Verse: Baldr and Hel

[deoridhe]

As background, I participated in a pagan circle on the 1st which was themed as a journey into Hel. As such, we invoked Hel and Baldr at the beginning; I wrote bits of inviting and thanking that I'm going to share, mostly because seraphim_jaguar wants to have a record of them. The verse is so-so, but I managed to slip in some interesting ideas, I think.

Invocation and Devocation to Hel:

All Hail Hel
Daughter of Loki
Sister of the monstrous wolf
Binder and boundary of the dead
Lady of the Glistening Feilds
Guardian of the sleeping peace
Though your name was not sung before
We sing it now.
Come eat with us.
Come drink with us.
Come show us the truth of your face.

Our Thanks, Hel
Unpitying and unmoving.
Leave if you wish, stay if you will.
Our thanks for the knowledge you leave with us.

Invocation/Devocation to Baldr:

All Hail Baldr
Son of Frigga and Odin
Heart of peace, blessing of frith*
All things but one swore to protect thee
All tings but one wept for thee
Mistletoe lead thee to Hel
An ancient wight kept thee there.
Come eat with us.
Come drink with us.
Come bring peace within us.

Our thanks, Baldr
Bright and shining one.
Leave if you wish, stay if you will.
Our thanks for the peace you leave within us.

*Frith can be roughly translated to "peace," but it's not the peace of a hive mind; rather, it is the peace of many disparate people who cooperate and respect each other even in disagreement.

Comments

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

I've heard "frith" translated as "productive peace" and I like that. Don't remember where I read/heard that though.

Productive Peace

[deoridhe.livejournal.com]

I like that too... frith is an interesting concept. I always try to emphasize the fact that it's not a hive-mind or a need to create peace at the expense of individual opinions.