Vanir - Members

Vanir is the name of one of the two groups of gods in Norse mythology, the other and more well known being the Æsir. The name is perhaps from the PIE root wen "to strive, win", cognate to Venus (compare Vanadis), Wynn (Proto-Germanic *Wanizaz). Vanir - Members. They include Niord the father of the gods of Vanir and god of the sea, Freyr, the god of fertility, and Freyja, goddess of love and sexuality, who lived among the Æsir at Yggdrasil directly below the Æsir. Although the Vanir are resp ...

Including:

• Vanir - Members
• Vanir - Characteristics
• Vanir - Location
• Vanir - Vanir and Elves
• Vanir - Cult of the Vanir
• Vanir - Misconceptions
• Vanir - Vanir and their Guests
• Vanir - Links

Read more here: » Vanir: Encyclopedia - Vanir

The Eddas possibly identify the Vanir with the elves (Alfar), frequently interchanging "Æsir and Vanir" and "Æsir and Alfar" to mean "all the gods". As both the Vanir and the Alfar were fertility powers, the interchangeability suggest that the Vanir may have been synonymous with the elves. It may also be that the two names reflected a difference in status where the elves were minor fertility gods whereas the Vanir were major fertility gods. Freyr would thus be a natural Van ruler of the elves in Álfheim. Contemporary reconstruction of Norse religion focusing on the Van ...

See also:

Vanir, Vanir - Members, Vanir - Characteristics, Vanir - Location, Vanir - Vanir and Elves, Vanir - Cult of the Vanir, Vanir - Misconceptions, Vanir - Vanir and their Guests, Vanir - Links

Read more here: » Vanir: Encyclopedia II - Vanir - Vanir and Elves