In the Northern Tradition of shamanism, we cultivate alliances with the spirits of Nature, building friendships based in reciprocity with other Beings. Like any friendship, such alliances must be tended with love and respect, gifts given equal to favors requested. This reciprocity, a sacred partnership, is reflected in the Norse rune Gebo or Gefu, which looks like the letter X.
Years ago, early in my apprenticeship process, my teacher took me out into a wide meadow behind his home where we called upon the winds to see Who might come forth and claim me. In our tradition, each of the winds is seen as a unique individual, associated with a particular personality and unique qualities. It is one’s goal to seek alliances with all four Winds, but in reality, one is more likely to be claimed by one or two. As we stood in knee-deep grass under a bright sky, a great gust swirled up from the North, thrashing the tall evergreens and maples in the surrounding woods and sweeping over us. “As I suspected,” my teacher said, “you have been claimed by Kari, the North Wind.”
In Norse Mythology, Kari is the God of the North Wind, eldest son of the frost-giant Mistblindi, also known as Fornjotr. Wind, frost and snow are his gifts, as he is a lord of blizzards, giving voice in the keening howl of the storm. Interestingly, Kari’s appearance changes through the cycle of the year. In spring, he appears as a fair, androgynous youth, continuing to age as the year progresses until, by winter, he appears as a hoary old man with a full white beard, dressed in snowy furs. This transition mirrors the North Wind’s cycle from the cooling breeze of spring to the gales of winter. When not doing his work, Kari retreats to Niflheim, the World of Mist and Frost.
Kari is the most vocal of Winds and teaches us how to use our voices to move energy, to shift blockages and to spellsing. He can bring healing to lungs damaged through smoking or illness and aids singers in better technique. In truth, I wasn’t surprised to be claimed by Kari. I am a singer and well aware that my voice is one of my most powerful shamanic tools. In addition to maintaining a shrine for him, I honor him with gifts of hot soup when he brings the first snowfall. Reindeer, another of my primary allies, is dearly loved by the North Wind, and my Kari shrine is also occupied by a tiny herd of small reindeer figures.
Kari has been a generous ally, lending his protection here at TwoTrees when big Nor’easters arrive in late winter, preserving me from the chronic bronchitis that plagued me as a child, and teaching me new ways to use my breath as a healing tool. Most recently, he stepped forward to assist in inter-generational healing for my maternal lineage, a role I hadn’t anticipated. I find him generous and am blessed by his gifts.