#Fafnismal

[poeticnorth]

So, for my next book after Northumbrian Rune Poems, I will attempt to write my own versions of:

Reginsmál, Fafnisnal, and Sigdrifumal.

In haiku metre.

And to make it extra challenging and true to traditional haikus, I'll also be including a kigo in each verse.

[moonbittern]

thinking about the parallels between the one ring and andvaranaut and i think technically that means bilbo is loki 🤔

[freethebook]

Would you give up everything you have, if it meant getting everything you want?

For Morgan Pajpjow, normalcy is perhaps a relative term. To most, moving to a new town twice a year would be a bit unusual, but that's Morgan's normal, and he's resigned to it. After all, what's the point of making new friends when it would just be wasted effort? So he keeps his head down, content to be ignored by most, and staves off the meddling and antagonism of the few who won't.

But when Morgan finds a silver branch waiting for him on his way home, normalcy abandons him. Down a disused fork in his driveway, he tumbles headfirst into the Otherworld--a land of arbitrary laws ruled by capricious fairies. A dance, a gift, or an invitation suddenly become waiting snares, eager to bind him into servitude. Now, far from home, Morgan will have to learn how to embrace vulnerability and ask for others' help, or face being stranded in the Otherworld forever.

______________________________________________________________

Hi Tumblr! I'm Kurt and this is my debut novel.

Morgan and the Fey is about a high-school freshman complacent with his lot in life, who suddenly finds escape and danger in a world completely foreign to him. The Otherworld he falls into is one part pan-European fairylore, one part mythological quest cycle, and eight parts uncharted old-growth forest. This book has a host of inspirations, but if I had to describe it in a comp, I would say it's Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom meets the Fafnismal.

This is an idea that came to me very suddenly about two years ago, while reading up on folklore and listening to music from the Romance era (as one does), and I very quickly fell in love with it. It ran away with my imagination and I ended up writing my first draft in a span of eight months, which was far faster than any project I'd worked on of a similar scale before now. And since then, I've been trying to make this dream a reality.

Writing Morgan was very much a labour of love for me. This is primarily the kind of book that I would've wanted growing up as a queer kid with no real way to define myself--with a main character who doesn't quite fit the mold (but isn't particularly afraid of that), struggling to find both his place in the world and people he can truly trust.

This book focuses on the lives of queer youth, and all the struggle that comes with that identity. There's of course countless themes that are wrapped up in that, and many that the novel explores. But primarily, Morgan is about self-discovery--the best and worst of you brought out by the people you know, the places and people you call home, and figuring out just who you are and where you stand in this crazy world.

If you're interested and would like to preorder, you can find Morgan and the Fey at any of the locations below:

Rakuten Kobo

Barnes & Noble

Apple Books

Smashwords

Additional links to other stores will be available as they generate, so I'll be updating as that occurs!

Morgan and the Fey will be available for purchase November 7th 2023.

[belovedbright]

If you love lines like these, you should absolutely read the medieval works that inspired Tolkien. Find a good translation of a saga or Beowulf. It’s there. The tiny bird that tells Bard of the weakness in Smaug’s scales? The bird telling the hero critical information comes from Fafnismal.

The movie dialogue could never measure up to this:

“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”

How could anyone cut this?! How?! How?!?!?!?! These lines are so incredibly stirring, so powerful, so moving. “I am no man” doesn’t even come close.

First of all, I like that the negative statement of “No living man am I” is followed by the positive statement of “You look upon a woman.” It’s direct and definitive. She’s been disguised as Dernhelm up until this point—another thing that was cut from the movie—but now she’s revealing who she really is.

Second, in a similar way, I like that she says, “Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter.” It’s like a challenge. It’s like announcing one’s identity before a duel—which is in effect what she is doing.

Third, “You stand between me and my lord and kin.” This reminds me of one of the most poignant quotes from the book: “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” It’s very important that Éowyn did this brave deed out of a desire to protect Théoden.

Finally, “Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” THIS IS LITERALLY SO AMAZING! THIS IS SO COURAGEOUS! I CAN’T EVEN EXPRESS HOW THIS MAKES ME FEEL! I don’t know which part is better—the fact that she threatens him, or that she gives him the choice to forfeit and flee the battlefield.

There’s an incredible heroic resoluteness to the final line, “For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” This, right here, is the essence of the courage of mortals in Tolkien’s books. It’s the acceptance of death, but the desire to go down fighting—the knowledge that death is inevitable, but the one thing we have control over is how we meet it.

Éowyn is facing Sauron’s most powerful servant, who is almost a personification of death itself, and she is declaring that no matter what he is, and no matter the outcome, she WILL fight him. When she says these lines, she doesn’t know that she and Merry will vanquish him. It’s sheer determination against impossible odds, it’s extraordinary courage in the face of death—and THAT is why this scene is so powerful.

[larzhagen]

I got a new journal!!

[setethsbigbaratitties]

do you think reginn and otr would name their horse-mech suit things,??

as a certified Horse Girl who has known many other Horse Girls. yes

[292-ludovica]

“Spake the wurm:

‘Hail now Sigurð, thou hast slain Fáfner:

Well hast thou won the day;

Of all men who upon earth walk

I call thee bravest born.’”

— Fáfnismál, stanza 23

[ginnarr-sigmundr-blog]

Ægishjálmur: How to Create Your Own Helm of Awe

The Helm of Awe, also translated Helm of Terror, is one of the more well known symbols in Norse and Icelandic Magick. It’s origins can be traced to Fafnismal, the story of the slaying of Fafnir, the dragon, by the hero Sigurðr. Sigurðr speaks with Fafnir as he’s dying, and refers to his helmet of terror that has allowed him to protect his treasure by driving fear into all those that beheld it. 

Fafnir’s helmet can be seen as a metaphor for magickal workings of protection, as well as for driving fear into one’s enemies, for which the Ægishjálmur is commonly used. The helm was drawn on the forehead, between the eyes of its caster, and as such, it had been connected with the Hugauga, or third eye.

The most common design (pictured above) is a masterful composition of the runes Hagal, Algiz, (one could also argue Is) and Thurisaz (the three lines on each arm before the terminal Algiz represent Thurisaz, the 3rd rune of the first aett). All of these runes are powerful forces on their own, but when combined, form a formidable talisman of strength and protection for the caster, and of ultimate destruction for his/her enemies, be they literal or figurative.

But the power of the Helm of Awe is not limited to this, nor is its design limited to the one shown above. Simpler and more complex designs exist, and different runes/symbols can be incorporated into the helm depending on the Caster’s intent. There are many different ways to do this, and like most things, once you understand the basic concepts, strategies, and give it some practice, the operation will begin to seem very intuitive. 

But the Ægishjálmur may also be used for purposes of self-transformation, gaining power or control over a situation, getting a promotion at work, driving new initiatives in your life, whatever your desired intention, the helm will aid you in becoming an unstoppable force of power.  That is, if you imbue it with the right purpose at least.  But how does one do this?  

There are four main elements to the Ægishjálmur: the arms, the objective sphere, the subjective sphere, and the center sphere.  For simplicity’s sake, these main elements can be thought of as follows:

1. The arms- 

The caster should imagine the arms as a three dimensional shape, as if existing within a sphere as opposed to inside of a flat circle.  They should be thought of as currents, emanating from the core of your being (Miðgarðr) and flowing out to the terminals branches of each arm.  The number of arms may be imagined to represent the following:

  4 arms- represent the four cardinal points of the mundane universe

  6 arms- represent the four cardinal points and the vertical column of Yggdrasil

  8 arms- represent all 8 divisions of the sky and earth (example shown below)

In this way the helm is cast across all the nine realms, and the will of the caster is impressed upon the entire multiverse.

2. The objective sphere - 

This represents the world, the environment, or even the Multiverse (depending on what you’re casting the helm for).  This is the world that the terminus of each arm will touch, and therefore, the caster should choose symbols that will exert the intended force on his/her environment.  In the case of the conventional Helm of Awe, the rune Algiz extends out to this outer sphere, exerting a threatening offense on all elements of the environment that may wish to bring harm upon the caster.

3. The subjective sphere-

This represents the caster’s inner content: immediate surroundings, body, mind, soul, and all things contained within.  This area of the circle should be comprised of symbols meant to have a particular effect on you, or to exert some effect on your behalf.  For example, the three lines representing Thurisaz are charged with destroying those who dare enter the sphere of the caster. 

4. The core-

This sphere represents the caster themselves, or alternatively, the purpose or spell being cast.  Using the same example, at the center of the Helm of Awe lies Hagal, the rune for protection (amongst other things), intented to protect and keep the caster safe.

This is a grossly oversimplified formula, but one that works quite well, and will serve as an introduction into a working that promises to continually shed new and introspective light on the worker.  I hope it serves you well.  

Svo skal það vera!

Credits to Stephen Flowers for images.  For further reading on Ægishjálmur, see Icelandic Magic: Practical Secrets of the Northern Grimoires, by Stephen E. Flowers.

[norden-kings-beer]

Oft one finds, when the foe he meets, that he is not the bravest of all. ~Fafnismal #vikingsbeer# https://www.instagram.com/p/CE3bCbel4qc/?igshid=1a4ebohttbrso

[hibernianzephyr]

Courage is better than the power of a sword, where angry men have to fight; for I've seen a brave man fighting strongly conquer with a blunt sword. Bravery is better than cowardice to have in battle-sport; cheerfulness is better than snivelling, whatever may be at hand.

Sigurd, Fafnismal

[pagan-pride]

Valour is better than might of sword, when foes embittered fight; for a brave man I have ever seen gain victory with a dull sword. Mut in der Brust ist besser als Stahl, Wo sich Tapfere treffen. Den Kühneren immer sah ich erkämpfen Mit stumpfem Schwerte den Sieg.

Fáfnismál

[asa-thor]

Bravery is better than cowardice to have in battle-sport; cheerfulness is better than snivelling, [sic] whatever may be at hand,

The Lay of Fafnir, stanza 31. (Tr Larrington)

[theerrantvalkyrie]

It often happens that he who gets a death wound yet avenges himself.

Fafnismal 20

[asa-thor]

Sigurd said: The helm of terror protects no one, where angry men have to fight; a man finds that out when he comes among the multitude; that no one is bravest of all.

The Lay of Fafnir, stanza 17. (Tr Larrington)