Letters from the North: A little ritual for the foragers out there
Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Dearest keeper of magic,
This time of the year we pick berries and mushrooms. In the past, this was the time when the folks kept busy with the harvest and making sure that there will be food for the cold, dark and long winter.
Today is the 10th of August, the day of Lauri. In Finland we still have the "name day calendar" that is originally based on the day's of Catholic saints. In the agricultural time, these name days were used as markings for doing certain things. For example: letting the cattle out, sewing the seeds etc. In many cases, folk magic lived alongside the Catholic saints.
Today is the day when anyone named Lauri, Lasse or Lassi (all masculine names) can celebrate and be celebrated. In practice this could mean something like having coffee and something sweet to eat with friends.
Lauri's Day marks a few transitions and chores that take place this time of the year, for example:
After this date, there's no point in making and storing sauna whisks for the winter, since the trees are starting to loose their vitality and leaves start turning yellow. (That is a bit bad for me, since I still should make a few birch whisks for the winter. I suppose I know what I will be doing after sending this letter.)
Good day for picking healing herbs.
Around this date, the nights start getting colder. If the weather on Lauri's day is good, the autumn is going to be nice. If not, the entire autumn will be rainy.
Ritual for the foragers:
This ritual is from Juva, collected on 1989. Back then, when we did not have plastic buckets, the berries were foraged in vessels made of birch bark.
A birch bark basket is thrown over the head while saying:
If it lands right-side up on the ground, you'll fill the birch bark basket with berries. If it lands on its side, you'll fill it halfway. But if it lands upside down, the berry-picking won't succeed at all.
The spell above uses words kippar & kappar. These don't really mean anything special, but perhaps they are the most special words of all. The ones that bring magic to this little spell and ritual. Perhaps it can be applied to any of your own spells, what ever you happen to be foraging.
The question that rises: if the basket lands upside down, is it okay to stay home that day and try again tomorrow?
I'm a big believer in writing your own spells and altering the rituals to fit your own purpose. And that's why, my next circle will invite you to do the same.
Spellcraft circle is calling for the spell chanters
All these old spells are very important. They store the essence of the folk magic. But just like the witches and knowledge keepers of the past, we need to make sure that our spells are suitable for the situation at hand. That is why writing our own spells is so powerful.
Writing your own spells slower, and it asks more of you. And that’s why it works. If you skip the process of writing your own spell, you skip half of the magic. When you write your own spells, you create exactly the energy you need. You give birth to something that holds meaning to you and your subconscious in this moment.
My self-paced spellcraft course has been much liked, but it has been missing some connection aspects. So on September the 5th, we will gather to learn about Finnic spellcraft and write some spells together.
This is a journey to connect to your inner power with the magic of the words, create your own magical language and align them with your practice. This is a journey you walk together with other like-minded, sharing and inspiring each other.
My students have liked that the course not only teaches the spell-writing, but introduces a lot of the folklore through the example spells and as part of the process.
Our group is already forming, but there is still room for witches and witch-curious!
Learn more about the circle below, and don't hesitate to ask me, if you have any questions <3