The Galdre

As soft sun slips down, the wizard didst cast,

In long robe with broach, as done in the past.

The height of summer, sunshine burning bright,

Spell crafting by singing, into the night.

With galdor in verse, invoke Spider Wight,

Silently spinning, on this sacred site.

Earth fast standing stone, now older than time,

Focusing spirit, in verse and in rhyme.

Palest moon shadow, raising his right palm,

Conjure Earth forces, with ritual to charm.

Intone runic spell, four quarters to north,

From realm of spirit, moon magic shines forth.

Sacred stone lichen, wilt guard against elf,

Sing nine times over, for restoring health.

Whoso doeth it, has curse of the priest,

In thousand winters, this wilt not have ceased!

Combine with some herbs, protect thee from harm,

Working with magic, wilt elf shot disarm.

Make offerings to stones, as the witches say,

May the way of Wyrd, please keep galdre fay.

Copyright Andrew Rea March 2014

Notes to 'the Galdre'

Galdre is the old English for wizard.

Galdor is the old English for spell or charm which were sung when cast.

Spider Wights are goodly supernatural creatures. Spiders were sometimes kept in a pouch and worn around the neck to bring protection.

From Lacnunga 74 we have reference to using the four quarters in a spell.

The use of lichen from stone crucifixes in charms against diseases caused by elves is mentioned in Leechbook III LXII-1

Bishops and priests were known to place curses on followers of the old ways.

Laws of Aelfred C890: ‘some men are so blind that  bring their offering to

earth-fast stone and also to trees and to wellsprings, as the witches teach’.

In Stoodley’s analysis of 1636 undisturbed adult Anglo-Saxon burials, from forty-six sites of early Anglo-Saxon England he counted nineteen males buried with women’s dress accessories (4.63%). These may have had a ritual status as a shaman or wizard. There is potential correlation between this and the Scandinavian association of men performing seidr with cross-dressing.