2-40“The Lay of Svipdag” Stanza 1–16

A Mother's Spells from the Grave

How does a dead mother help her son on his journey?

Svipdag visits the grave of his dead mother, Groa. While she was alive, she told him to come to her grave whenever he needed help. Svipdag calls his mother awake. She asks what has happened.

His stepmother has ordered him to find a maiden in a place he does not know how to reach. Svipdag fears he will die on the journey. Still young, he asks his mother to cast spells to protect him.

Groa sings 9 spells to help him on his way. If he is bound, the locks will spring open and the shackles fall away. At sea, the spells will protect his boat from wind and waves. When he speaks with a giant, they will give him wisdom and the words he needs.

At last, his mother tells him to keep her words in his heart. As long as he remembers them, she says, his life will be filled with good fortune.

Illustration of A Mother's Spells from the Grave