Trolldom Magical Practices

[Kassandra]

Long before Western culture's neo-pagan movement of the 20th century, there has always been, and continues to be, thriving indigenous magical practices all around the world (from which neo-pagan religions draw their sources). An old, indigenous magical path of Scandinavia, which somehow defied Christendom's seemingly zealous attempt to annihilate any and all "competing" spiritual paths on this planet, is Swedish Trolldom. This is an actual spiritual and magical path, not just about trolls. But apparently the troll folk, whoever they are, made such a lasting impression on Swedes that they still nominally associate trolls with magical practice, to this day.

In the videos below (which end kind of abruptly, lol), a "Dr. Johannes" gives examples of Trolldom divination, healing and other techniques. What struck me about his work were certain elements similar to hoodoo practices (American folk magic, also known as conjure, or rootwork), like the co-creating relationship one has with one's ancestors, regularly utilizing The Crossroads, doing uncrossing work (curse removal), and other practices. Hoodoo itself is a rich gumbo (stew) of African, Old European, and Native American practices, so it is not surprising it has elements of archaic, little-known European magical practices brought to America long ago by European immigrants.

Equally not surprising is that Dr. Johannes himself is a bonafide hoodoo practitioner whose work is well-regarded in American hoodoo circles. He has written a book about Swedish Trolldom that is unique, and perhaps one of the few of its kind.








Dr. Johannes on Facebook:

Dr. Johannes's Trolldom book:
Trolldom: Spells and Methods of the Norse Folk Magic Tradition

[Firebird]

Don't know if this qualifies but it's from the same general area:

[Kassandra]

Ha, she was beat-boxin,' Icelandic Style!! jk (she's actually from Faroe Islands) Awesome. And that was quite energy-raising, probably great for spell work prep.

It seems the title of this song, Trollbundin, literally means, "troll tied," or "troll bound," and the sense of the meaning is to be under a spell of some sort, influenced. Here's a lyrics translation.

Spellbound

Spellbound I am, I am
The wizard has enchanted me, enchanted me
Spellbound deep in my soul, in my soul
In my heart burns a sizzling fire, a sizzling fire

Spellbound I am, I am
The wizard has enchanted me, enchanted me
Spellbound in my heart's root, my heart's root
My eyes gaze to where the wizard stood

And I believe this singing style is Joyk, if I'm not mistaken (Alura Noel posted a vid of a male Joyk performer some years ago, who won a televised singing contest, it's somewhere around here on the board).

Thanks for the great share, Firebirdflys. Sweden and Iceland (and Denmark and Norway, for that matter) share ancient Old Norse spiritual roots, though they are very different countries and cultures today.

[Fjäll1291]

Oooooh this is a thread for me!

I've read his book Trolldom, it's great, but sadly I don't own it (borrowed it from a friend).
It's one of the few english books about Scandinavian folk magic. I have a lot of book tips for anyone interested, but they're all in Swedissh.

In the song Trollabundin, she sings Jojk, and trollabundin means that you are under a spell, that is correct ^^
Could the male Jojk be Jon Henrik Fjällgren?

[Kassandra]

Could the male Jojk be Jon Henrik Fjällgren?

Good to see you again, Fjall. Hope your studies are going well, and your garden grows well.

Yes, it is Jon.

Thanks for confirmation regarding the Trollabundin song lyrics, and that Eivor's improvisations were indeed joyk.

[SilverWort]

I need some free time to read that book. Thanks!