“The seidr current is fresh and vibrant, with the strength and solidity of the Norse deities behind it.”

– Katie Gerrard

Seidr is the intriguing and powerful early Norse system of shamanistic trance practices. In Seidr: The Gate is Open, Katie Gerrard has contributed a major work on the practices of seidr and trance prophecy. Providing a practical manual full of dynamic group rituals and techniques based on known Seidr practices. Foremost amongst these techniques is the prophetic rite of the High Seat, where the Volva (seer) sends her consciousness to the underworld realm of Hel to gain answers. Combining more than a decade of research and experimentation, this book is characterised by both its scholarship and its accessibility.

In Seidr, Katie Gerrard shares her own experiences on the path of the seer, drawing inspiration from original sources in the old texts of the Sagas and the Eddas. As well as contemporary researchers and groups working with seidr in Scandinavia, Europe and America. Techniques for achieving trance, levels of trance possession, coming out of trance, the vardlokkurs (chants) and necessary equipment. Also included are the requirements for the roles of the different participants, all discussed in a clear and concise manner. As is the relevance of contacting the ancestors, the dead and the appropriate gods, including the goddesses Freyja and Hel, and the Allfather god Odin.

As befits such an inspirational book, the author provides both the relevant background information for the eleven rites contained within. Together with explanations of their inclusion and purposes. The rites emanate practical effectiveness; a result of their regular use over many years for successful exploration of the mysteries of trance prophecy, the High Seat rite and Norse witchcraft.

“This is a spiritual journey laid bare for an audience who are either already treading a similar path or are looking for guidance in order to follow a well trodden path to a similar end point.”

Seidr by Katie Gerrard Dimensions:

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Avalonia (28 Feb. 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10 ‘ : ‘Ž 1905297521
• ISBN-13 ‘ : ‘Ž 978-1905297528
• Dimensions: 15.6 x 1.12 x 23.39 cm

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