Hiddenfolk, Witches & Elves: A Pagan Pilgrimage through Iceland's Magical Landscape
e have set our course to the crossroads of continents where fire and ice meet, amidst the turbulent ocean. A place where dark, liminal tales take place in barren fells, cacophonous waterfalls, and colors beyond imagining. A place where the Aurora dances in the skies, casting her light upon the land. We have set our course for a land that lies between the old and the new, one foot in the modern world and one in the age of sagas. A land of black sand beaches where ghosts still walk and trolls lurk. A land where elf-churches can be found in boulders that reroute highways. A land where the earth and sea still hold the memories of the old ways, even as new ways are embraced and lived.
We journey to Iceland, to the home of elven halls where Otherworldly wights still hold sway over the exigences of the modern world, and that modern world still gives way to the power of the old beliefs and traditions. A place where trolls roam, witches cast, and the hidden may be seen if you but call it forth. In this land, myth and magic are interwoven, and history and folklore blur. Join us to learn the stories of these places and these spirits, and connect to the mystery that is still found there.
"A better burden
may no man bear
for wander wide
than wisdom."
- Havamal
"Wake thee, Groa! Wake mother good!
At the doors of death, I call thee;
Thy son bethink thee, thou badst to seek
Thy help at the hill of death."
- Groa's Spell
A spell we chant to a far away land, a spell of awakening, a spell of revealing. That the secrets of the hills may be unbound and appear for our viewing.
A spell to the four landvættir, we chant:
To Dreki the dragon, and Gammur the griffin;
To Griðungur the bull, and Bergrisi the giant.
Wake thee, guardians! We call for thy help at the hills of death, at the crossroads, and at the fells.
Hide not from us, Iceland, we call your Hidden forth!
"Young was I once, I walked alone,
And bewildered seemed in the way;
Then I found me another and rich I thought me,
For man is the joy of man."
- Havamal