Rising Stars: Meet Spencer Pearman of Longmont

Today we’d like to introduce you to Spencer Pearman.

Hi Spencer, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
This story is a long one of coming home. Like many, I had a sense that something in my life was missing. I grew up in a working class family, and went into customer service as a teenager. I spent most of my adult life working to support myself, while going to school trying to better my situation, and not doing great at either.

I started down a spiritual path with what was most accessible, yoga, reiki, and psychedelics. This led to indigenous ceremonies with elders from Brazil and Mexico, who held ceremonies with their prayers, songs, stories, and ancestral ways. A curiosity was stirred to examine my own ancestry. Like many Americans of European descent, there is a prevailing attitude that the earth centered ways of our ancestors are a part of some distant past, long gone. That all we have left are echoes of something ‘over there’ far away in time and space that we can only speculate about.

A few years ago, I came across a teacher in Sweden who taught their folk magical tradition called Trolldom, and I came to see that these ancestral ways still exist, they may not look the way we expect them to, or want them to, but they are still very alive. I was quickly grabbed by this tradition, it was something that felt familiar to me and my ancestors, and they came close as I studied this work. Trolldom continually points me back to myself, my innate wisdom, participation with life, and relationship with nature as the basis of healing and practice. This was the journey back home, to something my own grandmother would recognize, even if she would have called it something different, to things I knew as a child that culture stamped out, and to the sense of life and magic that exists within the world. The deep roots of culture and magic, illuminated by Trolldom, still echo through aspects of our modern world that I had taken for granted. My devotion to this path is to those sparks that jump out at me, to nurture them into a fire that lights the world with life and beauty.

I am grateful for every tradition and community that I have crossed paths with, and continue to interact with many of them. I have a stronger sense of who I am and where I am home. It is from a place like this that I can participate with the traditions and communities around me in a way that feels more reciprocal, and clear.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anyone who embarks on this kind of path knows it’s not an easy one, and most who start this journey are probably coming from a rocky place. I have experienced many of the cliches of this journey, the wounded healer, becoming the very medicine that I need, that I might not be here if it weren’t for some of the paths I landed on, and so on. There are a great deal of wounds and traumas that unconsciously led me into this kind of work, and many pitfalls that arise as I go deeper into it.

I am continually confronted with myself, and have to decide again and again if I’m ready to address another part of myself that needs growth and healing. Whether it’s a trauma, chronic emotional issue, or a damaging world view, Trolldom continually asks for more responsibility. There is a lot I have become attached to, identified with, and comfortable with. In order to continue down this path I can’t ignore them any longer. It’s hard to change habits, to let go of wounds, identities, and stories of myself that I reinforced over and over again. There is a lot of cultural training that keeps us held down and asleep, and to try to unlearn that is a challenge.

There’s also a lot of responsibility asked of me, and a fear to rise up to it. There are moments that feel like I’m walking on the edge of something dangerous and I need to move cautiously. I’m fortunate to have the guidance that I have because I can see all the places I would act like a fool, and get myself or those around me hurt.

There is a strange ease to it all though. When the commitments are made, and a sense of purpose is held, there is a lot of support for these challenges and I feel a natural flow and progression through it all, however hard it may be. This is something I see in other remarkable practitioners and is a good sign I’m on the right path. Ultimately I am a part of something greater than myself, a link on the golden chain, and there is just as much supporting me as there is challenging me. As long as I am on this path, I plan to continue to move into this challenging and precarious terrain in hopes that it can be of benefit to those I interact with.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I create custom spells and talismans for clients which address their needs or desires. We always start with a consultation so I can get a read on the situation and see if we’re a good fit. Then if it seems like I can do something useful to them, I’ll do what I can to help them. Common areas for spellwork are relationships, jobs, family, protection, growth and development, projects, cleansing, and support for mental, physical, and emotional well being. Anything you can think of we can do spellwork for and see how it shapes the direction life moves in. Nothing is guaranteed, but to put one’s two cents towards where they want to go in an artful way with magic is always worth the effort.

Some specifics that have come my way are, strengthening family relationships, resolving nightmares, and sleep paralysis, spiritual and physical protection, reinforcement for health, removal of curses and spirit attachments, protection in abusive relationships, and thriving in life. My website has a more thorough list of what can be done and some useful ways to think about approaching spellcraft.

I also offer healing sessions online or in person, that can be a mix of cleansing, blessings, and calibrating ones body, mind, and spirit. These can be very traditional rituals such as steeping, which is the pouring of melted tin into cold water, to bind spirits or curses. We can also do something gentler, closer to energy work. Whatever it is the client is needing, and what will be most appropriate for them I am happy to do.

As a folk magical practitioner I take whatever comes my way. There is usually a sense that there is a reason I cross paths with my clients, both for what I can do for them, and what I get to learn by working with them.

Trolldom is a tradition that has adapted through many social, political, and environmental changes. As such, it is a tradition that meets the shifting needs of its practitioners and communities while also holding threads that go back into the ancient past. There are aspects of lore and practice that can be traced back to Hittite, Minoan, and Mycenaean culture. While also undergoing modern developments that allow it to be of benefit to the needs we face today. There’s a beautiful balance in this tradition that preserves the scent of very old ancestral work, while using techniques that have been highly refined to adapt to the needs of the client and allow the practitioner to work in a sustainable and effective way.

What I am most proud of is the way this tradition continues to meet the needs of those that come to me. I am humbled by my teacher and other practitioners who demonstrate the malleability and creativity needed to be of service to their community. As I open myself to keep learning, I have situations present themselves to me that I would never have considered being able to address. Through care, respect and a genuine desire to do something useful, a good outcome can arise and my sense of what is possible expands.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
It feels like a miracle that I crossed paths with everyone I have, former and current teachers, people who have inspired me, believed in me, and even challenged me. There are a few things I’ve learned and can share with regards to finding teachers, mentors, and communities. Most of the work is knowing what you are and aren’t ready for, and being able to see them for what they are when you do encounter them. Take whatever seems useful to you and ditch the rest. Most of my advice comes from things I’m still chewing on.

The first thing I would say is to savor the longing without getting lost in it. Be patient and appreciate the journey. It’s a terrible cliche, but the more you can relax into it, the more you will feel you are participating with the direction you are already headed. Even if you constantly fight this kind of patience, let it sit somewhere inside of you.

Be gracious with yourself in your development, continue to grow but don’t throw your past away too quickly. Don’t burn bridges if you can help it. There have been communities I outgrew or parted ways with, and some of them I felt betrayed by, but I kept good faith with them, and I’m glad I did. Just because something is a part of an awkward or rocky stage of development doesn’t mean you have to burn the whole thing down and your past self with it. Like a toddler throwing their food on the floor in order to learn how to use a spoon, hold yourself and your growth with a lot of grace. Keeping good faith with yourself and others as you go will pay off later down the road.

Understand that you have everything you need and a good teacher and community will bring that out of you and help you see it. A teacher will challenge you, they should challenge you, but trust your discernment to know what is a healthy challenge and what is not. Also know what you are personally ready for and what you’re not ready for. It’s better to tap out than to dive into something that’s too much for you at that time. If you put a teacher or mentor up on a pedestal they will eventually have to come down however gracefully or not. Keep that in mind if you’re able to avoid it, and if you can’t avoid it, hold the whole process with as much grace as you can.

My last piece of advice is to contemplate what you have to contribute. What are you bringing to the table? Even if you don’t know, and you feel like a small fish in a large pond, keep this question in your mind, let it grow and point to things as you’re ready to see them. You both have the responsibility to contribute, and enough value to bring something of worth to the table.

Pricing:

• Custom Spells and Talismans – $60 an hour
• Healing Session – $100 for an hour session
• If you have a great need and can’t afford my services, please reach out through my website.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nineknottedthread.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencer_pearman/

Image Credits
Mariamor Pazos