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Poetic Edda - Völuspá [extract]
Identifier
007154
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Völuspá (Old Norse Vǫluspá, Prophecy of the Völva (Seeress); Modern Icelandic [ˈvœːlʏˌspauː], reconstructed Old Norse [ˈwɔluˌspɑː] is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a völva addressing Odin It is one of the most important primary sources for the study of Norse mythology. The poem is preserved whole in the Codex Regius and Hauksbók manuscripts while parts of it are quoted in the Prose Edda. It consists of approximately 60 fornyrðislag stanzas.
A description of the experience
Voluspa
I remember giants born at the dawn of time
And those who first gave birth to me
I know nine worlds, nine spheres covered by the tree of the world
That tree set up in wisdom which grows down to the bosom of the earth
I know there is an ash tree they call Yggdrasil
The top of the tree is bathed in watery white vapours
And drops of dew fall from it into the valley
It stands up green, forever, above the fountain of Urd