The Havamal: A Heathen Path of Living (Part 36)

60.

A man should know how many logs

And strips of bark from the birch

To stock in autumn, that he may have enough

Wood for his winter fires.

On the surface, this stanza deals with the importance of being prepared for times of adversity. It is important to note a few key words in this stanza. First, is the word “know” in the first line. “A man should know” implies that we should know what we need rather than make assumptions, which can lead us to assume too little and then find ourselves in dire need later or to assume too much and then we find ourselves working harder than necessary. It is better to work smart than to work hard. Another important word is “autumn”. This stanza tells us that we should be preparing for winter in autumn. We don’t have to spend all year long worrying about winter. We need to be prepared but don’t want to become so obsessed with preparing for adversity that we neglect enjoying life when it is going well.

One of my hobbies is learning survival skills such as how to start a fire using primitive methods, building shelters out of natural materials, or making stone age tools out of flint, wood, and bone. I call it a hobby because though I am interested in learning these things, I do this out of a love of nature and an appreciation of the skills of our ancestors. I do not learn them out of a fear of some apocalyptic future. I want to prepare for winter in autumn without neglecting the joys of spring and summer.

Because of my interest in survival skills, I understand the reference to birch tree bark in this stanza. Birch trees, which are common in North America and Northern Europe, have two qualities that make them excellent for fire building. First, the bark contains a lot of oils, which means that shavings from the bark will catch fire from a spark even if they are wet. This ability to burn even when wet would have been very important to the Norse living in a cold, wet winter. Also, the wood of a birch tree is rather soft which means that logs are easier to cut and cure for fires in winter.

A deeper significance to this stanza comes from the runes, the Norse method of divination and magic. One of the runes, berkano, gets its name from old Germanic root word birka, which means “birch”. The berkano rune denotes continual growth and rebirth. (Though I am not sure if the words are related, I can’t help but notice that the words “birch” and “birth” sound very similar.) Birch trees are known to grow in difficult soil and are often some of the first trees to grow back in an area after a forest fire. So, another message this stanza could be telling us that by preparing for difficult times, we are also preparing our rebirth once they have passed.