#scrying

[wizardsisananimal]

the procrastinator’s mind will invent distractions you’ve never conceived of in order to avoid tasks even a dog could do.

[intuwise]

Scrying is moving through these tags again this week, a few people posting their first mirror and water readings. And the most common how-to you find stops at gaze into the surface and wait, which is exactly why people sit for twenty minutes, see nothing, and decide they cannot do it. The technique that matters is in the parts nobody mentions.

Start with the gaze, because this is where most of it goes wrong. You are not staring. A hard stare fights you, your eyes water, you blink, you reset, and you never settle. What you want is a soft, slightly unfocused gaze that looks through the surface rather than at it, the way your eyes drift past a window to the street beyond the glass. The surface should lose its hard edge and go a little vague.

Then the surface starts to change, and beginners almost always misread what happens next. Within a few minutes it tends to cloud, go smoky, darken, or seem to breathe. People take that as their eyes playing tricks, snap back to a sharp focus to check, and that ends it. The clouding is the doorway, not a glitch. Part of it is simply your vision softening on a featureless field, and that softening is the exact state you are trying to reach. Let it fog over and keep your attention loose inside the fog.

It also helps to know what a vision is actually like, because the expectation is the thing that blinds you. It is almost never a clear picture floating in the glass. It is shifting shapes, a color that was not there a second ago, a shadow moving against the grain, a face that assembles for a moment and dissolves. Sometimes it is not visual at all, just a feeling, a word in the mind, or a flat knowing. If you are holding out for a sharp image, you will look straight past the real signal, which tends to be quiet and partial.

A lot of what people call a block is really the setup. Work in low light with a single candle placed behind you or off to the side, never throwing a bright reflection straight into the surface. Use a black mirror or a dark bowl of water set on a dark cloth. Sit so you cannot see your own face clearly in the surface, because a sharp reflection of yourself locks your eyes at the glass instead of through it. Fix the light and the angle and half the I cannot scry problem tends to disappear.

On patience, the honest number is that most people need somewhere between five and twenty sessions before a first real impression. The early sittings where nothing happened are not failures. They are you teaching your eyes and your attention to hold the soft state without bailing out the moment it gets strange. Ten quiet minutes a few times a week will take you further than one heroic hour.

There is a discernment line worth holding too. Not everything you see is a message. Floaters, the afterimage of the candle, the surface graying out, that is ordinary eye behavior and it is the doorway, not the content. The scried material is what comes through that state, the shape that carries meaning, the word, the pull toward something. You learn the difference by keeping a log and only trusting what recurs or genuinely lands.

When you break the gaze, write it down immediately, before your mind tidies it into a tidy story. Do not interpret in the chair. Scrying hands you raw, half-formed material, and the meaning comes later, on the page, with a little distance. The skill was never seeing harder. It is letting the surface go soft and staying in the room while it does.

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Theodore Besterman - Crystal-Gazing - University - 1965

[sheydmade]

Practical Magic: Everday Items You Can Use in Witchcraft; Part 1

by Keziah Zibelmann | Support on Ko-fi

One common misconception about witchcraft is that it requires tools, plants, and magical allies that are difficult to come by. This certainly is the case in some works, but it needn't be. Witchcraft should be both accessible and adaptable to meet the needs of the practitioner, and the witch's toolset should be the same.

There are countless everyday tools and allies that one can put to good use in magical craft, with such items laying around the house or readily available at your local grocery store, hardware store, or even dollar store, and not enough witchcraft resources take the time to show these types of tools love. This piece, though, aims to remedy that, because, as I've previously written in Simple Methods of Magical Protection, —

'...witchcraft shouldn’t be locked away behind a paywall, doled out by practitioners convincing others that magic can only be accessed via a pay-to-play system...'

To add to this, one's magical toolset or arsenal of allies need not consist of expensive, difficult to access items or plants. Consider instead incorporating some of the tools and herbal allies included in this piece, a dedicated exploration of commonly accessible goods that provide a wealth of magical aid; or take inspiration from this piece and consider your own readily available alternatives in similar items.

Now, without further ado, allow me to present to you a collection of everyday items for working craft. May it serve those in need of it.

AROUND THE HOUSE

This section focuses on items one can typically find around their house, things that are commonly kept in stock in one's home or are easy enough to come by at a local hardware store, dollar store, or shop.

[NOTE: You can catch even more items, ingredients, and allies in the upcoming Part 2 of this series.]

NAILS & THUMBTACKS

Nails are a versatile and potent tool to keep in your magical arsenal. While iron nails and coffin nails are believed to be especially powerful and are a common feature in various magical crafts around the world, nails in general (yes, even the pack you picked up at the hardware store or dollar shop) can be used in numerous works. We'll focus on the common nails (typically steel) one can access nowadays, but you can find information on the use of pure iron nails in some of my other works — Protection Work in Folk Magic: Herbs, Spells, & Charms for Protecting Yourself & Others; Home Protection in Folk Magic: Charms, Wards, & Work to Magically Protect One's Home.

PROTECTION: Nails can be used in various protective works. This is most especially true of iron nails, but the work can also be done with your run of the mill steel nails, as steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, so iron's magical associations are still there in the nail. Some may feel that acquiring wholly iron nails would provide stronger, more reliable magical workings, but many spells, wards, and such have proven to be lasting and effective using the common steel nails more easily accessed these days. That being said, there are still those who would rather work with nails of pure iron but may not have immediate or easy access to such tools, in which case common steel nails are a great alternative in the meantime.

Here are some examples of how nails can be used in protective work:

Nails are used across various forms of folk magic and systems of witchcraft around the world to form protective barriers and wards. Hammered into thresholds, in doorframes and window frames, into porch rails or fence posts, and even into bedposts or crib legs, they can be used to protect against spirits of various ilk (be they fae, haints, demons, etc.) and to protect against witchcraft or malevolent magic worked against you.

For those who live in an apartment or house in which they cannot hammer anything into a wall, floor, doorframe, or such, nails can be tied to string, yarn, twine, or even rope, preferably of a color that bears association with protection in your practice, and strung over doors and windows in a renter-friendly way (using tape or command strips, for example).

Nails have long been used as protective amulets to carry or wear on one's person. One can fashion a nail as a pendant, carry a nail in their pocket, purse, or wallet, or include nails in a protection pouch to carry with them or wear.

Nails can also be featured in knotwork protection, pierced through knots as an added means of protection from spirits. When one runs out of nails, thumbtacks can be used as an alternative for this same purpose.

CURSING: Nails are a fairly common feature in curses in some cultures and regions, particularly in folk magical practices. When it comes to baneful magic, thumbtacks can be used in place of nails in essentially any working.

Nails can be included in curse bags, curse jars, any curse container spells.

Nails are commonly used in curses that are worked through sympathetic magic to pierce the target's likeness, which can be a photograph, drawing, doll, or even fruit, root, or vegetable that has been identified as a representation of whomever is the recipient of the curse.

Nails can also be hammered into items (planks of wood, the ground, etc.) when working spells meant to curse someone by fixing them in place (meaning to prevent them from moving forward with something or from finding growth, success, or prosperity in a particular area).

THREAD, STRING, YARN, TWINE, & RIBBON

Not only featured along with other tools in a wide variety of spells, items such as string, yarn, ribbon, thread, and twine can be used on their own to perform various magical acts, particularly in crafts that feature knot magic.

Here are some ways in which one can utilize thread, string, yarn, twine, and ribbon in their witchcraft:

CURSING: Cursing works can be extremely simple, some even needing nothing more than string (or the like) and maybe one or two other items.

String and the like play a prominent role in cursing and baneful works across a wide array of practices. Some curse work involves winding string (or the like) around an object, image, paper featuring a name, etc.; some involves tying knots in thread and piercing those knots with glass, thorns, tacks, or nails; some involves forming a ball of knots, knot on top of knot on top of knot; and some involves cutting thread, yarn, twine, or such.

In curses utilizing sympathetic magic, it is not uncommon to use yarn or thread (usually red or black in color) to tie around or tie up images and likenesses.

Yarn is also frequently put to use when working container spells (be they jar spells, box spells, or any other container). The yarn, thread, twine, or string is used to further secure the container both physically and secure the work symbolically by repeatedly and tightly wrapping and tying the opening of the container with said yarn or the like.

PROTECTION, WARDING, & LUCK: Yarn and such is plenty useful in protection magic, especially for those who use knot magic to bring protection.

Using thread, yarn, or ribbons (of any color that bears association with protection in your practice), knots can be tied down the length of the strand (the number of knots varies from practice to practice). These knots are believed to confuse spirits who could harm you or bring unwanted mischief or pain into your home. Some practices see the more knots as bettering the work; other practices also call for piercing the knots with sharp things like needles, tacks, glass, or thorns to further deter the spirits, while some prefer the use of bells, the sound of which when rung is believed to both warn of the presence of evil and repel such forces. Such cords of knots are typically strung from doorframes, window frames, or porches around one's home as a protective charm.

Protective work using string can be extremely simple. Even just wearing thread or ribbons of certain colors is believed to grant the keeper protection from spirits, curses, evil eye, bad luck, illness, and such. Preferred colors will vary from practice to practice, but an especially well-known custom of both Buddhist peoples and Jewish peoples (both within kabbalist circles and by Jewish people who do not study or practice kabbalah, do not practice or believe in witchcraft, and across all levels of practice within Judaism) calls for the wearing of red cord bracelets (often featuring knots, twists, braids, or added charms).

SEVERING SPELLS: Thread, ribbon, and string featuring in severing spells is kind of a given, but for those who have never worked a severing spell before, here's how a very common method seen across many different practices typically involves string or the like:

There are generally two items (often candles, but sometimes other items like tarot cards representing those the spell involves, personal items of those involved, rocks representing those involved, photographs, etc.) and a thread is tied between them, tied to each item. At some point in the spell, the cord can be cut with scissors or a knife, and some candle spells call for letting the candles burn down and the flames to sever the tie (though this should be practiced on a fire safe surface, in an environment where no children or animals can access it, and under supervision, not left to burn on its own; so, basically, please practice commonsense fire safety if you choose to use such a method).

COINS

Coins are great little helpers when it comes to charms, wards, and divination tools. Different coins (or rather the metals they are made from and the imagery they feature) are called for in different works, but here's a quick run-down of the works I'm most familiar with:

PROTECTION:

Silver coins (silver dimes are used where I'm from) can be kept on one's person to repel and protect from curses, hexes, and other baneful works sent one's way. Where I'm from, the coin is specifically kept in the heel of one's shoe or worn in one's sock, but this isn't the case everywhere and some traditions call for keeping the coin in one's pocket or wallet, or for wearing the coin as a pendant on a necklace.

Pennies (particularly the pre-1982 US pennies, which have higher copper content, as opposed to the post-1982 mainly zinc pennies) and other copper coins can be used to protect one's home and person from police and law enforcement. Lining pennies under one's doormat, nailing pennies in the threshold of one's home, or nailing or gluing pennies above a door is believed to deter law enforcement officers from entering or coming to the home. [CAUTION: Pennies should not be left laying loose where children or animals can access them, especially if you're leaving them under your welcome mat or at your threshold. Coins are a commonly ingested foreign object, and pennies bearing higher levels of zinc can potentially lead to zinc toxicity, especially in children and animals, if ingested.]

LUCK & MONEY:

Coins are commonly used in money jars (or similar money container spells) along with other items and imagery that symbolizes wealth, abundance, and luck to attract money one's way.

DIVINATION: Coins have long been used in divination. It is as easy as simply flipping a coin in search of an affirmative or negative answer; but there are a few other methods of divination your pocket change can play part in.

Penny pendulums are pendulums made with yarn or twine and a coin, in which the coin is tied to the end of the string and used in the same way as a pendulum. This is the method taught me by my grandmother and is the type of pendulum I first learned with.

If you've a variety of coin types or colors, you can take one coin of each and assign associations and/or meanings to each coin. Then place the coins in a bag, ask your question, or think on the situation you seek guidance about. Draw one coin from the bag and interpret it according to the meanings you've determined.

One of the simplest ways of using a coin in divination is by flipping or tossing a coin, seeking a yes or no answer. Usually, heads would mean yes and tails would mean no.

PLAYING CARDS

Playing cards can be used in spells in many ways — as significator cards representing whomever the spell involves, as charms for luck, protection, and the like, and as bases for spells themselves.

Playing cards can be carried as charms (often in one's wallet, pocket, or shoe), seeking to attract that which the card represents or is associated with. Charms can use either a specific card to serve a specific end, or one can, instead, carry any card from the house associated with whatever their charm pertains to, with court cards, aces, or tens being the most commonly used cards for such purposes. Meanings and associations of cards and suits vary from one practice/culture to the next, but some common general associations of suits are as follows — hearts: relationships of all sorts, matters of the heart, matters of the home; clubs: creative pursuits, travel, communication, education or scholarly pursuits, mental matters; diamonds: matters pertaining to money, wealth, careers and businesses; spades: trials and challenges, loss, conflict, but also endings and/or beginnings, sudden changes and turns of fate. Again, there are countless other associations for cards and suits, and it entirely depends upon the reader and their custom; the above are simply common examples.

Playing cards can feature in spells as symbols of the worker's intention or as a tool to boost and draw in the results one hopes for. This is usually done by using cards associated with the goal of your spell.

One can also use cards as the foundation of a spell itself, such as in the spell I will include now.

Using the 10 of Diamonds to Attract Money:

There are various methods of using the 10 of Diamonds playing card to attract money your way.

The simplest way is to carry the 10 of Diamonds card in your wallet, purse, or pocket.

Another method, common in the Southeastern US and Southern Appalachia, is to write your name horizontally across the 10 of Diamonds three times. Where I’m from, we then turn it clockwise and write your name again, three times. The lines of names from the first three and the lines of names from the second three should crisscross over each other, as demonstrated in the images below. Another variation includes you writing your date of birth within the squares formed between the written names (where the 'x’ marks are on the rightmost image below); I have also, though, known of people writing the amount of money they seek (or simply writing dollar signs) in the place of 'x.'

[You can find the above spell and more in 'Spring Magic: Herbs, Spells, & Chamrs for Cleaning & Prosperity' by Keziah Zibelmann.]

Similar spells can be crafted using other cards. One can use the 9 of Diamonds, for example, for a spell pertaining to starting a new business, getting a promotion, getting a new job, or the like; or one can write the names of two parties on the 6 of hearts to bring peace between two people or promote a harmonious, understanding relationship or partnership between them. It all depends entirely upon the crafter's own meanings assigned to each card, but it really can be as simple as using a playing card and a marker or pen to craft a spell or charm.

MIRRORS

Mirrors can be used a variety of ways in magic — in divination and in spells and baneful works.

DIVINATION: Perhaps the best-known way of using mirrors in magic is for divination purposes, using such methods as these —

Mirrors can be used to scry. Scrying is a divinatory practice that involves the reading, viewing, or receiving of symbols, visions, or messages using a reflective surface. While many prefer to scry using a specific scrying mirror, often made of black painted glass or obsidian, one does not need a black mirror to scry with. Indeed, scrying can be carried out with any mirror of any size, shape, or color, or with any other reflective surface, such as water, ice, windowpanes, etc.

Many folk divination methods involve standing before a mirror in the dark, usually at a particular time of night, and waiting to receive a glimpse of a specific person, most often one's soulmate or the object of their affections. This is usually preceded by some sort of folk spell, such as the carrying of a candle whilst walking backwards in complete silence until one reaches the mirror, or peeling/slicing/eating from an apple and tossing some piece of the apple over one's shoulder (there are a great many variations of the apple and mirror spell), or reciting (or using your finger to write) the name of the person you wish to see as you stand before the mirror. There truly are countless spells across magical traditions that use these or similar methods, but the common tie between them is that they seek to bring about a vision of a specific individual in the mirror. This can also be done when seeking the identity of one who has wronged you or worked against you, and I can personally attest to its effectiveness.

SPELLS: Mirrors can be used across a variety of spells, in such ways as listed below (and more) —

One can use a mirror to work spells in seeking reflection (either for one's self or for someone else) by keeping either the name or image of someone in a compact mirror, forced to face their own reflection or, if one doesn't have a compact mirror available, by sticking the name or image on the mirror, with the name/image facing the mirror.

Compact mirrors can be used in return to sender spells when one knows or suspects someone has worked baneful magic against them or sent harmful wishes or energies their way. To do so, simply fix the name or image of the sender (or one can simply write 'those who work against me' or something along those lines instead of a specific name) on one of the mirrors. One can then either leave the other mirror clean or fix it with a symbol, sigil, or the written intent to return energy/magic/etc. to the sender. Then close the compact, effectively creating a spell that both works as a return to sender and as a mirror trap for baneful magic or negative energy sent one's way.

Compact mirrors can also be used to bring about positive changes, to strengthen and reinforce our resolve to better ourselves, or to help one quit harmful or bad habits that they wish to leave behind, such as in the easy mirror spell that follows —

An Easy Mirror Spell (from Diary of a Jewitch: Spells for the Days of Awe by Keziah Zibelmann):

What you’ll need:

A compact mirror (it needs to be one containing two mirrors that will face each other when the compact is closed);

Lipstick.

What to do:

-Using the lipstick, write on just one of the mirrors in the compact mirror the attributes or traits you wish to strengthen in yourself or to introduce into your behavior. Alternatively, you can write down specific wishes for bettering yourself — ’I want to be more patient.’ ’I want to be more in control of my temper.’ 'I want to be honest.’ 'I want to judge less.’

-Write your name on the second mirror with the lipstick.

-Now close the compact mirror, forcing the changes you wish to make to be there, staring your name in the face, forcing your name (symbolizing you) to face its own reflection along with the constant reminder of what you wish to improve or introduce.

-You can either leave the compact as it is or you can fix the compact closed with ribbon, yarn, or some other material. It’s up to you.

BANEFUL MAGIC: Compact mirrors can prove an effective and simple host, tool, and foundation for baneful work.

One excellent way of utilizing a compact mirror in baneful magic is to fix one's target in a mirror trap. A mirror trap is any work that uses two mirrors facing one another to trap a spirit, energy, individual, or spell between the two points. This can not only be done to render someone's ill intentions toward you or their baneful work against you powerless and/or to send those works and intentions back to someone, but it can also be done to constantly charge and renew your own baneful works against someone. To do so, one need only take their compact mirror and place the name or likeness of their target either one one of the mirrors or between the mirrors. The name or likeness should be marked somehow with your intentions for this spell — words written or spoken onto/into the paper or image, symbols/sigils drawn upon the paper or image, or other symbolic works performed on the paper or image, such as piercing it with thorns or pins, tearing it, crumpling it, or whatever method you prefer. Then, place the paper or image, as said before, either on one of the mirrors or between the two mirrors. Close the compact and seal it with wax, tape, thread, glue, or any other preferred method of securely shutting the compact. This is a form of sympathetic magic, in which the mirrors are used to constantly keep the intention of one's baneful work going. It's particularly useful for sewing chaos in someone's life, for using someone's own maliciousness against them in baneful works, or for hitting someone hard and fast with a baneful work. The compact can be kept, can be buried, or can be discarded; or, should you wish to release that person from your work at some point, the compact can be broken, preferably crushed, to break the cycle of the work.

This will conclude this first part of Sheydmade's series, 'Practical Magic: Everyday Items You Can Use in Witchcraft.' I leave you with this reminder — as I said in my introduction for this piece, magic should be both accessible and versatile, and our tools and allies should reflect the need for both. It is my hope that a practitioner never feels defeated because they can't afford expensive magical supplies, or because they have limited or no access to metaphysical or witchcraft shops, apothecaries, or the like. One's magical craft can, indeed, thrive without all of that. After all, magic and witchcraft has always existed, before drop shippers and international delivery services, before influencers, before bloggers, podcasters, and publishers. Magic was always there and could always be worked, and that has never changed and never will.

FURTHER READING & FURTHER INFORMATION: The contents of this article are entirely based on both my own personal experiences within years of experimenting within my practice, and on things which were taught and told to me over the years by my grandparents. You can find similar customs within British, Irish, and Southern US folk magical practices. Some recommended reading about similar customs can be found listed below. Readers are welcome and encouraged to do their own research on these or other similar practices. -K.Z.

[NOTE: Practical Magic: Everyday Items You Can Use in Witchcraft was originally written as one piece, which ended up being far too long to keep as just one post. The piece has now been divided up into parts and will become an ongoing series here on Sheydmade. Look forward to the following chapters in posts to come.]

Reading recommendations:

'Backwoods Witchcraft: Conjure and Folk Magic From Appalachia' - Richards, Jake

'The Black Toad — West Country Witchcraft and Magic' - Gary, Gemma

'Doctoring the Devil: Notebooks of an Appalachian Conjure Man' - Richards, Jake

'The Fortune Telling Book: Reading Crystal Balls, Playing Cards, and Everyday Omens of Love and Luck' - Kemp, Gillian

'The Good Spell Book: Love Charms, Cures, Magical Cures, and Other Practical Sorcery' - Kemp, Gillian

'Traditional Witchcraft — A Book of Cornish Ways' - Gary, Gemma

[astra-ravana]

Why You Should Learn Multiple Divination Methods

Divination is a powerful tool for gaining insight, guidance, and clarity in life. While many practitioners have a preferred method, learning multiple forms of divination offers unique advantages and deepens your spiritual practice. Here’s why expanding your divinatory skill set is beneficial.

Different Tools for Different Questions

Each divination method excels in certain areas. By knowing more than one, you can choose the most effective tool for each situation, for example:

• Tarot provides in-depth storytelling and psychological insight.

• Runes offer direct, ancient wisdom with a no-nonsense approach.

• Pendulum dowsing gives quick yes/no answers for direct guidance.

• Scrying (mirrors, water, flames) connects you with visions and subconscious messages.

Having multiple techniques allows you to select the best one for your needs.

Cross-Validation for Stronger Readings

Using multiple forms of divination to confirm a message strengthens its reliability. If tarot, runes, and pendulum dowsing all point to the same answer, you can be more confident in your reading.

Adaptability in Different Environments

Some divination methods require more space or time than others. Having multiple techniques lets you practice divination anywhere, for example:

• Tarot and runes are great for detailed readings but require physical tools.

• Numerology or astrology can be done mentally when you’re without tools.

• Pendulums and scrying can be subtle enough for on-the-go divination.

Deeper Understanding of Symbolism and Intuition

Each system has its own symbolic language. Learning multiple forms of divination enhances your ability to recognize patterns and messages from the universe. For example:

• Studying astrology deepens your understanding of tarot’s planetary influences.

• Learning numerology helps with interpreting numbers in divination spreads.

• Scrying sharpens your intuitive abilities for other methods.

The more symbols and correspondences you understand, the stronger your divinatory skills become.

Personal and Spiritual Growth

Every divination system has its own philosophy and historical roots. By exploring multiple methods, you:

• Gain a broader perspective on the unseen forces in your life.

• Connect with different spiritual traditions and expand your knowledge.

• Strengthen your intuitive and psychic abilities through diverse practices.

Enhanced Connection with Spirits and Deities

Some deities or spirits prefer specific divination methods. Expanding your knowledge allows you to communicate more effectively with different energies.

• Hekate is often associated with scrying and key-based divination.

• Odin, a god of wisdom, is connected to the runes.

• Mercury/Hermes aligns with dice and lot casting.

• Many demons are associated with divination practices, such as Gremory, Dantalion, Flereous, Delepitore, and more.

Having multiple methods lets you tailor your practice to your spiritual allies.

Avoiding Divination Burnout or Bias

Using only one form of divination can sometimes lead to mental fatigue or a fixed perspective. Switching between different methods keeps your practice fresh and prevents over-reliance on a single tool.

Knowing multiple forms of divination makes you a more well-rounded and adaptable practitioner. It strengthens your intuition, deepens your spiritual connections, and gives you access to the best method for any question or situation.

Types Of Divination

[thesorceresstemple]

[gavamont]

I may not be one of those Big City Wizards, with their college lectures and their designer spell pouches, but one thing I’ve learned as a simple country wizard is the value of proper divination.

Why, those city types wouldn’t know portents from poppycock as long as it comes to them in their fancy high end pondering orbs. Down on the bayou? We know that the water can be cloudy, but you cast it like a rowdy. My mama said she could get the weather forecast from now til judgement day in the back of a dirty spoon if she had enough mana reserved. Meanwhile these wizards from the big city think every scry is assured if it is from a brand preferred.

A scrying shame I tell you.

[broomsick]

Short guide to varðlokkr

Briefly exploring ritual singing and spirit work in the nordic tradition, and their possible uses in neo-pagan practice.

Before performing divination, it's said that völur would sing, or more often than not, have someone sing a ritual song in order to "rouse the spirits". This ritual was a way to call upon nearby spirits—generally guardian spirits, to come and answer their questions. The practice of varðlokkur, or "ward songs/protection songs", is tightly interwoven with the art of seiðr. According to the few sources that mention the topic, it was performed by seeresses seeking to prophecize, or by women willing to sing it in their stead.

Before diving deeper into this topic however, it's important to note that the interpretation of the term varðlokkr, and in a sense, the very basis of its current scholarly understanding, depends on its possible etymology. Two hypotheses stand out in this regard: varðlokkr is either spelled with one or two k's, either varðlok or varðlokk. The former would refer to "locking", or "fastening", and is often associated with a passage in the Grógaldr (The Spell of Gróa) where the shamaness refers to Urðar lokur, or Urð's locks/bolts. In this case, the song is a matter of "locking" the spirits in. Whereas varðlokkr would stem from the same root (vǫrðr, meaning to guard or ward), but in this case, lokkr would come from lokka, meaning to lure, or entice. It's generally agreed upon that both these instances showcase how the idea of protection was a key element in the perception of this practice.

These so-called "Weird-songs" sometimes required the use of a rhythmical sound created using drum beating, rattles, or by hitting the ground with a staff. They served as an invocation to higher powers or local spirits, who would be keen to protect ("ward") the seeress as she glimpsed into the future. According to pre-Christian belief, the sound of these songs had the power to appease surrounding spirits, but also to entice and lock them into the space for the duration of the divination. Letting her spirit wander out of her body in order to scry, the völva/seiðrkona became vulnerable, hence the need for higher protection. Now "bound" to her until the completion of the ritual, the guardian spirits would be inclined to lend their help. Depending on the intepretations, this type of ritual singing could also have been a means to reach a trancelike state before fortune telling.

'Many spirits,' said she, 'have been present under its charm, and were pleased to listen to the song, who before would turn away from us, and grant us no such homage. And now are many things clear to me which before were hidden both from me and others.' Eiríks saga rauða, chapter 3

The trance aspect of this practice is often debated, however. Granted, it's possible to point out similarities between seiðr and the "out of body" travel of Sámi and Siberian shamans. After all, a few sources tell us that varðlokkr would also serve to bring the völva back into her own body once she'd prophecized. Still, scholars more often than not consider varðlokkr and other seiðr practices as putting oneself in a "receptive state" in order to comprehend messages sent from the spirit world.

At the beginning of the séance all those present seem to have taken part in the singing, but a special choir was appointed for continuing operations:  this is in several accounts said to consist of women or one woman. Singing continues throughout the séance, the purpose being to remind the shaman of his mission.  Some sources indicate that the singing was concentrated or confined to the final stages of the trance, and the aim here was to wake the shaman. Louise Bäckman & Åke Hultkrantz

Think of varðlokkr as a way to blend music, divination and spirit work. A modern practitioner who already works with Dísir, vættir, ancestors, and the like can involve these familiar spirits in the ritual, for example, by calling upon a passed loved one to protect them during divination, or even to aid in finding answers. It's generally agreed upon that during the Scandinavian pre-Christian times, the wisdom of the dead occupied a vital place in many such shamanic practices. One could seek advice from passed mentors or loved ones in this manner. Even disregarding the idea of "rousing" spirits and "locking" them, I believe that one could still use to music as ritualized invocation—especially when it comes to ancestor work, in order to ask for advice or insight.

Next to nothing is known about what varðlokkr actually sounded like. However, I think it's still interesting to explore the idea of ritual singing as a shamanic practice. For someone interested in experimenting with galdr, seiðr, or any such shamanic practices in the Nordic tradition, varðlokkr seems like a great place to start.

So how does one incorporate ritual singing into neo-pagan practice? I'm sorry to say that it's exceedingly difficult to somehow reconstruct varðlokkr, as history has left us with nothing but bits and pieces to work with. However, three main particularities stand out and aid us in tracing a general outline: 1. the Weird-song is sung before divination as an opening practice; 2. its purpose is to call upon spirits; and 3. it most likely served as a sort of short-term ward for the person performing the ritual. These three concepts may be preserved, and the freedom to build around them is yours.

For this reason, we even have the option to simply pick a song which feels sacred and play it before rune casting, or tarot reading for example (needless to say such a practice also applies to any and all methods of divination, including scrying). After all, there's really no indication that the practitionner must sing the song themselves. Even in the few accounts mentioning varðlokkr, the seeress isn't always the one singing.

But if you decide to sing the varðlokkr yourself, it's also possible to learn the lyrics to a song that's already part of your practice. If working with the spirits of the dead, and especially with passed loved ones, why not play a song that a given ancestor loved in life? Artist Einar Selvik has composed a short skaldic-type song called Vardlokk, which has understandably become my own ritual song. I play it to get into a spiritual state of mind, helping me tremendously before spirit work—which coincides in many ways with the original purpose of varðlokkr. But it's safe to say any type of music may be used. And if you're interested in trance or trance adjacent practices, chanting may be used in such a manner as well.

There are many ways for us neo-pagans to adopt the practice of varðlokkr, since in one way or another, music is always tightly intertwined with religious practice. One can choose to wholly disregard the spirit work aspect and simply explore the idea of ritual song and its ties to divination. No matter the case, shamanic practices were an inherent part of Nordic religious tradition, and I think it can be useful for modern practitioners to learn about them and explore the possibilities that they offer.

If you're interested in further reading, I've linked at the beginning of this post an ask I answered a while back pertaining to seiðr, galdr, and other shamanic practices of the Norse. Within the post are also a few suggested pieces of reading that have helped my personal understanding and research.