Them: My Personal Pantheon
My personal pantheon is exactly that--the Gods and spirits I interact with in my own practice, most of whom (though not all) stem from the Northern Tradition. I am a bit eccentric (even heretical, perhaps) in that Gunnlod (rather than Frigga or even Freyja) holds pride of place in my own practice and UPG as Odin's consort, and is also my patroness. Some of my fiction writing to date (and more to come in the future) has related the story of Their relationship as it's been given to me to know it. My non-fiction writing currently in progress will also delve into this as well as some of my own experiences in working with Them.
I also revere both Frigga and Freyja, however; Freyja was partly responsible for my finally surrendering to Odin and forming the relationship with Him that I have now, and I have found some curious parallels between Gunnlod and Frigga that lead me to believe there is a connection between these two Goddesses; I would not go so far as to say that one is an aspect of the other, but They do seem to blend together and overlap in some interesting ways, one of which is shown in the person of the Goddess Saga. My thoughts on this connection and the nature of it have not fully resolved themselves at this time, but I will continue to share them as they develop.
I obviously recognize that I am mostly alone in my view of Gunnlod and emphasis on Her importance in the Northern pantheon, and this is yet another reason (among many) why I no longer call myself Heathen. As always, I can only go with what my Gods have told me, and if that differs from what They have told others, I can only conclude that perhaps certain paths or ways of relating to the Gods are only for me or are not for the world in general at this time. By the same token, perhaps certain other paths or ways of relating to Them are only for others, and not for me. I do not blindly accept whatever UPG I am given without putting it to a series of personal tests--verifying that I am speaking to Gods and not my own mental sock puppets, asking for signs and omens, doing divinations, etc. However, neither do I reject what the Gods repeatedly and insistently tell me simply because most others (even most other spirit workers) happen to disagree; to do so would be calling my Gods liars and throwing Their many gifts to me back in Their faces.
I share my experiences and insights concerning the Gods, here and in my books, not in order to convert anyone to my way of thinking, but to encourage others to find their own unique ways of relating to Them. If you consider nothing else I have to say here, give some thought to this: the Gods are living, evolving beings, not dead constructs stuck like preserved butterflies between the pages of a book. They are eternal, but They also carry within Themselves the capacity for growth and change--just as we all do.
That said, here is a brief rundown of the most important Gods and spirits in my life. There are others I have more peripheral connections with, but these are at the heart of my practice, the deities and spirits I consider family.
Odin - Lord of the Aesir and King of Asgard, warrior, shaman, sorcerer, wanderer. Arguably one of the most complex and multi-faceted Gods ever to be worshiped by humanity, He is loved by many, hated and feared by many more, and understood by very few. My husband, lover, patron God, and dearest friend.
Gunnlod - Odin's Jotun wife, Guardian of the Mead of Poetry, and my patron Goddess. She is an enchantress and seeress, a shapeshifter who sometimes takes dragon form (in keeping with Her role as a powerful warder), and is very strongly connected with sexual magick as well as alchemy (especially inner alchemy). As Saga (which I consider to be Her name among the Aesir--or one of them, anyway), She is a keeper of lore and wisdom, Odin's most trusted adviser, and a storyteller par excellence--as is fitting for the mother of Asgard's Skald. One of the areas in which She overlaps with Frigga is Her role as a liminal Goddess, a guardian of doorways, boundaries, and the mysteries; another is in Her position as Odin's consort, and thus a Goddess of sovereignty. In addition to Her Jotun heritage, in my own UPG She is a great-granddaughter of Jord, the Jotun Earth Mother; thus, Her marriage to Odin is a form of the heiros gamos, the sacred marriage of earth and heaven by which the King's right to rule is affirmed. Due to Her familial connections with Surt the Black (who in my UPG is Her great-grandfather, the grandfather of Her own father Suttung), She is also enabled to act as a peacebond between Asgard and Muspelheim; in other words, Her marriage to Odin is a safeguard against the coming of Ragnarok. Finally, I have been told that Gunnlod's mother (who goes unnamed in Northern lore) is a sister of Borr, thus making Her Odin's first cousin (as well as Loki's) and partly of Aesir blood Herself.
Bragi - son of Odin and Gunnlod, the Skald (master poet) of Asgard. Like His father, Bragi has spent a considerable amount of time journeying all over the Nine Worlds and has friends and allies where you would least expect them. He is on good terms with His mother's Jotun family, including Surt the Black, and when in Asgard often acts as Odin's deputy in Valhalla. Like both His parents, He is a liminal God, one who moves easily between worlds and is at home in many places.
Idunna - Bragi's wife, keeper of the sacred apples that keep the Gods young. She is an excellent teacher of gardening, of course, as well as herbal medicine and magick. Part of Her talent in these areas comes from Her Alfar blood, which enables Her to interact very closely and easily with the landwights.
Bestla - Odin's mother, a very ancient Goddess of fiber arts, ancestral memories, and Wyrd-working. She served Ymir as a sacrificial priestess under the tutelage of the Norns, was instrumental in Her son's rise to power, and is now the very highly revered Queen Mother of Asgard. She is the patroness of my sewing, spinning and knitting--when I actually manage to work at those activities.
Borr - Odin's father, a tracker, hunter, and political strategist, equally at home in the wilderness as He is at royal courts. During Ymir's reign, He acted as an emissary and diplomat in dealings with Surt's realm, and thus, like His son, is no stranger to travel.
Mimir - Keeper of the Well of Memory, Bestla's brother and like Her a student of the Norns, He was also a close friend and associate of Surt in His youth. He schooled His nephew in his own magickal specialty the use of spoken and sung enchantments.
Loki - Odin's brother, the notorious Trickster of the Northern Pantheon, who I love as a brother. There are long-standing disputes in the Northern Tradition as to whether He is Odin's "blood-brother" or actual brother, by blood; in my own UPG His mother Laufey is a sister of Borr, making Him a first cousin to Odin, but He was raised for at least part of His childhood by Bestla and Borr. I am not a Loki apologist, knowing full well that both He and Odin are capable of behavior that most of us would categorize as not very nice (to say the least), but He is NOT the Norse Satan, either. (Contrary to popular opinion and Snorri Sturleson alike, there is no Norse Satan.) He and His brother share a great many interests and are more alike than most people would be comfortable admitting.
The Well-Wight - Not a deity, exactly, but a very powerful spirit I work with sometimes in my oracular seidhr practice. In the Northern Tradition it is commonly believed that all bodies of water have indwelling spirits, which can often be very bloodthirsty but are also capable of granting great boons. The Well-Wight is the indwelling spirit of the Well of Wyrd, to whom Odin made perhaps the most significant blood sacrifice ever--the shedding of His own divine blood, into the Well--in return for access to the mysteries, the runes. As might be expected, the Well-Wight is connected with prophecy and divination. Myself and a couple of others who have corroborated my perceptions of this Wight have experienced it as a very ancient, rather Lovecraftian, vaguely frog-like creature. Anyone desirous of working with It should very extremely cautious and bear in mind Its nature as well as the sacrifice Odin Himself had to make to win It for an ally.
Persephone - Obviously, not a Northern deity at all, but the Hellenic Queen of the Underworld, as well as Goddess of spring. This is a newer relationship for me, but thus far She is showing Herself to me as a Goddess of growth, death, changes, and sovereignty. I'm finding that I have much in common with Her, not least of which being that we are both married to Gods having to do (though in different ways) with death and the dead. She also has a great deal in common with my patron Goddess, Gunnlod, as They both originated in one world and now dwell at least partly in another; Persephone left the earth and upper realms to become Queen of the Dead, while Gunnlod left Jotunheim to dwell in Asgard as Odin's consort. Thus, I see in Persephone yet another Goddess of liminal places, passages, and shifts in being and awareness--what a surprise!
(c) 2008
wodandis@gmail.com
Illustration: Odin and Gunnlod by Helena Domenic