Varðlokkur (Calling the Spirits) | Old Norse Seiðr Chant | Viking Music

A starving settlement. A seeress on her high seat. And one woman who still remembers the old song. You can listen to Runes of the North on Spotify, Apple Music and more! ➤ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/3F9TzfzqfNcCnNdLIOUuLh?si=4fa57afb26984d54 ➤ Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/runes-of-the-north/1834777726 ➤ Tidal: https://tidal.com/artist/65784404 ➤ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.de/artists/B0FNC2ZRLL/runes-of-the-north ➤ YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCBs5X2bPMaApmCeHwNxJ0Ag ➤ Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/de/artist/342337011 ➤ Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/artist/runes-of-the-north/ARpK9n6qqv7jfbX In the saga of Erik the Red, a famine grips Greenland. The völva Þorbjörg is invited to see what the coming season holds, but she cannot do her work without the varðlokkur, the ward songs that draw the spirits close. Only one woman knows them, taught by her mother as a child. She steps into the circle and sings. This song is that night: frost, empty storehouses, broken boats, a ring of women around the seeress, and a voice calling until dawn. Sung in Old Norse. ᚱ Lyrics & Translation ᚱ Heyrið mik. Heyrið mál. Komið nær at várum sal. (Hear me. Hear the words. Come closer to our hall.) Frost er hart ok fold er köld, fólkit bídr um langa kveld. Korn er fátt ok kostr er þrotinn, kaldr er sær ok bátr er brotinn. (The frost is hard and the earth is cold, the people wait through long evenings. Grain is scarce and the stores are spent, the sea is cold and the boat is broken.) Konur standa, kveða hátt, kvæðit berst um dimma nátt. Vǫlva sitr með staf í hendi, stendr nú hringr við pallsins endi. (The women stand and chant aloud, the song carries through the dark night. The seeress sits with staff in hand, a ring now forms at the platform's end.) Komið nær, komið nær, heyrið rǫdd, er til yðvar nær. Komið nær, þér vættir, nær, verið oss til bjargar þær. (Come closer, come closer, hear the voice that reaches you. Come closer, you spirits, near, be our help and our rescue.) Syngjum hátt, syngjum hátt, syngjum allar þessa nátt. Komið nær, komið nær, heyrið oss, þér vættir, nær. (Let us sing loud, let us sing loud, let us all sing through this night. Come closer, come closer, hear us, you spirits, near.) Móðir kenndi mér þessi ljóð, mælti lágt við arins glóð. Lengi hefi ek geymt þann galdr, geymt þau orð um minn allan aldr. (My mother taught me these songs, speaking softly by the glow of the hearth. Long have I kept that spell, kept those words my whole life.) Nú skal kveða, nú skal kalla, nú skal rǫdd um salinn gjalla. Heyri þær, er hlýða eigi, hér skal syngja, unz at degi. (Now I shall chant, now I shall call, now my voice shall ring through the hall. Let even those who will not listen hear, here I will sing until the day.) Seg mér þat, er sér þú nú: sér þú ván, þar er áðr var sút? Mun nú batna, mun nú birta? Mun nú hungrið frá oss víkja? (Tell me what you see now: do you see hope where once was sorrow? Will it get better, will it grow light? Will the hunger leave us now?) Heyrið mik. Heyrið mál. Heill sé fólki. Heill sé sal. (Hear me. Hear the words. Hail to the people. Hail to the hall.) ᚱ If the old songs call to you, subscribe and walk with Runes of the North. #VikingMusic #NordicMusic #RunesOfTheNorth #FolkMusic #Viking #darkmusic #seidr #oldnorse #norsemythology