Step 8 of 8 · When to Wait, When to Move
Things in their season
Why this step
The trail ends with some practical sayings from the Hávamál (stanzas 81 and 82): cut wood in wind, sail in a breeze, buy a sword when it is rusty, feed the hound in the yard. Each ties an action to the condition that suits it. They are not a rule for when to wait or move. They suggest that the answer depends on the thing in front of you, which is as far as this trail goes.
The text, stanzas 81–82
81.
Hew wood in wind, sail the seas in a breeze,
woo a maid in the dark, -- for day's eyes are many, --
work a ship for its gliding, a shield for its shelter,
a sword for its striking, a maid for her kiss;
82.
Drink ale by the fire, but slide on the ice;
buy a steed when 'tis lanky, a sword when 'tis rusty;
feed thy horse neath a roof, and thy hound in the yard.
- Olive Bray (editor and translator), The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems (opens in a new tab) (1908), stanzas 81–82 (Bray’s numbering) Rights: Public domain. Published in 1908, so in the public domain in the United States. Text as edited online by D. L. Ashliman, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts, University of Pittsburgh.
From the Lorebook
Cut wood in wind, sail in a breeze, court in the dark; judge a ship by its gliding and a sword by its striking. Drink by the fire, buy a horse when it is lean and a sword when it is rusty.