the Veils, Hexenfest, and Many Gods West. Ryan regularly writes at onblackwings.com and is currently producing a Heathen podcast, the Wayward Wanderer, which is available wherever you get your podcasts. He has a PhD in modern economic and social history and can be found online on Facebook, Mastodon, and Instagram.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Spinning Wyrd: A Journey through the Nordic Mysteries © 2023 by Ryan Smith.

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First e-book edition © 2023

E-book ISBN: 9780738769950

Cover design by Shannon McKuhen

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Smith, Ryan, author.

Title: Spinning Wyrd : a journey through the Nordic mysteries / Ryan Smith.

Description: First edition. | Woodbury, MN : Llewellyn Publications, a

division of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd, 2023. | Includes bibliographical

references and index. | Summary: "Expanding on the radically inclusive

practices presented in The Way of Fire and Ice, this next-step book

teaches you how to tap into the forces of the Nordic cosmos. The

greatest of these forces is wyrd, the symphony of life cocreated by the

actions of all beings, from the humblest plants to the mightiest gods"—

Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2023008478 (print) | LCCN 2023008479 (ebook) | ISBN

9780738769851 | ISBN 9780738769950 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Neopaganism—Scandinavia. | Mythology, Norse. | Gods,

Norse. | Goddesses, Norse.

Classification: LCC BP605.N46 S64 2023 (print) | LCC BP605.N46 (ebook) |

DDC 299/.940948—dc23/eng/20230308

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023008478

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023008479

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to current author websites.

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Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

List of Figures

List of Rites and Exercises

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One: Rhythms of Reality

Chapter Two: Wyrd

Chapter Three: The Self

Chapter Four: The World Tree

Chapter Five: A Living World

Chapter Six: Under the Mound

Chapter Seven: Cycles of Creation and Destruction

Conclusion

Appendix I: Exercises

Appendix II: Source Materials

Glossary

Bibliography

Figures

Figure 1. Forms of Trance in Fire and Ice

Figure 2. Web of Wyrd

Figure 3. The Black Star

Figure 4. Troll Cross

Figure 5. Dead Speaker Bindrune

Figure 6. Close the Grave Bindrune

Rites and Exercises

Rite: Invoking Fire and Ice

Exercise: Three Grounding Breaths

Rite: Sigrblót, the Blót for Victory

Exercise: Reading Frigga’s Loom

Rite: Lending Luck

Exercise: Meeting Your Fylgja 66

Exercise: Wandering the Nine Worlds

Rite: Honoring the Dead

Exercise: Lifting the Veil

Rite: Honoring the Dead

Exercise: Reaching into the Mound

Exercise: Breathing Fire and Ice

Exercise: Understanding the Breath

Exercise: Calming the Sea and Sky

Exercise: The World Tree Within

Exercise: Going to the Wells

Acknowledgments

This book would not have been possible without my partner Patricia’s love and support. I could not have done it without you.

I further want to thank all my interview subjects for their participation and cooperation. Your words help root this book in living practice.

I also want to thank Elysia, Stephanie, and the rest of the Llewellyn editing team for your patience with my original draft and for sticking with this as the work emerged.

I additionally want to thank everyone who has ever jumped onto the Fire and Ice group, server, and study sessions. Your experiences and questions have fed every part of this book. That community would not be possible without all the generous people who have helped moderate those spaces, lead ritual, and keep this community together through thick and thin.

Finally, I dedicate this book to all the practitioners, mystics, wanderers, and others who find guidance and direction from this work. May this give you solace in the trying times we have been fated to experience.

Introduction

At Ithavoll met the mighty gods,

Shrines and temples they timbered high;

Forges they set, and they smithied ore,

Tongs they wrought, and tools they fashioned.

—Voluspo 7, Poetic Edda¹

In a tattoo parlor, a practitioner lies beneath a needle infusing sacred motifs and runic patterns into their skin as they ride the pain of the moment to greater understanding. A maker sings songs of power into their latest creation, imbuing it with mystically crafted purpose and potential to alter reality on many levels. On the other side of the world, a ritualist inscribes bindrunes of justice over the latest construction notices posted at the edge of a dwindling, vibrant stretch of bayou. A mystic finds themself dancing in snow-crisp air to a melody ringing at the edges of their senses, seeking answers on a tide of ecstasy that follows. All are tapping into the forces of the Nordic cosmos, the greatest of which is wyrd.

Wyrd is the symphony of life cocreated by the actions of all beings, from the humblest living things to the mightiest of the godly and animistic Powers of Nordic practice. Listening to the melodies throughout the cosmos opens the way to a deeper understanding of life and the world around you. These forces define all of existence for the pre-Christian Nordic peoples and modern practitioners alike. Even gods are subject to these forces, as shown in their own shrines raised for unnamed purposes, hinting at mysteries dancing at the limits of their mighty wisdom. This book’s goal is to help practitioners better understand these greater mysteries.

In Fire and Ice practice, these broader frameworks, which include animism, the nature of the individual, the World Tree, wyrd, the Norns, and Ragnarök, are fundamental to contemporary, revivalist practice. Developing a greater comprehension of how these greater forces work changes how you view the Powers and live your life on every level. These ideas are also essential for developing skill in the deeper forms of mysticism associated with Radical Heathenry.

Introducing Radical Heathenry

Radical Heathenry, also known as Fire and Ice Heathenry, is a form of Revivalist Nordic Paganism that is rooted in honoring the Powers of pre-Christian Nordic spirituality. It began as a set of practices that developed over the course of several years by Heathens living in northern California. It has since grown into a vibrant, inclusive spiritual tradition. Its core beliefs and practices are laid out in my book The Way of Fire and Ice.

At the core of Radical Heathenry are five points that set it apart from other forms of Heathen practice and define every aspect of this form of spirituality. These are living tradition, inspired adaptation, modern relevance, inclusive practice, and active involvement. Living tradition asserts that our practices are always growing and changing to best meet the needs of the practitioners in facing the challenges of the world we live in. Inspired adaptation argues that surviving source material such as the Eddas and historical sources are a starting point for developing practice and not the be-all and end-all of what can be done in Heathenry. Modern relevance claims spiritual practices and developments should find ways to be relevant for practitioners in the here and now and adapt to present conditions while retaining the core source of inspiration that makes it Heathen. Inclusive practice is the principle that all people are welcome to practice regardless of race, gender, sexuality, nationality, ability, or gender identity, and people advocating for bigoted ideologies should be actively excluded due to the harm they cause and represent. Active involvement accepts that spiritual practice permeates all aspects of life and should inspire us to take actions that make the world a better place.

The source of inspiration for this practice is pre-Christian Nordic spirituality as described in surviving source materials. These are the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, historical sagas such as the Saga of the Icelanders and the Heimskringla, Nordic Scandinavian folklore, and the experiences of modern practitioners. Using this combination of sources provides rich material for developing all aspects of spiritual practice.

My introductory book, The Way of Fire and Ice: The Living Tradition of Norse Paganism, was a toolkit for developing personal and communal Norse spirituality, whether you practice on your own, are with a community, or are trying to start your own community. This sequel, Spinning Wyrd, is as much a toolkit as it is a philosophical work.

Mystically inclined practitioners will find a thorough set of tools for developing direct relationships with animistic Powers, communing with the dead, and cultivating their skills in ecstatic trance journeywork. You will find many examples in this book of how core concepts in Nordic Paganism interact with and sometimes clash with the assumptions of modern life.

All the material presented here is suitable for solitary and group practice with the intent of being as adaptable and inclusive to the widest range of potential needs. How you apply the ideas and methods presented here is entirely up to what you think works best for you.

A Bit about Me

I began my journey in Radical Heathenry without setting out to make a new form of Heathen practice. My friends and I got started because we were seeking an inclusive, more directly relevant yet authentic form of Heathen practice. Over the course of years, the members of the Golden Gate Kindred experimented with new ways of doing familiar rituals while also deconstructing or removing more bigoted elements of practice. We also agitated for more inclusive practice throughout Heathenry as part of Heathens United Against Racism.

All of these ideas were first brought together in my first book, The Way of Fire and Ice. This introductory book covers the core elements of Radical Heathen practice like the Nordic gods, the Nine Worlds, ethics, and ritual with introductory materials on ecstatic practice and the Nordic mystical practice known as modern seiðr (Heathen mysticism and magic). It also includes information on community organizing, providing seekers with all the tools they need to start their individual, group, and community practice.

I planned on writing a book on these topics as my first sequel to The Way of Fire and Ice, and the COVID-19 pandemic gave that project a further sense of urgency. I wanted to follow my first book with this one because I feel the cosmology and nature of reality in Heathenry are the most important aspects of this form of practice. Many people, I feel, first associate many forms of Pagan and Heathen practice with worshipping many gods. In Nordic myth, there are forces that are greater than the gods and these forces influence everything on every level of existence. These mightier forces, comparable to gravity and magnetism, are what truly makes Fire and Ice practice and inclusive Nordic forms of spirituality tick.

I also felt this would be a good place to further explore the practice of utiseta, one of the three forms of modern seiðr. Utiseta is a form of trance meditation where the practitioner uses this altered state for seeking guidance or finding answers. It is one of the more adaptable and accessible forms of seiðr and is a very useful tool for practitioners looking to go deeper. All the exercises in this book will help further develop your skills in this mystical art.

How to Use This Book

This book will work through the mysteries over the next seven chapters. chapter one will begin the journey with further information and discussion of the ecstatic state and other, similar altered states of consciousness along with reenchantment and synchronicity, two concepts that are critical for understanding modern Heathen and Pagan philosophy.

chapter two will explore wyrd, which is also commonly referred to as fate, and delve into the Norns. chapter three zeroes in on the personal, discussing the four-part Nordic Self and what this means for the modern practitioner.

chapter four will circle back to the greater cosmos by exploring Yggdrasil (the World Tree), the Nine Worlds sustained by its branches, and more information on utiseta journeywork. chapter five will cover many beings of Nordic animism and contains the accounts of modern practitioners on animistic philosophy along with some rites and specific spiritual practices related to animism.

chapter six will then travel from these living spirits of place to the deceased, the Nordic forms of necromantic mysticism, and the Nordic understanding of death that will also be supported by the accounts of modern Heathen practitioners. chapter seven brings all these strands together through the core rhythms seen in the great march from fire and ice pouring into the Ginnungagap to the cataclysm of Ragnarök and beyond.

Each chapter concludes with an exercise that builds on the information discussed in its associated chapter and some have examples of rites and bindrunes where relevant. Appendix I includes some of the exercises from The Way of Fire and Ice that are also used in the exercises in this book. Appendix II gives a brief overview of the sagas, myths, and translations used throughout this book.

Whether you are new to this practice or experienced, this book offers more for understanding several key concepts in modern Nordic cosmology. It will also help you deepen your understanding of modern Nordic mystical practices. I hope this book adds more to your personal practice and deepens your understanding of modern Nordic Paganism.

[contents]

1. All passages from the Poetic Edda quoted in this book are from Henry Adams Bellows, trans., The Poetic Edda: The Mythological Poems (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004).

chapter one

Rhythms

of Reality

A measure of wisdom each [person] shall have,

But never too much let [them] know;

Let no [one] the fate before [them] see,

For so they are freest from sorrow.

—Havamal 56, Poetic Edda

To begin our journey, three essential concepts need to be more fully examined: the ecstatic state, reenchantment, and synchronicity. The ecstatic state is a form of altered state of consciousness that can be reached using a variety of methods, and its use is very common in Fire and Ice practice. Reenchantment is the process of finding ways to infuse our, at times, overwhelmingly mundane world with a fresh sense of wonder, awe, and beauty. Synchronicity refers to a phenomenon when largely internal experiences such as dreams or visions during meditation and trance correspond with seemingly coincidental events in the material world.

All these concepts are often discussed in modern Pagan practices, providing a key framework for truly understanding and articulating what these ideas mean for the everyday practitioner. Each is essential for better comprehending the very different, at times utterly alien, worldview that comes with Nordic cosmology.

Understanding reenchantment and synchronicity will also help open the deeper layers of potential that come with modern Pagan and Heathen practice. This is owing to how all forms of modern Pagan and Heathen practice are as much lived, dynamic sets of experiences as they are ideas that are believed, rituals that are honored, and motions conducted to show participation in a shared spiritual culture. Everything is deeply connected to and in relationship with everything else in existence. These ties manifest in a whole host of different ways, some of which are more subtle or mysterious than others. These three ideas provide the keys to greater understanding of both Fire and Ice spirituality and your own relationships with the world around you.

Developing Ecstatic Practice

Altered states of consciousness, also known as ecstatic states, are a critical component of Fire and Ice spiritual practice. These states are used to help understand mythic concepts, cultivate relationships with the world around you, and shift your awareness from the ordinary to the otherworldly. Cultivating a better understanding of this state will help you develop your own spiritual practice and hone your skills with specific trance-heavy forms of Nordic mysticism such as deathwork and utiseta journeywork. The specifics of how you do this, in Fire and Ice practice, can be understood in terms of the kind of altered experience you are pursuing, which is referred to as Up or Down; how you use this shift in consciousness, referred to as In or Out; and the specific methods used