The Ethics of the Shadow:
Northern ethics are not Christian "turn the other cheek." They are reciprocal: honor for honor, insult for insult, harm for harm. BUT:
Just Cause:
- Self-defense or defense of others
- Justice when legal systems fail
- Proportional response
- Last resort after other methods
Unjust Curse:
- Jealousy, pettiness, spite
- Disproportionate response
- First strike without provocation
- Harming innocents
The Law of Return:
Not "threefold" (that's Wiccan), but wyrd ensures that what you send out affects your own threads of fate. Curse-workers become known to hostile spirits. Your hamingja (luck) can be corrupted.
Protection and Counter-Magic:
Prevention (Better Than Cure):
Personal Protections:
- Iron carried (small nail in pocket)
- Salt in shoes or pockets
- Protective runes carved on jewelry
- Regular cleansing
- Strong personal boundaries
- Not giving out personal concerns (hair, name variants, photos)
Home Protections:
- Iron nails in doorframe
- Salt lines at thresholds
- Protective staves above doors
- Regular smoke cleansing
- Ward bottles buried at corners
- Rowan branches above entry
Detection (Is Someone Working Against You?):
Signs:
- Sudden string of bad luck
- Unexplained illness
- Nightmares featuring specific person
- Finding strange objects (dolls, packages, powders)
- Animals acting strangely around you
- Feeling "watched" or oppressed
- Electronics malfunctioning around you
Divination:
- Rune reading asking directly
- Dream interpretation
- Pendulum work
- Scrying
Breaking Curses/Hexes:
Level 1: Basic Cleansing
(For most situations — often what seems like a curse is just negative energy)
1. Smoke cleanse thoroughly — juniper, pine, mugwort
2. Salt bath — sea salt, spoken intent to remove all ill
3. Cut cords visualization — see all negative attachments severed
4. Egg cleansing — roll over body, crack into toilet, flush
5. Dispose of all suspicious objects — bury at crossroads or burn
Level 2: Reversal
(Sending it back to sender — use cautiously)
1. Black candle — carve "All harm returns to sender" in runes
2. Mirror — place behind candle to reflect back
3. Petition — write "I return all harm sent to me" fold away from you
4. Burn petition in candle flame
5. Bury ashes at crossroads — "As I will it, harm returns"
6. State clearly — "I send back only what was sent, no more"
Level 3: Breaking and Binding
(For serious, ongoing attack)
1. Ice spell — write sender's name, freeze in water with black pepper, keep frozen
2. Cord cutting ritual — physically cut cords in ritual space
3. Protection bottle — nails, thorns, salt, urine (yes, traditional), mirror shards — bury or hide
4. Seek help — sometimes a practiced worker is needed
5. Legal/mundane — if physical person, restraining order, distance, blocking
Level 4: Professional Help
(When it's beyond your skill)
Some workings require experienced practitioners:
- Deep possession or entity attachment
- Multi-generational curses
- Complex magical attacks
- When you're too afraid to work
- When previous attempts failed
Seek reputable magical practitioners, not scammers promising instant fixes for huge fees.
After Breaking:
1. Protect heavily — don't leave yourself open again
2. Strengthen personal power — curse found weakness
3. Regular maintenance — cleanse weekly for a time
4. Build allies — cultivate relationships with protective spirits
5. Learn the lesson — why were you vulnerable?
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XVI. Draumar og Spá — Dreams and Prophecy
The Sight Beyond Sight
In Northern tradition, dreams were not mere psychological phenomenon but true visions — the soul traveling, the Norns speaking, the dead visiting.
Types of Prophetic Dreams:
Warning Dreams (Varúðardraumar):
- Show coming danger
- Often symbolic rather than literal
- Recurring dreams especially significant
- Common symbols: drowning (overwhelming), falling (loss of control), being chased (avoidance)
Ancestral Visitations (Föðurdaumsókn):
- Dead relatives appearing with messages
- Usually clear, direct communication
- Often at liminal times (dawn dreams)
- Leave feeling of presence upon waking
Divine Messages (Goðasendingar):
- Gods or spirits appearing
- Symbolic and poetic
- May require interpretation
- Often life-changing
Soul Journeys (Hamfarir):
- Dreaming you're an animal or in another form
- Traveling to places you've never been
- Extremely vivid, "more real than real"
- Remember every detail
Dream Incubation (Seeking Specific Dreams):
Preparation:
1. Cleanse — bathe, sage, prepare sacred space
2. Set intention — write question clearly
3. Under pillow:
- Mugwort (prophetic dreams)
- Lavender (peaceful dreams)
- Amethyst (spiritual dreams)
- Written petition (specific question)
4. Before sleep — meditate on question, speak it aloud
5. Dream journal ready — write immediately upon waking
Best Timing:
- Full moon (maximum power)
- Dark moon (underworld/shadow questions)
- Winter Nights (Samhain — veil is thin)
- Personal power days (birthday, initiation anniversary)
Dream Interpretation:
Northern Symbolic Framework:
Animals:
- Wolf — family, loyalty, or threat to same
- Bear — strength needed or present, mother energy
- Raven — message from Odin, death omen, transformation
- Horse — journey, status, power
- Snake — transformation, hidden enemy, healing
- Boar — courage, fertility, aggression
- Eagle — higher perspective, spiritual message
- Stag — masculine power, hunt, forest spirits
Elements:
- Fire — passion, destruction, purification, transformation
- Water — emotions, subconscious, flow or drowning
- Earth — grounding, stability, or being trapped
- Air — thoughts, communication, freedom or disconnection
Locations:
- Forest — unknown, subconscious, land spirits
- Mountains — obstacles, achievement, gods (high places)
- Sea — emotions, journey, danger, vastness
- Cave — womb, underworld, hidden knowledge
- Crossroads — decision, liminal space, Odin's realm
- Bridge — transition, danger, between-worlds
Actions:
- Flying — soul-flight, freedom, seiðr work, escape
- Falling — loss of control, fear, spiritual descent
- Drowning — overwhelming emotion, loss of self
- Fighting — internal or external conflict, need for courage
- Running — avoidance, or necessary escape
Northern Specific:
- Seeing Yggdrasil — connection to cosmos, major life point
- Meeting specific god — take literally; they're calling
- Dead speaking — honor them, they have message
- Runes appearing — note which ones, divine meaning
- Ships — journey, often death (ship burial tradition)
- Mead hall — community, celebration, or need for same
Recording Dreams:
Immediate Upon Waking:
1. Don't move — stay in position
2. Recall before opening eyes fully
3. Reach for journal (keep bedside)
4. Write everything:
- Date and moon phase
- Emotions felt
- Colors (significant in interpretation)
- Symbols and beings
- Words spoken (often most important)
- Feeling upon waking
Later Analysis:
- Read after some time has passed
- Note patterns across dreams
- Cross-reference with life events
- Some dreams reveal meaning only after time
Working With Dream Messages:
If Prophetic:
- Take action if warning
- Don't panic — knowledge gives power to change
- Prophetic doesn't mean inevitable
- Make offerings to receive clearer guidance
If From Dead:
- Honor the message
- Pour offering to ancestor
- Do what they ask (if reasonable)
- Speak their name aloud
If From Gods:
- Take seriously
- Research the deity if unfamiliar
- Begin relationship through offerings
- Don't demand immediate clarity