Working with the gods: Hyndla

Some days ago i wrote about a goddess which i thought to be one of those goddesses people don't talk much about and few know, but in this post i will talk about a goddess even more unknown than the previous one. Her name is Hyndla, and she is the Norse goddess of bloodlines and family trees, she is directly connected with the ancestors.
Hyndla lives in the deep northern mountains of Jotunheim in a frozen cave, this giantess-goddess is a very wise spirit who has the knowledge of bloodlines and family trees and also genealogy. Bloodlines and the history of every family is very important, the best way to honor our ancestors is to know who they were and what they did in life, all their deeds, learning from the steps each one of them took, they are the first figures in our lifes to give us the inspiration to build up our own personality. We might act in some things the way they did, and we can also learn from their mistakes and do differently. We can't forget that someday we will become the ancestors of our decendents and they too will learn from us, in this way we have to show them the best of us. Hyndla is the right goddess when we need to know everything about our kin, she can see into the bloodline of everyone of us all the way back to the beginning. The other gods consult her when they need to know how someone might be related to someone else, or to know about the decendents of their mortal children and i mean this literally, the various sexual interactions the gods had with mortals. People consult her to discover unknown ancestors, where their family came from, what steps they have taken, but also to help figuring out genetic disorders and blood-illnesses. Hyndla also helps those who are adopted, if they desire to know their parentage, and those who are trying to find out about their ancestry. She knows everything that is to know about blood and she can help to get genetic illnesses diagnosed, however, she is not an healer, but she knows if that illness may be passed down through the blood to any child that might come from the person whose blood has any kind of illness, so people who might want to have children and are worried with this matter, they can speak with her.
Most of the time, Hyndla is sleeping, well.. what seems to be a very long slumber, actually is her way to send her mind into places she can't physically go, a form of trance, spiritual journey. Hyndla appears as an old woman, very place with a long grey hair, and for a giantess, she is small, human-sized.
For those who can travel to the place where she is, it is often difficult to see her, like i said, she is "sleeping" most of the time and her cave is guarded by very faithful etins, so one might get the chance to see her and speak with her, when she is awake to eat or stretching her legs. She keeps hounds and wolves to make her company, large ones, there is even a tale of Freyja that comes to Hyndla riding a boar and asks Hyndla to accompany her in a ride with one of her wolves, in a discussion about genealogy.

In my personal opinion, knowing who our ancestors were, is a fundamental key to choose a very good path in our lifes to start our own big journey, and i have always been particulary interested in my own bloodline, which is in fact something that i'm very proud of in some parts, but that is a matter for another time. I feel somehow connected with Hyndla through my mother, in fact it is from my mother side that i have ancestry of both Norse and Germanic blood, but that is not the thing that connects me with this goddess, it is also and unfortunately because of my mother's blood illnesses, that were passed down by my grandmother and grandfather, however, it affects women more than men and probably i also may have some of those diseases, but not that strong, in fact, i alway feel very healthy, but the problem is, that i am afraid that those might pass to my children but i think those illnesses in the blood didn't came to me, only the future might tell, at least for now, i am fine.

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Dísablót

I have talked about Dísablót as a celebration that is held at the 31st of January to the 1st of February, but in truth, this celebration was made around the Autumn times of midle of October, and it seems more fitting in these times, since it is all about honoring not only the female spirits such as the Valkyries and Goddesses but also the female ancestors of each family.

The Dís or Dísir in plural, are the female ghosts or spirits in the Norse Myths and in the ancient northern paganism, they protect the mortals, helping in whatever is needed. By these times, people worship female goddesses for the fertility of the fields, to have order and peace at home, and to receive that motherly touch of motivation, care and love that is unic in the female spirit. The Dísir are not just the goddesses of the Northern Pantheon, but also the Vættir, the wights or nature spirits that may help with the fertilization of the land, for good crops, healthy cattle and a proper soil for future plantations. In the Dísir, are also included the Goddesses of Fate, the Norns and also the female ancestors of each family, because in the northern pagan traditions, it is believed, when people die, they may choose not to go to the other world just yet, but to stay a bit more to help their decendents in their daily works, they stay to ensure that their families are safe and sound, in happiness, joy, health and wealth, they might help in the plantations and in the harvest, or taking care of the house, keep the peace and order and also unite each member, to keep the family bonds strong.

We are used to the idea that the northern peoples of Scandinavia used to burn their dead in the long boats, along with their earthly goods, but there were other ways to bid farewell, one of those ways, as we are speaking of such a celebration, was to put their dead in some sort of burial mounds made with stones that were placed to form the "deck" of a boat, and these sacred places where built near the farmstead, and so every family member would place their beloved ancestors there, so they could visit them often and give them gifts, and in turn the ancestors would keep an eye on the family.

In this day, honor your female ancestors, remember them and their deeds, how they fought to keep the peace, love and order in the family, never forget their importance, because you one day, shall joined them and become an ancestor of someone, and you too will want to be remembered as a great figure and an icon of love, honor, strength and wisdom, acording to your deeds of course. Also honor the female members of your family, that are still alive, keep them proud, give them love, attention and respect, so in turn you might also receive their love and respect. Try to take the thoughts of this day, to your everyday life, and make all days, great days full of joy and love.

I dedicate this day to my female ancestors and most important of all, to my mother and my loved one Ana.


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The importance of Ancestry

Hello to all, so this is my first Blog and my first Post , and what a great way to start, by talking about the ancestors and the importance they have in our lifes. The Ancestors are the folk who lived long before us, where our roots lie, where we come from and where are we going, we must honor our ancestors because, so will us become ancestors of our decendants in time, we are linked to all our living kin, to our families. In the Norse pagan view, we are a part of a great "tapestry", which connectes us to the Gods and to our ancestors, our personal fates are influenced by the ancestors that came before us, of course i am not saying that we are fated to a certain destiny our a certain path, but rather that we have some inclinations to some things, doings and wishes. For instance, the three Norne, goddesses of fate, they sew up a great tapestry or the wyrd that connects us all to the natural world and to each and everyone of us, but they never end their work, which means that we are free to shape our lifes and find for our selfs our destinys.
There are specific days of the year to honor our ancestors, but of course we can do so everyday, by remembering them, giving the purest of love from our hearts, choosing the right paths and the right ways to do things. The answer is always there in our hearts and mind, meditate over choices you must take, it's a good start. Be wise, never do the first thing that comes into your mind, be rational, ponder things, the wise leader always knows which battle not to fight.
Back to the subject, we honor our ancestors for exemple, at the Day of the Einherjar, or in the celtic beliefs, the celebration of Samhain.
Here it is a good story to show the importance of the ancestors, about a king that today we still remember in celebration to our ancestors and the heros who have long gone.
King Radbod (680-719 CE ) King of the Frisians:
Christian missionaries came close to baptizing Radbod, but before carrying through with the ceremony and conversion he asked a question, "Where are my dead ancestors at present?" Wolfram the Christian missionary answered, "In Hell, with all other unbelievers." Upon hearing this, Radbod changed his mind about converting and replied, "Then I would rather live there with my honourable ancestors than go to heaven with a parcel of beggars ." Beggars here refers to the long-time enemies of the Frisians: the Franks who were by this point in time primarily Christian. Radbod expelled the missionaries from the kingdom for no other reason than how important his ancestors were to him.

Note: The Art work was made by me, a gift to my Grandfather at his 80th birthday. You can watch all of my works by clicking the Portfolio bellow to my Deviantart where other works of mine are.