THE EDDAS: THE KEYS TO THE MYSTERIES OF THE NORTH By JAMES ALLEN CHISHOLM List of Abbreviations Alv. Alvismal BD Baldrsdraumar FS Fjolsvithsmal GG Groagalder GM Grimnismal Har. Harbarthslioth Hav. Havamal HM Hymiskvitha HK Hyndlulioth LS Lokasenna RG Rigsthula SD Svipdagsmal SK Skirnismal Thry. Thrymskvitha Vaf. Vafthruthnismal SVSP Voluspa Hin Skamma VSP Voluspa iii Table of Contents List of Abbreviations iii Table of Contents v Introduction vii Volume I: The Elder Edda 1 The Spae of the Volva 3 The Words of Har 16 Lay of Vafthruthnir 41 Lay of Grimnir 51 Lay of Skirnir 63 Lay of Harbarth 71 Lay of Hymir 81 The Flyting of Loki 87 Lay of Thrym 99 Lay of Alvis 105 The Dreams of Baldr 111 Lay of Rig 115 The Shorter Spae of the Volva 123 Lay of Hyndla 127 Lay of Svipdag The Galder of Groa 133 Lay of Fjolsvith 135 Volume II: Keys to Practical Application 143 Chapter 1: Runic Keys to Eddic Myth 145 Chapter 2: Working with Holy Wights, Natural forces, and their Holy Names 163 Chapter 3: Spring Drama and Eddic Myth 175 Chapter 4: Magical Initiation and Faring Forth into Ettinhome 183 Appendix A: Thinking About the Hail Rune 189 Appendix B: Pronunciation of Old Norse 195 Glossary 199 Bibliography 201 Illustrations 205 v Introduction This is a practical manual of self-transformation. It takes the form of a working edition of the mythological poems of the ancient Norse Poetic Edda for modern “pagans” who practice the magic and religion of the North. The poems of the Poetic Edda form the most complete and authentic body of surviving pre-Christian Germanic religious and magical lore. The mythological poems of the Elder Edda hold the keys to the understanding and practice of the pre-Christian religion of the Germanic peoples. This book enables the reader to fathom the mysteries of the Eddic poems so that the elder Troth of the Gods of Europe may again be rightly hailed in holy groves, and the hidden wisdom of the rune-masters rediscovered. This book is especially practical for those who wish follow the authentic pre-Christian religion and magic of the English and other Teutonic folk. A new translation of the mythological poems of the Edda is the main component of this work. The religious content is revealed with accuracy and clarity. Earlier renditions have been artful paraphrases by scholars who valued the poems as literary monuments, but disregarded the religious and mythic content as the nonsensical but amusing folklore of a more primitive world. None of them ever imagined that their audiences would include practitioners of the Eddic religion. The inaccuracies of such translations have led many modern pagans astray. This is the truest translation for purposes of understanding the religious content of the Poetic Edda. The original Old Norse text is included in its entirety on the facing pages of the English version so that the reader can easily compare the two. Notes to each poem, a glossary of religious terminology, in depth discussions, and illustrations are included to illuminate and help in the exploration of the deeper levels of the religious and magical content. These also to provide the keys by which this understanding may be applied in ritual blessings to the Gods and in magical workings. The poems of the Poetic Edda were probably compiled by Saemundr Sigfusson in the 12th century in Iceland. None of the poems can be dated with any certainty, but it is clear that many of the heroic poems go back to the lore of the 6th and 7th centuries. It is generally believed that none of the poems were actually composed in their present form before the 9th century. For the rune-magicians, poetry was a powerful form of magic. The Eddas hold the wisdom of the Erulian Rune- Magicians, and many of these poems may be fathomed to incredible depths and heights, by those who know how to ask. This book is about asking. These poems provide sufficient material for an accurate reconstruction and revivification of the Odian religious and magical philosophies. These poems hold spells, invocations, and lore from which rituals, sacred dramas, and initiatory rites can be reconstructed or authentically created, as well as the keys to understanding the soul and the nine worlds of Yggdrasil - the world tree of the ancient North. Many of the keys are provided also for unlocking the secrets of mysteries of the cults of Thor, Tyr and the Vanir, though much of this lore is filtered through an Odian lens. The Eddic poems are spells, in which the mysteries of the old lore are encoded by word, rhythm, alliteration, idea, and rune. The words of a given stanza are not juxtaposed merely because the resulting rhythms and word plays are pleasing, but because of there are deep magical resonances among such words. The impact of these magical stanzas perhaps may not be registered consciously, but the magic of Eddic lines reaches far below the shallow waters of mundane conscious understanding into the depths of the collective unconscious, into the realms where our souls mingle with the realms of the Gods. The power of the Eddic verses can be used for invocations and magical operations. It is the task of the modern elders (priests) and vitkis (magicians) to gain a conscious knowledge of the meanings and powers of these combinations of word, meter and rune. The stanzas of the Eddic poems hold the secrets of our Gods. It is the task of this book to provide the modern seeker with the keys to understanding deeper levels of meaning and to encode these into modern English for fashioning invoca- tions to the Gods and for shaping powerful poetic staves in magic. vii When you are unraveling the mysteries of the Eddic poems, keep in mind that there are three basic levels of meaning associated with these myths. The first level is that of the narrative itself. From this we find out what our Gods are like and what they stand for. Fundamental truths of the northern social order are reflected in the deeds of the Gods and heroes. The myths tell of basic virtues, of right and honorable conduct, of heroism, and of criminal and dishonorable conduct. The second level of meaning may be termed the natural. This is the level at which the myths may be connected to seasonal festivals. This is the level important to understanding the Vanic mysteries explored in chapter 3. The third level of meaning is the initiatory. Here the myths are considered in their connection to rituals of initiation, especially magical initiation. It is at this level that you can explore the mysteries that lay behind the apparent meanings. Here you may seek the magical applications of a poem. Keys to this level of understanding are provided in chapters - and in the notes to each poem. It is the third level with which this book is most concerned, for the Eddas were composed by initiates into runic mysteries. Deeper linguistic and meta-linguistic levels of meaning may be fathomed by those who work closely with the Old Norse text. The main component of this book is a facing page translation. The translation was rendered as clearly and as accurately as possible. For the sake of accuracy, it is sometimes necessary to use Old Norse words, or their Old English equivalents in order to translate words that convey religious ideas are no longer found in English. These words are defined in the glossary and some are discussed in detail in the notes or chapters. I trust that the lost concepts may be reintroduced into our culture with the reintroduction of these words. Notes are provided to each chapter to allow brief elaboration of important words and ideas and explanations or translations of obscure names. The four chapters following the notes provide keys to understanding the lore and applying it in ritual and magic. Chapter 1 tells how to transliterate the rune poems into the Viking Age runes for purposes of fathoming the runic content of the poems and the meta-linguistic content of the poems. This virtually enables the reader to discover a “Teutonic Kabbalah”. It tells how to create galder or magical runic songs based on Eddic stanzas, and also how create runic sigils based on these poems for gand-magic. Chapter 2 explains the uses of holy names in invocations and magic. Specifically, it tells how to use the holy names of the magical streams of numinous power associated with the natural elements and forces of the nine worlds. In Midgard -the manifest universe- this is the stuff of which weather magic is made. It also tells how to understand these holy names as keys to the magical languages used by the wights of the nine worlds and to use this language in ritual blessings to ettins, dwarves, and elves. The chapter contains a list of other sources for lists of names and deeds, of these wights as well as the rituals for blessings and magical operations in which these wights are summoned. Chapter 3 tells how to recognize Spring Drama motifs in Eddic myths and how to adapt these myths to Spring Dramas and festivals. Chapter 3 contains a spring drama based on the Lay of Svipdag that was performed at the blessing to Ostara in 1989 CE. This chapter also provides other keys to the natural interpretation of Eddic myths. Chapter 4 discusses magical initiation in the Eddas and “faring forth” into the outer worlds for such “shamanic” operations. This chapter discusses kinds of magic that may be performed in some of the outer worlds, and geography of the outer homes.