Norse Mythology: The Unofficial Guide

All Norse gods and goddesses are subject to some level of mischaracterization in popular media, but Loki's frequent shapeshifting into female form have made him a particularly attractive target for embellishment of the story. In this episode I won't be telling you what you should think about Loki, but I will be compiling every little detail we have that could possibly relate to his gender and sexu...

Once upon a time, Thor made a journey into jǫtunheimr without his magic hammer. Or at least, that's one version of the story. So along the way he had to make due with other weapons. But do these other weapons preserve a more ancient memory of the thunder god's arsenal? And by the way, has Mjǫllnir always been a hammer? Let's dig in together. Sources: “Agricola’s Ukko in the light of archaeology: a...

In which we cover Thor's legendary duel with Hrungnir. Unlike your average Norse duel, this one is actually intended to end in death. But the moral of the story is, whether you're nine miles tall or have a heart made of stone, you're just never a match for the awesome power of thunder.  Sources: “Dictionary of Northern Mythology” by Rudolf Simek, 2010 “Haustlǫng”, transl by Richard North, 201...

In this episode we dig into the kidnapping of Iðunn, a goddess whose magic apples keep the gods perpetually young. But this story is a lot less about the apples and a lot more about the goddesses. Join me as we focus in on both Iðunn and Skaði, a jǫtun who becomes a goddess by marriage, and the way Loki plays a prominent role in both of their stories. Sources: “Apple and Apple Tree” by Joseph S. H...

In one of the most famous Norse myths of all time, Thor's hammer is stolen by the jǫtnar and the only way to get it back is to dress in drag. But this story is much more than a surface-level comedy. It turns Norse ideas about gender and societal expectations on their heads and teaches us a lot about the personalities of the gods. It also seems to prove the age-old adage that comedy is the one plac...

In this episode we'll cover some of your deepest and most pressing questions about Óðinn, the chief of the Norse gods. What does he want? Where did he come from? And I don't mean who was his father, I mean, where did he really come from? How was Óðinn worshipped in ancient times? Did everyone venerate him or just a select few? Is there a secret to getting into Valhǫll without dying in battle? An...

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In the future the world as we know it will be destroyed. But this can't happen before we introduce all the major players. In this episode we'll discuss the origins of Hel, the World Serpent, and the monstrous wolf Fenrir, and we'll see how the way Fenrir became an enemy of the gods is all too easy to misunderstand without the proper context of the Norse world view. What does it mean to be an outca...

Thor hasn't always had his famous hammer. And for that matter, Óðinn hasn't always had his famous spear. As it turns out, these gods only came to possess their signature weapons as the result of Loki being a trouble-maker. In this episode we'll talk about rowan trees, golden hair, infidelity, dwarves, and some likely shape-shifting shenanigans. By the end, we'll have finally gotten to the bottom o...

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After the Æsir-Vanir war ends, a strange sequence of events is set in motion that results in mankind acquiring a talent for poetry. But did the gods intend for us to have this skill or did we acquire it entirely by accident? And how do a couple of serial-killer dwarves factor into the equation? What exactly is a dwarf, by the way? And is Oðinn canonically an evil-doer? Have a listen for answers to...

This episode covers the very first war that ever occurred in the world. But why did it happen and who exactly is fighting who? Did the Aesir kill the goddess Freyja three times over? And who exactly are the Vanir? Are they original to the pagan tradition or did Snorri make them up to fill in some gaps? You might be surprised how hard some of these questions are to answer and you might be surprised...

This episode does a deep dive into almost everything we know about Thor. What did he look like? Was he a good father? How did the ancient Norse people pray to Thor? How does his hammer work? Does he ever strike anyone with lightning? And, wait... was Thor actually god of the sea ? Sources: “Bleikr, Gulr, and the Categorization of Color in Old Norse” by Jackson Crawford, 2016 “Gods and Myths of Nor...

How does time work in mythology? Is it always present, cyclical, or normal and linear? More importantly, was Loki once impregnated by a horse? In this episode, we'll correct a few common misconceptions about Norse mythic time and dig into the origin of Óðinn's famous steed, Sleipnir. There are some sensitive topics in this one, but there's no reason why we can't discuss historical interpretations...

In which Oðinn may not be the only Norse god to have ever sacrificed a part of his body for a drink from the well of wisdom. This episode covers the two most famous wells situated near the World Tree, Yggdrasill, as well as the beings who maintain them: Mímir whose severed head offers counsel to Oðinn, and the norns who author the fates of mankind. And did you know that the norns are the reason wh...

The universe according to Norse mythology is organized around a giant ash tree called Yggdrasill. But did you know that the motif of worshiping a giant, cosmically-central tree shows up in 8th-century Christian literature from England? And did you know the word "Yggdrasill" might be a reference to a story about Odin learning the runes by means of hanging himself? This episode doesn't cover everyth...

In this episode we complete the creation of the world and dive into the origins of humanity. We'll talk about Christian influence in our sources, the dangers of taking our source texts too literally, and the difference between humans and trees in Norse poetic culture. Spoiler : there is no difference. Sources: "Dictionary of Northern Mythology", Rudolf Simek, 2010 "Evergreen Ash: Ecology and Catas...

In this episode we dig into where the universe began, how the gods came to be, and where that information comes from. We also tackle misconceptions about the differences between gods and "giants" and the famous "nine worlds" of Norse cosmology. Spoiler : gods are giants but giants aren't giant. Sources: "A Handbook of Germanic Etymology", Vladimir Orel, 2003 "Dictionary of Northern Mythology", Rud...

People often associate Norse mythology with the vikings. But "viking" was just one of many jobs in medieval Scandinavia where farmers, poets, lawspeakers, and all sorts of people incorporated this northern version of Germanic paganism into their daily lives. The Viking Age itself only lasted about two and a half centuries whereas the religion of the north had been growing and evolving for thousand...

Join me on a deep dive through history and mythology where we'll learn together from the experts about the stories and traditions held sacred and dear to the hearts of the ancient, medieval people of the north. Music: Wild West Vikings by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com) Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/