Sprëhhan 5

/ Lokisdottir

Tívar gives back to me the cycle, time from time. They redeem to me what is forfeited in change from one threadbare cloak1 in the next. All forgotten here – the Tívar beyond anchor our timeless core. Who opens may spá2 from life to life. Who opens must Útiseta3 his thoughts. Who opens, her shall the Tívar speak of time and cause, of life to life renewed. “Who sits in the halls of men?” The changeless ones. Who sits, renews. Who watches, renews. Who cleansed of his own voice hears theirs, renews. And Ash and Elm, Oðr and Frija formed, and from the Void gave Hugin and Munin4, gave Leitr5 too. And the Void moved in smaller ripples and it spoke: Wunsch6! Open is the way to see the Void, open to who reflects it as Ran’s daughters do – Knavke’s Dance7.

My Interpretations

Sometimes, our souls return to life in a new form. We forget what we knew before, but the soul is an eternal energy we all share. When you realise this, you can share your knowledge between lives. You can sit outside your own thoughts. You can hear the gods.

Ash and Elm, Ask and Embla. Ash and Vine. The first two humans, created by the gods. Oðr and Frija, Oðr and Freyja. Hugin and Munin, Thought and Memory, the ravens of Odin.

Our individual minds seek the communal soul. We are all just ripples on the Void. Rán is mother to nine daughters, the Nine Waves, by the giant Ægir.

Notes on Sprëhhan 5

  1. Wright notes that “threadbare cloak” denotes reincarnation; in that Urd’s Well contains the waters of life, Her well could be the collective pool of all souls. The idea of reincarnation, or ‘back-birth’ is seen in the story of Thor‘s goats, who can be eaten, then restored to life if their bones are kept intact.
  2. Spá means “to see, to sooth, to speak.”
  3. Útiseta is, literally, “out-sit.” This indicates sitting outside in meditation, and sitting outside one’s self.
  4. Hugin and Munin are “thought” and “memory,” which ties man to the realm of the Tívar.
  5. Gave Leitr too means “to seek, search, looking,” or “gave the desire to seek.”
  6. Wunsch is “wish, beloved, desire.”
  7. Knak or knik is Dutch and means “a wrinkled or wavy surface.” Knavke’s Dance is a kenning for waves upon water (Ran’s daughters are the Nine Waves).
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