Årsgång

Årsgång (pronounced [ˈoːʂgɔŋ]) is an archaic form of Swedish divination.

In Folklore

According to Swedish researcher Tommy Kuusela,^[1]^[2] 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 beings), they would catch glimpses of what would happen the following year.

In popular culture

Årsgång was the basis for a 2013 adventure video game called Year Walk.

References

^ 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. [Online]. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/6624109/Swedish_Year_Walk._From_Folk_Tradition_to_Computer_Game [accessed 09/07/14].
^ Kuusela, Tommy (2016). "'He met his own funeral procession': The Year walk-ritual in Swedish folk tradition.". In Tommy Kuusela; Giuseppe Maiello (eds.). Folk Belief and Traditions of the Supernatural. Beewolf Press. pp. 58–91.

[1] 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. [Online]. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/6624109/Swedish_Year_Walk._From_Folk_Tradition_to_Computer_Game [accessed 09/07/14].

[2] Kuusela, Tommy (2016). "'He met his own funeral procession': The Year walk-ritual in Swedish folk tradition.". In Tommy Kuusela; Giuseppe Maiello (eds.). Folk Belief and Traditions of the Supernatural. Beewolf Press. pp. 58–91.

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