Havamal 1 Skyggnast


(Image: Odin's Eye by Raidho)

Hávamál 1

Gáttir allar áðr gangi fram
um skoðask skyli,
um skyggnast skyli,
því at óvíst er at vita hvar óvinir
sitja á fleti fyrir.

Gáttir  - gate
allar  - everyone
áðr  - heretofore, already
gangi  - a going, walking,
Fram - forward
um  - around
skoðask  - to look after
Skyli - shelter
um - around
Skyggnast -  keen of sight, psychic
Skyli - shelter
því - because
at - at
Óvíst - (óvinr ) enemy, foe
er -is
at - at
Vita -    To wit, have sense, be conscious
hvar - where
Óvinir - (óvinr ) enemy, foe
sitja  - sits
á - at
Fleti -  rooms, benches
Fyrir - before

Translation:

When you are walking forward
Through the gate
Look around with your earthly eyes
Look around with your Wyrd eye
Because you never know where your
Enemy sits before you in the Hall.

A great devotional practice to the Gods is turning your mind towards translating the lore from its original language. So much gets lost in translation and it’s so easy to just take some other person’s word for it. I believe that the more of us Heathens who open up the books and look inside, the more spiritual wisdom will pour forth into our communities. The words in Old Norse aren’t exactly the same as ours and they were often used for many spiritual purposes. Add in the usage of kennings and metaphors where words often were codes for Gods or battles or even places, and each stanza can take layer upon layer of meaning.

This time starting with my translation of the Havamal, when I was looking at the word “Skyggnast”, I found something interesting:

“in mod. popular tales skygn denotes second sight, the power of seeing goblins, elves, etc. through hills and stones, and whatever is hidden from the common eye (= ófreskr in the old writers), see Maurer's Volks. and Ísl. Þjóðs.; baptismal water sprinkled in the eyes of an infant is said to prevent his becoming skygn.” (Cleasby Vigfusson Dictionary of Old Icelandic)

The word “skyggnast” comes from the word “skygn” which was also a word used to having psychic or “wyrd sight” in being able to sense and perceive spirits. Here we have the first verse of the Havamal which is telling us, be careful when you enter a new place. Make sure you not only use your physical eyes, but your spiritual eyes when you enter into a new situation.

Many times we think people have the same morals and values than us just because they might look the same or worship the same Gods. Many times we trust people because they are popular in our communities. No human is perfect and all of us are a work in progress and have much to learn about ourselves and we often hurt each other even if we have the best intentions. Some of us are just not a good mix for one another. Some of us have grown to enjoy hurting others. Wisdom is being able to spot the people who will value you and those who don’t. It may be easy to attach yourself to others to boost our reputation and standing in the community, but in the end, your true heart and instinct will tell you whether or not that person truly values you.

Odin is warning us here that all is not as it appears to be. A Heathen must wise when venturing out. Look for people who value you for your true self. Use your heart and spirit to discern others.

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