NorsePlay.

CrowsToes released a Nine Realms Collection of n ail polish with colours corresponding to each of the Norse Worlds , plus a heat-treated hue for Mjölnir, darkly purpled feather tones for Huginn & Muninn, and a glistening Bifrost! (We're sort of surprised at not having a Naglfar nude shade/topcoat in the lineup.) [Hex-flaked Svartalfheim polish pic by Ida Nails It.] #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

A proud & becoming Valkyrie stands over the slain. A spear rises into her waiting hand, possibly a retrieval of Gungnir from its selected side of the conflict. The details of the feeding scrawny wolf in the background, the severed hand on the broken sword in the foreground, and the match on tone visual capillary overlap of the blood on the hill into the battle maiden's red winged sleeve make this. [Album cover fantasy art for Faroese Viking Metal band Týr by Hjules Illustration And Design's Gyula Havancsák. ] #    #    # 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...

A Fearsome Fleet: Secrets of the Vikings features a sweet paper stop-motion animated Norse Mythology tie-in, along with neat shipbuilding secrets. [From National Geographic to compliment their March 2017 CE issue's cover story on the Vikings.] #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

A fangirl indulges in some artful NorsePlay with the henna. Note the matching nails, both which came out awe-some. #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

Astragard, the fantastical Viking city in The Island At The Top Of The World (1974 CE). Note the stave temple crowning the hill, which was surely inspired by accounts of Gamla Uppsala. #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

The majestic matte painting reveal of the gargantuan statues of the Gods from the temple in The Island at the Top of the World (1974 CE). One must imagine this was inspired by accounts of Gamla Uppsala. #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

The Cook Islands have issued a few newly designed Norse Gods themed 2 oz .999 silver coins . While the asking's $200 USD (wayyy over current market price), it's neat to see what they're coming up with. Perth Mint 's also recently put out their own line of Norse Gods silver high-profile rounds. #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

Played Odin's Ravens  last night and it was fun.  From the makers of all those neat military historical reference guides you know & love, Osprey Publishing , comes a Norse Lore-based game where you play Huginn against Muninn in a race from Odin, across the worlds, and back. The cards feature excellent art from Johan Egerkrans that remind one of that old Dark Tower game. There's a fair amount of matching (great for kids) and strategic use of tricky Loki cards to get ahead or stop your fellow raven from advancing. #    #    # 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/ opp...

Little did we realize that Valhalla also manifests on Midgard as a dark water amusement park ride in Lancashire, England. Finding out seems like something out of American Gods , really. (Did you ride this, Neil Gaiman?) #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

Sweet pulp magazine cover from 1942 with Edmond Hamilton's novella The Daughter of Thor owning it on the front! [ Text here with even more art!  And my review of Hamilton's other NorsePlay 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  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 offer,  do contact him .

From Sabersmith Inc's Thor's Hammer line , a warhammer drilled to reduce weight for greater striking speed & recovery. This facet of construction could also NorsePlay into Mjölnir's origins of being incompletely forged by distracted dwarves Sindri & Brokkr . #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

In one's quest for more social interaction across the Nine Worlds, it might seem that Icelander Hallgerður Hallgrímsdóttir has gotten in direct touch with the Álfar when one comes across her book Please YoursELF: Sex with the Icelandic Invisibles (2005 CE). Complete with stick figure illustrated positioning and intercourse tips. This could take everyone's NorsePlay to a whole other level. And if you think about intimacies in the Norse Lore, we have Æsir partnering with Vanir, both partnering with Jötnar , Vanir partnering with Dwarves, Saxo & Snorri's accounts of a Scandinavian kingdom of Álfheim being ruled by human-elf mixed descendants of the Álfar, so why wouldn't we as Midgardians proactively explore options of desire & love on a supernatural/otherworldly level? [Verify here:  http://web.archive.org/web/20180304232624/http://hallgerdur.com/index.php?/work/please-yourself/ ] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in...

Was first thinking a huge mound burial, but Ragnar's stylized boat casket 's a design worth considering/integrating. #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

Fantasy artist Ron Walotsky's book cover for Tim Sullivan's The Martian Viking (1991 CE). Longships > Rocketships! [No, haven't read it, just ran across it at a used bookshop. Have you?] #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

Norse-monikered modern V8 Rat Rod out of Pakistan!  Custom automobile by Fouad Hafeez. #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .

Taking NorsePlay by TSR even further back to 1980 CE, Dungeons & Dragons put out  Deities And Demigods , a compendium of world and fantasy book mythologies for use with their gaming system, which of course included the Norse Gods. Jeff Dee's awesome black & white illustrations for the Norse Mythos chapter impressed me greatly . Here's Odin with a five-tipped Gungnir and his 400 HP/Level 30 ("Greater God", indeed!) game stats. #    #    # 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 d...

Back in 1982 CE, TSR put out a series of clamshell paper & chit games, one of which was the gem Viking Gods . A two-player game that enacted Ragnarök where one of you rallied the Æsir and the other controlled the adversaries, with the hex map showing a swirly oil endpaper patterned Bifrost, an icy frost giants area, and a deadly vortex in the middle from which Hela randomly emerges to take final victims from both sides. There were basic introductory rules & then an advanced ruleset where the Gods/adversaries had special powers, but it's pretty even chances in this one. After spotting it in the store as a kid who'd spent his allowance already, one finally fell into my hands last year which the wife & I played, and it was fun-fun. Yes, the Gods do play with wyrd dice , Mr Einstein. [And a closeup of those Fire Giants.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'...

Perhaps instead of the overkill of throwing Gungnir over your side of the battlefield, or sending an already busy Valkyrie to fetch your post-death being thither to Asgard's halls, or taking the personal time to masquerade as a wayward guest to test your hospitality, what if Odin instead just hit you up via digits on your phone? Your unprepared reaction to his caller ID might sound like this . [phone case art by Aloysius Patrimonio, blog title phrase credit to Eric "Word-Weaver" Sjerven. ] #    #    # 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...

We sought a modern visual of Odin and ran across this version in a three-piece suit. Not quite contemporary but not too far back either. And there's this untouchable 1960s Marvel Odin on the streets of NYC: #    #    # 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 offer,  do contact him .