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Trying not to focus too hard on the fact I should have raised the skull's eye a bit higher (may rework that section later), but otherwise I'm pretty proud of this devotional piece for the Norse goddess of death, Hel💀🖤🕯️

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Hel by Westdread

This artist on Instagram

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Goddess Hel

The norse goddess of death and the after life for those who did not die in battle. Residing over her halls in Helheim.

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Have a Hel sketch♡♡

I forget I can post here-- so here's an old drawing I did of Hel :))

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Comission wip of Hel

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Polyresin Hel Statue at Sylverra💀

[take a look at the rest of our deity carvings here!]

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Heyoo I'm Jay and I'm non-binary and follow Loki, Freya and Thor. Not quite great at it but still. One thing I'd like to know is.. is Valhalla pretty much a Ragnarok training camp? I'm hoping I go to be with Hel.

So the short answer: it is that exactly, but also so much more.

Long answer is:

Valhalla is the land of honored dead who fell in combat. Yes, a majority of the depictions is explaining how the halls are full of battle and preparation for Ragnarok, and that Odin chooses the valiant slain during combat for the reason that they are powerful fighters and therefore worthy. But it's also about comradery and kinship, merriment, and celebration.

Other depictions of Valhalla portray it just as much a place of endless celebration where one who is chosen goes to revel with others in eternal glory and joy for the heroic warring deeds they did while alive. Everyone is together in these celebrations, and the sense of unity is immense. It's the place where legends never die, and tales are told eternally.

It's true that Valhalla is the place of battle and preparation for the ultimate fight, namely because those who died fighting are the chosen. But just as any warrior would do with their bands of siblings in arms, it's a place to celebrate your victories because, in the days of pre-Christian Scandinavia, death was seen more as a victory not a defeat. It was valor to die fighting for your clan and kin.

Hence you get things like the Havamal stanza 75 (pitt.edu translation): "Cattle die and kinsmen die, / thyself too soon must die, / but one thing never, I ween, will die, -- / fair fame of one who has earned."

Overall to understand the true purpose of Valhalla, you have to have an understanding of the life and facts of life that were during this time period. Much of the gods' tales across all accounts are about the inevitably of death and embracing it because nothing is eternal, and death is a given. Everything ends. Death is an end. But endings are a new beginning, and that new beginning can be beautiful. It's a chance for something better and greater to take the place of what was. And Valhalla as a concept shows us that we must revel in the glory of what was, and celebrate those who've done great things. And when the time comes for things to end, so be it. Joy and prosperity had their time and place, and a new life for other joy and prosperity will be born.

That isn't to say that Helheim and other lands are dishonorable and valor-less, though.

Just the same as Valhalla, it's often depicted that Helheim is a place where all others ascend who are not dishonored, and who Odin does not choose. This, therefore, includes the musicians, poets, artists, ethicists, scholars, anyone and everyone at all who simply lived an honorable life and died without being in combat. Legend lives elsewhere as much as it does in Valhalla, it's just simply in another form that isn't war and physical might.

I don't recall which sources I'd read from for this. But some folks choose to believe that the artistic people of Hel's realm are the ones who write songs and draw portraits of the legendary warriors of Valhalla. And others choose to imagine it holds the most intelligent of debates!

Whereas battle and merriment are the place of Valhalla, Helheim is the place of peace and honor. It was Christian depictions specifically which put Helheim in a poor light and made it seem like a desolate, torturous place akin to their land of hell, which, from what I understand, experienced a similar thing as a result of the crusaders, though I'm not Christian so I truly can't confirm or deny that.

But in the end, it's honorable to be chosen by either Odin or Hel, and if you have no desire to be a fighter in the end days, you have no obligation to be. Just as the skalds carried forth the legends, and scholars taught the wisdom sought by many, and crafters made the tools and clothes for survival, and cooks made the food and drink needed for sustenance, Hel understands everyone has a purpose and that this purpose isn't always living and dying to fight. She provides a place to keep those people after death where they, too, can be honored and together just as Valhalla, only without the violence.

So to sum it up: Valhalla is a place of celebration with combat. Helheim is a place for all non-warriors, and without combat and war.

I'm sorry this was so long, but I hope I answered your question well enough at least!

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Age of Pantheons: Hel (3 of 5) - Federica Costantini

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HELHEIM | HEL | WORLD OF HEL 💀

Big Print version of a panel I made for Verses of the Nine Worlds by Nico Solheim-Davidson (Pre-orders available until October 8th). The poems in it are Homeric and Orphic-inspired; so the panels represent the Nine Realms of Norse cosmo/mythology in a style inspired by Greek red/black-figure ceramics, Viking Age knotwork and petroglyphs.

Prints of these panels are available in my $hops (with free US shipping!)

ETSY | KO-FI | BOOK PRE-ORDER LINK

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Hello Norse Pagans (or those knowledgeable about Norse mythology)! :D

Samhain/Halloween/All Hallow's Eve is coming up soon, and as a baby pagan, I'd like to know the Norse version, if there is any.

I'm very fluid in my practice as to whether it's Norse or Celtic, and I'm aware that it can be interchangeable, but it would still be nice to know.

So, what are the differences between Vetrnaetr, Alfablot, and Samhain/Halloween? Is there a Norse version of Halloween? What do you do on that/those day(s)? Any resources you can point me to (preferably not a video, if possible)?

Thank you so much!!! :D

<3

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Prayer for the Autumn Equinox

[[ I typically honor Nott during this holiday, but this year I felt compelled to write a prayer to Hel and Idun. ]]

Nurturers of diminishing buds and resurrection, Shepherds of decay and vibrancy, Be with us now and hear our praise this morning. Guard the harvest we reaped in months far brighter, As the leaves begin to blush in brilliant displays.

Ladies of setting dusk and rising dawn, Bringers of the dimming and rising light, Be with us now and hear our thanks on this day. Guide us through the nights that grow longer, As the brilliant hues of summer fade and rest.

Goddesses of life and its cycles, Preservers of growth and balance, Be with us now and hear our adoration this evening. Stoke the warmth in our hearths and hearts, As the chilly fingers of frost grasp ever closer.

Hail to Lady Hel! Hail to Lady Idun!

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url charged from hail-hel to queen-of-helheim

I was getting pretty uncomfortable with the last one sooo here we go!

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Art of lady Hel

Hel is the ruler of Helhiem the realm of the dead. Many fear her due to her appearance but she is nothing but loving. She cares for the dead and builds a place for each of us when we are ready to pass on. She teaches us that even death can be a beautiful thing. 

I once had a dream where I traveled to helhiem.  An old lady with a lantern tasked me to bring a dead girl to Hel. I entered through a bridge to Long dark and cold berren land that turned into beautiful lush forests full of mist. I saw several settlements full of people I assume to be my ancestors They seemed happy and full of life.  Two doors as tall as the trees led to a bridge and on the other side there she was.  Despite her appearance she was the most beautiful person I've ever seen. She reached out her skeletal hand and instead of a cold dead hand I felt warmth and love

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"Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die."

-

~ Clare Harner, Immortality, 1934

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A poem to Hel

[[Based on a message I believe I received during a prayer/mediation to Hel. I live with depression, and Hel always inspires a will to persevere.]]

As I ran to your timeless arms, you told me not today.

You point back where stars once shone

and smiled at me, quietly, but with so much to say

to my weakened heart of stone.

“Sorrow's fangs will hungrily gnaw, grief’s sharp briars will sting,

But before you’re welcomed as my guest, you must do one thing:

Live your life fully, it won’t always feel like such a waste.

Beauties of the world await you, go after them with haste.”

As I run from your timeless arms, I tell you not today.

I feel like the clouds above.

“May you live well and your happiest dreams come true,” you say.

“Know joy, know mirth, and know love.”

Bright rays of life begin to touch me, with warmth once forgone

I know I must carry on.

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Hail to hel caretaker of the ancestors

Something I did a few years ago