TEUTONIC MAGIC - Awaken Video

concealed layers of that-which-is, which lie dark until a further turning awakens them. As Bauschatz
points out the dragon only flies forth when disturbed by some deed which brings into the play the greatest
turnings of Wyrd, coiling and layering in secret for years and coming forth at the point in becoming when
the entirety of that- which-is is to be shifted.19 This can be seen in the figure of Nidhhoggr who lies at the
very roots of the World-Tree, hidden in the deepest layers of that-which-is, and who does not take flight
until the end of Ragnarok when all is reshaped (the tie between the burial mound and the Well of Wyrd
can be seen in the rune perthro and its triad, kenaz-perthro-ingwaz).
In both Beowuif and the Sigurdhr story, a great deal of thought is given to the act of bringing the
hoard forth from its place of hiding, which is to say, bringing the power forth from darkness so that the
living may make use of that inheritance which they have won from the deeper layers of that-which-is. The
corpse of the Beowulf dragon is then tossed off a cliff and into the sea, showing its return to the hidden
layers, even as Nidhhoggr must sink back after his moment of flight.20 It will be noted that the dragon of
Teutonic folklore is as often a creature of water as of earth; this is another means of showing the
understanding of the dragon as the power dwelling beneath that which one can see. Water is, like the
grave mound, the holder of the gold/power of those who have lived before; it is, further, an even clearer
sign of the Well of Urdhr and its springing water which, through the layers of that-which-is, shapes thatwhich-is-becoming.
The second reward which the dragon holds for the hero is the shaping of this inherited hoard in
wisdom. Fafnir warns Sigurdhr of the weird which he will win if he takes the dragon's gold and answers
questions about the workings of the worlds. By drinking Fafnir's blood and eating his heart, Sigurdhr
gains the knowledge of things hidden, which is one of the greatest parts of the dragon's being. Only when
he has claimed this inherited wisdom can he learn the secret of the sleeping Sigrdrifa (see Chapter 18,
Valkryjur) and work the next great turning of his weird.
As the embodiment of hidden might, the dragon is also present in the pathways of power which flow
beneath the skin of the earth. Lore showing this side of the dragon's being is particularly rich in England
and other parts of Britain where the patterns of power have been marked with such care, but the Norse
certainly knew about this might and its use. The clearest showing-forth of the dragon or serpent as the
great flow of earth-power is the Midgardhr's Wyrm which girdles the globe. Thorr's struggle with it in
Hymiskvidha shines forth as the shape of the tales in which a heavenly wight binds the earth-dragon to its
task of holding the world together either by pinning it down or by slaying it, As Thorr's power comes
from the meeting of Odhinn's wind-might with the earth his mother, he is most well-matched with the
Wyrm. The dragon/serpent flow is a pathway for those who know how to use it; witness Odhinn's taking
of snake-shape to enter Hnitborg and reach the Odhroerir-mead. These paths are, like the wyrms of the
story, a source of power and wisdom for the strong and a danger for the weak and unwary, holding the
roots of the world together or gnawing at them in the same buried darkness.
The chief open uses of the dragon were on weapons, as the prow of the longship, or in intertwined
ornamentation; the coiled, rune-etched wyrm is a well-known sight to the learner of Teutonic lore. The
wyrm coiled on the hilt of the weapon to strengthen the wearer's hand, and ran up and down the blade so
that it would be mighty and deadly in battle, As the ship's prow, the dragon worked in several ways: it
showed the ship safely through the dark paths of the waters; it brought the force of the dragon's fiery
strength and bravery into those warriors who used it as their battle-sign; and it aided in wreaking fear and
woe in those it was used against. It will be marked that the dragon's head had to be removed before
coming into sight of land, and this was perhaps done in order not to frighten the landvaettir, but moreover
because the dragon in the open was the sign and agent of a great upheaval in the land-a weird unwanted,
when one hoped to return to a peaceful home. The use of the rune-carved wyrm on a memorial stone
showed the power of the person remembered and of the deeds done which, though hidden in the layers of
lives, would still work upon the worlds and be reachable to those who know how to draw forth might
from hiding. The wyrm further hints that secrets are held in the actual writings which only those who
know can read and learn, thus shielding the mysteryand gaining the added might of concealment.
The wyrm has sides of being which make it sib to the workings of several gods. As the keeper of
secret wisdom, it is a part of odhinn's mysteries-the god takes the form of a serpent and shares names with
the wyrms at the roots of the World-Tree. The use of the wyrm in runic writings has been spoken of, and
the understanding of the dragon-paths is needed by the vitki. The relationship between Thorr and the
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