In Norse mythology, Hliðskjálf (sometimes Anglicized Hlidskjalf) is Odin's throne where none may sit save Odin himself and his wife Frigg. Whoever sits on it will be able to see everything. Norse mythology Other related archivesAnglicized, Frigg, Norse mythology, Odin

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Hlidskjalf (Icelandic) (from hlid side, gate; or from hlifd protection + skjalf shelf, bench, plane)

The word may mean either that the gods are arrayed by our side in the struggle of life; or deriving it from the Scandinavian lida (to suffer), it could be by extension of meaning the "shelf of compassion," whence their protection extends over the human race. In the Norse Edda, it is on Hlidskjalf that Odin is enthroned with his consort Frigga and whence he is able to survey all worlds. Frey, the deity of our terrestrial world, also oversees his domain from this vantage point.

(See also: Hlidskjalf, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Hlun-chub (Tibetian) The "divine spirit in man, the highest degree of seership" (BCW 14:406n).

(See also: Hlidskjalf, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Bilskirnir, Breidablik, Élivágar, Eliudnir, Fensalir, Fólkvangr, Gimlé, Ginnungagap, Gjallar Bridge, Gjöll, Gladsheim, Glasir, Glitnir, Gnipa, Himinbjörg, Hindarfjall, Horgr, Idavoll, Jotunheim, Ironwood, Hlidskjalf, Midgard, Muspelheim, Mirkwood, Nastrond, Niflheim, Noatun, Sessrúmnir, Singasteinn, Slidr River, Sökkvabekkr, Thrudvang, Thrymheim, Utgard, Valhall, Vanaheim, Hvergelmi ...

Including:

• Norse mythology - Sources
• Norse mythology - Cosmology
• Norse mythology - Supernatural beings
• Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world
• Norse mythology - Kings and heroes
• Norse mythology - Norse worship
• Norse mythology - Centres of faith
• Norse mythology - Priests
• Norse mythology - Human sacrifice
• Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity
• Norse mythology - Modern influences
• Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia - Norse mythology

Hlidskjalf (Icelandic) (from hlid side, gate; or from hlifd protection + skjalf shelf, bench, plane)

The word may mean either that the gods are arrayed by our side in the struggle of life; or deriving it from the Scandinavian lida (to suffer), it could be by extension of meaning the "shelf of compassion," whence their protection extends over the human race. In the Norse Edda, it is on Hlidskjalf that Odin is enthroned with his consort Frigga and whence he is able to survey all worlds. Frey, the deity of our terrestrial world, also oversees his domain from this vantage point.

(See also: Hler, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Frigg or, in Gesta Danorum, Frigga was, in Norse mythology, said to be "foremost among the goddesses," 1 the wife of Odin, queen of the Æsir, and goddess of the sky. One of the Ásynjur, she is a goddess of marriage, motherhood, fertility, love, household management, and domestic arts. Her primary functions in the Norse mythological stories are as wife and mother, but these are not her only functions. She has the power of prophecy although she does not tell what she knows 2, and is the only one other than ...

Including:

• Frigg - Attributes
• Frigg - Stories about Frigg
• Frigg - The Death of Baldr
• Frigg - The Winnilers and the Vandals
• Frigg - Vili and Ve
• Frigg - Connection between Frigg and Freya
• Frigg - Maidservants
• Frigg - Notes

Read more here: » Frigg: Encyclopedia - Frigg

Odin is considered the highest god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism. His role, like many of the Norse pantheon, is complex: he is god of both wisdom and war. He is also attested as being a god of magic, poetry, victory, and the hunt. His name is, in Old Norse, Óðinn. Although its precise meaning is debated, the name is thought to be related to the word óðr, meaning "excitation" or "fury". Worship of Odin dates to Proto-Germanic paganism, and the names Old English (and Old Saxon) Wōden; Old ...

Including:

• Odin - Etymology
• Odin - General characteristics
• Odin - Odin and Mercury
• Odin - Celtic parallels
• Odin - Eddaic Odin
• Odin - Attributes
• Odin - Names
• Odin - Anglo-Saxon Woden
• Odin - Worship
• Odin - Sacrifices
• Odin - Shamanic traits
• Odin - Odin and Jesus
• Odin - Medieval reception
• Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin
• Odin - Modern age
• Odin - Notes
• Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia - Odin

Frigg - The Death of Baldr. The most famous story about Frigg has her in the role of mother. Frigg especially loved her son Baldr, and with a mother's concern she set about trying to protect him after he had a prophetic dream of his own death. She had everything in the world promise not to harm him, but did not extract a promise from mistletoe. The gods soon made a game of throwing things at Baldr and watching them bounce off without hurting him. In Snorri Sturluson's version of the story, Baldr's brother Höðr ...

See also:

Frigg, Frigg - Attributes, Frigg - Stories about Frigg, Frigg - The Death of Baldr, Frigg - The Winnilers and the Vandals, Frigg - Vili and Ve, Frigg - Connection between Frigg and Freya, Frigg - Maidservants, Frigg - Notes

Read more here: » Frigg: Encyclopedia II - Frigg - Stories about Frigg

Odin is an ambivalent deity; Old Norse (Viking Age) connotations of Odin lie with "poetry, inspiration" as well as with "fury, madness": Several myths do associate Odin with wisdom and poetry. Odin left his eye in the purifying waters of Mimir's spring for wisdom. Odin gives to worthy poets the mead of inspiration from the vessel Óð-rœrir.[1] Odin is associated with the concept of the Wild Hunt, a noisy, bellowing movement across the sky, leading a host of the sl ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Characteristics, Odin - Origins, Odin - Seid, Odin - Blót, Odin - Edda, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Modern popular culture, Odin - Germanic neopaganism, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Characteristics

Details of the Migration period of Germanic religion are sketchy, reconstructed from artefacts, sparse contemporary sources, and later the later testimonies of medieval legends and placenames. According to Jonas Bobiensis, the 6th century Irish missionary Saint Columbanus is reputed to have disrupted a Beer sacrifice to Wuodan (Deo suo Vodano nomine) in Bregenz, Alemannia. Wuodan was the chief god of the Alamanni, his name appears in the runic inscr ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Etymology, Odin - General characteristics, Odin - Odin and Mercury, Odin - Celtic parallels, Odin - Eddaic Odin, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Anglo-Saxon Woden, Odin - Worship, Odin - Sacrifices, Odin - Shamanic traits, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Medieval reception, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Worship

In Norse mythology, the earth was believed to be a flat disc. This disk is situated in the branches of the world tree, or Yggdrasil. Asgard, where the gods lived, was located at the centre of the disc, and could only be reached by walking across the rainbow (the Bifröst bridge). The Giants lived in an abode called Jötunheimr (giant realm). A cold, dark underground abode called Niflheim was ruled by Hel, daughter of Loki. According to the Prose Edda this was the eventual dwelling-place of most of the dead. Located somewhere in ...

See also:

Norse mythology, Norse mythology - Sources, Norse mythology - Cosmology, Norse mythology - Supernatural beings, Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world, Norse mythology - Kings and heroes, Norse mythology - Norse worship, Norse mythology - Centres of faith, Norse mythology - Priests, Norse mythology - Human sacrifice, Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity, Norse mythology - Modern influences, Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia II - Norse mythology - Cosmology

Worship of Odin dates to Proto-Germanic paganism. The Roman historian Tacitus probably refers to Odin when he talks of Mercury. The reason is that, like Mercury, Odin was regarded as Psychopompos, "the leader of souls". Parallels between Odin and Celtic Lugus have often been pointed out: both are intellectual gods, commanding magic and poetry. Both have ravens and a spear as their attributes, and both are one-eyed. Julius Caesar (de bello Gallico, 6.17.1), who mentions Mercury as the chief god of Celtic religion. A likely conte ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Characteristics, Odin - Origins, Odin - Seid, Odin - Blót, Odin - Edda, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Modern popular culture, Odin - Germanic neopaganism, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Origins

Most of this mythology was passed down orally, and much of it has been lost. However, some of it was captured and recorded by Christian scholars, particularly in the Eddas and the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, who believed that pre-Christian deities were men and women rather than devils. There is also the Danish Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus, where, however, the Norse gods are strongly Euhemerized. The Prose or Younger Edda was written in the early 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, who was a leading ...

See also:

Norse mythology, Norse mythology - Sources, Norse mythology - Cosmology, Norse mythology - Supernatural beings, Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world, Norse mythology - Kings and heroes, Norse mythology - Norse worship, Norse mythology - Centres of faith, Norse mythology - Priests, Norse mythology - Human sacrifice, Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity, Norse mythology - Modern influences, Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia II - Norse mythology - Sources

The goddess Freyja is described as an adept of the mysteries of seid (shamanism), a völva, and it is said that it was she who initiated Odin into its mysteries. In Lokasenna, Loki verbally abuses Odin for practising seid, condemning it as a unmanly art. A justification for this may be found in the Ynglinga saga where Snorri opines that in following the practice of seid, the practitioner was rendered unmanly. Another explanation is that its manipulative aspects ran counter to the male ideal o ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Characteristics, Odin - Origins, Odin - Seid, Odin - Blót, Odin - Edda, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Modern popular culture, Odin - Germanic neopaganism, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Seid

Norse mythology - Centres of faith. The Germanic tribes rarely or never had temples in a modern sense. The Blót, the form of worship practiced by the ancient Germanic and Scandinavian people resembled that of the Celts and Balts : it could occur in sacred groves. It could also take place at home and/or at a simple altar of piled stones known as a "horgr". However, there seems to have been a few more important centres, such as Skiringsal, Lejre and Uppsala. Adam of Bremen claims that there was a temple in Uppsala (see Temple at Uppsala) with three wooden statues of Thor, Odin and Freyr.

See also:

Norse mythology, Norse mythology - Sources, Norse mythology - Cosmology, Norse mythology - Supernatural beings, Norse mythology - Völuspá: the origin and end of the world, Norse mythology - Kings and heroes, Norse mythology - Norse worship, Norse mythology - Centres of faith, Norse mythology - Priests, Norse mythology - Human sacrifice, Norse mythology - Interactions with Christianity, Norse mythology - Modern influences, Norse mythology - Bibliography

Read more here: » Norse mythology: Encyclopedia II - Norse mythology - Norse worship

It is attested in primary sources that sacrifices were made to Odin during blóts. Adam of Bremen relates that every ninth year, people assembled from all over Sweden to sacrifice at the Temple at Uppsala. Male slaves and males of each species were sacrificed and hanged from the branches of the trees. As the Swedes had the right not only to elect king but also to depose a king, the sagas relate that both king Domalde and king Olof Trätälja were sacrificed to Odin after years of famine. It has been argued that the killing of a combat ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Characteristics, Odin - Origins, Odin - Seid, Odin - Blót, Odin - Edda, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Modern popular culture, Odin - Germanic neopaganism, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Blót

Odin - Modern popular culture. Main article: Odin in popular culture With the Romantic Viking revival of the early-to-mid 19th century, Odin's popularity increased again. Odin, under the German form of his name, Wotan (pronounced ['vo:ta:n]) is one of the main protagonists of Richard Wagner's opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. This depiction in particular has had influence on many subsequent fiction writers. ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Characteristics, Odin - Origins, Odin - Seid, Odin - Blót, Odin - Edda, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Modern popular culture, Odin - Germanic neopaganism, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Modern age

Snorri Sturluson's record of the Edda is striking evidence of the climate of religious tolerance in medieval Iceland, but even he feels compelled to give a rational account of the Aesir in his preface. In this scenario, Snorri speculates that Odin and his peers were originally refugees from Troy, etymologizing Aesir as derived from Asia. Some scholars believe that Snorri's version of Norse mythology is an attempt to mould a more shamanistic tradition into a Greek mythological cast. In any case, Snorri's writing (particularly in Heimsk ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Characteristics, Odin - Origins, Odin - Seid, Odin - Blót, Odin - Edda, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Modern popular culture, Odin - Germanic neopaganism, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin

The 13th century eddaic account of Odin likely contains some Christian elements. The scene where Odin hangs from a tree as a sacrifice to himself has been suggested to reflect the crucifixion of Jesus, down to the detail of having his side pierced with a spear; however, archeological evidence, such as the above mentioned Tollund Man, clearly establish that this form of sacrifice existed before the time of Christ and thus is most likely developed independently. Other inconsistencies, such as that Odin was hung by a rope from a tree whereas Je ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Characteristics, Odin - Origins, Odin - Seid, Odin - Blót, Odin - Edda, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Modern popular culture, Odin - Germanic neopaganism, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Odin and Jesus

According to the Prose Edda, Odin was a son of Bestla and Borr and brother of Vé and Vili and together with these brothers he cast down the frost giant Ymir and created the world from Ymir's body. The three brothers are often mentioned together. "Wille" is the German word for "will" (English), "Weh" is the German word (Gothic wai) for "woe" (English: great sorrow, grief, misery) but is more likely related to the archaic G ...

See also:

Odin, Odin - Characteristics, Odin - Origins, Odin - Seid, Odin - Blót, Odin - Edda, Odin - Attributes, Odin - Names, Odin - Odin and Jesus, Odin - Persisting beliefs in Odin, Odin - Modern age, Odin - Modern popular culture, Odin - Germanic neopaganism, Odin - Notes, Odin - Literature

Read more here: » Odin: Encyclopedia II - Odin - Edda