Thor: "Thunder," son of Odin and Earth. The most beloved god of the Viking Age, perhaps seen as the chief god at that time, and often known now as "god of the common man," Thor is best known for his ceaseless battle against the giants. He is not a bloody minded reaver, however, but a warder who protects the folk of Midgard and Asgard against the menacing beings who would destroy the world; unlike Odin, he never involves himself in the battles of men, but the gods often seem to rely wholly on his protection. He is the only god that Loki seems to respect.

Although Thor is sometimes shown as being slow-witted in comparison with Odin or Loki, he is a practical god whose solutions to problems are usually swift, effective, and show the common sense the other two sometimes lack. He is also called the "Deep Thinker," and in one Eddic poem, outwits the clever dwarf Alviss ("All-Wise") by engaging him in a riddle contest until dawn turns the dwarf to stone.

Thor's weapon is the Hammer Mjöllnir, images of which are worn by true folk today as a sign of troth, as was also done towards the end of the Viking Age when Red Thor was called on to battle the White Christ. As well as fighting giants, Thor also uses his Hammer for hallowing both brides and funeral pyres, and several runic inscriptions from late Viking Age Denmark call on him to hallow the runes.

Thor was worshipped most by the free farmers (who were also warriors at need) and by those who "trusted in their own might and main". Today, he is also seen as the warder of his mother Earth against those who would harm her for their own gain. He is able to raise great rages in himself, in which he summons up more strength than any being in the worlds can match.

Thor appears as a big, muscular man with red hair and beard and huge fiery eyes. He drives a wagon which is drawn by two goats, Tanngrísnir (Teeth-Barer or Teeth-Gnasher) and Tanngnjóstr (Tooth-Gritter). When he travels to Jotunheim, Loki often goes with him; Thor is the only god that Loki really seems to respect. He is married to Sif, and had a daughter named Thrud (Strength) by her; he also has a giantess-concubine, who bore him his sons, Modi (Courage) and Magni (Main-strength). It is said that "Thor will help you if your prayer is sincere".

Old Norse Þórr, Anglo-Saxon Thunar (from which "Thursday"), Old German Thonar, Modern German/Wagnerian Donner, Proto-Germanic *Þunraz.

Freya: Freya is probably the best-known and best-loved of the goddesses today. Her title simply means "Lady," her original name is not known. Freya is the "wild woman" among the deities of the North: free with her sexual favors (though furious when an attempt is made to marry her off against her will); mistress of Odin and several other gods and men; skilled at the form of ecstatic, consciousness-altering, and sometimes malicious magic called seidhr; and chooser of half the slain on the battlefield (Odin gets the other half).

Freya's chief attribute is the necklace called Brisingamen, which she bought from four dwarves at the price of four nights of her love. This necklace is sometimes seen today as embodying her power over the material world; the necklace has been the emblem of the earth-goddess since the earliest times.

This goddess drives a wagon drawn by two cats, perhaps large forest-cats such as lynxes, and is seen today as the patron goddesses of cats and those who keep them. As a battle-goddess, she also rides on a boar called Hildisvini (Battle-Swine).

Like Odin, Freya is often a stirrer of strife. As Gullveig ("Gold-Drunkenness"), she came among the Aesir to cause trouble. She was stabbed and burnt three times, but arose from the flame each time; through this torment, she transformed herself into Heith ("the Glorious"), mistress of magic, in a typical shamanic initiation. This also seems to have started the war between the Aesir and the Vanir.

Freya is sometimes seen as a fertility goddess, but there are no sources suggesting that she was called on to bring fruitfulness to fields or wombs. Rather, she is a goddess of riches, whose tears are gold and whose "daughters," in the riddle-poetry of the skalds, are precious objects. However, the giants are always trying to take her away from the gods, and it is clear that this would be a great disaster: she was obviously known to be the embodiment of the holy life-force on some level. Perhaps because of this, Wagner gave her some of Idunna's attributes, making her the keeper of the golden apples without which the folk of Asgard would wither and die.

Old Norse Freyja, Old English Freo, Modern German Frau, Wagnerian Freia, Modern English Frowe.

Frey: Son of Njord, twin brother of Freya. "Frey" is a title simply meaning "Lord," his original name was apparently some form of Yngvi/Ing. Together with Thor, Frey was one of the best-loved gods of the Viking Age.

Frey was the main god of kingship among the Swedes, whose royal family, the Ynglings, was descended from him. His holy animal was the boar, which appears several times on richly decorated helmets from the sixth century through the eighth.

Frey was called on for protection in battle, for frith (fruitful peace) at home, and for good weather and gentle rains. He was, and is, often thought of as a giver of riches, whose blessing is called on for fruitfulness and growth in all fields of endeavor. His priests at Uppsala were said to ring bells and clap their hands with effeminate gestures, and it has been suggested that this cryptic reference hints at a tradition involving shamanic cross-dressing.

Frey is the lord of the elves (see below), and is especially connected with the blessings and worship given to the ancestral spirits and possibly land-spirits. His image was often shown with an enlarged phallus; like his twin sister, he is sometimes seen today as a deity of love and pleasure. Frey owns a gold boar called Gullinbursti (Gold-Bristled) on which he can ride over air and water. He once had a horse named Bloody-Hooved (perhaps having to do with his role as battle-god) and a sword, but these he gave to his manservant Skírnir (the Shining One) for winning the giant-maiden Gerd for him. At Ragnarok, he will fight Surt with a stag's antler.

Old Norse Freyr or Yngvi-Freyr, Ingunar-Freyr; Anglo-Saxon Ing or Frea, Old High German Fro, Modern German (Wagnerian) Froh, Proto-Germanic *Ingwaz, also called Fro Ing (Lord Ing).

Odin: Originally a god of death, whose range later came to encompass magic (especially runic magic), battle (giving victory by choosing who should die), poetry, the fury of the berserk-warrior, and, at least in part, the authority of the ruler descended from the gods (he is the most frequent father of royal lines - including, according to Anglo-Saxon genealogies, the current royal house of England). In the Prose Edda (written two hundred years after the conversion of Iceland), he is shown as the chief of the gods, but historical accounts of Germanic religion do not necessarily support this; it is likelier that Snorri was modeling the Norse pantheon somewhat on the Classical.

Odin won the runes by hanging on a tree for nine days and nights, wounded with his own spear. He gave up one of his eyes for a drink from the Well of Mímir ("Memory"). He won the mead of poetry by seducing the giant-maid Gunnlod who had been set to keep it, then asking for a drink and draining all three cauldrons. To his chosen ones, he gives victory, inspiration, magic, madness, and death when he sees fit. He is seen as especially a god of wisdom, a patron of poets, thinkers, and singers. Of all the gods, Odin is the one who seems to take the most active part in the affairs of humans, and the one who appears most often in the writings of the Germanic peoples.

Odin usually appears as a graybearded man, tall and thin, with a blue-black cloak and an eyepatch or wide-brimmed hat tilted to hide his missing eye. His weapon is the casting spear Gungnir, with which he dooms his chosen ones to die in battle. He has two wolves, Geri and Freki (both names mean "the Greedy"); two ravens, Huginn ("the Thoughtful" or "the Bold") and Muninn ("the Mindful" or "the Desirous"); and a gray, eight-legged horse called Sleipnir ("Slipper"). He is the husband of Frigga and the father of many gods and human heroes. As the leader of the Wild Hunt, he also brings fruitfulness to the fields.

Odin is assisted by the valkyries ("Choosers of the Slain") who work his will on the battlefield, bringing the bravest warriors to Valhall ("Hall of the Slain"), where they ready their strength against the coming of Ragnarok. It is said that "Odin will help you if he feels like it," and it is true that he is a stern tester of his children, and often seems rather capricious. However, even when he seems cruel, his purpose is always clear: to strengthen the hosts of the gods for the last battle so that life and knowledge can be preserved and the new world born after the old is destroyed. In the late Viking Age poem Eiríksmál, Bragi asks Odin, "Why did you take victory from him (Erik Bloodaxe), if he seemed the bravest to you?" and Odin answers, "Because of that which no one knows (that is, the time of Ragnarok): the Gray Wolf gapes ever at the dwellings of the gods." Odin is a god of foresight, careful weaving of plots, and long-term agendas.

Old Norse Óðinn; Anglo-Saxon Woden; Old High German Wodan; Modern German Wotan; Proto-Germanic *Woðanaz. "The Furious (or Mad) One".

Frigga: Wife of Odin, Frigga is the patron goddess of the home and of the mysteries of the married woman. She is seen as Odin's match (and sometimes his better) in wisdom; she shares his high-seat, from which they look out over the worlds together.

Frigga is especially concerned with keeping social order. She is called on for blessings when women are giving birth and for help in matters of traditional women's crafts (spinning, weaving, cooking, sewing) and the magics worked thereby. Frigga can also be called on by mothers who want to protect their children. In olden days, this was especially the case with sons going out to battle, for whom their mothers would weave or sew special protective items. She is also called Hlin (protectress).

Frigga is the mother of Balder, and is often thought of as still mourning for him. She is a seeress, who knows all fates, though she seldom speaks of them. Her hall is called Fensalir - "marsh-halls". She has a handmaiden called Fulla and a messenger named Gna.

Despite the likeness of names and the similar relationship to Odin, Frigga should not be confused with Freya, who shares none of her essential traits. Her only departure from strict social behavior is that during one of Odin's journeys away from Asgard, she is said to have taken his brothers Vili and Ve as husbands; however, this probably shows the queen-goddess as the embodiment of sovereignty. Her name is also not directly related to the English slang-word, though the two derive from the same original root ("love, pleasure"). Old Norse Frigg, Anglo-Saxon Frige, Old High German Frija, Wagnerian Fricka.

Loki: An etin brought among the Aesir by Odin, who swore blood-brotherhood with him, Loki wavers between a weal-bringing culture-hero/Trickster and a woe-bringing destroyer. He is responsible for getting the gods most of their good, but only after he has led them to the edge of destruction. He often travels with Thor, sometimes leading him into trouble and sometimes getting him out of it. Loki also brings a surprising amount of humor into the Norse tales (and into the practice of the Northern religion today). The need for this function of his appears explicitly in the tale of how the giantess Skadi was reconciled to accepting weregild from the gods instead of insisting on revenge: one of her conditions is that they must make her laugh, and it is only Loki who can accomplish this.

Loki may have appeared in cultic dramas as a ritual Lord of Misrule: inversion and reversal of all sorts are typical for him. As well as being the father of the Wolf Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent, and, allegedly, Hel, he is also the mother of Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir, and cross-dresses in the typically feminine falcon-hides of Frigga and Freyja when he needs to fly between the worlds.

Bad nineteenth-century etymology associated Loki with Logi (fire) and, helped along by Wagner, the image of Loki as a fire-being seems to be with us to stay. Modern thought also associates Loki especially with computers, for a number of reasons.

After the death of Balder, the gods bound Loki in an underground cave, and Skadi hung a venom-dripping snake over his face. The venom is caught in a cup by his Aesir-wife Sigyn; supposedly, when she turns away to empty it, his writhings cause earthquakes. There is much debate among true folk as to whether Loki is really bound, or just how bound he is, however.

Not surprisingly, views on Loki range from those who think of him as a merry friend to those who see him almost as a Nordic Satan. Although he plays a key role in many of our holy tales, it is fairly safe to guess that he was not worshipped in the sense that the other gods and goddesses were - but whenever a drink is given to Odin, according to the terms of their oath, Loki also gets one.

Other Gods, Goddesses and Wights

Aegir: the giant who embodies the sea. Aegir brews ale for the gods and hosts some of their feasts. His wife is Ran, a less friendly personification of the sea; their daughters are the waves. Old Norse Ægir.

Aesir: "the gods," used specifically for the godly tribe including Odin, Thor, and Tyr (in contrast to the Vanir, Njord, Frey, and Freya), but also used in general for all the deities. Generally more associated with air, fire, and the mechanical or artificial; whereas the Vanir are associated with earth, water, and the natural or organic - though these are by no means firmly set boundaries. The Aesir and the Vanir once held a war, which, since their battle-might was equal, ended in a draw. The truce was settled by the creation of the being Kvasir (see below) and the trading of hostages: Odin's brother Hoenir and the giant Mimir went to the Vanir, and Njord and Frey were sent among the Aesir (Freya seems to have come along of her own choice), where, according to Ynglinga saga, they held the role of "priests". Old Norse Æsir, singular Áss; Modern English Ase, plural Ases.

Eir: Goddess of healing, patroness of health-care workers, called on against sickness or injury. She is one of the goddesses on the mountain called Lyfia ("to heal through magic"), and gives both physical and psychic means of healing; shamanic healing, especially, falls into her realm.

Harrow: an altar, in early times usually made of heaped stones. Old Norse hörgr.

Hel: Ruler of the kingdom of death, the Prose Edda describes her as half-black, half-white (she is sometimes seen as half-rotting, half alive) and of grim and unmistakable appearance. Her name may originally derive from the buried slab-rock grave-chambers of the Stone Age. The Hel-word is known to all branches of the Germanic speech, and clearly very old, but there is some question as to whether the goddess was recognized as an independent person before the Viking Age. The Prose Edda, probably suffering from semantic contamination (the use of the English word Hell for the frightful Christian after world), describes her hall as full of horrors, but older sources make it rather pleasant, and indeed a close reflection of the idealized god-house seen in descriptions of Valhall (Hel and Odin have much in common, in fact). The specialization of the Germanic afterlife into the glorious Valhall where the chosen battle-dead go and the hideous Hel where everyone else ends up is probably a product of Christian influence on the retelling of Norse god-lore; our earlier sources offer far more options (going to the hall of the deity to whom one is closest, dying into a hill or rock where the other ghosts of one's family dwell, remaining as the guardian of a stead, being reborn in a child who bears one's name and/or lineage), and the name Valhall does not become specialized for Odin's hall until the middle of the tenth century, when it is probably a description rather than a proper name. There is no evidence for the worship of the goddess Hel in elder times, but there are several folk who work with her today. Also called Hella.

Idunna: the goddess who keeps the apples of youth, by which the gods stay ever-young. Loki arranged for the etin Thjazi to abduct her, but then was forced to get her back, a deed which ended in Thjazi's death. Apples are one of the oldest and holiest symbols of life and rebirth among the Germanic folk, appearing as grave-gifts from the Bronze Age onward. The Troth's quarterly journal is named after this goddess. Old Norse Iðunn.

Ing: See Frey.

Jormungandr: See "Midgard Serpent".

Land-wights: the beings who dwell in rocks, springs, and so forth. They are shy and easily driven away (especially by noise or strife); when they have fled, the land will not prosper. In Heathen Iceland, it was illegal to come within sight of the shore with a dragon-prow raised, as that frightened them. The land-wights are friendly towards humans who treat them well. Gifts of food and drink were often left by their dwelling places; in America, tobacco is often added, as they have grown used to it from the practices of the Native Americans. Old Norse landvættir.

Lofn: One of Frigga's women, who gets permission for folk to marry when it had been forbidden before. Especially the patroness of those whose love is criticized by outsiders.

Mimir: a giant, perhaps the brother of Odin's etin-mother Bestla. Keeper of the Well of Mimir, in which all wisdom lies - the spring where Odin gave up his eye to drink. Mimir was sent to the Vanir as a hostage with Hoenir, but when Hoenir's slowness of speech was discovered, the Vanir became angry. Unwilling to harm Odin's brother, they lopped off Mimir's head instead and sent it back. Odin preserved it with herbs and spells, and gains much wisdom from talking with the head. According to the Eddic poem Sigrdrífumál, Odin learned the runes from Mimir's head. Old Norse Mímir.

Moon: The Moon is always masculine in Germanic language and culture, just as the Sun is always feminine. This is one of the most difficult things in Northern religion for those brought up on the Greco-Roman Diana and Apollo to get used to; but traces of our original way of thinking of these two survive even in English (cf. "the Man in the Moon"). The Moon is the brother of the Sun: he is seen as dressed in a gray sark (long shirt), driving a wagon drawn by a horse called Hrimfaxi (Ice-Mane) and chased by a troll in wolf-shape who will devour him at Ragnarok. Old Norse Máni (used only as a personal name or poetic term, not usually applied to the simple heavenly body).

Nanna: Wife of Balder (of Hod in Saxo's version), mother of Forseti. Her name may mean "the daring one". According to the Prose Edda version of the story, she dies of grief and is burned on the pyre with Balder.

Odroerir: "Stirrer of inspiration"; the mead of poetry (see "Kvasir").

Poetic Edda: A collection of poems about Norse god/esses and heroes. Also called "Saemundr's Edda," as the first version was thought (erroneously) to have been collected by Iceland's beloved magician/priest, Saemundr the Wise.The manuscripts in which they are written down date from the late thirteenth century onward, but many of the poems themselves probably go back to the Heathen period (though dating them is notoriously difficult), and some of the material may be extremely archaic. The chief "holy text" of the Elder Troth.

Sjofn: A goddess of marriage and love; Old Norse Sjöfn.

Sleipnir: Odin's gray, eight-legged horse, borne by Loki (in mare-shape) to the giant-stallion Svadilfari.

Snotra: "the wise one," a goddess of wisdom and good behavior, always ready to let folk know what is fitting at any given time. Often called on by the lady of the house when men are feasting too boisterously.

Swart Alfs: see "dwarves".

Troll: originally, perhaps, simply meaning "magic," though it has also been connected with "to roll". Today it is normally used for a being from Icelandic and Norwegian folklore which seems to be a cross between a land-wight, a giant, and the undead. Trolls of this sort are magical beings which kill (and perhaps eat) travellers in the mountains and are turned to stone by daylight.

Vali: Fathered by Odin on the maiden Rind to avenge Balder's death.

Ve: "Holiness". Probably an aspect of Odin. The "three brothers" Odin, Vili, and Ve slew the proto-giant Ymir and made the worlds out of his body. Old Norse Vé, modern "Wih".

Vidar: Called "the Silent God," Vidar was fathered by Odin on the giantess Grid. At Ragnarok, he will tear Fenrir's jaws apart, avenging Odin and freeing him (or at least some important part of his spirit) from the Wolf's belly. His name may mean "the Wide-Ruling One". Old Norse Víðarr.

Vingolf: "The Friendly House," which, according to Snorri, is the special holy hall of the goddesses in Asgard. Old Norse Vingólf.

Vor: "The Careful One," one of Frigga's women. Old Norse Vörr.