Utiseta is one of the most iconic and talked about practices of Norse and Germanic spirituality. Perhaps that’s why so many people just jump right into it without any prior knowledge or proper instructions. This guide helps you master the art of sitting out—providing you with the insights and tools you need to prepare for and execute this sacred ritual with confidence, and get a transformative outcome.
Utiseta, or “sitting out,” is an ancient Norse and Germanic spiritual practice rooted in profound introspection, connection to the unseen, and communion with the spiritual world. A millennia old sacred ritual to receive wisdom, guidance, or insight from the divine realms, ancestors, or spirits of the land. The term itself evokes the imagery of sitting in a sacred space, often beneath the vast open sky or among the ancient trees, attuned to the whispers of the cosmos.
Practitioners use utiseta to commune with deities, ancestors, or nature spirits for guidance on matters of great importance. People seek answers to personal or communal dilemmas, insights into the future, or blessings for prosperity and protection. The practice is deeply integrated into the cycles of nature and the Indo-European spiritual worldview, where the boundaries between the physical and spiritual worlds are seen as fluid. It’s typically also conducted in liminal spaces, places where the veil between worlds is believed to be thinner. These include burial mounds, sacred groves, by ancient standing stones, or beneath the open sky on hills and cliffs.
Let’s first take a good look at the term utiseta – sitting out – itself. This of course means the brave act of actually sitting out for a full night outside of society, in total darkness which itself changes you and your perspectives, and makes you grow. But on a both spiritual and psychological level it also means that you leave Midgård – the Germanic concept of the fenced-in safe enclosure, the known world, and in many ways also your own comfort zone – and step out into Utgård – where chaos forces and external cosmic forces rule, the stronghold of the devouring giants. You’re leaving the ordered and known world, you’re going beyond what you’re accustomed to, beyond your comfort zone, beyond your own ego and into the unknown, the void. Dangerous and frightening, but only there can you find and create your own order, your true self, your own fenced-in Midgård. When doing utiseta you’re sitting outside yourself. At least outside your conscious mind.
The first advice in this guide is therefore to first of all ask yourself important questions such as whether you’re really ready for this challenge, if this is the right time and why you’re really doing it. Utiseta is not for the faint of heart, nor for people who suffer from mental health issues. Neither is it for those who are irresolute, unresolved and at wit’s end.
It’s obviously perfectly fine to have existential questions, not knowing/seeing the way forward, be in need of advice and insights or to have other wonderings in life – that’s why we perform utiseta – but this guide’s second advice is definitely to set a clear intention and purpose! Do it for the right reason, and have a very concrete query that you want help with in this session.
Thirdly, it’s also best to go on your first utiseta after having been in consultation with experienced people, and having had a supportive and helpful community around you for some time.
