Woden All Father

Mounted on his powerful and mystical warhorse Sleipnir and armed with his matchless rune encrusted spear Gungnir, is the leader of the Aesir-Woden the All Father. Woden was known for his many skills including master of magic, seeker of knowledge, Rune Lord and the God of Victory, Poets, Fury and Madness.  

Be he Odin, Wotan or Wuidan; Woden, was a god of over 100 names. Most were descriptive such as Yggr-the Terrible One, Sigtyr-God of Victory, Runatyr-God of Runes, Hoarr-One Eyed or Aldafaor-Father of Mankind. But to the peoples of the British Ilses he was most often called Woden and they gave his name to the middle day of the week Wednesday.

His steed was Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse that could run on land air and water and cross the divides into all of the Nine Realms was a gift from his Blood Brother Loki. By the way, Sleipnir was also one of Loki's offspring. To be exact, Loki was Sleipnir's mother (see World Historyprof: All Know Loki! for this strange story).

His thirst for knowledge was insatiable to such an extent that he ripped out one of his own eyes to gain knowledge and see the forbidden future. A future that showed his own doom, on the fangs of Fenir, the destruction of his people (including the deaths of 14 of his 15 sons) and the ruin of the world in the final battle between Gods, Monsters, Men and the Jotunn- Ragnarök!

   For this final battle he strove to create an army of the greatest warriors and sent the Valkyrie to every battlefield to bring back the bravest, most worth warriors to his great hall in Valhalla in Woden's realm of Asgard, where they would feast and prepare for Ragnarok. A battle they could not win, but a battle that must be fought to the bitter end.

Woden is a plastic piece I painted in early November.

We Know All Because We See All!

The ravens, Huginn ("Thought") and Munin ("Memory") are the eyes of Woden and keep him appraised of the activities of the Nine Realms especially Midgard.

Midgard, the human world, with all its wars, monsters, giants, trolls, mysteries, wonders and brave warriors; was always under Woden's watchful eye and the eyes of his ravens.

Each day at dawn, Huginn and Munin, would travel though the Nine Realms and return by breakfast time to report to Woden what they had observed. 

With an insatiable thirst for knowledge, Woden relied upon his ravens to bring him a constant stream of information and news of the happenings, especially battles, that occurred in the Nine Realms.

As was the nature of ravens, Huginn and Munin would feast on the bodies of dead warrior after a battle. So prevalent was Huginn at such feasting that warriors were commonly referred to as "those who make Huginn's claws and break red," and blood was often called "the drink of Huginn."

Huginn and Munin are plastic pieces I painted in October.

All Know Loki!

Loki, the Trickster God/Giant of Norse fame. He was "Blood Brother" to Woden (not his son). He was actually the son of the Jotunn Farbauti and the Goddess Laufey.

A devious creature of divided loyalties, Loki could with one hand present the gods of Aesir with fantastic gifts such as Woden's steed Sleipnir. While using the other hand to stab a god in the back. Such as his involvement in the death of the most popular Aesir god-Baldr.

Loki was also a shapeshifter and was forever getting in either others or himself into serious difficulties. The strangest was possibly when he changed himself into an alluring mare to lure away the stallion Svadifari from his giant master. Their union resulted in Loki giving birth to the eight legged and magical Sleipnir who became Woden's steed.   

Though his "marriage" (he had at least three wives) to the Jotunn Angrboda, he fathered three of the deadliest and most horrific monsters in the Norse World. These were the World Serpent Jormungard, who grew so large that his body encircled the World. Fenrir, the terrible Wolf willing to swallow the World during Ragnarok. And Hel, a woman with one side of her body stunningly beautiful while the other side was decayed rotting flesh. It surprised no one that Hel became the ruler of Helheim-the land of the dead.

Small by Jotunn standards, Loki often seemed to overcompensate for this by being at the center of many of the most outlandish adventures/actions in the Nine realms. Some with Thor as a companion, such as when he gave Thor the mighty hammer Mjolnir. But most of his actions vexed the Aesir, such as when he kidnapped the Goddess Idunn. One never truly knew what Loki really had in mind or what side he was on, except his own.

Loki is a plastic piece I finished this weekend.

Woden's Guardians

                                            The Wolves of Woden, Geri & Freki

Geri and Freki (the Greedy One and Ravenous) are Woden's loyal companions.

Always near him on his travels, the twin wolves are ever watchful for their lord's safety.

Their courage, loyalty, watchfulness and fierce demeanor make them excellent companions for the "All Seeing Father."

Those who anger them face a terrible death.

Such as our poor, cursed hoplite, Hiktos Nuluk, who is about to find out just how fierce Geri and Freki can be.

For the story of the cursed hoplite see here:

World Historyprof: Brave Hiktos Nuluk Curse

Geri & Freki are plastic pieces I painted this month.

Stone Troll a Hunting

When the rock troll Kongestein goes a hunting, he uses a hefty tree trunk to bring down his prey. 

Unlike his cousins the river trolls, Kongestein does not like to hide in wait for his prey (river trolls are famous for hiding under bridges to waylay farm animals and people alike).

No, Kongestein prefers a good long hunt that builds up his appetite. 

When he finds his prey, he likes the way his tree trunk "tenderizes" his fresh meat. Now, it's time to be off on the hunt for lots of fresh blood and meat.

Kongestein is a large plastic piece from the Ragnarök game that I painted in September.

The Norn's-Controllers of the Fates of Men

The nightmares of your dreams come to life-or-death, when the Norn's come to visit. Urd ("what has happened"), Verdandi ("what is happening") and Skuld ("what should happen") are three Norns's who create and control the fates of Men and Gods alike.

 Be it by casting of wooden lots, the carving and throwing of Runes or the weaving of the cloth of life, the Norn's determined the fate of every human and the gods they worshiped.

Once their fates were decided, no power could change the outcome.

All one could do was decide how they would live their life and face their eventual fate.

Malice was never an issue with the Norn's, theirs was a duty to perform and they were very good at it.

With one fate decide, it is time to cast the lot for the next...a never-ending task for the Norn's.

The Norn's are a plastic piece from Monolith's Ragnarök that I painted this month.

I Rule the Seas

I am Njord, God of the Seas, Fishing, Wind and Wealth-Bestowed (Prosperity). While I am a Vanir, I live in Asgard among the Aesir.

Before I lived in Asgard, I was married to my sister, and we had two children Freyr and Freyja. As the Aesir frown upon sibling marriages, my sister and I separated.

This is how I became one of the gods available for Skadi to choose as a mate as compensation for her father's death at the hands of the Asgardians.

As Skadi was forced to choose her husband sight unseen, except by the look of the feet of the god candidates. And she chose me, one of the oldest of the gods.

It would have been a happy marriage except for the fact that I love the Sea and she loves her father's home in the mountains, Prymheir.

To please each of us, we agreed to live for nine months in the mountains and then nine months at the sea.

But happiness between us was not to be, for the longing for our respective homes was too strong. We separated; Skadi returned to her beloved mountains and I to the seas. Well, Skadi was beautiful, but my love, my life is the sea...

Njord is a plastic piece I painted this week.

Skadi, Hunting her Passion, Revenge Her Goal

Nothing pleased the Jotunn Skadi more then to be hunting while skiing in the snows of her beloved mountains. Yet, Skadi, Goddess of Winter Skiing, Bowhunting & Hunting, is one of the most powerful mountain Jotunn. When angered is not a woman to trifle with. 

When the gods of Asgard killed her father after he had captured the goddess Idunn (see: World Historyprof: My Golden Apples Restore Youth for more on this story), Skadi took up her wargear and set out to take bloody revenge on the gods.

After fighting her way to Asgard, the gods attempted to smooth her anger through the time-honored traditions of offering Skadi reparations for her loss. Skadi refused their offer of gold, jewels and other riches and countered with two demands to sedate her lust for revenge. First, the gods must make her laugh and second, she be allowed to choose one of the gods as her husband!

                                                     

Loki was able to fulfill Skadi's first demand with an act that was both embracing and humorous. The gods then allowed Skadi to choose one of the gods for her mate. But she had to choose her male only by looking at their feet, as the rest of the god's bodies were hidden behind a curtain. While she did choose the most beautiful feet, she was surprised to find that they belonged to one of the oldest gods, the Vanir, Njord the God of Sea and Winds. So, a goddess of the mountains was wed to a god of the seas, a marriage of opposites that seemed doomed to fail, but that is another tale. (see World Historyprof: Love So Close Yet So Far)

Skadi is a plastic piece 70mm (2.76 in.) that I painted last week.

Yes, Friday is Named for ME

"It is only just that a day of the week, Friday, is named in my honor, for am I not Frigg, the wife of Woden, Goddess of the Sky & Fertility, greatest of all the Seers of Prophecy, protector of families, marriages, women and therefor the most important Goddess of the Aesir!"

I and my 12 handmaidens daily weave the clouds of Midgard as I watch the fulfillment of my prophecies of all living things. Prophecies that for reasons known only to me I keep to myself.

As Queen of Asgard, it is my right to be the only god, apart from Woden himself, who is allowed to sit on the All-Fathers throne "Hlidskjalf" which has the power to observe all of the Nine Worlds.

With powers as vast as mine is it no wonder that a day of the week (Friday of course) is dedicated to me for my glory.

To some I am called Frija, or Fri, to others I am Frea, but pronunciations are unimportant, my powers remain the same. So, honor me you mortals and remember for I am the Queen Goddess Frigg! 

 

I painted this plastic model of the Goddess Frigg this month.