Susannah Ravenswing

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Northern Shamanism

The Needle: The Value of Making a Point

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When one thinks of a shaman’s tools, objects like drums and staffs and rattles come to mind. And while I have used and do use such things, one of my favorite shamanic tools is a tiny #8 English sewing needle, bright and viciously sharp.

One of my earliest memories is of my maternal grandmother, a master seamstress, skillfully smocking a yellow lawn dress for my youngest cousin, weaving the thread back and forth through miniscule pleats to create the gathered honeycomb pattern adorning the yoke. She wore a sterling thimble, which I now prize, on her right middle finger, and her stitches were tiny, even and precise from decades of practice.  Over the course of the years, I watched her hem wedding gowns, baste and tailor men’s suits, and mend socks with stitches so fine they left no tangible rib to annoy the wearer. Her skills created and adorned the debut and party gowns of many of Winston Salem’s foremost ladies.

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Dancing With the North Wind

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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.

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Hail The Ancestors!

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Ancestor veneration is a significant and deeply personal part of Northern Tradition Shamanism. As an animist who views everything as enspirited, I am often conscious of the presence of my Dead around me. Their very struggles and journeys are embedded in my DNA, shaping me in a variety of ways. I am the product of millions of years of human resourcefulness, courage, and adaptation, and I have profound gratitude for my Ancestors.

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Sacred Smoke

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It’s become pretty common to hear someone suggest using the smoke from smoldering white sage to ‘smudge’  a person or space. To many Native Americans, this is a traditional sacred practice, one making use of the natural properties of the plant to clear away negativity and hallow an individual or space. There is presently no small amount of conflict over whether this is disrespectful to these cultural practices or an appropriation of their sacred traditions. But the use of hallowed smoke for cleansing and blessing is common to many cultures. The Catholic, Episcopal, and Greek and Russian Orthodox Christian churches have a long history of using the fragrant smoke of incense combining frankincense and myrrh in services, and incense in one form or another plays a significant role in the ceremonies and rituals of many faiths.

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Rosemary as an Ally

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When I began to contemplate writing about the process of growing a plant and developing an alliance with it, I thought about plants considered sacred in the Northern Tradition and the vaettir or spirit I know as Mistress Rosemary gently touched my arm. “I believe we are friends already,” she reminded me, with a patient chuckle. I have been growing Mistress Rosemary for over thirty years and use her every day. To be honest, formal courtship was never required as we have long been comfortable with one another. She appears to me in green, dressed in the elaborately slashed and ruffled gowns popular in Germany in the late 1500s, with a broad, plumed hat and red-golden hair.

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Altar Tending

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As a Northern Tradition shaman, altar work is a significant part of my personal practice. In my tradition, we joke – somewhat tongue in cheek – that altars spring up in our homes like mushrooms. An altar serves as a place to honor and revere one’s Holy Powers: the Gods, Spirits or Vaettir, and Ancestors. It may be an elaborate construction with votive images or figures, candles and offerings or something as simple as a small candy tin lined in felt housing something symbolizing the Spirit of note. While the former is clearly stationary, the latter can accompany one in a purse or backpack. Many spiritual traditions include the establishing and maintaining of altars which serve as places to encounter and honor the Divine. It can also be noted that the line between a shrine and an altar is somewhat blurry.

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