Hear her talk about her experiences with elves right here:

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Episode Summary

I’m sure you’ve noticed we talk a lot about ghosts on this show. But that’s not to say we’re not fascinated by tales of other types of creatures, such as elves, and trolls, and fairies.

Today, we speak with Alma, a resident of Iceland who regularly works with the energy of the land and with the entities mentioned above. And, she says you, too, can reach out to these creatures if you are willing to open your mind and your senses.

Let’s talk to an expert in Icelandic folklore and energy, on the H Files, today, on Homespun Haints.

Episode Show Notes

About the Guest, Alma Hrönn Hrannardóttir

Alma is a spiritual guide and owner of Starcodes Academy, currently operating in Iceland and soon in the UK. She is an Angelic Reiki Master and she channels messages from higher beings.

You can also visit her site almahronn.com and follow her and Starcodes Academy on Instagram.

Why does Iceland need 13 Santa Clauses?

When you grow up with as pervasive a cultural icon as Santa Claus, it’s easy to forget that Santa is hella different in different cultures. Alma broke our brains when she explained that Iceland has 13 Santa Clauses who stop by the house around the winter solstice.

Unlike Santa in the US, these dudes aren’t so generous. In fact, they’re more likely to steal stuff from your house than they are to leave something behind. But none of this is surprising, considering their role models growing up. Specifically, their mother, Gryla. Gryla was a troll. She also purportedly ATE CHILDREN. It’s no shock that Icelandic kids hope that elves visit instead of the Santas.

However, Alma insists that stories about trolls eating people were confabulated to keep the naughty kids in-line. She has actually personally seen trolls. In her experience, trolls are quite kind…although their 3-meter height and exclusively nocturnal activity might explain the discomfort they invoke in us puny humans.

What other types of non-human people inhabit Iceland?

Elves in Iceland

Elves inhabit the human-less pastures in central Iceland. They gather at elf churches, which occupy the same space as large rocks with holes in them. Looking at an elf church, you might think that the elves are tiny, and squeeze into the holes in the rock. But actually, the elves really do occupy the same space as the rock does in our dimension. Elves exist mainly as energy in our dimension.

The elves are so close in appearance and size to humans, that sometimes you have to look for tiny odd characteristics (pointy ears, or a single nostril rather than two) to tell that they aren’t human. If you can even see elves at all.

Where do elves live?

All Scandinavian regions have old stories that talk of elves. Iceland’s relative isolation keeps those stories in the forefront, rather than lessened by the influence of other cultures. While Alma is in the minority of Icelandic adults who can interact and talk with elves, the majority of Icelanders are ok with the idea of elves influencing modern life. When a road or development is in the planning stages, developers take special care to avoid disturbing elf habitats. Disrupting or disrespecting the elves and their environments can lead to very dire consequences. This is especially true for superfluous development, but building something necessary might be forgivable. In fact, negotiating with elves is part of Alma’s family legacy, which she describes in this episode.

What powers do elves have?

Elves can cause major mystical misfortune for those who piss them off. Conversely, the elves can bestow amazing good fortune upon people who have proven themselves worthy. Alma shares an Icelandic folktale about how elves rewarded a virtuous maid, but then immediately saw through her mistress’ selfish attempts to gain the same reward. The maid received a gift of fine clothes. The mistress died a miserable death. It would seem there’s no gray area when interacting with elves, and it’s sometimes nearly impossible to tell whether you’re interacting with an elf or a human. The moral is simply to be an altruistic, kind, and humble person all the time, just in case.

What are The Hidden People?

Hidden People are not elves and never were, but they may share a dimension with elves. The Hidden Folk were actually once human. At some point, they either decided or were forced to pass through a portal to another dimension, where humans cannot see them…usually. According to Iceland Travel, “If you sit at a crossroads on Midsummer’s Night the Hidden People will approach you and offer you gold and jewels. If you resist the temptation to accept, your wishes will come true, however if you don’t you will be driven mad.”

What are Elementals?

An elemental is a supernatural being who represents or has a strong affinity to a particular element. These can relate to the classical Western elements of earth, air, fire, and water. They can also relate to other more specific definitions of elements, like lightning or trees. Alma says elementals are everywhere. We would guess that they’d generally take the forms of elements that are prevalent in the lands they inhabit.

Are elementals human?

If you think about it, humans are kind of the opposite of elementals. We contain all the elements. Almost all traditional healing methods relate the various aspects of the human body (or human nature) to various natural elements. For example, Western medicine was partly founded on humoral theory. This early and now denigrated theory posited that every human is made up of 4 humors. “Humors” is a nice way to say “disturbing liquids that tend to seep out if you poke a hole in someone.” One of the reasons why the fictional Dr. Frankenstein’s work went so terribly awry (apart from him just being a dick) was because his early access to medical texts was about 300 years out of date, and he took these antiquated teachings of Paracelsus and Hippocrates to heart.

Early Western medicine’s humors are just one example of the elements within humans. Ayurvedic medicine from India defines 3 “doshas” which are each defined by a different combination of the elements. Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine have the main goal of diagnosing and balancing various elements within, affecting the whole person. There are seemingly infinite diets, meditations, exercises, supplements, and interventions humans have practiced throughout time with the goal of bringing the elements within us into balance. Many are still in practice today, or are seeing a revival.

What do humors have to do with elementals?

A human’s dominant humor is supposed to define their personality type and physical predilections. Yet phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, and melancholic people still have plenty of the other humors in them. A major goal of early Western health practices was to attempt to balance the 4 humors through various methods.

Despite each of us having a dominant humor, we contain all humoral elements. A human is the opposite of an elemental in that the theoretical perfect person would contain a perfectly equal balance of all the elements, whereas the theoretically perfect elemental would contain only one pure element. It’s challenging to exist in a stable physical form without a combination of multiple elements, so elementals tend to be ephemeral and limited in their habitat.

How to talk with elves, interact with trolls, and see the Hidden Folk

Alma advises that we all have the ability to sense the energy of these beings. We can all learn to trust our senses to the point where we can confidently witness them. If you want to learn how to talk with or sense multi-dimensional beings such as elves, check out Alma’s program at Starcodes Academy. Most importantly, always approach these beings with respect and good intentions.

Icelandic Ghost Stories

As Becky says: dark, cold, long winter nights lend themselves to the telling of ghost stories. And the winter nights in Iceland are especially dark and long. The sunlight on some winter days only lasts about 4 hours before night returns.

The most well-known Icelandic ghost story is about the deacon of Myrká. This famous ghost attempted to drag his girlfriend to the grave with him on Christmas Eve, but was thwarted by a wardrobe malfunction.

The H Files are back!

Hope you’re enjoying The H Files: a limited-run miniseries where we delve into fascinating folklore and paranormal mysteries. This series began April 11, 2022, and will run every other Monday through June. If you would like to talk about anything you hear on the episode, or if you’ve had an experience with the elves, please reach out to us in our Facebook Group or through Instagram. And, as always, if you have something you’d like to contribute to the show, submit your story to be the next guest on Homespun Haints!

Until next time, have a spooky day!

The post Don’t Be Selfish, Be More Elfish appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Listen here.

Episode Summary

When a particular area experiences years, centuries, even a millennia of trauma, does the area hold on to that negative energy? Do the poor souls that perished in that area stick around en masse, waiting for the right person to come along to tell their story to?

Because that’s exactly what happened to our guest today, a medium who made the unfortunate mistake of visiting an area where thousands of ancient entities became a little too excited to speak with her. She wasn’t prepared for the presence in the 1348 plague pit in Charter House Square.

How many ghosts does it take to overwhelm someone who sees spirits daily? Listen to this episode to find out!

Episode Promo

This episode’s promo is from Pineapple Pizza Podcast. If you love mythology, cryptids, and urban legends, you’ll really enjoy this podcast!

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Episode Show Notes

About Annie Larson

Annie is an intuitive, medium, and above all, healer. She is a reiki practitioner and a teacher. She’s a published astrologist who trained under Bryan Weiss as a past-life regression therapist. Her every practice is geared towards healing, in one way or another.

Her website is mediumannielarson.com, and no matter where you are, you can absolutely reach out to her for her help, since she’s practicing online since the pandemic started. And since she could detect Diana’s basement ghost just from our video call, we think she’s pretty legit.

Annie’s real photo of a ghost, Rahere

Annie took two photos in succession while visiting St. Bartholomew’s in London. When she took the first photo, she felt like something jumped in front of the camera, so she took another one a few seconds afterward. When she got home and looked at the photos, she realized it looked like she caught the shadow of a 12th century court jester on camera. What do you think? Could this be a photo of a real ghost, possibly the court jester Rahere who founded the church in 1123?

Episode References

What is Dharma?

According to aboutdharma.org, dharma is a buddhist practice dedicated to manifesting world peace by training the mind to inner peace. It’s a distinctly Eastern concept that finding true happiness lies not in the pursuit of our own happiness, but in the cherishing of the happiness of others. In fact, research suggests that actively attempting to be happier only works in cultures where the people value the happiness of the group or tribe over the happiness of the self.

We all live our dharma, perhaps, because we all experience in the outer world that which we’ve cultivated and manifested in our minds. We’re a bit scared about what that means for us, and all the ghost stories constantly running through our spooky minds.

Who is Rahere the Jester at St Bartholomew’s?

Almost a milenium ago, King Henry I’s renowned Court Jester Rahere had a vision. Distraught from the death of the prince, he took a pilgrimage, became a monk, and opened St Bartholomew’s. As a monk, Rahere dedicated the rest of his life to helping people. But once a year during the St Bartholomew’s Fair, he would revive his jester skills to juggle and entertain, for the benefit of the monks. 

Rahere died in 1144 and his is the only tomb inside the church. Annie captured a jester’s shadow in a photo of the courtyard of St. Bartholomew’s, which today is the oldest church in London. Legend says that Rahere manifests in the vestry annually at 7am on July 1st.

How do you know if you have synesthesia?

You’ve probably heard Becky talk about how she sees a color associated with every number. If you’re like me, you also wondered what the hell she’s talking about. Synesthesia is an uncommon perception phenomenon or glitch where one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, unrelated stimulation. The word basically breaks down to something like “to feel along with.” People on the autism spectrum often experience synesthesia where loud sounds feel painful and quiet sounds feel pleasurable, which is why ASMR content exists.

Today’s guest Annie says that Becky’s synesthesia might also be a symptom of the beginning stages of mediumship! Check out our Patreon episode You might be a medium if… where we explore this idea in the context of Becky, and also offer insights for determining whether you might be a budding psychic medium.

How do you know if you have the Bubonic Plague?

The first wave of bubonic plague in England during medieval times killed 1 out of 3 English people (and 3 out of 5 people in London) within 2 years. You’ve probably heard that flea-infested rats spread the plague. You might also have heard it’s caused by the microorganism Yersinia pestis. But what you might not know is that about 3000 people still come down with the plague annually. And cases do arise in the United States. Also, that in 2014, forensic science revealed clues that most of the deaths attributed to the Black death were actually the pneumonic (rather than bubonic) form of the plague. This is even scarier, because transmission of pneumonic plague is airborne rather than via insect vector.

So now you may be wondering, “do I have the plague?” Here are some symptoms to keep you up at night:

The main symptom of bubonic plague is actually in its very name: buboes. Bubo is just an unnecessarily gross word for a very swollen lymph node. When the flea bites you, its saliva transmits Y. pestis into your bloodstream. Your lymphatic system attempts to remove the infection from your blood. But the infection sticks in lymph nodes in the armpits, groin, and neck due to hemorrhagic necrosis. The lymph nodes swell up to the size of a chicken egg.

According to artwork from the time, buboes release horrible black pus when lanced. The physician lancing the bubo was a common image in artwork of the time. Perhaps if 3 out of 5 people you knew had just died of the plague, you might need to do some art therapy about it, too. Of course, nowadays, you could just get out your camera. If you happen to catch a real photo of a ghost, you’re pretty guaranteed to have a spooky day!

The post We All Live Our Dharma appeared first on Homespun Haints.