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Vanir

Depiction of Valhalla, where Odin held court at Asgard, from the 1878 staging by Hermann Burghart of Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner. (Public domain)

Asgard: The Fabled Home of the Aesir Gods of Norse Mythology

Asgard was the home of the mighty Norse gods, from where they watched over the other eight realms and administered justice. It was also the final resting place of the dead and where Odin, King of the...
Painting of Freja by John Bauer. Source: Public domain

The Story, Symbols and Powers of Freya, the Norse Goddess of Love

Freya is old Norse for “lady” and was the name given to the Norse goddess of love. Whilst she certainly sought out passion and pleasure, she was a complex character. In fact, to the Vikings she was a...
Kvasir and the Mead of Poetry in Norse Mythology

Kvasir and the Mead of Poetry in Norse Mythology

For the ancient Vikings, poetry was a way to tell the stories of their gods, their religion, their heroes and villains. Works that have survived centuries are told with such eloquence; it would only...
Mimir, the bodiless god of wisdom, plays a fundamental role in the stories of Odin and the Norse gods.

The Bodiless God of Wisdom: Mimir in Norse Mythology

The god who transcends even Odin’s power, Mimir (or sometimes called Mim) is remembered throughout Norse mythology as the oracular head from which the two races of gods, the Aesir and Vanir, seek...
Representation of the goddesses that were the wives and daughters of Odin. Source: Jozefklopacka / Adobe Stock.

Odin’s Women – Goddesses Ignored, Forgotten and Denied Valhalla

In the Norse myths, the moment Odin sat high on the throne of Asgard, he became all-knowing and ever powerful, as written by Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda . He is the Allfather who lives in all...
Fertility goddesses can be found in all cultures and times. Source: zolotareva_elina /Adobe Stock

Praying For Life – Top 10 Ancient Fertility Goddesses

Throughout the ancient history of the world, polytheism - commonly known as paganism or heathenism - was the defining aspect of all societies and civilizations. Our ancestors had complex and...
Skyrnir and Gerda - Illustration by Harry George Theaker (1920).

Freyr and Gerd: Lovesick Norse God Seeking Giantess

There is a well-known Norse myth which tells of how the Vanir Freyr fell in love with the giantess Gerd, wooed her, and eventually convinced her to marry him. She was not any easy catch - many...
Artist’s representation of Vanaheimr.

Where is Vanaheimr, Land of the Norse Nature Gods?

In a realm of nine worlds, one might assume that the gods would be satisfied with one. One world where they could live away from humans and watch over their antics as one might watch a TV show. In...
‘Njord god of the sea’. (Deriv.)

Njord: The Tumultuous Marriage of a Norse God of the Sea and a Goddess Giantess

Njord was the god Norse sailors and fisherman turned to in times of need. He was a sea god with powers over the wind and the fertility of land along the coast. But what this deity is best remembered...