Some thoughts on ecstatic trance

Having a chat with a fellow Seidr this morning has brought to mind some things I have discussed on here in the past, but things that I’ve probably never ever told another person face to face. Around the age of 18, I used to have hot flashes. At least, that’s what I thought they were. Even before that I found possession to be quite a natural thing, even if at times it was difficult to maintain for very long. Any time spent doing research on shamanism will find the astute scholar seeing connections between classical shamanism and the celtic “fire in the head”. It is a strange thing growing up, in a Catholic family no less, knowing that there are any number of spirits around you at a given time, even though you might not be able to see them, knowing that they are coming and going, and that they are always there. Now I’m not talking about “exorcist” type possessions, but the kind where you suddenly find yourself sitting in the backseat of the vehicle, observing someone else in control in front of you.

This is why it was so positively auspicious that I began researching Seidr when I did, within the last couple months, as several of the Norse deities began making regular appearances. Surprisingly, it took about two years to move from a state of fear and confusion about the plumes of heat rising off of my body, to the place where I am now, of randomly timed possessions. Many sources on the subject refer to it as the swaying trance, and with good reason. Not just is the swaying a natural rhythm of the body to keep it balanced with the earth, but swaying, dancing, song all help to maintain a kind of equilibrium with the internal and external forces that are impacted during trance.