Today I present the first of what will be many audio recordings on this blog, starting with my popular and award wining poem, The Six Treasures.
asatru
The Mead Quest
Here is one of my favorite early poems, based on the tale of Odin’s winning of the poetic mead from Snorri’s Edda. A version of the tale exists in the Havamal, but it clearly has some differences. I have written it as a lore poem in eight stanzas of ljóðaháttr. In this one, the spelling has been completely anglicized. Since mead is strongly identified with poetry in the Old Norse tradition, this tale allowed for a tight interweaving of the two concepts, especially in the first and last stanzas. (As a change, I have now put the first stanza prior to the break.)
The poem is called “The Mead Quest.”
Honor I Odin
by eagerly pouring
that precious and potent mead.
How he won
that wynnful draught:
that spell I speak in verse.
Iðunn’s Abduction, Part 3
Iðunn’s Abduction, Part 2
Continuing from last week’s post, the tale of Iðunn’s abduction. A ritual drama entirely in poetic meter.
Iðunn’s Abduction, Part 1
Several weeks ago, I mentioned that the types of poems I write include short ritual dramas that could potentially be performed in front of an audience. Now it’s time for an example of one of those. Here I present the abduction of Iðunn, based on the version of the tale in Snorri’s Edda. There are a total of nine parts in various meters. The narrator’s part is in fornyrðislag. The parts of the eight other characters are in ljóðaháttr, with some pieces in galdralag where appropriate. Only the words to be spoken are included; matters of costume, stage directions, sets, and so on have been left to those more talented at such things than I am. I present it here in three parts. Part one is below, and parts two and three will follow in the next two weeks.
The various roles and their stanza lengths are as follows:
Narrator: 15 stanzas
Óðinn: 5 stanzas
Þjazi: 3 stanzas
Loki: 6.5 stanzas
Hœnir: 1.5 stanzas
Iðunn: 1.5 stanzas
Skaði: 2 stanzas
Njörðr: 0.5 stanzas
Freyja: 1 stanza
Some Poetic Calls to the Gods and Others
In an Asatru blót, blessing, or faining, it is usual to include calls to the gods, goddesses, or other wights being honored. I’ve written quite a number of these as two-stanza calls in ljóðaháttr. Where possible, the calls will make use of the available lore on their subject. Today I’m presenting calls to Óðinn, Freyja, Bragi, the Dwarves, and the Landvættir.
A Selection of Poetic Hallowings
This week, I have a some poetic hallowings to share. Unlike other types of poetry that I write, the reciting of the hallowings is specifically meant to be accompanied by actions for a specific purpose: the hallowing of what is ordinarily profane space in preparation for Asatru ritual. In the case of the hammer hallowing which is the first example, one would usually make the sign of the hammer (most simply, an upside-down “T” shape) in the direction indicated in the stanza while one is reciting that stanza. This can be done with one’s hand or fist, whether empty or holding an actual hammer. As is typical for a hammer hallowing, mine includes the four cardinal directions, plus above and below.
However, one can hallow with something other than the hammer. In writing other sorts of hallowings, one can make use of the lore to create hallowings that are more connected to Asatru than generic hallowings might be, making them more effective in my opinion. These might include hallowing with fire & ice, with dwarves, with water, or with the power of poetry itself — and I have an example of each.
But before I get to the more creative hallowings, here is a version of the hammer hallowing in ljóðaháttr that specifically calls on the power of Thor’s hammer.
On the Different Kinds of Poetry I Write
Last week, I posted the first drápa on this blog. Now seems as good a time as any for some commentary on the different sorts of poems I have been posting and will be posting on this blog. These can be distinguished by their type and purpose.
You may find it helpful to read my earlier post on the meters I use, either before or after reading this one.
First, the distinction of type, which is between drápa and flokkr.
In Praise of Wintertime
Here is a poem in honor of Wintertime. Its meter is fornyrðislag, but the type of poem is known as a drápa, which is a praise poem with one or more refrains. (In a future post, I will say more about drápur and the different types of poems that I’ve been writing.)
The poem is called “Vetrartímadrápa.” (The name is in Old Norse and simply means “Wintertime drápa.”)
A Short Series of Sumbel Toasts
And now for something a bit different… sumbel toasts!
Followers of modern Germanic heathenry (Asatru, Odinism, Theodism, etc.) will undoubtedly be familiar with the traditional three round sumbel, in which the first round is dedicated to the gods, the second round to heroes and ancestors, and the third to boasts, toast, and oaths, or more generally, the participant’s choice. Poetry in the alliterative, eddic meters is indeed appropriate for such significant speech. Here, I present three short sumbel toasts. The first is to the gods and goddesses as a whole and the second is to the ancestors as a whole — both are in ljóðaháttr. The third toast is more specific, and is in honor of the Asatru kindred that I’m in — it is in galdralag.
The Skaldic Eagle 