Winifred Hodge Rose
Modern Heathen symbel is a sacred rite that has deep roots. Underlying this mystery that is enacted by us here in Midgard is something deeper that I call a ‘mysterium.’ A mysterium, as I define it, is the sacred, shaping mystery underlying and giving meaning to any religious rite. It is the story we tell about the meaning of the rite, the mythology that underlies it, and the essence of meaning and significance that we enter into as we enact the rite.
Here I’m offering a view of two different ‘mysteria’ concerning the ritual of symbel. One is the familiar mysterium of ‘speaking at the Well of Wyrd,’ the one that a great many—perhaps all—modern Heathens ascribe to. The other is an alternate mysterium based not on Urð’s Well, but on Mimir’s.
Gathering at the Well of Wyrd
In the following passage Bauschatz, in his book The Well and the Tree, outlines the essential elements of symbel and its connection with the Well and the Norns. He is following on from an analysis he had laid out previously, of the symbel or symle in the Beowulf poem where Beowulf is welcomed to Heorot by queen Wealhþeow bearing the drinking horn to him, beginning at Beowulf line 612. When she hands him the horn, speaking ‘wise words’ to him, Beowulf drinks and swears his oath to slay Grendel that night.
“The elements of this typical symbel bear a close relationship not only to those already described by Tacitus but also to those isolated in the myth of Urth’s Well. The cup…is an enclosure, in many ways like the brunnr (the well-spring). It collects and holds the intoxicating drink, one that is clearly beyond the ordinary. … The act of drinking takes place in the presence of the act of speech…in such activity, the power of all other actions is brought to bear upon the ritual moment and fixes it within the ever-evolving interrelation of all present actions with the past. This combination of words, their denoted actions, and the semantic elements of the drink and the cup repeat the whole act of the continual speaking of the ørlǫg and the nurturing of the tree Yggdrasil, the central activities of the Norns. … here also the ritual words spoken become part of this past. They disappear into the drink; as it is drunk, the speaker of the speech, his actions, and the drink become one, assuring that all now have become part of the strata laid within the well.” (Bauschatz pp. 77-78.)
Bauschatz’ work in analyzing and describing what I call the ‘mysterium’ underlying Heathen symbel has been highly influential in shaping the modern Heathen practice of symbel or sumble, giving this ritual a profound depth of meaning, significance, and beauty. But this action of laying orlog in the Well as a consequence of speaking in symbel has also given rise to concerns that the orlog laid by one person’s words, especially oaths, could impact the orlog not only of the speaker but also of the other participants in that symbel. I discuss this matter at length in my article Oathing in Heathen Symbel, where I offer some thoughts that might mitigate some of this concern. Here, I also offer an option for mitigating this concern, but it comes from a completely different direction. And this idea is worthwhile, I believe, not only in order to mitigate concerns about impacts of symbel on group orlog, but also as a worthy idea of its own, an alternate view of the symbel mysterium.
Meeting at Mimir’s Well
The association of Heathen symbel with the Well of Wyrd is a very beautiful and powerful one. But there is another Well to consider, too: Mimir’s Well of Wisdom, Memory and Inspiration. To my mind, Mimir’s Well is just as suitable for association with symbel as is Urð’s Well, if not even more so—depending on the purpose of speech at that symbel. Mimir’s Well is the repository of collective memory, the source of inspiration for words and deeds, and the source of inspired wisdom, including that contained within the Runes.
Laying our words, boasts, oaths, memories, thanks, and prayers into the Well of Memory, and then reaching in there to receive wisdom, inspiration and deep memories from ancestral and collective sources, is another inspiring image to help us structure the mysterium of symbel. The Well of Memory can store our oaths and boasts, memories and prayers, and keep them safely for future reference by ourselves and by others.
The difference is that there is not the explicit connection with orlog here, as there is with the Norns’ Well. Of course, orlog is laid anywhere, any time that significant deeds and events occur—significant in the eyes of the Norns, whether we see it that way or not. But at Mimir’s Well we are not deliberately trying to lay orlog, with all the implications of such an action. Instead, our focus is on memory, wisdom, and inspiration.
Think about what is spoken of most of the time, in most modern symbels. We offer prayers and petitions to the Holy Ones. We drink to the memories of loved and admired people. We share meaningful memories and wisdom we’ve learned from life experience. We may recite poetry or sing a song. We honor the deeds and achievements of friends, loved ones, people who’ve contributed to the growth of modern Heathenry, leaders and teachers. We boast our own deeds to set a good example, inspire others to do the same, and to lay them in Heathen folk-memory.
All of these actions are highly suitable for Mimir’s Well of memory, wisdom, and inspiration, it seems to me. Mimir’s Well holds as much mystery and meaning as does Urð’s Well, and not only memory, wisdom, and inspiration. Mimir’s Well and the mead it holds served as an initiatory medium for Odin when he came down from the Tree. It holds Odin’s eye, which—lying in the Well—can see what it could not see if it were in Odin’s head: memories, wisdom, inspiration that lie hidden in this Well. The same for Heimdall’s hearing: he can hear the whispers hidden in this Well in addition to hearing all else that goes on in Midgard and other realms.
Orlog, wyrd, and the mysteries of the Norns are of utmost importance and meaning, but so are the contents of Mimir’s Well. Mimir’s waters can flow into our own inspired words at symbel, speaking wisdom and the deepest truths of our hearts, celebrating our lives, our ancestors and heroes, our hopes and dreams and memories in company with one another. Many symbels do not even involve oath-taking, but all symbels involve actions relevant to Mimir’s Well.
Actions of the Two Wells
There’s an important question to consider when musing on whether Mimir’s Well could or should offer an alternative or an additional mysterium for Heathen symbel. That is: what are the actual actions, the dynamics, of each of the Wells? Each of them might look still and serene if we imagined standing there, viewing them at the surface, but there’s a lot going on underneath the surface! It might be thought that Urð’s Well is the more active one, with all of the activities and processes of the Well and its tenders, the Norns. We might be tempted to think of Mimir’s Well of memory as simply a passive place to store things. Not so!
I envision Mimir’s Well as functioning in a similar way to Urð’s Well: as a container of memories—individual memories, collective memory, even the collective unconscious—which are laid in layers within the Well as all of us go about living our lives, generation after generation. As ‘significant’ deeds fall into Urð’s Well and are laid there as orlog, so also ‘meaningful’ memories are laid in Mimir’s Well and ferment together into wisdom under the influence of the sacred mead, Oðrœrir: the wode-stirrer, the giver of inspiration.
The active word here is ‘ferment.’ The mead of wisdom and inspiration, Oðrœrir, is considered to be contained within Mimir’s Well. Oðrœrir means ‘wode-stirrer, inspiration-stirrer,’ and it is brewed through the process of fermentation. It is a sacred drink with an extensive mysterium of its own, and a long history of sacred use in Indo-European myth and history. Mimir’s Well is not simply sitting there holding memories and wisdom. It is actively fermenting memories, i.e. knowledge, experience, and meaning, into wisdom and then into inspiration.
Just as, working with the Norns and their Well, we can participate deliberately in the complex processes of orlog and wyrd, so we can work with Mimir’s Well to ferment our memories, knowledge, and experience into wisdom and inspiration. And when we do this in symbel with others, we do it together as a group. We blend the memories and experiences of us as individuals into group memories and experience, then ferment them into institutional memory, group customs and shared history, that weave our individual threads into a meaningful group whole. This activity is just as meaningful as working with the Well of Wyrd.
Our Choice in Symbel
I’d like to point out that we, as Heathens with spiritual might and awareness, can choose where to direct our attention, intention, prayers, boasts, ceremonies. We can choose, at the beginning of symbel, whether to dip the symbel-horn into the Well of Memory and Inspiration, or into the Well of Wyrd. Our deeds in symbel and resulting from symbel are indeed likely to filter into the Well of Wyrd. There is no escaping that Well, and we must be mindful of that in symbel as well as in our lives generally. But as the basis of a convivial group ceremony, where most of the words spoken are likely to relate to ancestors and heroes, to memories, wisdom and inspiration in our Heathen lives, and where we want to speak our truths in deeply-inspired words: Mimir’s Well has a great deal to offer as the shape of our symbel mysterium.
Even if a symbel is directed by ritual toward the mysterium of Mimir’s Well rather than Urð’s Well, anyone wishing to oath, or boast a deed completed, or announce the payment of shild at the Well of Wyrd can simply say so at the beginning of their speech, saying something like: “I stand at the Well of the Norns / Wyrd and offer these words from my heart….” It’s important to note the “I” here, rather than “we”, though an oath-helper may choose to stand with the oath-taker at the Well, accepting the shared orlog of the oath in full knowledge.
The rest of those present can stand as witnesses, as guards of honor, warding the sacred space of the person facing Urð’s Well, but not all deliberately linking their orlogs together. The rest of us are still over at Mimir’s Well, sheltered under its root, while the oath-taker stands tall at Urð’s Edge and accepts the orlog he or she is weaving with the oath.
Which Well Fits Well?
So, I offer this proposition: It might be worthwhile to think about the pros and cons of which Well we seek to connect with during any given symbel, and how each option might affect our conduct of symbel, the outcomes of our oaths and boasts, and the luck and orlog of the group holding the symbel as well as of the individuals present. Here are some questions to ask for this purpose.
Do we, as a group, want or need to shape and share a group orlog in this symbel? Is there a well-directed purpose for this? The symbel might be specifically intended to weave together and strengthen group orlog, and in such a case the Well of Wyrd is most appropriate. This would particularly be the case for a small, close-knit group who have history together, know and trust one another well, who may even have oaths of loyalty to one another. For them, each symbel may be a deliberate strengthening of group orlog as well as other purposes of symbel.
Another example is a wedding-symbel, ideally including the blood-kin as well as the close Heathen kin of the bride and groom; likewise an adoption or blood-siblinghood ceremony. Oaths and boasts in these contexts are specifically intended to link the orlogs of people together, and to strengthen existing links. Group orlog-weaving in symbel at the Well of Wyrd fits well for these circumstances. The Well of Wyrd is also the appropriate setting for making an oath, or reporting on an oath achieved or shild paid for a failed oath.
Or is our aim to share a convivial ceremony with one another, perhaps in a larger group where not all participants are well-known to one another? The ceremony might even include guests who are not Heathen. Here, our purpose is to share the meaningfulness of our lives, our thoughts, our memories, our history and aspirations. We weave these together in symbel, and lay them, together, within the depths of Mimir’s Well. There, they will ferment into a heady brew of group-memory, group-culture, and group-inspiration for future symbels to draw upon. But the fateful linkage of group orlog will not be as set, as powerful, as it would be at the Well of Wyrd.
As we develop the customs of our group, and as we prepare for each symbel, let us give thought to this: shall we knowingly weave group-orlog in this symbel, aware of what is involved with this? Or shall we convivially lay down a hearty brew of memory and inspiration, ready to froth up into our symbels yet to come?
Both Wells are accessed by our thoughts and deeds, and influence us throughout our lives. But by deliberately placing ourselves in the vicinity of one or the other during a sacred ceremony, we emphasize and tap into the power of one more than the other. We choose the mysterium which will shape our ceremony in the ways we desire and intend.
Note: This material is included in my book Orlog Yesterday and Today: The Shapings of the Norns.
Book-Hoard
Bauschatz, Paul C. The Well and the Tree: World and Time in Early Germanic Culture. The University of Massachusetts Press, 1982.