Meaning of hedge rider | Babel Free

Definitions

A witch who practises hedge riding; a hedge witch.

Examples

“1883, Translation of Havamal, in Guðbrandur Vigfússon, Frederick York Powell (editors, translators), Corpvs Poeticvm Boreale: The Poetry of the Old Northern Tongue, Volume 1: Eddic Poetry, Oxford University Press⟳ (Clarendon Press⟳), page 27, 18. The tenth I know⟳: If I see⟳ witches [hedge-riders] dancing in the air, I prevail so that they go astray and cannot find⟳ their own⟳ skins and their own⟳ haunts.”

“Witches, who were usually homeless and gaunt and sometimes crippled, were said to be hedge-riders; they roamed the darkened roads by the edge of town and were reputed to live⟳ in two realities by straddling the hedges between the civilized safety of a small village and the real and imagined dangers from ghosts and demons who dwelled beyond.”

“Verses 147–165 of the Havamal are charms. Depending on which translation you follow⟳, reciting the charm can cause either the hedge rider to show⟳ their true self and return⟳ home, or the rider's spirit to become⟳ separated from their physical body.[…]The hedge rider of ancient times flew to the otherworld to consult⟳ with spirits and gods for the purposes of magic or prophecy. The hedge rider of modern times will certainly do this among other things.”

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