Oracular Seidhr
Scheduled Sessions for 2012:
February 4th (Ewemeolc)
April 28th (Walpurgisnacht/May Day)
August 5th (Lammas)
October 28th (Samhain)
December 16th (Yule)
If you have a question you would like me to take to the Well and put before the gods on your behalf, please feel free to email me: wodandis@gmail.com, and please allow 48-72 hours for a reply. There is no charge for my oracular seidhr services, as this is a gift I offer to the pagan community and in service to my gods and spirits (especially Odin).
However, please read on.
I know that in the past I offered, on this page, to add additional oracular sessions to my schedule upon request. I will no longer do so for the following reasons:
1) In the elder Heathen times, in Scandinavia, oracular seidhr was not a common occurrence. The saga of Erik the Red describes one such session in detail, and the sense is given that it was a fairly rare event, reserved for times of great need. Even among modern practitioners, it does not take place frequently, as it is a fairly demanding rite involving deep trance and usually requiring the assistance of at least one helper. Even more than that, though, in the course of my years of seidhr practice I have come to the conclusion that, just as the Havamal cautions against making too many offerings, it is not a good idea to ask the gods too often for information about your future. There comes a time at which we must take whatever guidance is given and act on it to the best of our ability. There are no absolute assurances and the gods expect us to make our own choices and our own mistakes; this is what life is for. I suspect this is why the ancient Germanic pagans did not do this rite very frequently.
2) I currently work full time during the day and have chronic pain issues, and in addition to that am trying to get a small business off the ground and write a book (on working with Odin). So although I have occasionally been known to add an additional session to my schedule (this year, I added one in February), I really can't afford in terms of time or energy to be doing this on demand. The sessions really have to happen according to a pre-determined schedule.
This being said, if you email me a seidhr question when I am between sessions, I will be saving it for my next pre-scheduled session, and will not be adding an additional session for you (sorry!), as this rite is just too demanding for me to do so. I will email you back, though, to confirm that I received your question.
If you feel your question is urgent and cannot wait until my next session, I have a new option available: I am available by appointment to do a Tarot or rune reading for you for a fee of $20, payable in advance via my Paypal account. These readings can take place either via email or by chat. If you choose chat, we will agree on a mutually convenient time and the reading will be limited to 30 minutes. If you choose email, I may need 24-72 hours to reply with your reading, as I work full time, but I will get your reading to you as quickly as I am able. I prefer not to do phone work. Depending on the situation, there may be light trance involved on my part during your reading and if there is a message for you from one of the gods that comes up during the reading I will definitely convey this to you, but of course I cannot guarantee that such a thing will happen.If you would like this service, make your payment to wodandis@gmail.com via Paypal, and then email me at wodandis@gmail.com explaining your situation and specifying whether you would like Tarot or runes. I am sorry but I cannot at this time provide free Tarot or rune readings. Depending on the situation, though, I may be open to barter. If you would like to propose a barter, please email me and explain the situation, as well as what you will offer. I hold to the principle of Gebo in this (a gift demands a gift), so some form of exchange must take place.
And now a bit of background on my practice:
In 2007 I began practicing a version of oracular trance taught to me by Odin (with a little help from two of his allies, his uncle Mimir and a creature I call the Well-Wight, a strange, froglike being who dwells deep within the Well of Wyrd). Please note that I do NOT use the same method practiced by Hrafnar or any other established seidhr group, nor do I claim to be a member or student of any such group. My only teachers in this art have been the gods and spirits I work with and for.
What do I actually do during my sessions? I have an alcove in my home set aside for trance-work, in which I have a high seat and some other tools, including a set of skeletons keys I use as a journeying aid. I take a purification bath beforehand, am gowned and veiled for the session, and burn mugwort, a plant whose spirit I have an alliance with. The mugwort also resonates strongly with the Well-Wight, helping me to establish communication with this being. I also drink a cup of mugwort tea as a boost to my psychic senses. While I am preparing myself, my partner prepares and wards the ritual space. I begin the ritual by making a libation (with an offering of my own blood) to Odin, Mimir, and the Well-Wight. (I generally do this around sundown, Pacific time.) As I enter trance, my partner either drums for me or plays a drumming cd or other trance-inducing music from my collection. I journey to the Well of Wyrd by “synching” the area around the Well with the physical space of my ritual area—in effect, pulling that area of Asgard closer to Midgard so that it overlays my physical surroundings in this world. (This is something Odin has taught me to do, and is a key aspect of my work with him.) I then gaze into the Well as Jolene reads me, one at a time, the questions that have been submitted for that session.
Sometimes the answer comes as a vision presented to me in the Well, and/or runes in the Well; sometimes the Well-Wight puts direct knowledge into my head pertaining to the question; sometimes one or more of the gods or goddesses will answer the question—not necessarily showing up directly, but speaking to me via the Well. Because the Well can act as a conduit to all of the worlds, I can even communicate with those gods and goddesses who do not reside in Asgard in this way, without my actually needing to journey to their homes.
If you submit a question, I make no guarantee that a god or goddess will actually answer it, though you should be prepared for the possibility. (And also for the possibility that if they do, you may not necessarily like the answer.) When an answer comes to me via the Well-Wight, I often warn people that this Wight, while extremely accurate, is a thoroughly impartial and impersonal being who has little interest in or sympathy for humanity. However, while It/His answers may lack compassion they will also not be colored by a personal agenda, as the answers of the gods Themselves so often are. Mimir’s answers tend to be of much the same nature, although somewhat more understanding of human feelings and limitations.
If you would like to submit a question for my next scheduled session, feel free to email me. I do not charge for this service, although I will gratefully accept monetary donations via Paypal (see below for this option), as I am not financially well-off and I do devote a great deal of my time and energy to this practice. (Donations in goods and/or services are also accepted, if it is something I can use; email me to ask.)
Whether or not a donation is made to me, I do request that all querents offer a libation to Odin, Mimir, and the Well-Wight, under whose auspices I work. This is according to the principle of Gebo (a gift demands a gift) and even though I do not ask anything for myself in return for my seidhr services I do ask that you make a simple gift of a drink offering to my spirits. If you are of legal drinking age, this offering can be mead, red wine or a hard spirit such as vodka or whiskey. If you are not of drinking age, a good quality strong black coffee will suffice!
For more information on the ethics I adhere to in my oracular practice, please visit this page.
~ Beth
February 4th (Ewemeolc)
April 28th (Walpurgisnacht/May Day)
August 5th (Lammas)
October 28th (Samhain)
December 16th (Yule)
If you have a question you would like me to take to the Well and put before the gods on your behalf, please feel free to email me: wodandis@gmail.com, and please allow 48-72 hours for a reply. There is no charge for my oracular seidhr services, as this is a gift I offer to the pagan community and in service to my gods and spirits (especially Odin).
However, please read on.
I know that in the past I offered, on this page, to add additional oracular sessions to my schedule upon request. I will no longer do so for the following reasons:
1) In the elder Heathen times, in Scandinavia, oracular seidhr was not a common occurrence. The saga of Erik the Red describes one such session in detail, and the sense is given that it was a fairly rare event, reserved for times of great need. Even among modern practitioners, it does not take place frequently, as it is a fairly demanding rite involving deep trance and usually requiring the assistance of at least one helper. Even more than that, though, in the course of my years of seidhr practice I have come to the conclusion that, just as the Havamal cautions against making too many offerings, it is not a good idea to ask the gods too often for information about your future. There comes a time at which we must take whatever guidance is given and act on it to the best of our ability. There are no absolute assurances and the gods expect us to make our own choices and our own mistakes; this is what life is for. I suspect this is why the ancient Germanic pagans did not do this rite very frequently.
2) I currently work full time during the day and have chronic pain issues, and in addition to that am trying to get a small business off the ground and write a book (on working with Odin). So although I have occasionally been known to add an additional session to my schedule (this year, I added one in February), I really can't afford in terms of time or energy to be doing this on demand. The sessions really have to happen according to a pre-determined schedule.
This being said, if you email me a seidhr question when I am between sessions, I will be saving it for my next pre-scheduled session, and will not be adding an additional session for you (sorry!), as this rite is just too demanding for me to do so. I will email you back, though, to confirm that I received your question.
If you feel your question is urgent and cannot wait until my next session, I have a new option available: I am available by appointment to do a Tarot or rune reading for you for a fee of $20, payable in advance via my Paypal account. These readings can take place either via email or by chat. If you choose chat, we will agree on a mutually convenient time and the reading will be limited to 30 minutes. If you choose email, I may need 24-72 hours to reply with your reading, as I work full time, but I will get your reading to you as quickly as I am able. I prefer not to do phone work. Depending on the situation, there may be light trance involved on my part during your reading and if there is a message for you from one of the gods that comes up during the reading I will definitely convey this to you, but of course I cannot guarantee that such a thing will happen.If you would like this service, make your payment to wodandis@gmail.com via Paypal, and then email me at wodandis@gmail.com explaining your situation and specifying whether you would like Tarot or runes. I am sorry but I cannot at this time provide free Tarot or rune readings. Depending on the situation, though, I may be open to barter. If you would like to propose a barter, please email me and explain the situation, as well as what you will offer. I hold to the principle of Gebo in this (a gift demands a gift), so some form of exchange must take place.
And now a bit of background on my practice:
In 2007 I began practicing a version of oracular trance taught to me by Odin (with a little help from two of his allies, his uncle Mimir and a creature I call the Well-Wight, a strange, froglike being who dwells deep within the Well of Wyrd). Please note that I do NOT use the same method practiced by Hrafnar or any other established seidhr group, nor do I claim to be a member or student of any such group. My only teachers in this art have been the gods and spirits I work with and for.
What do I actually do during my sessions? I have an alcove in my home set aside for trance-work, in which I have a high seat and some other tools, including a set of skeletons keys I use as a journeying aid. I take a purification bath beforehand, am gowned and veiled for the session, and burn mugwort, a plant whose spirit I have an alliance with. The mugwort also resonates strongly with the Well-Wight, helping me to establish communication with this being. I also drink a cup of mugwort tea as a boost to my psychic senses. While I am preparing myself, my partner prepares and wards the ritual space. I begin the ritual by making a libation (with an offering of my own blood) to Odin, Mimir, and the Well-Wight. (I generally do this around sundown, Pacific time.) As I enter trance, my partner either drums for me or plays a drumming cd or other trance-inducing music from my collection. I journey to the Well of Wyrd by “synching” the area around the Well with the physical space of my ritual area—in effect, pulling that area of Asgard closer to Midgard so that it overlays my physical surroundings in this world. (This is something Odin has taught me to do, and is a key aspect of my work with him.) I then gaze into the Well as Jolene reads me, one at a time, the questions that have been submitted for that session.
Sometimes the answer comes as a vision presented to me in the Well, and/or runes in the Well; sometimes the Well-Wight puts direct knowledge into my head pertaining to the question; sometimes one or more of the gods or goddesses will answer the question—not necessarily showing up directly, but speaking to me via the Well. Because the Well can act as a conduit to all of the worlds, I can even communicate with those gods and goddesses who do not reside in Asgard in this way, without my actually needing to journey to their homes.
If you submit a question, I make no guarantee that a god or goddess will actually answer it, though you should be prepared for the possibility. (And also for the possibility that if they do, you may not necessarily like the answer.) When an answer comes to me via the Well-Wight, I often warn people that this Wight, while extremely accurate, is a thoroughly impartial and impersonal being who has little interest in or sympathy for humanity. However, while It/His answers may lack compassion they will also not be colored by a personal agenda, as the answers of the gods Themselves so often are. Mimir’s answers tend to be of much the same nature, although somewhat more understanding of human feelings and limitations.
If you would like to submit a question for my next scheduled session, feel free to email me. I do not charge for this service, although I will gratefully accept monetary donations via Paypal (see below for this option), as I am not financially well-off and I do devote a great deal of my time and energy to this practice. (Donations in goods and/or services are also accepted, if it is something I can use; email me to ask.)
Whether or not a donation is made to me, I do request that all querents offer a libation to Odin, Mimir, and the Well-Wight, under whose auspices I work. This is according to the principle of Gebo (a gift demands a gift) and even though I do not ask anything for myself in return for my seidhr services I do ask that you make a simple gift of a drink offering to my spirits. If you are of legal drinking age, this offering can be mead, red wine or a hard spirit such as vodka or whiskey. If you are not of drinking age, a good quality strong black coffee will suffice!
For more information on the ethics I adhere to in my oracular practice, please visit this page.
~ Beth
