#goddess Rán

[drowningwitchdreams]

Another song for the Rán playlist

[babylon-crashing]

Q: why is the grim reaper traditionally portrayed as a man?

Based on some of the replies to this question I’m always amazed at folks who don’t understand symbolism and metaphors. There’s a reason why we call it the personification of death and not some living flesh and blood monstrosity that will allow you to make generalizations about a concept that is, in fact, genderless.

A tiny glance around the world will show that there are just as many female psychopomps of death as there are male. Santa Muerte (Mexican folk saint), Mictecacihuatl (Aztec), La Calavera Catrina (Day of the Dead), Izanami (Shinto), Giltinė (Latvia), Banshee (Gaelic), Hel (Scandinavia) and Morana (Slavic tradition) are all female versions of death’s embodiment. I’ll go so far as to say that the whole concept of the Grim Reaper is a rather new invention, since, “The earliest appearance of the name ‘Grim Reaper’ in English is in the 1847 book ‘The Circle of Human Life’ … [and] because the word for death [in Polish] ‘śmierć’ is feminine in gender, death is frequently portrayed as a skeletal old woman.”

I guess a slightly larger question for me is the most obvious: the Grim Reaper is a skeleton in robes … how well versed in human anatomy do you have to be in order to tell its gender from nothing more than a skull and some boney hands?

The version I’m using for the Seven of Swords is Rán, the Norse sea goddess, who collects the drowned in a fishing net.

[nordseehexe]

Sea Goddess Rán on the danish ship Jylland

[dark-e-arts]

Rána and The Angler

Exploring some art of a TTRPG character I designed a few years ago but haven't had the opportunity to play. Rána is a monster hunting merfolk from a lineage of manta, mako and orca origin. Tall, wiry and tough, she's able to wield her whale-bone hook weapons using a combination of brute strength and substantial finesse - both underwater and on land. She harbors a fascination of the strange world outside her home in the depths, but also a distaste for freshwater

[poeticnorth]

Wrote a Hymn to Rán (Well, I've written three so far, but this is the one I'm sharing as part of an ongoing project)

[imprvdente]

@tmvoldemort​ . 𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐀𝐔 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋

An eerie vision stepped out of the cold waves, long blue hair trickling down her back. Water flowed against her skin to return to the Ocean, leaving little droplets behind. Rán looked ageless, wild, and most importantly... angry. 

“You have been trying very hard to catch my attention,” she told the hooded silhouette standing on the beach, “well, now you have it.” Her voice was menacing, like a storm brewing on the horizon. Calm and yet implacable. 

“It is not very wise, to anger a Goddess. Speak before I decide to punish you for the mayhem you have caused.”

[randomtheidiot]

What the Norse gods probably smell like.

NOTE: I AM NOT A NEOPAGAN. I’M JUST A NERD. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE MY DERANGED RAMBLINGS AS RELIGIOUS GOSPEL, I WILL ULTIMATELY USE ALL THAT POWER AND INFLUENCE FOR EVIL.

This is a comprehensive list of what I think all the Norse gods smell like. Do not ask me why I wrote this down, why I wanted to post this on the internet or why I even asked the question in the first place. Everything can be explained by mental illness and sleep deprivation.

If your favorite deity isn’t on here, it’s because they suck.

-Óðinn (Odin): A mix of beer, sausage and that old man sweater smell.

-Þórr (Thor): Alcohol, body odor and an inordinate amount of Worcestershire sauce. The smell is strong enough to knock small birds straight out of the air.

-Loki: Fireplace soot and the kind of mulling spices you’d use in apple cider. You’d think it’d smell good, but the sooty smell kind of ruins it. A bath would definitely help.

-Frigg: Some sort of strong perfume, along with cheap wine and potpourri. She just kinda does, I don’t know why.

-Freyja: She has that cat scent. I don’t know if any of you know what I’m talking about, but she smells like a cat.

-Freyr: Apple scented shampoo. This is a conscious choice on his part.

-Baldr: Flowers. Real ones, too. Not the fake perfume shit. I suppose now he smells like a corpse that was burnt on a pyre, but when he was alive, he smelled like flowers.

-Höðr: Wintergreen mouthwash… for some reason.

-Nanna: Fruit preserves like jam and shit.

-Hœnir: He smells like a dad. Whatever you think a dad smells like is what Hœnir smells like. He smells fatherly.

-Skaði: Pine sap. She is covered in pine sap and if you look closely, she probably has some pine needles glued to her hair.

-Sif: The bread aisle in a grocery store.

-Iðunn: Apple based food products. She’s not exactly running low on apples.

-Sigyn: Olive Garden. She smells like the inside of an Olive Garden. Do not question me on this.

-Mímir: Very strong incense to cover up the corpse smell. It is nearly impossible to breathe around him.

-Týr: Go up to a man. Any man, doesn’t have to be a specific kind of man. Now smell him. That is it. Týr smells like a man.

-Heimdallr: Piss and vinegar from all the hate in his soul. There’s a million goddamn signs of Ragnarök and his dad still has him keeping watch like he’s a fucking security robot. That horn ain’t gonna do shit and he knows it.

-Njördr: He smells bad, but it’s not really clear what’s on him. It could be anything from tacky deodorant to motor oil and judging by his general weirdness, I’m not sure I wanna find out.

-Ægir: Alcohol. He practically wears Heineken as a cologne and it smells fucking terrible. Add on his natural ocean smell and it’s just fucking unpleasant to be around him.

-Rán: Fish, and not for the reason you might be thinking!

-Jörð: She’s a fucking earth goddess. Stick your face in the dirt. That’s what she smells like. Don’t ask me this again. Fuck you.

-Laufey: Tree. :)

-Njörðr’s unnamed sister-wife: The nursing home.

-Lofn: Shitty rose flavored Turkish delight that I got from one of those generic ass Marshall’s stores that white moms really seem to like. It was only slightly better than the lemon one.

-Forseti: That incense they use at Catholic Churches. I don’t know why, he just does.

-Hermóðr: Sweat and various other body fluids, as well as traces of whatever menial task Óðinn last assigned to him.

-Ullr: Tobacco. On his breath. Staining his beard. It’s horrible.

-Sól: Orange juice and sunscreen.

-Máni: Grape scented for unclear reasons. Probably nefarious ones.

-Bragi: Bragi smells like a disappointment of a child. His siblings are Þórr, Baldr and Týr and he’s just there with his stupid poetry and shit. He smells like those stupid Yankee Candle candles that never actually smell like what’s on the label. When I see “tropical seabreeze” on a label, I don’t expect it to smell like dishwashing liquid, but it always does. Bragi is tropical seabreeze candles. Bragi is dishwashing liquid.

-Hel: BAD. BAD SMELL. THAT IS NOT A GOOD SMELL.

-Angrboða: Plums.

[marvelshifter111]

Hiiii <3<3<3 (love ur blog) can I request water power aliases!!! Ty

Thank you for sending an ask ❤️

Superhero names - hydrokinesis

Rigo - "wet" in Latin

Unda - "wave" in Latin

Rhea - "flowing water"

Onda - "ripple" in French

Meeri - "sea of bitterness"

Zale - "strength of the sea"

Kai - "the sea" Hawaiian name

Ondine - "water spirit" in Latin

Yara - "beauty of the waves" Brazilian name

Talay - Turkic god of the Ocean

Neptune - Greek god of sea

Vales/Volos - Slavic god of sea

Amphitrite - Greek goddess of sea

Rán - Norse goddess of sea

Superpower pack

Visuals

Tried something new with the look cuz why not

[theoraclereader]

Working with the Elements: Water

God(desse)s and Water Spirits

Greek: Aphrodite, Electra,Triteia,Triton, Poseidon

Roman: Fontus,Juturna, Neptune

Egyptian: Anubis, Anuket, Bairthy,Hapi, Nephthys, Nu, Osiris,Satet, Satest,Sobek,Tefnut

African: Mami Wata, Olokun, Bunzi, Chicamassichinuinji,Mamba Muntu, Nyami Nyami

Funza, goddess of waters, twin phenomenon and malformations in children. Wife of Mbumba.

Hindu: Varuna,Ap, Apam Napat, Danu,Ganga,Yami, Sarasvati,Kaveri,Tapti

Hebrew: Leviathan

Mesopotamian: Abzu, Enbilulu, Enki, Marduk, Nanshe, Tiamat, Sirsir

Celtic: Belisama,Grannus, Nantosuelta, Nodens, Selkie

Irish: Boann, Danu (Dana), Manannán mac Lir, Lí Ban, Lir, Sinann

Greek: Norse-Germanic: Ægir,Freyr,Nehalennia,Nix, Njord,Rán,Rura,Sága

Korean: Imoogi or Imugi

Aztec: Atlaua,Chalchiuhtlicue,Opochtli, Tlāloc

[sol-saga]

Aegir - God of The Ocean Ægir, Hlér or Gymir is the Norse God of The Sea and Ocean. He is associated with the tumultuous and unpredictable nature of the water and the brewing of ale. He is a gracious and hospitable host though he is formidable when crossed. Aegir is considered jötnar (giant) but is still associated with the gods and invited to feasts. His wife is Rán, Goddess of the Sea. They share nine daughters; the nine waves.

[sarenth]

Hail to the Gods of the Waters

Hail Njörðr! Hail Rán! Hail Ægir! Hail to the Nine Undine Goddesses! Thank you for the bounty of the sea, of life that swims and strains Thank you for the sweat of fishermen, the strong meat of the oceans That raise up from the depths and nourish us Thank you, Holy Ones. Hail to the Gods of the Seas, the Oceans, the Rivers, the Lakes, and the Streams! Hail to the Gods of the Waters,…

[drowningwitchdreams]

Rán gets a mention in D'aulaire's Book of Norse Myths (yes, they have a Norse one as well). It refers to her as an "evil witch," which I am not a fan of, but I was surprised she got a mention at all.

[nordseehexe]

Made a shrine out of salt dough for my sea deities

[sparkiekong]

Sometimes dreams feel like windows into a multiverse. The worst one is this recurring dream where I'm this Cuban woman. I live a modest but great life as a hotel cleaner and on my way back to my meager one room apartment over looking a dock that's full of cruise ships and seaside beach. I'm incredibly happy until I notice the ocean receding back out of sight, like something sucked up the ocean with a straw. It takes a brief millisecond or two before my brain realizes that the only thing that draws the ocean away is a tsunami. I look up into the sky and watched in horror as the sky became a giant wave that was eating clouds. I run towards the top of my building yelling at people and trying to get children up the stairs as the wave comes in, but I'm already too late. I'm already dead and then I just stop and the waves take me.

---

Today, the dream was an ancient one, I was a Norse woman waiting alongside the sea for my man to return from plundering. Vikings are and have always been pirates, this was the way of life then. I'm picking shells off the coast waiting for him to return when the ocean disappears away from the coast. In this one, I realize that I'm the Cuban woman from my other dream and I am this Viking woman and I show no fear, I stand there quietly waiting for , Rán a goddess of the sea to cast the net and lift me up to Valhalla.

--

meanwhile the me who lives in this universe wakes up shaking and shivering, looking like a crazy cat lady going... wtf. I had no idea who Rán is. The viking was seeing the future, the cuban was seeing her present and I'm viewing both as dreams that feel like past life events.

[poeticnorth]

Oops, more psychopomps.

[imprvdente]

@theresastargirl​​ sent: kissing your lover under the night sky while stargazing . from:  ↪     𝑲𝑰𝑺𝑺  ﹠ ᵀᴱᴸᴸ .  

The night sky always looked more impressive at sea. It was the sky Ràn knew best, the one she had seen all her life. Dark as ink, twirling strangely into the water as if the earth and the sky was only one. The stars were reflected in the waves, like little lights floating in the depth. 

She always had a soft spot for pirates, and she had the softest spot for Captain Redd. Maybe that was why she cupped her chin in her hand, and pressed a kiss on her lips. Sailors were strange creatures, they loved her despite her anger and her violence, they kept returning through storms and whirlpool. How strange indeed, but how beautiful too. The kind of devotion only a Goddess could truly appreciate, and reward with a rare, precious gift like this. 

A simple kiss.