MeadRed wineA sharp oath keptAn act of courageA wrong avenged justlyArmour or steel cared for
Invocation Approach
Tone
Proud and unyielding
Address
BrynhildrShieldmaidenDaughter of Budli
Relationship
The equal who will not be managed
Warning
She is a human hero not a goddess her story ends in fire
Resonance
Those keeping a hard oath those who will not be lied to
Symbols
ShieldHelmRing of fireSwordPyre
Mythology Summary
Brynhildr is the valkyrie of the Völsung cycle: Völsunga saga and the Eddic poems (Sigrdrífumál, Brot af Sigurðarkviðu, Guðrúnarkviða I, Helreið Brynhildar) tell how she is woken by Sigurðr from a ring of fire, how he wins her and then, under a spell, wins her for Gunnarr instead, and how the deception ends with Sigurðr's death and Brynhildr's own on his pyre. In Sigrdrífumál the awakened valkyrie is named Sigrdrífa, and identifying the two is an old but not certain scholarly equation. The Nibelungenlied's Prünhilt is the German branch of the same tradition.
Modern Practice
Brynhildr is called on by those keeping a hard oath, by anyone who refuses to be arranged, and at the moment a betrayal has to be named. The practice is the plain refusal, the kept word, and the willingness to pay for it.