Heilung - Traust Lyrics, Meaning, and Ancient Ritual Context
The song Traust by Heilung is more than a performance—it's a living ritual rooted in the forgotten tongues of ancient Europe. Through the fusion of Old High German, Old Norse, and reconstructed Icelandic-style chants, Traust functions as both protective incantation and historical invocation.
The title itself, Traust, translates to trust, support, or protection, reflecting the song's deeper purpose: calling upon ancestral forces to shield, empower, and guide.
🕯️ Two Worlds Speak: West Germanic & Norse Traditions Collide
The structure of Traust blends two distinct but spiritually connected traditions:
1. Old High German Merseburg Incantation (9th-10th century CE)
- Among the earliest recorded magical spells from Germanic Europe.
- Recited slowly, invoking divine feminine beings (Idisi) to free warriors and break spiritual bonds.
2. Old Norse & Icelandic Galdrar (Protective Spells)
- Faster, chant-like, drawing from Norse seiðr and galdr magic traditions.
- Invoke mythic entities like Urðr, Rindr, and protective charms against enemies, storms, sickness, and death.
The musical contrast mirrors this duality:
- The Merseburg section feels ethereal, ancestral—rooted in cosmic balance.
- The Norse galdr pulses with urgency, practicality, and earthly protection.
Together, they form a dialogue—a spiritual thread across time.
🔥 Lyrics, Translation & Commentary
Part I: Merseburg Incantation I (Old High German)
Eiris sazun idisi
(Once sat the Idisi (or divine women))
sazun hera duoder
They sat here and there
suma hapt heptidun
Some bound the fetters
suma heri lezidun
Some loosed the army
suma clubodun umbi cuoniouuidi
Some shackled around the warrior's limbs
insprinc haptbandun
Spring forth, break the bindings
infar vigan dun
Go forward into battle
Meaning: This is a battlefield charm invoking the Idisi—divine women or fate-weavers—calling on them to break bonds, free warriors, and manipulate fate itself.
Part II: Old Norse & Icelandic Galdrar (Protective Spells)
The Norse section follows an ancient structure of ordinal-numbered stanzas—a common pattern in magical formulas, charms, and texts like the Poetic Edda. These spell sequences build power incrementally, each chant layering protection, healing, or warding.
NOTE on Ordinals:
Phrases like "Þann gel ek þér annan" (This I chant for you second), with meaningful ordinal numbers, reflect a ritual counting structure, believed to create rhythm, emphasis, and cumulative magical force. This formulaic style is found across Germanic spellcraft, runic inscriptions, and healing incantations.
Dr. Jackson Crawford talks a bit about Old Norse ordinal numbers in this video:
Protective Spells Breakdown
First Spell - Healing
Þann gel ek þér fyrstan
Rindr gól at þú öxl skjótir
leið þú sjálfan þik
Second Spell - Safe Travel
Þann gel ek þér annan
Urðar lokur haldi þér
Third Spell - Death Avoidance
Þann gel ek þér inn þriðja
snúisk til Heljar meðan
Fourth Spell - Enemy Reconciliation
ef fjándr standa galgvegi
hugr þeim hverfi til handa þér
Fifth Spell - Release from Bonds
leysigaldr læt ek þér fyr legg
stökkr þá láss af limum
Sixth Spell - Sea Protection
ef þú á sjó kemr
logn ok lögr gangi þér saman
Seventh Spell - Frost Protection
ef þik sækir frost á fjalli
megi-t þínu holdi fara
Eighth Spell - Nighttime Warding
ef þik úti nemr nótt á niflvegi
þér til meins firr megi
Ninth Spell - Wisdom Against Giants
ef þú við naddgöfga jötun orðum skiptir
máls ok mannvits þér á minni gefit
- Fortifies wit, memory, and composure in facing formidable foes (like Jötnar)
⚡ Ritual Power, Modern Resonance
Traust isn't simply historical recreation—it's a ritual for modern ears, reviving:
- Ancient protective magic against both physical and spiritual threats.
- The timeless Germanic archetype of divine female power (Idisi, Urðr, Rindr).
- The rhythmic, chant-driven tradition of galdr, shaping reality through sound.
Musically and lyrically, it echoes a central theme: Trust in protection, community, and ancestral strength.
Complete Lyrics and Translation
The piece is largely ritualistic and protective in nature—drawing from ancient Germanic magical traditions, especially healing and binding spells. The lyrics invoke idisi (divine women or valkyrie-like figures), Rindr (a mythical woman who bore Odin's son Váli), and forces like Urðr (fate). It is full of galdrar (sung spells) designed to protect a person from harm, illness, and spiritual attack, invoking mythic power.
1. Old High German (Merseburg Incantation I)
Eiris sazun idisi
(Once sat the Idisi (or divine women))
sazun hera duoder
(they sat, here and there)
suma hapt heptidun
(some fettered bonds)
suma heri lezidun
(some loosed the army)
suma clubodun umbi cuoniouuidi
(some shackled around warrior limbs)
insprinc haptbandun
(spring forth and break the bindings)
infar vigan dun
(go forward into battle)
🗝️ Note: This is an ancient charm calling upon the idisi—supernatural female beings akin to valkyries—to free warriors and release them from bondage.
2. Old Norse / Icelandic Style Galdrar (Protective Spells)
Þann gel ek þér fyrstan
(This I chant for you first)
þann kveða fjölnýtan
(this one is said to be very useful)
þann gól Rindr Rani
(this was chanted by Rindr the wise woman)
at þú of öxl skjótir
(so that you quickly move your shoulder)
því er þér atalt þykkir
(that which seems unbearable to you)
sjalfr leið þú sjalfan þik
(may you yourself lead your own self)
---
Fjon thvae eg af mer fjanda minna
(I drive away from me my enemies)
Ran og reithi rikra manna
(robbery and wrath of powerful men)
---
Þann gel ek þér annan
(This I chant for you second)
ef þú árna skalt
(if you must travel)
viljalauss á vegum
(helpless on the roads)
Urðar lokur
(Urðr's bindings)
haldi þér öllum megum
(may hold you with all powers)
er þú á sinnum sér
(if you see her on the path)
---
Þann gel ek þér inn þriðja
(This I chant for you the third)
ef þér þjóðáar
(if noble-born men)
falla at fjörlotum
(fall to death's grip)
Horn ok Ruðr
(Horn and Ruðr)
snúisk til heljar meðan
(may turn toward Hel in the meantime)
en þverri æ fyr þér
(but always diminish before you)
---
Þann gel ek þér inn fjórða
(This I chant for you the fourth)
ef þik fjándr standa
(if enemies confront you)
görvir á galgvegi
(prepared on the gallows-path)
hugr þeim hverfi
(may their mind turn away)
til handa þér
(toward helping you)
ok snúisk þeim til sátta sefi
(and may their spirits turn to reconciliation)
---
Þann gel ek þér inn fimmta
(This I chant for you the fifth)
ef þér fjöturr verðr
(if a fetter binds you)
borinn at boglimum
(laid upon your arms)
leysigaldr læt ek
(I perform a release-charm)
þér fyr legg of kveðinn
(chanted over your limbs)
ok stökkr þá láss af limum
(and then the lock jumps off your limbs)
en af fótum fjöturr
(and the fetter from your feet)
---
Þann gel ek þér inn sétta
(This I chant for you the sixth)
ef þú á sjó kemr
(if you come upon the sea)
meira en menn viti
(more than men understand)
logn ok lögr
(calm and water)
gangi þér í lúðr saman
(may go with you together into the hull)
ok léi þér æ friðdrjúgrar farar
(and may grant you always a peace-bringing journey)
---
Þann gel ek þér inn sjaunda
(This I chant for you the seventh)
ef þik sækja kemr
(if you are attacked by)
frost á fjalli háu
(frost on a high mountain)
hræva kulði
(corpse-chill cold)
megi-t þínu holdi fara
(may not enter your flesh)
ok haldisk æ lík at liðum
(and may your body be preserved in its limbs)
---
Þann gel ek þér inn átta
(This I chant for you the eighth)
ef þik úti nemr
(if outdoors you are caught)
nótt á niflvegi
(by night on the misty road)
at því firr megi
(so that it may stay away)
þér til meins gera
(from doing you harm)
kristin dauð kona
(by a dead Christian woman)
---
Þann gel ek þér inn níunda
(This I chant for you the ninth)
ef þú við inn naddgöfga
(if you with the spear-noble one)
orðum skiptir jötun
(exchange words with a giant)
máls ok mannvits
(of speech and human wisdom)
þér á minni ok hjarta
(to your memory and heart)
gnóga of gefit
(may abundance be given)
NOTE: Some phrases use reconstructed or symbolic words with no direct modern equivalent.
3. Chorus Between Charms — Driving Away Harm
Between each Old Norse stanza, the men chant this (also in Old Norse):
Fjón þvæ eg af mér fjanda minna
(Hate wash I from my enemies (fiends))
rán og reiði ríkra manna
(robbery and wrath of powerful (rich/noble) men)
This recurring invocation mirrors purification rituals—symbolically cleansing oneself of hostility, theft, or oppression from those in power. The ritualistic towel/washing/cleansing imagery (þvæ, "to wash" reinforces the protective, banishing purpose.
Repeated between each charm, it anchors the song in continual self-defense and spiritual cleansing.
Conclusion
Traust exemplifies Heilung's mastery of blending linguistic archaeology, myth, and music into something more than entertainment—a living, breathing spell for protection, remembrance, and connection to forgotten spiritual roots.