THE NINE SPELLS OF GROA

Based on the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda

(a work in progress)

 

INTRODUCTION

The necromancer Svipdag*

Raised his mother Groa** from the dead

“Mother dearest, forgive me for disturbing you

But is there any way you can teach me your craft

To keep me safe?

I fear my cruel stepmother has set me up

And I will never complete this quest

To meet and marry my fated bride Mengloth" ***

 

Ah, we mothers who love our children, our sons

Groa reaches back through the years

Worried that the gods will be angry

Remembering her aid to Thor

Who once carried her husband

Orvandel the Bold in a basket

Breaking off his frozen toe

Then flinging it into the sky

Becoming the Star called “Orvandel’s Toe” ****

In gratitude, Groa loosened a flintstone

Lodged in Thor’s head from the war

So because he was grateful, she knew

The God of Thunder would never punish her

For saving her son

Nor punish him for his Necromancy…

 

Here then is the GROGALDR

Related in the Poetic Edda

Modernized rhymes by me

For us modern English speakers

 

#1 If restrained, shake from your shoulders

Do not be afraid, be bolder

Think of your father Orvandel

 

#2 If traveling far, bolts of the Fate Urth

Shall guard you (whom I once gave birth)

No matter what side of the road you take

 

#3 If threatening rivers of kelp

Invoke the gods to help

Let the waters fail from your strength

 

#4 If you chant against those using the gallows

Into thine hands shall the hearts of the foes

Grant peace from the warriors to you

 

#5 If your legs are completely bound

Impossible for you to move around

Break the chains with thought

 

#6 If storms rage on the sea

From wind or wave you are free

The boat will always remain calm

  

#7 If mountain frost seeks to kill

This chant will not allow fatal cold to chill

Your flesh remains warm and safe

 

#8 If wandering at night on murky way

No curses of the dead will hold sway

No harm comes from the spirits

 

#9 If meeting a warlike giant

Make your words defiant

I give you wit and wisdom to win

 

Footnotes

*Svipdag translated as “Swift Day” and son of Groa and Orvandel The Bold

**Groa (volva or Viking seeress/shaman)  and mother of Svipdag

***From the Prose Edda, Star may be what we now call Rigel in Orion or Alcor in Ursa Major

****Mengloth translated as “Necklace Glad” and she may be Frigg or Freyja (associated with a magical necklace) as suggested in the Prose Edda

 

 

 

 

WINTER SOLSTICE EVE 12-20-25

Starry, silent night

Sun-streaked sky mists to daylight

Earth, holy and bright

Winter timelessness takes flight

Peace and love a wondrous sight…

 

© 2025 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)

IMAGE TREEHENGE SUNSET & TREES 12-20-25

VEGVISIR

 

Walking through the dark of night

Aging eyes not seeing quite right

Some say the runes are from the Huld Manuscript

Perhaps Elder Futhark, difficult to decrypt

Written late 1800s in Iceland

This wayfinder compass, hard to understand

As a lone practitioner on exhilarating starry nights

Admittedly, at times, a kleptoparasite

I adopt this belief as my very own

For lost, I am, all alone

And holding it aloft, reflecting the Moon

The physical world becomes magically attuned

And my path visibly leads me on

As I’m sure the Vikings sailed along

Knowing the meaning of these runes

Dragon ships bravely fighting typhoons

Because the Vegvisir presented by their prophetess

Spells and blessings her largesse

And here I am finding my confusing way

As the sun rises on this auspicious day…

 

© 2025 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)

IMAGES: Vegvisir Raven Ring/ Vegvisir Coin Compass

 

 

 

CORNUCOPIA

MY ANNUAL THANKSGIVING POEM. WISHING ABUNDANCE TO ALL ON EARTH!

 

To make a cornucopia, take:
Smoked round reed for spokes and braiders
Soak them into flexibility
Cross, pinch, entwine and weave
Humming hymns of tranquility

Zeus breaking off the horn of his nurse
Heracles wrestling a river god of fables
Either led to an abundance myth
Winding up on Thanksgiving tables

Growing gourds, red and green Earth treats
Nuts and flowers complete the increase
Profusion of life’s requirements
Create a still life centerpiece

Magnetic pull of voices from the past
Call and text loved ones far away
Laughter, tears, music of the spheres
The beauty of a traditional holiday…

 

© 2016 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Peter Paul Rubens, Abundantia

 

 

FOR MY FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND FOLLOWERS

 

(Annual Thanksgiving  Poem

 

Happy Thanksgiving Day
This is important for me to say
Social Media is our folk hotel
Visiting daily, we share and retell

Showing pictures of our dog and cat
And our granddaughter the acrobat
Yummy recipes make me hungry
Love the chance to sign petitions about the bumblebee

Wonderful to hear about your son
Life is tough but they still have fun
What amazing writing and crafts so handy
Thanks for accepting our modus operandi

We huddle together when tragedy does come
It visits us all and we succumb
But having loving thoughts sent our way
Soothes us like a spiritual bouquet

So keep on posting and let me know
How life is, just say hello
Know I think of you although I don’t say
You’re always in my mind on any day

Love & Fun & Happiness to you and your Crew…

 

(c) 2018 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Tom Russell cover art for Folk Hotel

 

CROSSROADIN’ (REVISED)

 

scroll down for a YouTube video

 

Ah, so wanted to play
Performance-quality
Guitar
Right next door’s the swamp
Don’t have to walk far
Flooded this week
Put on rubber boots
Satellite picture guiding me
But tripped over some roots
Looking for the crossroads
Pictured on GPS
Swamps tend to change
When it storms in excess
My mind cried out “Anomaly!”
Because it wasn’t a perfect X
Still, I heard guitar playing
Saw Robert Johnson on his knees
Inconsistency
Two realms touched
Causing a liminality
Yet half-heartedly
I cried, “What the hell?
My soul to sell?
No, no way!”
The Bluesman lived from 1911 to 1938

Holy Hades, maybe the first

Of the 27 Club

Musicians dead at the age of 27:

Jimi, Jim, Janis, Kurt, Amy and more

So I looked for them in the swamp
Thinking
Get me out of here
Snake City
Don’t want a gator committee
On my way
Wish me home
In pre-dawn dark
Heard Papa Legba laugh
Closed my eyes
Willed me safe
Woke up in bed
Grabbed my guitar and played
Sounded like dead lead
But that’s ok
It’s fun
Turns the rain into sun
I’m done
Crossroadin’
I think, while I strum…

 

(c) 2018, 2025 Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Robert Johnson

YouTube video Robert Johnson, Crossroads https://youtu.be/Yd60nI4sa9A

 

HALLOWEEN

Blessed be the human faces

Beauty the same ‘til age disgraces

The body may be fully good

Based on mood defining amounts of food

But Halloween disguises with a mask

A fun and always simple task

A chance to be something new

Tricks and treats for me and you

Maybe a bit tricky

Working off chocolate’s sticky

Tho’ it’s the best one-night-stand…

 

© Clarissa Simmens (ViataMaja)

IMAGE:  Halloween Candy