The Walker.
Do you want to take part in a journey into the past to catch a glimpse of the future? Far away from what we call reality. We now enter an in-between world where what seems normal takes on new forms and new meanings that the walker must decipher. In preparation for this ritual, the walker is said to have been separated from the community for the previous day and sat in a darkened room, forbidden to eat, drink or speak, presumably in a meditative state. The purpose of this would be to separate the person from physical reality, to enter a state in which they could perceive the numinous or spiritual environment around them. At midnight, the walker would then leave the isolation and wander in the dark to the local church. Once at the church, the person would walk counter-clockwise around the church and blow or look into the keyhole of the church door.
The walker would temporarily experience visions of the coming year. From there the person should walk to their local cemetery or other significant place. The Årsgång, as this swedish folk tradition is called, was considered a dangerous, not to say sacrilegious, ritual by the communities that practised it. While there may be some differences for modern pagans who wish to perform the Årsgång, the risks, physical or otherwise, should still be considered. If you are walking alone at night, make sure someone knows what you are doing and where you are going. Dress appropriately for the weather and ground conditions, and research your route beforehand to avoid getting lost. After a period of meditation in a darkened room, the practitioner should then walk directly towards the final destination, preferably an important geographical feature such as a hill or prehistoric monument. All this was endured in exchange for seeing omens, which were often bleak and frightening themselves. For example, the walker might gain information about marriage, the harvest, the possibility of war, or if there will be fires, but the most common information was about who was going to die in the upcoming year. One learned this by visiting the graves, observing visions through or even encountering funeral processions during the walk.
Sometimes these signs even pointed to the death of the walker himself.
Title: The Walker
Publisher: Self-Published
Language: English
Binding: Blue Thread Binding
Paper: 115 g/m2 Munken Print White 15 Inner | 160 g/m2 Stone Wash Cover
Size: 148 x 105 mm
Pages: 32
Price: 15,- €
Limited Edition of 15 (First Edition)
