The Galdrabók is a manuscript of Icelandic magical spells written some time in the late 1500s, making up the work of four scribes over a period of about 100 years1. Whilst some of the formulas within the book take the form of prayers, the majority of them require more active participation. Almost like a recipe book, they call for the reader to create symbols and follow set phases in their casting.
A lot of the spells are decidedly non-Christian, with some going so far as to call them diabolical2. Perhaps one reason for this descriptor is the use of human blood in spell casting. Because I have the sense of humour of a child, my favourite of these is Spell 46: a spell which will inflict your enemy with great shitting and very great farting.
Taken from Stephen E. Flowers translation3, the spell can be seen here:
Write these staves on white calfskin with your blood. Rouse your
blood from your thigh and say: I carve you eight áss (runes) [a],
nine nauð (runes) [n], thirteen þurs (runes) [x], which are to
afflict your belly with great shitting and shooting pains, and all
these may afflict your belly with very great farting. May your
posts (= “bones”) split asunder, may your guts burst, may your
farting never stop, neither day nor night. May you become as
weak as the fiend, Loki, who was snared by all the gods. In your
mightiest name Lord God, Spirit, Creator, Óðinn, Þórr, Savior,
Freyr, Freyja, Oper, Satan, Beelzebub, helper, mighty God,
(protect) with your followers Uteos, Morss, Nokte, Vitales.
The described runes can be seen here:
Childishness aside, it’s interesting to see that the spell calls on both Pagan gods, on Lord God/Spirit/Creator, and on Satan. I guess you’re covering all of your bases with a role-call like that.
References
- Icelandic Magic: Practical Secrets of the Northern Grimoires by Stephen E. Flowers https://ia802207.us.archive.org/5/items/icelandic-magic-practical-secrets-of-the-northern-grimoires-stephen-e.-flowers-z-lib.org/Icelandic%20Magic%20Practical%20Secrets%20of%20the%20Northern%20Grimoires%20%28Stephen%20E.%20Flowers%29%20%28z-lib.org%29.pdf ↩︎
- Ibid ↩︎
- Ibid ↩︎