TEUTONIC MAGIC - Awaken Video

who could might drink. The kobolds of the German mines maybe classed as Svartalfar, as may all of the
knocking spirits heard in subterranean works.
The Svartalfar are said to be miserly and grudging, as well as more ill-tempered than the other
races of Alfar. The word dwarf is etymologically connected with the idea of harming, oppressing, or
maliciously deceiving.7 Like the Dokkalfar, they are skilled in magic, having learned the runes through
the dwarf Dvalin, and they know magical songs; unlike them, they almost never willingly teach their
magical knowledge, though at times they may teach the art of smithing to a mortal. The name "Gandalf"
meaning Wand-Elf or Sorcerer-Elf, was originally the name of a Norse dwarf!8 It is not uncommon for
the Svartalfar to curse things that they are forced to make, such as the sword Tyrfing, or that are stolen
from them, such as Andvari's hoard. They are also said to steal human women and children, perhaps
because there are few dwarvish women. Yet although they are often untrustworthy, viciously vengeful,
and malicious, they can be surprisingly loyal and friendly to humans who treat them well.
Sacrifice is seldom made to Svartalfar, except in rituals where all the Alfar are honored together,
such as the Alfablot in Thorsson' 5 Book of Troth. In matters of craft it is best to call upon the Ljosalfar
and the Svartalfar together, as the two are complementary forces. The Svartalfar are said to be dark of
complexion, ugly, perhaps twisted; they often appear as short but very powerful men with long gray
beards.
LANDVAETTIR
The name laudvaettir means "wights of the land." In this group can be classed all the beings who guard
certain places, those who are bound to rocks, streams or trees, and the lesser nature spirits in general.
They are very clearly distinguished from the ancestral wights: Indeed, the landvaettir seem to have been
most powerful in Iceland, where humans had just arrived. It was written in the pagan law of Iceland
(roughly 930 C.E.) that the dragon heads of ships had to be removed before the ships came into sight of
land, so as not to frighten the landvaettir. At one point King Harald Gormsson hired a wizard who went to
Iceland in the form of a whale to spy out the land, and who saw that all the mountains and hills were full
of land-wights, both large and small. At every place where the wizard attempted to come to land he was
attacked – by a dragon heading a herd of poisonous beasts; by a huge bird and an army of birds; by a
mountain giant and an army of giants. 9 These were the native landvaettir of Iceland, who were thus seen
to be so strong that it would be useless to attack the country.
Landvaettir have been known to befriend particular humans, helping all things to go well for them
in their daily lives. One example of this was the Icelander Beorn, who dreamt that a giant came to him
and asked him to be his partner. He agreed, and was thus befriended by the vaettir, who followed him and
his brothers about and could easily be seen by those with second sight. Bloody sacrifice was not offered
to these wights, but it was very common to leave a bit of food or pour out ale in front of those places
which they were especially known to frequent, or else go to these places, hallow the food to them, and eat
it oneself. Rocks, trees, waterfalls and sometimes streams or wells are the commonest dwelling places of
the Landvaettir. It was thought that they would not stay in a place where someone had been slain, whether
from anger or from fear is uncertain. In modern times they are not likely to dwell too near major
highways or where there is a great deal of pollution or disturbance; however they do not shun human
company and do not object to houses, roads and such as long as their holy places are not destroyed so that
these may be built.
The Landvaettir are visible to the sensitive and to those faring forth from their bodies. They also
appear in dreams. They do not change shape, but an individual landvaettr may appear as almost anything.
VALKYRJUR
The concept of the valkyrja is one of the most complicated in Teutonic thought. The name means
"chooser of the slain" and the most widely accepted description of the valkyrja is that she(or they;
valkryjur often ride in troops of nine or three times nine)rides on horseback over the battlefield, taking
those whom Odhinn wishes for his own to Valhalla. Valkyrjur can be seen by those who are sighted in the
realms of the spirit; they usually appear in times of strife and storm. Like Odhinn, they first appear as
furious and warlike, characteristics which never entirely vanish from them. The names of the valkyrjur in
the Grimnismal include Skogul (the Raging One), Hlokk (the Shrieker), and Hild (battle). Before the
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