Working With The Gods: Hela

In the Norse pantheon, Hel/Hela is the goddess of death, the deity that rules in the underworld and all its denizens. In previous posts I have written about her already. Now, I will not delve much into the subject of who she is and her purpose as a goddess, nor will I talk about her gifts. In this post, I will write about her in a different manner, how to work with her in a spiritual way. To those who already know her, it will be easier to interpret.

The majority of the Norse gods (both genders) are associated with light, but Hela on the other hand, is one of the few Norse deities which represents exactly the opposite. She is associated with darkness, the kind of darkness which absorbs the light, a very powerful negative energy. This is probably one of the reasons people associate her with evil and an horrific afterlife spent in darkness. The christianization of Europe adopted her name to label the terrible afterlife awaiting those who sin, the place where the devil reigns and tortures souls (Hell). This is an awful mistake, Hela has nothing to do with christian beliefs, and she may be associated with darkness, but that doesn't mean that darkness itself is naturally linked to evil. She seldom comes in the lore, and even the most important lore we have about the gods, such as the written works of Snorri Sturluson, had already a christian influence which is perfectly natural at that time, for the christian faith was gaining much ground and none could speak or write about subjects which "defiled" the christian faith. Most of what we really know about the goddess Hela, comes from the spirit-workers who have the honour to work with her. Unfortunatelly, such people are few, but we still can learn a lot about the gods in this manner. We must let go all the mysticism and lies that were created around many pagan gods.

Working with Hela:

When meeting with Hela (if you have such honour, because she really only chooses a handful of spirit-workers once in a life time), she would certainly like to be offered something to drink, be that alcoholic or not, preferably home-brewed. She usually wears long and simple clothing, normally black or grey or both, you will recognize her easily.Also, the her best feature which you will recognize her immediately as soon as you see it, is the fact that she usually wears rings. One ring on every finger of her left hand.

There are some people, Spirit-workers or not, that paint half of their faces resembling a skull, or actually use a mask like that to honour her. Hela will often work with female spirit-workers, but occasionally it is possible for her to also call for a male spirit-worker, but that seldom happens.

Hela walks very slowly and moves quietly. She only speaks to a person at the time, there are no group gatherings around her. Be very quiet, don't interrupt her, listen intently to what she has to say. Her vast knowledge is something that she will not share with most, and if she chooses to share it with you, be certain that you are being given the most honourable audience of all.

Hela The Goddess of the Underworld

Hela is the goddess of the Underworld in the Norse cosmology, that is what everybody knows and hears about her, but she is also the goddess of death and one of the most powerful Jotnar. She is the eldest child of Angrboda and Loki.

Hela usually appears to people ihalf rotten or half skeletal form, at one side and a completly normal figure on the other side. Her hair is usually pale and long on the normal fleshy side, although sometimes it is black, no one is really certain about it, it is possible that she changes are appearance according with some situations, it is also possible to see her sometimes with her living  appearance above the waits andtimes as a pale white woman who merely smells of rotten below it. One thing is certain, she choses to appear in such forms to remind people about death, to show them its true forms and to force people in accepting it the way it is, as a natural part of life, as another part of nature itself, so people might respect this natural process of all things.

Hela is a tall figure, usually wearing a robe with the colours of black or grey. She is very calm, actually the atmosphere around her is quite calm and cold, as if the very air was frozen and still. Her only forms aren't just the rotte or skeletal ones, because she also appears as a beautiful woman, perfectly normal when it comes to welcome people into her Halls or the villages for the dead, so we can't be sure what her true form might be, but the "death mask" she wears is certainly to be used when she needs to deal with death or anything linked to that ( which is quite often ).

It seems that before Hela, the daughter of Loki and Angrboda, there used to be another Hel, she was the goddess of death or at least the keeper of the dead, in a time where human folk didn't exist yet, so she was the keeper of all the dead souls of the Jotnar kin. But when this old Hel died or retired, the dead walked on every place of the Nine Worlds, so there always must exist a keeper of the dead, and so Hela, the daughter of Loki and Angrboda took such a task. We don't know if her name comes after the first goddess of the underworld in homage, or if Hel/Hela is a title that the one who replaces the previous deity of death takes, but one thing is certain, this new Hela reshaped the entire place, Helheim, giving it a better look, wonderful, cosy, eternal Autumn like landscape, and she definitely loves all those who come o live with her and she takes good care of them.


Note: The artwork to illustrate this post is a drawing of  Hela made by me. If you have any questions for me or if you want to see my artistic works, check out my Facebook page and make a Like if you can by following this link --> http://www.facebook.com/ArithHarger

Working with the gods: Hela

Hel or Hela, is the goddess of death and of the underworld in the norse pantheon, i have talked about her in a older post, i will not delve into the subject of who is she and her purpose as a goddess, nor will i talk about her gifts. I will write about her in a different matter. How to work with her and a spiritual manner, of course to those who already know her, it will be easier to interpret.

 Hela is a different kind of deity, while the other gods and goddesses are a symbol of light and we see in them that light which brings us joy and bliss, Hela is the opposite, a darkness that can absorb the light, maybe this is one of the reasons that brought people to fear her, and often mistake her with an evil being, because she also lives in a gloomy place, and with christianity, the term Hell for the underworld, came after her. As you may read in other posts about the gods and mytholgy, you know it isn't such, but it is very hard to work with her, and the spirit-workers working with her, are few, not all have such honor, but those who have, can teach us to think in a different way, and let go all the mysticism and lies that were created around many pagan gods.

Working with Hela:

When meeting with Hela, she likes to drink tea or dark coffee. She also likes alcoholic drinks, but she prefers something that has been home-brewed. Food is rarely important to her.She likes to wear long simple robes of black or in tones of grey. Some Spirit-workers like to paint half of their faces with a "skull-mask" shape in her honor. One of the things that she likes, is to wear a ring on every joint of every finger of the left hand, in order to mimic the feel of hard bones. She may give her left hand to people to kiss. She never holds out her right hand to the living, only to those who have passed on, or are at the moment of dying a physical death. Hela usually works with female spirit-workers, but occasionally, it is possible for her to also call of male spirit-workers.

Hela walks with a limp, slowly, is quiet, and extremely still. When she is speaking, her hands may move and gesture, but the rest of the time she is still as a statue when sitting or standing. She speaks in a hoarse voice, and she is very direct and to the point. If she grips someone's hand or arm in order to say something important to them, some say her touch can burn flesh. 

Suported by Ravenkaldera.

Note: The artwork to illustrate this post is a drawing of Hel made by me. If you have any questions for me or if you want to see my artistic works, check out my Facebook page and make a Like if you can by following this link --> http://www.facebook.com/ArithHarger