On my journey into the Divine Feminine and the mythologies, goddesses and deities surrounding it, it didn’t occur to me in the past to look into my own ancestry which is the rich spiritual traditions of Norse Mythology and Scandinavian Folklore. My eyes have been opened up to a whole world of knowledge, practices and symbolism and there is more material about it out there than I thought.
One of the reasons I started looking into my own ancestral spirituality is that as a white Swedish woman living in the UK, I have become more vigilant about my privilege and my part in the practice of cultural appropriation within spirituality through the writings of Layla F Saad amongst others. (I recommend reading this article by her).
Spiritual and cultural exchange and learning between people is beautiful. However, spiritual white women like myself have often looked away from their own ancestral practices, thinking that the spiritual insights and mythologies they are looking for cannot be found there. This results in often problematic appropriations without fully honouring the traditions that are being drawn on.
Starting to practice with and researching Norse Mythology and Folklore has made me realise that the knowledge I have been looking for and also accumulating from elsewhere can also be found in my own ancestral spirituality in its own unique expression. I would love to see more women healers from all traditions drawing on the richness of their own ancestry and coming together in circles to find similarities, learning from each other and practising together. It’s a powerful vision!
I will be sharing more insights while I delve deeper into the Divine Feminine within Norse Mythology and Folklore and I hope to encourage others to look into their own ancestral mythologies.
Yggdrasil, the tree of life holding together the nine worlds/realms in Norse Cosmology
Scandinavian Folklore