Wyrd Designs – Sigdrifa’s ~ a Prayer and a Song

Sigdrifa’s Prayer is the only surviving, complete, non-Christianized prayer that exists in the lore. As such it is a precious remnant, but unfortunately a little known gem. It’s nestled in the midst of the Sigdrifumal, one of the heroic lays found in the Poetic Edda.

illus. by Arthur Rackman

“Hail, day! | Hail, sons of day!
And night and her daughter now!
Look on us here | with loving eyes,
That waiting we victory win.

“Hail to the gods! | Ye goddesses, hail,
And all the generous earth!
Give to us wisdom | and goodly speech,
And healing hands, life-long.”

-Translated, by Henry Adams Bellows

While it may be short and brief, it does however encapsulate a microcosm of the macrocosm found in Heathen cosmology. What many do not realize is that Day (or rather in the Old Norse Dagr) is a personification of the Day, and is the son of Nott, i.e. Night. And that they are separate and distinct from Sunna and Mani (the Goddess of the Sun, and the God of the Moon).

These few lines… is enough fodder for a short book – Sigdrifa’s Prayer: An Explanation & Exegesis, by fellow Pantheon blogger Galina Krasskova. Whether you are of the Northern Tradition, or just practice some other form ofpaganism the book is definitely recommend.

I’ve been working with this prayer the last couple of days… and from all that work, unexpectedly a melody popped into my head. From that melody… came a version of the prayer put to an acapella song. For anyone interested, here it is: sigdrifa’s prayer as a handy MP3. You may listen to it and share it with others. Just keep in mind my singing isn’t perfect, but I think it’s decent enough. I just ask since it is my melody, and my own simplified version of the prayer that no one make any version of it to profit from. If others would like to take the melody, and do your own versions of it, please feel free to do so.

Lyrics

Hail to the Day

Hail His Sons

Hail Night, and her daughter!

Gaze on us

with loving eyes

and bring us victory.

Hail to the Gods

and the Goddesses

Hail, the generous earth!

Grant us wisdom

and eloquent speech