Tina Glasneck, USA Today Bestselling Author

Loki

Lady Hel

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But who is Lady Hel from Norse myth?

Hel is the ruler of the Norse underworld Helheim, also called Hel. However, it should not be understood as the Christian Hell with fire and brimstone, for Helheim is a cold place. It’s not a place of torment either, but a place where the old, and those who die from sickness go (as well as the god Baldr).

In the older text, not much is said about Hel except that she is beautiful on half of her body, and the other half is either black or blue and depicts death.

She is one of the three children to Loki and the giantress Angrboða (her siblings include the Midgard Serpent and Fenrir, the wolf).

It is said that she became the ruler of Helheim as Odin gave her the position. Not until later do we learn more about who she is — for when Baldr is killed by his brother and goes to Hel, the other gods mourn for him and wish his return. Lady Hel says this will only happen if all of the world grieves for him. All did, except one lone woman– who was Loki in disguise — and this made it that Baldr must remain in Helheim until after Ragnarok, when he will return.

So, for this story, I wanted to tell more about this complex character and often villain.

She’s been so much fun to write that I can’t wait to see where she takes me next — she just might get her own series. 

Blurb:

She’s the ruler of Hel. She shouldn’t need anyone until a curse forces her to look for him. 

Lady Hel, the ruler of Helheim, is cursed for disobeying Odin’s order. Stripped of her position, she’s imprisoned in Midgard on an ostentatious estate until she is able to find love. Unfortunately, Lady Hel has never had luck or use for love. 

Harley Andersen is a seven-year college senior with no idea what to do with his life. So far all he’s come up with is killing time. When his best friend dares him to hop the gate of what’s supposed be a haunted house, he encounters a woman who steals a lot more than his breath. And what she’s offering could give him the future he’s missing. It’ll just require a trip to the past.

Download your copy of Hellish and start the Hell Chronicles Series.

Idunn’s Apples + Recipe

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Idunn is a goddess of rejuvenation, who passed out fruit to the gods to help them remain youthful. Although not much is mentioned of her, she had an important role to play. The fruit she carried was not necessarily apples, but whatever it was, it gave those that ate it youth, beauty, and vitality.

There is one popular myth that remains about her, The Kidnapping of Idunn.

As it goes, Odin, Loki, and Hoenir were traveling and got hungry. They saw a herd of oxen and slaughtered one for dinner.

The ox would not cook no matter how long they held it over the open flame. An eagle seated on a branch in the tree overlooking them, and said, “Well if you will let me  eat until I am full, I will let your food cook.” You see, he was using magic to make it that the ox wouldn’t cook.

The gods, hungry, were like, okay, cool. We’re hungry after all.

Well, the eagle flew down and grabbed the best piece.

Loki wasn’t having it. The eagle said he wanted to eat, not necessarily the best piece, so Loki takes up a branch and swings it at him.

The eagle grabbed the branch, and with Loki still hanging on, he flew up high into the sky.

Loki was now terrified and begged the eagle to let him down.

Well, the eagle wasn’t going to miss out on a chance to get something or rather someone that he wanted.

At first, Loki refused the eagle’s request, but the eagle would not bring him down until Loki conceded, which he did.

The eagle wasn’t normal, but Thjazi, a jotun, in disguise.

The oath he procured from Loki was for Loki to bring him Idunn and her fruits.

Loki oathbound headed back to Asgard with Odin and Hoenir. He lies telling her that he found some fruit even more marvelous than what she’s growing just outside of the walls, and tells her to bring her fruit for comparison. Idunn follows Loki out, with her basket.

When Idunn enters the woods, she is then snatched up by Thjazi, in eagle form, and taken away to his home in the mountains.

Well, Idunn must be gone for a bit of time as the gods start to age—they can feel age creeping upon them. Their skin wrinkles, their hair turns gray.

Finally, assembling, the gods ask about Idunn and her absence. It comes out that she was last seen with Loki.

They track down Loki, seize him, and threaten him if he doesn’t tell them what happened to Idunn.

Loki finally tells them that Thjazi took Idunn.

His honesty was met with a threat of its own, though: if he didn’t bring back Idunn he would be put to death.

To assist him in getting Idunn back, he borrowed Freyja’s hawk feather cape, which allowed him to change into a hawk, and flew off to Thjazi’s home. When he arrived, he found that Thjazi was away fishing.

Loki then turned Idunn into a nut and sped away with her, carrying her in his hawk talons.

When Thjazi returned, he found Idunn missing, and changed back into his eagle form. He took to the air in the direction of Asgard and saw Loki. Now he was in hot pursuit.

Then gods, also keeping an eye out for Loki, saw Thjazi flying behind him. They set to build a fire. Loki made it across, and then the gods set the kindling alight creating an explosive fire.

It happened so fast, and Thjazi was so hot on Loki’s tail that he didn’t have time to slow down, and instead entered the flames.

That was the end of Thjazi, and Idunn was once again home to make the gods young again.

So, what is this moral of this story? Don’t take time to rejuvenate for granted, maybe? Maybe it is about the power of the oath and what it meant back then to give your word? Just maybe, it is that when we harm, we should also do all that we can to make it right?

Download the Recipe as a PDF Here!

Freyja’s Necklace

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There are several mentions of Freyja’s necklace, Brísingamen, in the mythology. Here are the ones that I can recall.

Many of the days of the week are named after Norse gods and goddesses. Friday is named after the goddess Frigg(a)/Freyja

In one of the poems of the Poetic Edda, Thor borrows Freyja’s necklace to pretend to be her for the wedding to get his hammer back (and Loki was instrumental in keeping Thor’s secret identity hidden).
And of course, Loki stole the necklace, and turned into a seal.

Heimdall then also turned into a seal to fight Loki and won.

Heimdall returned the necklace to Freyja.
But the origin of Freyja getting the necklace is from her asking the 4 dwarves for it, and she was willing to pay gold, but the dwarves wanted more. They each wanted a night with her.

When she returned home, Loki knew about what she’d done and told Odin.

Odin commanded Loki to steal the necklace, and Loki complied.

The next day, Freyja noticed that her necklace was indeed missing, and she knew Odin had something to do with it. She asked him for it back.

Odin said he’d only give it back to her if she made two kings, served by 20 kings, to fight each other forever. She agreed and received her necklace back.

The necklace is thought to have been made out of amber. It must have been very beautiful for all the trouble.

The other interesting point is that not only could Loki shape shift, but also Heimdall (WOW!) could shift too.

There is so much to this goddess that compels me to dig deeper. Maybe if time allows this weekend, i can dig into some of the Old Norse and Germanic texts. Or maybe to honor her, find a lovely cat that I can cuddle (it is said that Freyja has a chariot pulled by cats, afterall).

Please note: It is believed that Frigg and Freyja are the same goddesses, just in different forms. One interesting note is that Frigg means beloved. Maybe this is the name she received after rising to become the Queen of Asgard.