The Nidstang

It has been the sad fate of modern Asatru to be dogged by fools who cannot separate politics from religion. People that are more interested in the ethnicity of their co-religionists than in true connection to the Aesir and Vanir.

Raven Kindred South is proud to join the chain of digital "Nidstangs" intended to address this issue. Our thanks to Grimner for coming up with this idea, his main site is well worth the visit. Go here to check out Grimner's Runes.

FYI. If you send me irate, poorly spelled, rambling e-mail about being a "race traitor", telling me to get out of Asatru, and so on, this only confirms for me that this section of the site is doing its job. Just so you know.

Grimner's Nidstang

To put a "nid" on someone was a form of verbal curse, a magic ritual that was considered very powerful during the Viking age, and before that. The power of words was not taken lightly by these efficient warriors, so a curse of this kind was something very serious to send, not to speak of having a "nid" spoken over oneself.

In the Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson (an Icelandic/Norwegian story from the 10th century) a dispute is told about Egil and the King Eirik Blodyx ("Bloody axe"), who treated Egil wrongly, and also made him an outlaw. This turned out to become a rather bloody situation, with many dead on both sides.

When Egil has slain a large number of King Eiriks subjects and allies on the island of Herdla (outside Iceland), in anger he places a hazelwood pole on the top of this island, and on the top of the pole he places a cut off horse's head, aimed towards land. On the pole he carves sacred runes, with a curse upon King Eirik. He also speaks this curse, this "nid":

"Here I place this "nidstang" ("curse-pole"), and turneth it against King Eirik and Queen Gunnhild - turneth I this against all the gnomes and little people of the land, that they may all be lost, not finding their homes, until they drive King Eirik and Queen Gunnhild out of the country."

According to the legend, the curse soon had it's effect, and King Eirik and his Queen Gunnhild fled to the British Isles.

This "nid", this curse you can read here, is one in a chain of digital "Nidstangs", put up on websites around Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway and Denmark), and it is turned against everyone who mis-use and abuse our ancient sacred symbols, and soil our land with hatred and discord.

At the bottom of this page you will find links to the others who put up "nidstangs" around Scandinavia - and now also in other places, such as Germany and North America

I want to add that this curse is not turned exclusively on a certain, easily detected group of young men (with shaven heads and/or carrying swasticas and such), but against everyone who answers to the description in this "nid".

It is also very important to understand that this curse is not unconditional, that it is only meant to fall upon those who persist in their destructive behaviour.

Tolerance and forgiveness are important principles for any spiritually inclined person, and no innocent should indiscriminately be suffering from this curse.

It is also important to remember how the three great forces of society come together, making these misled persons much more powerful than they would have been on their own - politicians in cowardess and opportunism, businessmen and media in desire of sensations and profit.

I curse!

I curse all of them
who soils our glorious land
with unworthy actions

I curse all of them
who borrow sacred symbols
Gungnir, Mjolnir and Sacred Staffs -
Odins spear, Thors hammer
and runes, given by Odins hand
and soil them
with unholy deeds.

I curse all of them
who in ugly costumes
and shaven heads
as well as suits
and ties
abuse the wisdom of our ancestors
our ancient ways
and our present faith.

I curse all of them
who wants to silent
the mouths of others
for themselves to be heard
with their stupid bellowing

I curse all of them
who puts themselves above others
because of their paleness
who tramples on others
because of the colour of their skin
foreign language
or a different faith

Upon the heads of these miscreants
I call all powers!

I call upon the gnomes, and the little people
to scratch their bodies
and disturb their sleep.

I call upon the elf-smiths
to lay an iron ring
around their chests
giving little room for their spirit
little room for breath
to speak of evil

I call upon the "rimthurses" (frostgiants)
from the depth of Nifelhel
That they may freeze to their death
before they get a chance
to freeze others out

I call Surt and his "fire-thurses"
That they may burn to their death
before others may burn
by their hands

I call upon Loki
That he may twist their vision
so that they strike each other down
before they strike anyone else down

I call upon Freya
So that these young men
never may share a woman's bed
and never have sons
or daughters of their own
as long as they want to hinder
others to do just that

And I call upon Frey
That these young men
have their manhood gelded,
never being able to create anything good
for themselves
never getting peace
or harvest
as long as they want to hinder
others to do just that

I call upon Thor
that he may protect us
from demonic evil
and I call upon his wrath
against the miscreants
who wants to cause pain to others

I call upon Odin
All-father
He who gave spirit
to man and woman
He who together with his brothers
Honer and Lodur
Gave life to man
Body and Soul
Ask and Embla
Man and Woman

I call upon Odin
and the "Norns"
Goddesses of destiny
Urd, Verdandi and Skuld
who altogether judges
everyone after death
that they may judge
these miscreants hard
and that they
not even after their death
may escape their deeds of evil
against other sons and daughters
of Ask and Embla

I set this "nid"
until these drooling servants
of evil and ignorance
do penance
and let each and one
stay by their land, their people
and their faith
wherever in our world
they may choose to live

___________________
Grimner 1998-02-04 (translated into English 1998-03-08)