Author: Shae3669

In the old Icelandic calendar, Góa (older form Gói) is the fifth and next-to-last month of winter, landing roughly from mid-February into mid-March. It’s the month where winter is still very much present… but the light is back in the conversation. Days are noticeably longer, the weather starts doing that late-winter “anything goes” thing, and […]

Þrúðr is one of those Norse figures who carries a huge name and a small paper trail. Her name literally means “Strength” (Old Norse: Þrúðr), and she is identified as the daughter of Thor and Sif. That alone gives her a striking place in the mythic family line: thunder on one side, golden-haired fertility/earth associations […]

Hœnir is one of those figures in Norse myth who keeps turning up at major moments… and then politely declines to explain himself (relatable, honestly). He appears at the creation of humankind, stands at the centre of the Æsir–Vanir hostage exchange, travels in famous triads with Óðinn and Loki, and is even named among the […]

If you ever need a reminder that the Norse mythic world is much bigger than the handful of “main character” gods we talk about all the time, Meili is perfect. He is one of those names that makes you stop and realise that, for every Thor story that survived, there were probably dozens of smaller […]

One of the most interesting “wait… hang on!” moments that we find in Old Norse myth is that we get two different trios involved in humanity’s creation — depending on whether you’re reading the Poetic Edda or Snorri’s Prose Edda. Same scene, same first humans (Askr and Embla), same “we found two pieces of wood […]

Quick note before we start: this isn’t a “which version is the correct paganism?” article. It’s a “why did related Germanic cultures end up with different emphases, gods-in-the-spotlight, and ritual styles?” piece. Think of it as comparing siblings who grew up in different towns — same family resemblance, wildly different accents. “Germanic paganism” isn’t one […]

When you hear someone mention ‘the Norse creation story,’ what you’re really getting is a myth layered like winter clothes: old poems tucked into later manuscripts, and a prose version carefully gathered by a Christian Icelander who loved the old tales and couldn’t help but sort them out.That doesn’t make the story any less true […]

Let’s try a bit of alternate history, but keep it respectful. Not the Marvel version, and not the “Vikings rule the world forever” fantasy either. I mean the kind of thought experiment you can actually sink your teeth into. If Scandinavia hadn’t converted when it did, and Christianity hadn’t swept in to take the reins, […]

If you’ve been exploring the Norse month of Þorri, you’ve probably felt it already: this isn’t “winter” as a background season. Þorri is winter with personality. Winter with a temper. Winter that can be bargained with, flattered, toasted, and—if you’re sensible—respected from a safe distance while you’re wrapped in wool and pretending fermented shark is […]

If winter had a personality, Þorri would be the bit where it stops being “festive” and starts being serious. In the old Icelandic calendar, Þorri is the fourth winter month, landing roughly mid-January to mid-February — the deep stretch of winter where the ground stays hard, the nights feel endless, and you really find out […]