On Seership
se·er
[see-er for 1; seer for 2–4]
noun
2.
a person who prophesies future events; prophet: Industry seers predicted higher profits.
3.
a person endowed with profound moral and spiritual insight or knowledge; a wise person or sage who possesses intuitive powers.
4.
a person who is reputed to have special powers of divination, as a crystal gazer or palmist.
Synonyms
2. oracle, soothsayer, augur.
2. oracle, soothsayer, augur.
Seers are a little like unicorns. They exist in our mythology, and are capable of incredible feats of magic, prophecy, prediction, and still exist today despite the prevalence of cynicism. I am here to say that humanity can and has retained our intuitive gifts. We live in a time when we are assailed with hacks and sellouts in all medias, advertising the likes of Miss Cleo or Sylvia Browne. If these people had no ability, there's a good chance we'd never had heard of them or the public's fascination with them. However, I also believe there's a point in which those abilities can cease to exist, which I will expand upon later. The realm of Seership and the realm of proven science get along with each other in ways in which representatives from each would decry the benefits of the other.
As human beings, we are capable of incredible feats IF we decide to dedicate ourselves. It really is as simple as that. Stonehenge wasn't made by aliens. It was created based on the needs of the people of the time, in which the importance of creating it outweighed the challenges of building it. Every facet of ancient structures was the child of intention. Sometimes things were calculated and planned to perfection, and executed with precision and yet...still had room for the magic of creating it. Accidents that worked, unexpected changes to plans, and the slow creation of a spirit of place within the structure are inevitable parts of creating something. I think that the human mind works similarly, because as we are a part of nature, we follow the laws of the Universe's patterns, and of which Magic is a part. Life force may be measured and weighed, but we have as much actual control over it as we do over death. Chemicals in the brain define behaviours and personality, tempered by life experience and the ability to adapt. And tragically, alterations of the above chemicals can completely remove that which tempered them, and we are left with a life; but a living person we do not recognize. It really is incredible.
So where does this fit in with Seership? Anything we dedicate our minds to learning, we will learn. If we discover along the way that we are not 'wired' for said activity, we either find ways around it and integrate what we know, or we give up. Some people are not Seers. They can practice and adapt and create a working system through mental discipline and training, but they lack the 'gift' of a natural intuitive and the basic cornerstones of Seership. Oh yes, you CAN train your intuition. If you work with it closely enough to measure your energetic reactions, investigate every nuance of sensory experience, you can very much sharpen those skills and develop them in the same way you can develop a muscle. Unfortunately, there are a variety of elements that separate True Seership from Intuitive Exercises. The penultimate of them, though, is Trust.
Trust is the fundamental cornerstone of Seership. Because so much Seership involves a working relationship with Other, it contains inherent shamanic elements that you need to understand and execute effectively. You should know how to perform different states of trance and vision. It is not for everyone. You must be willing to surrender yourself completely to Deity/Spirit/Other in order to communicate messages and visions effectively. It isn't a trust in faith that they will communicate; you KNOW they are there and are ready to communicate, and so you may feel moved to make offerings of good will or necessity. In my experience, each Other communicates in their own way: some are far more wordy and just want to talk, some are primal and visceral and need you to understand and translate a non-verbal communication such as a feeling or aroma, some will even show you glimpses of what is to be as though it were a movie.
When I am reading for a High Rite in our Druid community, it is simultaneously a joy and an extraordinarily hard task. Sometimes it is much easier to trust the Other than the cynical minds of the community, and self doubt is an ever-present threat. When I first started doing Seership in this capacity, I had already experienced a life riddled with visions and unexplained phenomena, but was very uncertain that I would be able to sortof command a vision to appear. I learned over time that the truth of it is, not all visions are created equal, and if you are trancing properly, the message simply is what it is. Sometimes Gods offer sage wisdom, and other times they want to remind you not to waste electricity. Sometimes they make no sense at all, and in that situation, more offerings would need to be made. The Seer must be equally prepared to change the game up if that's what the Other has decided and adapt. You must learn the language of the Other.
It is SO tempting to question a Seer, especially one who is most comfortable with an open system, and especially one that has ever suffered mental traumas. Mental trauma creates the healer; shamanic technique tempers and strengthens them. Some of the most gifted visionaries I have known have had to had parts of them shatter before they were better vessels for imbas forosnai. The hope that I have for my community is that they place enough trust in me and my abilities to convey the message that they are intended to receive, not the one they EXPECT to receive (though, at times that does happen.)
Ostara 2013
As for Ostara 2013, I was asked to be Seer. I began by introducing myself to the spirits as the Seer for the Rite, and began my trance as soon as the Druid's call was activated and immediately became preoccupied with the fire, as apparently they wanted my hands to be blackened. Some time in, I had to move myself to the grave of a squirrel who I especially felt the loss of, and sat beneath a Cedar tree to observe. I witnessed a host of deer running with Aurora (who had invoked Sadv), followed by a hound/dog type spirit who was also locked in the chase. At one point, I felt something hit me in the back, which made me gasp and look upward just in time to see a hawk swoop into the yard, flip once, and disappear over the neighbor's yard. Then things got a bit sketchy as the offerings segment began. The water was intended to be placed on to boil at the start of the section, but as it had not, I knew that I had to somehow do it myself. I remember looking at the chain, knowing I was mostly standing in the fire, and not being able to manipulate the chain in such a way as to support the heavy cauldron. If I moved the chain as I wanted to with my bare hands, I felt that people might freak out. However, it became necessary that I do this anyway. I was neither burnt by the chain that had been hanging over the fire for about an hour NOR was I lit aflame by the fire which I was largely standing in. It was interesting; I truly felt nothing of the pain I should have and am unscathed. I did recall feeling rather put out because of the obliviousness of some of the ritual team throughout much of the evening, but that is something that will be addressed appropriately. When I am Seeing, I can range from partial awareness of my actions, to none at all. It depends on the energy required and the Deities of the Occasion.
The Omen method chosen was to read an egg broken into a boiling cauldron of water. Apparently, I specialize in reading things which have a decided 'ick' quotient, and work best with these organic materials. Eggs, entrails, pumpkin guts, fire, mud, dead stuff. I enjoyed working with the egg and these Deities (Grainne, Sadv, and Aengus) because of how unexpectedly hilarious the process was and how enjoyable it was, despite the gravity I think of the message that was given. By way of offerings, I gave Aengus a Guinness for his good company in the time leading up to the High Rite which kept me in better humor than usual. I also offered a long lock of my own hair, because in my tradition, a Druid/Shaman/Seer's hair is a symbol of their power, and gifting some of the power over in exchange for clarity is something that I felt a primal force like Sadv or Greine might recognize in their deer forms. The egg was hardened moreso than I expected, and it took three tries to break it open and it EXPLODED...both into the water and sadly onto the Omen Scribe, who I had the privilege of working with and will likely have her own experiences to tell. Three images appeared; a little white cat appeared first, looking up at me (Panther and House Cat are each a personal guide of mine), which gave me joy, but was immediately followed by the earth's version of the Tower Card: a giant, erupting volcano. The smoke rising from the volcano circled counter clockwise (as one might expect) and gathered and billowed in the face of a human (simultaneously male and female) who was kneeling, so that their vision was entirely blocked by the smoke. There is a GREAT deal of symbolism here, and I was able to issue a reader's digest version for the Scribe's sake, lol. The after effects of Seership vary as much as the act itself, and can be as unpredictable.
I will continue to collect my thoughts on the message to present to the group when we discuss it this coming Sunday. It's Monday, and I'm still recovering.
Consider this Part 1 of 2. ;)
For those interested in learning more about Seership in the Irish hearth culture, here is an essay by someone who is a scholar on the subject rather than myself:
Until next time, don't eat the egg entrails.
Comments
Post a Comment