WYRD AROMAS

The Way of Wyrd brings the wisdom of a wizard from the past to inspire your life today, and to take you on a journey to discovering the nature of your own soul.

Wyrd Aromas - All About Wyrd

When Brian Bates’ The Way of Wyrd was first published in 1983, few people knew about Anglo-Saxon spiritual teachings – or even that there were any! People of English heritage had been left with the sense that wisdom traditions were something other cultures had.   Sometimes the teachings of the great wizards of the past are glimpsed only in
the shadowy guise of romantic figures such as Merlin and Gandalf. The Way of Wyrd tells the story of a wizard and his apprentice in 1000 AD  England. Based on historical facts in a wizard's spell book from 1000 years ago, The Lacnunga, is a handbook of healing remedies, sacred ceremonies, and spiritual secrets - teachings for today from our ancient past. And it is from this eminently practical and factual list that our Wyrd Aromas are derived.   It is important to remember that it is an account of practical work - a handbook of a healer who worked in ways we would today recognise as being shamanic;  herbal medicine empowered by spiritual attunements. These practitioners in Anglo-Saxon England had various titles indicating their healing and magical speciality, stemming from expertise in making and applying plant concoctions, to being able to become invisible! Professor Bates uses the early medieval term of ‘Wizard’ as an umbrella label for the practitioners of Wyrd.

At the heart of Anglo-Saxon spirituality is the experience of ‘Wyrd’. Today, the term ‘weird’ means something strange, bizarre, or supernatural. But in its archaic and original sense, it meant that aspect of life which was so deep, so all pervasive, and so central to our understanding of ourselves and our world, that it was inexpressible.
Stemming from this essential vision, our Anglo-Saxon ancestors believed in a universe where lines of power ran through the earth, spirits inhabited the trees, streams and stones, and where magicians were able to look into the future through the mysterious power of runes. People understood their universe as held together by an interlaced web of golden threads visible only to the wizards.

The Way of Wyrd  - republished to help to recover ancient Anglo-Saxon tribal
wisdom and to bring it to the forefront of 21st century inspiration.

Professor Brian Bates - Anglo-Saxon Wizard: ‘I have also introduced the concepts of Wyrd to medical doctors, psychotherapists, ecologists, scientists and people in business, through seminars, lectures and publications. It seems important to me that in recovering this ancient wisdom, we connect it with the major concerns and issues facing people of today, and integrating it into our lives.

For our WYRD AROMAS list click here.

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