Customer Reviews

Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic: Ecstasy and Neo-Shamanism in North European Paganism

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are many schools of thought concerning seidh. The Author has provided an overview of one area of practice, oracular seidh, as taught by Diana Paxon's Hrafnar group. The student of northern magic will recognize old friends in the bibliography (Bauschatz, Byock, H. R. Ellis Davidson). Other books listed there give further indication of the Author's direction in this study - that of shamanism and gender issues related to seidh. Perhaps the most important aspect of this book is it's emphasis on doing the work - when they aren't mounting the high seat, they are lying under the blankets accessing other sources of knowledge. They are sharing their experiences and building the horde of knowledge needed to reconstruct this magical form. My problems with the book are: 1) lack of definition for some of the terms used, e.g. the nine worlds of sied-magic could refer to the nine worlds of Yggdrasil or something specific to the Hrafnar system; 2) the frequency with which forthcoming articles/books were referenced in the text and appear in the bibliography; 3) the Author references a 1906 edition of Snorri Sturluson's HEIMSKRINGLA: A HISTORY OF THE NORSE KINGS which does not include the Ynglingasaga, there is a more recent edition which does include that saga (HEIMSKRINGLA: HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF NORWAY, Snorri Sturluson translated with introduction and notes by Lee M. Hollander, University of Texas Press, Austin, third printing, 1999. The importance of this particular saga is that it contains a catalogue of the magic powers associated with seidh.); 4) relating the meaning of seidh to the word "seethe" - refer to WITCHDOM OF THE TRUE: A STUDY OF THE VANA-TROTH AND THE PRACTICE OF SEIDHR by Edred Thorsson (Runa-Raven Press, 1999) for the etymology of the word "seidhr"; the Author provides alternative translations of "illrar brudhar" as found in the Voluspa of the POETIC EDDA however pointing out that she is neither a philologist nor an etymologist - this limits the usefulness of her alternative translations, making them little better than hearsay until someone with the appropriate credentials validates them.

This book deals with a narrow sector of the range of seidh practices which appear in the Icelandic sagas. For a discussion of other aspects of seidh, I recommend HOSTILE MAGIC IN THE ICELANDIC SAGAS by H. R. Ellis Davidson and OLAF TRYGGVASON VERSUS THE POWERS OF DARKNESS by Jacqueline Simpson, both appearing in THE WITCH FIGURE, Venetia Newall editor, Routlage & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1973.

The author is both a sociologist by profession and a Norse Pagan and magician by training. This book looks at the practice of 'seidr' - norse shamanic-style magic - both from a scholastic and a practitioner's viewpoints. But Blain is no mere participant-observer, she is anactive carrier of the modern Asatru tradition, and her efforts to explicate that tradition in ways that are useful to her academic discipline are fascinating. A good introduction to the practice of seidr for Pagan readers, and a fine examination of an obscure corner of the modern religious landscape for scholars.

if you are a practitioner looking for mythological context, techniques or methods for magical and/or shamanic practices of northern europe, i recommend that you do not buy this book ... it does not explore the nine-world mythology of northern europe, magic practices or shamanic practices

the author openly admits that she is an academic who is writing primarily for an academic audience ... however, she also admits to being a practitioner who is supporting rediscovery and/or reinvention ... the result, in my opinion, at best this book is primarily an exploration of academic definition ... at worst, it is a justification to academia for the author being an academic and a practitioner ... i believe that it would have served better if the author had written two books, one strictly for academia and one strictly for practitioners ... it seems to me that the author is certainly capable of both ... however, dealing with both roles in one writing seems to result in the author's testifying to a "split" in purpose, and with a decisive prejudice towards academia ... having received this impression early in and repeatedly throughout the reading, i believe she conveys as much in a concluding comment on page 157 when she writes:

"to me, the shaman becomes a metaphor for the ethnographer of post-modernity, moving through the worlds, moving between levels of analysis, in an attempt to reconstruct something in her own understandings, her own life, that approaches wholeness, an understanding of living that is complete, not fragmented, returning in her journeys to a pole of being, a world tree"

i do not judge dealing with such a split in this context as inappropriate, only that i had not expected nor desired subject matter motivated by an attempt to define and justify (perhaps heal?) one's academic/experiential split ... i had hoped to learn more about northern mythology, seid-magic and nordic shamanism in context to contemporary issues ... to me, this is what the title suggests is available ... however, this is not what i found to be the case

the bottom line: outside of the author's relatively brief, anecdotal reporting of personal experience with oracular-seid, there is nothing here for the practitioner concerning northern cosmology/mythology, seid-magic or nordic shamanism ... thus, BUYER BEWARE

from the perspective of a practitioner seeking practices, my review results in one star ... as a philosophical attempt to academically define the subject matter, my review results in three stars ... hence, two stars total

Jenny Blain is AFAIK the only author who analyzes what is really there AND describes various attempts to reconstruct Seidr today. Off course she disappoints lots of people who like to create a new magical fantasy world or want to live in a New Age world created for them by an author. The less we really know the better for the New Ager.....But she is an Ethnologist, totally commited to truth and a practioner of Seidr herself.
Jenny Blains description of Seidr is a realistic piece of hard research work and I can feel the oblique and powerful craft of our ancestors in her work. It's definetely not a game, it never was and Jenny warns her audience about the consequences throughout the book. That's another aspect New Agers "dislike" because it is not only blond Elbs, funny dwarfs and honest gods you will find in that other world. So better be prepared and protected. There may be bitter consequences if someone is doing just one little mistake during a Seidr trance "The whole luck of a person can change 100% for the rest of her life with one offended spirit in a session." Ooops! But she doesn't hand out "Do it yourself" ritual kits to her readers anyway. Her real Seidr is far too dangerous for that. She is practizing in a well protected group and she reports incidents I don't want to be part of.
Very well done! The only points that turn me off are that postmodern academic phony discussions about i.e "Transgenderism in shamanic blababla...." ;-)))
But you can't have it all....

So far, this is the only book I've come across that truly presents all sides of the arguments surrounding this ancient practice. Jenny Blain manages to avoid the arrogance so many people in the Norse Heathen community present when discussing the subject, and maintain a neutral position, even while admitting that she practices seidhr (in some form) herself. This is not an instructional book, but an examination of different viewpoints, and as such it is invaluable to anyone interested in the subject. Those who are upset that she doesn't support their opinions more clearly have missed the point of the book.

Blain does an excellent job of examining the shamanic aspects of Seid. She does seem to come off as mildly apologetic that an academic would be involved in such inquiries. This is most apparent in the intensity with which she qualifies and defines the various concepts addressed in _Nine_Worlds_.

As the subtitle indicates, _Nine_Worlds_ focuses on the shamanic aspect of the Old Germanic Religion. It does so from a distinctly Asatru perspective. I've said many times that the 'Trar can be a bit too serious at times, and Blain is no exception. But in this case, the earnestness can be endearing. One comes away from _Nine_Worlds_ with a great deal of respect, and a bit of compassion, for Blain's intense attitude.

_Nine_Worlds_ is a survey of Seid shamanic practice, and in no way a how-to manual. That being said, it is a must-read for anyone interested in European Shamanism.

Ms. Blain does an excellent job of studying seidr not only from a practical stance but a historical and philosophical one as well. She mixes scholarship and historical theory with stories of personal experience and accounts of modern-day practice. It does only cover one way of practicing seidr though, that being the Hrafnar style oracular seidr of Diana Paxson's group. As limited as the scope is however it is still an excellent work.

My husband and I had to read this book together, one reading aloud while the other ran for references.

ie. books on ancient teutonic rituals, asatru, ethnology, psychoactives and icelandic pronuncianton, (only to name a few)

This is for the experienced heathen with specific interests but well worth the time you may spend doing further research or catching up on general knowledge in pagan/shamanism and trance-working if you happened to get in a little over your head.

Most people (mis)understand Norse ("Viking") religion as wooden idols and human sacrifice where the "gods"* are an Ikea version of the Roman/Greek pantheon; Odin = Jupiter, Thor = Poseidon etc. But an important part of belief concerned fortune-telling. In the saga Arrow-Odd, and we find this:

[Odd is the foster-son of Ingjald, a wealthy land-holder.] Odd cared little for sacrifices to the gods, but trusted to his own strength [...] There was a witch-woman called Heid who had second-sight so with her uncanny knowledge she knew all about things before they happened. [Heid and her followers are invited to a feast by Ingjald, against Odd's wishes.] After the meal was over, people went to sleep, but the prophetess and her company went to carry out their night-rituals. [The following morning Heid calls up all in the household.] She told each of them what the future held for them, and they were all pleased with their prospects. Then she predicted the weather for the following winter and more that was not previously known. [Then, against his protests, Heid predicts Odd's life and death.] "Damn you for making this prophecy about me," said Odd. And as soon as she'd finished speaking, he sprang up and struck her so hard on the nose with a stick that the blood gushed onto the floor. [Odd states that he does not believe any of this and leaves Ingjald's farm. The prophecy, however, comes true in all details.]

The story of Odd indicates many issues covered by the book: prophecy as a slightly suspect practice, but one that the pragmatic Norse included in their beliefs and the fact that its practitioners were mostly female and that warriors tended to be hostile towards it. Very little is known about the practice, so those who are seeking their Pagan roots have to "re-create" the religion - they have to make it up. Oh dear!

The example given is the theme of the book: oracular seiğr - foretelling the future. The writer is a modern Pagan and seiğr practitioner but has little to say from personal experience. The best accounts are given by others, in fact just a handful of experienced and articulate seiğ-workers. The book would have been better if it was a series of in-depth interviews with these people.

There are frequent references to seiğr as originating with the shamanism of the Sami people (known to most of us as the Lapps) and there is a whole chapter devoted to the shape-shifter Gunnhildr, the famous witch-queen of Noway, then later of York, who learned her skill from the Sami. A lot of ink is spent debating whether or not seiğr is shamanism, but since anthropologists cannot agree on what shamanism is (and don't like it much anyway), this seems wasted effort, as does the extensive argument developed from Queer Theory, but perhaps that's what you have to do these days in US universities. There are only a few quoted examples from the sagas and one particular example is worked to death.

One big unanswered question is "how good is it at telling the future?" But the interviewees use weasel words like "healing" and "insight" when describing their experience. So modern seiğr seems no more than another meditative technique. If you put your head under a blanket and cut off the supply of oxygen to the brain, you'll have visions, especially if you are chemically assisted as some practitioners are.

Written for an academic audience, this book has all of the good and bad points that we associate with that. It's well researched, but the text tends to be very dense and a bit of a hard slog. Its conclusions are cautious and supported by the evidence, but not exciting. This does have a place on my bookshelf, but you might be better off reading the sagas instead.

I really enjoyed this book for it's scholarly treatment of the material. It explains varying types of magic and shamanism in the Norse culture, utilizing first-hand accounts and primary and secondary sources. It explains how the ancient practice was accomplished and how modern heathens are bringing an ancient practice into the 21st century.

People looking for specific shamanic exercises or activities will have to look elsewhere as this book is not a hands-on guide. It also is not tied to the "ancient ways" of doing things. Blain thoroughly goes over the historical texts dealing with magick and Seid but interprets them with modern usage in mind. Strict reconstructionalists will have a problem with this mind-set but I, for one, am not adverse to making ancient concepts accessible to a modern audience.

This book is an excellent over-view of Seith! I enjoyed it very much!