Daughters of Frya

Daughters of Frya…

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The ‘Daughters of Frya’ project aims to recreate the order of priestesses described in the Frisian manuscript known as the Oera Linda Book. Participants are required to:

1. Abstain from meat, intoxicants, sexual activity and orgasm

2. At all times wear only the tohnekka, the short white tunic

3. Perform 1,200 deep knee-bends every day in devotion

Oera Linda Book

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The Oera Linda Book, a Frisian manuscript discovered in the 1860s but purporting to be thousands of years old, recounts the history of a lost civilisation in Northern Europe, with detailed descriptions of its spiritual beliefs and practices. It tells us how in 2194 BC, during the Great Flood that destroyed Atland (The ‘Old Land’, in the North Sea), Frya – the ancestress of the Frisians (daughter of Wr-alda the All-Father and Irtha the Earth-Mother) – called her descendants together and gave them her Tex, a set of laws that form the core of the book, before ascending to the heavens. She also established an order of priestesses known as the famna (sing. fam), to govern her people. English translations of the six sections of the Oera Linda Book can be found here:

Letters • Book of Adela’s Followers • Writings of Adelbrost & Apollonia

Writings of Frethorik & Wiliow • Writings of Konered • Writings of Beden

Knowing that the system described in the Oera Linda Book would, if put into practice, be powerful beyond measure, the Ordo Anno Mundi (OAM) – a magical training order founded in the UK in 1985 – decided to do precisely that. Very promising results were obtained from experiments with part-time volunteers, so in 2002 a virtual order was set up online as part of a viral marketing campaign, and the feedback assessed. Now that the ‘Daughters of Frya’ brand has been firmly established within the global Neo-Pagan community, recruitment for a full-time order of dedicated priestesses can proceed in earnest.

Daily Devotions

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A Daughter of Frya is required to spend six hours every day in devotion, in two sessions of three hours each, commencing twelve hours apart. All such devotions take place outdoors. She begins each session in an upright posture, with her hands on her forehead in a double salute, palms facing forwards, towards the foddik – a simple lamp with a perpetually burning flame – and then she:

• Bends her knees for six seconds, chanting Wr-alda, until on her haunches

• Remains in this posture for six seconds, chanting t-Anfang

• Unbends her knees for six seconds, chanting t-Bijin, until standing again

She repeats these actions immediately, and continues doing so for the full three hours (i.e. 600 times). The second daily session is identical, making a total of 1,200 deep knee-bends each day. The chanted words mean ‘Wr-alda, the Origin, the Beginning’ and constitute the most powerful formula in the Oera Linda Book. The priestess draws the cosmic energy of Wr-alda and the telluric (earth) energy of Irtha into her body, then focuses and directs the combined energies back outwards, bringing health and fertility to the land and its inhabitants. The physically demanding nature of the ritual also allows the priestess to control and redirect her sexual energies, without which the ritual would be ineffective.

To facilitate the flow of energy in her body, and to symbolise her commitment, a Daughter of Frya must at all times were only the tohnekka – both in and out of ritual. Always white, it consists of a t-shirt, short skirt, long socks and trainers. These items can be purchased from any sportswear shop.

Group Rituals

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Group devotions take place outdoors in circular enclosures known as burgum (sing. burch). Stone circles are ideal, but any location is fine, because the cosmic and telluric energies are everywhere. The foddik is placed in the centre of the burch, and the energies are directed through its flame. The head of the burch is the burchfam, and there must be seven priestesses performing their ritual at the burch at all times, so that the flow of energies shall never cease. A burch must therefore have twenty-eight members, who work in shifts.

We aim eventually to establish an active burch in every region, though while membership remains small and spread out most Daughters of Frya will have to practice alone. Membership is open to any woman who is at least eighteen years of age and who is willing to take vows in Frya’s name to observe all the above requirements. There is no membership fee, and no moneys or donations are either solicited, or accepted by the order. Initial enquiries from those interested in joining should be made by e-mail.

Ordo Anno Mundi

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Tony Steele, founder of the Ordo Anno Mundi, and author of Water Witches (1998) and Rites and Rituals of Traditional Witchcraft (2001).

Tony, his brother, and three friends held the first meeting of the OAM in a small flat above a newsagents’ in Birmingham, England on 18 March 1985. Originally intended as a ritual magic lodge, it went through many transformations until eventually evolving into a postal correspondence course in the late 1990s, with a worldwide membership approaching 400 – Tony’s two books contain its entire training programme from this period. Since 2002 the OAM has diversified still further, with many different projects now being run under its auspices. One of these is Sovereign Mercia, which campaigns for a sovereign Mercian state in the English Midlands. Another is Three Rings for the Elven Kings, which promotes the work of J.R.R. Tolkien as a spiritual path. A third is the Daughters of Frya, because the Oera Linda Book has been an important part of the OAM’s philosophy right from the start (see also the Groep fan Auwerk – not an OAM project, but one whose aims we fully support).

Frya

Wr-alda t-Anfang t-Bijin