EIR

SOURCES

Poetic Edda

     (Svipdag said:)
"Tell me, Fjolsvith,     For fain I would know;
     answer thou as I ask:
what the mountain is hight     which the maided doth
     dwell on, aloft and alone?"

     (Fjolsvith said:)
"Tis Lyfja Mount hight,    and long has it been 
     for the sick and the halt a help:"
for hale grows wholly,     though hopeless she seems
     the woman who wins its height."

     (Svipdag said:)
"Tell me, Fjolsvith,     For fain I would know;
     answer thou as I ask:
what the maids are hight     before Mengloth's knees
     that sit in sisterly wise?"

     (Fjolsvith said:)
"Hlif one is hight,     Hlifthrasa another,
     a third, Thjothvara;
eke Bjort and Bleik, Blith and Frith,
     Eir and Aurbortha."

     (Svipdag said:)
"Tell me, Fjolsvith,     For fain I would know;
     answer thou as I ask:
do they help award     to their worshippers
    if need of help the have?"

     (Fjolsvith said:)
"Ay, they help award     to their worshippers,
     in hallowed stead if they stand;
there is never a need     that neareth a man,
     but they lend a helping hand."

Svipdagasmal 36 - 40. Hollander translation

Prose Edda

"Third is Eir. She is an extremely good physician." (Gilfaginning)

Eir is also listed amongst the Valkyries in Skaldskaparmal.

OUR THOUGHTS

The following was written after an Eir Blot in 2003:

Vingolf members have frequently called upon Eir, and offered her many a libation, and she has always been reliable and generous with her gifts. The passage from Svipdagasmal suggests that some kind of sacrifice was usually made to the goddesses on Lyfja Mount (The Mountain of Healing) for health; indeed, the mere climbing of the mountain would seem to a sacrifice of sorts in itself. This, combined with Eir's less than loquacious nature (as mentioned in Our Troth, as well as experienced by Catheryn Burke, a Vingolf member who is a devotee of Eir), suggests that getting a "helping hand" (as the Eddic Poet calls it) from Eir might be difficult. It has been our experience, however, that the effort put forth and the intention are more important than the gift itself. Though mostly silent, Eir has made her presence (through visions and feelings) known quite manifest to Catheryn, especially during rituals dedicated to her. Eir also has an impeccable "bedside manner", and freely offers emotional counsel and support when healing, for whatever reason, is not possible for the person praying to Eir (or the individual he/she may be praying on behalf of). When emotional healing is in order, Eir does not magically make everything better, like some wonder drug, but helps the individual upon a path that leads to healing (change of lifestyle, etc). Like the worshippers of old climbing Lyfja Mount, one must make an effort to work for healing, rather than sit back and expect the goddess to effect a change without aid from the patient.