Fjolkyngi : Nordic Animistic Sorcery

hello everyone how are you? I'm Arith Härger and today i'm going to talk about fjölkyngi nordic magic Fjölkyngi being determined to designate magic in the old norse and icelandic literary sources    However this video isn't an academic video at all it is in fact a perception of what fjölkyngi might stand for   a sort of breaking the word not to seek its  literary meaning but to seek its essence so take   this video as simply a perception and actually  very much based on personal experience this time   so in truth i am simply sharing with you  one of many perceptions towards the world   and our interaction with the world the way  we build a relationship with the magical   the mystery and the supernatural through intuition, so i'm quite certain i will have a bit of a-   hard time trying to express something that is  experienced, i am perfectly aware that much of it   may not make any sense without experiencing  it but i know many of you will find some logic   in my next few words i can only hope especially  those whose world views are more animistic   and their own practices and attempts to  build relationships are towards those   same world views, animistic world views. Well  then the term fjölkyngi isn't easy to describe   there's much more to this term than just a shallow  understanding of magic and contrary to what we   read in some modern books about nordic witchcraft or nordic magic and books on ásatrú as well   the term galdr to define magic or express a  magical act or art wasn't the most used term   the sources are quite clear the most used term was fjölkyngi and by the use of such a term an idea   more-than-just-magic was expressed a sort of term that cannot be simply translated into modern words   as it is a term that reflects a deeper  cultural understanding of what constitutes   the magical or the perception of what is magic in nature and the action to draw that magic and bend it control it to whichever purpose. The very notion of magic and a translation of the word magic   is quite difficult to translate into old  norse language but we have the word fjölkyngi which has much more in it than just an  understanding of magic that that makes this   world quite unique in old norse language actually so let's explore this a little bit shall we please   first things first in many books dealing with  contemporary religious manifestations turned to   nordic polytheism but also blogs even certain  essays and a variety of other sources out there   sometimes we find that fjölkyngi is a type of  specific magic from northern europe and this idea   is actually incorrect. Fjölkyngi has been placed  as a term in a list of various magical workings   in northern europe like seidr, galdr, gerningar, fordaduskapr, etc. and this is a mistake because   fjölkyngi is not a type of magic but a term  that encompasses all magic and as previously said fjölkyngi is the most common and general word you will find to designate magic or sorcery   in general in the literary sources, so all the  other terms for specific magical works enter   in the term fjölkyngi because that's the term  used in old norse literature for magic in general without giving a specific purpose  to it and much like the term sidr which   often designates old ways or old customs but in truth it isn't that easy to translate and explain it without having to make a whole essay on it, with the term fjölkyngi it is the exact same thing   fjölkyngi isn't just magic it is also to possess a  lot of knowledge of both the old lore and the old   traditions and the cultural heritage within folk  magic. It's not just knowing specific magical arts   but rather being knowledgeable in everything  that concerns traditional folk magic   fjölkyngi is knowledge of magical techniques  and knowledge of the beings involved   in the workings of magic, therefore  translating fjölkyngi as magic it's quite- well...   it isn't quite correct and the best modern word  in english language at least is sorcery actually   the notion of sorcery gets closer to the  idea expressed within fjölkyngi but still not   quite there. If we literally translate the word  even though breaking the word constitutes several   problems in translation, from fjölkyngi we get  the translation of much knowledge or magic or   knowledge of magical arts in general and Fjölkunnigr is someone possessed of magical knowledge   in other words perhaps we can say that it  means possessing deep wisdom or possessing   deep knowledge in sorcery. Perhaps the deity  that can help us understand this word is odin   let's see There are over a hundred names given  to odin in the literary sources and some of   these names have the same prefix as fjölkyngi like  Fjölnir something like concealer or sage or wise   the concealer or the much wise. We also find  Fjölsviðr which is also very wise or much wise   so it seems clear that there is an association  between the image or the figure of a wise person   with that of a sorcerer so the idea present  here doesn't refer to a simple possession or   even mastery of theoretical knowledge but  in fact a great deep practical knowledge   something that comes instinctive  becomes instinctive it comes natural   so fjölkyngi isn't just knowledge of magic  it is not just know-how or theoretical knowledge   or even just methodology but it is actually the  practice itself; fjölkyngi is much more about the   relationship created with magic itself our  relationship with it by putting to practice methods there may be purely theoretical knowledge  and there may be purely practical knowledge   but fjölkyngi is the junction of the theoretical  and the practical that in turn generates unique   results according to the relationship that  is created between these two realities and us   therefore with practice and time and the  generation of different results this knowledge   ceases to be either theoretical or practical and  becomes intuitive; theory and methodology ceases   to make sense in the practice of magic and it is  at this very moment that the notion of fjölkyngi is constructed. Fjölkyngi involves observing the  surrounding circumstances and understanding   where they ultimately came from and then what  elements could be moved in order to expose them   and make them manifest themselves and thus  it is possible to conduct this manifestation   to manifest other events. It is the observance of  what surrounds us, obtaining a meaning that is not   immediately perceptible purely by looking but this  meaning is obtained by transforming the elementary   into something whose meaning will come to  be understood. Why something manifests itself   in the way that it manifests and understand the  source of that manifestation so that we can have   better and greater control over that understanding  and make it manifest in the ways that we want   it is not just having the knowledge that something  specific is good for this or that and therefore we   apply it as a solution for something but it is  instead the understanding of what is around us   and what is needed in the circumstances that are  taking place at that moment, what is needed or even   demanded on that particular moment. As an example  fjölkyngi isn't the knowledge of a particular   plant and its effects and such effects are  particularly useful in a given situation but   instead it is knowing what is necessary to do in  any random situation that presents itself to us   knowing what to do not by theory, method  or practice but by the observance   of the circumstances we get meaning and  that meaning becomes knowledge and we   put to practice that knowledge. Fjölkyngi is then a  state where knowledge is mixed with intuition   so it is a form of contemplation, this is  where i wanted to to get actually fjölkyngi is contemplation; the observance and transforming  intuition into meaning and meaning into knowledge i understand that this might sound a  little bit confusing or perhaps even   absolute gibberish, however, this is the essence  of traditional folk magic, this is the essence of   witchcraft, this is the essence of practical action  to build a relationship with what surrounds us   this is the essence of an animistic  worldview and fjölkyngi reflects this   within pre-christian scandinavian  societies. For instance norse mythology is   absolutely filled with invisible populations such  as dvergar, álfar, jötnar, draugr, etc. with whom people had   interactions or avoided interactions of course but  the point here is that a type of relationship   was created and that relationship was very much  pragmatic, a practical action was required with   an intended effect to either cause a beneficial  relationship with other-than-human persons or to   create a symbiotic relationship with such persons  of the world or entities or to prevent disaster   misfortune and even death by taking action to  protect oneself against such invisible populations   for instance i always like to give this example  which is one of the most common i think and   and still very much used nowadays because it has  survived within many folk traditions all over the   world, a particular entity we usually understand  to be an elf, as a general term, may cause   unwanted disaster, disease and even death within  the human community so the human person is forced   to build a relationship towards this particular  elf person, methodology and theory are good for   nothing in this case because this particular  elf person does not act according to general   knowledge about elves, does not act as we might  expect based on a general folkloric idea of elves   this is a singular entity with its own  personality its own individuality it is there   on that particular place on that moment acting  on its own accord doing whatever it wants to do   the human person has to rely on the observance  of behavior and the cause of the effects and   what leads to these effects, understand the source  of the manifestations and do something about it   by this observance a meaning is created and  this meaning is transformed into knowledge   and knowledge put to practice to try to solve this  particular problem, so perhaps the intuitive action   is to gift to this elf a piece of food, placing the  food outside away from the domestic environment   hoping that this particular elf person takes the  food and either goes away for good or stays away   for some time and according to the results the  human person shall see what best course of action   is to be taken from there on, trying to avoid  disaster, illness or death from this entity this elf person. This animistic view and these practical  activities were very much part of the daily lives   of ancient peoples and it is also something  observable at times in the archaeological record   when it comes to the old norse people as well.  There's a problem in the domestic environment   there's a problem within the household, in the  farm, in the surrounding areas within the community   and the human persons relied on observance to  understand the source of any type of manifestation   to understand and know how to act in  those particular situations because   theoretical knowledge of a plant might be useful  when the time calls for it and that particular   plant needs to be used for a particular problem  but other events other manifestations happen   all the time, so it is important intuition,  observance, acquiring meaning and knowledge   in the moment and understand what needs to  be done. You may know that a specific plant   is good to cure a fever, but for what good is that  knowledge if the house is on fire right now? right?! that's what i'm trying to explain and uh i'm  afraid back then i used a lot of words and said   nothing or at the very least was starting to  get a little bit confusing but as i said it's   hard to explain something that has no theory nor  method but it is purely by the experience acquired   through observance of manifestations in specific  moments in the world so i know you will forgive me   and if not i will haunt you, i will haunt  your house and you better know how to cook   some nice vegan food so i may stop creating  havoc and go away. I'm only joking of course perhaps the better to better illustrate this  idea of observance of manifestation in order to   find meaning and taking the appropriate  action towards that manifestation by the   knowledge we have acquired through observance,  a common symbology we find in old norse mythology   might be useful so let's try to  create a simple analogy here of sorts   fjölkyngi is like weaving a tapestry or  better still the the the weaving of events   and manifestations create fate and fjölkyngi is the knowledge to perceive each single event   and the manifestation that composes the  whole and by careful observation of what   is manifested in the world around us we know which  threads to pull, which threads to patch together   what is needed to make certain threads vibrate  in a way that they generate resonance with others   and become a symphony returning to order  and the tapestry goes back to what it was   however this tapestry is always in motion always  weaving, the loom is always spinning, the tapestry   grows, life flows and we watch, we observe, trying to  capture and understand meanings so that we can act   according to the situation around us and fixing  things by knowing the source of what affects us   directly or indirectly and so fjölkyngi is putting  to practice the intuitive knowledge alright my dear friends i hope you have enjoyed this  video you have probably heard the church bells   well when you talk about witchcraft pagan stuff  it's normal that a church will scream in pain well i hope this video was useful and that you  may have enjoyed it and well it is what it is   thank you so much for watching see you on  the next video and as always tack för idag, thanks for today

Channel: Arith Härger

Views: 9,715

Keywords: fjolkyngi, sorcery, magic, witchcraft, witch, witches, pagan, paganism, pagans, heathen, heathenry, heathenism, animism, animistic, animist, magical, mystery, nordic, norse, viking, vikings, asatru, odin, mythology, elves, elf, elfs, occult, occultism, scandinavian, pre-christian, religion, religious, spiritual, spirit, spirituality, spiritism, wicca, wiccan, spirits, neopagan, black arts, esoteric, esotericism, Left Hand, path, LHP, rokkatru, tursatru, thursatru, vanatru, arith harger, animus

Id: x97dlojkkyI

Length: 19min 14sec (1154 seconds)

Published: Wed May 12 2021