I realized something yesterday, that the black cloud had drawn across the sun, stopping me enjoying the goodness in my life. In my dreams last night I asked the gods why can't I experience happiness? They told me.
"You are living too much in the future. Be in the now and laugh little brother, laugh in the face of those who who try and shroud your joy. But heed these words most of all. When a man offers you a hand when you are sinking mud, a it is a fool who rejects it for fear of obligation. Debts can be paid in many ways and friendship is the greatest gift of all."
Then the dream shifted to a discussion about a story in the sagas The dream of the Rood this is where Baldr dreams of his downfall. Basically Loki is so jealous of "Baldr the beautiful" he will anything he can to destroy him. But strangely enough The Dream of the Rood it is also a Anglo-Saxon Christian story about the glory of Christ and in this dream argument  my point of view was about that both tales have valuable messages so don't reject either.
Anyway I wake up and watch "Vikings" latest episode and it is a really about dreamy spiritual stuff and in this episode Athelson says " I love Odin and I love Christ.".......
I follow Odin, he is my Allfather but I believe in the light of Christ and this causes no conflict in me, for Odin is not a jealous god.

"Oh verily tis a day for such a rant that it will shake thy bones."
Epiphany at last, I finally know exactly what and how I will teach my retreats because spirit told me so. Gone are the days of pandering to the masses and trying to fit in to the New age thing. There are powerful root races that belong to us all. The Faeries, the Elves, Dwarf's, Goblins, Tree Spirits, Giants and Dark Elves, to name but a few. These are not just imaginary creations that flowed from the tip of Tolkein' pen but the supernatural beings that existed in the worlds of our ancestors,
I am a Vitki, a Norse medicine man and I encounter these beings all the time in my Shamanic work. In our modern world these spirits have been delegated to the level of Fairy tale and children's stories, something we come across in our dreams. My task is to wake you up. Every culture across the planet has words for these creatures, Celt, Norse, Saxon, African, Asian and First Nation. Is it a coincidence? Or did we all dream the same dream.
No they exist! But not all have the ability to tune their focus to see between the worlds. My work ,given by spirit, is to slowly help tune my students in, so they can download their own medicine from their ancestors.  There also those I come across who are already TUNED IN and ready to take the plunge much sooner.
The more science studies our Universe with maths and quantum physics, the more they have to accept there are multiple dimensions. Past, present and future exist at the same time but just move between plains... "Time is circular not linear" ask Einstein.
So when in shamanic trance I come across a being from the past, who gifts me knowledge of something in my world and that something comes to pass. Is it divine or just a lucky dream?
"So endeth my rant"

Channelling spirit takes on different forms and styles for each individual but sometimes it comes to me as poem and verses that are down loaded whilst I sleep. In this short yarn, I will relay a verse that came to me in a dream.
I was in a great hall of my ancestors and a victory was being celebrated. Warriors and shield maidens were standing and relaying the story of their part in the great battle, whilst the audience either cheered, heckled or sometimes threw food. Then the lord of the hall banged the table, pointed at me and said
"Wizard, tell us a story or sing us a verse, for your word hoard is great and you speak with such splendour."
I rose to my feet, scanned the gathering, which helped me choose the right tale and the words just came out.

"Three witches by fire bright,
weaving the web of wyrd. 
Counting out the orlog for the the sons of men.


Some they mark as warrior,
some they mark as smith,
others they set to the plough.
All sprang from the loins of Heimdall
and take their place in the tribe of man.

Some they mark as Shaman or Vitki,
Blessed and cursed at the very same moment.
Blessed to have the ears of the Gods 
and the vision to see between the worlds.
Cursed to wander this world alone
and have but the friends you can count on one hand.

I would rather have one good friend
than a thousand acquaintances.
Tis not when the shield wall holds
that friendship is tested.
Tis when the wall breaks
and the courage of men flees the battlefield,
that is the knowing of a true brother.

The battlefield of the Shaman is some what more apocalyptic,
facing demon, phantom and shade.
All these creatures snarling and drooling at the mouth
waiting to rip the Vitki apart.
Tis then, Shaman to Shaman, Brother to Brother,
wrist clasping wrist one last time,
they cheer and charge, ready to take their seats in Valhalla

Today I feel so much better than yesterday, because yesterday I was full to the brim with anxiety over my book. I felt immense obligation to all those who had helped this project be realised. Kelli, Mary and my wife Tara had all given there time and love to this work and I had to repay the debt. That old driven capitalist demon, raised his head again from the depts of my past and kept whispering in my ear  "Sell! Sell! Sell!

For that is what you do when you have a new product. It was not until I talked to Kelli at New 72 Media, that I got the reality check I needed. That was then when I realized I have to let this work be and make it's own role in this world. The book will find it's way into the hands of the people that need it and Odin will guide them to it.
So I set off in to the forest with Boo, my staff and offerings for the Gods, then walked the path to the Spirit tree. Once there I gifted the fruit and bread to the beings and animals of the woodlands, smudged myself in mugwort and softly chanted until the messages came.
I sat before Odin on his high throne, a raven perched on the two pillars of the chair that towred behind my god. In the vision a red leather bound book sat on my lap.
" Bring me that word hoard that lies before me, let me wipe the ego from it, so it is clean and pure once more." The God of my kinsman, dusted off the cover of the book with the black fur cloak that hung around his shoulders.
The Wise-one then passed it to one of the ravens perched above him, who took it in his beak.
" Take this, my eyes and my ears in the world of man, and leave it where ever you feel fit."
The huge bird swooped down at me , just at the last minute arched up and out into the vast blue sky.
" There it is done, your hoard of thoughts now tarvels by the will of Odin. So boy release yourself from it and go about your true work. the others who toiled beside you, also followed the will of Odin. There is no need for obligation, they acted on my behalf. So spead my word, do my will and speak with the voice of Odin in Midgard."
The remaining raven cawed loudly, letting me know my time with the High-one was over and I returned to the world of man.
That morning I left all the worry and anxiety in the forest and walked home at peace once more.

Well it's official, I am an author... Written a book and sold some, I think that qualifies and not only that I was recognized in Trader Joe's Vancouver, WA but that person did think I was Mark Wahlberg. When I got to the check out the girl looked at me strangely and said " Are you?"
"What, Mark Wahlberg?"
"  No?" She said quizzically "Jeremy White."
" Finally, someone got it right."
" I met you at the Astoria Scandinavian festival, you gave me a readings and I purchased some pendants."
Then Tara intervened over my shoulder and said " Don't you think he has the eyes of Heath Ledger?"
Which is a long standing joke and now the girl looked really puzzled, so I explained.
" We were doing another big festival years ago, and this woman was like staring at me like a crazy person, then approached the booth.
" You have the eyes of Heath Ledger."
I wasn't sure if this was a joke, an insult or she wanted them back coz I had stolen them and replied
" Oh really, Did you hear that darling. I have the eyes of Heath Ledger."
Tara sort stepped sideways out the back of the tent to chuckle into her soda can and I tried to explain our products to the stalker.
Any way back to the girl at the check-out. She listens to my story looked at me , paused them shouted ." Oh my God,you do!"
We left the store, debating my eyes.
Tara said" She was just joking"
I said " I am telling you." As another completely random woman sort of quickly walked past me then leaned over to check out my eyes.
Anyway my book is now available all good books stores... NOT REALLY, JUST MY WEBSITE AT PRESENT
http://www.jeremyrjwhite.com/#!raising-the-runes/c19pi

                                      Bare with with me today, this blog is a bit out there

Today was a beautiful bright and sunny morning, when I got up I stare out the window and saw a blue heron eating a fish on the island. As I watched a buzzard swooped down and drove the heron off his breakfast. The thief grabbed his booty and took to flight, the fish hanging beneath his talons. As the buzzard flew over my front porch, he in turn was attached by two bald eagles who stole his spoils and drove him out of the area.
I then looked into the blue sky above my house and there were another four Bald Eagles circling my home. I knew this would be a day of shamanic visions and teachings. I grabbed my flute, my shaman stick and some offering for the forest and set out on my quest.
The spirit tree would not be my destination this day, I would go to the circle of Cedars where I encountered the Gnomic energies. Saying my prayers and honoring the land spirits I scattered my offerings to the four direction and then to the ancestors of this place. I played my flute, (the tune that had come to me as the song of the forest,was played over and over)until the energy felt right.
Then I sat, shook my shaman stick, chanted the nine chants and drifted off into vision.
First came the woodland sprites who herald the coming of the gnomes. The gnomes escorted a beautiful native woman who glowed with a white energy but then she turned towards me, she had two identities. one utter beauty the other mangled and tortured ( Just like the Goddess Hella)
She spoke.
" What do you want white man, come to say your prayers while at the same time a thousand of your kind hack at me with saws and axes. Do you think that your one little prayer will make a difference." She laughed and turned away. I felt ashamed and returned from my vision. The Forest is a living, breathing thing, that we the WHITE MAN harvest for our own needs but the forest was here long before us and does us no harm, in fact she does the opposite , she provides for us and so many other life forms that exist within her
caress
A golden thread still led the path from whence she had come, quickly I gathered my tools together and followed the trail before it faded. I scrambled over fallen trees and and through briers until I came to a spot where the air was still. In this place, no matter what she had said, I played my flute, I chanted my chants and spoke my prayers of medicine.
The sun broke through the canopy and kissed my skin, the forest sprites where present and whispered a name "Skookem Tum Tum" which I know in Chinook Wa Wa means strong heart.
Although I am only one in a thousand, while I am am lucky enough to live in this forest I will do all I can to heal and protect this place.

Yesterday in the post we received a surprise package from the wonderful Francis family, containing British Chocolate, wonderful chocolate , salted caramel turtles a handmade candle and a bottle of Jen's Florida Water ( A holy gift indeed). This special shamanic brew is used by the medicine men and women of the America's for blessings and cleansing and sending prayers. So up I got at the crack of dawn and headed out to the Sacred tree.
Yesterday I was told in a vision that I must say a prayer in the Chinook dialect, so the night before I prepared my message. As I got to the tree, I stood in the gateway and asked permission to enter and awaited a reply from the forest spirits. A blur heron croaked in the distance and I entered the shrine of the tree.
I took out my Chinook words, apologized in advance to the ancestors of this place, if I said it wrong and spoke the prayer. a hush came over the forest and in this stillness I was one with this place. I opened Jen's Florida water and the very first drop I gave to the Earth. I took a swig and remembered how Bill would use it, by sending a spitting vapor into the air. I sent a mist of magic towards the Holy tree. another up into the air that came down  and engulfed my face. At this moment I understood the connection to my own path and the sacred breath of the Dragon, the all encompassing, healing and teaching divine breath.
What a wonderful tool to add to my medicine hoard. I know exactly which rune to add to add to the bottle.

Yesterday morning I woke with an old familiar burning sensation in the last two fingers of my left hand. Echoes of a prolapsed disk and nerve pain have visited to haunt me once more. Before, when these shadows did their work I was just opening up the doorways to the shamanic world and the places these demons took me helped to make me the shaman I am.

Now I embrace the touch of Surt's daughter upon my hand (Surt is a fire demon) for it reminds me of my initiations. A native American man called David used to come into my store to buy my simple runes from me, to leave hanging from trees in the wilderness. David saw me whincing in pain and spoke some profound wisdom to me.

" Embrace the pain brother, it is yours and it shows the spirits are calling you. Remember the visions it gifts you. Love it like you should love every other part of you and it allow it to become one with you."

I did as he said. I stopped taking the handfuls of painkillers, my mind cleared and the meanings of the delirious nightmares became available to me.  The pain was still there but it didn't bother me as much, except in the extreme moments when it took me to the abyss, but every shaman, medicine man or woman must venture there to touch the void every now and then and unite with the spirits.           So welcome old friend, I await your teachings.

It has been a tough Winter many endings and coming to terms with the world that will be. Everybody I know has been held back in one way or another. We are all trying to trudge forwards with a great whopping chunk of elastic tied to our back. Every step we take is harder and harder, we have all been hanging on the tree, awaiting divine intervention. Finally today I feel like the elastic has snapped and we can spring into the future at break-neck speed.

Just remember all that delay, all those obstacles were teaching you stuff, preparing the old you for a new start. Whichever spirit resides in you and guides you thank them for the lessons learned and be thankful you are still here to implement them in your life.

On my spiritual path I have really struggled with ego, but not too much of it but lack of it. I know now this in itself is disrespectful to Odin and the Aesir. For they have reached out and gifted me their knowledge, their guidance and their love. It is now my job to tell of their coming, once more in the realm of man. Don't get me wrong, they never left but were hidden below a thousand years of dogma. My job is to clear away that rubble, erase the stereotypes of germanic super powers and show the unbelievable  healing and protection energies of the runes. How the language of our ancestors can  change the lives of those that the runes come in contact with. Remeber that they are so much more than just a tool for divination they are a direct connection and communication with the Gods.

"Odin, my Father, send out your ravens into Midgard to herald my coming. So I may spread the word, that the wisdom of Odin is brighter than the brightest star in the night sky and the love of Odin so more comforting than the warmth of the sun on your skin on a cold day."

My book is where this begins, my radio blog ( The Voice of Odin) where I offer the answers that the runes can deliver completely free, so everybody can experience the wisdom that is available from the "Well of Mimir"
This is a lot heavier than my usual walking in the woods with Boo yarns, I believe now is the time to stand up, to speak up and be heard.
But I will probably go back to my Boo stories tomorow, but today I feel his energy all around

Got a surprise in the post today, the draft version of my book. I know it drives everybody mad when they go on about there book. Hey but this is my book! A few small revisions and then we go to print but it is much , much better than I expected and Kelli at New 72 Media has done a great job for me along with Mary Holden who edited my work. Let us hope we sell a few now.
 I am a realist writing it is the easy bit we now have to publicise it out in the real world.
Anyway it looks really good on my rune table.

My spiritual sister, Raven Keyes, posted a blog today about how the men out there need a warrior energy to connect to. I believe this 100%. In our society to be a spiritual man is seen a a sign of weakness. If you ever met myself, Tim Raven or Bill francis, the two most spiritual men I know, you would see no glimpse of weakness but in fact the inner strength our beliefs give us.
I myself follow the path of Odin, the All father. Not only is he the god of wisdom and knowledge but also the god of Battle. He is part of all of us, men and women, this part is called your Ond, this is his divine spark that dwells deep within us. The more I and other spread his word and the words of all the Asir ( The Gods and Goddesses of Asgard) the more our collective Ond grows.
As long as I walk this Earth and still has breath in my lungs, I will share his teachings. The old dieties are rising up, even in Iceland , at this present monent, they are building temples to the gods of Asgard. Little by little that spark is woken, it doesn't take much, movies like Lord of the Rings, Vikings and Game of thrones are all parts of the reawakneing until we reach critical mass and our ancestors will call out to us from Valhalla and we will know who we are, who we were and who we are supposed to be.
Hail Odin

Strange things take place in the early hours. I had a visitation from my Mother who has recently passed over. We talked casually about that she felt like she couldn't smoke where she is now ( I know its not PC , smoking was one of my Mother's greatest pleasures, that, a good chat and a cup of strong tea, sitting around the kitchen table)  and it was a bit boring on the other side and that she worried about my Dad and was just popping round to all the kids to see if they are doing OK. Then just as she was about to leave, she said. " Sam needs your advice and guidance." Then she was gone.
The only Sam I knew was one of my Shamanic students so I emailed to see if she was alright.
From the reply my Mother's message came at just the right time and my words helped to intervene in a tricky situation.
The veil between the worlds is so thin, it does not take much to reach across, just allow yourself to believe. I follow the path of the Vitki ( Norse Shaman)  Part of this path is to enter and navigate the obstacles of the nine worlds, upon these journeys I meet many an ancestor with messages for me or others. Within the readings I hold, clients relations come through and talk within the medium of the runes.
I also take part in the ceremony of the High Seat, which is an ancient sacred event, where within the holy circle we connect with the Norns, the weavers of the web of fate and ask for guidance or blessings. I know now that my connection with my Mother is so strong, she will guide my path in the future.

Below is a pic taken of myself and Tim Raven as we prepared to journey to the other world.

Saturday was a big day for me, the first time I have ever been completely lost in the forest. I set off on my normal route but decided to skirt the path into the forest for antler sheds.  I knew that if I didnt cross the swamp and turned left when I got to it by rights I should end up on my normal path. Well I kept happily walking and searching for antlers, totally confident in my directional plan, but then I turned left and was on the other side of the swamp without actually crossing it. This freaked me out,how could it be? I checked to see the sun but this was a Pacific NW Febuary morning and a dull grey sky loomed above. I checked the trees to see which side the moss grew but as this is a rain forest and there is moss all around the trunk of pretty much every tree. Then to top it all Boo was no where, then it hit me Fucking hell I'm lost.
A deep seeded feeling rose in my belly and I had a moment of  panic but only a moment. Then I thought first things first find the dog. I called to Boo and sounething moved out in the swanp, a blur of biege then sprang up in the air and looked in as many directions as it could before gravity took over and it sank back below the long grasses of the wet land. It was Boo, we were reunited once more.
So no sun, no sea, the Ray Mears moss thing is no good, trees usually lean towards the south but in this forest they lean in every direction due to the power of the winter storms. OK I am pretty good at remembering my steps , I'll back track and see where that gets me. Carefully I retraced my steps, cursing the fact that my son's Christmas present to me was Walkie talkies, but even then had been sent to the wrong address and turned up at his home in the UK.
What I was seeing seemed familiar and I felt positive just doing something, I have a pretty good internal navigation system and now I had to totally rely on it to get me and Boo home safe. I followed my instincts for about an hour and finally light broke through the tree line ahead, trusting my senses I had a pretty good Idea where I was and headed confidently in that direction. When I arrived it was a completely different place to what I expected, in fact so different that freaked out even more as I now knew where I was.
To be where I was , was impossible to be without getting wet. I will explain in an example.
( Imagine you are on the south coast of Britain, you know France is twenty or so miles across the channel but you go for a walk, get lost for a bit and then you are in France.) I made my way back to the house and tried to explain to Tara what had happened. She just didn't get it and who's to blame her it sounds insane. I knew something weird had happened like walking through a worm hole, I looked a t Boo and she was still trembling from our experience

For me, Imbolc is from sunset tonight until dawn tomorrow morning. the last long night , when we embrace the darkness and be still within it. Think of all the dark things that have gone on in the last year, all the things you want to let go of, remember them, understand their messages and accept these events are what have led you to who you are now. As dawn breaks tomorrow, the dark night has gone and the light returns once more to the land.
Erci, takes us by the hand and leads us to the coming of Spring. So on St Brigits day, go to a spring or a well or even a calm pool of water, say prayers and thanks that you have made it through and know that this day heralds the coming of new life and soon the goddess Ostara will tread her gentle pathway through the woods and meadows bringing back the green lush plants and the glorious blooms, The animals that sleep will once again return to the world of men, just as we have been asleep, it is time to wake up.