The landvættir (lands - vayt - teer) are Norse spirits that guard the land. They are fiercely protective of their land, and capable of causing great harm to those who destroy it, however, they are also capable of blessing those who have earned their favor. The old Norse people took great care in maintaining favor with these spirits, and even after they had converted to Christianity they continued honoring the landvættir.
The land that landvættir inhabit varies greatly in size, ranging from a specific rock to a portion of a country. A good indicator that a place is inhabited by landvættir is that the land is significantly prettier and greener than the land around it. They’re animistic in nature, being directly tied to their land.
The landvættir are powerful spirits, and not to be taken lightly, they have the power to destroy your life should you get on their bad side. On the flipside, they also have the power to bring great good into your life if you’ve earned their favor.
[Image ID: a photo taken from the rim of a small canyon. There sre many pine trees growing in the area, and the bottom of the canyon is covered in scrub oak bushes and other small brush. End ID]
Earning the favor of the landvættir
I find the best way to earn the favor of the landvættir is offerings, along with, obviously, respecting their land. The landvættir like offerings that come from nature, I usually offer them herbs, vegetables, and fruit I grow in my garden, I’ll also pick up garbage in their space as an offering for them. I’ve heard they enjoy honey and milk as offerings as well, but I’ve never offered those myself. I feel this sort of goes without saying, only give the landvættir what is yours to give, they won’t appreciate you picking flowers from their land as offerings for them. I personally find that they prefer what you’ve grown yourself over store-bought herbs and plants, though that’s certainly not to say you can’t offer something store-bought.
You can give offerings to the landvættir just as you would any other spirit, though I’d strongly suggest leaving offerings that are safe for local wildlife to eat. Caring for the animals that live on the landvættir’s land will only improve your relationship with them. that being said, be careful not to attract bears, giving them a frequent enough food source can be dangerous to both you and the bear.
If you’re ever going to drastically change a piece of land, it’s always polite to warn the landvættir in advance so they have time to prepsre for the change. If someone was going to bulldoze your home you’d at least want a heads up so you could move out beforehand.
[Image ID: a narrow, rocky pathway descending down an approximately 30ft tall cliff. A thin oak tree grows on the wall-edge of the path. Below is a shady, forested area filled with pine trees and scrub oak bushes. End ID]
My experiences with the landvættir
I’m lucky enough to live in a rural area, and places to connect with nature are all around me. One of my favorite spots is a canyon (the same canyon from the photos) sandwiched between my street and the next, it’s a natural hot spot for wildlife, a very spiritual place, and home to landvættir
I’ve always protected this canyon in my own ways, picking up litter and protecting wildlife, so the landvættir already had a favorable disposition to me. I give the landvættir offerings most of the times I visit the canyon, and in return the landvættir have led me to bones I use in my practice and allow me to take ingredients from the area. Out of respect, before I do any spellwork in the canyon I always request their permission to do so first, and leave an offering of gratitude afterwards, the same goes with taking anything from the canyon
[Image ID: a circle of stones, lined with pinecones, approximately 4 feet in diameter, a medium-sized rock with a dip on the middle sits in the center of the circle. End ID]
I don’t have a traditional altar to the landvættir, instead I have a circle of rocks and pinecones in a small area of the canyon. I use a flat rock to present my offerings, and allow local wildlife to eat them.
Whenever I visit the lower part of the canyon, I always wear natural colors as in my personal experience the landvættir don’t like bright and unnatural colors.
all photos in this post were taken by me and may not be used without my permission
