Norse Gods
Also see: Norse Places and Things & Norse Dictionary (pdf)
AEGIR (a-gear): "Alebrewer"; Vana-God of the
sea; can be good or evil. He and Ran have nine daughters, or undines.
Gold, prosperity, sailors, sunken treasure, brewing, control of wind
and waves.
AESIR (a-seer): Warrior-gods; Keepers of the Dead; one of the races of Gods in Asgard.
ALAISIAGAE: War goddesses. See Valkyries.
ASA-GODS: The Aesir; also used to refer to the Aesir and Vanir together.
THE ASYNJOR: The Goddesses; feminine version of Aesir; also female
attendants of Frigg in Vingolf. One of them, a healer, was called Eir.
Others were named Fjorgyn, Frimia, Fimila, Hnossa the beautiful.
AUDHUMLA (ow-doom-la): "Nourisher"; "Rich Hornless Cow"; Mother Earth:
the great cow who produced Bun and nourished the Giant Yrnir.
Motherhood, child-rearing, home crafts.
BALDER/BALDR/BALDUR (bal-der): "The Bright One"; Aesir Sun god; Shining
God; the Bleeding God; son of Odhinn and Frigg. Sacred wells sprang up
from the hoof marks of his horse. Light, advice, reconciliation,
beauty, gentleness, reincarnation, wisdom, harmony, happiness.
BRAGI (brah-ghee): Son of Odhinn and Frigg; married to Idhunn. God of
poetry and eloquence, he greets new arrivals to Valhalla with songs of
their deeds. Wit, cunning, wisdom, music, writing, the arts; patron of
skalds and minstrels.
FORSETI: Son of Balder and Nanna. Justice, good laws, arbitration, peace, fairness, good judgment.
FREYJA/FREYA (fray-ah): Syr (seer); "Lady"; Great Goddess; "She who
shines over the sea"; sister of Freyr and daughter of Njord;
VanaGoddess. She was married to the god Od, perhaps identical to
Odhinn, who mysteriously disappeared. She weeps tears of gold, but the
tears which fall into the sea become amber. Her cats, Bygul and
Trjegul, pull her chariot. She owns the necklace Brisingamen and keeps
half of the slain warriors in her hall. She is the mistress of cats,
leader of the Valkyries, a shape-shifter, the Sage or "sayer" who
inspires all sacred poetry. Thirteen is her number and Friday her day.
Love, beauty, animals, sex, cats, childbirth, fire, horses,
enchantments, witchcraft, gold, wealth, trance, jewelry, wisdom,
foresight, magic, luck, long life, fertility, the Moon, the sea, death,
music, flowers, poetry, protection.
FREYR (fray-er)/FREY/FRO: "Lord"; Vanir Sun god; "the Lover"; son of
Njord; god of Yule. He owns the boar Gullinbursti, the ship
Skidbladnir, and a magic sword that moves by itself through the air.
Gerda or Gerd, a Giantess, is his wife. Sensual love, fertility,
growth, abundance, wealth, bravery, horses, boars, protector of ships
and sailors, peace, joy, happiness, rain, beauty, weather, guarantor of
oaths, groves, sunshine, plant growth, sex.
FRIG (fig )/FRIGGA/FRIJA: "Well-Beloved Spouse or Lady"; Aesir Mother
Goddess; wife of Odhinn; queen of the goddesses; a shape-shifter;
knower of all things. Daughter of Nott or Nat and sister of Njord;
mother of Balder. Independence, childbirth, cunning, cleverness,
physical love, wisdom, foresight, marriage, children, fertility,
destiny, magic, enchantments.
GEFION (ghev-yon)/GEFJUN: "The Giver"; Fertility goddess; a
shape-shifter. May have been one of the Asynjor. Although she is not a
virgin, she is the goddess to whom virgins go at death. Magical arts,
prosperity, luck, plowing, crops, land, fortunate turn of events.
GULLVEIG (gool-vague): Vana-Goddess and sorceress; "Gold-Thirst";
Mistress of Magic. Perhaps identical to Freyja. Magic, seeress,
prophecy, healing.
HEID (hade): "Gleaming One". See Gullveig.
HEIMDALL (hame-dall): Asa-God of Light and the rainbow; "The White
God"; guardian of Bifrost bridge. He has super sight and hearing. His
horse's name is Golden Forelock. He is called "the Son of the Wave"
because he was born from nine waves by Odhinn's enchantment. Nine is a
magic Moon number. Guardian, beginnings and endings, morning light,
seriousness, defense against evil.
HEL (hell)/HELA: Queen of the Dead and Ruler of Nifiheim; her home is called Sleet-Den or Sleetcold. Dark magic, revenge.
HERMOD (hair-mod): Asa-God and son of Odhinn; rode to Niflheim to try to get Balder back. Honor, bravery.
HODUR (hod-er)/HOTH/HOTHR/BJORNOHODER: "The blind god"; Aesir god of
winter; son of Odhinn and Frigg. Passiveness. Famous archer before he
became blind.
HOENIR (ho-near)/HONIR: Asa-God; a great warrior but not clever. Aggressiveness, bravery.
HOLDA/HOLDE/HOLLE/HULDA (Benign)/BERTHA/BERCHTA (White Lady): North
Germanic name for Hel. "White Lady"; "Black Earth Mother"; Goddess of
winter and witchcraft; the Crone aspect of the Moon; rides on the Wild
Hunt. She is sometimes seen riding a goat with a pack of 24 spotted
hounds (her daughters) running beside her. Wyrd, fate, karma, the arts,
dark magic, revenge.
IDHUNN (id-doon)/IDUN/IDUNA: Asa-Goddess of immortality; wife of Bragi;
keeper of the golden apples. Youth, responsibility, beauty, long life.
ING: Another name for Freyr. Vana-God of Earth and fertility. The
Swedish royal line called themselves Ynglings, as did the Anglo-Saxon
line of Berenicia.
LOKI (lo-kee): "Father of lies"; the Trickster; Sky-Traveler;
Shape-Changer; Giant who is the blood-brother of Odhinn; son of the
Giant Farbauti (Cruel Smiter); married Sigyn. He is handsome,
attractive, and free with the ladies. A dangerous god to invoke as one
can never be certain how he will answer. Earthquakes, fire, forest
fires, cunning, wit, stealth, deceit, mischief, daring, agility,
trickery, thieves, revenge, destruction, lecherousness, death, lies,
evil, dark magic.
MIMIR (mee-meer)/MIMR/MIMI: Very wise Aesir god; his head kept at the
Fountain of Mimir after his death. Wisdom, knowledge, springs, pools,
inland lakes, peace, teaching, the arts.
NANNA (nan-ah )/NANA/ANNA/INANNA: Asa-Goddess; "The Moon"; Great Mother; Earth Goddess; wife of Balder. Love, gentleness.
NEHALLENNIA (nee-hal-een-ia): Goddess of plenty, seafaring, fishing, fruitfulness. Her symbol is a cornucopia.
NERTHUS (near-thus)/ERCE: Earth Mother; Fertility goddess. Peace,
spring, fertility, witchcraft, wealth, groves, the sea, purification.
NJORD (nyord): Vana-God of the sea; father of Freyr and Freyja. Lives
in Noatun (Boat-Town). His Giantess wife Skadi picked him for his
beautiful feet. Rules fire, winds and seas. Fishing, sailors,
prosperity, success, livestock, lands, journey-luck, guarantor of
oaths, wisdom, stubbornness.
THE NORNS (nornz): The Fates; the Wyrd Sisters; three women usually
found near the World Tree at the Well of Urd in Asgard.
URD/URTHIWYRD/ERTHAJWURD/WEIRD: past, destiny. VERTHANDItVERDNADI:
present. SKULD: the future.
OD: The mysterious husband of Freyja for whom she mourned with tears of
gold. Perhaps another form of the name Odhinn. No reason is ever given
for his disappearance.
ODHINN (oh-din)/ODIN/WODAN/WODEN/OTHINN: Aesir King of the gods;
"All-father"; Sky God; Great Father; All-Seeing; "frenzied, mad"; god
of the hanged and the Wild Hunt; god of storm, rain and harvest. A
shape-shifter, he makes men mad or possessed with a blind raging fury.
He produces the battle panic called "battle-fetter." Three different
frenzies or madnesses are his gifts to humankind: the warrior in
battle, the seer in trance, and the poet in creativity. Subtle, wily,
mysterious and dangerous, he often ignores pacts made in honor with
humans. Attended by his two ravens, two wolves, and the Valkyries.
Feared by ordinary people and worshipped only by princes, poets, the
berserkers, and sorcerers. Unpredictable when invoked. Runes, poetry,
words of power, sacred poetry, magic, divination, storms, wind, death,
rebirth, knowledge, weather, justice, reincarnation, wisdom, the arts,
initiation, law, light, music, prophecy, patron of priests, war,
inspiration, weapons, horses, deceit, medicine, fate, civilization;
patron of poets, sages, and writers.
RAN: "The Ravager"; Vana-Goddess; wife of Aegir. She is unpredictable,
and malicious. Drowning, the sea, sailors, storms, great terror.
SIF (siff): Asa-Goddess; Earth Mother; wife of Thorr. She is noted for
her beautiful hair. Harvest, fruitfulness, plenty, generosity.
SIGYN (sig-in)/SIGUNAJSIGNY: Goddess wife of Loki; two sons Vali and Narfi. Love, faithfulness, loyalty.
SJOFNA (syof-nah): Goddess of love. One of the Asynjor.
SKADI (skah-dee): "Harm"; daughter of the Giant Thjatsi; wife of Njord. Mountains, winter, hunting, revenge, dark magic.
THORR THOR/THUNAR/THUNOR/DONAR; Asa-God; "The Thunderer"; "High
Thunderer" champion of the Gods and enemy of the Giants and Trolls;
protector of the common man; son of Odhinn and Jord. His symbol is his
magic hammer Mjollnir (Destroyer). He has a magic belt (Megingjardar or
Strength-Increaser). He drives a chariot pulled by two giant male
goats; his wife is Sif. Although he is sometimes over hasty in
judgment, he is a totally reliable friend and battle-companion. He has
wild red hair and beard; always in battle dress. Strength, law and
order, defense, oaks, goats, thunder, lightning, storms, weather,
crops, trading voyages, water, courage, trust, revenge, protection,
war, battle.
TYR (tier)/TIU/TIWAZ/TIW/ZIU: Asa-God; "The One-Handed"; patron of the
Thing or Assembly; called the bravest of the gods. Giver of victory in
battle against odds; he is never deceitful. He presides over law, legal
contracts, assemblies of the people for judicial matters, awarded
victory in combat. The sky, war, athletics, victory in battle, justice,
meaningful self-sacrifice, order, bravery, honor, integrity, law and
the binding of solemn oaths, courage.
ULL (ool)/ULLR: "The Magnificent"; "the Bow God"; sometimes known as
the Death God; son of Orvandel-Egil by the beautiful Sith. God of
archery, skiing, winter sports; powerful enchanter. Thrown out of
Asgard by Odhinn because the Alifather was jealous. Beauty, hunting,
sports, nobility, magic, single combats or contests.
VALKYRIES (val-kye-reez )/WAELCYRIE/VALKYBJA/IDICI: "Choosers of the
Slain"; female warrior-attendants of Odhinn, they direct the course of
battles, choosing the valiant warriors for Valhalla. In Old English
they were called waelceasig. Tradition says there are thirteen of them.
Brynhild as Sigrdrifa (Victory-Giver) was a valkyrie. She initiated
Sigurd into runic wisdom. They are helmeted goddesses with spears
crowned with flames and mounted on flying horses whose manes drop dew
or hail. They can also turn themselves into swan-maidens. They are
death angels, mare-women. Associated with horses and wolves.
Fearlessness, war, death.
VANIR (vah-near): Fertility Gods of Asgard; second race of deities. Magic powers, witchcraft, also called Vana-Gods.
WELAND/WAYLAND/WIELAND/VOLUND/VOLUNDR: North Germanic god of smiths;
Wonder Smith; prince of the fairies; supreme craftsman. A Shape-shifter
associated with horses. Mentioned in the tales of Siegfried (Sigurd)
and Dietrich of Bern. Strength, cunning, skill, healing, horses, magic,
metal-working.
YMIR (im-meer): First Frost Giant. Brutal, evil, violent.