My Fylgja and Me

 This article aims to describe my relationship with my personal Fylgja and certain experiences I have had with it when activating it. I also assume that the reader has some experience with rune magic and knows what Fylgja is all about. It is also necessary to accept that we do not know the answers to all the questions that may come to mind concerning Fylgja. Moreover, the answers we find may not always apply in general. 

 If I had to say in one word what Fylgja is, I would say a guide. 

A guide to what? The way we sacrifice ourselves for the Self.
This statement comes across as odd, perhaps poseur-like, to someone who hasn't taken this journey. In that case, the reader must be content with the common claim in Norse folklore that the Fylgja is only seen before death.  

Some words from runic psychology

If the reader is unsatisfied with a simple explanation, I will outline a little from runic psychology. 

Fylgja is usually connected to the mind, memory, and character (the component involving inspiration and enthusiasm). Some people cannot have it or have it very weakly developed or too young. However, it is a complex entity characterized by animal form, opposite sex, and abstract geometric shape. It has often been identified with the valkyria or the disa. (There are some theories about the half.) It is an orlogos, a fated being that can uplift or destroy (think Sigurd). 

Runic psychology approaches these manifestations of personality from her point of view. What it cannot do, however, is to give an unequivocal answer to the question of how we find our own Fylgja, for without it Hamingja is merely a phenomenon resembling the chance of winning the lottery. It must be added that even magic cannot answer the question of how we find our own Fylgja reliably. I believe that the Fylgja must come "alone", at least the male one, I suspect that the female one must be "found". If there's anything to speak of here, it's fate. The art of admitting that we are not in control of "how to come to Fylgja" (a matter of consciousness) and a test of humility is to be expected here.

Another thing we will have to come to terms with is the fact that Fylgja and Hamingja are not just about the energies of our body, they stand in forces outside of us and we are not always clear where to look for them outside of us before we know them. We cannot magically influence the onset of Hamingja, but we can magically strengthen our relationship with it, that is, revive the lines of this personality manifestation so that it has a chance to actively manifest. And for it to have a chance to manifest itself visibly, we need to have the Fylgja activated. By that I mean a Fylgja that not only appears but appears steadily and also establishes a relationship with our consciousness. 

Fylgja and Hamingja together

Actively used Fylgja and Hamingja lead to states where circumstances are so incredibly in our favor that things around us and within us are actively changing. By this I do not mean the goldfish effect, but the rush of opportunity. If we are in harmony with the Fylgja, we have a harmonious relationship with the Hamingja forces and can make the most of the opportunity.  

The onset of Fylgja is quite clear. Nothing is as it used to be and we ourselves feel the need to change our attitude. Here not only the character of the individual but also the character of the Fylgja becomes very apparent. Of course, Fylgja corresponds to the character of the individual, but here the alchemical applies, in some ways similarity and in some ways difference. Incorporating Fylgja into one's life is an interesting process of connecting with something that initially doesn't feel so compatible (and can't because we ourselves change in the process), yet there is a sense of kinship and a desire to keep working with it. The rejection of one's own Fylgja, the forgetting of it, or even the betrayal of it, leads to the ending described quite vividly in the Volsunga Saga.

What is Fylgja really and is it the same for everyone?  I don't have a clear answer because I don't know. I can describe my own Fylgja, which I like to do very poetically. However, in general, it gets worse. A man's Fylgja will obviously be of a female polarity, another woman's Fylgja will look different from mine, in all forms. Here individuality prevails. So I have come to the answer that the Fylgja for everyone will represent the personification of the most precious values we have in life.  The degree of manifestation will be based on these qualities and the character of Fylgja. The result in ordinary (practical life) will depend on the connection of the Fylgja-Hamingja principle with us. 

The image of Fylgja in a partner

I have often wondered how much my Fylgja is like me. She belongs to me, although I see her physical reflection in the man at my side, as well as her character traits.  It seems to me like the ideal ratio of same and different is described in alchemical writings. Perhaps everyone has it in a slightly different form, perhaps it is tied to predestination because the Fylgja-Hamningja principle would fit that as well.

Attempting a precise definition fails, however, I am always fascinated by how motivating my Fylgja is for me to become better. So, since she entered my conscious life, beyond just the dreamlike image of "I don't know what's going on here", things I had only tentatively dreamed of began to happen to me. And because there is supposed to be a balance, we both have it.   

If anything supports the pillar of our subjective world, it is Fylgja... Fylgja is not me, and I am not her, but we are beings so close that without her I would perceive a void that would not be filled with anything.

Fylgja will stand behind you even if the whole world turns against you. 

She is someone who will not rest until she understands your every desire and brings your weakness to light only to make it a strength.

Finding your Fylgja is an immense blessing. I don't know the answer if everyone has it in this manifestation, the love that overcomes all. I just know that she is one and completely unique. As tailor-made and mutually valid.

To know your Fylgja in general means that you find yourself, and you are never alone again. It is a process in which you overcome obstacles. If the Fylgja manifests as a partner on the material, it is a painful process at first and gradually a wonderful one. I have noticed that when we know our Fylgja, no one has a chance to beat it in our hearts... even for a moment.

It's a process of overcoming obstacles, of dealing with them. Nothing like those stuck, boring relationships without moving forward.

Love is a matter of two. It's just that if we hadn't previously known what it's like to be alone in love when our partner passes us by, won't hold us, isn't in tune with us, is interested in others, thinks primarily of himself, has the other as an elevator, etc....we wouldn't know the difference. Because the Fylgja contains our whole world. And she won't betray us because she would have to betray herself.

My Fylgja and me

Fylgja didn't show up, though I was really struggling to discover her. All I saw was me in a better and much more beautiful version of myself, that is, my astral form, which is part of what we call the Self. It was cruel, especially looking in the mirror after such dreams and visions. In fact, Fylgia can play the role of mediator even regarding approaching the astral form. Perhaps someone more focused on psychology would find the more Charonic conception of Fylgia more interesting. I'm a pragmatist, magic must manifest on matter and not disappear as it does after an invocation is completed. 

The Fylgja did not allow itself to be discovered, despite my desire and curiosity, which I have been pursuing for 3 years in places and persistently. Until it began to discover itself. In my dreams... I considered her an obsession for about 9 months. Apparently, I have a longer lead in this regard. The dreams were at a frequency of every 14 days, every 3 weeks. And they followed each other like a soap opera. Truthfully, I didn't know the setting, I didn't know the amazing creature of male polarity that I was strangely attracted to, and I didn't understand the meaning at all, which didn't appear to be symbolic, because the dreams were like living somewhere and experiencing every minute.  

After 9 months (it is impossible not to appreciate the beautiful Nordic 9), I have started to see what this is all about. And the creature became part of my normal perception. Of course, it wasn't exactly "I am so-and-so and I am your Fylgja". Slowly we were penetrating our so different backgrounds. I took it seriously because the role of mediator was played perfectly by my Fylgja. 

The conditions around me began to change. It didn't look bright and calm at the beginning, rather everything escalated to the maximum. I felt like I was in an automatic washing machine at the highest speed. And when the water level calmed down, you could see the debris... unusable debris. Some people in my neighborhood didn't survive (as I live on, only our paths have diverged). Others stayed... only our relationship gradually tuned to a different wave. Much better. Which is a great bonus as well as strengthening mental resilience.

Changes began overall. Things that didn't go, suddenly go. Some very difficult things have been beautifully simplified. Fulfilling ambitions. Very precise divinations. What I've been doing for a long time has begun to bear fruit.  I mean, things that are measurable in the material world. 

Fylgja opens the door to knowledge, which cannot be found in books begins to make different sense because contact with it deepens perception. Overall, we can become more ourselves and find ways to ourselves. 

Is Fylgja a guardian? In a way, yes. But she doesn't walk with us like a bodyguard. Of course, as soon as something starts to happen, her presence becomes apparent. I've learned to turn a part of my attention to her that I'm only slightly aware of in normal activity. 

To know one's Fylgja is to enrich one's view of the world and to see something in it that is not perceptible by ordinary perception. It is experiencing each moment on a completely different level. Of course, then even magic penetrates reality more easily... Because the mediator between worlds can also be the pillar of our inner world. 

Fylgja is rare and wonderful to know. It's not exactly describable, yet working with it leads to exact results.