#spertus

Introducing Spertus Bean Sprout Fox

“Spert”

Iykyk

The Scandinavian "spiritus"

It is a long-standing Scandinavian practice to make spirit vessels - small boxes or bottles housing spirit helpers - for other people. While pre-made boxes could be bought at the market in town (in fact, they still can, even if they're mostly seen as a novelty item or a toy these days), most of the boxes I have seen have been handmade by actual practitioners of folk magic. They are abot 6-8 cm in diameter, not rarely turned and/or carved, and in one instance, beautifully made from decorated cardboard. You can see both the latter and other samples that are found at Nordiska muséet here [X].

For most practitioners, the making of the vessel is seen as part of courting the spirit, and there lies a lot of work behind it, both spiritually and physically. It is certainly not something you throw together in an instant. The vessels are furbished with a figurine that is to represent the spirit (the way a statue represents a deity) and also for the spirit to possess or ride. Usually this figurine is handmade, too, carved in the shape of a small beetle, frog or turtle mounted inside the box in such a way that it moves both body and its legs. Some used an actual beetle or some other insect or a spider for this - or even a small reptile, such as a snake or a lizard (taken just as they are hatched).

Jamie and I argued years and years ago over the meaning of the story of Ruth and Naomi. We traveled to the Spertus to pull books from the shelves to support our differing theories and quote passages at one another. I found many; he found none. He was frustrated that his shiksa friend (this argument pre-dated our romantic involvement by many years) could prove to understand the underpinnings of Jewish philosophy better than a man who had been raised in the tradition, had studied at home and in Israel and even taught religious classes. Which I think, and pointed out to him at the time, was the point...

of the story...

of Ruth and Naomi.