“The flow of the seid is fresh and bright, behind it stands the strength and integrity of the Scandinavian deities” – Katie Gerrard

Seid is an intriguing and powerful early Norse system of shamanic trance practices. With Seidh: The Gates Open, Katie Gerrard has made a major contribution to the study of seidh practices and trance prophecies by providing a practical manual full of dynamic group (and solitary) rituals and techniques based on known seidh practices.

This book, which brings together more than ten years of research and experimentation, is both scientific and accessible. Katie Gerrard shares her own experiences of the seer’s journey, and also draws inspiration from primary sources in the old texts of the sagas and Eddas, as well as from modern researchers and groups working with seid in Scandinavia, Europe and America. Techniques for achieving trance, levels of trance possession, breaking out of trance, vardlokkurs (chants), necessary equipment and the role requirements of the various participants are discussed clearly and concisely, and the importance of contact with the ancestors, the dead and the corresponding gods, including the goddesses Freyja and Hel, is described, and God the All-Father Odin.