Asatru glossary

N

Naglfar – ship made from fingernails of dead men. During Ragnarok, the forces of chaos and destruction will sail on it.

Nana – Baldur’s wife. After his death, Nana’s heart broke from all the pain, so she was thrown on the funeral pyre as well.

Nari and Vali – Loki’s sons he conceived with Sigin. Because of their father’s crimes Nari and Vali got horrible fates: Vali was turned into a wolf, and let loose on his brother, he tore him apart. A similar occurrence is mentioned in the Volsung Saga.

Nertus – Goddess Earth whose cult was described by Tacitus. She had her shrine on the island of Frisian, and sacrifices offered to her were drowned in the holy lake.

Nidstag – one of the techniques of Nordic magical practice; its purpose was sending hexes and curses. Saxo Grammaticus describes the time Egil Skallgrimsson sent a Nidstag on Eric Bloody Axe and his wife: a horse’s head was sacrificed to the Gods and placed on a staff which was subsequently thrust into the ground. The whole artefact was then pointed towards Eric and Egil summoned spirits of vaetta and asked them to banish Eric from the country. It would appear that the hex worked, because Eric soon left Scandinavia with his whole family.

Nifelheim

Nifelheim – one of the two worlds of Yggdrasil that made life possible. Nifelheim is an ice-covered region, while Muspelheim was a fiery region; by mixing these two elements life was created in the Universe.

Nithog – a dragon who lived in one of Iggdrasil’s roots – Nifelheim. He gnawed on the roots of the Tree, and he also attributed to the universal chaos that ensued during Ragnarok. He fed on corpses.

Nisse – guardian spirits of the farm or home. They are similar to Russian domovoj and Serbian zduhač spirits who also protected the homes of Slavic ancestors. They’re depicted as small beings who can be extremely strong despite their diminutive size.

Nordri – the dwarf that sits on the northern side of the world, holding up the Heavens.

Nornas – Germanic Fates, who lived beneath Iggdrasil. Their names were Urd, Verdandi and Skuld, that is Was, Is and Will Be. Besides these Nornas there are many other less significant Nornas (equal to Slavic Fates), that are assigned to individual persons. Seeing how they appear on the day of one’s birth, they’re very similar, if not identical to Disir.

Njord – one of the Vanir, the father of Frey and Freya. Like Egir, he was a sea God, and his functions were controlling the wind and settling the ruffled waves of the seas. Because of this he was often called upon by seamen and fishermen. He had two wives – Herta (Nertus), who was also his sister; because of this she was forbidden from Asgard. His other wife was Skadi. Seeing how they couldn’t agree on a place to live, Njord and Skadi decided to live apart, so Njord returned to Noatun (i.e. the open sea), while Skadi lived in the mountains.