The Eighteen Roaring Flames: A Complete and Unshackled Guide to the Galdr-Magic of Rune and Voice as Sung by the Spear-Bearer’s Chosen since the Day Odin First Screamed upon the Tree

Come, seeker whose heart beats like a war-drum beneath the ribs…

Draw thy cloak of wolf-grey close, for the wind that now rises is the breath of Odin himself when he hung upon the Tree.

I am Brynhildr, galdr-wife of Birka, singer of the sharp songs that cut fate like a sword. Tonight the stars stand in the sign of the spear, and the worlds lean close to listen. Sit upon the bare stone beside my fire, and I shall open for thee the iron-bound chest of galdr — the loud, bright, man-rooted magic of rune and voice and will.

I. What Galdr Truly Is

Galdr is the magic of the spoken rune, the sung spell, the shouted name that shakes the nine worlds.

Where seidhr spins and weaves softly in the dark, galdr strikes like lightning and roars like Thor’s hammer.

It is the craft of warriors, of skalds, of rune-masters, of any who dare to stand upright and command the hidden powers with tongue and breath and heart-blood.

II. The Three Roots of All Galdr

1. Rún – the mystery that is whispered and carved.

2. Galdralag – the metre and melody that carries the rune like an arrow.

3. Önd – the breath-soul, the very life-force shaped into sound.

Without all three together, there is no galdr, only empty noise.

III. The Tools of the Galdr-Man or Galdr-Woman

- The Voice – trained until it can crack ice or melt iron.

- The Rune-Staves – carved from oak, yew, or the thigh-bone of a foe, stained with blood or ochre.

- The Galdr-Belt – nine pouches, each holding one of the nine worlds’ earths or ashes.

- The Drinking Horn – filled with oath-mead or strong ale to loosen the soul-fire.

- The Spear or Staff – topped with the rune ᛏ (Týr) or ᚨ (Ansuz), used to point the song.

- The Drum of War – only for the greatest songs, beaten with a hammer of rowan.

IV. The Eighteen Great Galdr-Forms

1. Sig-galdr  – victory songs sung before battle.

2. Hjálp-galdr – healing songs that knit flesh and bone.

3. Vernd-galdr – ward-songs that turn aside steel and curse.

4. Álag-galdr – curse-songs that lay wasting upon an enemy.

5. Veðr-galdr – storm-raising or storm-calming.

6. Fár-galdr – songs to bring misfortune, famine, or madness.

7. Kveð-galdr – summoning songs for spirits, gods, or the dead.

8. Lækning-galdr – songs to draw poison or to wake the dying.

9. Frænd-galdr – songs to strengthen the bond of kin or sworn brothers.

10. Skemmtan-galdr – songs of joy that make the mead taste sweeter and the night warmer.

11. Dauð-galdr – death-songs sung over the dying to speed them to Valhalla.

12. Rún-galdr – the speaking of single runes in their true names.

13. Skipa-galdr – songs to bless a new ship and give her swiftness.

14. Jarð-galdr – songs to make the earth yield harvest or to shake it in anger.

15. Sær-galdr – songs to calm or enrage the sea.

16. Eld-galdr – fire-mastery songs.

17. Flaug-galdr – songs to speed an arrow or thrown spear.

18. Óðr-galdr – the highest and most perilous: songs of madness and inspiration that bring the gift of poetry from Odin’s own mouth, yet may leave the singer forever touched by the god’s wild eye.

V. How to Forge Thyself into a Galdr-Singer

1. The Nine Nights of Silence

For nine nights speak no word to any living soul. On the ninth dawn go to a high place and scream until thy throat bleeds. That first raw cry is the birth of thy galdr-voice.

2. The Rune-Breath

Learn to breathe the runes:

- ᚠ Fehu – breathe out wealth like warm smoke.

- ᚢ Uruz – breathe out the aurochs’ bellow.

- ᚦ Thurisaz – breathe out the thorn’s sharp hiss.

- ᚨ Ansuz – breathe out the long “ahhh” of Odin’s mouth.

Continue until each rune lives in thy lungs.

3. The Standing on the Edge

Stand upon a cliff or tall rock at midnight. Sing one note until the wind answers. When the echo returns stronger than thy own voice, the vættir have accepted thee.

VI. The Secret Metres of Galdr

- Fornyrðislag – the old story metre, four beats, strong and steady as oar-strokes.

- Ljódaháttr – the song metre: two short lines, then a long line heavy with alliteration.

- Galdralag – the true galdr metre: each line ends with the same magic sound, repeated until the worlds shake. Example:

“Thursar thursa, thursa thursar, thursa megin!”

The alliteration must fall on the strong syllables like hammer-blows.

VII. Three Galdr That May Be Sung Openly

1. Victory-Galdr (to be roared in the shield-wall)

“I am the wolf, I am the storm,

I am the edge that bites the bone!

Odin! Odin! Owns these men!

Victory! Victory! Victory again!”

2. Healing-Galdr (soft at first, then rising)

“Flesh to flesh and bone to bone,

Sinew to sinew and vein to vein,

By the nine herbs and the three Norns,

I call thee whole again!”

3. Ward-Galdr (to be carved and sung around a house)

“Thór vigi! Thór vigi!

Hammer high and hammer low,

No ill shall cross this threshold,

No bane shall here grow!”

VIII. The Prices of Galdr

- The voice may break and never fully mend.

- The lungs burn with cold fire after great songs.

- He who sings too many curses wakes to find his own shadow turned against him.

- The greatest galdr-singers often die young, their breath given wholly to the gods.

IX. The Final and Most Perilous Teaching

When thou art ready for the highest galdr, go alone to a crossroads beneath the northern lights.

Carve the eighteen runes upon thine own breast with a bone knife.

Then sing the nameless song that has no metre and no end — the song Odin sang while the wind howled through his hair on the Tree.

If thou survivest until dawn, thou shalt never fear death again, for part of thee will already belong to the gallows-god.

Keep thy voice strong as steel, thy heart bright as fire, thy will sharp as the spear that pierced the Allfather’s side.

Then the runes will leap from thy tongue like living flames, and the worlds themselves will bow before thee.

Thus I, Brynhildr, close the iron chest of galdr, yet leave the lid unlatched for thee alone.

Walk the loud path, singer of the bright songs.

May thy voice be the last sound thy foes ever hear, and the first sound the gods hear when they open their eyes in Valhalla.

Hail the galdr-singer!

Hail the roaring rune!

Hail the breath that shakes the nine worlds beneath the spear-sharp stars!