Legacy of Johan Kaaven

Written by guestblogger Ove Kåven, Elin´s brother.

On my mobile phone, I have a video of the first time a spirit managed to 
give me some sort of message. It was a bit like what you see on those TV 
shows, except I was there, and I know for sure there were no tricks. The 
video itself wouldn’t convince a skeptic, but I was there, along with a 
couple of other people. We all personally saw and felt those 
unexplainable forces and their effects.

That was a few years ago, but it forever changed my life. Before, I 
never really believed this kind of stuff. I am a natural skeptic, I have 
a physics degree, and I was never a big fan of religion. I was happy to 
be an atheist. In a way, atheism is about believing that the world makes 
sense. And I love when things make sense.

Unfortunately, after this, very little made sense, which has been very 
frustrating. But I kept trying to learn more, and I think I now 
understand a lot more about what’s going on and why this is happening to 
me. Now I think I can share with you a few of the things I’ve learned.

In that video, the spirit that wanted to give me a message, identified 
himself as Johan Kaaven, a legendary folk healer and psychic who died in 
1918. According to numerous witness accounts, he could heal, cast 
curses, recover lost or stolen goods, punish people for various 
offenses, and many other things. It’s said he commanded an army of 
spirits. He basically had the power of a demigod, but he did not always 
use it for good. (One of the tales is even about him using his spirits 
to assassinate someone, although I’m not sure if it’s true.)

Some people say he was a “noaidi” or shaman, but I’m not convinced. He 
never used shamanic tools such as drums, drugs, or song/joik, and he 
evidently relied on amoral spirits, rather than the benevolent spirits 
that shamans tend to use. I suspect he was what’s known as a sorcerer, 
which is more dangerous than a shaman. Shamans have an agreement with 
their spirits to use their power for good, and only for good. Thus, 
shamans generally cannot use “black magic”, but sorcerers can.

But everything has consequences. Even sorcerers ultimately have to pay 
for their sins, one way or another. According to the tales, Johan 
learned this the hard way. Afterwards, he spent the rest of his life 
using his powers only for good, and healed a lot of people.

It is known in indigenous cultures that when a person with powerful 
spirits (such as a shaman) die, the spirits will usually try to find a 
new host among the dead person’s descendants or other relatives, when 
possible. However, it has now been 100 years since Johan’s death, and as 
far as I know, in that time, nobody seems to have inherited his power 
(although other shamans inheriting their powers from other lineages have 
existed, and exists today). Maybe there’s a reason for that.

Now, after all these years trying to figure out why Johan’s spirit may 
have wanted to contact me, I believe I now better understand that 
reason. Whoever receives these powers will also receive an enormous 
burden; not only must he handle the responsibilities and risks of the 
powers themselves, but also the weight of the sins of their previous 
owner. The spirits would seek a person who would not collapse under 
them, would not be corrupted by them, and could complete Johan’s quest 
for redemption and bring peace to his soul. That seems like a tall order.

Whatever the case, I’ve now taken a number of courses in shamanism, and 
many times found myself somehow able to heal people in rather 
unexplainable ways. I still find it hard to believe this is even 
possible, but since I can both feel these powers and see their effects, 
I have no choice but to believe. Even so, it has been frustratingly 
difficult to try to properly connect to these powers. There always 
seemed to be something in the way. Something heavy, and quite unpleasant.

On the other hand, if I could get past this problem, then perhaps I 
could use these powers for good things in this world. In fact, the 
message from the spirits seems to be that they’d like me to try. They 
say it’s important. (Though I think the spirits must be really desperate 
if they’re asking me, of all people… I don’t have a very shaman-like 
personality, I don’t enjoy this, and it’s not the life I wished for.)

All in all, this is a very difficult choice. For me to accept what’s 
being offered to me, a sorcerer’s legacy, I now know I would have to 
somehow find the strength to take on generations of sins, abuse, regret, 
and various other bad feelings, and deal with it somehow. It would be 
very hard. On the other hand, perhaps the world needs what these powers 
represent, now more than ever. And if I don’t try, who will?

When I think about it, almost everything I’ve ever done, has been for 
other people. I’ve learned that my strength, intelligence, empathy, 
creativity, and everything else I have, may have been given me for a 
reason. I’ve experienced a lot of suffering, and chosen to stay alive 
only because of a promise. I never wanted to exist only for my own sake.

Now, considering I may soon very well face the greatest test of my 
strength so far, I can only hope that other people might be willing to 
support me through this in return.

www.ovekaaven.com