Northern spirits.

[heartssdesire]

Had another Norse-related dream. It had something to do with me researching and writing an article or essay about pre-Viking era Norse society and its relationship to its Gods. I have a vague memory of "going there", as in to that time and place, to observe stuff for the article. Wish it really were that easy, eh

Comments

off topic

[uberspooky]

ok my father in law said $100 and the engine is yours. Let me know if you want it :)

[cor_cordivm]

It might be Odin. My more experienced Heathen friends say he tends to be an active recruiter. The wolf is one of his animals.

[bunnyborealis]

Must ... not ... re...spond... Argh...
It is true that the wolf and the raven were especially associated with Óðinn, mainly because after battles, they were the scavengers that cleaned up the mess. But, in your dream (and I think this *is* significant), you are researching (and being in) *pre*-Viking Norse society. *During* the Viking-age (~793 - 1066), you might be talking about Óðinn, and of course, his ravens, Huginn and Muninn (thought and memory) were his information gathering forces. But pre-Viking age, you may be talking about giantesses (jötnar), and especially Hyrokkin, the wild-haired Giantess who comes riding a wolf with snake-reins, to push Baldr's funeral-ship out into the sea. There is a stone with an image of her, and she's definitely a force to be reckoned with.
At the risk of being too long-winded, Gro Steinsland, a Norwegian scholar of repute, together with Kari Ellen Gade, have written about the cult of giantesses during the pre-Viking period. If you're interested, I'll write to you offline with the particulars.

[heartssdesire]

Well now. That Giantess who was riding a wolf with snake reins did capture my attention in the book I was reading. She felt, I dunno, familiar somehow. I'd love to see the stone image and/or any other info you have to share. Tho you sound plenty busy so by all means don't hurry about it.

One of the dreams featured a sort of wolf-maiden character. She was some kind of skin-changer who could go into wolf shape, and she had a very strong sexual, lustful character about her. She was ordinary human-sized and had fine, beautiful features, not what one would conventionally think of as a giant. But then, I have this funny instinct that Giants in the old folklore are more referring to otherworld beings great in power rather than just physically large. They seem much like a Faery race to me. Plus I noticed that many of the Giant women are described as being very beautiful, so one assumes they aren't crude ogres like the later images show.

[bunnyborealis]

Your intuition is leading you well. Have a peak at the following URL: to grasp the importance of that which is "within" and safe, as opposed to "outside" and therefore threatening. Giantesses, Trolls, etc., were all participants in a world where none of the limitations of the normal, everyday applied, so size was in the mind of the perceiver, just as was the spirit-mount, and the relative allure the being held for those who encountered it. After a google on Hyrokkin, all I could find was references to a moon of Saturn, so this might all be better managed in a library card-catalog. There are pictures of the Hyrokkin stone, but in non-English books. I'll keep looking.

[heartssdesire]

O look: I think I found it. http://web.telia.com/~u85906673/asar/hyrrok.html
Having been led there by a Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrrokkin