NorsePlay.

  Loki: Whattajerkface! In this 1985 CE issue of Thor #353  distinctively   drawn by Walter Simonson , here is laid the device by which Thor: Ragnarok hangs: Marvel Surtur needing to dip his world-burning sword Twilight into the Eternal Flame in order to fulfill the Volva's prophecy of his destiny as the agent which destroys the Nine Worlds. This comic panel has the trio of Gods teaming up to prevent that. And sure, Loki's selfish honesty's amusing by contrast, but when we look at the Norse Lore, we see a God who maliciously cuts off Sif's hair , steals Freyja's prized necklace Brisingamen , cravenly makes a deal with an enemy giant to kidnap Iðunn to deny the Æsir their sustaining apples of youth , carelessly underestimates in betting the Sun, Moon, & Freyja to get Asgard's wall built, has an affair that fathers two cosmic monsters that will kill two major Gods, and is ultimately responsible for killing Baldr, which is the temporal trigger for herald

  This is likely just some pattern-making meme whose attribution has been lost long ago, but now that you've seen it, you can't unsee it, right? And now you can't unthink it either! The provocative NorsePlay here is the global chain of mid-ocean ridges, the largest mountain range on Earth that you never see since it lies deep underwater coiled around our Midgard, could very well be a physical feature correspondence for the World Serpent! This idea isn't too far from the idea of the mountains we do see on land being the bones of Ymir or the sleeping giants. [Jörmungandr from the Edda Oblongata , a 17th c. illuminated manuscript of the 13th c.  Prose Edda .] Gylfaginning tells us how Odin throws the young serpent into the great ocean where it grows over time until it's so long & large that it can bite its own tail when it finally encircles the Earth. The  40,400-mile long ridge darn well could if it stretched itself out over the Northwest Passage, and the ridge d

There's definite NorsePlay a'brewing in the Witches Of East End cauldron, a Lifetime channel supernatural drama that ran only two seasons in 2013-4 CE. Behold this rune-laden screenshot of the Gardiner Grimoire : The closest manuscript analog to this show's prop would be the Codex Runicus , a 202-page book from ~1300 CE: Quite unlike a grimoire though the Runicus isn't a collection of dark magical workings , but is mostly a collection of laws. Yeah, I know, not as exciting, but historically wayyyy valuable, and the later period revivalist runes are really a standout in the corpus of medieval manuscripts. But back to our regularly scheduled TV program: The origin lore of Witches of East End is that they're refugees from Asgard , leaving after Odin begins to tighten an iron fist on everyone, including Joanna (Julia Ormond), his headstrong & independent daughter, herself the mother of two headstrong & independent daughters, one most pointedly named Freya (

  The NorsePlay 1987 CE sci-fi novel  Project: Millennium by Curtis H. Hoffmann apparently uses Norse Mythology's stories as a gloried nostalgia for a staged war in a future where the world of " Muspell's Planet " is bored with peace! I would still bet that Thor's going to clobber that Jörmungandr-gantic spaceship even without his fighting trousers. Have any of you read this, and if so, does it live up to its cover art? Leave your review in the comments below! #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offe

While looking at Majorie Torrey's 1957 CE illustrations for Peter Pan, one notices in the above a cruel looking, rather inhuman presentation of the creature from Neverland, which is in stark contrast to Disney's 1953 CE ever-boy, or the later 1979 CE amicable, empathic, and caring Sandy Duncan from Broadway that was later televised. [looking through your window ... .] This contrast raises the question of what the disposition those beings from elsewhere, the álfar of Álfheimr &  Svartálfaheimr , are like . The primary sources don't mention them more than a handful of times, which might imply they're well removed from us in nature & location for good reasons, and that perhaps Freyr is gifted rulership & management of the  álfar   to keep them mostly away from the other Nine Worlds . [one can't help but think of the Norse Lore's "elf-shot" when seeing this out of its Peter Pan context.] Later folklore and sagas relate how encounters with t

During a PowerPoint YT Viking history lecture, a longship cake photo shows up, which got me thinking if it was a one-off, or if there were other Heathen/Viking-kitsch cakes being baked out there. And yes, there certainly are: [By Titia McLuckie for American Cake Decorating.] [Mmmmmjölnir!] [they say the Atlantic's made of frosting.] [runic Odin cake!] Thanks to the late great medieval historian Alicia McKenzie for inadvertently bringing this bit of modern reception to my attention in her amazing YT online lectures (big recommends from NorsePlay!). #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  in

This neat Jack "The King" Kirby splash page mirrors Odin's consulting of the Völva for prophecy about Ragnarök in the Norse Lore. While in the Völuspá it's only Odin that rides to the  Völva's grave and necromances her up from her no-so-final resting place just outside of Helheim , above Kirby's brought a lineup of other Gods to listen to her dire words about their twilight & final battle. Artwise, the visual composition makes one believe Kirby must have referenced Lorenz Frølich's Odin and the Völva (1895 CE), noting Odin's leaning crouch and considering hand-to-beard-stroke listening style, and the  Völva's bubbling cauldron of prognosticatory inhalants . [splash page specifically from Tales of Asgard within Thor #127 (1966 CE).] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascina

  I'm not sure how this Vikings-Friends mashup exactly escaped my notice for so long, and normally this sort of cheaply parodic meme-ery bothers me, but instead I feel it's more of a backhand to the sitcom, and I have to admit it's pretty funny as a contrast, especially considering how antagonistically the relationships between the principal Vikings versus the smarmy urbanite Friends all play out, plus the placements of Lagertha as Phoebe and Athelstan as Joey really kills me. Also, someone actually went a step further and made this relatively well-edited mashup intro: [thanks to the late great medieval historian Alicia McKenzie for using the image in her amazing YT online lectures (big recommends from NorsePlay! So much good work on modern cultural reception!), video from YT channel You Weren't There Man.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  a

Last month I attended a belated Beltane celebration at Tucson's magical Valley Of The Moon (which has two stickpins within the upcoming Map Of Midgard ! ) and as the cords were being wound around the Maypole, I had a possible realization: Has anyone in Norse Studies made a connection between the Maypole, which once was & does represent a tree, being an analog to Yggdrasil , and the procession's ribbons being the skeins of the Norns who sit at the World Tree 's base to actively weave the cords of men's lives ? The pole could also be Frigg's distaff  as she pulls the wool out from the bunch at the top to wind it down into yarn or thread, a usage practice which may be related to the Völva's Seiðstafr that resembles a distaff, all of which possibly much later becomes the witch's broomstick. While the practice I saw in Tucson had very little formality to it, online I'd seen youths of both sexes dressed in specific costumes selected to weave with girls go

Little did you know the baked goods serpenthole went down so far into these Hel-ishly delicious depths: [Valknut & Mjölnir from CoolCookieCuttz on Etsy.] [Drakkar from Drukowanko on Etsy.] [Sleipnir & Winged Helmet cutters from Bakerlogy on Etsy.] So for your next Fika, Kaffepause, Kaffemik, Kindred/Tribe Moot dessert, or Mead 'n' Cookies over-indulgence, go bake yourself some self-rising reputation with these NorsePlay'd cookiecutters!  And do post any similarly themed oven fresh Norse Mythology inspired goods you've made in the comments below. [thanks to Miss Kelsey Reinhard for incidentally inspiring this post.]  #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and s

The All-Father and the Feathered Serpent palavered. Odin's grim visage creased itself even more at the bitter chocolate & chile in the jade vessel, while the golden horn of mead caused Queztalcoatl to speak in galdralag, which warped his Nahuatl into a honeyed knot. But they both knew the other for his kin-mirror; that they could trade hard-won runes for stone glyphs, learn the reshaping of themselves into eagle or plumed snake, laugh at each others' outlandish versions of forming the world, and just possibly help one another defeat their fates ... . [Odin and Quetzalcoatl, sculpted bronze figures by Lee Lawrie. Door detail, east entrance, Library of Congress John Adams Building, Washington, D.C.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately rea

A long time ago, a bestie of mine constructed a small backlit diorama featuring this painting, The Valkyrie's Vigil (pre-1915 CE) by Edward Robert Hughes. This piece is more inspired by 19th century Germanic Romanticism and Wagner (note the operatic winged helmet), plus the castle, the off-the-shoulder pre-Raphaelite gown, and her late medieval sword held by the unedged ricasso. Yet in the idea of mythic time being irrespective of linear time, and the Sagas' conventions of pulling from later period tropes & ideas, this NorsePlay is par for that atemporal storytelling tradition. I love the luminosity of this work, the implication that a siege before a battle is about to occur, and that maybe the Valkyrie's job & patience has extended itself into a later medieval period where she waits for a conflict that she knows is going to unfold as the sad concern and resignation expresses itself on her face, her hand already reaching toward tomorrow's battlefield in a gestu

One of the tragic backend notes on having to move the blog to norseplaymythologist.blogspot.com is that I can't transfer the traffic count data from the old URL, but I thought I would take a moment to let you all know that  I appreciate all the hits from all over the globe!  Thank you for continuing to make NorsePlay the cosmopolitan success that it is. While I would celebrate the Norse Lore no matter the size of this blog's audience, it's rewarding to see the attention it's garnered so far, and am posting the above graph of how much NorsePlay 's been read as a pre-move transitional record. Big peaks on the graph aside, let me know about your favourite NorsePlay post in the comments below! Again, hit that blue follow button at left, thanks for being a part of NorsePlay thusfar, and for following me here! #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants

If you're here, thank you for finding NorsePlay's new home at this very URL: norseplaymythologist.blogspot.com/ While your comments have migrated (yay!), your follows have not, so please again hit the blue follow button at left on this desktop page, or under the hamburger menu button on your phone/tablet to near-effortlessly get your wee sweet reader's icon back into the dedicated & supportive NorsePlay followers mosaic! And d o update your bookmarks, favourites, links, shares, feeds, and blogrolls to the above URL so you can continue to enjoy all the Norse inspired content & goodness. Note that the email link in the footer at the end of this entry has changed, so do update that contact in case you have ongoing correspondence or require direct engagement with NorsePlay. Thank you for your understanding, patience, adjustments, and continued attentions. Welcome again, NorsePlayers! #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore