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Books, Paganism, Religion

The Fylgja: Reflections on chapter three of “Spinning Wyrd” by Ryan Smith

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Happy Friday, dear readers! in today’s blog post, I hope to continue my reflections of chapter three of Spinning Wyrd by Ryan Smith. Specifically, I want to explore the third part of the Heathen self that Smith talks about, the fylgja. This is the aspect of the Heathen self that I’ve always struggled with and have my doubts about.

To clarify, I have no problems believing that we have guiding spirits that offer us advice, companionship, and/or protection. and Smith himself notes the similarities between familiars or guardian spirits1 and the fylgja. However, he notes that the fylgja is so linked to the individual that he sees them as “a direct manifestation of of an individual even though they have a significant degree of autonomy.”

For some reason, I struggle with the idea that something so independent from my own mind — to the point of even have its own goals and views — is still a part of me. My mind insists that surely this being must be something outside of myself.

But Ryan Smith also mentions “your spiritual shadow” as an alternate term for the fylgja, which brings the shadow in Jungian psychology to mind. I certainly do consider Jung’s views (or what I’ve heard about them through secondary sources) helpful and useful. So perhaps a part of the self that is so radically different in views isn’t as far-fetched as I might think2

Either way, I do appreciate the idea of having close spiritual allies — whether they are part of the self or completely separate from us — is important and beneficial. Such a guide can offer insights we may not think of on our own or with our conscious minds. They also might even challenge our thought processes and force us to change and grow when needed. So no matter whether the fylgja is truly a part of our Heathen selves or some separate being, I think pursuing a greater relationship with one’s fylgja is well worth the effort.

Post History: I wrote the first draft of this post on September 19, 2024. I proofread, revised, and finalized it on September 20, 204.

Footnotes

  1. Given Smith’s dedication to being inclusive and aware in his Heathenry, I suspect he is choosing his terms carefully to avoid the culturally appropriative term “spirit animal.” I appreciate and share his goal here and encourage anyone who finds my own choice of terms in this or any other post to be a matter of cultural appropriation to point it out to me. ↩︎
  2. Of course, I’ll note that Jung asserted that a major step in self-actualization was to embrace one’s shadow and integrate it into the true self. I wonder if Smith and other Heathens might see a similar integration with one’s fylgja as equally desirable. ↩︎
Books, Paganism, Religion

The Hugr: Reflections on chapter three of “Spinning Wyrd” by Ryan Smith

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Happy Friday, dear readers! Today, I want to offer a quick review and a few reflections on Ryan Smith’s discussion of the hugr (“mind”) from chapter three of his book, Spinning Wyrd. Smith offers the following expansive idea bout the hugr:

These connotations strongly suggest that the mind was seen as more than just one’s internal thought processes and perspectives but also the kind of frenzied, excited inspiration that drives creativity and understanding. This is also seen in Fire and Ice practice as support for including intuition and emotion as part of the hugr.

I like how Smith explicitly brings up things like creativity and intuition in his explanation of the hugr. After all, I think creativity is one of the greatest gifts of our mind. It enables us to express ideas and communicate things through music, poetry, and other art, which are the foundational elements of group life and culture.

Linking intuition — and the ability to “send out” the hugr in a way way reminiscent of astral travel — to the hugr also appeals to me. In the Christianity I was raised in, certain theologians seemed to go through a great deal of mental gymnastics to separate the “spirit” and the “soul.” And I could see where under such models, someone might try to make astral travel a function of spirit rather than soul. This seems overly complicated to me.1

One of the other things I like about Smith’s discussion on the hugr is that he cites another author2 who suggests that Odin’s ravens Hugin and Munin are actually projections of that god’s own hugr. To me, this suggests that not only is the hugr one of the gifts given by the deities to humans, but it’s one of the things that most make us like them. This places a great deal of importance on the mind, which I think is appropriate.3

Post History: I wrote the first draft of this post on September 12, 2024. I proofread, revised, and finalized it on September 13, 2024.

Footnotes

  1. Lest anyone think I’m picking on the Christians alone, I similarly think New Age and occult systems that try to parse out concept like an “astral body” as separate from the soul to also be over-complicated and silly. ↩︎
  2. Neil Price, whose book Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings will likely make its way onto my wishlist. ↩︎
  3. Of course, it’s important to note that all four parts of the Heathen self are an essential part of the human existence. I for one reject any notions that we are really just “souls trapped in a body” or any such thing. I embrace the value and importance of my hamr right along with that of my hugr. This is a point I will most likely circle back to when I talk about concepts of the afterlife. ↩︎