''Årsgång'' (pronounced
oːʂgɔŋ is an archaic form of
Swedish divination
Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history ...
. It is sometimes translated as the year walk
or yearly round.
According to Swedish researcher Tommy Kuusela,
[Kuusela, T., 2014. Swedish year walk: from folk tradition to computer game. In: Island Dynamics Conference on Folk Belief & Traditions of the Supernatural: Experience, Place, Ritual, & Narrative. Shetland Isles, UK, 24–30 March 2014. nline Available at: https://www.academia.edu/6624109/Swedish_Year_Walk._From_Folk_Tradition_to_Computer_Game ccessed 09/07/14] Årsgång was a complex form of divination in Swedish folk tradition, usually practised at Christmas or New Year’s Eve. The phenomena could vary greatly regionally or even in the same district, but the general course was the same: if the practicers ("year walkers") had managed to follow certain instructions and to solve particular challenges (such as encounters with
supernatural being
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
s), they would catch glimpses of what would happen the following year.
Petrus Gaslander's 18th century ''Beskriftning om Svenska Allmogens Sinneslag och Seder…'' ("Character and Customs of the Peasantry") describes the ''årsgång'', and says that it is no longer practised. He writes that to undertake the ''årsgång'', one must walk into a forest before first light on Christmas Eve, without looking at a fire and without food or drink, and walking so far that the crowing of a cock cannot be heard. Having done so, the "year walker" will now be able to see the events of the future, and by looking at fields and the roads approaching churches can learn of the harvests and funerals of the coming year.
In popular culture
Årsgång was the basis for a 2013
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...
called ''
Year Walk
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hour ...
''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arsgang
Swedish culture
European folklore