Today is Áss — voice, breath, speech and the word given power.
The story is Gróttasöngr, The Song of Grótti.
King Fróði possesses a magical mill called Grótti, capable of grinding out whatever its operator asks of it. But the millstones are so enormous that ordinary people cannot turn them.
Then Fróði purchases two enslaved giantesses: Fenja, the Heath-Dweller, and Menja, the Achiever.
Their strength makes the impossible mill move.
Fróði commands them to grind out peace, prosperity and gold, and they do. Wealth pours from Grótti and the kingdom prospers.
But Fróði becomes consumed by what their labor produces. He allows the women almost no rest.
And Fenja and Menja are not merely strong women.
In their song they remember their giant ancestry, their strength, their ability to move mountains, march into battle, throw spears and bring down warriors.
Then they change what they are singing for.
They grind and sing for war. They call for an army to come against Fróði. The mill that produced the king’s prosperity becomes the instrument through which his destruction is called forth.
That makes Gróttasöngr an extraordinary story for Áss ᚬ.
The decisive power is not merely the strength turning the stone. It is voice.
The song changes, and what the Grinder brings into the world changes with it.
Around that story, the waning moon is bringing Heyannir, the Hay Month, toward its end. This is a season of cutting, gathering and transforming what has grown through summer. Over the larger cycle remains Berkana ᛒ, Year 13 — growth, generation and what has been brought forth.
So today’s reckoning gathers around labor, harvest, possession and voice.
Fróði believes the abundance belongs to him because he owns the means by which it is produced.
But there is one thing he never truly possesses.
The song.
ᚬ Áss · ᛒ Berkana
References: Gróttasöngr (“The Song of Grótti”), Poetic Edda; Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál.
