kylec | Slow Havamal: 129

In verse 129, Odin counsels Loddfafnir not to look up when he’s in a fight, or else he may go mad. Also, to beware lest someone curse him.

When Odin cautions our old friend Loddfafnir not to look up, he may mean to avoid gazing over the head of the opponent before you to feel the press of the entire army behind him; or maybe there’s a metaphorical sense of men who stare at the sky going crazy. Either way, when one finds himself in a battle, it’s best to remain focused on the task at hand. To imagine yourself facing a horde of screaming foes will overwhelm the fiercest warrior. But in truth, you only ever have to deal with the handful of enemies within spear’s reach at any one time.

The Old Norse word gjalt comes from the Old Irish geilt, which refers to a man who has fallen into a mad panic during battle and fled into the woods to live as a wild man, spurning human contact and sometimes growing feathers and claws. While Crawford notes the Norse version is less involved—it can be used for a temporary panic—given the extensive contact between the cultures at the time of the writing of Havamal it isn’t unlikely that the more severe usage is intended.

In modern terms, we may speak of PTSD. We need not be warriors to experience trauma. Any time we face something that overwhelms our ability to grasp and respond skillfully, no matter how trivial, a seed of fear can take root within us. It may soon pass, but in the worst cases, it hampers our ability to live a normal life within society. Giving someone the advice, “Don’t panic!” seems almost cruel. No one chooses that response. Then how can we avoid it?

The first way is to be aware ahead of time, which is precisely when Odin warns Loddfafnir. Essentially, he names a particular situation in which men are prone to lose themselves, and asks Loddfafnir to guard against such a response. We can think of situations that make us anxious or outright fill us with dread, and if not avoid them, then gather our resources beforehand and make a plan for how we’ll approach them when they happen.

The second way suggested in this verse is to avoid overloading ourselves with imagined pessimism. It might feel like the whole world is against us, but that’s probably not the case. We should be realistic about what actually threatens us, and what we have the capacity to do. We can break this down by task and time. Facing an entire army in a days-long battle is scary, but no one can do that all at once. In the moment, I only have to face that small section of the line in front of me. The actions I have at my disposal are limited, and that’s good. I simply have to execute a basic plan while staying focused on what’s before me. If it helps, I can even break it down to movements by the second.

I have found this helps me retain composure during sparring, which for years caused me stress which gassed me out. Now, when I set my intention on keeping my breathing and heartbeat regular, and do one thing at a time to counter my opponent, it’s much easier than thinking “I have to go three minutes with this dude.” This level of focus also allows me to more easily let go of things that didn’t go my way a few moments ago, like getting punched in the face, since the situation has changed. And it prevents me from worrying about things like how the round will eventually be scored, what people will think of me later, etc.

Whatever it is that threatens to overwhelm us, a bit of preparation can go a long way to keeping our heads on straight. The advice is not easy, but it is simple: don’t look up.