One of our weekend practices is a full recitation of the Bellows translation of the Völuspá/Voluspo.

The Völuspá is one of the most well-known poems that emerged from the Pagan North during the Middle Ages. The title translates to “Prophecy of the Seeress” or “The Wise-Woman’s Prophecy,” consisting of various tales regarding the creation, destruction, and rebirth of the world. This is told from the perspective of a dead Volva (Witch/Seeress) to the god Odin who has temporarily brought her back to life in order to gain wisdom of the past, present, and future.

Although heavily criticized by some Pagans for containing seemingly Christian influences, we can see through the comparative study of other Indo-European religions that most of the primary subject matter inherent in the poem is authentic and does in fact give us insight into pre-Christian Pagan thought. A few themes of the poem that are echoed in other Indo-European myths are the being Ymir, the primordial bovine Auðumbla, and the battle between the serpent (Jörmungandr) and the thunder god (Thor).  If anything, any added “Christian” elements are fairly subtle.

We hope this will be useful to your practice.

Hailaz