Biegolmai: Watch for Signs

(The Wind Man) Lapp – Samek

When darkness accompanied by subfreezing temperatures prevail, and an arctic wind howls ferociously at the door of your sod hut, it is essential to be in harmony with nature if you wish to survive.

Nature determines the flow of time; the slightest changes in the spring-winter air compel the reindeer herds to migrate to the calving grounds before the terrain melts into slush. According to the history recorded on the drums of the nomadic Lapps, this was also a fall stopping point as they journeyed inland from Atlantic Coast where they spent their summers fishing.

A central figure on every drum was Biegolmai. In Scandinavian mythology Biegolmai held the winds captive in a subterranean cavern. He is pictured with a shovel in his right hand used for scooping the winds into the cave. With his left hand he uses a club to drive them out again to enliven and freshen the breath of the land. To calm a storm the shamans would offer up a shovel to appease this fierce god.

When Biegolmai uses his shovel to release the wind from below the snow, it is time to deepen and enhance your relationship with magic and the natural rhythms of your own life, the soul of your surroundings and the cycles of nature.

East

The Lapps followed an East to West migration. When Biegolmai blows in from the east with a stinging cold blast, your forward movement comes to an abrupt halt. Biegolmai asks you to carefully observe the subtle signs of nature, and wait for the perfect moment to act.

Examine your beliefs regarding your concept of time. Are you in harmony with the seasons/cycles of your life? Are you in harmony with your natural surroundings, or is your day scheduled weeks in advance, with little regard for daylight? Does your cellphone determine where you go and how you live your life?

Pause. Turn off all electronic devices, and align yourself with the winds of change that are swirling around you. Take a moment to listen to the story of your life, which is reflected in the natural world in which you live. Wake up with the sun goddess, thank the man in the moon, listen to the birds, feel the wind, watch and listen for a signal from nature before proceeding.

Whenever reindeer encounter a headwind they change direction. Click To Tweet If Biegolmai appears in your spread in the reverse position, it is a signal that you need to be alert and pay attention lest you miss a great opportunity. Become a wise spiritual tracker and follow the reindeer.

South

The arrival of Biegolmai as a fresh, costal summer wind means that now is a good time to pray and get your emotional house in order. Use the penetrating light of the midnight sun to cast a shadow so you can examine your shortcomings.

A sieidi is a sacred Sami space used for personal ritual, a place where it is possible to communicate with the spirits. Create or renew your altar (siedi); power builds when we return again and again to a Bieg-olmai place of prayer. Create a ritual to deepen your relationship with your inner emotional winds. Call up Biegolmai to help you harmonize your relationships with others. Make a power drum and paint it with your personal symbols. The reindeer skinned drums were used to record personal and community history. The precise placement of symbols on the drums told individual stories, and described the cosmology of the nomadic tribes. The paintings varied with each location and family, but common elements included a central sun separating a horizontal division for the summer and winter camps, plus three vertical levels of experience; sky, terrestrial atmosphere, and underworld[2]

When the wind man ceases to blow in your emotional life, it means that you are not paying attention to the signs in your life. You have lost your bearings and need to recalibrate your inner compass. To answer questions the Lapp would place a copper ring on the membrane of the drum. Using a reindeer horn beater they would strike the drum, and when the ring came to a natural resting point they would have an answer. Look for reoccurring patterns in your life, and you will find the answer your questions.

West

The Sami (Noaidi shaman) believed that people have two souls, an animated soul and a “free soul.” Using a specialized drum to help them gain access to other realms through trance states, Shamans used free soul for ethereal travel, which allowed them to communicate with invisible spirits. The Noaids were the intermediaries of the Gods; usually called upon during periods of famine, sickness or while hunting. Access your inner shaman by entering a trance through meditation, dance, or by drumming. Ask the spirits to help you to harmonize with the elements in your surroundings.

Are you feeling wind slapped? The Sami were necromancer, using their skill to harness the wind into knots for sailors. Adjust your wind knots (see chapter 6.) Biegolmai might blow in as a harsh wind or an early frost if you’re not paying close attention to your family and community. A home is a place with a central kitchen where friends and family gather to share food drum, and sing. Open your heart; call upon the local winds to remove any negativity or blocked energy from your home or office, and bring harmony into your personal relationships. Spending time with children will help you remember and appreciate the importance of storytelling and the value of simplicity.

North

As a persistent north wind, Biegolmai beckons you to pause in the darkness, and get centered, so that you can reconnect with nature, and discover your essential self. Ask a question, and then use your drum to take an inward journey and climb up the mountain to the precipice of your rich spiritual center. Become like a Sami observer who can perceives the age and intrinsic quality of snow. Deconstruct your spiritual beliefs according to color, size, temperament, texture and age. Alignment with your natural world is necessary if you wish to properly read and interpret the signals in your life.

Biegolmai, the wind man, will capsize your boat when community values are neglected and replaced by self-serving dogma. Enter the dark cave where the winds are stored and you shall find the truth. Make a sacrifice and reconnect with your spiritual self. Inspiration will rise like a glorious late spring sun, growing ever brighter as you serve the needs of spirit and strengthen your bonds with family, groups and community.

Join the Wind Believers group on FB here.

[1] “The Great Ocean of Knowledge”: The Influence of Travel Literature on the Work of John Locke. Ann Talbot BRILL, Jan 1, 2010. Accessed on the web. November 1, 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=PV36wdwmU24C&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=sailors+buying+wind+knots+for+wind+witches&source=bl&ots=vhQgQYBlxi&sig=1C1wOtMPtRYo09W0jkWZPuLYIbE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDsQ6AEwB2oVChMItYG82NLvyAIVUfJjCh2J6QYS#v=onepage&q=wind&f=false

[2] C. Nooteboom, Sketch of the former religious concepts of the Asele Lapps (the southern Lapps) In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 117 (1961), no: 1, Leiden, 118-140. Accessed from http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com

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