Gods of the Norse

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## Overview

### Who are the Aesir?

The Aesir pantheon is a warrior collective of daimons, many related, that formed much of the worshiped deities for the Norse religion. Their leader is the elder god Odin. Other key members of the Aesir are Thor, Loki, Frigg, Tyr, Vidarr, Hoder, Eir, Syn, Baldr, Forseti, and Bragi.

### Who are the Vanir?

The Vanir are a loose coalition of nature daimons and daimonic races that were worshiped by various rural tribes before joining forces with the Aesir to counter the threat of the Jotnar. The leader of the Vanir is the elder god Njörðr. Other key members of the Vanir include Skadi, Freyr, Freyja, Idunn, Saga, Heimdall, Sif, Ullr, and Kvasir.

### Who are the Jotnar?

The Jotnar are a collection of Titanic daimons (individually known as Jotunn) and the other daimons and creatures affiliated with them. Many of the older daimons of the Aesir and Vanir were once affiliated with the Jotnar. For instance, the Vanir goddess Skadi was the chosen exalted of the Jotunn Thiazi before her defecting and marrying Njörðr; and the Aesir trickster god Loki is the son of Jotunns Farbauti and Laufey before he defected at a younger age and was adopted by Odin.

## History

### Early History

Originally, the Jotnar were the only divine beings with substantial worship in the lands of Northern Europe. The Jotnar were lesser titans that had settled the lands north of where Ouranos and Gaia held court on Mount Othrys, in what was originally known as Hyberborea. It is believed that the founder of the Jotnar, Ymir, was originally the Titan Polus, the bearer of the Pillar of the North. Polus was originally assumed to be slain during the Olympians' overthrow of the Titans; however, Boreas was sent to the north to investigate rumors of Polus having fled to the North. To help him retrieve the Pillar of the North, Boreas deputized the daimon brothers Odin, Vili and Vé and together the four of them slew Ymir, allowing Boreas to return to the Olympians with the prized relic and allowing Odin and his brothers to prove that the Jotnar were not as invincible as they claimed to be.

### Rise of the Aesir

Odin and his brothers formed the Aesir to revolt against the remaining Jotnar's rule. With the remains of Ymir left to their control, the Aesir were able to create the fantastic pocket dimension of Asgard, a hidden paradise from which the Aesir could rest and reign. Connecting Asgard to our world (which the Aesir called Midgard) was the Bifrost, a most beautiful Ascension Chain made of multicolored adamant and mythril with a retractable anchor. As the Aesir became the dominant daimons in the region, they began to accumulate worship and brought in new gods, many from the Void, to join their pantheon.

As the Aesir began to gain many mortal worshipers, the Aesir carved out some lands for themselves in the Void, most notably the land they called Valhalla which was granted as an afterlife to the souls of their noble warriors. As the Aesir grew in power, the Jotnar retreated to the far reaches to rule over their distant lands. Those who went south were destroyed by the Wild Hunts of the Olympians, those who fled West met resistance against the Fomorians and the Tuatha Dé Danann, and those who fled East were challenged by the cults of other gods. Only the the Jotnar that escaped to the North thrived and prospered in their remote cults, though the invasion of the Jotnar to the far reaches of the North was not unopposed.

### Birth of the Vanir

Though Jotnar had thrived in the North before, the incursion of additional Jotnar put an undue burden on the humans and creatures in the area, notably the elves who had already fled to the northern wilderness to escape the persecution as civilization expanded. The humans and elves in the area began to pledge their worship elsewhere, hoping the local nature gods would answer their prayers. These prayers were heard and many nature gods and totemic daimons banded together in a coalition to oppose the Jotnar, however as they were not martial gods accustomed to warring and killing, the Vanir's coalition could do little against the Jotnar themselves. Instead, they mostly used their magic to protect and conceal their mortal worshipers from harm.

Further complicating this was the Aesir, who were growing at a rate that put them in conflict with the Vanir, who felt the Vanir should swear fealty to them for protection. When the Vanir resisted, not willing to trade one tyrant for another, the Aesir sought to prove their might in brutal fashion — leading to many bloody conflicts between the Aesir and Vanir.

That all changed when the god Boreas returned to the Far North, this time in pursuit of a demon. The demon had eluded Boreas, but the Vanir quickly clung to him for aid. Seeing that he carried the spear that Ymir once had, the gods insisted that Boreas could be their leader, and they besought him to seek out the Jotunn known as Thiazi who had kidnapped the Vanir goddess known as Idunn. Though Boreas was hesitant to lead the Vanir, he agreed to rescue the kidnapped goddess (as he suspected Idunn may have been the disguise of the demon he was hunting).

Thanks to the aid of Thiazi's own lieutenant Skadi and the Aesir trickster Loki, Boreas was successful in the rescue of Idunn, who proved not to be the demon. Without any further leads on the demon he was hunting, and with his own pantheon having vacated our world, Boreas reconsidered the Vanir's offer. Having agreed to join them as their leader, Boreas was given the Vanir name: Njordr. Soon after his coronation, Njordr married Skadi and was able to unite the Aesir and the Vanir together through the marriage of the Aesir poet Bragi and the Vanir goddess Idunn.

### The Norse Pantheon

The Aesir and Vanir were united together, becoming the Norse pantheon. Though the Vanir technically became members of the Aesir, they did so as equals, with Njordr still retaining the honored rank as King of the Vanir. However, the peaceful union did not last long.

### The Pagan Crusades

Angered by the growth of Valhalla and their inability to conquer the realm in the Void due to the martial prowess of the Aesir's Valkyries (goddesses descended from Aesir and Fomorian parentage and trained to be warriors since birth), the Host of Heaven chose to make war with the Aesir on Earth to weaken their base of worship. Nearly the entirety of the Christian sect of the Supernals' mortal followers turned against the Norse pantheon. Over the course of several centuries, the Norse people converted to Christianity, which proved to be a highly adaptable religion that absorbed the customs of those it conquered, allowing for the conversion of the Norse tribes to become increasingly easier with each Norse convert.

### Seeking Out a New Life

With their worship in decline, the Aesir would abandon Earth, much like other pantheons had done when threatened by the Christian cult. The god Njordr would stay behind with his wife and some of their followers, intent to carve out a new life for themselves. For the rest of the Aesir, including many of the Vanir, they retreated to Asgard and Valhalla until they could find a new place to call Midgard. Rumor is that they did just that, but where it is in the cosmos, who knows?

## **Concepts**

* **Wyrd:** The Aesir word for "fate" — the Norse gods made no claims that they were above the machinations of fate. They would often consult with the three goddesses known as the Norns to gain insight on Wyrd's plans for them. Today, most occult scholars would identify the "Wyrd" as the "Great Tapestry of Fate."
* **Norns:** The Norns (also known by others as the Kindly Ones, the Fates, the Moirae, the Parcae, the Wyrd Sisters, the Zorze, the Weird Sisters, the Deivės Valdytojos, the governesses, the Wayward Sisters, or individually by dozens of different names) are three wise ancient faeries who were able to use their sidhean magic to see the Tapestry. This ability would often make them sought by many gods of the ancient world for guidance and consultation. Though they now live in the Dreaming, as guests of the Endless, the Norns traditionally lived on the Foundation, at the base of the cosmic tree Yggdrasil.
* **Seidr:** The Norse word for sidhean magic, the magic of the Faeries. The Norse gods had many powerful Seidr-weavers, including Freyja, Odin, and Loki. Freyja learned the art from the Norns, Loki stole the magic from the Fair Lands, and Odin earned his through sacrifice of his eye to the Yggdrasil. Most daimons practice eldritch magic to some degree, so the Norse gods also practicing sidhean sorcery makes them notable. Sidhean essence a neutral essence, much like eldritch, but while eldritch essence can be defined as with types and flavors ("fire essence", "death essence", "sex essence", and so on), sidhean essence cannot be defined other than to say it is weird or strange — it defies classification. It is the use of sidhean sorcery that made Valhalla and Asgard beautiful realms that looked as though they belonged in the Fair Lands. The practice of Seidr has one drawback — it requires the use of threads of gossamer, a potent magical substance grown in the Fair Lands. With gossamer, anything goes. It is a real wild card in the realm of magic. It can be used in alchemy or rituals to replace just about anything. As it is pure sidhean magic, it defines definition, so the rules of magic just accept gossamer as "whatever, let's move on". As gossamer can be volatile to transport, and it can only be harvested where the sidhean starlight can enrich specific vegetation, there are not many Seidr-weavers — but the few that have mastered this craft are highly revered (and feared). Notably, those that can weave Seidr are also able to view the Tapestry, having gained varying degrees of cosmic awareness.
* **The Od:** The Norse gods were among the first to truly understand the psychic energy field that connects all sentient life to the Dreaming. The Norse god Odin studied this field extensively, and it is from Odin's name that the Od/Odic Force is given its name. Odin and the Dream of the Endless share the use of ravens as messengers, advisors, and scouts. The Norse took dreams seriously and many Norse worshipers became lucid dreamers. Dedicated Norse scholars believe that the emotional power of the Lantern Rings worn by Green Lanterns and others may actually be a weaponized form of Odic energy... and come to think of it, Odin also had a ring of great power, didn't he?
* **Yggdrasil:** Known as the World Tree, the Yggdrasil is actually not a tree at all, but the cosmic array that connects reality, the sub-realities, the murums, and the intrinsic fields together. It is through the Yggdrasil that dimensional travel is possible through magic or cosmic power. It is through the Yggdrasil that our consciousness travels from reality to the Dreaming when we sleep. It is through the Yggdrasil that the murums pull themselves together to protect reality. Yggdrasil is supposedly made from the fusion of intrinsic force, cosmic power, magic, and emotion.
* **The Numbers 3 and 9:** The Norse believed in a trinity of self (the body, the mind, and the soul). They also revered the trinity of the Norns and knew three classifications of gods (Aesir, Vanir, and Jotnar). If the trinity was tripled, there was the number nine. The Norse originally knew of nine realms and the number nine repeats in multiple instances in a variety of significant ways.
* **The Nine Realms:** The Nine Realms known to the Norse gods were Midgard (reality), Asgard (their pocket dimensional city made from the remains of Ymir), Vanaheim, Valhalla, Helheim (the Void), Jotunheim (an unknown dimension infested with Jotnar and/or Sheeda), Niflheim (the White), Muspelheim (the Burn), Alfheim (Jord), Nidavellir/Svartalfheim (the Homelands — maybe?), and the Ginnungagap (the Foundation, but also the murums and the rest of the cosmic construct). Even after they discovered (and created) other realms, the philosophical concept of the Nine Realms remained consistent in their mythos.
* **Midgard:** What the Norse gods called the "realm of mortals," i.e.: Earth.
* **Asgard:** The great city of the Aesir, the "realm of the gods."
* **Vanaheim:** The Vanir word for the Void, the birthplace of many daimons. Its name translates to Home of the Vanir. Vanaheim is now the proper name given to the wilderness and rural countryside surrounding the city of Asgard.
* **Valhalla:** The Aesir word for the Void. Valhalla is also the proper name given to the eldritch paradise in the Void where the souls of the Norse followers reside. It is also home to the Valkyries, the part-daimon and part-angel warrior women. The souls of the departed who come to Valhalla will find plenty of mead and song to go around, but will also find they've been conscripted into eternal service to protect the Norse gods' eldritch realms from the constant threat of Supernal and Infernal invasion.
* **Jotunheim/Utgard:** "Jotunheim" is the Vanir word for any place ruled by Jotun or Jotnar. The Aesir word for such a place is "Utgard" also used it to identify any hostile territory, such as those ruled by the Sheeda. The words have become synonymous with one another.
* **Niflheim:** This is the Vanir word for one of the Nine Realms that the Norse gods knew of, before their departure from our world. It is known as an elemental realm of cold and fog, so it likely was describing the intrinsic field known as the White.
* **Muspelheim:** This is the Vanir word for one of the Nine Realms that the Norse gods knew of, before their departure from our world. It is known as an elemental realm of heat and fire, so it likely was describing the intrinsic field known as the Burn.
* **Alfheim:** This is the Vanir word for "Home of the Elves". It is the tenth subsidiary reality of the cosmic construct, known as Jord (a name given to it based on the Norse name for Gaia). On Jord, there is a proper kingdom named Alfheim. On Earth, the city of Nóatún is also sometimes called Alfheim by its elven residents.
* **Nidavellir/Svartalfheim:** Respectively, these are the Aesir and Vanir words for "Home of the Dwarves." It was a place which had previously been connected to Asgard through the Yggdrasil. There the dwarves pledged their services to the Norse gods in exchange for gaining the gods' assistance against the Sheeda invaders. It is possible that this realm was the Homelands' subterranean dwarven kingdom.
* **Helheim:** An eldritch prison within the Void, ruled over by the goddess Hel. Where the souls of evil-doers go to be punished and repurposed.
* **Ginnungagap:** The Norse word for the "abyss before creation." It refers primarily to the Foundation at the base of the cosmic construct — as from there, the abyss of creation can still be seen (at least, what the Norse believed to be the abyss).
* **Folkvang:** This is the Vanir word for the Fair Lands, but also the proper name for a border realm held by the Norse, lying in the light of both eldritch and sidhean stars. Many souls of the Norse (those not yet worthy of Valhalla and not deserving of Helheim) go to the Folkvang to work the gossamer fields there. The goddess Freyja has a residence here, where she oversees the souls of the Norse souls there. The Norse and Fae have an uneasy alliance, with the Seelie Court granting the Norse the Folkvang in exchange for the Norse's Valkyries agreeing to help deter Supernal and Infernal invaders from the Fair Lands.
* **Hlidskjalf:** The name of Odin's throne, from which he can scry upon the cosmos. This is likely a construct similar to the Olympian Haven's Chartis Kosmos.
* **Innangard:** This is the Aesir word for "holy." These are things that are sacred, honored, or need to be protected at all cost. Unlike the simplistic good versus evil mortality of most modern minds, the Norse recognized that persons and gods alike were both imperfect by nature and should not strive to become entirely innangard. A better term rather than 'holy' might be 'preferred.'
* **Utangard:** This is the Aesir word for "unholy." These are things that are dishonored or need to be moderated (or destroyed, depending on the severity). Unlike the simplistic good versus evil morality of most modern minds, the Norse saw a place for the utangard as well as the innangard, similar to the Greeks' philosophy of moderation in all things.
* **Rebirth:** Though the souls of most Norse followers are conscripted into service as warriors of Valhalla or workers in the fields of Folkvang, there are also those that are sent to Helheim. After receiving whatever punishment that awaits them in an effort to aim them toward reflecting upon the mistakes that tainted their soul, the punished souls will be repurposed. Stripped of their identity and memories, the souls will reincarnate in the bodies of a newborn child within the family line. The soul will then attempt to live a better life than they had before. Mystics within the Norse culture claimed to have the ability to know if a person was a reincarnated ancestor and such persons were usually given the ancestors' name and family would place high expectations on such persons.

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* The Goddess Eir real name was Eithne daughter of Balthazar (while under the name Balor) and Castiel (while under the name of Cethlenn) and was a part of the Tuatha Dé Danann however after their king was reveled to be the Archangel Gabriel he fled with his daughter Imogen with the aid of Castiel, the Tuatha Dé Danann then tried to kill Balthazar. Eithne then left the land of Eire to the two factions when their alliance fell apart without responsible kings. She wandered the cosmos aimlessly for a long time, uncertain of her place in the universe but knowing she had no interest in Heaven or her mother. She eventually returned to Earth and found a new family among the Aesir and Vanir. She became the commander of the warrior goddesses known as the Valkyrie under the name Eir and was befriended by Idunn. When Idunn and her husband Bragi made plans to leave, Eithne (or Eir as she was called then) was one trusted with their true identities as Eden and the Presence. Finally feeling a sense of connection to Heaven, Eithne decided to give it a second shot and joined them in the Silver City.

## Links and References

* List of Norse Gods

1. ↑ Dinkley Files: Gods of the Norse
2. ↑ Network Files: Claire Novak