A number of different types of magic are known from the Norse world. There is Seidr magic utilized by powerful seeresses and Volva (witches). There is rune magic practiced by warriors and the Galdrastafir runic wonderful staves from medieval Iceland.
Galdr is another wonderful art known from the Viking world. This is a type of magical spell or incantation discussed numerous times in the surviving sources. The information that endure about this practice are limited, so it remains a remarkable secret!
Examples of Galdar
Galdr, or Galdar in the plural, are magical songs. A number of important characters in the sagas and histories are explained utilizing Galdar.
The witch and seeress Groa uses Galdar numerous times. In the Skaldskaparmal she shouts a Galdr to amazingly get rid of shards of Hrungnir’s whetstone that became lodged in Thor’s head while the 2 were fighting. Thor distracts her during her work and the spell goes a little awry, so some of the shards of the stone stay in the god’s head.
After her death, Groa’s son Svipdagr summons his mom from beyond the tomb and she sings 9 different Galdar to assist him complete a task that has actually been set for him by his stepmother.
In Bosa’s Saga, a seeress named Busla appears in the bedchamber of King Hring of Ostergotland and utilizes her magical tune to encourage the king not to kill his son Bosi, but rather send him on a difficult quest. She then utilizes her magic to assist him overcome numerous challenges. She passes away turning herself into a huge dog to fight King Harek of Bjarmaland, which launches an attack in the form of a huge boar.
The Havamal likewise explains Odin as having actually mastered 18 Galdar, nine of which he gained from his uncle, who was probably Mimir. His tunes can a variety of types of magic including safeguarding against fire, sword edges, arrows, storms, and fetters, and conjuring the dead people so that Odin can consult with them.
Other Galdar are referred to as having the ability to relieve the discomfort of giving birth for females, bring insanity to another person, raise storms, make far-off ships sink, make swords blunt, make armor soft, and choose in between success and defeat in battle.
Remarkably, one of the kennings for Sigyn, the goddess of victory, is Galdrs hapt, which indicates Galdr fetters or Galdar goddess, and may connect to the idea of deciding the course of fights.
In England, in locations where Danelaw was in force, guys of the church complained about women who shouted Galdar over herbs with the objective of recording males.
Form of Galdar
While there is no proof in surviving descriptions of Galdar that they were related to composed runes, the practice does appear to have actually been linked with rune magic, instead of Seidr magic.
Seidr magic was mainly the domain of females, and it was thought about unseemly for guys to practice the art. Rune magic was more manly, and likewise practiced by females, and Galdr appears to have been dealt with the same.
It is intriguing that Odin is plainly a master of Galdar, as he understands 18 tunes. He is also a master of rune magic. Odin learned the tricks of the runes by hanging himself from Yggdrasil for 9 nights and days pierced by his own spear, and then shared that knowledge with mankind. He reveals them how to utilize the runes as both a form of composing and a magical toolkit.
Rune magic recommends that words have power, and Galdar operate in the exact same way, except that they utilize the spoken word instead of the written word. It is interesting that Odin is also gotten in touch with the Mead of Poetry, which grants mastery of the spoken word.
Galdar appear to have taken numerous different forms. Some seem to have been composed spontaneously by a practitioner for a particular function. Others appear to be formal spells that must be discovered.
These official spells typically seem to have actually been made up in a special meter called galdralag, which is carefully linked to an alliterative sis-lined verse called ljodahattr, however with an additional line at the end.
How the verse works is that lines one and 2 are matched utilizing alliteration, then line 3 stands on its own with alliteration within the private line. This pattern is repeated with the next three lines, and after that a last line is contributed to a Galdar to reiterate the purpose of the verse.
This format can be seen in a Galdr that Skirnir utilized to force the giantess Gerdr to marry the god Freyr.
Heyri jötnar,
heyri hrímþursar,
synir Suttungs, sjalfir ásliðar,
hvé ek fyrbýð,
hvé ek fyrirbanna
manna glaum mani,
manna nyt mani.
” Offer follow, frost rulers, hear it, giants. Sons of Sutting, and gods ye too. How I prohibited and how I band the conference of males with the house maid. The delight of guys with the housemaid.
A better example for English speakers may be one written by a modern specialist referred to as Riley. They composed the example below to hire Loki to secure a kid who has actually lost their very first teeth.
As I throw my kid’s teeth into the hearth
I ask Loki to strengthen (child’s name)’s heart
Secure my poppet from all mistreatment
Grant them strength
And assist them succeed
That they might survive and shine
Strong Loki, turn these bone teeth into gold.
Alternative Type of Ritual Chanting
Galdar also exist in modern-day rune magic, which is just loosely based upon ancient practices. The modern-day kind of Galdar are primarily credited to Edred Thorsson, a respected runic scholar. He recommended that Galdar can be formed by chanting single runes or specific rune mixes repeatedly to form a song.
There is some historical evidence to support this technique. In the migration duration, just before the start of the Viking age, there are examples of Elder Futhark runic engravings that include examples of a single rune repeated a number of times, relatively as a sort of necromancy.
The Tiwaz rune is seen most often, but other runes are also utilized. The runic mix ALU likewise appears typically as a sort of runic setup for protection, and it might likewise have actually been shouted for the same purpose.
This is the type of Galdar that our professional craftsmen chant while making our iron rune pendant lockets, to imbue the pendant with the power of the rune depicted. You will find these unique handmade pendants in our Raw Line collection.