Havamal

[Mystic-als]

Runes you will find and skillfull characters;
Very great characters, very strong characters;
That mighty thule painted and gods made,
Carved by the prophet of the gods.

Odin among the Aesir, but Dain fir elves
and Dvalin for dwarfs,
Asvidhr for giants:
some I carved my self.

Do you know how to carve them?
Do you know how to read them?
Do you know how to paint them?
Do you know how to prove them?
Do you know how to pray with them?
Do you know how to sacrifice with them?
Do you know how to send with them?
Do you know how to offer with them?

It is better not to pray at all then to sacrifice too much:
A gift always demands a repayment.

It is better not to send at all than to offer too much:
Thus Thundr carved before the birth of nations
At that point he began when he came back.

I know those spells which no lord's wife knows,
Nor any man's son.

One is called Help and it will help you
Against sorrows and ordeals and every grief there is.

I know the second which those son of men need
Who wish to live as healers.

I know the third: If my need grows dire
For binding my deadly enemies, I dull the blades
Of my foes - niether weapon nor deception will bite for them.

I know this, the fourth:
If warriors tie up
My arms, I call this,
And can go free: the shackles break from my feet
And the handcuffs from my hands.

I know this, the fifth:
If I see an arrow shot in combat,
Shot deadly straight,
None flies so hard that I cannot stop it
If I catch sight of it.

I know this, the sixth:
If a lord curses me by the roots of a fresh young tree,
The man who calls down curses on me
Misfortunes will destroy him, rather than me.
I know this, the seventh:
If I see a high hall on fire around my comrades,
None burns so ferociously that I cannot rescue them;
I know the spell to chant.

I know this, the eighth:
Which is usefull for everyone to learn,
Whose hatred grows for a war-king's son;
I can soo alter that.

I know this, the ninth:
If I need to help my ship afloat,
I can calm the wind, smooth the waves
And lull the sea to sleep.

I know this, the tenth:
If I see the hedge-riders magically flying high,
I can make it so they go astray
Of their own skins and of their own souls.

I know this, the eleventh:
If I must lead old friends to battle,
I call under their shields and they go empowered,
Safe to war, safe from war, safe wherever they are.

I know this, the twelth:
If I see a corpse swinging from a noose high in a tree,
Then I carve and I paint the runes,
So that the man comes down and speaks with me.

I know this, the thirteenth:
If I should sprinkle water on a young lord,
He will not fall, no matter if he goes to war-
The hero will not go down beneath the sword.

I know this, the fourteenth:
If I should preach of the gods at a moot,
i will know how to distinguish between all gods and elves:
Few of the unwise know this.

I know this, the fifteenth,
Which the dwarf Thjothrerir
Called before Delling's doors.
He chanted power to the gods and strength to elves,
And foresight to Hropta-Tyr.

I know this, the sixteenth:
If I want to have a wise woman's spirited games,
I steal the heart of a white-armed wench
And I turn all her thoughts.

I know this, the seventeenth:
So that the young woman will not want to avoid me,
Loddfafnir, you will be long in learning these lays,
Though they will do you good if you get them.
Be usable if you can grasp them,
Handy if you have them.

I know this, the eighteenth,
Which never will I teach maid nor man's wife
(It is better to understand it alone-the end of the poem follows),
Except that woman who folds me in her arms,
Or perhaps my sister.

Now are the Havamal sung in Havi's Hall,
Essential to the son's of man, useless to the son's
Of giants.
Hale he sang, hale he who understands.
May he use them well who has grasped them,
Hale those who have listened.

Thule = wizard
Dain = dwarf who made Freyja's gold-bristeled boar, Hildisvini
Dvalin = dwarf who helped to make Freyja's necklace, Brisingamen
Asvidhr = another name for Odin
Thundr = another name for Thor
Hedge-riders = witches
Moot = assembly
Delling = the third husband of night (Nott), whose son is Day
Hropta-Tyr = the god tyr
Loddfafnir = "everyman", a human being from Midgard
Havi = "The High One" or Odin