A Poem in thanks for prayers answered

On Elfin Stone
By: Shawn Rowland

Shimmering in Sol's embrace
On crystal stone of elfen grace
An offering of man's design
For health and wealth and life so fine
Gods did answer, ancestors too
To bespoken prayer and calling doom
To aid did they rush for kith and for kin
Bring hope in the light of Freyja's dawn
By Hammer strength and raven's flight
With Vanic might and Fehu's right
The elfin stone was covered so full
Like a lover's staff in glimmering pools
Thanks are given and roads not overgrown
The Gods are kind and their glory shown
So let the days of prosperity run strong
Through rooftrees all and for mannish throngs
Let never cease the days of Frith
And know forever that you, the Gods are with
For be it beer, fruit, or bread
For the Gods or those now dead
A gift given, is a gift returned
And the Great Tree grows while ill is burned
On Elfin stone is this gift given
Poured over and in, the Well is deepened
May bonds never fail and Wyrd never fall
No more springless winters, and joy for us all

Faining Sample

Midsummer Faining
House Rowland – Fairborn, Ohio
June/Midyear 25th, 2006 E.V./2256 R.E.
By: Shawn Rowland

In the days of our Heathen ancestors, Midsummer was a time to Fain (seek to gain the kindness and favor of) to the Gods for virility, victory, and in thanks for the warmth of Sunne and the fruitful blessings of Thunor and Ingui Fréa. In these modern times, our own battles are typically not with sword and shield, and our toil is of a lesser nature (at least for those who don’t farm), but we desire and need that same spirit of joy and perseverance nonetheless. So when we gift to the Holy Esa and Wena our bedes of worship, consider deeply the blazing sunwheel within your breast, your mind, and your soul and resolve to strive for joy, victory, and abundance!

Midsummer begins as the weohfodthegn(altar knight, priest, godhi) calls the folk to gather within the weohbonds(place of worship set apart as a holy innangard). As is tradition within House Rowland, no weapons of any kind are allowed within the Faining grounds.

I) Lighting of the Nyd Fyr(Need Fire)
The very first ritual act is a setting to light the holy flame that will sanctify the rite and represent the need in our souls for fellowship with and wisdom from our Elder Kin. We shall chant:

“Need, Need, Bound within our breast
Need, Need, Listen to you we must
Need, Need, Helpful rune ablaze
Need, Need, Now we seize the day!”

II) Burning of the Recels(Incense)
Stick incense, herb incense over a burning coal, or heated oils may be used in this segment. The purpose here is to connect not only the sense of smell to the ritual act(since smell is strongly linked with memory), but also to symbolize our words and thoughts wafting into the heavens for the Gods to hear. We shall chant:

“Smoke, smoke, messenger of flame
Fire and herb, wending forth your way
Smoke, smoke, upon your whispy wings
To the ears of Holy Gods, carry now our bedes!”

III) Hallowing Bede(prayer)
For the hallowing rite, a hammer or staff may be used, and the bede lyrics changed accordingly, but typically it is the practice to sanctify the area(and all other holy objects or people) with fire. This is the Hallowing Bede:

“Fire I bear around this stead,
All folk I bond in frith,
Flame I bear around shield-wall,
Sends woeful wights to flee
Thunor make whole, Thunor make whole,
Thunor make whole this holy stead!
Thunor make whole, Thunor make whole,
Thunor make whole this holy stead!

Fire I bear around this stead,
All folk I bond in frith,
Flame I bear around shield-wall,
Sends outlaws running away.
Thunor make whole, Thunor make whole,
Thunor make whole this holy stead!
Thunor make whole, Thunor make whole,
Thunor make whole this holy stead!”

IV) All Gods’ Bede
For this segment, the English version of the creation myth as it is told in Theodish circles will be read as an offering of story-telling and a mindful contemplation of where the world we love came from, and why we have to fight for it. After the myth is told, we call the Gods saying “Hail the Esa! Hail the Wena! Idesa and Ylfes, hail!”

V) Bletsung(Blessing)
Mead is poured into the mynne(memory) horn by the Horn Bearer(typically the House Lady, weohfodthygen, or other heathen Lady) and offered to the Gods with these words:

“With hearts strong, minds sharp, and souls whole, we offer this gift to you, kind and mighty Gods and Goddesses. Bless us with your strength, wisdom, joy, love, and holy Luck. Mix your might and main with ours, and may we be as one. Hail!”

The mead is now poured into the blessing bowl and these words sung over it:

“Mead, Mead, Benefit and blessing
Mead, Mead, Given to the Gods
Speed on House Rowland and friends
Mead, Mead, Benefit and blessing!”

The mead is now sprinkled on the hands of the folk as a blessing from the Gods using a fresh leek.

VI) Mynnedrync(memory drink)
This segment is three rounds of shared ritual drinking from a holy horn stating personal thoughts and prayers to the Gods, Ancestors, and Fulltruis/truas. As is tradition with High Holy Symbel(formal and ritualized drinking, feasting, and gift giving), the female Horn Bearer passes the horn to the leading officiant to begin the rounds, and all participants will pass the horn back to the Horn Bearer who will pass it to the next person to maintain the Mains of Frithfulness(nurturing and bonding energies). As a side note, while Faining or Blot(animal sacrifice faining) contains a small portion of High Holy Symbel, it is not the same thing. High Holy Symbel is a rite unto its own and is more directed at folk fellowship and the ritualized laying down of words as deeds into the Well of Wyrd as opposed to communal or private worship of the Holy Ones. Folk Symbel is also similar, but is informal and not metaphysically associated with Wyrd or Main building.

VII) Earthing
The Faining is ended with the mead offering being poured onto a blessing tree or blessing stone with these words:

“From the Gods to the folk, from the folk to the Gods, gifts were given and orlay woven, luck built and joy increased. Hail the Esa! Hail the Wena! Idesa and Ylfes, hail!”

VIII) Husel(holy feast)
Now may the folk enjoy fellowship and food, and invite the Gods to stay with a plate of their own.

Discovering the Gods

Discovering the Gods
By: Shawn Rowland

It is often wondered at some point and time in the life of a polytheist, just what exactly are the Gods? What is their nature, business, and why do they do the things they do? Religions such as Shinto and Santeria have already nailed this down real good and have consistent and logical dogma about it. The Hindu religions, also have developed it quite nicely in their own respective sects but often will differ greatly when in comparison with each other. Asatru is still going through plenty of growing pains in this area and we have only begun to scratch the surface. The dominant theories are these:
1) The Gods are independent spirit beings and highly evolved souls.
2) The Gods are archetypes of the human psyche.
3) The Gods are universal principles.
4) The Gods used to be humans and are now great and powerful beings looking over their spiritual, cultural, and biological descendents.

The unfortunate outcome of most of these debates is in-fighting, name-calling, and a general inability to understand the opinions. Personally I think that of all the opinions, not one is wrong. The Gods must be taken on a case by case basis. I can easily understand Odhinn as being all four stances at once, but I highly doubt the same would apply for Bragi or Modi(although it could very well do).
A route to take to explain stances #2 and #3 in light of their experienced individuality, is that the Gods in and of themselves are not archetypes or principles, but rather that they represent these ideals and work through them to reach us. Study in how recurrent themes pop up in culture and mythology supports this possibility. A more important question though is not what they are, but rather what they do and why they do it. I have read, re-read, and analyzed the Eddaic tales and a few Saga bits to attempt to ascertain a logical answer to those questions. The following is my hypothesis:

I) The Gods are dynamic and individual by nature(i.e. they are not static and ’one’ like a Brahman or an Allah), and are also holistically balanced by nature.
II) The Gods must strive for the change they create and to sustain said level of dynamism, nurturing balance, and individuality.
III) The Gods therefore are not omnipotent, omnipresent, or all-powerful. However, their nature, and their spirit, is expressed and felt throughout the natural world and human civilization and psychology(mythology, archetypes, principles, etc.)
IV) The Gods are mythically mortal, but hypothetically immortal(through Idunna’s golden apples), and ontologically immortal through their nature as being Gods, the ripples in Wyrd from their words and deeds and their sustained memory in other beings.
V) The Gods are known as Elder Kin, therefore their primary relation to us is as a friendly elder relative like a great uncle or grandmother. Parental models are also appropriate for closer relationships one may have with them and warm friendships are often experienced.
VI) The Gods, through such relations, seem to have a vested interest in Humanity as a whole and in their Younger Kin(us, ancestors, landvaettir, alfarr, disir) especially. It may be that the dynamism of humanity and earth life is what draws them to us.
VII) The Gods mythically share this kin connection because they gave of themselves their essence to us(odhr, ond, hamingja, etc.), they aid us in our evolution and personal lives, and have forged bonds through personal interaction, cultural expansion, and a focus on life.
VIII) Therefore, the business of the Gods is like the business of any one of us: Live life to the fullest, aid those with whom you are in troth with, give of yourself to help your kith and kin, express your essence, support dynamic balance and oppose dross and stagnation, live honourably, and pass on a good name.
IX) Furthermore, it is our duty to help them in their endeavors because as they are, we will be, and as we are, they once were.
X) It should also be understood that in order to be as they seem, and to do what it is they seem to do, they must by necessity be distinct individuals and have a total understanding of us and our world to befriend us and hold troth with us.
XI) Therefore, they have to work through human created models such as our mythos, archetypes, and ideal principles in order to encourage us in our own self-motivated inner growth and outer expression.
XII) The Gods are our Elder Kin, our friends, our confidants, our most inner workings, our highest ideals, and the world around us expressed in nature and their work is growth, dynamism, expression, experience, and balance.

I would like to keep in mind, these are only ideas and though I personally back them up with the study and thought I put into them, ultimately we really do not know. We have a vastly limited view on the universe as human beings. While the Gods, by their individual nature also have a limited view, I would imagine their view is infinitesimally grander and greater than ours are. Nonetheless, we must express our beings and our thoughts in order to grow and understand. I hope I have provided something to chew on and take into consideration if nothing else. Thank you.

Our Wedding Ceremony

Oath of Marriage Ceremony
By: Shawn Rowland


This is a personalized wedding rite based on traditional Germanic weddings, and modern inventions. It is written for the day of bonding myself and my love on Sept. 21st of 2002 e.v./2252 r.e.

The setting will be outside at my great uncle’s family cabin which he rebuilt. The needed materials will be as follows:

Ceremonial Hammer
Altar and altar cloth, preferably of a Celtic print
Two wedding glasses and one ceremonial drinking horn
Mead and a blot bowl
An evergreen sprig
Oath ring, wedding rings, and material to tie hands together
Incense
Blowing Horn

Groom down by the cabin sounds the horn to call the wedding into being.

When all find a place to sit, then the ceremony will begin.

The Godhi stands at the altar and performs a Hammer hallowing of the ritual area. The Godhi states: Hammer of Thor, mighty Mjolnir, I bless this land and the spirits within to the holy service of troth. The Godhi stands before participants again and says…

Godhi: Shall the two who wish to declare their troth to one another now walk down the aisle and present yourselves and your purposes.

The bride and groom walk down the aisle and turn to eachother and state their desires for this day.

Groom: I am here to state my worthiness and desire to be the husband of my love and to oath to her my fidelity, my passion, and my life eternal and to honour her above all else.

Bride: I am here to state my worthiness and desire to be the wife of my love and to oath to him my fidelity, my passion, and my life eternal and to honour him above all else.

Godhi: I hereby declare those purposes worthy, and will agree to bond you in sacred marriage.

Now the Godhi raises the burning incense and wafts it towards the Bride and Groom to bless them, and walks sun-wise around the participants to bless the area and goes back to the altar. During this, the Godhi states: Burning herbs, blessed spirits, hallow and hold this stead for troth. This is repeated during the blessings.

Godhi: Marriage is a sacred vow that takes place on many levels. It is not a mere political agreement, or monetary settlement, or romantic love afire with purpose. It is a willed and self-conscious agreement between two people whose love for eachother is not only a burning carnal passion, but also a cool and icy respect, and a joyous and loving friendship. It is a continual teaching and learning process, an avenue to achieve common goals and common ideals. It is the symbolic joining of two souls, two distinct ways of perceiving the universe into a holistic tapestry of wonder. It is an oath of honour, desire, and romance. It is an oath to not be taken lightly, and an oath which demands constant attention and care. It is an oath that calls for only the noblest and kindest of souls. It is in effect the ultimate sacrifice for a greater good. The sacrifice of the selfish ego to the holistic soul. Shawn Rowland, and Carrie Wade wish to make that sacrifice.

Godhi takes the “elhaz stance” and looks toward the sky and calls down the Gods and Ancestors.

Godhi: I call to Frigga, high power of marriage and household, of children and wisdom, of kith and kin, weaver of the clouds, Mother of the Gods, observe this ceremony and bless this union! I also call to Freyr, and Freyja, for blessings of passion and earthly delight, and to Var and Vor, Goddesses of trust, vows, and honour, I ask for you to bless this union! I call to Thorr, the friend of mankind to protect these kind folks who are present and to bless them with laughter and good times! I call to the honoured dead, the alfar and disir, ancestors of all here to witness this union and to give them your blessings! Hail to you all both higher and lower, Gods and humans, ancestors and landspirits, hail!

The Godhi now speaks to the Groom and Bride and asks: Are their any special souls you wish to call?

Groom: I call to my patron deity, Odhinn, God of wisdom and mystery, to witness my oath and to bless this union. I also call to my deceased mother, Karen Rowland, to journey beyond the veil of death and to witness my oath and bless this union.

Bride: I call to my matron deity, Freyja, Goddess of magic, passion, and treasures, to witness my oath and to bless this union. I also call to my deceased grandmother, Arlene Starkenburg, to journey beyond the veil of death and to witness my oath and bless this union.

Godhi(lifting a full horn of mead): I present this as a sacred offering to all present and to all who have been called from beyond our normal perceptions. We drink to the honour of kith and kin, of Gods and souls, of life and spirit.

Godhi drinks his draught.. The Godhi now pours the rest in the blot bowl then fills it up again to pass it on to the bride and groom.

Groom: I drink this in the honour of Odhinn and my mother.

Bride: I drink this in the honour of Freyja and my grandmother.

The Godhi then pours the rest from that horn into the blot bowl and dips the evergreen sprig into the mead and sprinkles the bride and groom and says: I bless you, Shawn and Carrie, in the name of all the Gods, spirits, and ancestors who were called. May your union be joyous, honourable, and lovingly complete. Now, the rings.

Rings are already on the altar table…best man/woman not needed.

Groom takes ring and places it on brides finger and says: With this ring, as a symbol of my love for you, I take you as my wife and oath to be a loving, faithful, wise, joyous, and worthy companion in this life, all other lives, and beyond the grave. So help me Frigga.

Bride takes ring and places it on grooms finger and says: With this ring, as a symbol of my love for you, I take you as my husband and oath to be a loving, faithful, wise, joyous, and worthy companion in this life, all other lives, and beyond the grave. So help me Frigga.

Godhi: With this cord I now bind your hands in sacred marriage(the godhi wraps the cord around clasping hands and ties it). Shawn, do you, as Carrie’s chosen companion oath to fulfill all that you have spoken?

Groom: It is my will to fulfill what I have spoken, and on my holy honour, I oath it to be true.

Godhi: Carrie, do you, as Shawn’s chosen companion oath to fulfill all that you have spoken?

Bride: It is my will to fulfill what I have spoken, and on my holy honour, I oath it to be true.

Godhi: Then by the powers vested in me, as a Priest of your chosen religion, and as a legal ordained minister of these United States, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Seal your oath with a kiss.

Bride and Groom kiss, and the Godhi takes off the binding cord. The Godhi then pours mead into the glasses and presents them to the husband and wife. They wrap arms and drink. The Godhi then thanks all present for witnessing this union, and gives thanks to the higher powers present and offers the mead in the blot bowl into the earth as an offering with bride and groom having one hand on each side of the bowl.

Godhi: Now…everyone…feast!

A Freyja article written by Carrie a few years ago

My Goddess Freyja:
How I Met and Married My Twin Flame
By: Carrie Rowland

For years, I called to a goddess and then when I least expected it, Freyja found me. Long ago, in my college years, before I found Asatru, I was Wiccan. I called to the goddess, but despite pressure from friends, I never called to a specific goddess. I always said that I wanted a goddess to find me. Looking back, I don’t think I really expected it to happen.

Then one night after getting home late one cloudy night of a full moon, I started talking to my goddess. I’d had a bad night at work and was arguing with a friend. I started by saying I would just feel better if I could see the full moon and take in some of its energy. Then like giant hands in the sky, the clouds were parted and the moon was visible and clear. I stayed outside enjoying the night and talking to my goddess. I asked for three things. First, I asked to resolve my differences with my friend. Secondly, I asked to be told I was beautiful. Third, I asked to taste real love. Then I stopped. I started to doubt I was talking to anyone, started doubting anything had happened at all. The last thing I said on the patio that day was, “Not like anyone was listening anyway.” So I got aggravated and left to go inside, but as I was unlocking the door, I felt something in my shoe. I cursed the feeling in my shoe, believing it to be a rock. But when I sat down in the lobby to get the rock out of my shoe, it was no rock at all. It was a large blue marble and it was wedged inside a hole in my shoe. To me, that was a sign that someone was listening, but it was only the first. As soon as I got upstairs to my dorm room, the phone rang. It was my friend calling to apologize. The next day, a guy stopped me on the sidewalk just to tell me I was beautiful. And a month later, I did taste love. My wishes had all been granted, and in the order they were asked. This taught me that someone had been listening, and I believed with all my heart that it was my goddess.

Years later when I’d nearly forgotten this story, and my Wiccan ties were breaking, my world began to crash around me. It was then that my goddess found me again. This time, it was in a dream. Wistfully, I’d walk into a clearing and look up to a huge tree in the north. I looked up and in a branch about halfway up the tree, I saw a beautiful lady in a long flowing dress. That first night, I was crying and she told me in the softest of voices that I couldn’t begin to explain, “Dry your tears, my child.” And she never told me who she was, but in the months to follow, she became my goddess, my sister, my mother, and my best friend. For almost a year following that first visit, I had meetings with my goddess at least two or three times a week. We talked about everything and I was given advice on daily life. Eventually, my goddess talked me through a tough and complete restructuring of my social life, breaking off a bad engagement, and toward the next phase of my life – the adult phase. But I swore with this change that if I found out who she was I would honor her.

After this change, my goddess continued to visit, but more strange dreams came as well. I began to dream of what I would refer to as my twin flame. But still, despite my attempts to find a name, I still had no name for my goddess. Then finally an odd conversation on the Internet gave me a name for the first time. I spoke with a stranger who told me that the goddess was Freyja. She told me Freyja had someone waiting for me and that someone was my twin flame. This stranger had no idea that there was a connection because I knew that my ex was associated with the northern deities. When I denied that I should get back together with my ex, the stranger online told me that Freyja told me to get my head out of my ass. For most, this would seem harsh, but Freyja and I shared a secret that even the stranger online knew nothing of. When I was with my ex previously, at least he had known that I was his twin flame. In another online conversation years ago, he had been told that he would meet his twin flame. It would happen three months from the time of the conversation and we met the third month. She gave him many signs but most strongly, she said he would know her by her fiery eyes…my eyes are gold…and in Northern Europe, gold is often called fire and is a color associated with Freyja.

Over the summer the dreams slowed immensely. But I began to understand that the stranger online was right. I studied Freyja and I studied everything I could find about the northern mythologies. But also, I started talking to that ex again. By summers end, I was learning about Asatru, and was dating my twin flame. I also found out that at the same time the stranger online told me that Freyja had someone waiting for me, Freyja had hinted that she did not want him with the woman he was currently engaged to. He also told me that over that summer he had done a runic candle spell and told Freyja and Frigga that he was “sick of the shit and wanted to be with whoever he was supposed to be with.”

Now as I celebrate six years gone by since the change in my life, I declared my oaths to Freyja and married my twin flame (I love you, hubby!). I still receive visions and some special conversations from Freyja, especially during blot or meditations. I keep my oath with a separate shrine to Freyja in our bedroom.

As I write, this work seems incomplete. I realize though that this may become a life-long work. Freyja will always be a part of my life, and this work will continue to grow and to honour my goddess. Hail Freyja!

Something from my beloved wife

Do Gods Intervene in Everyday Life – My UPG and Thor
By: Carrie Rowland

About a month before Ostara this year my husband, Shawn and I got into a discussion about Thor. Shawn said he didn't really have much to say to Thunor, despite the fact that he thought he was a pretty cool god, but that Thunor was a little more of the "man's man.” We agreed we really wouldn’t know how to relate to Thunor. Well, Thunor quickly proved that we were wrong.

Then came Ostara, and we had an unexplainable inner urge to talk to Thunor about me getting a teaching job outside of Kentucky. We started asking to bless the harvest and the sowing of seeds in metaphoric way; talking about the job applications I've put in and the jobs I wanted.

Two weeks later, I got the acceptance letter for the job I will be starting in the fall. The next day Shawn got online, found the apartment we now live in and talked to the management of the complex. It was the only place we ever looked into and it was perfect. Another concern of ours was finance, but this apartment complex also has a military benefit program (because my father was in the military) that all of our deposits were waived ($600). It was perfect.

Then came the day of the tornados that flattened towns in the Midwest. Shawn was driving home from Dayton during several tornado warnings and watches. He asked Thunor to help him get through it, and despite all the warnings of the day, he wasn't even bothered by strong winds!! (In a Geo Metro, that's an accomplishment onto itself). Although the local news said there were 20 funnel clouds spotted on his route home! Of course now I found out later, he promised Thor two bottles of Belgian ale if he got home all right. Thank Thunor, he got home safely! Also that night, a tornado hit Maysville, Kentucky, 45 minutes away from us, and was heading our way. Shawn went outside, asked Thunor’s blessings again that the tornado stays away from our town and offered him the ale in thanks. The tornado dissipated before reaching us. That night we had storms and floods, which ironically flooded the house of a lady I used to work with who tried to get me fired. Everyone we cared for was safe.

Then the day before we moved, we found out two pieces of bad news. For one, we can't get the 14-foot truck we ordered - we're getting a 24-foot!! Secondly, our old landlord refused to show up for an inspection and refused to send someone out in time for us to be there.

To make this part short and sweet, within the next two days we realize that the 14-foot wouldn't have been big enough for our stuff, and somehow we got our entire deposit back from our landlord.

Now... if that isn't some divine intervention...

The Song of UlfgrimR

The Song Of UlfgrimR
By: Robert Shawn Rowland

Hear now these words
Of the mind’s travels,
Of ravens aloft
And Wolfmask’s gambles.

Hear now these words
Of victory and defeat,
Of wit and wile,
Of passioned rambles.

Heed now these words
For if but a moment,
Reflect and consider,
To weigh and decide.

Heed now these words
Yet weigh with caution.
Foolish are they who believe
All which passes the ear.

Home is a bright fit
For low and for high,
For rest comes never
To those always afar.

Home is a bright fit
For low and for high,
A refreshing drink,
And glowing fire.

Home is a bright fit
For low and for high,
The blood boils most,
When stirred from within.

Home is a bright fit
For low and for high,
Fame, though won afar,
Is best enjoyed by hearth’s warm fire.

Life is the grand toil
For low and high alike.
A cold corpse cannot feel,
The tenderness of flesh.

Life is the grand toil
For low and high alike.
The poetry of the dead,
Shakes green off the trees.

Life is the grand toil
For low and high alike.
Earthly riches and earthly fair,
Are called earthly for a reason.

Life is the grand toil
For low and high alike.
Hel comes, when she wills,
So live as if she won’t.

Kin and Kith are bright indeed
To those who laugh a lot.
To those who do worthy deeds,
Their words will ring with troth.

Kin and Kith are bright indeed
Yet sometimes they are not
Kin who’s cruel and blood is clot
May bring ill luck upon your seed.

Kin and Kith are bright indeed
In the hall they bring much joy.
If they are true and worth of you,
Your luck will increase ten-fold.

Kin and Kith are bright indeed
Murky though some may be.
The etins of blood, woe do they bring,
In defense you bring the sword.

Wisdom and art, the mind’s offspring
Is this not what life is for?
The growth of wit, and knowing well,
The worlds and all their meanings.

Wisdom and art, the mind’s offspring
Is this not what life is for?
To know what is, and how it be,
To share in science and philosophy.

Wisdom and art, the mind’s offspring
Is this not what life is for?
What good is heart if express it can’t,
Its mysteries and its longings?

Wisdom and art, the mind’s offspring
Is this not what life is for?
Odhr I found, deep within my soul,
Freyja’s passion will burn, the hiding one from under.

Moderation is best, and logic to guide,
In all things foreign to the body.
Mead is grand for blot and sumbel,
But for thralls a greedy intoxication.

Moderation is best, and logic to guide,
In all things foreign to the body.
Hearty food and sweets, be weary of,
Lest you become the cow you eat.

Moderation is best, and logic to guide,
In all things foreign to the body.
To alter perception from one taste or breath,
Is never bright, and invites only death.

Moderation is best, and logic to guide,
In all things foreign to the body.
Entertainment too, can become dread,
When the joy of struggle it drives away.

Gods and Goddesses, ghosts and spirits,
All these do well exist.
Faith and trust in own self’s power,
Comes first before all others.

Gods and Goddesses, ghosts and spirits,
All these do well exist.
In several ways are they known,
Content be not in singular visions.

Gods and Goddesses, ghosts and spirits,
All these do well exist.
To forget life, and long for Bifrost,
Is thy doom for cowardly are the reasons.

Gods and Goddesses, ghosts and spirits,
All these do well exist.
The path of spirit is worthy though wearisome it be,
Forget not the importance of the flesh or life desires to thee.

Time is flux, and always changing,
Never does it stop.
Do not regret what never was done,
Do as your will desires.

Time is flux, and always changing,
Never does it stop.
Embrace your lover as no other,
For life indeed is short.

Time is flux, and always changing,
Never does it stop.
Honour life, and the worlds all wending,
Fenrir stretches his chains.

Time is flux, and always changing,
Never does it stop.
Orlog just layered deep in the Well,
Free, truly are we all.

Travels afar, are good for thee.
Especially in search of wisdom’s key.
Beware though you should always,
Lose not your sense of self or me.

Travels afar, are good for thee,
When searching for knowing’s glee.
In all lands, grass is green and sky is blue.
Never are they by necessity more true.

Travels afar, are good for thee.
Odhinn sent me on one you see,
Beware I didn’t, and the dark I embraced,
Lost sense of self, though much I gained in head and heart.

Travels afar, are good for thee,
Especially under Odhinn’s wing.
Dress in cloak, and runes do read,
Lose not the love of home or sea.

Honour is best, when lived right true,
To hold strength and courage and steadfast thews.
Break not your oaths, and always be joyous.
Fidelity holds the house together.

Honour is best, when lived right true,
To hold strength and courage and steadfast thews.
Love not those, who deserve only hate.
Many kinds of family exist and kin might wear a mark of shame.

Honour is best, when lived right true,
To hold strength and courage and steadfast thews.
Warrior’s weapons need not be steel or shield.
The tongue is a sword of fire, and mind a hammer of might.

Honour is best, when lived right true,
To hold strength and courage and steadfast thews.
All do actions, which bring ill luck, at some point in life.
Make amends, and do not regret, live and learn with passion.

Heed now these words,
And learn, if they are worthy.
I speak of life and common sense,
I speak of bright and murky.

Heed now these words,
Of slave and noble, oh freeman if you dare,
Live true and dedicated to thew and to passion,
To life and to dare.

Hear now these words,
I bring my song to an end.
Wolfmask howls runes into the night,
Heed now this charm:

Fehu is golden treasure,
Uruz is primal strength,
Thurisaz, a mighty hammer.

Ansuz the speech of Asgard high,
Raidho the way to get there,
Kenaz the fire which lights the way.

Gebo is the mead from Odhinn’s lips,
Wunjo the joy of knowing,
Hagalaz is ginnungugap grinning.

Nauthiz will guide you too,
Isa is the ego’s bridge,
Jera the fruits of the struggle.

Eihwaz ensares and thus you hang,
Perthro, the Well is teeming,
Elhaz you reach, and grasp aright, and come down screaming.

Sowilo is self, shining as a sun,
Tiwaz the spear of victory,
Berkano is birth to those who know, and grasp it willingly.

Ehwaz is marriage, and trust in others,
Mannaz is the human free and whole,
Laguz will energize both.

Ingwaz is rest and contemplation,
Dagaz the blooming of your work,
Othala is ancestral power, and Odhinn brightly smiling.

Hail to those who heed these words,
Hail to those who dare listen,
Foolish are those who follow blindly,
Loved are those who challenge!