Alda Vala – retired nurse and journalist – is a goði (ceremonial officiant) within the Ásatrú Association.
(literal translation)
“She sees arise, a second time, earth from ocean, beauteously green.
Waterfalls descending, an eagle flying over,
which in the fell captures fish.”
Excerpt from the Völuspá, “The Prophecy of the Seeress”, an anonymous poem from Norse mythology and part of the Poetic Edda. In this long monologue, a seeress recounts to the god Óðinn (Odin) the history of the world as well as its destiny, that of the gods and of humankind.
This passage evokes the rebirth that follows Ragnarök, the end of the world in Norse mythology. The earth re-emerges, green; the forces of nature are renewed, and an eagle soars above the mountains, embodying the persistence of life.
Alda Vala sometimes reads this excerpt during funeral ceremonies, as it symbolizes hope and rebirth.