Merry meet!
Thank you once again to all those who joined in for last week’s Weekly Witchy Challenge - Greek & Roman Magick
Our exploration through several popular pagan paths and traditions continues this week as we leave the Mediterranean area of influence behind and sail north. This week, we’re venturing to the home of a popular tradition that originally came from Scandinavia.
The theme for this week’s challenge is…
Exploring Traditions: Nordic Practices
This is the third stop on our spiritual tour of Pagan Paths & Traditions - a series of challenges that hopes to shine a spotlight on some of the widely-practiced magickal traditions we often hear about in the witchy world.
For the sake of this challenge, “Nordic" is being used as wide-reaching term to reference the traditions, practices, and folklore stemming from the geographic region that is now known as the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland, among others). This includes Norse paganism/Ásatrú/heathenry.
While spiritual and magickal traditions originally from this geographic location continue to live on in their homelands, they were carried alongside migrating people over the course of history and have since expanded to other parts of the world, too.
Please note that you do not have to identify as a practitioner or follower of this tradition/area of magick to partake in this educational challenge. Additionally, you do not need to have cultural or ancestral ties in order to study this area of the practice. However, it is important to note that Nordic magickal traditions are tied to modern-day cultures that still exist, and whom deserve respect and mindfulness (for more on the topic of magick and culture, visit the Can we talk about “Cultural Appropriation”? and Spiritual Practices and Cultural Appropriation discussions)
The power of Nordic folklore, history, and traditions echoes around the modern world and holds great value for everyone to learn from and find inspiration in - so let’s jump in!
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This week’s challenge is all about Nordic magick and traditions - but as always, how you do so is up to you!
So are you ready? Because it’s…
CHALLENGE TIME!
Rune ritual pictures by @tracyS, shared in Feeling the Life of the Runes/Odin’s Wisdom
STEP 1 : Exploring Nordic Traditions, Pantheon & Magick ![:drinking_horn: :drinking_horn:](https://spells8s3.b-cdn.net/original/3X/9/7/975d865f65ed8280fafbd7c74c28b76d26b7634a.png?v=12)
This challenge is all about the magick and traditions stemming from the Nordic region - but how you choose to take on this theme is up to you!
Still not sure where to begin? To help you get started, here are a few ways in which a witch might approach this challenge…
Please make sure you are logged into your Spells8 Account so you can view all of the resources shared!
Are you new to the magick and traditions from this geographic area? Whether it’s Nordic deities, folklore, old sayings, traditional spells, history, or more - consider learning more about spiritual/religious practices from this area of study! You are welcome to share what you learned as your entry this week.
Related resources:
- Norse Deities Masterpost
- Norse Proverbs Havamal
- Yule Celebrations in Nordic Traditions
- Nordic Paganism and Elves
- Fulltrui or not to Fulltrui
- How to Read and Use Runes in Divination
- What are the Elder Futhark Runes?
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The Norse Pantheon ![:classical_building: :classical_building:](https://spells8.b-cdn.net/images/emoji/twitter/classical_building.png?v=12)
Odin: Norse God of Wisdom, Poetry, and Magick
Additional discussions and resources:
- Loki - Norse God of Mischief 😈
- Loki’s Tales
- Thor ⚡ Norse God of Thunder
- Hel(a)'s Rules
- Freya- who works with her? What is she like?
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Norse and Nordic Inspired Spellwork ![:sparkles: :sparkles:](https://spells8.b-cdn.net/images/emoji/twitter/sparkles.png?v=12)
Prayer to Odin: The Neopagan’s Guide to the All-Father
Related discussions and resources:
- Feeling The Life of the Runes/Odin's Wisdom
- How to Practice Chaos Magic
- Loki’s Battle Spell to Crush Anxiety
- Divination with The Runes
- Bind Rune - Protection for Interacting with People
- Bind Rune - Strength to Stop Holding Yourself Back
For your entry this week, consider exploring any ties you have to Nordic traditions or culture. This may be your blood ancestry, adoptive ancestry, past travel experiences, memories from past lives, your work with a deity, etc.
There are no “right” or “wrong” answers here - this is simply an invitation for you to learn more about yourself and any influences that may or may not influence your spiritual practice
Related discussions and resources:
- Ancestry and Modern Collide: My Magickal Roots
- Does your ancestry affect your Craft?
- Your Magickal Roots - Weekly Witchy Challenge
- 🔍 Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Peering into Past Lives
- 🧑🏫 Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Teachers of Magick
The suggestions above are just a few ideas to help kickstart your creativity- if you feel called to explore Nordic magick and traditions in another way, you are welcome to do so!
As always, all witches are encouraged to embrace their own unique practice with how they explore the challenge theme
STEP 2 : Share Your Experience ![:writing_hand: :writing_hand:](https://spells8.b-cdn.net/images/emoji/twitter/writing_hand.png?v=12)
Click here for a note about challenge inclusivity
Everyone is welcome to join the challenge by practicing magick in line with the current theme. For lurkers and those who don’t feel comfortable sharing, it is absolutely okay to follow along with the challenge but keep your entry personal. Feel free to join in spirit and do what feels most comfortable for you!
That being said, please know that if you would like to receive a prize and a public shout-out, it is required that you share your experience.
Getting Your Credit ![:white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:](https://spells8.b-cdn.net/images/emoji/twitter/white_check_mark.png?v=12)
In order for your entry to be counted, all you have to do is write/share about your experience and label it as your challenge entry. There is a lot of chatting here (which is awesome- chatting and discussion are very welcome!) so please clearly write that it is your entry so I know to count it!
Where Should I Share My Entry? ![:thinking: :thinking:](https://spells8.b-cdn.net/images/emoji/twitter/thinking.png?v=12)
Click here to learn where to share your challenge entry
You are welcome to post it right here- just click “reply” to this post and write your experience in the text box that pops up!
Alternatively, you could create a new post in the forum (this is good for when you have a lot to share and/or would like to discuss aspects of your entry not related to the current theme)
Note : If you do choose to create a new thread, please add the “challenge-entry” tag and/or add a hyperlink back to this post so that it can be easily found- thank you!
Deadline ![:spiral_calendar: :spiral_calendar:](https://spells8.b-cdn.net/images/emoji/twitter/spiral_calendar.png?v=12)
This challenge will close in 6 DAYS ![:exclamation: :exclamation:](https://spells8.b-cdn.net/images/emoji/twitter/exclamation.png?v=12)
To join in, please share your experience by:
Tuesday, June 11 at 7:00 AM EDT (Eastern US Time)
2024-06-11T11:00:00Z
(Note that the time zone is ET- if you don’t see your time displayed above, you can use this time zone calculator to check for your time zone!)
Prizes ![:gift: :gift:](https://spells8.b-cdn.net/images/emoji/twitter/gift.png?v=12)
For their efforts, all participants will receive a special shout-out and a small prize!
Acknowledgments will be given in a Props and Presents Post that will appear in the forums on Tuesday.
After the challenge closes, you are still very welcome to post but please be aware that no additional prizes will be given. This discussion will remain open for about a week after the challenge finishes.
A warm reminder that the challenges are designed to be very open- everyone is encouraged to participate in a way that honors and reflects their unique practice
If you have any doubts about if something is acceptable to post or say, please double-check with the Forum FAQ and/or reach out to your friendly Moderator Team.
And for those new to challenges- welcome! Know that the goal of these activities is to help you further diversify and strengthen your abilities and to bring together the Spells8 forum family to inspire and support one another in creative ways