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Asatru glossary

G

Galdor – magical practice of the old Germans which, unlike seidr, can be practiced by both men and women. We can understand galdor in two ways. The first is that galdor is a set of techniques that are based on studying and analyzing myths and the Germanic system in general, as well as the studying of Runes and vibratory formulae. Unlike seidr which is a way of intuition, meditation and astral experiences, galdor is a practice that demands activity. For exactly that reason, galdor is regarded as a male practice, Odin’s way, while seidr is associated with women as more passive beings, and thus named Frigga’s way. The other way we consider galdor as just vibratory formulae, i.e. curses, blessings and spells mantras in general. They can be based on Runes, but it isn’t required.

Garm – the hellhound who was imprisoned in the hole of Gnipahel until the beginning of Ragnarok. During Ragnarok he will fight Tyr, causing both their deaths.

Gefion – guardian of virgins; her name is also connected to agriculture.

Gladsheim – one of the most important halls in Asgard, belonging to Odin.

Gerda – a beautiful she-giant and Frey’s wife. She reluctantly entered into marriage with him only after Skirnir, Frey’s messenger, threatened to cast spells to make her ugly.

Geri – or Greedy, one of the wolves – Odin’s companions. Seeing how Odin drank only wine, he gave all his food to Geri and Freki.

Gerod – a giant who tried to kill Thor by deception, inviting him to come without his hammer and the belt that doubles his strength. The she-giant Grida helped Thor by lending him her own weapon. He was killed by Thor by throwing a flaming ball that went through an iron pillar and his stomach.

Ginungagap – «Gaping hole», the primeval chaos from which the Universe was later created. Ginungagap was located between Muspelheim and Nifelheim; the Fire and Ice that poured into it later created organic life.

Gjallarhorn – a horn hidden near the roots of the Yggdrasil just next to Mimir’s spring. Mimir uses this horn to drink the water from the spring, the water that gave him wisdom. The horn will remain there until Ragnarok when Heimdal takes it and by blowing on it announce the end of the world (and its subsequent regeneration). Gjallahorn translates as “loud horn”.

Gjallarhorn

Gothi – Nordic priest whose obligations were the performance of rituals and handling the kindred.

Grendel – a monster that couldn’t be harmed by any weapon; for a long time he molested the Danish kingdom during king Hrotgar’s reign. He was slain by Beowulf.

Grid – she-giant who helped Thor in fighting Gerod, lending him her battle belt, gauntlets and unbreakable staff. She’s believed to be Vidar’s mother.

Gungnir – Odin’s magical spear, adorned with Runes.

Gulveig – a witch that would cause greed in the hearts of men and Gods. Because of this, the Gods tried to burn her, but since it failed three times they honoured her and called her Heidi (light-one). Behind the name of Gulveig is most probably Freya, which was associated to treasure like Venus (gull means gold); she’s also the Goddess that practices magic.

Gunlod – Sutung’s daughter, the guardian of mead of inspiration. She let Odin drink three gulps of this beverage, after which he tricked her and drank all the mead. Even though he spent three nights with her, Odin stole the mead and escaped in the form of an eagle.

Gydja – Nordic priestess. The female equivalent to gothi, she also handles the kindred and its activities.

Gylfi – Swedish king who, in disguise, visited the Gods and questioned them on the creation of the world and their order.

Asatru glossary

F

Falcon – animal considered holy in the Nordic tradition. The falcon is associated with Freya, seeing how she would occasionally take the form of this bird, but also with Loki, who flew like a falcon after stealing Freya’s feathered shirt.

Fafnir – because of his greed for the cursed treasure he was turned into a dragon. He was slain by Sigurd.

Farbauti – Loki’s father.

Fenriz – one of Loki’s children, the beast of Ragnarok. To stop his destructiveness, the Gods tricked him into magical shackles.

Fylgja – a creature from the Nordic folklore considered a man’s follower. This being appears to a man announcing his death; it had its human and animal form. The placenta the children were born with was also called fylgja.

Fjalar – he and his brother killed the wise Kvasir.

Forseti – God of justice, the son of Baldur and Nana. He reigned in Glitnir where he presided as a judge and dispensed justice.

Frey – the son of Nord and Nertus, Freya’s twin brother. God of fecundity and plenty, ruled the Sun’s light and rain, but also a God of peace and prosperity. During drought and barren years the Nordic peoples would offer sacrifices to Frey; also to achieve peace. Frey’s temple was in Uppsala. Even though he wasn’t allowed to sit on Odin’s throne – Hildskjalf – Frey did it causing big trouble for himself. From Hildskjalf he saw the beautiful she-giant Gerda who he fell deeply in love with. Frey sent his servant Skirnir to propose to Gerd, and gave him the sword he never let out of his hands. Because of this, he won’t be able to defeat Surt, who will attack him when Ragnarok comes, and because of this he will die.

Frey

Freya – one of the Vanir, the Goddess of fertility and Freya’s sister. According to legend, she was a sorceress who could fly in the form of an falcon. Half of the fallen warriors belonged to her, and another half to Odin; because of this she’s also called Valfreyia. Freya would take these fallen warriors to her palace of Sesrumnir, while Folkvang was reserved for dead lovers. Freya was the one who uncovered the power of the seidr to humans, a Nordic magical practice; beside the humans, she also revealed this skill to Odin. In spite of her power and beauty, Freya lost her husband: he abandoned her because she spent the night with four dwarves. Therefore she started a quest all over the world, crying tears of red gold. Her daughter’s name is Hnoss – a name for precious jewellery.

Freki – a wolf whose name means Voracious. Together with Geri, he followed Odin on all his journeys.

Frigga – Odin’s wife and Baldur’s mother, guardian of marriage. She tried to protect his son by making all the plants and all the weapons to swear not to injure him. It worked with everything except the holly which caused Baldur’s death. Frigga is also considered the queen of Asgard, even though Odin doesn’t have the title of king. Her palace is Fensalir which means Marsh Halls.

Merseburg charms

Asatru glossary

E

Eddas – next to the sagas, eddas are the most important source for researching Nordic mythology. There are two narratives bearing this name: Poetic Eddas and the Prose Edda, that is Snorri’s Edda. The Poetic Edda is a collection of poems which were gathered from the 9th to the 12th century AD in Iceland. The essential part of this collection are poems Voluspa and Hávamál. Snorri’s Edda is consisted of four parts: Prologue, The Fooling of Gylfi, Skáldsaparmál and Háttatal. The most important part is certainly The Fooling of Gylfi, seeing that it describes the complete history of the Nordic Universe, and represents all the Gods of the Nordic pantheon.

Egir – God of the sea and the Ran’s husband. His nine daughters are the waves, and their names are: Himinglaeva, Dufa, Blodughadda, Hefring, Unn, Hronn, Bylgja, Bara and Kolga. As he often sunk ships, the Nordic people would sacrifice prisoners to him, hoping that will give them safe sailing. Egir is also known as a very hospitable deity, whose halls often played host to feasts for the Gods. On one of those feasts Loki appeared and mocked the Gods, as described in the Lokasenna.

Egir

Einherjar – Odin’s warriors «they who fight alone», they are dead heroes staying in Valhalla until Ragnarok. Their food is meat of magical boar Sehrimnir and their beverage the mead served to them by the Valkyries. Einherjars spend their days battling on a field in front of Valhalla, and none of their wounds are lethal, because they heal on themselves.

Embla – the first woman, made out of a birch tree. Henir, Odin and Lodur gave life to her and her husband Askr.

Asatru Glossary

C

Cat – animal consecrated to Freya, that symbolizes her femininity. Freya was always depicted in the company of two cats dragging her carriage.

D

Disir – a common name for all female deities, meaning both Goddesses and mortal women who were later deified. These mortal women were priestess and tribal leaders in life, and it was believed that they won’t leave their tribes even after death. Hopeful for their divine protection, the people would offer sacrifices to the Disir.

Donnar – a name for Thor outside of Scandinavia, most of all in modern Germany.

Draugen – mythical being bringing fear to villagers throughout Scandinavia. Draugen is the ghost of a drowned man, describes by the people’s imagination as a horrific creature bloated from the water and covered in river flora.

Draupnir – Odin’s ring of power, capable of multiplying itself nine times.

Freya with her cats