In the poem Grógaldr, the lad Svipdagr is sent on a dangerous journey. He goes to the gravemound of his mother and summons her. She arises and chants nine spells of protection over him. This stanza is the first:

Pann gelk þér fyrstan,
es kveða fjǫlnýtan,
þan gǫl Rindar rani,
at þú of ǫxl skjǫtir
þvi er þér at alt þykkir;
sjalfr leið sjalfan þik.

That I chant to you first,
which is called fully useful,
That chanted 'hog snout' of Rindr [Odin]
That you deflect off the shoulder
That which seems to you encompasses all
Self lead yourself.

In Old Norse mythology, Odin is the master magician. In other poems, he boasts of knowing spells for numerous purposes. Here, Gróa, Svipdag's mother, quotes Odin as the source, and she chants this first spell as a generalized apotropaic charm over her son.

What is 'hog snout' of Rindr? This is an obscure circumlocution, or "kenning", that I argue refers to Odin in the following way. Rindr begot Odin a son, hence he was at one point "hers". Rani, the "hog snout" refers to Odin as the originator of the battle formation svínfylking, which translates to: a 'swine-array,' the wedge-shaped phalanx of the Scandinavians, from its being shaped like a swine's snout.

In this video, I mimic the atmosphere and delivery of the spell chanted by Gróa. I offer it as an apotropaic charm for those who resist fascism.

-- Úlfr Ólason

Trolls take thee!

Stop! Stop!

Wrath of the Gods

A Longer Rigmarole?

Nithing Pole

Broken Oaths

Protection