It's almost the full moon again! So here's the next Falcon Flight. I recommend lighting a devotional candle and/or making a small offering to Freyja (perhaps a libation) and to Freyr (if you have a relationship with him) before you begin, and then prepare yourself however you normally would, to do work at an altar. For my part, that usually means wearing one of my devotional hair ribbons and perhaps donning magical jewelry, and acquiring something to go over my head while I journey. As usual, feel free to try this one or skip it if it doesn't appeal to you. I've been called to share these with my community, but it is ultimately up to each of you to choose to join in or not. I'm not so self-centered as to think my own personal practice, even if She asked me to share it, is relevant to every devotee!
Falcon Flight: Keep the Gems
Begin in stillness, and quiet, and darkness. Find your center, and align yourself with earth and sky. As you stare at the darkness behind your eyes, feel and see as mist swirls up from the ground, obscuring everything around you. After a moment, it begins to part, leaving you standing on wide plain, and on the horizon in front of you, out of the plain rises the great world tree. If you have any guides or guardians you wish to accompany you, call to them now, before you step through the gate and make your way towards the tree.
As you approach the World Tree, circle around it clockwise, until you see an opening beneath one of the great roots. Duck under this root and enter the tunnel beneath. There is hard dirt packed beneath your feet, and the entire tunnel seems to have been hewn from that same clay-rich dirt and sandstone. Not as many feet come this way — the floor is still rough in places, so watch your step as you continue forward. There are torches set into sconces in the rough hewn walls, and their light looks like fire but you feel no heat as we continue past, and you smell no smoke or pitch.
The tunnel curves gently and then begins to rise in a gradual incline, ending in a doorway, two huge stones on either side and capped with a third. Touch one gently as you step out into the fresh air — these are worn by the elements and smooth to the touch. If you look back to the entrance, you will notice that on this side, the tunnel leads into what looks like a large burial mound, standing alone in a large clearing, though the forest is slowly encroaching from all sides.
Smell the air — the pine sap scent is strong, and your nose can tell there is moving water somewhere nearby, even if your ears cannot yet hear it. Now you should continue, following a clear trail deeper into the forest. Your footfalls are muffled by pine needles, and the air seems still. Then, ahead of you you see a bridge over a nearly-empty gorge, just a trickle of a stream at the bottom, the same as last full moon.
Cross the bridge and continue up the usual trail. After a short time, you arrive at a fork, with three paths to choose from. One path curves to the left, and you can just make out a bridge over a creek in the distance. The one to the right seems to vanish into the trees. Continue down the middle path, which leads straight ahead. After a while, the trees seem to thin a bit, and the underbrush grows less tangled.
As the path reaches the edge of the forest, and the pine needles give way to a large open field, your eyes are drawn to the great hall. It is large, and you know at once to whom it belongs. This is Freyja’s Hall, Sessrumnir, and you are in Folkvangr. Approach the door, and go inside.
Enter the hall and stop for a moment to let your eyes adjust. Once they have, you will be able to see both Freyja and Freyr seated on the dais. You may approach either of them to speak to them about what weighs on your heart.
[interlude]
When you have finished speaking, one of them will hand you a small wooden carving. It may be labeled, but in your heart you know what this is: a representation of a relationship that once was meaningful in your life, but is no longer. Place the carving into the central fire, and watch as it swiftly burns down. As the wood reduces to ash, a central gem is revealed. When it has been freed, reach your hand out to pick it up. It will not burn you.
This is what you should keep from that relationship that is no more: the parts of yourself that were wrapped up inside it. You need not cut off or abandon any part of your true self to remove the influence of a toxic relationship; these can be cleansed by fire and returned to you for safekeeping and later integration. For now, put the gem in your pocket or somewhere similar, and then return to thank the one who gave you the carving.
When you are finished, go out the door of the hall on the side opposite to where you came in, down the usual the forest path, through the forest, across the bridge again, to the mound, through the mound-tunnel and out from under the root, and begin to cross the plain. Then the mist will swirl up again, and take you back to your body.
This is a great thing to get on Freyr’s day