9 World Chronicles

Did you know that the Valkyries are able to do a ‘hamr’ (shapeshift) of a raven to gain the ability to fly.

In Völsunga saga, it is described how Óðinn sends an ‘óskmey’ (wish maiden) to king Sigi’s wife. In the story, it is told that she puts on a ‘krákuhamr’ (raven’s skin) to fly.

Among other magic that the Valkyries have is that they can speak and understand the language of birds, which was considered extraordinary in ancient times. This is how Þorbjörn Hornklofi talks about a conversation between a valkyrie and a raven in his Haraldskvæði (Harald’s poem), which is also called Hrafnsmál (Raven’s speech) for this reason.

There the valkyrie asks about the course of the great battle on Hafursfjörður, the raven answers her and the conversation goes well because she knows the speech of birds.