Month: December 2018

Yule is here. A great time for some Vitki work!  As the days are lengthening it’s a great time for some seasonal magic!

As the new year dawns it’s time to consider what you’d like to accomplish in the coming year. We turn introspective during this time and what better time to think and meditate on a plan of action?  One that includes magic to bring about changes.

I always spend some time during these cold short days to re-evaluate my goals. I reassess my progress over the past year. Then I discover what I didn’t do and what I’d still like to do. I make my list of goals.

One of the most profound types of magic you can do during this time is bind rune sending. Pick one of the goals you would like to see materialize. Create a bind rune based on the outcome desired. Send it out into the multiverse through a candle sending. Or bury it in the frozen ground for the added benefit of earth energy. However you choose to send it beware!  This is powerful magic. Two years ago I sent a bind rune through a candle sending that I would have spiritual growth. I’ve had that in spades!  Careful what you ask for…

Doing Seidr this time of year is also more powerful. With ancestors trying to get a message out it’s a great time to contact them. Do a trance Seidr session where you travel to Hel. Ask to speak with an ancestor. See what wisdom they would offer you. In my experience this is a great way to help put things back into perspective.

All magic done during this season is more powerful for some reason. I don’t question the mechanics. I just reap the benefits of a wonderful Yule gift from the gods.

Last night was Mother’s Night. The start of Yule. So of course I marked the event with a disablot to honor my female ancestors. Here’s how it went.

I burned mugwort incense. I hailed my female ancestors with my drum and chanting. I called upon Frigga to be with me in the ritual. I then got down to the work of a disablot.

I went into a working trance. I again drummed and called upon my female ancestors. I expected my mother or sister to come to me. They are my primary disir. I was a little surprised when my dad’s mother came. My oma. She has never appeared in my trance work before. Hence my surprise.

A little about my oma. She was a farm wife through and through. She was tall broad shouldered and could kill two chickens at once. One in each hand by the neck and she would swing them around to snap the chicken’s necks. Plain and down to earth. That was my oma.

So once I got over my surprise at seeing her I asked her what wisdom she could offer me. She thought for a moment. Then she said “I have nothing wise for you. You are a big man. People read your words all over the world. And you have students across the world. You’re a big man. What wisdom could I give you?”  I told her I was looking for some sort of earthy words from her. She replied “There you go. Earth is my wisdom for you. Stay close to the land.”  Then she faded off.

Well I live in an urban environment. The only land near me is the huge forest preserve about a mile away from my condominium. Perhaps that’s the land she meant. Staying as close to nature as possible through the acres of trees. That I could make a better effort at doing. We’ll see if I can make that a bigger part of my life. Stay close to the land. My oma says so. And she can snap a neck with her bare hands!

Yule is upon us. It begins with Mother’s Night the which occurs the night before the winter solstice. It lasts for 13 days or until New Year’s Day. How to celebrate it?  Let’s take a look.

For Mother’s Night we perform a disablot. This is a blot in honor of our disir or female ancestors.  Here we honor and hail all the women who have gone before us to help shape who we are today. This can be a very powerful blot. Lots of feminine energy can be accessed. For us men this can be an incredible boon to balancing our spiritual energies. For the ladies it gives you a chance to celebrate all that makes you unique. This is perhaps my favorite ritual of the entire year.

We celebrate during the 13 days the returning of the light. Candles galore!  Make sure to put some lights on your Yule tree. Celebrate the turning of the year with lights.  Oh and don’t forget to burn a Yule log!

On the last night of Yule we celebrate a sumble for toasts and boasts and oaths. This is the ritual where you make boasts about your accomplishments over the past year and make oaths of what you’ll do in the new year. New Years resolutions. Be bold in your oaths. Think big. Challenge yourself to accomplish great things.

Those are a very brief overview of this holiday season. It’s a time to spend time with your family and become a bit contemplative. My favorite time of the year. Here’s hoping you and yours have a wonderful Yule. Hail!

I was raised by a farmer and drainage contractor in a town of 600 people in rural Illinois. My picture window view from my home was a field. We were by necessity close to the land. The passing of the seasons marked our lives. It was this upbringing that taught me a reverence of the land.

Now as an adult and a Vitki I find the land and the seasons and all of that stil have special meaning for me. Although I’ve lived all my adult life in urban areas I have not lost my love of piles of dirt.

What does this have to do with the Vitki?  For me doing any kind of magical workings involves the Elements. I use the land for grounding. I use the air for freedom. I use water for cleansing. I use fire to send magic out into the multiverse. Everything for me starts with the Elements. Living close to the land puts me in contact with those Elements.

Lucky for me I live only a mile away from a huge forest preserve. I go there frequently to get in touch with nature. This serves as a bridge between realities. The ordinary consciousness of mundane concerns and the relative freedom of trance work.

Whenever possible I use nature to flesh out my trance work. I find it very easy to go into trance if I focus on the sounds of the wind. The sound of running water also offers an easy way to get into trance.

Even rune readings take on a new dimension when done outdoors. You can easily remain grounded when your feet are actually on dirt!  A sense of grounding that is this strong makes for powerful rune readings.

Try it yourself. Try to get outdoors to practice your craft. Take a vacation somewhere in nature. Drive to a forest preserve. Find a farm and go out in the fields. These are all simple ways to get in touch with the land. Do it. And see how your practices bloom!

In this day and age it’s easier than ever to access the runes. There are blogs and apps and websites galore on the subject. Information is everywhere. This is a good thing. You can learn a lot in a short time. But there are dangers.

You need to make sure the sources you’re getting information from are reputable. It’s true that anyone can put anything out there. And while other people’s insight can be useful it’s not a replacement for your own knowledge. Take everything with a grain of salt. It’s always best to add to the knowledge you get with your own hard work.

I recommend doing some research first. Find out what others have to say on the subject of Runes. Then time for some meditation and hopefully trance work to solidify your impressions. You may find similar results to what you read. Or you may find other totally new dimensions.

So by all means use the technology we have at our fingertips. But back it up with some good old fashioned personal work as well. That to me is the best way to get to know the Runes and all of their mysteries.