The Alfar
As the Aesir deal primarily with the defense of the cosmos, the Vanir deal with its mechanics, and the Disir deal with its proliferation through fertility, the Alfar are the ones who actually drive the natural forces and entities that make up our universe. The sun is pulled by Sol in the lore, the moon
Frigga
Odin’s wife and mother of the Aesir—Thor, Baldur, and Hodur with him; she also gave birth to Frey, Freya, Blik, Blid, Frid, Eir, Hlif, Hlifthrasa, Thjodvarta, and Bjart with her brother, Njord. Such a close union is allowed among the Vanir (but not the Aesir), and we would see this as an aspect of divinity
The Vanir Gods Njord and Nerthus
Original title :CIRCLING THE WAGONS:The Vanir Gods Njord and Nerthus Although some scholars have pointed out possible foreign models for Tacitus’ account of the Nerthus cult, it is more probable that he based his account on native Scandinavian tradition. A divinity in a wagon is well-known in Germanic lore, thus there is little need to
Honoring Ancestors
We have seen the Odinist methods of paying tribute to the dead through the Helfaring, but one more duty is placed upon the living in paying tribute to the dead. This is figuring out how to honor them after they have moved on and become revered ancestors. There are three ways that this can be
Hödur’s supposed blindness
HÖDUR’S SUPPOSED BLINDNESS. To all that has been said of Hödur above, one statement in Gylfaginning stands in the sharpest and most irreconcilable contrast: the statement that Hödur, the warrior, dragonslayer, archer, and sportsman was blind! The uncritical manner in which Gylfaginning has previously been handled has enabled this statement to remain in mythological textbooks
The Purpose of Sacrifice
Sacrifice is never viewed as a form of humility on our part . There is even evidence that the gods sacrifice to one another . The reason for this is that we believe such offerings empower the divine , which allows them to perform magnificent feats , usually to our benefit.When Ódin , in Hávamál
The Epic School in Odin’s Wife
The major literary sources of Norse myth are of four kinds: eddicpoems, skaldic stanzas, Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, and the sagas. What unites this body of literature is that it provides us with a picture of the pre-Christian past, either, because the material itself originated in the pre-Christian period and was recorded later, or because its authors were
Gullveig
Since we have already discussed the first Giants or Etins in the creation story, it is now time to progress to the role of these creatures of Chaos after civilization has been established. Heimdall taught the humans all sorts of skills to help them create a culture, giving them the holy fire as well as
Hel in The Asatru Edda
XXIV. Hel Urðr, the Dís of örlög, is also the Dís of death. Because she determines the örlög and length of every human’s life, she also determines their death. She who lays the lots of life, lays the lots of death. She and her sisters reign over the past, present, and future; she reigns over
Homosexuality and the Germanic Weltanschauung
By TRISTAN POWERS Within the Germanic Faith we often face attacks and attempts at censor from various currents of society who would seek to identify us as divergent or even dangerous to the accepted ideas and behavior of modern society. One of the most frequent of these attempts comes from the realm of modern political
