The Unity of Consciousness – Seidr and Sexual Transformation (pt 1)

We’ve mentioned that seidr and galdor were the main magical techniques practiced in the Germanic occult. They represent the two sexes of Germanic magic: while seidr is associated with women, galdor is the “male magical practice”. We shall demonstrate that a person practicing seidr is in a state in which sexual categories have no meaning, therefore the division of male and female magic is outside of the realm of sexuality.

One might recall that Odin was criticized for practicing seidr, a woman’s skill. In Lokasenna, Loki calls Odin an ergi, that is “one with non-male traits”. The term ergi does not signify an effeminate man, but in this context it signifies one who doesn’t have control over himself, who becomes vulnerable in a state of trance, which is unbecoming for a man. The word is an insult and is used for a person who does not act according to his or her sex: in this way, Freia would also be an ergi because she seduced men instead of being seduced by them. There is a theory that states that practitioners of seidr don’t change their sex, but instead become two-sexual or that his or her sex becomes “the third sex”. This theory was outlined by Jenny Blain in her book “The Nine Worlds of Seidr-Magic”.

Lokasenna

Blain’s theory started from the fact that shamans around the world change their clothes for the clothes of the opposite sex and negate their own sexuality during the ritual in general. This custom is found in some Siberian and Altai tribes whose shamans are men who occasionally dress in women’s clothing and even have husbands. The shamans of Lapland, who are exclusively men, always have a female assistant by their side, attempting to reach the unity of both sexes in this manner during the ritual. The Inuit do not think of sexuality as a structure cast in stone, but as fluid and unfixed, which can therefore be changed at will. However, the most striking are other North American shamans who call themselves two-spirit or berdache and describe themselves as third sex beings (the ones who are berdache can be either men or women). By studying modern seidr practitioners, Blain came to the conclusion that the word ergi is used in the same context as berdache is among North American shamans. Ergi describes the state of a person in trance, a state in which the individual looses all features of his or her physical nature, including sexuality. Apart from that, there is also a sense of loss which is called Ego, because the individual performing seidr becomes one with the world of spirits: the spiritual world. The practitioner is overcome by a general transformation during which a change occurs in his or her relationship with the outside world, the world of spirits, people and society in general. The root of society’s intolerance for a man practicing seidr is exactly this – he leaves to role society assigned him and becomes a non-man, ergi.

The Unity of Consciousness – Seidr and Sexual Transformation pt 2

Consequently, by negating the outside world, a man practicing seidr becomes an ergi or a wimp as he would be called today. One should keep in mind that the Viking society assigned the man with the role of the warrior, defender of the family, and generally considered him its active member. Being a seidrmadr at that time was simply socially unacceptable. Nevertheless, the rejection by the society was not caused only by the seidr practitioner’s rejection of sexuality. The transformation that takes over the practitioner separated him from the society and his community, which is predisposed to rejecting anyone who’s different. The individual in a state of trance looses all features of his or her sexuality, his or her physical nature and his or her personality. This individual severs ties with the world of humans and becomes part of the world of spirits, as a result he or she stops being a true member of society. Shamans in all parts of the world are excluded from the society the same way seidr practitioners were in Viking times. Paradoxically, the community was wary even of local healers, midwives and similar professionals, even though they were useful to the society.

Even though it seems that a man practicing seidr takes over a woman’s role in sex, sexual characteristics in fact play no role in the division of magic between seidr and galdor. As we’ve already said, trance is a state in which the individual rejects his or her sex, either becoming asexual or a member of the opposite sex (just like in dreams, in trance a woman can become a man, and a man can become a woman). The only difference between the two magical practices are to be found in the ways seidr and galdor are practiced. Seidr is the more passive, and galdor the more active practice. Of course, here we are talking about galdor in the broadest sense of the word, not just verbal magic.

A person who wants to practice the occult seriously must accept both these magical practices – both seidr and galdor – otherwise he or she will not be able to achieve a spiritual and magical growth. A mage must be turned towards the inner, spiritual world but must not loose the connexion with reality. Therefore, for a mage to be successful, he or she should not focus only on supernatural experiences and contacting non-human entities, regardless of how much more appealing and interesting that might seem from participating in what constitutes everyday life. To call oneself successful in the occult, a person must be able to cause change in reality as well: socially, emotionally and financially. Only then can one consider oneself a follower of Odin – or a follower of Freya, who never limited herself to practicing only seidr.

Vanadis and the Hooded Crow