Finding Spells

Sukkamieli mieli käännä,
Mesin käännä miehen mieli,
Hau'o mieli mielettömän,
Armahani armottoman;
Tuli kuin turkkanen palavi,
Valkeinen valvattavi,
Niin on syän syttyköhön,
Palakohon miehen mieli,
Jott' ei saisi yöllä unta,
Eikä päivällä lepoa!


Reading an old Finnish spell book originally curated by Elias Lönnrot in 1880. He was one of the forefathers of Finnish language, curating and writing Finnish language into written form, continuing the work Mikael Agricola started a few hundred years before him. He travelled all over Finland, learning about spells, tales and traditions from different regions, gathering them into one.


It's interesting to read these spells, which are in old Finnish and sometimes very hard to understand. They tell tales from a pagan belief, even though God is often mentioned, of folk who live in close relation to Mother Earth and know it gives and it takes just. I find it interesting to read how the pagan belief is intwined together with Christianity. I still believe Finnish people are pagans at heart even though most of us belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church.


In this collection there are spells for good weather, for wishing rain on a dry summer, spells for curing illnesses and to lure a suitable husband. Spells for hunting, spells to bless crops and children, spells to expel evil spirits. If you don't know Finnish, you'll never figure out what the spell above was for, and google translate will not help you.

_{Self portraits with the Fujifilm X100F.}