Travel Safe through these Days and Keep Warm

 

I hope you celebrate this time of the year with love in your hearts and warm clothes on your body. 

Photograph by Sofia Karin Axelsson.

Look into the Darkness with No Fear

 

Photograph from Pixabay.

Voices of The Norns - Past, Present and Future - Anger

 

Anger

Dear Norns, 

It seems to me that the level of anger in the world has skyrocketed in recent years. Even a simple task such as grocery shopping has become a hazard. I hear people shouting profanities at each other in the parking lot, and see people throwing a fit over minutia, such as that their favorite brand of potato chips are not being stocked. And don’t get me started on the much more important matter of social and political levels that affect us all. 

Why is this happening and how can we handle it?

Justice Radcliffe,

Cardiff, Wales

Justice as in Justice,

All things are in balance, even when it doesn’t seem so. 

Nature is nature. The hooves of a moose cannot be made of paper as he strides his heavy body through the forest. He will leave broken branches and ripped open dirt in his path. But he is sound. He is what he’s supposed to be. When the plates of the Earth moves we cannot stop the earthquake by patting the grass. Trees fall and drag smaller trees with them, but in the fallen, rotting trees a myriad of new life forms can create their homes.

People cannot change by holding back their nature. The important question isn’t why there is more anger. The question is how it is directed.

Tantrums are for children. Calm them down, or let them purge if they do not hurt anyone. Directed anger can be used for greater causes. 

Ride this out. Find causes worthy of the earthquakes. Shake your anger loose. Make it count. Hurt no one. Not even yourself.

Live up to your name.

Yggdrasil cares not about your worries and fears. Nor about anger. It is Yggdrasil. It is nature. Your deeds are all that matter. Be patient. Be brave. This too shall pass and turn into something new.

The Norns

First published in August/ September/ October 2021 of The Echo World.

Mother Holle Underworld: Journey for Healing Your Fear of the Dark

 

Take a journey to the Underworld with help of the classic faery-tale Mother Holle. Click on the link below and walk the path towards healing with Mother Holle and me, Sofia.

Photographs by Sofia Karin Axelsson.

Mother Holle Underworld was first published oct 14, 2020 on The Echo World channel.

Voices of The Norns - Past, Present and Future - Freedom

 

Freedom

Revered Norns,

How can we find freedom in these troubled times?

Sincerely,

Majjsan Maria Kindgren, Sweden

Sweet child of many worlds,

You should know that freedom is not limited by closed borders, or a postponed picnick. We have all lived in lockdown. Yes, even us, the Norns, have hovered closer together under our safe roots. In this state of isolation and darkness there are only two choices. To wither and die, or to let your light shine brighter, until it bursts all borders.

Which is it going to be child? Will you help the fates? Will you be one of the lightbringers? 

There is your freedom. If you want it.

Sincerely,

The Norns, stuck under the roots

First published in the June/ July 2021 edition of The Echo World.

Pictures from Pixabay.

Nordic Goddesses - Hel, The Goddess of Transformation

 

Times are getting darker. We do well to take a little help from the ones who knows. Goddesses are great sources of wisdom. This video - first published in April 2020 on The Echo World YouTube channel - presents the graces of the goddess Hel.

Illustration and photo by Sofia Karin Axelsson.

Deeper into The Wilderness We Go

 

Photograph: Pixabay.

Voices of The Norns - Past, Present and Future - The Broken Key

 

The Broken Key

Dear Norns,

Recently I learned how to look for signs in my immediate environment. I ask the Universe a question and then take a walk. Most often the “answers” I get are comforting and rather clear. I see white feathers and feel a sense of confirmation that I’m on the right path. A four leaf clover means luck, of course. Seeing a frog I interpret as that I should take some time for cleansing and healing. 

But, the other day I asked the question: “How can I and the world move forward and heal after these hard years?” As soon as I started my walk I stepped on a broken key. This did not feel comforting. Neither do I have any clue to how to interpret this sign. Can you help? 

Sincerely,

Beth Crow, Amherst, Va

Little Crow,

How typical of a black feathered ally to ask and ask, and then cry to the sky when the answer is uncomfortable. Crows are magnificent creatures, but impatient, and therefor often get themselves into trouble. Rest assured, however, that you will get what you ask for, one way or the other.

We are the Norns, and know about fate for man, beast and the world. The broken key tells you this:

What has been broken must be mended, before anyone can unlock the door to a better future. So many lives have been lost, so many fates diminished and destroyed. Dear Mother Earth herself is heaving heavy from poisons.

What the world needs is balance. What the world needs is justice. What the world needs is healing. So do you little crow. So does everyone.

Once the work is done, you can mend the broken key. Then, and only then, will you find the door with the keyhole that fits your mended key. You shall open that door, and nothing will ever be the same again.

The Norns

First published in June/ July 2021 edition of The Echo World.

Photos from Pixabay.

Nordic Goddesses - Idun, The Goddess of Youth

 

Idun-jump 

The first of January we introduced The Echo World Magical Extra on our YouTube channel. The posting was a reading of the ghost story Breath by me. Since then we published a great deal of videos about magic and ceremony. 

I'm in the process of creating a new series of YouTube clips from Sweden. While I'm pondering this I'm sharing some of the ones I had most fun doing in Magic Land, Virginia. This one is about the Nordic goddess Idun. Idun is the goddess of Youth, Joy and Immortality. In this clip I talk about her, and about the importance of keeping the joy.

Illustration by Sofia Karin Axelsson. Video first published May 21, 2020.

Voices of the Norns – The Past, The Present, and The Future - Unconditional Love

Dear Norns,

Is the meaning of life (here on Earth) to learn how to LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY?

Thanks, 
Maverick Wayfarer

Greetings Maverick;

We are the Norns. It is not within our purpose to decide on the finding of meaning in any person’s life.

If love is not unconditional … it isn’t love.

There is nothing to learn.

But, if finding this warm, saturated love would be your choice of bringing meaning to your life. Then you can try to find it. It is not an unworthy quest.

You will have to decide how far into the wilderness you are ready to go. And what parts of you will be sacrificed (there will always be sacrifice on a quest.)

We wish you happy hunting.

From the root of Yggdrasil

First published in May edition 2021 of The Echo World

Art: The Golden Key by John Bauer, photo: Pixabay.

Into the Wilderness We go

 

Photograph: Pixabay.

Power animals - the Bat

 

Times are getting darker. We do well to take a little help from spirits. Power animals are great allies. This video - first published in April 2020 on The Echo World YouTube channel - presents the graces of the bat.

Video from Magic Land, Virginia. First published April 2020. Pictures from Pixabay - edited.