TEUTONIC MAGIC - Awaken Video

As well as seeking to augment his/her own store of hamingja force by magical practice and other
means, the vitki will also want to be aware of that contained in the items with which she/he works. A
great number of the Anglo- Saxon charms give directions for recognizing strong hamingjur in specific
cases, generally by some unusual feature showing power: a nettle which has forced its way through a
stone wall (called for in a charm against rheumatism) clearly has more strength than an ordinary nettle;
wood from a tree which has grown twisted together with two others will make a more powerful rune-tine
than wood from an ordinary tree; a stone with a natural hole in it has a great deal of power within, and so
on. Most such specifics having been lost with the interruption of the oral tradition, however, the
identification of strong hamingjur will in practice be largely dependent on the vitki and his/her ability to
draw on the wisdom of her/his racial or personal predecessors.
SIMILARITY AND CONTAGION
Similarity and contagion are the two most general laws of magic. Briefly, the Law of Similarity
holds that things which seem alike, are alike; the Law of Contagion rules that things once in contact will
remain in contact; and in both cases, whatever happens to one will happen to the other. Similarity is used
heavily in skaldcraft and symbolic actions: two things are compared, thus forging the magical link
between them, then the vitki works her/his will on the one he/she can directly control. Contagion is
generally used either in aiming a spell or in drawing power from something large of which one has a
piece. If, for instance, one wanted to start 6 thunderstorm, one might carve the appropriate formula with
runes for lightning (thurisaz), wind (ansuz), and rain (uruz) on a piece of oak wood
-hopefully from a lightning-struck oak-then mingle a bit of thunderstorm water with the pigment for
coloring and rub the consecrated tine with the water, using the completed tine to sprinkle the water on the
ground, and finish the rite by hurling the tine upward with a thunderous shout of "THORR!" The use of
thunderstorm water is Contagion, the lightning-struck oak mingles Contagion with sympathetic hamingja
force; the sprinkling of the water and throwing the tine up with a shout like thunder is Similarity, and the
use of Thorr's name is hamingja-calling.
BLOOD, BREATH AND SPITTLE
The Laws of Similarity and Contagion can be further seen in the magical use of blood, breath, and
spittle. As the breath is the sign of life and the source of power for the spoken work, as well as being
identified with the spirit, it should be clear to the vitki that her/his own breath is a powerful vehicle for
filling anything with life and magical force. Hence it is needful to sing the galdrar as close to the carved
tine and as intensely as possible so that the force of the breath and vibration of the words should fill it.
This is also effective when using liquid as a vehicle of power. A vast number of Germanic charms are
sung over a liquid which is then drunk by the subject.
Blood is, of course, the life-force of all animals; hence, by coloring the runes with your blood or
with magically charged red pigment, which is equivalent to blood by the Law of Similarity and the power
which the vitki has put into it the vitki is filling the runes themselves with life. Alcohol may also be used
in this manner, especially if the runes are to be scraped into a drink. A traditional alchemist would say
that the effectiveness of this is due to the fact that alcohol is the life-force of plants and hence works in
roughly the same vitalizing manner as blood or its magical equivalent.
Spittle carries the personal hamingja-force in the same manner as breath or blood, but to a lesser
degree. Spittle is often used in the swearing of an oath, under the Law of Contagion: as it has a bit of
oneself and one's power in it, spitting to seal an oath is magically holding oneself hostage to one's word.
The mingling of two people's spittle is like the mingling of blood, but the binding created is much less
intense, being suitable for legal contracts and so forth. As a vehicle of power, spittle is often used to
throw up a quick barrier of protection: one spits three times to block off woe-working energies.
CONCEALMENT; BINDING
There are two types of concealment in ritual practice. The first, temporary concealment, in which
an item is wrapped in a black cloth or buried in the ground for a period of time, is used in the creation of a
magical item. This is intended as a period of gestation (berkano) in which the powers that have been
worked into the item may come into full being. This is particularly useful when coming into physical
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