In this month’s edition of The Runestone we will discuss the Hamr, the Projected Self.
The word itself translates to “shape” or “skin.” It's also the root word of Hamingja.
Many tie the idea of Hamr to shape shifting. But what does that mean? I think this is more layered than that and will warrant much more discussion.
The Hamr will also travel in dreams, or during sleep. It can take the shape of an animal; it can take the appearance of the self also. It is also connected to “ghosts.” The Hamr can sometimes remain after death, and will sometimes be seen by us, in the physical realm, often after the Lík has experienced trauma. The sixth sense or second sight can perceive the Hamr. (Check out Victory Never Sleeps, Episode 43, “The Soul”) Allsherjargothi Flavel refers to the Hamr as “the non-corporeal projection of self.” I have a story to share regarding the Hamr.
Some of you may have heard this story, I shared this on VNS last year. On July 30, 2023, I suffered a massive heart attack. I had been flown by helicopter to the biggest heart hospital in South Carolina. While on that helicopter I prayed. Prayed to Óðinn, Heimdallr, Þórr, Frigg, and my ancestors. Once I arrived at the cath lab, and the procedure was underway, my dear friend Svan appeared at my bedside. I was overcome with emotions when I saw him. I was telling him about how I got there, all the symptoms I had, the flight over. He sat with his arms crossed on my hospital bed, and I could see his tattoos on his forearms. He was just nodding while i was talking.
I asked him if I was going to die, and he simply said “no”, put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. He walked out of the room. After the procedure was over, I saw my family, and I told my mother something to the effect of “don’t worry, Svan said I wasn’t going to die.” When my mom told my wife what I had said, Heather thought I had my phone. I did not.
Svan was at home in Virginia Beach while all this was happening. He had been sleeping in after the trip to Þórshof the previous day. Once I had left surgery, he awakened and called Heather immediately. He has no recollection of his astral visit to my side.
Later, Svan and I spoke. I asked what he thought about his appearance at my bedside, and he began to explain the Hamr to me. It’s my opinion that his Hamr had traveled to be at my side during a traumatic event and bring comfort. I was and I remain eternally grateful for this moment in time that will be burned into my memory forever. I’m often overwhelmed with emotion when I see Svan at AFA events.
The mechanics of the Hamr remain mysterious to me. But I have seen the Hamr work in other ways as well. Sometimes it shows up in a more mundane way. Sometimes not.
What we know as “ghosts” are often a reflection of the Hamr. Ghost comes from the word guist which translates to guest, visitor. Often, we tell stories about ghosts in a scary way, we treat them as something to be feared. This should not be the case in most circumstances. If I were to see the “ghost” of my grandfather, I would not be afraid. It would be a privilege to spend a moment with him in whatever state he may appear. Stories of ghosts at battlefields abound across the world. It’s as if the trauma of these deaths is imprinted upon the land. This is the remnant of the Hamr left behind in the mundane world.
Examples of the layers of Hamr are as thus—there is the astral, the part that travels during the dream state, there is the ghost upon the field, an imprint of the Hamr left in Miðgarðr, and there is the projection of the Wode Self (that which you are trying to become). This is the side of the self you want others to see, what you want to people to perceive. How we relate through body language is an example. This is something we also perceive in others. We men use posture to convey a message to each other and the opposite sex. Women of course do the same thing. A change in posture, gait, or facial expressions are a way of signaling to our fellow man. This is maybe the most mundane expression of Hamr.
Maybe you have been in a strange place, maybe a drinking establishment. A large man is standing nearby. He isn’t “showing out” like cursing or making verbal threats. But his posture is aggressive, he “gets taller” around other men, perhaps has his chest puffed out, signaling he is here to make trouble. This is also Hamr, and when we pick up on these signals, they are hard to describe. “How did you know he was going to act out?” Because I was picking up his signaling. Being able to perceive the Hamr, the skin another person is wearing has saved lives, has prevented trouble more time than we can count.
The berserker is a historical example of the Hamr. Berserker means “wearing bear skin” and men in the Viking Age did in fact wear the skin of a bear or wolf (Ulfheðnar). But it means so much more than that. They became the bear, became the wolf. They had borne an ecstatic frenzy, swing wildly and skillfully and tearing the enemy apart as they became something else. Enemies who watched on were stricken with fear and often retreated as a result.
In Heimskringla, we read that King Harald had sent a “troll wise man” to Iceland to see what he could tell him about the land. He (the troll wise man) went in the shape of a whale, and when he arrived, he could see the land wights of Iceland. This is yet another example of Hamr from our ancient past. He projected himself through the astral in the shape of an animal, and in that state, he could see the Landvættr of the island.
How do we use Hamr in our spiritual practice? One way is being deliberate in the way you present yourself. Are you presenting the person you are? The person you want to become? How many times have we heard the phrase dress for the job you want, not the job you have? This also a mundane version of Hamr. Picture yourself in the highest form in your Wode Self (this is also part of the Soul Complex and will be discussed in a later article). What does that look like? Now carry that on the outside, wearing that skin as it were, to project it to the world.
Meditation. In some meditation practice you are picturing yourself in a setting in your mind. What you “see” as yourself is the Hamr. How you move in and out of places in this state, this is exercise for the Hamr when it travels in the dream state. As for the astral travel, again, keep a dream journal, write down experiences in the dream state, as they are hints of different parts of the soul, including the Hamr.
Join me in the next Runestone as we discuss Sál, The Shade Self.
Witan Daniel Young
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