Norse lore & concepts

Gylfaginning
(The Apotheosis of Gylfe)

From the Younger Edda


TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

The title of this tale, Gylfaginning, is usually given as ''The Mocking of Gylfe'' for the verb ginna means to mock or to fool in Icelandic. This may, however, be another instance of semantic misunderstanding, like that which makes dwarfs into little people instead of unevolved souls. In Icelandic there is a noun ginn which has a very lofty meaning indeed. It is the word for the inexpressible divine principle, or essence, beyond the Aesir, beyond the Vaner, beyond all possible manifestation, however exalted. It corresponds most nearly to the Sanskrit tat which means simply ''THAT'' -- an abstraction too sacred to be belittled by being named. It is the ONE -- All-being -- the self-existent void which is all-fullness, not to be comprehended by finite mind, and it is the concept expressed by the word Ginnungagap -- ''chasm of ginn.''

The story then becomes self-consistent and may be interpreted. The Asgard of the tale has evidently been depicted as an earthly locality harboring advanced, though human, beings, yet it retains an air of remoteness and is situated in a hall so large that the roof can barely be seen. The juggler at the entrance to the hall may be supposed to represent a stage of proficiency in magic -- an element which never falls to make an impression but which is given small importance here: the performer exhibits his marvels outside the precincts. He shows the visiting king into the sanctuary where three hierophants are enthroned. Their names, or lack of names, in themselves pose an interesting enigma, suggesting that while there are differences in standing, there is no differentiation made in rank.

No sooner has the neophyte entered than the door closes behind him -- a revealing detail and true to life. Thereupon he is treated to the long poem Havamal which, as we shall see, is directed to three stages of spiritual growth.

Having obtained from the triad of divine kings all the wisdom he could receive from them, King Gylfe ''returned to his country and told these tidings he had heard and seen,'' thus fulfilling the destiny of a true spiritual student-teacher.


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Gylfaginning
King Gylfe was a wise and knowledgeable man. He wondered how the Asa-people were so knowing that all went according to their wishes. He considered that this was caused either by the people's own nature or was brought about by the gods to whom they sacrificed. He determined to find this out and prepared to travel to Asgard in all secrecy, disguised as an old man. But the Asa-people were wiser. They saw his journey before he came and caused him to be beset by illusions. When he arrived at the court he saw a hall so high that he could barely see the top of it. Its roof was covered with golden shields as other roofs might be with shingles.

At the entrance to the hall he saw a man seven small swords at once. Gylfe was asked his name and gave it as Ganglare (wandering learner), said he had come by watery ways (by sea) and wished to find lodging here. He then asked whose hall it was. The juggler replied it belonged to the king, ''and I shall take you to see him,'' he said, ''so that you yourself can ask his name.''

The man walked into the hall; Gylfe followed. At once the door closed behind him. He saw many rooms and many people, some at games, some at drink, others with weapons at swordplay.

He saw three high seats, one above the other, with three figures seated, one on each. He asked what names these chieftains had and his conductor replied that he who sat in the lowest high seat was a king named The High One; the one above him was named As High, and the uppermost was named Third.

The High One asked the stranger his errand; and at his disposal were food and drink as for all in the High One's hall.

Gylfe said he first wanted to know if there was any wise man to be found. The High One replied that he would not leave the place whole were he not the wiser, and initiated the interrogation:

Step forward as you question.
Seated shall be the respondent.

by Elsa-Brita Titchenell

Havamal
(The High One's Words)


TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

The Song of the High One is something of an enigma. It has three quite distinct and very different styles, each with its internally consistent character. Scholars have been understandably perplexed by the incongruous juxtaposition of the parts of this lengthy poem.

The first and longest portion appears to be a book of elementary etiquette, a sort of rustic Emily Post. It lays down rules of propriety for social intercourse and for maintaining friendships; explains the duties of a host and of a guest at the festive board; outlines some simple home remedies for common ailments, prescribes appropriate drinking habits for maintaining a sane and reasonable outlook (and avoiding a hangover) and gives other pieces of mundane advice and practical wisdom worded to suit a semibarbaric people learning to adapt to community life.

The second division, formally introduced in verse III, is directed to the dwarf Loddfafner. Here the emphasis is on right and honorable action, on consideration for others and kindly conduct. Loddfafner is clearly one step ahead of the populace who need directives for preserving the barest amenities, but he is still a dwarf because as a soul he has not yet developed his humanity to any marked extent. This section would have applicability to most of us and Loddfafner may at this stage be regarded as Everyman. Gradually, by following the precepts of the god, the dwarf nature can evolve into full humanity. A soul that has awakened to some degree and is striving to improve its condition, Loddfafner in the end is addressed as a pupil or disciple in the third and final section which is in a wholly different vein. Its symbolism defies analysis while it orients the inward eve to vistas of inexpressible grandeur. The brief, laconic verses hint at concepts so luminous and insights so vast they may well be the substance pondered by the elect in pursuit of divine wisdom.

Clearly the Song of the High One is intended for three very different audiences: the early part is for the public -- a coarse-grained people, responsive only to the simplest advice applying to their daily pursuits; next, the plain ethics of any exoteric school or church, common practices for decent living. The third is the mystical evocation of the reaching soul in a disciple who has dedicated his life to serving the divine purpose; it is directed to those individuals who are capable of emulating the god's commitment and who lend their strength and determination to the divine labor of ''raising the runes'' (138) by Odin, the inner god of all.

The same three natural divisions may be discerned in any system of thought or religion. There are always large numbers who are uninspired and self-centered, content to make the most of their circumstances and enjoy life. They generally adhere to conventional norms, demanding and presenting an appearance of respectability. There is a second, fairly numerous group who enjoy speculating on the unseen causes of observed phenomena and who may dabble in a variety of superstitious practices. Among them are many who yearn for greater knowledge and recognize that the universe holds mysteries to be discovered, but they often lack the needed insight and perseverance which is achieved by self-discipline.

The third group has little popular appeal. It is composed of those who have penetrated the sanctuary of their soul and at first hand verified some measure of truth. These are the elect, the few who work for spiritual nature, indifferent to praise or blame, and without regard for their own ends, knowing that these are bound up with the larger, universal destiny. There is for them no pandering to personal satisfaction though, paradoxically, their altruism forms the backbone and stamina of the human evolutionary impulse for all mankind, the advancement of which must bring the greatest satisfaction of all.

It has always been necessary for teachers of wisdom to make a distinction among their followers: those who are irrevocably committed to the noble work of the gods receive a greater share of knowledge and, with it, a far more onerous responsibility. Jesus told his disciples this: ''To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all these things are done in parables'' (Mark 4:11). Gautama, the Buddha, also had an esoteric school where worthy Arhats were given advanced instruction and training; so did Pythagoras and numerous other guides and spiritual preceptors through the ages.

The Song of the High One shows the different audiences to whom it is directed both by the manner of address and, even more, by its substance. The portion wherein the teacher is speaking to a general public ends with a parable which tells of Odin's former quest for wisdom. Verses 104-110 relate in somewhat obscure language how with the aid of the squirrel Rate (which can also mean a drill), Odin bored a hole in the giant's mountain and entered in the guise of a serpent. He persuaded the giant's daughter to give him a draught from the well of wisdom secreted there by the giant. Through the story are twined numerous symbols, each with several meanings -- a typical example of the method used in myths to relate truths. Rate, the drill or rodent, like the squirrel in the Tree of Life, represents consciousness which gives access to the depths of the matter-world where Odin earns wisdom, as well as to the heights of its crown. Gunnlod, the giant's daughter -- unable to ascend to heights of divinity, was left behind in tears, though the ''precious mead of Odraerir'' -- vessel of inspiration -- was carried upward one step on the ladder of existence, raised to our own ''earth's ancient shrine.'' The question is asked by the frost giants, whether the god had emerged victorious or been overcome by the giant Suttung (earth's previous imbodiment). Odin was able to give assurance that he had indeed returned unscathed to the realm of the gods.

Gunnlod, ''the good woman,'' personifies an age when, amid the mountainous materialism of her father -- the greater cycle -- at least a portion of it welcomed the deity and was able to supply a draught of wisdom. It is suggestive too that ''Odraerir now has come up here to earth's ancient shrine'' in view of the theosophic teaching that our planet (which furnishes the sacred mead) has itself progressed upward by one stage since its former imbodiment on an inferior, more material, shelf, and that what was then the astral model of the moon is our present, solidly physical, satellite. This implies of course that mankind has progressed upward by one stage. The ''ancient shrine'' refers to a still earlier phase, on the ''downward arc'' toward matter.

Among the early divine teachers of humankind are many who have left no trace of their passage; it would seem that Odin was one of this progression, for in The Secret Doctrine H. P. Blavatsky states that

the day when much, if not all, of that which is given here from the archaic records, will be found correct, is not far distant. Then the modern symbologists will acquire the certitude that even Odin, . . . is one of these thirty-five Buddhas; one of the earliest, indeed, for the continent to which he and his race belonged, is also one of the earliest. -- II, 423
Whether the final portion of Havamal has been preserved since so great an antiquity or was reconstructed and dispensed in its present form by later teachers is impossible for us now to determine. We may recognize in these verses the very essence of esoteric cosmogony and feel a profound reverence and gratitude as we contemplate the divine sacrifice of the cosmic spirit inherent in the Tree of Life. This divine imbodiment takes place throughout any world's existence as conscious energy impels the world to be and energic consciousness absorbs its draught from the well of wisdom guarded by the giant Mimer, the matter of which the worlds are formed.

Verses 137-42 give a remarkably concise expression to some fundamental tenets of the ancient wisdom, and explain the periodicity of manifested life and the karmic action which on every level of existence leads from each event, word, and deed, to the next. The seventeenth galder (spell) relates also that these instructions are given under a seal of secrecy, while the final verse shows clearly why this must be so: it is not possible to grasp the meaning of the teachings unless the nature is sufficiently matured in understanding. They are ''useful to children of men, but useless to sons of giants'' (163): only the spiritual intelligence is capable of receiving the inner message; the temporal, uninspired, giant-nature is not, for it lacks the insight to discern it. For this reason very little is known of the Mystery schools of the ancient world -- or for that matter of the modern -- beyond the bare fact of their existence from very remote times. The knowledge they imparted could not be divulged to any unqualified person due not to actual prohibition but, more effectively, to the need for a developed faculty of understanding; this comprehension (the word literally means embracing) within one's own sphere of sympathy and love must be naturally active before the deeper teachings could be received. It follows that to betray the Mysteries in any significant degree must be as impossible as to explain higher mathematics to a beetle. Nevertheless, a breach of faith is a serious defect in the offender and adds to the adverse karma of the race. Still, as much as may be understood is ''brought back'' by the enlightened sage and shared with those who are able to profit by what he has to give. King Gylfe as Ganglare performed this task, relating the things he had learned, which subsequently were passed on from one to another (conclusion of Gylfaginning, p. 130).

It will be noted that, like other mystical poems, Havamal in part assumes the form of a love song, reminiscent of the Rubaiyat or the Song of Solomon, perhaps because this form is the nearest expression man can devise for the poignant ecstasy of union with the divine self, the inner god, as there exists nothing comparable in material experience. The full and intimate expansion of human consciousness belongs naturally only to those whose entire nature is subject to, and mirrors the god within, that is, to the One-harriers of Odin, named thus because of being in total control of ''one'' their own personal ego.


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Havamal
1. Scrutinize an entrance before passing through;
Uncertain it is where foes may be seated.

2. Hail, generous ones! A guest has arrived. Show him a seat.
He has haste who must prove himself at the fire.

3. Warmth is needed by one who comes in from the cold;
Food and drink needs the man who comes in from the mountains.

4. Water needs he who comes to his host, a towel and greeting;
A kindly reception for one who seeks words and a friendly hearing.

5. Wit needs the wanderer in foreign lands. At home all is easy.
Boast not your deeds among those who are wise.

6. Display not your cleverness; have a care; the wise man is silent
On another's ground, and arouses no anger. Better friend has no man than good sense.

7. The wary guest at the feast keeps silent when there is whispering;
He heeds with his ears, seeks with his eyes; so the wise man observes.

8. Happy the man who gains honor and esteem;
But uncertain the gain borne in another's breast.

9. Happy is he who has himself honor and wisdom in living;
Others' advice is often bad counsel.

10. No better burden can a man bear than good sense and manners;
Better than gold it serves, a strong support in need.

11. No better burden can a man bear than good sense and manners;
And no worse provender is borne than an excess of ale.

12. Ale is not so good as they say for the race of men;
The more a man drinks the less he knows how to keep his wits about him.

13. In raving delirium is one who noises in his cups; it steals his senses;
By that bird's feathers was I fettered in Gunnlod's court.

14. Drunk was I, senseless drunk, in the hall of peaceful Fjalar;
Best is that ale feast when each goes home retaining sense and reason.

15. Agreeable and cheerful shall be a son of man, and valiant in battle;
Gay and friendly a man shall be as he awaits his bane.

16. A coward thinks he may live forever if he avoids the fight;
Yet old age will not spare him, though he be spared by spears.

17. A fool at a feast sits staring and mumbling to himself;
But if he takes a drink his mind stands stark revealed.

18. He who is well traveled
Expresses each thought well.

19. Keep not the tankard long, (1) drink moderately, speak sense or hold your peace;
None will hold you uncivil if you retire early to bed.

20. A greedy man without manners will make himself ill;
A boor's stomach becomes the butt of jokes in clever company.

21. Cattle know when to leave the pasture and go home;
But a fool knows not the measure of his stomach.

22. The wretch of mean disposition derides everything;
He knows not, as he should, that he lacks not faults himself.

23. A fool lies awake nights worrying over many things;
Feeble is he when morning breaks, and matters are still as before.

24. The fool believes all who smile at him are his friends;
He knows not how they speak about him.

25. The fool believes all who smile at him are his friends;
He finds out only in court, when few will speak for him.

26. A fool thinks himself all-wise in a sheltered corner;
He knows not what to say when tested by strong men.

27. A fool among the elders should hold his peace;
No one knows how little he understands if he keeps silent.

28. He seems wise who makes questions and answers;
But no fault on earth can be hidden.

29. He who speaks much says ill-chosen words;
A tongue unreined speaks its own undoing.

30. Mock not another who comes among your kin;
Many feel wise on their own mountain.

31. He thinks himself smart when leaving, the guest who has mocked another;
Who pokes fun at table sees not the anger around him.

32. Often friends will bicker and tease at the board;
This may rouse contention of guest against guest.

33. One should eat each meal at due time and not go hungry as guest;
Else he may sit choking, with no question to ask.

34. It's a long detour to a faithless friend, though he live by the road;
But to a good friend, however distant, there are many shortcuts.

35. A guest shall leave betimes and not stay too long;
Pleasure palls if he lingers too long at another's board.

36. Better your own home where each is his own master;
Two goats and a thatch are better than begging abroad.

37. Better your own home where each is his own master;
The heart bleeds in one who must beg for his food at each meal.

38. Weapons should never be left more than a step away on the field;
Uncertain it is how soon a man may have need of his spear.

39. I saw none so lavish that he declined what was offered;
Nor any so generous that wage was unwanted when earned.

40. He who has money does not suffer need;
But saving is a virtue that can be carried to a fault.

41. With weapons and garments friends please one another;
Gifts to and fro help a friendship endure.

42. To a friend be a friend and give gift for gift;
Jest should be taken with jest, wile with wile.

43. To a friend be a friend, both to him and his friend;
But to enemy's friend, be not bound by friendship.

44. If you know a friend, believe in him and desire his goodwill,
Go share his tastes, and gifts exchange; go often seek him out.

45. If you know one who evil thinks but you desire his goodwill,
Speak him fair though you falsely feel; repay lies with cunning.

46. This also applies to one you distrust, whose mind is uncertain;
Meet him with smiles, choose your words well; repay gifts in kind.

47. When I was young I traveled alone and wandered away from the road;
I thought myself rich when I met with a man, for a man is good company.

48. Noble, courageous men live best; they seldom harbor sorrow.
A foolish man fears many things and begrudges every gift.

49. I gave of my clothes to two wooden men in a field;
They felt in fine fettle, robed in rags; naked, a man suffers shame.

50. The fir tree withers on a dry knoll without shelter of bark or needles;
So too does a man whom no one loves; why should he live for long?

51. Hotter than fire may be the love of a peaceful man for his faithless friend
For five days; but on the sixth his friendship dies.

52. Not much it takes to give a man, oft praise is bought with little;
With half a bread, a draught from the stein, I won a faithful comrade.

53. Small piles of sand and tiny streams, small are the minds of men;
All are not equally strong in wisdom; each age is of two kinds.

54. Wise in moderation should each one be -- not overwise;
Life smiles the fairest on him who well knows what he knows.

55. Wise in moderation should each one be -- not overwise;
For a wise man's heart loses gladness if he thinks himself all-wise.

56. Wise in moderation should each one be -- not overwise;
His fate beforehand no one knows; the soul is thus carefree.

57. Fire is lit by fire till it dies, and flame is lit by flame;
Man knows man by his speech, the speechless by his silence.

58. Early to rise is one who seeks another's life or possessions;
The sleeping wolf rarely gets a bone or a sleeping man victory.

59. Early to rise is one who has few laborers and himself goes to work;
Much is neglected by one who sleeps late; the prompt is half rich.

60. Of kindling and roofbark a man knows the measure;
Likewise of firewood how much suffices for a whole or half a season.

61. Clean and fed shall he ride to the Ting, (2) even though poorly clad;
None need feel shame over patches on shoes nor over inferior mount.

62. Question and answer were made with forethought by one who would be called wise;
Take one only into your confidence; what three know the world knows.

63. He studies and stares when he wanders the wave, an ern on the ancient sea;
So too does the man who comes into a crowd where few will speak for him.

64. A wise man keeps within proper bounds his right and authority;
In concourse of warriors he will find none the most valiant.

65. For every word he speaks
A man will pay in kind.

66. To many a place I came too soon, to others much too late;
The ale was drunk, or not yet brewed; ill guest comes ill-timed.

67. In some places I would have been invited if I needed no food;
If two hams hung at my friend's where I had just eaten.

68. Among children of men, fire is the best and the shining sun,
If man may have the gift of health, and live without vice.

69. No man is unhappy in all things though his health be poor: one is blessed with sons,
Another with friends, a third with full barns, a fourth with good deeds.

70. Better to live and live happy; a good man can get a cow;
I saw the fire die out in a rich man's house; death stood at the door.

71. A lame man can ride; a handless herd cattle, a deaf may be a fine warrior;
Better blind than burn on the pyre; no one needs a corpse.

72. A son is better even though born late when his father's life is ended;
Memorials are seldom raised unless by kin.

73. The two are companions-in-arms, but the tongue is the bane of the head;
Beneath each fur I expect a fist.

74. One night may you trust to your provender but short are ship's biscuits, and quickly changes an autumn night;
The weather shifts much in the course of five days, much more in a month.

75. He knows not who little knows that many are fools to others;
One may be rich, another poor. No blame attaches to this.

76. Cattle die; kinsmen die; you likewise must die;
But the voice of honor never dies for him who has earned a good name.

77. Cattle die; kinsmen die; you must likewise die;
One thing I know that never dies: a dead man's reputation.

78. Full sheepfolds I saw at the rich man's sons; they now bear the beggar's staff;
Riches are like the wink of an eye, the most fickle of friends.

79. When a fool gains goods or a woman's favor, his pride grows but not his sense;
He walks in a fool's blindness.

80. This then is known: when you ask for runes known but to the ruling powers;
About those that were scribed by the bard of secret wisdom he had better be silent.

81. Day may be praised by night, a woman on her pyre, sword's edge when tested;
Maiden when wed, ice when the crossing is over, ale when it has been drunk.

82. Trees should be felled when the wind blows, sail when the breeze is fair;
In darkness daily with maiden, for many eyes see by day;
You need speed from a ship, protection from a shield, blows from a blade, kiss from a maid.

83. By fire drink ale, on ice score with skates, buy a horse when it's lean, and a blade when it's rusty.
The horse you fatten and the hound you train.

84. Trust not a maid's words, nor a wife's,
For on a whirling wheel were born their hearts and fickleness fixed in their breast.

85. Trust not breaking bow, flaring flame, gaping wolf, carping crow,
Bellowing boar, rootless willow, waxing wave, bubbling caldron.

86. Airborn arrow, breaking wave, night-old ice, coiled snake,
Bride's words in bed, broken sword or playful bear, nor the children of a king;

87. Sick calf, stubborn thrall, sibyl's fair words, newly killed whale, (3)
Such may no man trust to appearances.

88. Depend not on a new-sown field, nor too soon on a son;
Nor on a brother's bane, even on a wide road;

89. Nor on a house half burnt, a horse swift as the wind (he would be useless with a broken leg);
No man is so confident he trusts in these.

90. So is the love of women, fickle ones, like riding on slippery ice with uncleated horse,
A lively two-year-old, ill trained, or rudderless sailing in violent storm, or like a lame man's reindeer chase on bare slippery rock.

91. Openly I declare, for I know both, how treacherous is man's mind toward women;
When we speak most fair we think most false; this traps even the cunning.

92. You shall speak fair and offer gifts if you desire maid's love;
Devote praise to the fair one's beauty, a young wooer shall get his wish.

93. For his love shall no man blame another!
Often a wise man, not a fool, is beguiled by a pretty face.

94. Nor shall one man censure another for what befalls many a man;
A sage is often made a fool by overwhelming desire.

95. Mind only knows what lies near the heart, it alone sees the depth of the soul;
No worse ill assails the wise than to live without inner peace.

96. This I learned, crouched in the reeds, waiting for my love,
My body and my soul seemed wise to me. Yet I have her not.

97. Billing's maid (4) was found by me, white as the sun, asleep;
All princely seemed naught to me beside life with her beauty.

98. ''Toward evening, Odin, shall you come, if you would win the maid;
It would be unfitting if we alone knew not of this.''

99. Back I ran and deemed myself lucky, went to learn the wise one's wish;
I had hoped to have her tenderness and joy.

100. When I returned all the gallant warrior band was awake;
With blazing torches and high borne lights, the road was perilous to me.

101. I returned in the morning, the watchers were asleep;
I found a dog bound by the holy woman's bed.

102. Many a sweet maid, if you seek, is unfaithful;
This I learned when the clever maiden I had hoped to lure with wile made a mockery of me; I gained not the lovely wife.

103. A man glad in his home, gay among guests, shall always take a wise stand;
Of good memory and easy speech, if he would be wise and speak sagely;
An idiot has naught to say, this is the sign of a fool.

104. I sought the old giant, now am I returned; little did I there gain by silence;
Many words won me success in Suttung's halls.

105. Gunnlod on the golden throne gave me a draught of the precious mead;
Ill did I repay her for her pains.

106. Rate's mouth made room for me, gnawed through the rock;
Over and under me ran giants' roads. Great was my peril.

107. A well-earned draught I enjoyed; the wise lack little;
Odraerir now has come up here to earth's ancient shrine.

108. I doubt I had even yet escaped from the giants' dwelling
Had I not Gunnlod, the good woman, held in my arms.

109. The following day, frost giants went to hear Odin's counsel in the High Hall;
They asked after Bolverk,
Whether he had begged his freedom, or been vanquished by Suttung.
Odin, I mind, gave oath on a ring that he had overcome.

110. How may his troth be trusted?
Suttung bereft of his mead, Gunnlod in tears!

?

111. It is time to speak
From the speaker's chair
By the well of Urd;
I saw and kept silent,
I watched and I thought,
I listened to what was said;
I heard runes discussed,
There was no lack of knowledge
In the High Hall.
In the High Hall
I heard it said.

112. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
You will gain if you keep it, benefit if you follow it.
Do not rise in the night unless something occurs
Or you must visit the outhouse!

113. I tell you, Loddfafner, obey you the counsel:
Do not sleep locked in the limbs of a sorceress;
She can contrive that you do not go to the Ting or assembly;
Food will not please you, nor human company; you will go sadly to sleep.

114. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Never lure another's wife with soft words.

115. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
If you expect danger on mountain or fjord, supply yourself well with provisions.

116. I tell you, Loddfafner, obey you the counsel:
Let no evil man see your misfortunes; from a man of ill will you receive no thanks for your trust.

117. I saw a man hurt by a treacherous woman's words;
Her poisonous tongue wounded him to death and without truth.

118. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
If you know a friend you trust, go often seek him out;
Brambles and grass grow high on untrodden paths.

119. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Attract good-natured men to you with happy runes, sing songs of joy while you live.

120. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Be not quick to break the bond of love for your friend;
Sorrow will rend the heart
If you dare not tell another your whole mind.

121. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Exchange not words with a fool,

122. For from ill-minded man you will have no good return,
But a noble man may honor you with his nobility.

123. A friendship is firm when each can speak his mind to the other;
All is better than broken bonds; no friend is he who flatters.

124. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Waste not three words in quarrel with a villain:
Oft the better man cedes
While the worse deals blows.

125. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Make your own shoes and the shaft of your spear.
A shoe may be ill formed, a spear may be warped
If the maker wills you ill.

126. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
When you meet anger take it as meant for you;
Give your foe no peace.

127. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Never rejoice over evil revealed, but always rejoice over good.

128. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Gaze not in the air during battle -- humans may walk like boars --
Lest you lose your wits.

129. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
If you wish to bind a good woman in wedlock and win her favor,
You must promise handsomely and keep your word;
None wearies of a good gift.

130. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
I bid you be wary; be most careful with ale,
With other man's wife and, third,
Be on guard against thieves.

131. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Never mock a wandering man or a guest.

132. They who are seated often know not what manner of man enters;
None is so good he lacks all fault, none so wretched he lacks all virtue.

133. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Smile not at the graying storyteller;
Often is good what the old ones sing;
Wrinkled lips may speak choice words
From him whose head droops, whose skin sags, and who limps between canes.

134. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
Abuse no guest nor turn any away; the poor do you well receive.

135. It takes a strong hinge to keep the door open to all;
Yet give of your alms lest one wish you ill.

136. I tell you, Loddfafner, heed you the counsel:
When you drink ale, seek the aid of earth's force,
Because earth counteracts it, as fire does disease;
Oak is a laxative, grains against sorcery,
The home against bickering, the moon against hate,
Biting helps snakebite, runes against ill designs,
Field of dirt makes flood abate.

?

137. I know that I hung in the windtorn tree
Nine whole nights, spear-pierced,
Consecrated to Odin, myself to my Self above me in the tree,
Whose root no one knows whence it sprang.

138. None brought me bread, none served me drink;
I searched the depths, spied runes of wisdom;
Raised them with song, and fell once more thence.

139. Nine powerful chants I learned
From the wise son of Boltorn, Bestla's father;
A draught I drank of precious mead
Ladled from Odraerir. (5)

140. I began to thrive, to grow wise,
To grow greater, and enjoy;
For me words led from words to new words;
For me deeds led from deeds to new deeds.

141. Runes shall you know and rightly read staves,
Very great staves, powerful staves,
Drawn by the mighty one who speaks,
Made by wise Vaner, carved by the highest rulers.

142. Odin among Aesir, Dvalin (6) among elves,
Dain (7) among dwarfs,
Allvitter (8) among giants.
I myself have also carved some.

143. Know you how to write?
Know you how to interpret?
Know you how to understand?
Know you how to test?
Know you how to pray?
Know you how to sacrifice?
Know you how to transmit?
Know you how to atone?

144. Better not to pray than to sacrifice in excess, gift always tends to return.
Better send naught than waste too much.
Thus wrote Tund (9) for the passage of years,
Where he arose,
Where he came again.

145. I know songs unknown to the wife of the king or to any son of man;
Aid is one, and it can help you
In sadness and sorrow and difficult trouble.

146. A second I know that should be known
By those who would be healers.

147. A third I know, if need be,
That can fetter any foe.
I can dull their blades so that sword
Or deceit cannot harm.

148. A fourth I know: if warriors place links of chain on my limbs;
I can sing a charm that will make me free.
Fetters fall from my feet and the hasp from my hands.

149. A fifth I know: if I see hurled
Arrows hard at my horde;
Though rapid their flight I arrest them in air
If I see them clearly.

150. A sixth song I sing: if a man does me harm
With the roots of wild weeds,
Or a Hel-man hates me, he brings harm to himself,
Not to me.

151. The seventh I sing: if a fearsome fire
Flames in the hall where the warriors sit;
So broad burns he not that I cannot quench him;
This charm is one I can chant.

152. The eighth I sing is for every one
The most fortunate lore he can learn:
When hatred is harbored by children of chiefs,
This I can hastily heal.

153. The ninth that I know, if need there should be
To save my boat on the billow,
The wind I can lay to rest on the wave,
And still the stormiest sea.

154. A tenth I am able, when witches do ride
High aloft in the air;
I can lead them astray, out of their forms,
Out of their minds.

155. Eleventh I can, if forth into war,
Old friends into battle I lead:
I sing below shields so that they draw with force
Whole into the fight,
Whole out of the fight,
Whole wheresoever they go.

156. Twelfth I am able, if I see a tree
With a hanged man hovering high,
I can carve and draw runes, so that he that is hanged,
Hastens to speak to me.

157. Thirteenth I know, if they wish me to sluice
With water a citizen's son,
He shall not fall, though outnumbered he be,
He shall not fall by a sword.

158. Fourteenth I can name to the warriors' horde
The names of beneficent gods;
The Aesir and elves, I can all distinguish
As an unwise man cannot.

159. Fifteenth I know what the Setter-in-motion
Sang at the doors of Dawn;
He sang power to Aesir, progress to elves,
Mind-force to the god of the gods.

160. Sixteenth I can chant, if I desire
The wise maid's joy and favor,
The white-armed woman's love I can win,
And turn her mind to me.

161. Seventeenth I sing that not soon may be parted
From me the beloved maid.
For a long, long time shall you, Loddfafner,
Be lacking these lays.
It were good that you keep them concealed,
You are fortunate to learn them,
It were useful to heed them well.

162. The eighteenth I sing as I never have sung
To a maid, or to any man's mate.
All that is best is known only to One,
She who embraced me as a sister.
This is the end of the song.

163. Now is sung the High One's song in the High One's Hall:
Useful to children of men; useless to sons of giants.
Hall Him who sang! Hall Him who knows!
Happy is he who receives it!

(Conclusion of Gylfaginning)

[King Gylfe, calling himself Ganglare, heard all these things.]

At length the High One spoke: ''If you can ask still further, I know not whence you find the questions, for I never heard further forward the destinies of ages told. Enjoy therefore what you have learned.''

Ganglare then heard a powerful thunder from all sides and looked out through the door; and as he looked about him he found himself on a level plain with no court or hall in sight.

So he returned to his country and told these tidings he had heard and seen. And after him, these sayings were passed on from one to another.

by Elsa-Brita Titchenell

Odens Korpgalder
(The Lay of Odin's Corpse or The Lay of Odin's Ravens)

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

This lay suggests the aftermath following the death of a planet. It has been omitted from many translations as scholars, led by the eminent Sophus Bugge, have tended to ignore it as being quite incomprehensible. It is a lay of great beauty, with a strong mystical appeal, as the reader senses the unsaid, dreamlike, all but unimaginable hiatus between periods of life when the planetary soul is immersed in the quiescence following death. Every kingdom of nature is held in breathless suspension, unmoving, unaware, unliving, awaiting the electrifying urges of a new dawn. Allfather alone is active. In all the Edda there is no more poignant piece of music than this stilling of the pulse of life, leaving each group of beings fixed in its own characteristic state of awareness for the long rest until the gods return.

Odin's two ravens, Hugin and Munin (mind and memory), ''daily fly over the battlefield earth'' (1) and report back to Allfather by night. Here we again find mention of the gods' anxiety for Hugin, lest he fail to return. There is cogent reason for this. Mind entails choice: beings who possess this faculty, who have attained the function of intelligence and free will, as has humanity on earth, are faced with the options these present. They can, if they so choose, ally themselves totally with the matter-side of nature, the giants, in extreme cases severing their connection with their inner god, so that their characteristic contribution to the cosmic purpose is lost and the soul forgoes its opportunity to become immortal. Or they can gradually blend with the divine source of their existence. The critical choice is not made all at once; it is the cumulative effect of numberless small choices made through progressive stages of life. In the natural course of growth the soul unites each increment of experience with its divine source and so little by little merges with it.

So it is that at the end of a ''day'' of life, Hugin returns to Odin, bringing tidings of the manifest world and rejoining the divinity whence it originally flew. Its companion, Munin, is the container of all the record of events since the beginning of time. It is on the report of Munin that is built all attainment, as memory remains eternally as the foundation of future awareness.

It should be noted that both birds refer not merely to human consciousness but to corresponding properties as they manifest differently and in varying degrees throughout nature. A planet, such as Idun personifies, possesses the characteristics contributed by all its components, from elemental consciousnesses through the rudimentary condition of minerals, the greater sensitivity of plants, the budding awareness of animal lives, and self-conscious human souls; it includes also the grander status of perfected men and women as well as kingdoms of life superior to the human. Each awakening consciousness at any stage proceeds through life to gain greater scope and cognition, ever modifying its malleable, growing awareness and comprehension, but it is in the human that we first are able to distinguish the process.

At the end of her life, the planetary soul, Idun, is besieged at the fount of Urd by the anxious gods who seek to learn from her of the past life's growth and to imbibe the mead she can provide. Applying the theosophic keys it seems probable that her father Ivalde represents the previous world, the chain of lunar globes of which our present earth is the successor. Idun, his daughter, is ''oldest of Ivalde's younger brood,'' hence belongs to our earth, and is the offspring of the corresponding globe of the former moon chain. However, this is not the most physical part of it: that was Nanna, the body which is no longer visible to us. Nanna died before our earth was born, before it was made from the materials that had composed her discarded form. She is the planet's lower constituents and so sinks into unconsciousness at death, pricked with the thorn of sleep, the ''son of the sleep enchanter.'' This is the very thorn that brought oblivion to Sleeping Beauty (in another interpretation of the same tale), whose long sleep was ended by the kiss of life. The paralyzing thorn is borne on the icicle waves from the frost giant (22) whose minions characteristically begin to die each midnight, slain by the approaching dawn.

As the poem tells us, the sorrowing Idun had but little to contribute to the feast of the Aesir. However, the final verses of this poem bring us to the birth of a new life: as the hags and giants of the night slink away to their lairs '' 'neath the noble ash tree's farthest root'' (25), the gods reappear and there bursts into triumphant life a new world with new hope, heralded by the ''mighty clarion-blower on the mountains of heaven'' (26).


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Odens Korpgalder
1. Allfather acts, elves discern,
Vaner know, norns point the way.
Trolls nourish, aeons give birth,
Thurses wait, Valkyries yearn.

2. The Aesir suffered grim forebodings,
Seers mistook the fruit-maid's runes. (2)
Urd's mead she guarded but could not defend it
From the insistence of the great host.

3. Hugin soars high to seek her out.
The Aesir are anxious if he delays;
To Longing-for-life (3) dreams become suffering;
Dim dreams surfeit the dead.

4. Dwarfs grow numb; their powers fall;
Worlds into Ginnung's waning sink; (4)
The Allwise fells beings often,
And again reassembles the fallen.

5. No longer stand fast the earth or the sun;
The stream of destruction stays no more aloft;
Hidden deep in Mimer's well
Lies all wisdom. Know you as yet or what?

6. Dwells in the dells the knowing maiden, (5)
Fallen from Yggdrasil down, from the ash;
The elves named her Idun; she is the oldest
Of Ivalde's younger brood.

7. Unhappy she seemed over this misfortune,
Lying captive under the lofty tree.
She liked it not with the daughter of Night,
Accustomed to having worlds for her dwelling.

8. The victory gods saw the sorrow of Nanna (6);
They sent her in Hel's house a wolf-disguise;
She put it on and changed disposition;
Confused with illusion, altered appearance.

9. Odin selected the watcher of Bafrast (7)
To ask of the dead sun's sorrowing widow
All that she knew of the fate of the world.
Brage and Lopt bore the testimony. (8)

10. Incantations they chanted, they rode on wolves,
The ruler and powers, to the ends of the world.
Odin, listening from Lidskjalf, (9)
Lets them journey far and wide.

11. Wise Heimdal asked if the mead-provider
Knew of the origin, age, and the end
Of the races of gods and her companions,
Of heaven, the void, and the earth.

12. Naught would she say, not a word would she utter
In response to the askers, nor discourse with them;
Her tears fell fast from her brain's shields;
Her power was numbed, exhausted, and dead.

13. Filled with sorrow Jorun appeared (10)
Before the gods, unable to speak;
The more they asked, the less she said;
All their words flowed in vain.

14. Foremost at the questing was Heimdal, the watcher
Of the horn of the father of hosts;
He brought with him Loki, the one born of Nal,
While Brage, the bard, stood guard.

15. The warriors of Odin attained to the Winehall,
Brought to the place by the sons of the past;
There entered Ygg's heroes to salute the Aesir,
And share in the feasting on mead.

16. They wished Hangatyr (11) health and contentment,
With well-being ever to brew his ale;
The drinkers were blissful to joy at the tankard,
Eager to feast with the Ever-young.

17. Each benched by Odin, the rulers together
Eat and are sated with Sarimner; (12)
With the ladle of Nikar (13) Skogul at the tables
Serves mead in the horns of memory.

18. At the feast much was asked by the gods of Heimdal,
By the goddesses of Loki.
All day long until darkness fell
They sought the seeress' wisdom and prophecy.

19. Ill they thought was resolved
This matter, and little commendable.
Cunning was needed to elicit
An answer from the sly witch.

20. Darkening, Odin speaks. All listen:
''Night shall be used for renewal of counsel;
Each one who can shall by the morrow
Find some solution for the Aesir's weal.''

21. At the mountains' rim round the wintry earth
The offspring of Fenris, exhausted, fell.
The gods left the feast, saluting Ropt (14)
And Frigg, at the departure of the steed of night.

22. Soon from the cast, out of icicle-waves,
Comes the thorn of sleep to the frozen giant,
Whose minions are slain in beautiful Midgard
Every night at the midnight hour.

23. Then wanes the power. Hands grow numb.
A swoon assails the white sword-Ase; (15)
Unconsciousness reigns on the midnight breath;
Thought fails in tired beings.

24. But the son of the Dawn spurs on his charger,
Caparisoned gaily in precious gems.
Over Manhome flows radiance from the steed's mane;
He draws in the chariot Dvalin's toy. (16)

25. At the nourishing earth's northern horse-door,
Neath the noble ash-tree's farthest root,
Went to their lairs hags and giants,
Spooks, and dwarfs, and the black elves.

26. Up rose the gods. Forth shone the sun.
Northward to Niflheim night drew away;
Heimdal once more sprang up upon Bafrast,
Mighty clarion-blower on the mountains of heaven.

by Elsa-Brita Titchenell

Vafrudnismal
(The Lay of Illusion)


TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

This is one of several lays and stories that treat of the illusory nature of the worlds of matter wherein consciousness is deceived. Vaftrudnir means "he who enwraps in riddles." It is a theme which recognizes the fallibility of our sense perceptions. Hindu scriptures also emphasize the deceptive nature of matter. In Sanskrit, illusion is called maya, a word derived from ma, which means to measure, hence it refers to anything that is limited, that can be measured, however large or small. This applies to both space and time and to all things existing in space-time. Only infinite space in eternal duration, beginningless, endless, boundless, and unimaginable, can in truth be called Reality. The seeming duality of space-time is itself illusory -- inescapable phenomenon pertaining to finite existence however vast in scope and however much we try to reach beyond it in consciousness.

It is important to realize that illusion does not mean nonexistence. Illusion exists; illusory things exist; we are surrounded by illusions and in fact are very much a part of the illusory universe. So accustomed are we to taking certain fallacies for reality that we are hardly aware of them. For instance, science tells us that matter is mostly holes -- minute particles moving rapidly in proportionately large volumes of seemingly empty space. Our senses disagree with this knowledge as a stubbed toe will readily confirm, yet we do not doubt the structure of matter built of atoms we have never seen. We see a beautiful sunset and watch the redgold globe of light disappear beneath the horizon, though we are aware it had already disappeared eight minutes earlier because the light we see took eight minutes to reach us across some 93 million miles of space. We see a red flower because it absorbs all but the red rays of light; what we see are the colors the petals have rejected. We also perceive things differently one from another. Since the senses report to the mind and feelings of a personality, their report is largely dependent on the attitudes, moods, understanding, and predisposing experience of the individual. Because of our differences in outlook, someone who knows more than we do -- a specialist in any field unfamiliar to us -- appears to perform feats of magic.

Nonetheless truth must exist: the universe exists, hence knowledge about it also exists. In the Lay of Illusion, the god-self, Odin, the searching, probing consciousness, enters worlds of matter, descending through cosmic shelves of substantial existence to face the giant Vaftrudnir and "see how his hall is furnished," for it is by traversing spheres of matter that divine consciousness gains the mead of wisdom which nourishes the gods. But Odin refuses to settle on the bench in the hall of Illusion. Consciousness is not at home in this sphere.

During the first half of the tale (11-19) it is Vaftrudnir who questions the god: matter is being informed, inspirited, is growing and learning from the entering consciousness who here calls himself Gagnrad (gainful counsel). In the latter portion it is Odin who learns, questioning the giant until at the final denouement the visitor reveals himself as Allfather. This is essentially the course of events related in many scriptures: first, the spiritual giving its energies and impulses to the material, organizing and building forms for its habitation and imbodying in them. Thereafter it is matter which is drawn inward, as it were, lending substance to the growing, perfecting, and enlarging of spiritual nature. Thus the two sides of existence are forever related and paired, with the tendency being first one way, then the other. The consciousness which has entered the realm of the giant, even though it may temporarily be captivated by the webs of illusion, will, as Vaftrudnir says of Njord, "in the fullness of ages . . . return home with the wisdom of woe" (39). So shall we all.

Vaftrudnir is taught, and we are reminded, that the grounds of the gods and those of the giants are separated only by the everflowing stream called Doubt, whereon no ice-bridge can ever form; also that the eternal battlefield (life), where the destructive and the beneficent forces do battle in man and nature, exists for that very purpose. The god is here indicating the course of evolution of beings whereby the matter-side of existence can earn access to the "ground of the beneficent gods."

Thereafter the giant world cedes its wisdom as Odin elicits the story of the past creation from his host. Verse 23 gives Mundilfore as the parent of sun and moon and indicates their use as a measure of years. Mundilfore is the "lever," or axis, that rotates the galactic sphere, the central power that imparts motion to our Milky Way. The next response, in verse 25, speaks not only of the terrestrial day and night but also of the moon's phases, which are named also in Voluspa. It is a small hint, but we may surmise without undue temerity that the bards possessed some knowledge of astronomy and of seasonal events sufficiently important to be included in the time capsule of the myths. Verse 42 is remarkably revealing when we consider that this is the giant responding: the matter of nine worlds is he, stemming from the "hells below Niflhel" -- the rootless root of matter.

In contrast with this, the spiritual human element "Life and Survivor . . . lie concealed in the memory hoard of the sun" during the long Fimbulvetr, the cold winter of inactivity when life is gone with the gods (44) from our ecosystem. They will be fed morning dew and bring to birth the ages to come. Here again we see a new life following the death of the present system of worlds. Those who are now Aesir will be succeeded by their offspring, a new Thor and a new Odin (in his son Vidar), who will "avenge the death" of the Father of Ages.

At last Odin reveals his identity by asking the unanswerable question -- unanswerable by anyone but the deity himself: What had Odin whispered in the dead sun-god's ear? Well may we wonder what secret was perpetuated beyond the realm of death by the Allfather of past and future worlds.


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Vaftrudnismal
1. ODIN: Advise me, Frigg, as I wish to journey
Vaftrudnir, the riddler, (1) to seek in his hall!
I crave to sound the ancient wisdom
Of him, the all-wise titan.

2. FRIGG: At home would I rather see Hostfather tarry,
In the courts of the gods;
For no other giant I know has the equal
Of Vaftrudnir's power.

3. ODIN: Much have I traveled, much have I tested;
Much from the various powers I learned.
Now I will study in Vaftrudnir's hall
How that one is furnished.

4. FRIGG: Fortune go with you, and then, in returning,
May happiness be on the roads that you take!
Nor fail you your wits, oh, Father of Ages,
When you Vaftrudnir engage in debate.

5. Hence journeyed Odin to probe by a discourse
The wisdom and wit of the all-knowing titan:
Arrived at the hall of the father of Im,
Forthwith the Thinker entered therein.

6. ODIN: Hail thee, Vaftrudnir, here am I come
In your own hall to see you.
First would I know if it's wise you are
Or all-knowing, giant?

7. VAFTRUDNIR: Who is this man, who in my hall
Hurls such words at me?
Never shall you leave this place
If you are not the wiser.

8. ODIN: Gagnrad (2) is my name. I am come on foot
And athirst to your hall;
I have wandered afar and need a welcome
And your hospitality, giant.

9. VAFTRUDNIR: Why stand you, then, Gagnrad, and speak from the floor?
Step forward and sit in the hall.
Then shall we measure whether the stranger
Or this old bard is more knowing.

10. GAGNRAD: A poor man who comes to a rich man's house
Should be silent or wisely speak;
Idle talk serves him ill
Who comes to a cold-ribbed (3) host.

11. VAFTRUDNIR: Tell me then, Gagnrad, as you from the floor
Will try your success:
What name has that steed that draws each day
Over the sons of the ages?

12. GAGNRAD: Brightmane is he; the rose-colored one
Draws the day over the sons of ages;
Held the most excellent steed by the people;
His mane ever radiates sunlight.

13. VAFTRUDNIR: Tell me, then, Gagnrad, as you from the floor
Will try your success:
What name has that steed that draws from the east
The night over useful powers?

14. GAGNRAD: Frostmane is the steed that draws in space
Each night over useful powers;
Each morning the froth falls from his bridle:
Thence drops the dew in the dells.

15. VAFTRUDNIR: Tell me Gagnrad, as you from the floor
Will try your success:
What name has that stream that is shared and divides
The grounds of the gods and the titans?

16. GAGNRAD: Doubt is the stream that is shared and divides
The grounds of the gods and the titans;
He shall run free and open forever;
No ice ever forms on that river.

17. VAFTRUDNIR: Tell me, then, Gagnrad, as you from the floor
Will try your success:
What name has that plain where the battle is fought
Between Surt and the beneficent gods?

18. GAGNRAD: Vigrid is the plain where the battle is fought
Between Surt and the beneficent gods.
One hundred days' journey on every side,
That plain is created for them.

19. VAFTRUDNIR: Wise are you, guest. Go to the bench
And let us speak, seated together.
Our heads we shall wager here in the hall
On our wisdom and wit, Guest.

CAPITULUM

20. GAGNRAD: Tell me first, if your wit suffices,
And, Vaftrudnir, if you know it:
Whence came the earth or the heaven above it,
First, thou knowing giant?

21. VAFTRUDNIR: Of Ymer's flesh was the earth formed,
The mountains were built of his bones;
Of the frost-cold giant's brainpan heaven,
And the billowing seas of his blood.

22. GAGNRAD: Tell me second, if your wit suffices,
And, Vaftrudnir, if you know it:
Whence came the moon that over men wanders,
Or likewise the sun?

23. VAFTRUDNIR: Mundilfore is father of moon
And equally so of the sun;
Both are borne across heaven each day
To measure the years for man.

24. GAGNRAD: Tell me thirdly, as you are called knowing,
Vaftrudnir if you know it:
Whence comes the day that moves over men
And the night with its dark of waning?

25. VAFTRUDNIR: Dawn it is that fathers the Day,
While Night is the daughter of Dusk.
Waxing and Waning the useful powers
Made for man's measure of ages.

26. GAGNRAD: Tell me fourthly, as you are named forewise,
Vaftrudnir, if you know it:
Whence came the winter or the warm summer
First to the forewise powers?

27. VAFTRUDNIR: Windcool is named the father of Winter
But Mild is the summer's sire; (4)

28. GAGNRAD: Tell me fifthly, as you are named pastwise,
Vaftrudnir, if you know it:
Who first of the Aesir's or Ymer's kin
Arose in the times of old?

29. VAFTRUDNIR: Unnumbered winters ere earth was formed
Was Bargalmer born;
His father, it's said, was Trudgalmer;
Orgalmer his father's sire.

30. GAGNRAD: Tell me sixthly, as you are named knowing,
Vaftrudnir, if you know it:
Whence came Orgalmer first among giant-sons
In the dawn of time, wise giant?

31. VAFTRUDNIR: From Elivagor (5) sprang drops of venom,
Until they became a giant; (6)

32. GAGNRAD: Tell me seventhly, as you are named skillful,
Vaftrudnir, if you know it:
How begat offspring the bold giant,
As he had known no giantess?

33. VAFTRUDNIR: By degrees from the word of the frostgiant grew
Man and maid together;
Foot mated with foot and bore to the giant
A many-headed son.

34. GAGNRAD: Tell me eighthly, as you are named pastwise,
Vaftrudnir, if you know it:
What is the first you remember or earliest know,
Thou all-wise giant?

35. VAFTRUDNIR: Unnumbered winters ere earth was formed,
Bargalmer was born;
The first I remember, the forewise giant
Was laid in the flour-bin. (7)

36. GAGNRAD: Tell me ninthly, as you are called clever,
Vaftrudnir, if you know it:
Whence comes the wind that wafts on the wave,
Though himself unseen?

37. VAFTRUDNIR: Rasvalg is perched at the end of the heavens,
A giant in eagle guise;
From his wings are wafted the wandering winds
That howl o'er the human host.

38. GAGNRAD: Tell me tenthly, as the gods' fates thou knowest,
Vaftrudnir, to the full:
Whence came Njord to the Asa-sons? He reigns over courts
And sanctuaries, begotten of Asa-stock.

39. VAFTRUDNIR: In the home of the Vaner wise powers created
And sent him as hostage to the gods;
In the fullness of ages he shall return
Home with the wisdom of woe.

40. GAGNRAD: Tell me eleventhly, where the heroes
Each day slay one another:

VAFTRUDNIR: They select the Chosen, ride from the battle,
Then sit reconciled together.

41. GAGNRAD: Tell me twelfthly, Vaftrudnir, how the endless reach
You know of the gods' destiny.
Of eons' runes and of the gods'
You say what is truest, allwise giant.

42. VAFTRUDNIR: Of giants' runes as well as of gods'
The truth I tell;
For I have come into nine worlds, from hells below
Deepest Niflhel.

43. GAGNRAD: Much have I traveled, much have I tested,
Much from the various powers I learned:
What humans live when for man has expired
The dread Fimbul-winter?

44. VAFTRUDNIR: Life and Survivor, but they lie concealed
In the memory-hoard of the sun.
Morning dew is their food, and from them will be born
Ages to come.

45. GAGNRAD: Much have I traveled, much have I tested,
Much from the various powers I learned:
Whence will come the sun on a trackless sky
When Fenris has overtaken this one?

46. VAFTRUDNIR: One daughter only the Elf-wheel bears
Before Fenris o'ertakes her;
The radiant maid shall ride her mother's roads
When the gods are gone.

47. GAGNRAD: Much have I traveled, much have I tested,
Much from the various powers I learned:
Who are the maids who, o'er watery waste
Unerringly find the way?

48. VAFTRUDNIR: Three mighty rivers flow through the lands
Of the maids of the son-in-law seeker: (8)
They are hamingjor in their own right
Though they were fostered by giants.

49. GAGNRAD: Much have I traveled, much have I tested,
Much from the various powers I learned:
Which of the Aesir remain as gods
When the flames of Surt have subsided?

50. VAFTRUDNIR: Vidar and Vale shall dwell in the shrines of the gods
When the flames of Surt have subsided.
Mode and Magne shall then have Mjolnir
And do Vingner's (9) work.

51. GAGNRAD: Much have I traveled, much have I tested,
Much from the various powers I learned:
What shall become of Odin the aged,
When the rulers' reign is riven?

52. VAFTRUDNIR: The wolf shall devour the Father of Ages,
But Vidar shall come to avenge him;
Vidar shall cleave the icy jaws
With Vingner's sacred weapon. (10)

53. GAGNRAD: Much have I traveled, much have I tested,
Much from the various powers I learned:
What whispered Odin in the ear of his son, (11)
As the latter was borne on the pyre?

54. VAFTRUDNIR: None knows what you in the foretime spoke
At the pyre in the ear of your son.
With the lips of one dead have I told my tale,
Runes of old and of Ragnarok.

by Elsa-Brita Titchenell

Thor and Loki in Jotunheim
(Gianthome)
A tale from the Younger Edda.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

This entertaining episode must have afforded much amusement to an audience of simple people. It is apparently an event in the history of our globe, when freezing winds accompanied the lowering of the water level as the polar ice caps spread over the continents, absorbing more of the globe's water. At the same time there was a shift in the position of the Midgard serpent -- the equator, or perhaps the arc of the Milky Way. There is no doubt the events denote a period of glaciation but which ice age is open to question.

This lay bears a striking resemblance in one particular to the gods' search for the caldron which is related in the Lay of Hymer (which follows it). In both tales Loki instigated a forbidden act which was to bring down the wrath of Thor on the luckless perpetrator, but here it is the farmer's son -- a lesser cycle -- who breaks the bone.

Like Vaftrudnismal (the Lay of Illusion), Thor's and Loki's visit to the giant world illustrates the misperceptions to which consciousness is subject in the worlds of the giants. We do not perceive things as they really are; all consciousnesses, even the gods, it seems, are beset by the illusion which marks existence in matter.


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Thor and Loki in Jotunheim
Once an icy age drew over the lands, destroying crops and killing men and beasts. Thor, accompanied by Loki, set out to remonstrate with the giant Rasvalg who, in eagle guise, fanned freezing winds over Midgard. They had of course to take a roundabout route because, as noted earlier, Thor's chariot cannot cross the rainbow bridge Bifrost which connects the worlds of men and gods: its lightnings would set the bridge afire. So they forded the river Ifing (doubt) which marks the boundary between those worlds.

At Midgard they received the hospitality of a poor farmer who had two children, Tjalfe and Roskva. To supplement the meager fare, Thor slaughtered the two goats which pull his chariot, Tandgniostr and Tandgrisnir (toothgnasher and toothcrusher). He instructed his companions to lay the bones unbroken carefully in their skins. During the feast, Loki whispered to the farmer's son that he should taste the marrow which, he said, had magic properties, and the boy cracked a bone to do so. In the morning, Thor revived the animals with a blow of his hammer on each of the skins, only to find that one of his goats was lame. In a towering rage the Thunderer threatened to destroy the farmer and all his family, but the old man appeased the god by offering his two children to be Thor's servants. Thereupon Tjalfe (speed) joined the gods on their excursion while Roskva (work) stayed to await their return.

One night on their journey they sheltered in a curiously shaped structure containing two rooms, one very large, the other small. Disturbed and alarmed by a loud roaring noise, the travelers hid in the smaller of the two chambers. Emerging in the morning they found a monstrous giant asleep nearby: the house was his mitten, the roars were his snores. Beside him lay his sack of provender. Being hungry the two gods tried to open the satchel but even Thor was unable to undo the knots, so he set about trying to waken the giant. Three times he struck his hammer against the giant's skull, which caused the sleeper to stir and mutter something about flies, but failed to rouse him. The gods went hungry. However, to this day there are three valleys cleaving the mountain where the giant slept.

Eventually the two Aesir and Tjalfe reached the home of the king of the giants, whose name Utgardaloki means Loki-of-the-outermost-court. Here the gods were challenged to a series of contests. First, Tjalfe ran a race against the giants' champion but was ignominiously outdistanced. Then Loki, who by this time was ravenously hungry, offered to out-eat any giant. He too failed for, though the two finished together, the giant had consumed the platter as well as the food. Thor offered to drain any drinking-horn but, when he was handed a gigantic vessel, failed to lower the level more than a little. He was then asked to lift the giant's cat. Mortified by so simple a task, he nevertheless found himself unable to do more than raise one of its paws. He thereupon undertook to wrestle any giant and was laughingly faced with the giants' elderly nurse, who easily brought the Thunderer to one knee.

After these undignified defeats the gods left to return to their own sphere, accompanied part of the way by their host, who -- once they were safely off the premises -- proceeded to explain the illusions to which they had been prey. Though Tjalfe had the speed of lightning, his opponent in the race had been Thought, which easily outdistanced him. Loki's opponent was Logi (flame), which consumed not only the food but also the wooden platter. The horn Thor failed to drain had its tip in the ocean's depths; the whole giant world had quaked with fear as the level of the waters was considerably lowered. The cat was really the Midgard serpent Iormungandr, which Thor had moved to an alarming degree. As for the giants' elderly nurse, Elli, she was in reality old age, which brings everyone, even the gods, low in due time.

When Thor in a mighty rage raised his hammer to avenge these defeats by trickery, neither his host nor any city was to be seen on the flat plain that reached endlessly in all directions.

by Elsa-Brita Titchenell

Hymiskvadet
(Hymer's Lay)

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

Our solar system has its home in a portion of space from which we see certain configurations of stars. Our earth rotates on its axis so that each side is irradiated with sunlight half the time and is in shadow the other half of the time as we travel along the almost circular path of its orbit. The stars we see are those on the shadow-side of our planet, that is to say those outside the solar system in the direction we face at night. This direction changes, of course, with the seasons, so that in the course of a year, one revolution round the sun, we have faced by night all the stars that surround us in our solar neighborhood. Those stars that are close to being on a level with our orbit, called the plane of the ecliptic, have been grouped into 30 degree arcs and these groups are called the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Together they make a complete circle (360 degrees). Our sun, which is situated in one arm of a spiral galaxy we call the Milky Way, is thus surrounded by the twelve "animals" (i.e., animate beings) of the celestial "zoo."

We need to have a clear picture of this scenario in order to see how the tale of the giant Hymer suggests the prelude to a new imbodiment, possibly of our sun, perhaps of a planet such as the earth. According to the theosophic teachings a planet lives a number of lives with intervals of rest, comparable to death, during the lifetime of the sun. It also undergoes shorter periods of repose comparable to sleep, within its own lifetime. The pattern is analogous to that of human and other types of life which include sleeping and waking as well as death and birth.

Hymer is evidently a preliminary stage in the formation of a celestial body. His nine daughters, or aeons, are the nine mothers of the god Heimdal, god of beginnings, who, as we have seen, is a solar, deity. He has a particular affinity with the constellation Aries, the ram, marker of beginnings: of the year at the vernal equinox, of the zodiacal year (25,920 terrestrial years), and of each lifetime of our planet. He is personified as the wind which, like the ram, butts, or blows, or pushes, with its head. As parent of Heimdal's nine mothers, Hymer apparently represents the beginning of the present imbodiment of our solar system within the encompassing pattern of stars where our sun has its habitat. At the end of life he is named Rymer. Both names are suggestive of Ymer, a universal concept here applied to a particular case.

An interesting sidelight may be mentioned here: in the biblical story in Genesis 17 occurs a transformation with the addition of the letter H, the aspirate, which symbolizes breath, spirit, the principle of life: Abram becomes Abraham, and his wife Sarai becomes Sarah. It is possible that the Norse used the same convention to indicate the inspiration, in-breathing, of life into matter when Ymer becomes Hymer with the inbreathing of the divine power which endows our world with life.

In the tale of Hymer, the gods had learned by divination that the titan Ager -- space -- could supply the mead of experience whereby they are nourished, for he "possessed this mead in plenty." But when Thor commanded Ager to make feast for the gods, the giant replied: "Bring me first a caldron to contain it. Then shall I make feast for the gods."

As there was no vessel large enough to hold the mead, the gods were at a loss until Tyr (1) recalled that his kinsman Hymer owned such a caldron. Thor and Tyr set out to find Hymer and acquire the caldron "by cunning if need be." On their way through Midgard they met Egil, the "mountain farmer, son of the dim-eyed one" -- of Tjasse, the previous period of evolution. Egil was entrusted with the care of the two goats which draw the Thunderer's chariot, and the gods proceeded on foot.

At the giant's home they were greeted by the wife who advised them to hide before Hymer should arrive in fierce ill-humor. It was late in the evening when "misshapen, harsh Hymer" came home from the hunt; we are treated to a delightful kenning which describes how "icicles rattled as he stepped in, for his face forest was frozen" (10). The wife tried to soften his mood before breaking the news that their young kinsman Tyr had come to the hall bringing with him "a noble foe named Vior." (2) This emphasizes the reluctance of the matter-giant to entertain the god-energy in a way which brings to mind Newton's first law of motion: "A body remains at rest or continues to move with the same speed in the same direction, unless it is acted on by a net force."

At the giant's glare the ridgepole broke in two and eight kettles fell down, only one remaining unbroken. With customary (mandatory) hospitality Hymer ordered three bullocks slaughtered for the evening meal. Thor devoured two of them so that the following morning the giant and the Thunderer needs must set out to catch fish for food. Vior offered to row if the giant would provide bait, so Hymer, with tongue in cheek, invited Thor to take one of his herd of oxen, knowing this to be an all but impossible task. Thor, however, accomplished the feat without difficulty. At sea, "Hymer drew aboard two whales together" (21). Thor hooked the Midgard serpent Iormungandr with the result that icebergs shook, volcanoes erupted, and the whole world trembled, until Thor restored the monster to the deep.

In this story several interpretations overlap, and the descriptions may apply to terrestrial, solar-systemic, or cosmic events. The Midgard serpent we know represents the equator, displaced again and again throughout our earth's history; it may also refer to the plane of the ecliptic which is the sun's apparent path across the sky; or it may be the Milky Way which seems to writhe round the sky with the seasons like an immense ribbon of stars immersed in the "waters" of space. The serpent is one of Loki's three dread offspring; the other two are Fenris, the wolf who will devour the sun at the end of its lifetime, and Hel, the cold, half blue queen of the realms of death.

Hymer was displeased with the god's success; for a long time he spoke no word but he "turned the helm in the wrong direction" (25). This may indicate a change in the configurations of observed stars, caused either by the introduction of a new body or the destruction of a former planet; it may also mean simply a change in inclination of the earth's polar axis -- something that is known to have taken place many times, leaving traces in the magnetic alignment of rocks. There is no mention of a further change of direction, yet the boat shortly reached its landing. Hymer requested the god to either bear home the whales to the village or bind the water goat fast at the shore" (26).

Thus far we have had our attention drawn to a very curious set of objects: we see a "water goat," a man rowing, fish, the ram, the ox or bull, and the "two whales together." Translated into the ancient customary descriptions of the zodiacal constellations we recognize in them respectively Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, and Gemini, all conjoined with the disturbing of the Midgard serpent. The implication is unmistakable as we realize that these six consecutive constellations cover 180 degrees of sky, that is, a half circle, or as much as may be seen at one time. Can this be mere coincidence?

Back at the giant's home, Thor was challenged to break a drinking vessel, but though he hurled it against a pillar with all his might, the chalice remained whole, whereas the pillar broke in two. When the giant's woman whispered to Thor that he should break the goblet against his host's skull, than which there exists no harder substance, the Ase did so with the result that "whole was the giant's helmet-holder; the wine cup's rim split into two" (31). Thereafter the gods were free to bear off the caldron, though not without having first to overcome the gigantic horde which pursued them. This was of course accomplished by Mjolnir, Thor's hammer.

When they reached the place where Egil, the innocent, was tending Thor's goats, one of the animals was lame, just as the previous tale. Loki had persuaded the farmer to break a marrow-bone. Here too the Thunderer's rage was appeased only when Egil offered his two children to be Thor's servants. Thenceforth, whenever Lorride, the terrestrial aspect of Thor, is found on earth, he is accompanied by Tjalfe (speed) and Roskva (work), the children of Egil, the "innocent mountain farmer," who serve him as elemental agents of vital electricity.

The search for the caldron of Hymer, with all its details and seeming trivia, is one lay that can be read many and many a time without "ringing a bell" of understanding. Not until we apply the key of the ageless cosmogonies do we discern what may have been a method of conveying the idea that the gods are seeking the appropriate place for a star or planet to reimbody. The caldron seems to represent a specific volume of space which satisfies certain requirements. A solar or planetary consciousness about to come into life must find its proper home, and this is defined as the place from which the surrounding stars present a certain appearance. There is, when you think about it, only one way to define a particular location in space, and that is to describe its surroundings. The caldron of Hymer is here pinpointed by naming six consecutive constellations of the zodiac, spanning one hemisphere or half the sky, as it appears from our solar system.

So Hymer's lay apparently tells of a celestial being preparing to enter a new manifestation: it seeks by desire for life (Tyr) and electromagnetic life force (Thor) its own ancient habitat (caldron). This most ingenious device demonstrates again and well the technique used by the sages to perpetuate their knowledge by means of tradition. People who themselves were quite incapable of grasping any but the simplest anecdotes could thus be used as unwitting transmitters of scientific fact. The breaking of the ridgepole at the giant's fierce glare and the destruction of all but one kettle hanging from that pole no doubt struck many of them as hilarious, but within the joke may be secured the record of an astronomical event of awe-inspiring proportions, when the polar axis of rotation of a global or universal system was overturned, leaving only one "kettle" or container unbroken: the location where a globe is reborn in the space it had formerly occupied. Thor's capture and release of the Midgard serpent confirms the same pattern of events.

In Asgard the gods were awaiting the capacious vessel when to the Ting of the gods came victorious Thor bearing with him the caldron of Hymer." Now the gods drink grandly with Ager each fall "when the golden grain is garnered," as translated in some versions. It goes without saying that the harvest is the culmination of any period of activity, whether it is a day, a year, a life, or an aeon. It is then that the gods absorb the mystic mead which has been brewed in the space where a world has lived and died.


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Hymiskvadet
1. The Gods of Choice (3) had good hunting,
But thirsted much ere they were filled;
They shook the divining-rods, studied the signs,
And found that Ager had ample fare.

2. The mountain farmer sat outside, child-happy,
Seeming the son of the dim-eyed one;
The son of Ygg (Thor) looked him in the eye:
"You shall often make feast for the Aesir."

3. Anxiety assailed the giant at the harsh-worded warrior;
He plotted revenge against the gods;
He asked Sif's husband (4) to bring him the caldron,
"Then shall I brew your ale."

4. But nowhere did the noble gods
Or wise Vaner know of any;
At length, faithful Tyr gave Lorride (Thor)
This friendly advice:

5. "There lives to the east of the Eli-waves,
Many-wise Hymer at the end of the sky:
My battle-loving father owns such a kettle,
A capacious brewing vessel miles deep."

6. "Think you we might that sap cooker get?"
"If we use guile."

7. That day they traveled a long day's journey
Forth from Asgard to reach Egil;
He was to guard the horned goats,
As they hied onward to Hymer's hall.

8. The son (5) found his mother's mother,
The hideous one with 900 heads;
But forth came another, gold-adorned woman
With fair brow to bring her son mead.

9. The wife: "Offspring of Titans,
I will cover you with a caldron, ye noble twain;
Often my husband is grouchy toward guests
And of ill humor."

10. Late that evening came
Misshapen, harsh Hymer home from the hunt;
Icicles rattled as he stepped in,
For the man's face forest was frozen.

11. "Hail, Hymer, be mild of mind!
The scion is come to your halls;
Him whom we awaited from far away;
With him comes a noble foe, friend of warriors, Vior (6) by name.

12. "See them under the gable,
Sheltering, fearful, behind the post."
At the giant's mere glance, the pillar collapsed
And above it the roof-ridge broke in two.

13. Eight kettles fell from the ridgepole down;
Only one, hard-tempered, remained unbroken.
The guests stepped forth as the grim old giant
With glowering glare followed his foe.

14. No good he boded
As forth on the floor
He saw standing the terror of giants.
He ordered three bullocks taken and cooked.

15. Each of the three was made a head shorter
And borne to be broiled; Sif's husband alone
Ate, before going to sleep,
Two of Hymer's oxen withal.

16. Rungner's ancient kinsman (7) thought
Lorride's meal abundantly meted.
"Tomorrow we three must, I believe,
Find fish food to eat."

17. Vior was willing to row on the wave
If the bold giant provided the bait.
"Go to my herd, if you have a mind,
You mountain-giant-crusher, to take bait!
I expect though you will not find it easy
To take bait of my oxen."

18. The god gaily hastened forth to the forest,
Where all-black oxen stood;
The thurses' bane (8) broke from the bull
The highfort above, both of its horns.

19. Spake Hymer: "You, chariot-master, (8) are terrible
When you are still;
Your works are far worse."

20. The flashing goats' master (8) bade the ape's kinsman
To row farther out,
But the giant had no desire
Farther to row.

21. Mighty Hymer drew on board ship
A pair of whales together;
But in the stern Sif's Vior
Cunningly readied a line.

22. The savior of peoples, the serpent's bane,
Now heaved the ox's head on the hook;
There gaped at the bait the one whom gods hate,
That is curled in the depths round all lands. (9)

23. Then doughty Thor courageously drew
The venomous snake aboard ship;
He hit with his hammer disdainfully down
On the crown of the head of the wolf's (10) fell brother.

24. Mountains roared,
The fields shrieked aloud;
So collapsed the former world;
The slimy serpent sank in the sea.

25. Unhappy was Hymer
As they rowed homeward;
Long time the giant spoke no word;
He turned the helm in the wrong direction.

26. Spake Hymer: "Do you share the work
Equally with me:
Bear you home the whales to the village,
Or bind the water goat fast at the shore."

27. Lorride (11) gripped the prow and drew the sea-horse (12) up on the shore
With sprit, oars, and bailer;
The giant's billow-boar (12) he bore to the village
Through dark forest paths.

28. But still the giant of obstinate habit
Vied with the god;
Said the man was not strong, though a mighty oarsman,
If he could not break a drinking vessel.

29. Lorride hurled the chalice at once,
The stone pillar cracked, but the goblet was whole;
Seated, he broke the hall's pillars through,
Yet whole was the cup he handed his host.

30. At length the giant's concubine, friendly woman,
Gave this advice, all that she knew:
"Hit Hymer's skull with it;
It is harder than any chalice."

31. Thor sprang up, braced himself,
Gathered his Asa-strength:
Whole was the giant's helmet-holder;
The wine cup's rim split into two.

32. Quoth Hymer: "I have lost the precious treasure,
Seeing the chalice, crushed, fall from my lap;
This word I can never unsay.
This draught was too bitter.

33. "You are free to take the caldron
Away from our court, if you can."
Twice Tyr tried to move it,
But it stood firm and steady.

34. Mode's father (13) grasped the rim
With such force that his foot broke the floor.
Sif's husband heaved it over his head;
The handles rattled against his heels.

35. They had not gone far
When Odin's son looked back;
He saw Hymer's hordes approaching
From eastern hollows, hundreds of heads.

36. He lowered the kettle, put it down,
And turned on the murderous mass with Mjolnir,
Slaying the terrible whales of stone
That hastened behind him with Hymer.

37. Not long did they travel ere Lorride's goat
Staggered and fell half dead before them;
The loping beast was lame of leg;
This had been caused by Loki.

38. But ye have heard, whoever is learned
In god-spells may readily see,
The wage he earned from the tiller of soil,
Who forfeited both his children.

39. To the Ting of the gods came defiant Thor,
And brought with him the caldron of Hymer;
Now the gods drink grandly with Ager each fall,
When the golden grain is garnered.

by Elsa-Brita Titchenell

Grimnismal
(Grimner's Lay)

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

This may be the most explicit esoteric instruction concerning the composition of worlds to be found in any extant mythology. It compares well with the descriptions of the inward nature of our universe found in other sources, such as the Qabbalah and the Persian and Hindu scriptures; indeed, if we have The Secret Doctrine as a touchstone, Grimner's teaching is startlingly outspoken.

Odin in disguise (Grimner means hooded, disguised) explains to his pupil Agnar the construction of our universe from the loftiest levels of divinity to the basest matter worlds, rounding out the sketchy picture drawn in Voluspa regarding the creative and destructive processes that go on in a universe. The astrology of the myths is not concerned with birth charts and personal predictions. It deals with the properties of living worlds, with the character and functions of their planetary deities and the interrelationships and vital forces that circulate through and among the heavenly bodies.

In Grimnismal we find the earth's two earliest races growing under direct divine supervision, Agnar, the elder, being trained by Frigga, mother of the Aesir, and Geirrod, the younger, by Odin. Allfather causes Geirrod to usurp Agnar's place -- the second humanity to supersede the first. There is an exact parallel in the Old Testament where Rebekah is told: "two nations are in thy womb and two manner of people. . . . one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger" (Gen. 25:23). Then follows the familiar story of Esau who sold his birthright to his younger twin.

The third humanity is symbolized by the son of Geirrod, also named Agnar, who is instructed by Grimner, now named Varatyr (God of Being or God-that-is). The lad, having earned this privilege by an act of kindness, is taught of the formation and composition of the solar system: its "shelves" of substances, seen and unseen "planes" of theosophic literature -- and the courts, halls, or mansions which are the dwellings of their respective gods. The characteristics of these mansions of divine powers are very ingeniously suggested, though no words could give an adequate understanding of their properties: human awareness simply does not include the rates of vibration that fall, whether near or far, outside the range of our sense perceptions. Until we develop the appropriate senses to cognize such substances we must be content to regard the spheres as apt homes for the powers that use them.

The first world named is Trudheim -- "a holy land, near to the Aesir and the elves" (4). Its god, Trudgalmer, is that aspect of the triune deity which corresponds to Vishnu, the sustaining power of the Hindu trimurti (1) or divine triad. The other two are Orgalmer which, like the Hindu Brahma, is the outpouring, expansive force, the "creator," while the third, Bargalmer, fruitage of a life, parallels Siva, the destroyer-regenerator. The three are clearly being the three aspects of the motive force, whether in a universe or any other entity, which expresses itself as constant change. The descriptions of the twelve homes of the gods are subject to many interpretations; they can apply to the twelve directions in space which are most commonly designated as zodiacal influences, and also to the planetary powers through whose modifying characters these influences are filtered before we receive them; they may also refer to the unseen traits of our terrestrial deity, which correspond to all of the above and are modified by them. Analogy is a valid guide to understanding myths, provided it's not distorted or carried to extremes. As the twelve deities named in Grimnismal vary greatly in their attributes, it is not surprising to find included such diverse characters as Ull and Trym, respectively the highest, most spiritual sphere of life in our terrestrial system, and the one most deeply sunk in matter, the globe we at present inhabit.

It is well to remind ourselves that we are dealing with qualitative forces having infinitely diverse characteristics, not personages, however magnified. Perhaps if we could study cosmic processes and their dynamic powers on their own levels we might so perceive them, but from our human, microcosmic viewpoint they can be only dimly imagined as principles belonging to the solar universe. The figures in the myths are anthropomorphized -- even by merely being named -- and can give us only the vaguest approximation of their true characters and functions. Just so does the zodiacal symbology supply only the dimmest suggestions as to the various fields of influence that dominate the different directions in space. We simply are not equipped to distinguish them.

The lays are not always sequentially clear, and we find ourselves suddenly plunged into a sketchy mention of Valhalla where Odin's warriors are fed the three boars -- the results of their conquests on the earth which, as we have seen, is symbolized by a boar in the Norse as well as other mythologies. Their names, Andrimner, Sarimner, and Eldrimner, respectively breath (air, spirit), sea (water, mind), and fire (heat, desire and will), constitute a symbol within a symbol as these characteristics apply to the composition both of nature and of man. When verse 18 is paraphrased: "spirit lets mind be steeped in desire and free will; few know what nourishes the One-harriers," the deduction is that the conquerors of self are nourished by a progressive and purposeful sublimation of the desires and will. This is psychology of a high order. It gives substance and purpose to human evolution as progressive change, and affords a powerful incentive for growth to the human soul. Far beyond the notion that evolution pertains merely to bodies, there is here a realization that what evolves is the consciousness of beings, and that in the human kingdom free will plays a significant part in this process. The instruction and training of Agnar has as its practical application the promoting of an understanding of the role he -- the human soul -- has to play in the cosmic drama.

Odin describes his two hounds, Gere and Freke (19), his constant companions. He feeds them, Greed and Gluttony, though he himself lives on wine alone, wine or mead being used to denote wisdom. Thus the god supports and uses animal nature, though himself sustained by wisdom alone. The New Testament affords a parallel in the familiar story of the wedding in Cana, where Jesus transformed water (ritual observances) into wine (spiritual teaching). Odin's ravens, Hugin and Munin, also describe aspects of consciousness essential for gaining experience. Hugin means mind in all the many connotations in which that word is commonly used: mental proficiency is only one of its meanings; it can also be used for purpose, intent, mood, attitude, disposition -- all of which apply to Hugin. Munin too has many meanings, memory being chief of these. Without memory there would be no modification of the mind. It is on such modification caused by cumulative experience that intelligence feeds and proficiency is gained, character is altered, and evolution proceeds. We are always building on the awareness of events gone by. But more than that: Munin also determines motivation, the primary factor in directing the mind and subsequent action. It is Hugin that is in danger of entrapment on its excursions, but the fear for Munin is eternal.

Allfather speaks of Tund, the river of time, which forms the moat surrounding Valhalla. Therein cavorts Tjodvitner's fish -- humanity. Tjodvitner is one of the names of Fenris, the wolf sired by Loki, all the brutish spawn of the undisciplined mind. It is the werewolf that is forever fishing for human souls to draw them astray. Those who succeed in crossing the river are faced with the "Gate of Choice" or "Gate of Death," whose latch can be opened by few and which, as we have seen, leads to the Hall of the Elect -- Valhalla.

Grimner then explains to his disciple how the Tree of Life is constituted and the perils to which it is subject. There has been no attempt to translate the names of all the rivers of lives. Suffice it that among them are such appellations as Waywise and War (in several forms), which suggest the characteristics of the various kingdoms of beings and their standing on the evolutionary scale. Only a few of the clearer meanings are proposed. Untranslated names, except those explained elsewhere, are rendered in italics. Then follow the names of the steeds of the gods.

The final "blessing of Ull on him who first touches the fire" implies a promise of human perfectibility. It is a reminder that the unmanifest world of Ull -- the acme of divinity in the system to which our earth belongs -- is accessible. The "fire" of this uncreated "cold" world of pure consciousness can hardly be explained in terms that would be comprehensible in our existence, but the words give us an inkling of the reaches our essential self may attain.

The final verses of Grimnismal need no explanation. In them the father of gods and men reveals his many names, culminating with the telling words: "the Opener and the Closer, all are one in me."



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Grimnismal
King Rodung had two sons; one was named Agnar, the other Geirrod. Agnar was then ten winters old, Geirrod eight. Both rowed a boat and were fishing when the wind blew them out to sea. In the darkness they ran aground, went ashore, and met a poor farmer, who gave them lodging for the winter. The wife reared Agnar, but the man taught Geirrod. When spring came, the man gave them a vessel, but when he and his wife brought them to the beach, the man spoke privately to Geirrod.

They had favorable wind and soon came to their father's landing. Geirrod was in the prow; he jumped ashore but pushed the boat away and said: "Go where the trolls may take you!" The vessel drifted out to sea.

Geirrod went up to the home and was well received. His father was then dead and Geirrod became king in his stead and a famous man.

Odin and Frigga sat upon Lidskjalf (2) and looked out over all the worlds. Odin said: "Do you see Agnar, your foster son, how he begets children with a giantess in a cave? But Geirrod, my foster child, is a king and rules over lands." Frigga replied: "He is so stingy, he starves his guests, if they are too numerous." Odin said this was a great lie; they made a wager on this dispute. Frigga sent her handmaiden Fulla (3) to Geirrod to warn him that a sorcerer arriving by night would be his undoing, and she added the sign that no hound, however fierce, would attack the man. It was the greatest calumny to say that King Geirrod lacked hospitality, but he caused this man, over whom hounds had no power, to be taken prisoner. The man was clad in a blue fur coat and called himself Grimner. (4) He would tell no more about himself however much they questioned him. The king had him tortured and placed between two fires. There he remained for eight nights.

King Geirrod had a son, ten winters old, whom he had named Agnar after his brother. The lad went to Grimner, gave him a horn filled with drink and said his father was wrong to torture an innocent man. Grimner drained the horn. By then his coat was on fire. He spoke:

1. "Hot are you, Fire, and all too strong!
Farther may we part, Flame!
The pelt-lining chars, though I draw the skirts up,
The coat starts to burn.

2. Eight nights I sat between fires here
With none to bring me food;
Agnar only, who alone shall rule,
Geirrod's son, in the land of the Goths.

3. Hail to thee, Agnar, in all things
Varatyr (5) bids you be fortunate!
For but one drink shall you never
Receive greater recompense.

4. A holy land I see placed
Near to the Aesir, near to the elves;
But in Trudheim Thor shall dwell
Till the rulers' reign be rent.

5. Raindales they name those dells
Where Ull (6) has arranged his hall;
Elfhome the gods gave to Frey
As a teething-gift in the morning of time.

6. There is a third dwelling where gentle powers
Covered the hall with silver;
Shelf of the Chosen was built for himself
In the dawn of time, out of wisdom, by the Ase.

7. Deep River is fourth;
Thence cool waves surge;
There Odin and Saga forever
Quaff out of golden goblets.

8. Gladhome is fifth, where golden glows
The Hall of the Chosen.
There Odin, the Maligned, daily crowns
Those killed in battle.

9. Recognized clearly by those who come
To Odin is this hall;
Its frame is of spears, roofed over with shields,
The benches are strewn with byrnies.

10. Recognized clearly by those who come
To Odin is this hall;
Wolf hangs on western door,
Blood-dripping eagle above.

11. Sixth is Trymheim where Tjasse lived,
The mighty giant of old;
Now Skade builds, the slender god-bride,
On her father's former grounds.

12. Broadview is seventh, where Balder
Disposed his halls;
On that land I know
Are the fewest harmful runes.

13. Heavenmount is the eighth, where Heimdal
Is said to rule the sanctuaries;
The watcher of the gods with joy
Quaffs good mead in this happy house.

14. Folkvang is ninth. Freya rules there,
Assigning the seats in the hall;
Daily she salutes half the chosen.
Odin owns the other.

15. The Shining is tenth, supported on golden pillars
And roofed with silver.
Forsete there lives out his days
And wisely judges causes.

16. Ships' Haven is eleventh,
Where Njord furnished his hall;
The man-ruler, the harmless,
Reigns over high-timbered holiness.

17. Hidden in thickets and tall reeds
Is the wide land of Vidar;
There shall my son dismount
To avenge his father.

18. Andrimner lets Sarimner
Be steeped in Eldrimner (7)
The best of meat!
Few know what the One-harriers eat!

19. Gere and Freke are nurtured
By battlewont father of hosts;
But on wine alone lives ever
Odin, the weapon-adorned.

20. Hugin and Munin fly each day
Over the battlefield Earth.
I am anxious for Hugin that he returns not
But I fear more for Munin.

21. Tund (8) howls and Tjodvitner's fish (9)
Plays in the stream;
The flowing river seems all too big
For the celebrants to ford.

22. The Gate of Choice is in the wall,
Holy, before the holy doors;
Fine is that gate, and but few know
How it is locked.

23. Five hundred floors and forty more
Are there in bulging Bilskirner;
Of all roofed halls it seems to me
The largest is my son's.

24. Five hundred doors and forty more
I know there are to Valhall;
Eight hundred One-harriers emerge at once
From each, when they go to bear witness. (10)

25. Heidrun is the goat in Hostfather's hall,
That nibbles the Shadegiver's boughs;
She fills the cup of creation with fine mead full,
Drink that never runs dry.

26. Eiktyrner is the hart in Hostfather's hall,
That nibbles the Shadegiver's boughs;
Drops from his antlers in Hvergalmer fall,
Whence all waters spring. (11)

27. Sid and Vid, Sakin, Akin, Sval and Gunntro, (12)
Fjorm and Fimbultul;
Rin and Rinnande, Gipul, Gopul, Gammal, and Geirvimmel,
Which wind round the dwellings of the gods;
Tyn and Vin, Toll and Holl, Grat and Gunntorin.

28. Vina is one, another Vagsvinn, a third Tjodnuma.
Nyt and Not, Nonn and Ronn, Slid and Rid,
Sylg and Ylg, Vid and Vand, and Strand,
Goll and Leiptr, which flow close to mankind
And stream down to Hel below.

29. Kormt and Ormt, and Karlogar twain, where
Thor wades each day on his way to the judgment
'Neath Yggdrasil's ash; else would the Aesir's bridge
Burst into flames and the holy waters boil.

30. Glad and Gyller, Gler and Skidbrimer,
Silvertopp and Siner, Gisl and Falhofner,
Gulltopp and Lattfot; them the high gods ride each day
On their way to the judgment 'neath Yggdrasil's ash. (13)

31. Three are the roots that run three ways
Under Yggdrasil's ash:
One harbors Hel, under one are the frost-giants;
The third, humanity's men.

32. Ratatosk is the squirrel that runs in Yggdrasil's ash:
The words of the eagle above in the crown
He bears to the Gnawer below.

33. Four are the stags with necks gracefully arched,
That gnaw on the limbs.
Dain and Dvalin,
Dunor and Duratror.

34. There are more serpents 'neath Yggdrasil's tree
Than an unwise ape can imagine;
Goin and Moin, the sons of Grave-witness, the dragon Grayback, Ghost;
The Opener and Closer, which I believe tear the tree's twigs.

35. Yggdrasil's ash must endure more than humans can know;
The stag gnaws above,
The bole of it rots,
And below gnaws the serpent Nidhogg.

36. Rist and Mist bring me the horn, Skaggjold and Skogul, Hild and Trud,
Lock and Harfjatter, Goll and Geironul,
Randgrid, Radgrid, and Reginleif,
These bring the One-victors mead.

37. Arvak and Allsvinn shall up and away
Draw the supple sun;
But under their flanks the merciful powers
Have hidden the Ironcold.

38. Svalin (14) is he that stands before,
Shielding the shining god,
Mountain and billow would burn away
Should he fall aside.

39. Skoll is the wolf that pursues the shining god
To the sheltering woods;
The other, Hate, son of Rodvitnir, (15) precedes
The heaven-bride.

40. From Ymer's flesh was the earth formed,
The billowing seas of his blood;
From his bones the mountains, bushes from his hair,
And from his brainpan heaven.

41. With his eyebrows beneficent powers enclosed
Midgard for the sons of men;
But from his brain were surely created
All dark skies.

42. The blessing of Ull and of all the gods
Is his who first touches the fire;
For worlds are opened round sons of the Aesir
When caldrons are heaved from the hearth.

43. Ivalde's sons went in the foretime
To build Skidbladnir,
The best of ships for gentle Frey,
Njord's beneficent son.

44. The ash Yggdrasil is the noblest of trees, Skidbladnir of ships,
Odin of Aesir, and Sleipnir of steeds,
Bilrast (16) of bridges, Brage of bards, Habrok of hawks,
And of hounds, Garm.

45. Now have I shown my face to the victorious gods,
To arouse good will;
All Aesir are called to the cruel one's benches,
The cruel one's feast.

46. I called myself Grim, I called myself Ganglare,
Harjan and Hjalmbare, (17)
Tack and Third, Tunn and Unn,
Helblind and Har;

47. Sann and Svipal and Sangetal am I,
Harteit and Nikar,
Bilogd, Balogd, Bolverk, Fjolnir,
Grim and Grimne, Glapsvinn, and Fjolsvinn;

48. Broadbrim, and Broadbeard, Father of Victory,
Nikud, Allfather, Father of death;
Atrid and Farmatyr. Never I called myself
Twice the same since I fared among men.

49. Grimne was I at Geirrod's, but at Asmund's Jalk,
And Kjalar when I drew a toboggan, (18)
Tro at the Ting, Oske and Ome,
Jafnhar and Baflinde, Gondle and Harbard among gods.

50. Svidur and Svidrer I was when I baited
The aged giant;
When I became the only bane
Of Midvitner's son.

51. Drunk are you, Geirrod, and out of your senses;
Much have you lost
When you forfeited all One-harriers'
And Odin's favor.

52. Vainly was it spoken, for it avails you naught,
Friends fool and trick you;
I see my friend's sword lying
Dripping with blood.

53. Ygg gains the fallen, your life is elapsed;
The protectors are angered;
Here you see Odin,
Approach if you can!

54. Odin am I now, Ygg was I before,
Tund before that:
Vak and Skilfing, Vafud and Roptatyr,
Opener and Closer: all are one in me."

King Geirrod sat holding his sword athwart his knees but, when he heard that Odin was come, he started up to move him [Grimner: Odin] from between the fires. His sword slipped from his hands and fell on its hilt as the king tripped and fell forward, and his own sword ran him through. He met his bane. Odin vanished then. Agnar was king for a long time thereafter.

by Elsa-Brita Titchenell

Trymskvadet
(The Theft of Thor's Hammer)

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

Long ago, before humanity became thinking and responsible, the hammer of Thor was stolen by the giant Trym. Thor's hammer represents power not only of destruction but also of creation, including the power to procreate: hence Mjolnir is the symbol of marriage. Loki, agent of the gods and spokesman for the giants, is sent by Thor to find the hammer and forthwith borrows Freya's "feather-guise" and sets out to locate the irreplaceable emblem of creation. He returns with the tidings that Trym has indeed stolen Mjolnir and hidden it deep in the earth. In exchange for its return the matter giant demands that Freya become his bride. Freya, besides being the indwelling spirit of Venus, and sister of Frey, the earth deity, represents, as we have seen, the higher intelligence of our humanity; she guides and protects our human race which is her Brisinga-jewel.

Hearing Trym's outrageous demand, the goddess snorted with such vehemence that the precious gem was shattered. Indeed, all the gods, meeting to deal with this emergency, greeted the giant's ultimatum with consternation. During their deliberations, Heimdal proposed that Thor disguise himself as Freya in bridal attire so that he might himself retrieve his property. His futile protests are overruled by the assembled deities, and Thor reluctantly submits to the indignity of being garbed in fine linen and, wearing two rounded stones on his bosom, to the hall of Trym, accompanied by Loki attired as a bridesmaid.

During the nuptial festivities the giant is appalled by the bride's prodigious appetite and thirst. Only Loki's ready wit saves the situation as he explains that Freya has fasted long in anticipation of this happy event. When Trym bent to kiss his bride and, raising the veil, met the Thundergod's lightning glare, he reeled back the length of the hall from the impact. Again Loki intervened with an explanation which fortunately satisfied the giant (who evidently was a bit dimwitted).

Trym ordered Mjolnir to be brought and laid on the bride's lap to consecrate the marriage. And so it was that the power of Thor was restored to the god after its misuse in the sphere of matter by a race not yet awake to its responsibility as a humanity. It may not be out of place here to note that our own hedonistic age is apparently not the first to misuse creative and destructive power. The creativity symbolized by Thor's hammer -- the power to set in motion vortices of action to contain life and organize forms for gods to occupy -- can obviously be applied on many levels of existence. Our earth provides analogous examples: from the proliferation of mineral crystals through the many ingenious devices plants have for disseminating spores and seeds; through the seasonable mating of animals to human sexuality, each stage of development opens up more opportunities than the last for creativity. We humans are not limited to the physical world in our creations; we enjoy greater freedom of creativity than at any previous stage of progress: our versatile intelligence and exclusively human intuition are gateways to worlds of science and art, to reaches of inspiration and philosophic and spiritual ideals not available to "the dwarfs in Dvalin's train." This places us in a position of responsibility for the governance of our earth and the kingdoms beneath the human which follow our lead.

It should be mentioned that theosophic history records that, since the age when the creative power came to earth from the realm of the gods, the planet has undergone even grosser materiality than that which prevailed when Thor's hammer was stolen, at which time it was comparable to its present condition. We have since then descended even further and begun the reascent. At the midpoint of its life, the earth's heaviest atoms began to radiate away their substance, i.e., radioactivity began. This was millions of years ago, though it was only recently discovered. The planet should continue to refine its matter (with intervals of consolidation that should become progressively briefer) until it eventually dies. We are, according to Brahmanic and theosophic chronology, past the nadir or turning point when we began to wend our slow steps once more upward in spiritual growth. The tale of Volund relates how the most material humanity fared in that, the planet's darkest hour (pp. 202-210).


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Trymskvadet
Wroth was Wing-Thor when he awoke and missed his hammer. He shook his beard and tore his hair. Son-of-Earth groped about him and his first words were:

THOR: Hear me, Loki. What I have to say no one knows, neither on earth nor in the heavens: the hammer has been stolen from the Ase.

They went to the court of beautiful Freya and his first words were:

THOR: Lend me, Freya, your featherguise, that I may find my hammer.

FREYA: I would give it to you though it were of gold. I would give it though it were silver.

Loki flew, the featherguise whirred; he left the Aesir's courts and entered the giant world, where Trym the thurse (1) prince sat on the high seat twining golden collars for his hounds and braiding the manes of his horses.

TRYM: How is it with Aesir? How is it with elves? Why are you come to the giant world?

LOKI: Ill is it with Aesir. Have you hidden Lorride's (2) hammer?

TRYM: I have hidden Lorride's hammer eight days' journey beneath the ground; no man shall fetch him back again unless he bring me Freya to wife.

Away flew Loki, the featherguise whirred; he left the giant world and entered the Aesir's courts; there Thor met him in the middle of the court, and his first words were:

THOR: Did you make the errand as well as the effort? Give air to the message from afar. Seated, a speaker oft digresses; reclining he may lie.

LOKI: I have completed the effort and also the errand: Trym, the thurse prince, has your hammer. No man shall fetch it back again unless he bring the giant Freya to wife.

They sought out fair Freya, and these words he at once spoke:

THOR: Array yourself, Freya, in bridal gown. We two shall fare to the giant world.

Wroth was Freya. She snorted with rage so that all the Aesir's halls shook. The Brisingamen was shattered.

FREYA: I should truly be man-crazy to go with you to the giant world.

All the gods and goddesses met in council; the mighty Aesir conferred on how to regain Lorride's hammer. Quoth then Heimdal, the whitest of Aesir, wisely foreknowing as are the Vaner:

HEIMDAL: Let us dress Thor in a bridal gown and let him wear the Brisingamen! Let him wear a bunch of rattling keys, a woman's garb falling about his knees, upon his breast broad rounded stones, and bridal linen upon his head!

THOR: Aesir might call me unmanly if I let myself be arrayed in bridal linen.

LOKI, SON OF LOFO (3): Quiet, Thor! Such words! Soon the giants will settle in Asgard if you do not fetch your hammer.

They adorned Thor in bridal linen and with the great Brisinga-jewel; from his waist dangled keys and a woman's skirt fell about his knees; on his chest two rounded stones. They veiled his head in costly linen. Quoth Lofo's son:

LOKI: I shall go as your bridesmaid. We two shall journey to the giant world.

Quoth the thurse king:

TRYM: Arise, giants. Strew the benches. They are bringing me Freya to wife, the daughter of Njord from Noatun! Bring me golden-horned cows and all-black oxen to please this giant; treasures I have aplenty, gems aplenty; Freya alone is lacking.

Toward evening came guests; ale was served for the giants. Sif's man (4) alone ate one whole ox, eight salmon, and all the dainties meant for the women; and he drank three kegs of mead.

TRYM: When did you ever see a bride with a broader bite? Never saw I a bride bite sharper, or a maiden drink more mead.

Between them sat crafty Loki, who retorted to the giant's words:

LOKI: Freya ate naught for eight whole days, such was her longing for the giant world.

Trym bent beneath the veil to kiss the bride; he staggered back the length of the hall.

TRYM: Why are Freya's glances so fierce? Her eyes burn like fire.

Between them sat crafty Loki, who retorted to the giant's words:

LOKI: Freya slept not for eight whole nights, such was her longing for the giant world.

There entered the giant's sister to ask for a bridal gift. She begged:

TRYM'S SISTER: Give me the redgold rings from your hands if you would win my love and my favor.

TRYM: Bring in the hammer to consecrate the bride. Lay Mjolnir in the maiden's lap; join our hands with the wedding band.

Then smiled the heart in Lorride's breast, as the hardheaded hammer he felt. First he slew Trym, the thurse king, then lamed all of his kin. He slew the aged giant sister who had dared to ask a bride's gift; blows she received, not rings and coins, hammerblows instead of gems.

Thus came the hammer once more to Odin's son.

by Elsa-Brita Titchenell

Kvadet om Rig
(The Lay of Rig)


TRANSLATOR'S NOTES

Long, long ago, the human race had not yet acquired the abilities which distinguish us from the beasts today: the powers of speech, of abstract thought, of artistry, creativity, and empathy. This is the tale of our awakening into rudimentary humanhood, initiating the process of training, honing, and perfecting the human instrument -- something which is still continuing today.

Rig (1) is a ray of Heimdal, "the whitest Ase," a solar influence. Symbolically he is allied with Tyr, the god of beginnings, and with the zodiacal constellation Aries. The lay relates how the descent of this godlike influence into the humanity of that early time took place in three stages. Humanity was still dumb, lacking mental power, and vegetated aimlessly, drifting with infinite slowness along the evolutionary way without incentive or desire for growth, when the compassionate gods looked back and saw their plight. And so "fared along green paths the mighty, mature, wise Ase, powerful, manly, wandering Rig" (1). He descended among mankind to aid in awakening man to his potential as an asmegir, a godmaker.

The first attempt was unsuccessful: the door of the human abode, a miserable hovel, was closed (2). At the second descent, the god found man in a comfortable homestead, whose door was ajar (13) -- partially receptive; the third venture found man dwelling in a mansion whose "door stood open" (23): these human forms were fit to receive the divine influx of self-conscious mind.

From that time forward the human race became self-aware, able to determine its destiny. With thought came freedom of will and with choice came responsibility. The human being was now accountable for his thoughts and actions on moral and intellectual levels as well as on merely physical grounds, as before.

It is noteworthy that the progeny of the god in the third dwelling was taught by his divine father, given runes of wisdom, and successfully gained for himself the title "Rig." This race gave rise to succeeding humanities, whereof the youngest, King, was proficient in healing and "learned birdsong," meaning he could understand the languages of nature, possessed insight and understanding.

In the lay's abrupt and unexpected conclusion, King is warned by a crow to pursue more manly objectives than hunting birds: he should "ride a horse, hew with sword, and fell the foe" -- symbols for learning to control the animal nature, to grasp the sword of will or knowledge, and to slay the enemy of human progress -- egoism. The warning could be a premonition of the ensuing race's perversion of its divine endowments. The tale of Rig is often taken to lend support to the caste system that exists in most societies, whether openly or unrecognized. Be that as it may, it holds far greater import as well. We must bear in mind the structure of myths, which may repeatedly disclose deeper layers of meaning to the limit of our individual understanding. If we regard evolution primarily as the unfolding of consciousness, with forms and personalities following suit, we see the divine compassion in the descent of Rig, our divine parent, who came to endow us with the specifically human qualities which, after many a winding of the course of our lives, will bring the perfection of our species.


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Kvadet om Rig
In former times men say that a certain one of the Aesir named Heimdal arose and rode along a seashore, came to a homestead, and named himself Rig. From that story comes this lay.

1. Began to stride along green lanes
The strong, mature, wise Ase,
Powerful, manly, wandering Rig.

2. Continued along the middle of the road,
He came to a cabin whose door was closed
And entered. There was fire on the floor,
Seated by the hearth a grayhaired couple,
Ae and Edda (2) in an ancient kerchief.

3. Rig knew how to advise them,
Seated himself in the middle seat
With the hall's folk on either side.

4. Edda served him simple fare,
A loaf, heavy and thick, of coarse grain;
Then brought more food to the table,
Soup in the bowl was placed on the board,
Simmered veal, the best of fare.

5. Rig knew how to advise them,
Then rose and prepared for rest;
He lay in the middle of the bed
The hall's folk on either side.

6. Three nights he dwelt with them together,
Then strode away down the straight road.
Nine months went by.

7. A son bore Edda, he was water-sluiced,
Had swarthy skin and was named Thrall.

8. His skin was wrinkled, his hands were rough,
With knobby knuckles and broken nails;
The fingers were thick, the face unsightly,
His back was bent, his heels were long.

9. He grew and flourished, exerted his strength
To bind osiers, prepare burdens, and hauled wood all day.

10. There came to the homestead a wandering wench
With scarred soles, sunburnt arms and downbent nose.
Her name was Tir.

11. She sat in the middle of the bench;
With her sat the son of the house.
They whispered and giggled, prepared a bed,
Thrall and Tir in burdensome days.

12. Contented they dwelt and bore children. . . .

[Here follow the names of their twelve sons and ten daughters.]
They laid out farms, fertilized fields, bred swine,
Herded goats, dug peat.
From them are descended the race of thralls.

13. Rig strode along the middle of the road,
Came to a hall where the door was ajar;
He entered in, there was fire on the floor,
At their tasks were seated the dwellers.

14. Afve and Amma (3) owned the house.
The man was whittling a tree bole for a loom,
Wore a trim beard and his hair combed down,
A fitted shirt. A chest stood in the corner.

15. The wife spun yarn at a whirring wheel,
Spread her arms and built a weft,
Wore a kerchief round her hair,
A scarf at her bosom,
And brooches on her shoulders.

16. Rig knew how to advise them,
Sat between them on the bench
With the folk on either side. . . .

[Here a part of the lay is missing.]
17. Rig knew how to advise them,
Rose from the table, prepared for sleep;
Lay in the center of the bed with the local folk on either side.

18. Three nights he remained,
Then strode on down the middle of the road;
Nine months went by.

19. A child bore Amma, it was water-sluiced and named Karl; (4)
The lad was diapered, pink and pretty, with sparkling eyes.

20. He grew and flourished;
Tamed oxen, made plows,
Timbered houses and tall barns,
Crafted carts and drove a plow.

21. To the home was brought a bride with dangling keys,
In a kidskin skirt, and was wed to Karl.
Alert was her name, she was adorned with a veil.
They built together, united their possessions,
Erected a home and made their bed.

22. Content they lived. . . .

[Their children are named: twelve boys, ten girls.]
From these all free men's races had their source.

23. Thence went Rig along the middle of the road,
Came to a hall with the door to the south,
And the door was open, a ring at the post.

24. He entered. The floor was strewn;
There were seated, exchanging friendly glances,
Fader and Moder, (5) their fingers entwined.

25. The man twined string, bent an elmwood bow
And fletched arrows, while the wife
Eagerly pressed linen and starched sleeves
To cover her arms.

26. She wore a tall headdress, a gem on her breast,
Blue-adorned blouse and trailing skirt;
Her brow was brighter, her breast lighter,
Her throat whiter than sparkling snow.

27. Rig knew how to advise them,
Seated himself on the middle of the bench,
With the hall's folk on either hand.

28. Moder set the table with the broidered cloth,
Brought thin white slices of wheaten bread.
She placed platters of wrought silver
Full of garnish on the table:
Fish and pork, and fried wild fowl,
Wine in a decanter, costly cups.
They drank and pleasured till the day was done.

29. Rig knew how to advise them,
Rose and prepared for sleep.
He lay in the middle of the bed
With the hall's folk on either side.

30. He there abode with them three nights;
Strode down the middle of the road.
Nine months went by.

31. A son bore Moder. He was swathed in silk,
Was wetted with water and named Jarl. (6)
His hair was fair, his cheeks were rosy.
His eyes sparkled like a young snake's.

32. Jarl grew up on the floor of that hall.
He soon swung shield, twined string, bent bow,
Shafted arrows, hurled spear, swung lance,
Harried hounds, rode horses, wielded sword, and swam the wave.

33. From the concealing woods came wandering Rig, came striding Rig.
He taught him runes, gave him his name and called him son,
Gave him inheritance, possessions, farmlands,
Farmlands and ancient cities.

34. Mighty Jarl rode through dense woods,
Over snowcapped mountains to a distant hall;
Hurled his spear, shook his shield,
Spurred his steed, hewed with sword,
Roused to battle, to bloody field,
To choose to fall, won himself land.

35. Alone he ruled over eighteen farms,
Shifted goods and gave to all
Gems, precious stones, agile horses,
Shared his rings, cut the red gold. (7)

36. Messengers went forth over damp roads,
Arrived at the hall where Harse lived.
A maid had he, soft-fingered, white-skinned,
Nobleminded. Her name was Arna. (8)

37. They won her and sent her home.
She wore bridal linen and was wed to Jarl.
Together they built and were content,
Increased their race and gained old age.

38. [Here follow the names of their children.]
Kon (9) was the youngest.
There grew Jarl's sons, tamed horses, arched shields,
Cut arrows and shook lances.

39. But Kon, the young, knew runes,
Eternal runes and ageless runes.
Mighty was he to rescue men,
Soothing swords and swelling seas.

40. He learned birdsong, to quench flames,
To still pain and heal sorrows,
Had eight men's strength and clear vision.

41. Jarl contested with Rig over runes,
Performed feats and did the better.
He gained that which was his lot:
To be named Rig and to know runes.

42. Rode Kon, the young, through marsh and woods,
Let flying dart crown him a bird.
So sang a crow on a twig one day:

43. "Why, Kon the young, do you slay birds"
Better you should ride a horse,
Hew with sword and fell the foe.

44. "Other kings have costly mansions and better farms
Than you possess;
Well do they ride a keel, bloody a sword's edge
And draw wounds."


by Elsa-Brita Titchenell