#scandinavian references

[hygienic-soap-dispenser]

Imagine a travel episode where it's the Scandinavian Trio travelling through Italy or Spain but they're all just collectively ganging up on Sweden (who this trip is for) and messing with him, and both Denmark and Norway are basically just Conan O'Brien with Jordan on their trip to Italy I think that would be so funny 💀

[declanscunt]

[eachuisge-cc]

first thing I'm doing with my new power is adding Mongolian/Altai inspired horses to Solstheim

[because-its-eurovision]

Your hamster sounds so cute!! 🥺 do you have any pictures? 👉👈

I did a photoshoot just for you 🥰 This is Astrid!

kukkuu

[dragonbored]

love elder scrolls horse lore

[zombiejette]

i am misuse case and I have never felt so seen in my entire tumblr life.

ur government assigned gender for the day is the first thing u get when u click this link to a randomised wikipedia article. NO REROLLS . i am the  trollsteineggje mountain in norway

[chedelat]

has anyone figured out whom "the econoclards" are meant to be a reference to

[filurig]

Well i have decided to make a little silly phenomenon in pareidolia so. yes folke is used as an example for a reason no i wont elaborate... but i will elaborate about the phenomenon below...

most humans associate the scars with trolls (keep in mind this is about basilisks in the nordics so) because of the idea that trolls shapeshift (in Pareidolia Reality they don't and the "real" trolls are more baueresque than the more traditional view. but its all human terminology anyway lol). any humans with troll scars tend to try to hide them bcs of it, but it can be hard depending on how extensive they are - if you just got a scar where you have extra furring, you may just be able to shave it. if you got the feather variant, it might suck a bit more lol...

troll scars are premanent, the tissue it affects will be forever changed.

filament tends to be somewhat adapted to fit where the original tissue was. claws won't grow from random patches of skin etc.

pigment is usually inherited from the scarred individual, but on rare occasions it may spontaneously "pick up" on local bird species pigmentation like basilisks do in development (as baby)

metamorfum acid burns heal very fast - a large area can heal in about as little as a month. but that's just for the "superficial" healing, and it will appear like a normal burn scar at first until it'll slowly start to grow the new filaments or the tissue will appear to "change".

basilisk acid burns rarely ever go deeper than the skin because it stops being active fast after exiting the basilisk body.

many basilisk cultures are hesitant about interspecies relationships (with other sophonts i mean) using hastuik as a justification. interestingly enough, metamorfum accidents don't seem to affect harpies as badly, probably because the two species are related, so there's usually less of a hesitation in regards to those relationships. it may vary however from community to community

hastuik is a basilisk term (well among scandinavian basilisks) which often refers to these scars but also in other contexts and is also a combination of two words - "hastu", which is also a family suffix (used for chicks before they pick their name), whose meanings include young/youth, chick and naiveté, while "ik" can be translated to foolishness/stubbornness (specfically with the connotation that it is unreasonable). calling another basilisk hastuik is basically calling them naive/childish in a derogatory sense since the term is kind of obsolete for them anyway (the acid burns heal normally for them)

[cowbuild]

October 2023 Set (2) - Scandinavian Sleepover

With this set that comes with many swatches, you can create Scandinavian living room for your sims in many different styles. The sofa can transform into a sofa bed (by manually going into buy mode😸) Now it is time to call your sims' friends to have a sleepover! All items are base-game compatible.

PATREON

Reference

[nimblermortal]

for nimblr#payment for shakespearean sins#*carefully set out bait*

YES, darling, it's been giddy torture coming across astronicht's posts and wanting to find All the Norse bits but carefully excise all of the Tolkein. And this is yet worse because either the state library doesn't have the book referenced, or Neil Price has committed the cardinal sin of titling a book without useful key words because people are terrible at naming their sons. Be scornful as you like about the Æs#leighys of the world but at least if they write a book called The we'll still be able to find it.

(To some degree it's moot because my library queue is already filled to the end of August with Locus finalists - which, side note, I'm irritated about people naming their sons because of a man named Tim Powers writing a book called My Brother's Keeper as if he wants it to vanish into the stacks forever - but at astronicht's recommendation I've put Clive Oppenheimer on for 27 August.)

In sum, we need more trans people naming themselves Akaþorr and a new wave in conservatism to bring back names like Æthelred and Godric so I can find the books I want to read. And astronicht is very welcome to fill my library queue for September.

Look! Look I yell, fully caught up in my own themes and echoes! That are possibly my fevered imagination after too much time exposed to 600-1100 AD! Bombadil and then Gandalf (and fascinatingly not Galadriel) have set up the strength of “Beware of his voice!” Words have already stopped Riders in their tracks; voices have broken open the ancient walls of tombs, protected Bill The Pony, halted a balrog…! It’s built up and made this moment as tense as it is! And now we inch ever closer to Saruman… and ever closer to… me having to pop open the giant textbook The Viking Way by Neil Price to the chapters on seiðr magic, because I never learned it like I learned galdor/galdr and now Tolkien has caught me slipping… he rlly said where is your holistic approach to the early medieval North Sea cultural landscape… “I didn’t name the book Two Towers for u to forget about seiðr” as I gently weep…

[juleswilliampress]

ever wanted to learn Old Norse but put off by how most resources expect you to have familiarity with Latin grammar?

The viking language series is designed for interested language learners without expecting them to have prior knowledge of other languages. These books use a word-frequency method that speeds up learning and is for students of all levels.

Beginners will be reading Old Norse texts from the first lesson, while advance students have ample vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation for improved fluency. It includes sections of viking history, literature, and myth with extensive maps throughout.

The second volume builds upon the first, and includes a reference grammar and a large vocabulary along with chapters on Eddic and skaldic poetry. Readings that immerse learners in the Old Norse world include complete sagas, runic inscriptions, myths, creation stories, and legends, Eddic poems tell about Scandinavian gods, monster-slayers, dwarves, giants, warrior kings, shieldmaidens, and Valkyries.

Order volume 1 and volume 2 online here, or ask your local bookstore about stocking our editions!

[cartoonist-in-theory]

You’re walking down a long quiet road. It’s winter, snow covers the ground, the sky fades gray. All around you are trees that have long since dropped their leaves, cold and dead, waiting for spring. You stop beneath one, eye caught by a striking sight. Amid the bare branches you see a round bundle of stunning green leaves. Hanging down above you are dozens of beautiful little pearly white berries. The fruit tempts you, but you don’t dare touch. Instead you simply admire them. Life among the dead of winter. Mistletoe.

@slocotion Hi, here is my design for slocotion's patreon dyo doll contest. Her name is Haustoria of the Pale. I was very excited to put this together once it struck me. I thought of all my favorite fruits I could have used but then inspiration hit me as I was considering less common fruits and fungi. Mistletoe is used medicinally by some but the entire plant, including its cute white berries, is toxic. Since this is a longer post, I’ll include more notes on my design under a cut but to point out the most important thing, I’ve combined the nature of the toxic berries with some historical+mythological inspiration that I think echoes it nicely.

In Norse mythology, a well known story is that of the death of Baldr. Baldr was the most loved god of the Aesir, so when a vision of his death reached his parents Odin and Frigga, they did all they could to protect him. Frigga sent her servants all over the world to make every creature and thing vow to never harm a hair on Baldr’s head. All but mistletoe promised, too insignificant or too young to make the vow. After it was done, Bladr seemed invincible. Since nothing was willing to hurt him, the gods would sometimes gather around and throw things at him, watching everything bounce off without injuring him. Loki, jealous of the love and affection that was always paid to Baldr, came up with a plan to get rid of him. He had an arrow made of mistletoe and brought it to Baldr’s blind brother Hodr. He gave it to him to throw at Baldr as all the gods pelted him with objects and weapons. Hodr threw the arrow and, since mistletoe had never promised not to harm him, it pierced his chest, killing him instantly... And so Baldr was delivered to the depths of the land of the dead, looked over by Hel.

specific design notes under the cut thank you for looking!

Mistletoe is a very interesting plant to me. It’s not a tree or vine or bush, but instead its an evergreen parasite. The sticky seeds attach themselves to the branches and grow into it with a haustorium, which is a structure that lets them sap nutrients from the host plant. Haustoria’s name is a reference to this structure. “of the Pale” is a reference to not only the color of the berries but the pale gray and white landscape of winter.

Mistletoe berries are heavily toxic but also exist in winter, when other plants may be barren and “dead.” Because of that and their parasitic nature I see them as a sweet little balance of life and death. In addition to that, I use the split colors of the face/mask of Haustoria to reference the goddess of the land of the dead, Hel, who is described as having a body that is half black as death, split down the middle.

The structure of the outfit is inspired by Scandinavian and specifically Norwegian folk dresses, since I’m borrowing old Norse history for more inspiration, it seemed fitting. I also felt the style would be good to accompany the botanical and berry designs attractively.

The twin peaked hood is to further split the design down the middle, with little charms to show life and death.

I included white beads all over the outfit to represent the mistletoe berries themselves so they could stand out.

The dark side of her face is adorned with thorns and has three mournful black tears leaking down from her eye, as well as a hollow half of the center heart.

The light side is blushed and lively with shiny eyes, leaves shaped like the mistletoe leaves, red petals like the mistletoe blooms, three white dots to be the mistletoe fruit, and the center heart is full.

Her cape is white on the inside to represent the white of the berries and also the white of snow.

To cap it off, I do believe mistletoe is fitting for a plague doctor as they are still used medicinally to this day. :)

Thank you for reading everything and looking at my design! I’m very proud of her and I hope she doesn’t stretch the theme. And definitely more than anything else I hope you enjoy looking at her!

[mindblowingscience]

A brand new species of ceratops, or horned dinosaur, was recently discovered in northern Montana. This discovery was published in the journal PeerJ last week. The dinosaur is called Lokiceratops rangiformis, after the Norse god Loki, and is believed to have lived roughly eighty million years ago. Researchers named it so for two reasons: 1. Like all ceratops, it has horns on his head — and in this case, they remind researchers of the blades on Loki's helmet. 2. The recovered skull currently resides in the Museum of Evolution in Denmark, one of the Scandinavian countries responsible for the story of Loki. The second part of the name, rangiformis, refers to the horns not being symmetrical, like caribou.

Continue Reading.

[samwisethewitch]

Book Review: Freya: Meeting the Norse Goddess of Magic by Morgan Daimler

I just finished a reread of this book and realized I've never talked about it on this blog, even though it ties into a lot of my content.

I've talked about my relationship with Freyja here before. She is the deity I have worked with most consistently in my personal practice, and she's been a strong presence in my life since I was a child. Even before I was interested in witchcraft or paganism, I was drawn to stories and images of Freyja.

Unfortunately, quality books about Freyja are hard to find in English. A lot of the wonderful work being done by Scandinavian scholars and heathens is only available in their native languages. A lot of English-language resources are either very academic and prohibitively expensive, or they are books about goddess worship more generally that only mention Freyja on a few pages. Freyja, Lady, Vanadis: An Introduction to the Goddess by Patricia M. Lafayllve is a pretty good beginner's resource, but it's only available in paperback, which can be a barrier for some readers.

All of this is to say, I was very excited when Morgan Daimler put out this book. I've talked about how much I love Daimler's work before on this blog -- I think they do really great research AND do a really good job of making all that information accessible for a beginner. I have several of Daimler's books on Norse and Irish deities, and all of them are resources I reference often in my practice.

This book follows a similar formula to Daimler's other books on deities, like Odin or the Morrigan. Daimler presents Freyja's mythology, folklore, associations, and relationships. There is also an entire chapter dedicated to Freyja's connection to seiðr, which explains what seiðr is and why it is important in a very straightforward way. There is also an entire chapter dedicated to connecting with Freyja as a modern worshiper.

I like that Daimler includes a section at the end of each chapter about their own experiences with Freyja. I also like that they talk about the importance of actually experiencing the gods and trusting our experiences. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that anything that doesn't match up with primary sources is wrong, and I like that Daimler takes time to shoot down that idea.

I also really like that Daimler does not tell you how to interpret the lore. Daimler presents a story, explains the different ways it could be interpreted, and leaves readers to make their own conclusions. This is a style of teaching I try to use in my own work, and I love seeing it done well here.

If you know next to nothing about Freyja, I think this book is an excellent place to start. Everything you need to make that initial connection is here.

Even as someone who has worked with Freyja for years and done lots of my own research, I found a few things I didn't know here. This book also gave me a new perspective on certain aspects of Freyja's lore. This is why it's always great to compare notes with other people.

If you're interested in connecting with Freyja or just learning more about her, I highly, highly recommend this book!

[audible-smiles]

eating salmon: an explanation

lox: thin cuts of salmon (traditionally the fatty belly meat) dry cured with salt, but not smoked. this results in a delicate texture and a very salty taste. lox originated in Scandinavia as a method of preserving fish prior to refrigeration, but the American English word is derived from Yiddish because Jewish delis in New York first popularized it as a bagel topping. since lox is a type of uncooked fish, it is not recommended for pregnant people, immunocompromised people, or seniors, due to the risk of contamination with listeria.

cold-smoked salmon: thin cuts of salmon brined (with less salt than lox) and then smoked below 90 degrees Fahrenheit. results in the same silky texture but a milder, more palatable taste. often called "Nova lox", referring to Nova Scotia but denoting a method of preparation rather than the fish's origin. this is usually what modern Americans are referring to when they use the term "lox". cold-smoking reduces but does not eliminate the risk of listeria.

hot-smoked salmon: salmon brined quickly and then smoked above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. results in a flaky, jerky-liked texture, a hard shiny surface, and a smoky flavor. (as a West-coaster, this is my preferred style!) hot-smoking eliminates listeria during the cooking process, but salmon can be recontaminated during the processing/packaging process if the facility is not sanitary. (really, this is true of all foods- vegetables, dairy products, etc).

salmon candy: a traditional Pacific Northwest hot-smoked salmon recipe where the brine is sweetened with brown sugar, and the smoked fish is glazed with a sauce containing birch or maple syrup.

salmon jerky: cured salmon hot-smoked for longer than usual or processed in a dehydrator until it is tough and chewy.

gravlax: a traditional Scandinavian raw salmon recipe where the brine contains sugar and dill. historically buried in the ground and lightly fermented. sometimes it is still pressed to give it a dense texture.

kippered salmon: thicker cuts of brined salmon hot-smoked above 150 degrees Fahrenheit. results in a texture similar to baked salmon.

salmon sushi/sashimi: completely raw fresh salmon. this didn't exist in traditional Japanese cuisine, where salmon was always cooked, possibly because the local wild salmon had a high burden of parasitic worms (anasakis nematodes). Norwegian fish sellers convinced them to try farmed Atlantic salmon raw in the 80s, and it really took off.

poached salmon: salmon cooked on the stove while submerged in liquid (often white wine with lemon). results in a moist, soft, cooked fish with a pale color. can be bland without sauce.

baked salmon: salmon cooked in an oven, often wrapped in aluminum foil with seasonings to retain moisture and flavor. can result in perfect, flaky fish (as long as you don't overcook it).

dishwasher salmon: look, sometimes white people wrap salmon in aluminum foil like they're going to bake it and then poach it in their dishwasher instead. this can work but is stupid because the temperature dishwashers run at isn't standardized, so you have no control over the process and it's easy to over or undercook.

pan-fried salmon: salmon cooked in oil on a stovetop. I've never done this and frankly it sounds wrong, but I bet it makes the skin crunchy.

broiled salmon: salmon cooked under a broiler. as with all broiled foods, you will have to stare at it the whole time or it will burn to a crisp while your back is turned. results in a caramelized exterior.

grilled salmon: to grill salmon people often put it on a Western redcedar plank pre-soaked in water, which supposedly infuses the salmon with a smoky, aromatic flavor while it cooks. I've seen the technique variously credited to the Haida, the Salish, and the Chinook. it seems to be a modern variation of the traditional "salmon on a stick" style of slow-cooking salmon by spearing it on branches and leaning it over the coals of an above-ground pit fire.

deep-fried salmon: this sounds absolutely awful but I simply cannot stop thinking about it

[ben-the-hyena]

Second day of Christmas : the Yule Goat

In Scandinavian countries, the Yule Goat or Julbock is an emblematic Christmas figure taken straight from Norse and Germanic mythologies. Inspired from the goats who accompanied Thor and turned malevolent and satanic at the moment of Christianism's coming, he became good again in the 19th century and it was then said he was the one bringing presents to children, before being rewritten agai as just the Julenisse's mate/steed, the elf who is said to be the one bringing gifts more recently. The reason why I drew him crisp burnt is referring to the Gävle Goat, Sweden. It's super funny, but too long tocbe explained here, there are lots of articles and videos on the subject and this year is a new step in its history