If you could hear the secret words whispered by a god… If you could learn the spells that calm storms, heal wounds, silence weapons, and bend fate… What would you do with such power? In the old Norse poems, there is one place where Odin himself speaks directly. A confession… a teaching… and a warning. A list of eighteen runic spells mysterious charms that no other god fully understands. They appear in the Hávamál, the Sayings of the High One. For centuries, scholars have debated them. Warriors feared them. And skalds protected their meaning through song. Let us uncover them.
Odin did not receive these spells as a gift. He earned them through sacrifice. He hanged himself on the great tree Yggdrasil, pierced by his own spear, without food or drink, for nine nights. At the edge of death, he saw the runes beneath him. He reached for them, screamed their power into himself, and fell from the tree reborn. From that moment, he carried knowledge no other being possessed. Among that knowledge were eighteen charms spells woven from breath, intention, and runic sound. They were never meant for everyone.
In Old Norse, a galdr is a sung spell a vibration of power shaped by rhythm and breath. These weren’t silent rituals. They were chants, performed with purpose. Odin’s charms are galdrar: spoken magic bound to the world’s oldest truths. Each charm governs a different domain protection, healing, battlecraft, persuasion, prophecy, and even death itself. Now, we go through them one by one.
Charm 1: “Help I can give to help thee in strife, And heal each sorrow and sickness.”: Odin says the first charm helps him assist others in distress whether warriors in pain or friends in trouble. It is a spell of support. A reminder that the first power of a leader is compassion. This charm doesn’t strike enemies or shape destiny. It simply strengthens those who suffer.
Charm 2: “A second I know, which the sons of men Will need if they wish to be healers.”: The second charm cures illness. Scholars believe it refers to stopping fever or pain a vital skill in the harsh northern world. It shows Odin’s lesser-known role as a bringer of recovery rather than destruction.
Charm 3: “A third I know: if sore need should come Of a fetter to hold my foe, I can blunt the edges of steel for me, And none can harm me with weapons.”: This charm makes an enemy’s blade useless. Odin claims he can make weapons fail swords dull, spears bend, clubs lose their force. A powerful battle charm, deeply feared by warriors. In Viking belief, a fight was not only physical; fate, runes, and magic also played a role. A man protected by Odin’s third charm could walk through combat untouched.
Charm 4: “A fourth I know: if men shall bind The limbs of my foe in fetters, I can cause him to walk away unhurt, From his bonds freed lightly.”: This charm frees prisoners and breaks bonds. Odin says no fetters can hold him not ropes, not chains, not traps. Symbolically, it represents liberation from physical or mental captivity.
Charm 5: “A fifth I know: if I see from afar An arrow fly aimed at a foe, It flies not so swift that I stop it not, If ever my eyes behold it.”: One of the most dramatic charms. Odin claims he can halt a spear thrown at him freezing it in flight. Whether literal or symbolic, it represents perfect awareness, intuition, and divine protection.
Charm 6: “A sixth I know: if harm one seeks With a sapling`s roots to send me, The spell shall turn the curse aside, And the ill shall fall on him instead.”: The verse speaks of danger cast from a distance hidden malice, whispered intentions, or ritual attempts meant to wound. The spell forms a barrier that does more than shield; it reflects the attack, bending its force back toward its source. Every hostile act collapses under its own momentum, unable to reach the one it was meant for.
Charm 7: “A seventh I know: if a hall I see Fiery hot round my comrades, It burns not so wide that I will not quench it, I know that song to sing.”: The verse conjures the terror of a burning hall a catastrophe capable of consuming an entire community within moments. This charm brings stillness into chaos, steadying the fire and slowing its advance. Where fear rises and confusion spreads, the chant creates a window of safety, allowing order to return when destruction threatens to take hold.
Charm 8: “An eighth I know: which all can sing For joy and for good will.”: The charm acts upon emotion before it transforms into conflict. It softens rising hostility, dissolving the tension that leads to violence. By redirecting the energy of anger, the spell clears a path toward cooperation instead of bloodshed.
Charm 9: “A ninth I know: when danger is out To stand against my foes, To shelter my friends in the storm of battle.”: The stanza evokes the moment when chaos erupts and allies find themselves overwhelmed. This charm forms a protective presence, placing strength between danger and those who rely on it. In the midst of overwhelming odds, it becomes a shield that allows companions to survive the storm.
Charm 10: “A tenth I know: if at need I see Witches flying on high, I can make it so They go astray from their courses.”: The imagery suggests forces moving with purpose coordinated, threatening, focused. This charm scatters that focus, breaking alignment and sending hostile intent spiraling off its path. Opposition loses coherence, creating openings for strategy, withdrawal, or decisive action.
Charm 11: “An eleventh I know: if haply I lead My old comrades out to war, I sing ’neath the shields, and they fare forth whole, And whole they come home from battle.”: The stanza presents a scene of warriors advancing together, shields raised, moving as one. A chant rises beneath the shield wall, uniting the group in a shared rhythm that steadies their steps and sharpens their focus. The spell weaves protection through collective resolve, turning a band of fighters into a single, coherent force able to face the trials ahead.
Charm 12: “A twelfth I know: if I see in a tree A corpse swinging high on a gallows, I cut and write the runes so well That down he comes and walks with me.”: The verse brings us to the meeting point of life and death a threshold charged with mystery. The runes carved here do not defy natural law outright; they draw upon deeper knowledge of transitions, release, and the unseen paths between realms. Through this act, silence gives way to movement, and what once hung motionless steps back into the world of the living.
Charm 13: “A thirteenth I know: if the new-born son Of a warrior I sprinkle with water, He shall never fall in the thick of the fray, Nor sink beneath the sword.”: The verse describes a ritual of beginnings a moment where a child is set upon a path shaped by courage and endurance. The water marks more than a blessing; it becomes a declaration that the individual will face future battles with fortitude. The charm establishes strength in a life not yet lived, weaving resilience into the child’s destiny.
Charm 14: “A fourteenth I know: if I needs must reckon The gods before men in battle, I can name them one by one.”: The verse captures the importance of recognition and understanding when confronted with beings of great power. To speak each name correctly is to acknowledge nature, purpose, and lineage threads that shape interactions with the divine. The charm grants clarity in the presence of forces that might otherwise overwhelm or intimidate.
Charm 15: “A fifteenth I know: that before the doors Of Delling I sing aloud.”: The verse ties insight to the moment of first light, when darkness gives way and previously hidden shapes become visible. The chant invokes an awakening of perception, creating a sense of direction at the threshold of a new day. It brings illumination to uncertainty, revealing the contours of what lies ahead.
Charm 16: “A sixteenth I know: if I see delight In the heart of a maiden fair, I can turn her mind, if I will, from me, And change her thoughts as I please.”: The verse presents influence not as force, but as subtle redirection the ability to shift the course of someone`s inner experience without breaking it. Rather than overpowering emotion, the chant guides it, altering where affection lands or how it evolves. It illustrates a deep understanding of human perception, where a slight shift can change the entire shape of desire or intention.
Charm 17: “A seventeenth I know: that for the youth Who grows to be warrior bold, He shall never fear the sword in hand, Nor shrink from the heat of battle.”: The verse depicts a blessing spoken at the threshold of adulthood, carried into a life defined by challenge. It instills a steadiness that holds firm even when conflict becomes overwhelming. The charm does not remove danger; it strengthens resolve, embedding fearlessness into the core of the one who receives it.
Charm 18: “An eighteenth I know: which I never tell To maiden or wife of man, Save only to her who clasps my arms, Or else my sister is she.”: The final stanza withholds its secret, revealing only that the charm is reserved for a bond defined by absolute trust. Its nature remains concealed, suggesting a force too profound or dangerous for ordinary speech. The silence surrounding it implies that some knowledge carries responsibilities beyond the reach of common understanding.
