Day Thirteen is another "pantheon" day, and I decided to put in a little snippet on a few different deities of whom I am fond. There are a few, though, and I can't really mention them all... I'll try to be brief. Warning, UPG ahead!
Tyr
Tyr is quiet. He is the still river that runs so very deep. A clear, cold river. He is steadfast. He is a god particularly of Duty: duty to one's family, to one's self, to one's community. He's not a god of judgement so much as one of fairness, of measured consideration, and he counsels thought in tricky situations, and cooler blood. It's said he looks over one-on-one combat. I first met him when I was called up for jury duty, and asked his aid in making a fair judgement. I feel like he is a god of right paths, not only of doing what one feels is right despite difficulty, but of finding the right place for oneself in society. He has helped me greatly, and is a warm and silent strength that I rarely look to - but when I do, I find him there.
Frigg
I am not as close to Frigg as I thought I might be. I see Frigg in my grandmother, who is something of a matriarch. I have much of my grandmother (and apparently my great grandmother, Doris) in me, and I am grateful for the strength of my grandmothers. I am a family-oriented person, in that I take great joy in my extended family, though I don't wish to have children myself. I see Frigg as the matriarch of the Aesir, the one holding the keys, the woman above women. She's strong of will enough to hold her own with Oðinn, bright of eye and quick of wit. Frigg's influence in my life has waned of late, I feel.
Hel
If one knows Loki, one knows his kin - he comes with them. Hel is a fascinating entity. She is sober and solemn, and cold. Literally cold, not figuratively, though I suppose in a sense she is figuratively cold as well. Though one half of her is rotted away, dessicated, like a dried up mummy or a corpse left for a while, the other half is pale, ethereal, and utterly beautiful, like moonlight on fresh snow. As of now she is quite mysterious to me but I find her fascinating.
Sigyn
What can I say about Sigyn. It's sad that there is so little lore about her. Her name means "Victory", they think. She has always seemed, to me, to be utterly delicate - perhaps in a way we could compare to Iðunna. She is small and childlike, and enjoys a good story. She holds the bowl above Loki's head to catch the poison before it harms him - and were the myth literal we should be glad she does lest we be in constant earthquakes! - and some of Loki's kennings mention her. He is "the burden of Sigyn's arms". So. I wouldn't trifle with her. He might take umbrage.
Njorð
I live by the sea. I have always lived by the sea, and I feel uneasy if away from the sea for an extended length of time. I am also - as discussed elsewhere and at length - a person of "borders". The shore is one such border. Njorð is a god of the shore as well as the sea generally, and of the shipyard. He is a picker up of the treasures the sea throws up on the beach. I don't know Njorð well - he seems quite laid-back, really. I feel something akin to peace from him, and the cool of the sea. I have grown closer to his children, too, over the years.
Sif
I know little of Sif, and speak with her rarely... but Sif's quiet strength and soothing hand are interesting to me. I find her presence a panacea of sorts, a cool comfort. She is warm like vanilla and cool like new sheets. She smooths things over.
This is not to say I don't have things of note to say on the other gods, or that I haven't had marvellous experiences with them also, but if I were to go on and on we would never find an end and I would probably neglect to mention someone (I feel already like I am... Heimdallr perhaps? friend to mankind as he is? hmm...) and then I would feel bad. So this will do for now - maybe I'll edit this post later, and add some more things in.
A good read, as always. :)
ReplyDelete