Throughout the years of study my spiritual path took me on a winding road through shamanic practices, Wicca, Feri Tradition, The Reclaiming Tradition, Reiki, Huna and eventually the realm of Norse Paganism. However, being the person my great-grandmother used to describe as the “all around, all American girl”, none of these paths felt entirely right for me. There would be an idea here, a practice there that resonated at a spirit level but it wasn’t cohesive, and I for some reason couldn’t completely immerse myself in any one tradition’s philosophy or methodology. After much trial and error, I came to a conclusion that I have recently discovered many witches do after a time, that it is okay to use what works for me. I don’t have to take someone else’s system in whole, I can use those things that speak to my soul and walk away from those that don’t.
One thing I found that truly resonated with me from the Norse Paganism Traditions was a concept that said our energy and our magic is in our blood passed down from our Ancestors. Having a family that is a veritable melting pot of cultures had added to my confusion. Until the day that I realized that I could weave together different pieces of different practices (thus honoring my each of my Ancestors and their energies) and create something new; much as my Ancestors had done by weaving together their lives, sharing their many different cultures and their genetics to create me; a person with a genetic tie to many different cultures, yet not entirely connected to any one in particular.
This realization and method of creating and shaping my spiritual practice helped me to grow some, but my spiritual path and practice lacked focus. As Frigga helped me to see an expanded comprehension and application of the concept of Frith, it became the unifying philosophy underlying my practices.
From books by T. Thorn Coyle, Victor Anderson, Cora Anderson, Starhawk and many others from the Feri Tradition and the Reclaiming Tradition I came to have an understanding of Energetic Anatomy (or Etheric Anatomy). These Traditions and Authors explain the different energy bodies we each have and how they interact and help us through our daily lives. I know this may seem divergent to what I was previously explaining, but please be patient and stick with it, explaining this will shed light on my understanding of how Frith worked with my spiritual practice, how it helped to create a whole new Tradition, practice body of work for me and why I am very convinced that it can help others.
The energy bodies are described as Dense One (the physical body), Sticky One (sometimes called the fetch, it lays closest to the physical body), Shinning Body ( this is most commonly understood as the Aura) and Sacred Dove (also called the God Soul, it is the piece of the Divine Creative Energy of the Universe which resides within each of us). We will discuss the other bodies a little later, right now I would like to focus on Sacred Dove. It is what others call the Higher Self. It is the part of our energy that helps us contact other realms, hear Divine Guidance and guides us into right action that will further our spiritual growth. This is the timeless part of our soul.
One day, quite by accident I learned that this part of myself has its own name, and energy. Once I discovered the name of my Sacred Dove/ God Soul, I had an easier time building a working, respectful relationship with it. This relationship eased the way for stepping into magical consciousness, receiving guidance, tapping into my intuition and existing in harmony with the flow of energy around me. As I began to understand Frith more deeply, it became a personal pursuit. Frith became a unifying goal not only within my practice but also within myself and my practice. My goal was to create Frith between my everyday self and my God Soul.
Seeking a personal state of Frith involves meeting, honoring and beginning to work in cooperation with ones God Soul. Learning to honor the self as sacred, working towards bettering your life and creating peaceful moments in which you can hear the guidance of your God Soul, Spirit Allies, Beloved Dead and The Gods (whomever you may work with). To work towards a personal state of Frith is to make peace with one’s self through healing magic and ritual. Furthermore, it means to observe, secure protect, keep and love yourself and in so doing set yourself free. Creating Frith between your egoic self and your God Soul is to come to an understanding and mutual recognition between these two parts of the soul so that they begin to work in a kinship like cooperation. Your egoic self no longer fights your God Soul or the guidance you receive from it. Within my life I have found it has removed a lot of doubt, stress and confusion, thus making every aspect of my life better and more peaceful. I have found that my relationships have become better. After all, if a person does not hold a kinship relationship with themselves, they cannot have it with any other entity be they, human, animal, plant, Beloved Dead, Spirit Allies or the Gods.
The idea of Frith, here is related to the idea of freedom. Freedom being defined as a state of being capable, self-assured and maintaining the strength to face whatever life sends you way, to overcome it (should it be difficulty), surviving all the wiser and go on to flourish. This sense of Freedom also means that you are more open to receive the good that is sent your way without doubt. To accept and flow with change as it happens, without the stress or fear of the unknown holding you back from opportunities as they present themselves.
“The term Frith captured a huge portion of everything good that could exist in live and all of these grew out of the roots of the kinship relationship itself and the kindred relationship.” (aristocratofthesoul.com). When Frith is the goal of spiritual practice you take time to build a relationship with yourself, your God Soul, your Beloved Dead, Spirit Allies, Elemental Energies, Land Spirits and Gods. Existing in a state of Frith can allow you to see the relationship of all things and work towards caring for those relationships in deep and meaningful ways. Striving to live in a state of Frith can help you tune into the Divine energy throughout the Universe, which can increase your intuition, synchronicity, and your success in effecting change with your magic.
FrithCraft is the outgrowth of this understanding and encompasses the philosophies, practices, rituals and spells which assist in facilitating connection with your God Soul, healing yourself and working in tandem with your God Soul and its guidance. These practices, philosophies, rites and rituals all help to facilitate direct communication with your inner guidance and can help to create a framework for discovering your own Soul Truth and creating your own personal Spiritual Practice.
The Frith Wytch 