The self of a charm

Abstract

Finnish charms have been used to solve various common problems, in cases such as healing everyday ailments, or in regard to activities, such as fishing, keeping cattle, agriculture, giving birth, which are involved in supporting a fortunate livelihood. Charms have also been used to boost a persons’s sex appeal. Almost any layman could have used some of these texts. The charms are thought to have been chanted mechanically, and to have been effective only when performed aloud. However, when it comes to dealing with more serious problems, such as the outbreak of a virulent disease, the loss of herds of cattle or falling victim to an evil form of witchcraft, then the help of a seer, a specialist in the rite tradition, was required.