18 Spells of Hávamál

This graphic grimoire in cards is loosely inspired by the runic songs of Hávamál. Explore bindrunes and spells for: protection of various species (e.g. from fire), finding a suitable partner, love, blessing children, and more.

Grimoire contains:

18 cards

Bilingual booklet in Czech and English with quotation of the Eddic songs, interpretation of each card, interpretation of the runes connected in a bindrune symbol, interpretation of the illustration

Paper box

Author: Šárka Sedláková (Taxus)

Illustration: Brad Robert Benford

The main author, Taxus, told us how this graphic grimoire was created:

“The idea of reworking Odin's magical chants from Hávamál into bindrunes was conceived in my head a long time ago. I had runes written in EDDA for each spell, which would make it possible to cast the spell. 

Then, when we were discussing the idea of making another deck at the Femme Occulte editorial meeting, in the spring of 2022, I made this suggestion. So the idea of a deck of "slightly different" cards gradually began to surface. It was clear that the resulting spells would have to be modified in some ways and only inspired by Hávamál, as Odin lists some very archaic needs that do not correspond much with the life of modern people. I have decided to keep both, the original meaning, but also add the possibility of contemporary use. 

As I wrote each individual spell, it was as if I could see between the lines a representation of what I wanted to see on the card, and so in collaboration with the illustrator and designer, the idea of partially translucent bindrunes drawn over the individual card stories was born.”