Spell of the mead

Spell of the mead

Introduction

See footnote for a glossary of Anglo-Saxon words and expressions used.

This poem is written in the style of an Anglo-Saxon banishing spell. The use of repartition is particularly apparent. 

Spell of the mead

Helheim beast be gone, to whence ye doth came,

Be gone ye dark orc, we wilt mead reclaim.

Thou art unwelcome, within this corn mead,

Be gone to thine lair, thee shalt not proceed.

Be gone ye dark orc, return to thy kin,

To darkest helheim, return thee within.

Be gone malignance, thou powers recede,

We cast ye hence forth, with songal of seed.

By sacred power, of the old stone god,

We banish thee spirit, with flaming rod.

No sinister war spears, for thee to spin,

Out now thee dammed spirit, thee shalt not win.

With runes in the air, oaken rod to write,

Ese of Albion, we doth invite.

We write magic runes, with fire and smoke,

Wodan of Wild Hunt, we doth thee invoke.

We conjure thine spirit, with sacred chant,

Invoke runic spells, thine help us to grant.

Wodan lord of magic, make this spell true,

Return this mead’s richness, as hitherto.

Nerthus producer, of bountiful yields,

Come to our aid in, Avalon’s green fields.

In glædmód we wassail, thy sacred rite,

Spell casting by singing, into the night.

Copyright Andrew Rea October 2011

Glossary

Helheim  = a cold, dark underworld, one of the nine Norse worlds.

Orc = demon in Old English, used also by Tolkien

Songal = Middle English expression for a handful of corn.

Ese = Saxon deities

Nerthus = a fertility goddess replaced largely by Frigg in late Saxon times

Glædmód = cheerful, joyous