Hearthside

I am of a few minds about Jotunn women in the Lore. To me the Jotunn represent a different tribe from the Aesir and Vanir, for better or for worse. They are often “othered” because their ways are different. (Then again, the Aesir and Vanir did not always get along either.) The Aesir have a tendency to marry or court Jotunn women, and fight with Jotunn men. So are the Jotunn really as monstrous as they are made out to be? It seems like if a Jotunn woman marries an Aesir then she becomes an Aesir.  Many have argued that the Jotunn are the raw forces of nature, that are to be respected and feared but not worshipped, but that also seems a bit reductive, like saying Thor is only the God of Thunder. Angrboða faces the same reductionist logic, with some people having suggested she is one and the same figure as Gullveig/Heiðr. They have even gone as far as to equate her with Gerðr’s mother, Aurboða, presumably just because their names are similar. My interest in Jotunn largely is surroundi...

One of the groups that I am a part of challenged people to write the story of the marriage of Skaði, but wrong answers only. Naturally, many rose to the challenge. There were a number of witty results, and many that were well thought out. It was requested that I write a longer version of mine because it was quite enjoyable, so I will do that here. First, however, I wanted to talk about storytelling and how our Lore changes over time with different tellings.  Historically, there were many versions of a story. They would vary each time they were told depending on the Skald and the audience and what was being conveyed through the retelling. You could hear a story 100 times and each time it would be different. Part of this was your life experience, and part of it was what the Skald was trying to say through the story. When our Lore was written down often it was taken from multiple versions of the oral story, and mixed with the biases of the person who recorded it. Since then the bias o...

Okay, so I have alluded to this a few times in my blog, but never really got into it. But what the heck? I have been sick for most of the month of December and I can’t sleep as a result. Why not work out my frustrations this way? Loki. A tricky topic at the best of times. If you are hoping for my opinion on the worshipfulness of Loki in modern Heathen practice (or even historical Heathen practice) you are in for a let down. No, what bothers me about Loki is very specifically Loki’s role in the story arc of the death of Baldr.  Honestly, Loki’s character makes perfect sense up until then. They are a trickster figure who makes mistakes and then finds ways to set them right. We see similar patterns with other trickster figures around the world. But then there is Loki’s role in the death of Baldr. Suddenly Loki takes on a sinister (and unredemptive?) role.  Baldr has his dream that he will die but it isn’t clear how. So Odin goes to ask the sorceress. Meanwhile, Frigg asks everyth...

I was recently watching a video by Arith Härger entitled “Animism: The Trickster Spirit.” In it Arith is talking about what the purpose of Trickster spirits are in lore from around the world. Of course he is using Loki as an example in this context. However, it had me revisiting one of my recurring thoughts about Odin and how he sometimes also plays a Trickster role in the lore.  Odin is able to shapeshift into animals, but also disguise his own appearance to men, and the Jotunn, and even his own son, Thor. It is always through a mix of wile and charm that he gets his way. Odin disguises himself as Gagnráðr to challenge Vafþrúðnir, wisest of the Jotunn in a battle of wits. In another story Odin disguises himself as Grimnir to check his foster-son Geirroth’s hospitality in a wager with Frigg. Further on in the Poetic Edda, Odin disguises himself as Greybeard, a ferryman, and taunts Thor. In the Prose Edda Odin takes on the persona of Bölverkr to gain access to the mead of poetry. T...