#norse studies

[akaessi]

Since you have an education with Scandinavian folklore, I'd be curious to hear if you have any book reccomendations on Scandinavian Folklore? It's a topic I adore but I find that sources are a bit of a struggle to dig up.

I can read English, Norwegian, Danish (and tentatively with a lot of struggling and swearing) Swedish, so don't worry too much about the dreaded language barrier too much. :>

Hello hello! Thanks for asking! Pardon the late response as well, I wanted to compile a decent list as best as possible! Apologies in advance that I couldn't find easy links for most of them.

Introductory Books:

Vaesen (2013, originally in Swedish) by Johan Egerkrams (I have an English translation by Susan Beard). A beautifully drawn catalog of common Scandinavian folklore creatures. The downside of this book is the lack of direct source quotations and/or super in-depth folkloric analysis. Still a lovely easy read to familiarize yourself with some creatures!

Scandinavian Mythology: An Annotated Bibliography (1988, English) by John Lindow. Simple guide to Scandinavian mythological terms. If I'm remembering correctly, it focuses more on Norse mythological creatures (such as gods and giants) but also features explainers for folk belief figures.

Scandinavia Folk Belief and Legend (1988, English) by Reimund Kvideland and Henning K Sehmsdorf. A very detailed (and chunky!) book that focuses on folkloric beliefs and "old wives' tales" within Scandinavia. It has a lot of citations and references to folklore catalogs, which can then be used for further reading! Also, nicely organized to focus on generalized motifs.

Grimm's Fairy Tales (original German Title: Kinder- und Hausmärchen) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1812, German but with widely available translations.) While not exactly specifically Scandinavian Folklore, the Grimm brothers and their folklore collections did great work within the field of Germanic folkloric studies and comparative religious/folklore studies. (And if you're a linguist too, we love love love Jacob Grimm) Anyways, there are a million versions of these tales, some very watered down but if you're looking for a chance to read them here's a link (in English and German). The site is a bit clunky and doesn't have ALL the tales. But a good portion of them are available to read. It's good to familiarize yourself with these in general because of the motif commonalities in folklore studies.

More In-Depth Books:

Old Norse Mythology-Comparative Perspectives (2017, English) with Pernille Hermann, Stephen A. Mitchell, and Jens Peter Schjødt, eds., with Amber J. Rose. 2017.  An anthology of scholarly articles focusing on discourse within the field of Scandinavian (Norse) religion and folklore studies. Lots of different authors and scholars, some with incredibly specific article focuses but others with more broad analysis and literature reviews. If you need a link, Harvard University seems to have one and it should work if I link it here.

The Norns in Old Norse Mythology (2013, English) by Karen Bek Pedersen. This book hyper-focuses on the Norns within the larger context of Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. I highly recommend this book for people who are confused by the various female supernatural figures and their various names and titles. Though it has a specific focus, it is still helpful for overall studies on dísir, nornir, vættir, etc.

Folklore in Old Norse: Old Norse in Folklore (2013, English) edited by Karen Bek Pedersen and Daniel Sävborg. A relatively short book that focuses on literary and medieval textual criticisms about current scholarly trends within the field. Very helpful for understanding scholarly trends as well as bodies of thought in the field of Scandinavian studies--which is always useful for students and newbie researchers!

Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages (2011, English) by Stephen Mitchell. This book can be helpful in its discussion about the ambiguities between folklore, religion, magic, and witchcraft within the Scandinavian context. It references a lot of primary sources as well as historical sources commenting on said primary sources. It focuses mainly on the transition between Norse paganism to Christianity in Scandinavia but still, I think this book serves as a helpful introduction to understanding how folkloric practices change throughout time for various reasons.

Additional Miscellany Sources:

Motif-Index of Folk-Literature....(6 vols. revised and expanded from 1952-1958, English) by Stith Thompson. This is the compendium for folklore studies and is one of many folklore motif catalogs. Very helpful for understanding folklore in a broader comparative context. Unfortunately, it's very hard to find copies of the volumes, at least for me, but there is a digital link here.

Old Norse Folklore: Traditional, Innovation, and Performance in Medieval Scandinavia (English, 2023 pending release) (edited?) by Stephen Mitchell. This book isn't out yet so I can't comment too much on its content! But in the field, we are waiting to read it! According to the synopsis, it is an anthological book that will feature essays (mainly theoretical) that focus on the transition of mythological and folkloric material in the medium of orality. Hopefully, this book will serve as a good guide to understanding how to connect orality theory (in broader Scandinavian lit. studies) to folkloric motif studies (in Scandinavian folklore studies).

Some Scholars I Recommend:

Pernille Hermann, PhD. Focuses a lot on memory studies and literacy in Medieval Scandinavia. Writes in English and Danish.

Karen Bek Pedersen, PhD. Focuses on in-depth discussions of fate motifs in Norse sagas and mythological texts. Also frequently focuses on female folkloric figures in Scandinavian religion. I believe she writes English and Danish.

Daniel Sävborg, PhD. Focuses on comparative literature studies and somewhat psychological looks into Norse literature and motifs. Writes in English and in Swedish.

Stephen Mitchell, PhD. Focuses on various genres of Norse/Nordic literature with interests in magic, mythology, and legends. Writes in English, I don't know if any other languages.

Thanks for the ask! Hopefully this is helpful! 🖤

Most of the books are in English, since these are the texts my classes focused on specifically and my program is taught in English. It might take me a bit longer to find (throughout my laptop files) the non-English ones we read! As always, research carefully! There are a lot of people with no academic background writing in this subject and getting popularized. And there is also a danger of people using this subject to promote false and dangerous ideologies. (ahem Nordal).

[lazylittledragon]

You actually CAN use different words to muffle emotional effects! we've been making euphemisms for death for as long as we've had language, that's why we say things like "passed away". even the word "die" was an old Norse euphemism for the old English word "sweltan", which itself is a euphemism for the even older word "diegan". (I really agree with your post, the origin of using "unalive" is incredibly dystopian and censorship is awful, I just wanted to infodump about linguistics)

that's actually really cool!!!! thank you for sharing!!!

also anon i'm in a linguistics fixation right now so we shall have a summer wedding

[moonlight1237]

Elder ᚠᚱᛖᛁᛃᚨ Younger ᚠᚱᛁᛁᛁᛅ

Freyja/Frøya (The Lady)

Epithets, Titles, and Kennings

Gullveig (gold-greed)

Vanadís (lady of the Vanir)

Gefn (giver)

Horn (flax)

Mardoll (root word Marr meaning sea. Sea bright)

Syr (sow)

Valfreyja (Lady of the Slain)

Lady of Fire

Heid (Völva from Voluspa)

Lady of the Disir

Prong (throng of the people?)

Skialf (This could be associated with a hall as most halls' names ended in this word, but also the name is associated with a wife who hung her husband a king)

Queen of Folkvangr

Chief of The Vanir

Queen of The Valkyrie

Possessor of The Fallen

Daughter of Njord (Dottur Njardur)

Sister of Frey (Syster Freys)

Wife of Od (Konu Od)

Mother of Hnoss (Modur Hnossar)

Processor of the fallen slain and of sessrumnir and tom-cats (eigandi vaffalls ok sessruimni ok fressa)

Of Brisingamen (Brisingamens)

Van-deity (Vana god)

Gondul ( a queen who makes two kings fight)

Astagud (deity of love)

Blotggdja (sacrificial goddess)

Of the Vanir’s consort (Brudr Vana)

Of Odr’s bedmate (bedvina Ods)

The god who’s weeping is beautiful

Ruling/Domain

Folkvangr is her realm and Sessrumnir is her hall.

(and is sometimes said to be where she takes her half of the dead but this is disputed)

Family

Njord is her father originally hailing from the Vanir but was exchanged as a hostage to the Æsir with his children (Freyr and Freyja). He is a god of ships and wind, commonly associated with wealth. Her mother is never mentioned but is speculated to be Skadi or Njords sister, an unnamed Vanir goddess, a final theory being Nerthus. A Germanic goddess from the time of Tacitus, during his accounting supposedly a goddess was worshiped all over Gaul. Her idol was brought around in a cart and kept in a sacred grove.

Her twin is Frey(r), and he rules over Alfheim. They make up a commonly seen idea of the worship and presence in mythology around the world of twin gods. Their names, which we commonly know translate to “Lord” (Freyr) and “Lady” (Freyja), are speculated to account for a fertility cult surrounding the Vanir possibly. During the Lokasenna, Loki accuses the two siblings of incest during his slander.

“Loki spake:

32. "Be silent, Freyja! | thou foulest witch,

And steeped full sore in sin;

In the arms of thy brother | the bright gods caught thee

When Freyja her wind set free." (The Poetic Edda, Translation by Henry Adam Bellows)

We have no other evidence to support this idea apart from the belief that the Vanir practiced incest in marriage and that Njord possibly was married to a sister at one point in time but still no evidence upholds these claims. Both Freyja and Freyr share a vast association with fertility and the land they also both are depicted to ride a boar and at a point, they each are mentioned riding a boar named “Gullinbursti” (“Golden-Bristles”).

She has 2 daughters Hnoss and Gersemi both of which translate to "treasure" though only mentioned in Christian sources and Gersemi is only mentioned once. In the Eddas, it says she has a husband named Oðr which is one of Odin's names, and gets into the Frigga and Freyja debate.

History

Getting into the debate on Freyja and Frigga it’s a tough battle between the texts, history, and linguistics. In the myths it’s very evident that they are separate goddesses with different personalities and attributes, Loki in the Lokasenna insults them both separately. From their names as we know them now Freyja only translates to “Lady” and Frigga means “to love” and we see that repetition across old Norse and Proto-Germanic with her name, we also see that Frigga's name is the closest associated to the word “Friday” with the days of the week transferring from the Romans to the germanic tribes we see how simply they took the names of the Romans gods and swapped them for associated Scandinavian gods, going from the romance language meaning “Venus day” to “Frigs day” as her germanic translations were so closely associated with love, which is another cross between her and Freyja, Frigga commonly is seen as a more domestic goddess and a wife, we see Freyja as this love goddess and in the text especially by Snorri Freyja is sexualized and made to be a promiscuous goddess, which could easily be that we are seeing what was once one goddess split into two versions or faucets of what they were before. One other confusing part for many people is Freyja’s husband Odr who is known to be the god Odinn. Freyja is also known heavily for her weeping when off searching for her husband, during Baldur's death Frigga's exaggerated focus is her weeping, which could easily be nothing important. But modernly the generally acceptable answer is that they are two different goddesses both important in their own right and status.

Frøya has a necklace she always wears. Its name is Brisgamen is a torc/necklace made by the dwarves and frøya supposedly spent a night with each of them who made it to get Brisingamen. In other myths Thor wears it dressed as Frøya during the fake wedding to Thrym the giant who stole Thor's hammer, then when Loki stole it and gave it to Odin. Odin made her start a war to get it back.

She also had a Boar named Hildisvini "Battle-swine" which she turned her husband oðr into and rode in one of the myths.

In the Grimnismal translation, it says "then" Odin picks not "and" giving the idea Freyja picks first but it's never mentioned otherwise. But modernly we accept that she does have the first pick. Gullveig is believed to be another name for frøya, she was a sorceress who predicted the Æsir, Vanir war and was burned alive 3 times by the Æsir each time coming back to life and was struck by spears and still didn't die.

She, like Odin, was known to use many different names throughout the myths and in her travels. She's the one who taught Odin and the other Æsir gods how to do Seidr magic. After the Æsir, Vanir war they exchanged hostages, and Frøya, Njordh, and Frey went to live with the Æsir in Asgard.

The Dís or Disir are referenced very often, always female, some called them female ancestors or fate goddesses which would include them in the Norns but they're also mentioned as Valkyrie in a sense as the Valkyrie were the Helpers of Odin and Freyja, they choose the who will fall and who lives during battles, etc. But most translations of the word Dís translated in Old Norse to "Lady", which is one of the same translations of Freyja, as Freyr and Freyja are "Lord" and "Lady". But then you have the many names used for Freyja, one being Vanadis, which they say means Lady of the Vanir (Vanir is one of the tribes of gods), but also some believed it meant that she was "the great dís" or Lady of the Disir Vanir, but it is known that they would call Freyja "Queen of the Valkyrie" and by translations possibly leader of the Dís, which then leads to more questions on the connection between the 2 (dís and Valkyrie). It’s known that Odin had his group of Valkyrie but that he had a group of "women" called "Odins Dís". Then you have 2 celebrations throughout the year, Disablot and disthing (this one has different names) which seem to mark the coming and going of winter, but also were more secretive and mainly within the home, some believed to be drawing down the ancestors magic from the alfar (elves) which with Freyja association to being "mistress of the home" (gets into the debate on her a frigg) and the name of the celebration may not have been the elves but the Dís possibly either as female ancestors or believe in ancestral connections to minor gods as a societal whole. Considering it wasn't uncommon for nobility to claim ancestry of some of the more famed gods (Odin, Freyr, etc)

Of course, Freyja is now a major goddess, if she wasn't before or even if she and Frigg were once the same being. They are now spilt just as Freyja is now much more important, but seeing the translation of Vanadis possible as "The great Dís" and Freyja having a connection to Gullvieg being Freyja and the connection to Freyja having rulership over Seiðr, etc. Could connect her to have been simply a leader of the Dís and or Valkyrie, and maybe it wasn't even her actual name considering Freyja translates to Fraujō in proto-Germanic, which becomes Frau in modern German, Frau means "woman" leading to the idea Freyja meant "Mistress" or "Lady" which is a title, not a name, which is interesting anyways. But of course, taking into account Old Norse poetry all the gods had different names and kennings. Which could mean we lost her original name.

The myths never actually show her as a Vølva but her association with magic gives us the idea she is along with the repeated idea that she was a goddess of sacrifices and that she was a “priest” in some texts, with the further association to gullveig this leads to the association that she could be a volva.

She has been described as having a chariot pulled by cats but they’re most likely domestic house cats based on the translations in stories the words used to mean only “cats” and if they were lynx or larger cats many translators believe the word directly referred to those animals would’ve been used instead, many older stories passed down orally mainly referred to her cats to be larger but we have no further evidence for either side.

Historical worship/practice

She had a fertility cult in the Viking age that stopped due to Christianity and a cult that lasted up until Snorri's age and time but that stopped soon after.

Hǫrg hann mér gerði, hlaðinn steinom,nú er griót þatat gleri orðit; rauð hann í nýionauta blóði, æ trúði Óttarrá ásynior (Hyndluljóð st. 10).

(He’s made a sanctuary for me, faced with stone, now that stone has turned to glass; he’s reddened it with fresh ox blood, Ottar has always trusted in the goddesses.)

This is one of the only examples of her worship or any goddess worship in the texts.

She and Frigga were called on during childbirth, and historically, our source came from a midwife.

In history, women of higher status would be named after Freyja in a sense being called “Fruvur” (ladies). Referring to the text before we see that many women who ruled over the household would be titled in her honor showing her ruling over the home at those times.

Associations

Death

Love

Lust

Magic (especially Seidr)

War

Cats

Wealth

Divination

Fertility

Beauty

Glory

Days of the Week

Friday, “Frigs day”

Special days

Alfarblót

Disablot

Elements

Fire

Numbers

9- Nine is a number found everywhere in Norse mythology, although nobody is sure why as it’s never explained anywhere.

Colors

Gold

Light Pink

Green

Copper

Silver

Yellow

Light Purple

Red

Brown

Animals

Cats

Horses

Boar/Sows

Rabbits

Swallows

Lynx

Falcons/Birds of prey

Ladybugs

Cuckoo

Plants and Flowers

Basil

Roses

Roseroot

Common Valerian

Mugwort

Rosemary

Apples

Primrose

Raspberries

Strawberries

Cinnamon

Poppy's

Daisy's

Almonds

Hay

Snow Blossoms

Linden

Essential oils/incense

Strawberry

Lavender

Lilac

Juniper

Cinnamon

Any sweet scents

Any baked good scents

Amber

Mint

Peppermint

Rose

Mulberry

Rosemary

Vanilla

Jasmine

Cypress

Sandalwood

Myrrh

Birch

Crystals and Metals

Rose quartz

Amber

Gold

Carnelian

Citrine

Any moonstone

Malachite

Black Tourmaline

Pink Tourmaline

River rock

Rubies

Divinational associations (runes/tarot)

Fehu, Sowilo, Berkano, Queen of wands, Queen of swords, The empress, The high priestess, The lovers, The star (Wildwood deck The Seer, and The Woodward)

Offerings and Devotional acts

Any Meads

Flowers (pressed or fresh)

Anything handmade for her

Stretching

Learning sword work

Exercising

Things are respectfully taken from nature

Jewelry

Poetry (especially traditional Norse)

Hot chocolate

Any tea

Wine

Sweet drinks or spices like cinnamon

Potatoes

Stews

Any meats

Any Berries

Ethically gathered Bones, Cat claws, and cat whiskers (DO NOT HARM AN ANIMAL FOR THESE)

Self-Care

Spending time in nature

Learning runes

Learning distaff spinning

Any imagery associated with her

Learning magic or divination

Any baked goods (bread, muffins, honey cakes, etc)

Honey

Honeycomb

Cat statues

Boar imagery

Fostering cats/kittens

Lighting candles every day in her honor

Burning incense for her (she likes things with flames or burning)

Bonfires

Flax bundles

A staff making a staff for your craft if you practice Seidr they are commonly used in it and you could make your devotional staff for that and have it by her altar.

Braiding your hair

Support women’s rights

Start a flower garden

Care for your significant other

Volunteer or support shelters

Honor your ancestors

Feed strays

Chants

Runic Chants/chanting the runes

Old Norse songs

(Both are commonly used in seidr)

Poem to Freyja-

https://www.tumblr.com/tears-of-amber/747489845291679744/freyja-in-the-honeysuckle-breeze-freyja-in-the?source=share

SOURCES

Poetic Edda translated by Jackson Crawford

Tales of Norse Mythology by Helen A. Guerber

The Norse Gods and Goddesses (Intro.)

Frigg and Freyja

The Vanir

The Vǫlva (Norse Seeress) and Seiðr

Valkyries (Valkyrjur)

Fólkvangr (Folkvang)

THE NORSE GODS: FREYJA || General info, what working with Freyja is like and offerings

Freyja (Freya) Norse Goddess of Love, Warriors, and Cats

My Experiences with Deities: Freyja

Seiðr Magic and Gender

https://teaandrosemary.com/freya-goddess/

https://study.com/academy/lesson/goddess-freyja-facts-symbols-norse-mythology.html

https://historycooperative.org/freyja-the-norse-goddess-of-love/

https://historiska.se/norse-mythology/freyja-en/

https://hrafnar.org/articles/dpaxson/asynjur/freyja/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Freyja

https://www.northvegr.org/nordic-goddess/froya-freyja

https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/freyja-sensuality

https://www.voluspa.org/index.htm

https://sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe10.htm

https://www.academia.edu/90730001/45_Freyja

https://www.academia.edu/9715739/The_Cult_of_Freyr_and_Freyja

gods and myths of northern Europe

by h.r. ellis davidson

norse mythology - guide to the gods, heroes, rituals and beliefs

- john lindow

https://www.tumblr.com/fjorn-the-skald/153799577907/kennings-for-the-vanir-sk%C3%A1ldskaparm%C3%A1l?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/broomsick/760015871374721024/i-want-to-ask-a-question-would-freyja-be?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/tears-of-amber/714440167683964928/freyja-a-deity-deep-dive-some-upg?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/chaos-bites/746330888775909376/subtle-freyja-worship-honor-passed?source=share

[orpheusilver]

reading a paper abt blackbeard and i can feel this historians frustration radiating through the screen

[opera-ghosts]

"ZU NEUEN TATEN, TEURER HELDE" Götterdämmerung - R. WAGNER Here some Siegfrieds and Brünnhildes.

Peter Cornelius as Siegfried; Copenhagen, 1905

Charles Dalmores as Siegfried; Brussels, 1902

Ejnar Forchhammer as Siegfried; ?, ?

Paul Franz as Siegfried; Paris, 1925

Hans Grahl as Siegfried; Hamburg, 1934

Alois Hadwiger as Siegfried; Coburg-Gotha, 1907

Ottfried Hagen as Siegfried; Munich, 1908

Ernst Kraus as Siegfried; Berlin, ca. 1907

Gorrhelf Pistor as Siegfried; Bayreuth, 1931

Julius Pölzer as Siegfried; Munich, 1932

Erik Schmedes as Siegfried; Vienna, ca. 1910

Josef Schöffel as Siegfried; Karlsruhe, ca. 1921

Hans Tänzler as Siegfried; Karlsruhe, 1910

Jacques Urlus as Siegfried; Berlin ?, ca. 1907

Fritz Vogelstrom as Siegfried; Mannheim, ca. 1909

Hermann Winkelmann as Siegfried; Vienna, 1880

Marie Brema as Brünnhilde; London, 1897

Louise Grandjean as Brünnhilde; Paris, 1908

Felia Litvinne as Brünnhilde with Grane; Brussels, 1902

Katharina Senger-Bettaque as Brünnhilde; Berlin, 1898

Fanni Wahrmann-Schöllinger as Brünnhilde with Grane; Hannover, 1920

Hedwig Reicher-Kindermann as Brünnhilde; Leipzig, ca. 1886

[gifts-of-heimdall-runes]

Rune Art: Silverhand Design

Rune art that was created by Silverhand Design while studying the Elder Futhark. Each rune was represented by an abstract painting composed of the colors and feeling attributed to them.

Shared on Elder Futhark Rune Study (Facebook private group.)

[essenceofarda]

.

[akaessi]

runology as a field is so frustrating...

the "scholars of old" are racist hacks

everyone is using a "runology specific" notation style instead of international linguistic standard

places itself as "linguistic," but ignores current and widely accepted linguistic practices

places itself as historical, but also ignores common practices by historical scholars

runology as a current field seems to adamantly refuse to learn from LITERALLY ANY OTHER FIELD

how are you going to study a historical writing system without using the IPA, without PrIE studies, discussion of comparative linguistics, etc etc etc??? god, I fucking hate runology [or at least my runology sessions at what is supposed to be one of the best universities for runology]

[raining-anonymously]

this is pedantic as shit but those “all of you saying ‘i would not make the same mistakes as the tragic person in this myth’ are lying. yes you would” annoy me. you don’t know me. you don’t know my autistic decision making process. you don’t know my paranoia. if i were icarus, newly released from imprisonment and flying on fucking wings, i would be TERRIFIED. i would do everything my dad said. i’m not saying i am better than icarus, i am saying i can barely DRIVE without a panic attack and i constantly have to force myself to go fast enough on highways, and you think i’d fly higher up than what an adult told me was safe??? absolutely the fuck not. no.

as for orpheus, yeah idk. i appreciate those posts about how he looked back for LOVE and not out of stupidity or any other reason, but once again, i am AUTISTIC and PARANOID and probably got a bit of OCD as well, we’re still figuring that one out, but anyway, i would follow those rules to the LETTER. then if i’ve been tricked it wasn’t my fault! but if they told me the truth and i didn’t listen, that’s on me, that’s my fault. can’t take that risk. i am not saying orpheus was wrong (though, in a literal sense, he was), i am saying this is not how my brain works. i would not look back because my brain follows rules if they make sense. deals make sense. do this thing i tell you and i’ll give you what you want makes sense. i would not look back. i’m fucked up in slightly different ways than the gods and tumblr expected.

i would have eaten the apple in the garden, though (because that’s a rule that DOESN’T make sense and i have no proof consequences will occur).

i used too many words in this but i have to make sure everyone understands i am being literal here.

[arthistoryanimalia]

For #ManuscriptMonday:

Illustration of the goat Heiðrún from Icelandic Manuscript SÁM 66, 1765-6, housed at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

"Heiðrún or Heidrun is a nanny goat in Norse Mythology, that consumes the foliage of the tree Læraðr and produces mead from her udders for the einherjar. She is described in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda."

[the-pagan-crow]

The Runes - An Introduction

Hello! Today, we're going to be looking at the runes. This is the introductory post for our rune study, which will be an in-depth look at each rune individually.

Before we get to that, we need a little history and background, so this is an introduction. There will not be any divinitory meanings explored today. We are simply looking at the runes and learning about their history.

Different Runic Alphabets

Many heathens are aware of two runic alphabets, Elder Futhark and Younger Furhark. However, there are more runic alphabets than just those. Some other alphabets are the Germanic Futhork and Medieval runes. While there are many runic alphabets, this blog will primarily explore the Futharks.

Elder and Younger Futhark History

As one might guess, the Elder Futhark gets its name because it came before the Younger Futhark. I have found some discrepancies over when Elder Futhark first appeared. That being said, somewhere in the 1st or 2nd century, Elder Futhark began being used by the Norse people.

By the Viking age, so around the 8th century, Elder Futhark turned into a different, shorter, alphabet that we now know as Younger Futhark.

Differences in Elder vs Younger

As stated before, Younger Futhark is much shorter. In fact, Younger Futhark is only 16 letters long. This is much shorter than Elder Futhark's 24 runes.

Another difference is that Younger Futhark has 2 different versions. They are often called Short-Twig and Long-Twig. Both of these versions mean the same thing. It's kind of like modern-day cursive versus print handwriting.

Were the Runes Just Alphabets?

This is a hard question for us to be 100% sure on. We have had some sources and people tell us that the ancient people did not believe the runes to have a deeper meaning than being characters in a writing system.

However, this is slightly contradictory with the mythological story we have about the runes (more on that below).

It is possible that they believed the runes held a deeper meaning, but did not use them for divination as we do today.

Odin and the Runes

In Norse mythology, Odin "discovered" the runes while he hung from the world tree, Yggdrasil, for nine days and nights after he impaled his heart with his own spear. It's said that the runes came to him from the Well of Urd, which is the source of fate.

Many people say that Odin put himself through this dangerous event because he knew the runes held great meaning and wisdom.

In Conclusion

The Elder and Younger Futhark are very interesting pieces of history and of the heathen path. I hope this post helped explain their history and background. I'm excited to start our in-depth study of the runes! We will start with Elder Futhark and then move to Younger Futhark. Below, you'll find quick charts of what the different Futharks look like!

[primalmuckygoop]

As you can see, I'm experimenting with a new inking style

Pictured are Jötnar, the giants of Scandinavia- not dissimilar are their cousins the Ettin, though contrary to popular belief they have zero relationship to trolls outside of antagonistic hand gestures, and the occasional bone bread poisoning attempt. Nowadays most remaining Jötnar work in heavy industry or mining because they're forcibly prevented from their tradition of solitary hill life by a bevy of regulations and poor relationships with local governments during the rise of industrialization. "Uncivilized" giants still live in places like Trillemarka where they have to hide because creatively borrowing vast herds of livestock is a crime apparently.

The best senses of the average Jötunn are its Hearing and Touch, their large bulbous noses being primarily for display. Their vaguely elephantine legs convergently support the vast bulk of their frames, which can range from 610cm in height to 818cm in height, and cushion the shock of sliding down steep ravines. Despite their immense hand size, Jötnar are capable of fairly fine metalworking and recovered artifacts often possess fine detail, as do their spearheads, which are usually cast from entire veins of copper.

Note- Jötnar have and still will eat humans on occasion, and while ritual meaning is ascribed to this, the truth is they just do it when they're pissed off at you.

[moonlight1237]

Hel Norse Divine

@ghosting-medium helped write and edit this!

ᚺᛖᛚ (elder futhark)

Hel (old norse) Hell(e) (old english)

Her name comes from a root meaning, covered or hidden kinda like Hades and Frau Holle, and like a helmet or a helm, which is also the name of the realm which she resides in Helheim (old norse=Hel) also meaning “the grave” or to be put in your grave this land is not a place of punishment like the Christian Hell, it was more of a waiting place where Lady Hel takes in the “unchosen souls of the dead”. Helhiem was believed to be guarded by a giant wolf it’s disputed whether it’s her brother Fenrir or another wolf named Garm, Helheim is in one of the nine realms which is Niflheim, her plate and knife are named “hunger” and “famine”

She is the daughter of Loki and the giantess (or a jötunn) Angrboða; her brothers are Fenrir (Vánagandr or Fenris) and Jörmungandr (Midgard serpent). Some don’t realize the gods and giants aren’t different races but different families and titles as Hel was born of a god/goddess parent she has the title of goddess but she can also be referred to as a giantess.

She appears as half-blue or sometimes some say it translate to black both mean she’s half corpse/rotting and the other half is a flesh colored beautiful woman, she’s known to appear to her followers as either or both if she feels the need to scare you or shock you she may come as her rotting side or if she wants to come off more motherly she may show up as her flesh side, some say she has white or black hair it varies to person.

She also had a 3 legged horse also known as “Hel-horse” a scrawny boney white/yellow horse which in the “prose edda” she brought plague and death

She’s said to lead an army of undead souls into battle during Ragnarok to fight in a valley against the undead warriors of valhalla (Old Norse: Valhǫll) aka the hall of the slain or hall of the corpse.

She appears in Baldrs draumar and the Voluspa in the poetic edda also known as the “Elder edda”.

In Baldrs draumar you see her when she refuses to give Baldrs soul back to the other gods and keeps him in Helheim unless everything in the universe weeps for his “death” (gods in norse mythology don’t “die” they’re reborn in a way) when one giantess refuses to weep Hel keeps Baldr in Helheim till Ragnarok. It was known she treated him fairly and even gave him a seat beside her as a guest of honor in her hall.

Ullr was another god who visited Niflheim often so he often visited Hel in Helheim.

Why she was thrown from Asgard is disputed; some believe it was due to her looks that she made the other gods uncomfy, or that like her brothers the Æsir gods condemned her before she really did wrong leading to a self fulfilling prophecy, or that Odin gifted the hall to her.

Hel is the queen of afterlife and the caretaker of the dead in some sources she was also the main god who made decisions on judgements for who received punishments in Helheim as not all who went to Helheim go as punishment and it was said that Helheim had 2 sides.

General association

Death

The afterlife

Ancestor work

Shadow work

Bones

Sickness/plague

Cold/winter

Revenge

Scrying

Hidden places

Tombs

Gold / Sliver

Rotting/wilting

Spirits and death work

Necromancy

Animals associated

Ravens

Horses (black or white sometimes bay)

Wolves (due to her brother and the guardian of her hall)

Crows

Vultures

Any black animals

Elderly animals

Scents

Pine

Amber

Earthy scents

Apple

Cinnamon

Homey scents

Spice scents

Musky strong scents

Colors

Black

White

Blue

Sliver

Gold

Runes/Tarot

Hagalaz (hail)

Eihwaz (yew)

Death

Queen of wands

Queen of swords

Numbers

3

9-Upg this number comes up with her a lot due to her being a ruler of one of the nine realms

Element

Earth - because of her ruling of the underworld, and being under the earth

Zodiac Sign

Scorpio - upg, but Scorpio deals with a lot of secrecy, privacy, shadows, and death

Cancer - upg, she’s “the one who hides or is covered”, since Cancer’s animal is the crab, and that is an animal that is covered by its hard shell. Many individuals that work with Lady Hel associate her with being motherly, but also strict. Cancer is the sign of nurturing, and emotions so it makes sense.

As for other zodiac signs, I would consider any zodiac signs near the end of the cycle. The zodiac cycle is associated with the cycle of life and death; so near the end of the cycle is going to be death. This could be signs like Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. There is no historical basis for this, as Norse Paganism didn’t really document or use zodiac signs.

Day of the Week

Saturday

Crystals

Any type of obsidian

Black onyx

Hematite

Smokey quartz

Labradorite

Moonstone

Jet

Black tourmaline

Plants

Yew (do not consume yourself EVER)

Any poisonous plant really (deadly nightshade, foxglove, etc) (do not handle unless you are a pro and know how to handle poisonous plants)

roses/dried roses

fungi/mushrooms and other decomposers

Mold

Juniper berries/bush (do not consume yourself EVER)

Pine

apples/apple trees/apple blossoms

Plantain

Black roses

Drinks and food

Mead/alcohol (especially spiced flavors) - classic Norse offerings that are appreciated by all Norse deities

Meat

Bread

Coffee

Tea - Black tea is a type of tea that might be best for Lady Hel due to her strong association to the color Black. If you don’t have this tea don’t worry, I bet she’ll be grateful for any tea you have.

Dark chocolate

Apples

Yew/Juniper berries (do not handle unless you are a pro and know how to handle poisonous plants)

Marshmallows/or marshmallow fluff

Molten/lava cakes

Fudge

Anything bittersweet or spiced

Things to offer/do in devotion to her

Bones/skulls

Learn runes, and casting runes

Learn bone throwing/casting

Raven bones/skulls

Mirrors (especially black or silver mirrors)

Any art you make for her

Black or white cloth

Black/white/silver candles

Crystals

Food/drink, Raw meat

Learning your shadow self

Learning your family history or connecting to your an ancestors

Visiting a cemetery or graveyard and pay your respects to the dead

Cleaning up cemeteries or volunteering at one - make sure you know how to properly clean graves and have the spirits permission before cleaning the grave

Respecting the dead and spirits wherever you are

Saying a prayer to her when you see or find dead animals

Veiling

Skeleton imagery

Wolf imagery or wolf teeth

Learning a scandinavian language (old norse, dansk, norwegian, icelandic, swedish)

Learn runic writing

Flowers/dried flowers/flowers that are near dead if not already dead

If your experienced in norse folk magic a blot (ONLY IF YOU KNOW HOW AND HAVE PROPER UNDERSTANDING AND GUIDANCE AND EXPERIENCE)

Feathers

Fur/animal hides - make sure you get these ethically, do not just injure an animal for its hide, and not pay respect to the animal or Lady Hel during it.

Things that respect that dead like something from your ancestors

Any kind of animal imagery related to her

Signs she could be reaching out

Sudden interest in her

Hearing her name brought up a lot, either in conversation or subconsciously

Sudden interest in death work or spirit work

Seeing black animals

Seeing animal death and bones

Her being in your dreams a lot or her name mentioned a lot

Suddenly wanting to learn to scry or do runes

Drawn towards obsidian, or smokey quartz suddenly

Getting her rune or tarot card a lot

Being drawn towards norse mythology or her myths

seeing dead bugs in unusual places

Hel music/meditation

https://youtu.be/eXl6iGuV_44

https://youtu.be/uIDWg-KqX8c

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0XwuUkj1u31j90LCq3ftau?si=b60faa340c2a45bf

Resources

https://www.angelfire.com/journal/ofapoet/hel.html-A really good article of info on Lady Hel but of course take everything with a grain of salt

http://ydalir.ca/norsegods/hel/- A decent run down on Lady Hel with some good info

The “Prose Edda” also known as the “younger edda”

The “Poetic Edda”-translation by Jackson Crawford also known as the “elder edda”

“The Viking Spirit”-Daniel McCoy

“Tales Of Norse Mythology”-Helen A. Guerber

https://angelorum.co/heathenry/connecting-with-the-goddess-hel/ - A decent article with some UPG and well known facts

https://youtu.be/yg5QyIPXdAI- Info on Lady Hel from a witches view with some UPG.

https://youtu.be/6r_iPQA2vZw- The historical research on Hel including her names roots, what she does, and her realm

https://youtu.be/Ac2veVpMPWA- A complete basic intro to Norse mythology from a historical view

https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/going-hel-and-back-travel-helheim-where-goddess-darkness-reigned-006174- A little bit of info on Lady Hel

https://www.worldhistory.org/Hel/ - quick blurb on Lady Hel’s history

https://youtu.be/WeW1-oXEubk-Jackson Crawfords run through on the main norse gods and goddesses

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLATNGYBQ-TjqOIFzdVApjXXpWXOzZHKFp- Jackson Crawford norse mythology playlist and run through from a professor and historical standpoint

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLATNGYBQ-TjrPCf9YGy0qzqca1ypcGs50- Jackson Crawfords run through of all the Nordic runes and how they work from a historical standing

https://youtu.be/mhMHTZ2jfXM- Grimfrost academies documentary on Viking age culture and how the norse people lived and used things

[opera-ghosts]

"NUN ZÄUME DEIN ROSS, REISIGE MAID!" DIE WALKÜRE - R. WAGNER (2 act)

Here some Brünnhildes

Mathilde Fraenkel-Claus as Brünnhilde; ?, (ca. 1902)

Marie Burk-Berger as Brünnhilde; Munich, 1907

Lucienne Breval as Brünnhilde (print); Paris, 1892

Berta Morena as Brünnhilde; Munich, 1907

Emmy Hoy as Brünnhilde; Kiel, 1912

Maria Maier as Brünnhilde; Mainz, ?

Maria Gembarzewska / Maryla von Falken as Brünnhilde; Munich, 1913

Helena Forti as Brünnhilde; Dresden, 1913

Loni Meinert as Brünnhilde; Mannheim, 1914

Gabriele Englerth as Brünnhilde; Wiesbaden, ca. 1915

Theo Drill-Oridge as Brünnhilde; Hamburg, ca. 1923

Helene Wildbrunn as Brünnhilde; Vienna, ca. 1923

Elsa Alsen as Brünnhilde; New York, 1926

Eugenie Burkhardt as Brünnhilde; Dresden, 1926

Nanny Larsén-Todsen as Brünnhilde; Bayreuth, 1927

Olga Haselbeck as Brünnhilde; Budapest, (ca. 1930)

Henriette Gottlieb as Brünnhilde; Berlin, 1930

Frida Leider as Brünnhilde; Berlin, ca. 1934

[beauty-is-truth-is-beauty]

May be a bit niche, but does anybody know of any articles discussing creative powers (physical/manual and intellectual) and gender in the Viking age?

I've been thinking about how the feminine norns and disir create the first laws (as told in the version of creation in the Völuspá poem) while Oðinn and his brothers supposedly are in charge of physically crafting parts of the worlds and humanity. The feminine voice and masculine hand when it comes to power I suppose, as well as when it comes to who maintains both traditional lore and legal codes in literature/literary memories vs in reality.

Wish I had included more on gender in my dissertation but alas it wasn't related closely enough to anything else I was writing about.

[nerdanaro]

I zoned out a little bit in class today bc I was trying to keep up taking notes and when I came back. Eärendil. Was there. In MY Thor myth.