The Weekly Hávamál
On this Wednesday (Woden's day (Odin)), I come to share with you the second stanza of the Hávamál. The Hávamál is said to be wisdom transmitted directly from Odin to his people. The composition of this work is thought to be a combination of 3-6 poems. Regardless of whether you believe this to be wisdom transmitted from the High One himself or wisdom from the wise men of the Norse and Germanic peoples, the poem within certainly has much valuable and timeless advice. Much can be learned from the wisdom of our ancestors.
Hávamál (Bray translation)
The Words of Odin The High One
- Hail, ye Givers! a guest is come;
say! Where shall he sit within?
Much pressed is he who fain on the hearth
would seek for warmth and weal.
The second stanza begins with praising Givers, in this case a generous host. Just as the first stanza instructed the caution of the guest when entering into strange places, the second appears to indicate that the host should seat the guest by the fire for warmth and praises his generosity, but urges caution from the host towards the guest (and consequentially informs the guest of the expectation of being tested). This is customary of conditional hospitality and generosity common amongst the Norse. The Norse were a reciprocal people who maintained order through reputation, kin, blood feud, blood price (monetary compensation for blood shed), and arbitration. Being a poor guest or a poor host according to custom conferred much detriment to the offender and their kin. This stanza is a good reminder to be a good host and a good guest and to be cautious of the character of strangers, guests, and hosts. There are several different translations and analysis of this stanza, so for the curious I would recommend checking it out in the link provided for alternate opinions and translations of this verse.
https://beastshavamal.blogspot.com/2018/02/stanza-2.html
I'll be doing one stanza a week with a short analysis on what is contained within. It's a good way to experience and learn an esoteric work that is relatively long and dense with wisdom.
Hail the old gods!
https://www.etymonline.com/word/Wednesday
https://www.thehavamalarchive.org/
Tagging interested persons:
@goliath
@Colonial
@artemis
@fujimoto
@ryuko
Reciprocity is such a beautiful way to handle strangers or interactions with people whose intentions are uncertain. Start with a gift (or overt good will) and then reciprocate their response.
Absolutely, approach in good faith with strangers, but remain cautious. Then it can be reciprocal gifts and good will or reciprocal bad will and conflict. That's one of the best and most reliable ways to win game theory too. Modern methods often confirm the wisdom of the ancients and reject the falsehoods of progressivism.
P.S. Thanks for your engagement. Hopefully, we can grow the audience over time.