The Havamal: A Heathen Path of Living (Part 6)

12.

Less good than one would believe

Is mead for the sons of men:

A man knows less the more he drinks,

And becomes a befuddled fool.

13.

“I-forget” is the name men give the heron

Who hovers over the fast:

Fettered I was in his feathers that night,

When a guest in Gunnlod's court.

14.

Drunk I got, dead drunk,

When Fjalar the wise was with me:

Best is the banquet one looks back on afterwards,

And remembers all that happened.

These stanzas, of course, refer to the problems with too much alcohol. Something to note: Odin, who is considered The Wanderer in the Havamal, is same god who gave humanity mead. So, he is not a teetotaling god who shuns all forms of alcohol. Rather, he liked mead so much that he stole it from giants and carried it all the way back home. The mead that he stole is called the Mead of Poetry because it was believed to turn anyone who drank it into a bard. I believe this is why the first stanza begins with “less good than one would believe” because the ancient Norse would have heard about the magical benefits of mead. So, they needed reminding that there are downsides as well.

Another part of the first stanza, “a man knows less the more he drinks” does not mean that one should never ever drink. But, the more you drink the more harm it will do. But, we know that this is not always the case. I often work with clients who simply cannot drink at all. As one of the 12 Steps used in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) states, they are “powerless in face of alcohol”. They cannot have one beer without it leading to two, to four, to twelve. For some people, one glass of wine can destroy their lives.

The last two stanzas rather poetically describe another problem with alcohol: blackouts. These are also the first stanzas in which it seems that The Wanderer is speaking to us directly about his personal experience. Gunnlod is the giant who was guarding the Mead of Poetry when Odin stole it from her. The second stanza tells us that Odin had enough to drink that he cannot remember much. In the third stanza, Odin tells us that it happened again when he was with Fjalar, who was one of the dwarves that originally crafted the mead. But, The Wanderer advises us that we should never drink to the point that we cannot remember what happened. It is understandable, though not advisable, that some people prefer to drink so they cannot remember their past. But, for recreational drinkers, what is the point of even going to a party if you will get so drunk that you cannot remember it?