Vikernes, Varg - Varg Vikernes - Sorcery and Religion in Ancient Scandinavia

light against black;

then will Frigg's

joy (Óðinn) fall.

This verse is connected to Kauna and Svartr. Fenrir (Höðr) kills Óðinn and sends him or one of his eyes back to the grave, when the Sun goes down on Ragnarök and darkness overcomes the light.

54

The swallower is barking loudly,

in front of the cave leaning over the hillside,

the ties/mounts are torn,

hardship is growing,

she knows that the flocks sing,

I look forward, even further,

to the end of the powers,

the destiny of the victorious god.

This verse is connected to Kauna and Svartr. This winter spirits and Hel's shadows flow unimpeded from the underworld.

55

Then comes the mighty

son of the victorious father

the forest (Víðarr) walks

against the fallen animals.

He let the storm's (Loki's) powers

answer

sword to the heart,

then the father is avenged.

This verse is connected to Gebo and Heimdallr. Out there in the forest the winter spirits meet the gods, and with the help of the gifts from the dead, the weapons of the ancestors, which Heimdallr came with on the Winter Solstice. The gods kill Fenrir in the forest, and thus Víðarr (the forest) avenges his father's death and restores balance in nature.

4.9 Hagall's third Group of eight

56

Then came the honoured

the sound's (Jörð's) son (i. e. þórr)

the mind's (Óðinn's) son went

to fight the worm

killed him with courage

the sacred rain of the world in the middle

he clears all halls

in the inhabited world;

walks nine feet

carries to the mountain

the degradation of the worm

infamous refrain.

This verse is connected to Hagalaz and Ægir. The king, who represented Þórr, struck the mistletoe down with a hammer, from where it had been hung in the Yule. He did the same in all houses (halls) where the mistletoe had been hung. The nine feet he walked were the journey from the living room to the burial mound, and Þórr didn't really die, he just had to carry the mistletoe to and put it back in the burial mound, the underworld.

57

The Sun turns black

the Earth sinks into the sea

thrown from the sky

bright stars;

sparks sprays

and the fire is

playing tall and hot

by the sky itself.

This verse is connected to Nauþi and Norns. When the mistletoe was back in the burial mound, the battle continued. The gods charged through the night armed with torches, threw sticks into the fires and let the sparks spurt in the woods. They defeated and chased away the winter spirits.

58

The swallower is barking loudly,

in front of the cave leaning over the hillside,

the ties/mounts are torn,

hardship is growing,

she knows that the flocks sing,

I look forward, even further,

to the end of the powers,

the destiny of the victorious god.

This verse is connected to Isaz and Hel. This winter spirits and Hel shadows are defeated, and can be sent back to Hel, the same way as they had come, through the burial mound.

59

She sees rising

on the other side

land from the sea

green again

waterfalls

eagle flying above

the one who on the mountains

catches fish.

This verse is connected to Jera and Íwaz , Freyja and Skaði. Because of this victory at Ragnarök, one could see that the spring and summer were coming back. Life and strength returned to the world.

60

The spirits find

on the ground on the backwater field

and talks about the old Earth

the destiny of the powers,

and remember there

great things

and the great god's

old secrets.

This verse is connected to Perþi and Váli. The gods rode to the burial mound and sacrificed a horse, on Hel's Horse, the 11 thday of Søkkvabekkr, the month of the goddess of wisdom, Saga, and held a feast. They talked about what had happened and told stories about their deeds in the past.

61

There they will later

strange

golden tablets

find in the grass,

which in the old days

were possessions of their kin.

This verse is connected to Perþi and Váli. It appears that the gifts Heimdallr brought with him from the underworld, were not all delivered at the Winter Solstice, but that some were hidden away until after Ragnarök. Perhaps the gold artefacts were placed in the snow, so that they would not be found until after the snow had melted, in the grass on the burial mound. It was gold after all, and gold would not suffer from such treatment.

62

With no sowing

the fields will grow

bad luck will be better

Baldr will come;

live there Höðr and Baldr

Hrofts (Óðinn's) victory fields

selected by the fallen/chosen gods.

Do you still know enough, or what?

This verse is connected to Algiz and Víðarr. The meadow and the forest got their power back. The flowers peeked up from the Earth, the leaves grew on trees and grass on the ground. Summer had returned.

63

Then the tempter (Freyr) chose

blood wood

and started to build

the double's brothers

wide wind world.

Do you still know enough or what?

This verse is linked to Sowili and the Sun. The light returned to the sky.

64

She saw a hall stand

decorated on the Sun

covered with gold

on the sea of gems;

there the skilled/capable

kings should build

and in the days of life

enjoy.

This verse is linked to Sowili and Sun. The power returned to the Sun. The winners of the bride races – the kings (sorcerers) – should rule the world, wisely.

4.10 Tyr's third Group of eight

65.

Then comes the mighty

to the meeting of the powers

powerful from above

everyone's ruler.

This verse is connected to Tíwaz and Týr. Finally, the king (sorcerer) could rule the world, in peace and harmony. The sorcerer was the ruler of the world, and when the sorcerer became a god instead he also took the role of the world ruler; the Sky god Týr.

66

There comes the dark

dragon flying

sharp, shining from below

from beneath the mountains

clearly we see the claws

fly over the plain

the thrust from the corpse from below

now she will sink down.

This verse is connected to Berko and Jörð. Finally we get a warning that Höðr/Fenrir/Jörmungandr once again will come back from the Earth's womb, from beneath the burial mound, and attack from below. We see the bright mistletoe (the dragon/worm) in the wolf's claws. It is ready to kill Baldr again ...

This is the last verse in Völuspá.

5.0 The Mystery Chamber

5.1 The Hiding Place of the Dead

We have heard much about the burial mound, surrounded by a fence and overgrown with bushes and trees, and we have learned that it and or its interior/exterior is called Íðavöllr ("backwater plain"), Miðgarðr ("the garden in the middle"), Níðavöllr ("the plain below"), Hel ("death", or "hide"), dvergr ("door-opening in the ground"), Niflheimr ("fog world"), Urðarbrunnr ("the well of esteem", "stone well"), Mímisbrunnr ("well of reminiscence") and so on, and we know it from Greek mythology as Hades ("unseen", "hidden") and by other names from other mythologies. The most famous Scandinavian name of this place is perhaps Valhöll.

Valhöll (“hall of the chosen/fallen”, or “hidden chosen/fallen”) was Óðinn's hall. This hall had walls made of spears, the roof was covered with shields and the benches were adorned with mail. Half of all the nobles who died in battle came to Valhöll, after being selected by the Valkyries. The other half came to Freyja's hall, Sessrýmnir ("roomy seat"), most likely a picture of the sky, dedicated to those who were burned on a funeral pyre (a “brising”). Other than those of Jarl's kin (i. e. the blonde, light skinned and fair-eyed men) were not welcome either place, and we recognised here the nobility's contempt for ordinary peasants and slaves, or perhaps rather the racist attitudes of the ancient European.