Jul & The Dark Season of Trolldom

About the Event:

Time & Location
10 Dec 2025, 09:00 – 14 Dec 2025, 12:00 noon
Fisketorp, Fisketorp 25, 455 96 Hedekas, Sweden

Experience the Darkness and the Dark Spirits of Winter as well the warming embrace of Swedish Jul.

These five days will put you face to face with the Odins Hunt, the bottomless depth of darkness when the wheel of life has slowed down to halt and seems to be just waiting in breathless stillness. You will get to experience the harshness of nature, when spirits of the dead own and roam the land outdoors while the living cuddle up around the warmth indoors. Experience the ancestral horrors of execution sites, plague cemeteries and lands haunted by ancient injustice and learn what they faced so that you can be here.

Contrasting to this, find out what the ancestors did to counter these hardships. Experience the heartwarming practices surrounding the season of Jul. Feast on a Traditional Julbord dinner, see the light rise and come to life out of the darkness at dawn on St Lucys day, participate in the local rural gatherings and Christmas market and feel the warmth of the little things within the all embracing darkness.

The indoor school training will focus around spells and methods used when facing death and despair. What will help the dead? What will comfort the living? Trolldom Death Doula work and practices of transcending the fear of death and much more.

Welcome to an experience rich in meaning and deep in value!

Urhall:

Urhall is a school of the Scandinavian folk magic tradition of Trolldom, Folk Wisdom and Spirituality. The school was founded by Johannes B. Gårdbäck, author of the book "Trolldom - Spells and Methods of the Norse Folkmagic Tradition", having 30 years of experience as a professional practitioner and who taught in person and online since 2018.

Urhall means "Original Hall" and refers to Nature, from which all Trolldom techniques, teachings and wisdom derives. Urhall is a non-political, non-religious sanctuary for practitioners of Magic, with students in Europe, Middle-East, Asia, South-& North America. We do not discriminate based on gender, nationality. political views, age or physical capacity but focus on the practice alone.

The school is located in the small village of Hedekas by the Northwest coast of Sweden, near the Norwegian border. It is surrounded by forest, valleys, rivers, ancient grave fields, stone circles and thick with history. This area used to be called "Viken" and belonged to Norway up until 1656. Before that it was the small kingdom of Alvhem (Elfhome) and before that it was called Ranrike, meaning the Realm of Ran - Goddess of the ocean.​

Your Hosts:

Johannes B. Gårdbäck:

Johannes B. Gårdbäck is the author of the book "Trolldom - Spells and Methods of the Norse Folk Magic Tradition" (YIPPIE, 2014) and a professional practitioner of Trolldom. Through his company therootdoctor.se he has served his local community as well as an international clientele for more than 25 years. He lives on the same land as his ancestors have for the last 500 years - on the west coast of Sweden - with his wife, two daughters and a dog named Bob. Nowadays, he also guides visitors to the many historical and magical sites of the region in cooperation with the Swedish American company Swedish Magic Tours. He has been training apprentices and for the first time, the education and training is made accessible to a larger public.

Special Guest Teacher: Andreas Kornevall

Andreas Kornevall is the author of Waking the Dragons (Green Magic Publishing) storyteller and ecological activist. As a storyteller, he works with Northern myths and fairytales and he regularly performs in universities, local venues, and other educational centres. He is a fellow with the Centre for Myth, Cosmology and the Sacred. He is a member of the 'Forn Sed' (Old Customs Association) in Sweden which works closely with ancient Norse culture, traditions and spirituality, unearthing old legends, forgotten folklore and endangered Norse languages. As an ecologist he has planted over 200 woodlands in the United Kingdom and has been voted by the University of Southern California as one of their 100 spiritual exemplars. He regularly acts as as a Blot-Godi (Norse Ritualist) and conducts BLOT ceremonies and traditional "High Seat" ceremonies where he lives in England with this wife and two daughters and his Finnish Lapphund dog Appo, keeping ancient practices and culture alive.

Mäster Stefan Elweståhl

A former student of Johannes Gårdbäck with 10 years of Trolldom experience. Apart from trolldom he also studied qabala, ceremonial magic and trained in spiritistic mediumship under Terry Evans.

He is a professional practitioner and the owner of www.therootdoctor.se

Full Programme Schedule: (please be aware this can change according to the weather conditions)

December 10

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Gathering at the Urhall School. Welcoming & Formal start of workshop. Opening offerings.

9:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Training at the school.

Training will be based on the needs and wants of the participating individuals.

In general we will focus on:

• Ways to connect and relate to the Spirits of the Dead and the Ancestors of blood, land and

tradition – Trollsyn (Second sight & perceiving spirits), Maning (Summoning), Offerings, Ställa

& Stämma (Binding & Moving spirits).

• Assisting Physical Death, Second Death and the dyeing process on both sides. Ways and

transitory spells to assist those left behind.

• Traditional ways to face and accept the darkest aspects of life and Nature and the recipes,

rituals and methods of easing, transforming and harmonizing them.

There will be plenty of fika & pepparkakor.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Training at the school continues.

7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Regathering at the school.

Trip to the old hill cottage in the woods on Kynnefjäll to explore and get to know what the land, the

forest, the stones and the waters and old countryside life feels like in the winter dark. There we wilhave an evening of storytelling, music and Myths led by Mäster Andreas Kornevall:

“The Long Night of the Soul and its Rebirth

Symbols of light are born out of the darkness at Winter Solstice - what are they and where do we find their origins?

Andreas will guide us all the way from Neolithic bear myths in dark caves to the modern idea of redemption and the soul’s journey through dark times. Through music and interactive storytelling, myths and fairytales will be told to reveal the Sun’s mythical beginnings as the origin of the Hero’s journey. We will also hear of the stolen children of the Moon. Andreas will also help us behold star-constellations of the Vikings filling our night skies with World Trees, Cosmic Cows, Serpents, MythicEagles and Deer constellations. The exploration will also include the runes and how they can be used as aids in dark times and in our Trolldom practice.”

December 11

09:30 AM

Gathering at the Urhall School.

10:10 AM - 6:30 PM

Excursion to the city of Lödöse. Lödöse is located along the Göta Älv river (Gautelfr in the old Norse Sagas). The entire town is an archeological site and residents are not even allowed to dig in their owngardens without a permit. Here we can get a good sample of how many Swedish towns looks modern on the surface but have an entire necropolis underneath. We will visit the museum to take a look at old magical rune staffs found as well as other artifacts of interest, have fika, then go up to the old execution site to get a feel for the unrestful dead. Along the way back we will do a few stops to visit some “offerkast” – locations where M**der took place and people passing by has made offerings for centuries and perhaps some of the ancient grave fields dotting the entire landscape.

5:30 PM - 5:40 PM

Regathering at the Urhall School. Formal end of day.

December 12

10:00 AM - 10:10 AM

Gathering at the Urhall School.

Trolldom Training at School.

Training will be based on the needs and wants of the participating individuals.

In general we will focus on

• Ways to connect and relate to the Spirits of the Dead and the Ancestors of blood, land and

tradition.

• Assisting death and the dying process on both sides.

• Traditional ways to face and accept the darkest aspects of life and Nature and the recipes,

rituals and methods of easing, transforming and harmonizing them.

11:00 Short excursion to the nearby grave field, Sköldungs Backar, housing stone age, bronze age and

iron age graves and it´s haunted Village Museum.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch.

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

In the afternoon Mäster Andreas will guide a session on the archetypes of initiation, especially the dark descent of the soul. The Northern seventh fold labyrinth will be used as a map for theseinitiatory processes of the dark passages. We will discover how the “descending soul” is revealed in all stories and myths and its rich language. This journey will be alchemical as we aim to integrate both the dark and the light within ourselves. Andreas aims to present this knowledge in the hope that it will strengthen our mental well being.

6:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Gathering at the school and departure to feast on a traditional Julbord (Christmas Buffe Dinner).

11:30 PM - 11:31 PM

Into the Dark Woods. - The night of Saint Lucy is traditionally regarded with reverence and fear. Dec13 was the old calendar date of the Winter solstice, and although the calendar shifted many folk traditions did not. It is a night when all beings are up and out and the Lussefölje – The older, less pleasant posse of The Dark spirit of Lucia is roaming the countryside. On this night we will venture out in the woods just before midnight where we will quietly listen to the land, the winds, and the darkness and make small offerings as tokens of recognition and acceptance.

December 13

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Excursion to a local Christmas Market.

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

A warming fika on Traditional Glögg, Pepparkakor & homemade Lussebullar!

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Open Training and hangout at the school.

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

St Lucia consert experience at the local Church.

December 14

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Gathering at The Urhall School.

Summarizing and digesting. Where to go from here and what is happening next.

Winter workshop ends.

Costs:

Total Fee: £680 - The fee includes all tuition, plus full Julbord Buffé Dinner plus a non-alcoholic beverage on one of the evenings, Museum entrance fees, Glögg & Pepparkaka.

Location: Urhall School in Hedekas, Sweden and surrounding excursion sites.

Accomodation is independent of the fee and has to be arranged separately - there are plenty of spaces to stay in the area - check with: https://kynnefjall.com/en/ "Kynnefjälls Natur" or local Air B´nb's. You can contact them here: https://www.facebook.com/kynnefjall/?locale=sv_SE - or +46(0)524-32088 or email LWluZm8gfCBreW5uZWZqYWxsICEgY29t

Transportation: You need to rent a car. Carpool arrangement will be found on the forum page of the Urhall website: https://www.urhall.com/ - all this will be arranged when you have been confirmed a place.

Food: Local Food store is avaliable 24/7. A Julbord Buffé dinner included on one evening

To Pack: A very warm set for walking outdoors in very cold weather and rugged terrain. Layering recommended. Good winter shoes for hiking.

Please email bXl0aGFuZHN0b3JpZXMgfCBnbWFpbCAhIGNvbQ== for any questions.

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