Here the term “ecstatic trance” bears a bit of explaining. Ecstasy, from the Ancient Greek ἔκστασις, refers to an altered state of consciousness characterized by a lack of awareness outside an object of interest. Trance is often described as an unconscious or half-conscious state wherein the subject is unresponsive to external stimuli. Thus an “ecstatic battle-trance” would be a state of consciousness in which one is consumed with battle to the point of lack of awareness and response to stimuli outside of the battle. In some cases, this is said to have included severe wounds and even the loss of limbs. The berserkir and úlfheðnar are characterized, and distinguished, by their associations with the animals from which they get their names– bears and wolves respectively. These warriors likely used animal pelts, or physical hamr, to change their form, given that the name berserkir comes from the Old Norse words bera (bear) and serkr. Úlfheðnar likely derives from úlfr (wolf) and heð from the Proto-Germanic *haiduz meaning state or condition. Thus, berserkir wear bear pelts, and the úlfheðnar are in the state of a wolf. There are many connections between the berserkir and úlfheðnar and Indo-European initiation rites which, though outside the scope of this essay, leads one to believe that there are certain ritual requirements needed to change one’s appearance and achieve a state of ecstatic battle-trance. In addition, the berserkir and úlfheðnar are totemistic warriors related to tutelary spirits, likely the bear and the wolf, both with strong associations with Óðinn. Interestingly, another tutelary spirit appears in Old Norse literature, the ‘Fylgja’, which is also a soul-part. It often takes the form of an animal and is often related to the nature of the person to whom it belongs. It translates as “follower”, and may be somewhat related to the fetch from Irish folklore. Therefore, the ecstatic battle-trance is brought on via the changing of the hamr of the berserkir and úlfheðnar. While this method and purpose for changing one’s shape is likely unhelpful for most modern practitioners, it provides a basis for the study and understanding of shapeshifting in the Old Norse tradition and will hopefully give the modern practitioner ideas for methods of shapeshifting that may be more applicable. The soul-parts are essential to understanding shapeshifting in the Old Norse tradition, though the way they interact with other notions of the Old Norse worldview can be complex. The study of seiðr, berserkir, soulparts, shape-changing, and battle-trance intersect in many ways in many places, some of which are lost to time.
Perabo, L (2017). Shapeshifting in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature Tolley, C. (2009). Shamanism in Norse Myth and Magic Sturluson, Snorri Heimskringla trans. Samuel Laing (1844) Price, N (2004). The Archaeology of Seiðr Speidel, M (2002). Berserks: A History of Indo-European “Mad Warriors”
28
