On the morning of June 14, 2021, our beloved Seax Gesith (Saxon Companion) Freyjoy (Luis Manuel López Succar) journeyed to the Dreün.
Luis entered our lives in 2011 through the gatherings we held to share and educate about the Seax Tradition (Seax-Wica). He took his Seax priesthood vows through Solitary Dedication in 2015 and was welcomed as a Gesith (companion), an equal, by the Meomerswiell Seax Coven – Lima/Peru and the Æfenrima Wyrtún Seax Coven in Lima, Peru.
Since then, we shared countless meetings, exchanging knowledge and experiences. His connection with the God Woden and the Goddess Frig was strong and unwavering. He devoted himself to studying the gods and excelled, writing articles in his Folkwang – Lima Seax Wica group and sharing his knowledge with new seekers.
In December 2019, I asked him to support me internationally by becoming a Seax-Wica spokesperson for the Italian-speaking community. He gladly accepted and translated the Seax Wica Guidelines into Italian. He actively engaged with Italian-speaking sympathizers as well.
During the pandemic, he maintained his usual lifestyle, remaining resilient and unaffected by COVID-19. Unfortunately, another illness took hold—one which we had hoped, medically, he could overcome. However, his health declined, and his immune defenses weakened, leading him to pass, as our Faeder Raymond Buckland had, due to pneumonia.
We are deeply grateful for the ten years he dedicated to us. We shared, toasted, and sang together. We thank him for the love and respect he showed, his patience, and his openness to everything along the way. He experienced and saw what others have not; his time is complete, and now he rests in the Dreun (Summerland).
Our brothers and sisters around the world raised their horns for our friend Freyjoy, wishing him safe passage across the bridge, beginning his ascent to Okolnir, where he will be received in the golden hall of Gimlé by the Gods and our Seaxneat lineage, celebrating joyfully in Brimir, where he will share his saga with all.
“Praised be our father Woden,
Praised be our mother Frig,
Praised be our brothers and sisters of The Art.
Praised be our lineage, which binds us to Seaxneat from the beginning.
It is they who call you to take your place in Brimir,
In the Golden Hall of Gimlé, where the righteous and honest dwell forever.”
May your treasures transcend all life, and may all the good you gave to our kin and all humanity be remembered.
Blessings in love and light,
Seax Gesith Rasgæl Hræfenwulf
High Priest
In Memoriam
Luis Manuel López Succar
August 27, 1968 – June 14, 2021 – 52 years
Freyjoy share with us his feelings:
When I first “understood” how narrow my concept of “Divinity” truly was, I came to accept that not only one god existed, but many. I realized that to approach them, I needed to grasp what their original believers knew intellectually and felt emotionally. Likewise, I accepted that to connect with them, one needed not only a system of beliefs but also a system of worship—a ritual. And in Wicca, or more precisely in Seax Wica, I found what I was looking for: the “Rite.”
This is the key difference between Seax Wica and reconstructionist groups like Ásatrú. I respect those who attempt, and sometimes succeed, in structuring rituals through trial and error, given that it is nearly impossible to know exactly how the ancient “Bloot” ceremonies were conducted. In contrast, within Seax Wica, we have a ritual lineage that, under the name “Wicca,” has not only been in use for over 70 years but may, in some respects, reach back centuries, inherited from British traditional witchcraft.
Today, this ritual—along with its variations—is not only observed in Seax Wica and other traditions, but it is also adaptable and practiced by Wiccans worldwide, whether or not they belong to a specific tradition. This reflection surfaced as I read a passage from Nordic Mythology by Enrique Bernárdez (Alianza Editorial, 2017 – Madrid, p. 335):
“Followers of Ásatrú have attempted to revive some rites, though perhaps more with ‘informed imagination’ than by following models that, unfortunately, we hardly know in their entirety. An interesting attempt to reconstruct the myths and sacrifices of Uppsala can be seen in the TV series Vikings.”
(And what happened at Uppsala? We only know what the Christian missionary Adam of Bremen described.)
How does trial and error work? We venerate, worship, and show devotion. And to the extent that such orthopraxy bears fruit in our lives, we take it as a sign that “someone” has heard us from beyond this plane of existence, especially when our minds are clear about our real needs and they are later fulfilled “by something that happened through the ritual’s causality.” Of course, it must be understood that no god is a mere source of wishes.
This brings me to answer the question in the title: going beyond any personal affinity with Woden and Frigg, with Freo (Freyja) and Fro (Frey), or with Thunnor (Thor), the Æsir, and the Vanir, it is essential to have a stable “conversation model” so that these intelligent forces might at least say “hello.” And in Seax Wica, I found just that.
One way to enrich our rites is through singing. In this case, a mantra or chant using the sacred names of the Gods. I titled this one Welga Ese Und Ven in Old Saxon (meaning: “Hail Aesir and Vanir”). I was once a tenor, and there’s still a bit of voice left in me.
This is an excellent way to achieve a state of self-reflection or what some call the “Alpha state.” The idea is that by pronouncing the names as a call, “something” ignites within us, connecting with “something” beyond. This brings a loss of the usual sense of time, as if entering a borrowed time, a different time altogether.
Drums are the most affordable musical instrument and, in a shamanic sense, I am certain they are ideal (maracas also work well).
This video is solely for use within this group and may not be shared outside.
