Niflheim ("Land of Mists") is the realm of ice and cold in Norse Mythology. It is located north of Ginnungagap and there dwells the hrimthursar and here is also Helgardh located. Niflheim is ruled by the goddess Hel, daughter to Loki by the giantess Angrboda, personally appointed by Odin to rule over Niflheim. Half of her body is normal, while the other half is that of a rotting corpse. Niflheim is broken into several layers. One level designed for heroes and gods, where Hel would preside over the festivities for them. Another ...

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Niflheim (Icelandic), Nebelheim (German) [from nifl mist, nebula + heim home]

In Norse mythology, the home of mists in which nebulae form. When the heat from Muspellsheim (home of fire) meets the mist-cold vapors of Niflheim in Ginnungagap (the gaping void), Ymer, the frost giant, comes into being. He is used by the gods to create "victory worlds" wherein souls can evolve. Niflheim has also been regarded as a Hades where the dead are sent, but this appears to refer to the disposition of the forms (bodies) of departed souls.

(See also: Niflheim, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Nebelheim.

See NIFLHEIM

(See also: Nebelheim, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap ("seeming emptiness" or "gaping gap") was the vast chasm that existed between Niflheim and Muspelheim before creation. To the north of Ginnungagap lay the intense cold of Niflheim, to the south the insufferable heat of Muspelheim. At the beginning of time, the two met in the Ginnungagap; and where the heat met the frost, the frost drops melted and formed the substance eitr, which quickened into life in the form of the giant Ymir, the father of all Frost giants. See his entry for the continuation of the Old Norse story of the Creation. See also: ...

Read more here: » Ginnungagap: Encyclopedia - Ginnungagap

Hvergelmir is the wellspring of cold in Niflheim in Norse mythology. The well is guarded by Ivaldi and his sons who are charged with the defence of Hel against the incursions of the storm giants. All cold rivers are said to come from here, and it was said to be the source of the eleven rivers, Elivagar. The name means approximately "The seething cauldron". Above the spring, the serpent Níðhöggr gnaws ...

Read more here: » Hvergelmir: Encyclopedia - Hvergelmir

Muspelheim ("Flameland"), also called Muspel (Old Norse Múspellsheimr and Múspell, respectively), is the realm of fire in Norse Mythology. It is home to the fire giants, and their master, Surtur. It is fire and the land to the north, Niflheim is ice. The two mixed and created water from the melting ice in Ginnungagap. Sparks from Muspelheim created the planets, comets and stars. Norse mythology ...

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In Norse mythology Hel ("house of mists"), shares a name with the Hel who rules it. It is thronged with the shivering and shadowy spectres of those who have died ingloriously of disease or in old age. Hel is also home to dishonourable people who have broken oaths. Hel is cold and low on the overall order of the universe. It lies beneath Yggdrasil's third root, near Hvergelmir and Nastrond. It is uncertain if Hel and Niflheim are completely different places, if one is part of t ...

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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

Jotun - Origins. The first living being formed in the primeval chaos known as Ginnungagap was a giant of monumental size, called Ymir. When he slept a giant son and a giantess daughter grew from his armpits, his two feet copulated and gave birth to a monster with six heads. Supposedly, these three beings gave rise to the race of hrímþursar (rime giants or frost giants), who populated Niflheim, the world of mist, chill and ice. The gods instead claim their origin from a certain Búri. When t ...

See also:

Jotun, Jotun - Norse giants, Jotun - Origins, Jotun - Character of the giants, Jotun - Ragnarök and the fire giants, Jotun - Giants in Scandinavian folklore, Jotun - List of giants and giantesses in Norse mythology

Read more here: » Jotun: Encyclopedia II - Jotun - Norse giants

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

In Norse mythology, the earth is represented as 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 mos ...

See also:

Norse mythology, Norse mythology - Overview, 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

When Harald realised that he was about to die of old age (he was 150 years old), he suggested to Sigurd Ring that a great battle should be fought between them. The place was chosen to be at the moor of Bråvalla, and so the legendary Battle of Bråvalla came to be. Harald hoped to die in this battle and go to Valhalla instead of dying in his bed and end up in Niflheim. He was inherited by Sigurd Ring, the father of Ragnar Lodbrok. ...

See also:

Harald Wartooth, Harald Wartooth - Family, Harald Wartooth - Claiming his inheritance, Harald Wartooth - The Battle of Bråvalla, Harald Wartooth - Primary sources

Read more here: » Harald Wartooth: Encyclopedia II - Harald Wartooth - The Battle of Bråvalla

Hvergelmir, Hvergalmer (Icelandic) (from hverr cauldron, boiler + gelmir loud one, screamer)

Roaring cauldron; in Norse myths, the spring which waters the third root of Yggdrasil (the World Tree) which reaches into Niflheim, the home of mists (nebulae). From Hvergelmir flow the thrice twelve plus one ice streams or glaciers, elivagar, which furnish the various life forms for the kingdoms of nature, each one suitable to the type of being which is to inhabit and use that form.

(See also: Hvergelmir, Hvergalmer, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Muspell, Muspellsheim, Muspellsheimr (Icelandic) Muspell, the Norse god of fire, equivalent to the Hindu Agni. From Muspellsheim (home of fire) sparks fell into Ginnungagap (the yawning void) and Niflheim (home of nebulae), creating vapor which became Ymir, the giant from whom the worlds were fashioned by the creative beneficent powers. From Muspellsheim will also come the destructive forces which will bring the end of life to our world at the final great battle called Ragnarok.

(See also: Muspell, Muspellsheim, Muspellsheimr, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Hvergelmir, Hvergalmer (Icelandic) (from hverr cauldron, boiler + gelmir loud one, screamer)

Roaring cauldron; in Norse myths, the spring which waters the third root of Yggdrasil (the World Tree) which reaches into Niflheim, the home of mists (nebulae). From Hvergelmir flow the thrice twelve plus one ice streams or glaciers, elivagar, which furnish the various life forms for the kingdoms of nature, each one suitable to the type of being which is to inhabit and use that form.

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

Elivagar (Icelandic) (from eli ice + vagar waves)

In Norse mythology the "waves of ice" (glaciers) which flow from the fountain Hvergelmir into all the worlds and which provide the life forms for the embodiment of all beings. In the cosmogony of the Eddas, it was from elivagar, the glacier or unmoving waters of nonbeing, that the frost giant Ymir was formed: the void of non-existence in which there was "no soil, no sea, no waves" (cf Voluspa in the elder Edda).

Into the elivagar massed in Ginnungagap (formless or sacred void) fell showers of sparks from Muspellsheim (home of fire), the energic counterpart of Niflheim (home of clouds, nebulae), creating a vapor -- Ymir, the frost giant from which the gods created worlds. Ymir is then said to have given rise to the race of rime-thurses -- matter giants, for "all their kin is ever evil."

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

Ymir (Icelandic, Scandinavian) In the Norse creation tale, the primeval frostgiant from whose substance the worlds are formed by the aesir (gods) at the beginning of time. According to the Voluspa (sibyl's prophecy) in the Edda, Ymir was "slain" -- transformed -- by the creative deities Odin Allfather (spirit), Vile (will), and Vi or Ve (awe, sanctity) into the substances that form the worlds in space.

One version relates that sparks from Muspellsheim (realm of fire) fell among the droplets of water vapor in Niflheim (realm of mists or nebulae) creating vapor in Ginnungagap (the yawning void). From this arose the likeness of a man, Ymir, who was nourished by the four streams of milk flowing from the udder of the cow Audhumla -- symbol of fertility. Ymer represents the frozen immobility of non-existence when the universe is not.

The Vala (sibyl) relates in Voluspa that the frostgiant's two feet mated with each other and that from them arose all the matter-giants from which all physical creation was formed. She describes poetically how the blood of Ymir became the oceans of water, his bones became mountains, his skull the heavenly vault, but "from his brain were surely all dark skies created." Midgard (central court), the earth, is surrounded and protected by his eyebrows and each quarter of space is governed by one of the four ruling powers, named for the four cardinal points, North, South, East, and West.

(See also: Ymir, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Ginnungagap (Icelandic) (from ginn vast, wide + unga bring to birth, hatch (as an egg) + gap chasm, maw)

The gaping void of Norse mythology; space as an unimaginable abstraction, without form and void. The formless void that preceded creation, and the abode of the gods during the long night of nonbeing. The prefix "ginn" is found only in conjunction with such words a ginnheilog (the supreme divine essence), ginnregin (the highest gods, superior to the aesir and even the vanir). Ginnungave represents the "most holy sanctuaries" -- the universe. Odin in his loftiest aspect is referred to as ginnarr, connoting the aether or Sanskrit akasa. The verb ginna also means to delude or play a trick on.

According to the Edda's poetic description, before the existence of worlds, there was naught but Ginnungagap. All matter was frozen in a state of nonbeing, for in the absence of the energizing impulsion (the gods) nothing moved, no atoms existed, hence no matter. This state of non-existence was portrayed as the frost giant Ymir, which resulted when heat from the fiery world, Muspellsheim (home of flame), met the vapors from the world of mists, Niflheim (home of nebulae), creating fertile vapor in the void.

The cow Audhumla licked salt from the blocks of ice and uncovered the head of Buri (King Bore of Swedish tradition), personification of frozen, unmoving nonbeing. From Buri emanated Bur and from this second stage (or second divine Logos) descended the creative trinity of gods: Odin, Vile, and Vi, which powers together "slew" Ymir and with his body (matter) formed the worlds.

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

Yggdrasil (Scandinavian, Icelandic) [from ygr fierce, awesome, brooding + drasill steed, gallows]

The Norse Tree of Life, on which Odin, Allfather of the universe, is mounted or hanged during a period of manifestation. From the tree drops the honeydew which feeds all creatures. The squirrel Ratatosk (intelligence) runs up and down its trunk, while on its topmost bough perches an eagle with a hawk seated between its eyes.

The tree has three roots watered by three wells. One is in Asgard, home of the gods, where it is watered by the three norns: the past (Urd, origin), the present (Verdandi, becoming), and the future which is created by them -- owing (Skuld, debt). A second root penetrates the world of matter, where it is watered from the well of the giant Mimer whose waters are experience of life. Odin gave one eye as forfeit in order to receive a draft of that well, while Mimer has the use of Odin's eye which is sunk in the bottom of the well. The third root is watered by Hvergelmir, source of all the rivers of lives (kingdoms of nature) which rises in Niflheim, the world of mists (nebulae) where worlds are born.

Yggdrasil is not immortal. Its lifetime is coeval with the hierarchy the tree is used to represent. Its leaves are constantly being eaten by four stags, its bark is nibbled by two goats, and its roots are gnawed by the serpent Nidhogg which, in due course, will topple the "noble ash tree." During the first half of its life, the tree is named Mjotvidr (measure increasing); during the latter half Mjotudr (measure diminishing). When in due course the tree dies, its indwelling consciousnesses (Life and Lifthrasir), the human race, will be secreted in the "memory hoard of the sun" until their next emergence into a new existence.

(See also: Yggdrasil, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Heaven and Hell In Christian theology, the abodes of Deity and the celestial hierarchy on the one hand, and of Satan and his fallen angels on the other hand; the final goal of those who are saved and of those who are damned. The origin of the doctrine is founded in the ancient Mystery teachings concerning the human afterdeath experiences and the corresponding experiences passed through by the candidate for initiation.

Hell may be likened to kama-loka and also avichi, though neither is eternal. Kama-loka is better represented, however, by purgatory. Heaven is a reflection of devachan, blended also with ideas of nirvanic states. Thus heaven and hell should both be used in the plural, as is commonly the case in their non-Christian equivalents: Elysium, nirvana, Paradise, Valhalla, Olympus, and many other names for heaven; and Tartarus, Gehenna, She'ol, Niflheim, etc., for hell.

Heaven and hell may denote states of consciousness experienced in daily life on earth. A rough division of cosmic spheres makes heaven the highest, hell or Tartarus the lowest, with the earth beneath heaven, and the underworld beneath it and preceding Tartarus. The crystalline spheres of medieval astronomy are called heavens surrounding the earth concentrically. Far from being adjudicated by a deity to happiness or torment, after death a person goes to that region to which he is attracted by the affinities which he has set up during his life.

Thus theosophy teaches the existence of almost endless and widely varying spheres or regions, all inhabited by peregrinating entities; and of these regions the higher can be dubbed the heavens and the lowest the hells, and the intermediate can be called the regions of experiences and purgation. All spheres possessing sufficient materialized substance to be called imbodied spheres are hells by contrast with the ethereal and spiritual globes of the heavens. Therefore in a sense and on a smaller scale, the lower globes of a planetary chain may be called hells, and the higher globes of the chain, by contrast, heavens.

All evolving entities go to both the heavens and the hells of our solar system in accordance with their evolutionary necessities, and for the purpose of purgation through the suffering of material experience; but in all cases such peregrinating egos are attracted at the different times of their long evolutionary schooling to those spheres by sympathy or psychomagnetic pull. The immense justice of this idea, from which the heavens and hells of the different religions have come, is readily apparent.

See also LOKAS

(See also: Heaven and Hell, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)