NorsePlay.

NorsePlay takes a moment to recognize the manifestation of Norse Goddess Freyja in The Sorceress from Masters of the Universe .  Freyja's falcon cloak & knowledge of magick makes up the hallmarks of one of MOTU's more mysterious character's who, like many females in Norse Lore, mentors & fosters a saga's hero. [ The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull  above, illustrated by Gerald Parel.] ... and with cat: [ The Sorceress with Baby Cringer  by NC Winters.] ... and in Love Goddess repose: [screencapture from Season 1 Episode 17 Daimar the Demon .] #    #    # 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. ...

Amon Amarth goes 16-bit style with a self-titled mobile videogame ! Play as Thor facing off against Surtur , Fenris, Nídhögg, and Hel , all to midi versions of the Viking Metal tracks you already know & love. #    #    # 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 cover art from the 1992 computer/console RPG game Heimdall . Loki has stolen the Gods' weapons, scattering them across the realms, and it's up to you as Heimdall to find them. The game itself is far more cartoonish than this fantasy art cover, but such was all early videogame marketing. [Play it in your browser here: https://archive.org/details/msdos_Heimdall_1992 ] #    #    # 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 .

Highly detailed Marvel Thor art of Hela & Fenris Wolf   penciled  by Jay Anacleto. The Death Goddess seems more than able to take care of business with that sword. #    #    # 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 .

But would Wagner approve of an Organ Orgy cover album of his Ring Cycle ? Any of you heard this? #    #    # 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 the American Gods ' extras, Mr Nancy's Orlando Jones forgoes his sartorial best to pay homage to Ian McShane by sporting this sweet "I Am Odin" t-shirt. [Addenda: Note that since we posted this Orlando Jones was fired from the show. We don't know the details, but we had to swap the original image of him in the shirt since it disappeared.]  #    #    # 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 .

"I have as many names as there are winds, as many titles as there are ways to die." This is the reveal we all know ahead of time on American Gods : that Mr Wednesday is Odin, but it takes a seasoned actor of Ian McShane's caliber to drive it in like a spear and make it feel like we didn't know that in the first place. And in this clip he reveals many of the Allfather's names with gravity & power. [from season1, episode 8, directed by Floria Sigismondi.] #    #    # 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 ...

Aric Jorn's Wolves of Ragnarok: Skoll & Hati . While we're not on about aggrandizing the devourers, it's been argued that without their motivation the sun & moon might not stay on track or keep time, and the wargs were instead harnessed to this purpose. The sunwheel-motif central paws express this clockwork force at work, especially with the selection of metallic colours for his piece, and the shoulders/hips/sun/moon seeming to mirror points on a clockface. [Layered cold-cast nickel silver, brass, copper and stone, limited edition, 2016, available 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. ...

NorsePlay would be remiss if we didn't mention the NorsePlay within the NorsePlay that happens in Thor: Ragnarok ... yet even nested deeper inside of that were you aware of the Thor: Ragnarok in 4D as NorsePlay?!? Yes, it just got that meta. #    #    # 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 & RPG artist Keith Thompson's version creatively differs in having six legs up front with two driving the back . Note the rune accents on the toecapping horseshoes. [prints available at https://www.keiththompsonart.com/pages/sleipnir.html .] #    #    # 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 Nordic Nouveau album cover depiction of Norse Goddess Skaði from well-named metal band The Flight of Sleipnir. Any of you heard these guys? And the Die-Hard edition of the album: #    #    # 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 Joanne Harris ' Runelight , which takes place 503 years post-Ragnarok, a character uses a rune to summon an old coin in the denomination of an Otter. This NorsePlay refers to the Prose Edda where Otter's father demands enough payment from the Norse Gods for his son's death in the form of enough treasure to fill and cover his fur pelt. Given the size of such a treasure, naming currency after Otter makes total sense. [100 Forint (Otter) coin from Hungary, which is a bit more than a quarter.] #    #    # 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 ...

There's something compelling about C.H. Studio's matte black cast asymmetrically relieved Mjölnir . It's like Thor's Hammer in stealth mode. And the usual troth ring fitting being given capture terminals is a nice variant. #    #    # 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 .

With their chainmail shirts, berserker-esque marshal penchant, and Icelandic-styled names like Ragnar Sturlusson here, the panserbjørne polar bears of The Golden Compass are definitely 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  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Thor: Ragnarok taps Norse Lore for its bottomless beer mug scene: Whether Dr Strange knows it or not, Thor originally encounters a bottomless horn at a frost giant's court that magically refilled from the ocean ... but Thor doesn't know this and it's used to embarrass him in front of all the jötnar when he can't finish drinking it. Thor also unknowingly starts the endless ocean tides we still travel on today from the three godlike draughts he downed. "Another"? Maybe Strange should've insisted on the wee 4 oz Tibetan yak butter tea? #    #    # 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/ ...

Brunin from Alane Adams ' Legends of Orkney YA NorsePlay series bears a strong resemblance to a well-known Norse God ... . Any of you read this series? If so, comment below! [Covers by Johnathan Stroh.] #    #    # 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 .

Graphis design competition's gold award winning Odin-centric logo for Asgard Brewing Co.! Odin's usual animal companions aside, note the Nine Worlds symbolized by the nine stars, and the stylized facet-cornered unicursal Valknut s. [Design by Tom Ventress.] #    #    # 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 the Norse Lore, one of the convenient things about Thor's hammer is its dwarven-crafted ability to shrink down for easier everyday carry. Here a clever mother has reduced a granola bar on popsicle stick Marvel Mjölnir to fit in her son's lunchtime bento box as a worthy surprise! [lunch by Candy Girl (Cristi Messersmith) from her BentOnBetterLunches blog.] #    #    # 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 .

There's a moment in Thor: Ragnarok that raises the question: What if Dr. Strange was foolish enough to tangle with God of Mischief Loki, a being who's been practicing sorcery for untold millennia longer than he? While Marvel Studios makes it look one way, we all know that either inside or outside of 177A Bleecker Street, Loki would gore out his Eye of Agamotto. [Art by Steve Ditko.] #    #    # 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 .

Thor was also considered the farmer's god because his storms summoned the needed rains that watered the fields of grain. In this very modern case, $15 at Thor: Ragnarok brings a promotional keepsake bucket of movie popcorn with a lid styled after his Contest of Champions winged helmet! Let the cosplay begin! #    #    # 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 .

Death Goddess Hela cross-vambrace blocks the spear that's supposed to always hit its mark, Gungnir, from the new blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok ! We saw it last night and loved it. Cate Blanchett finally gets to be the bad arse we all know she can be, Hemsworth wins some laughs, and Asgard will ne'er e'er be the same. #    #    # 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 .

For NorsePlay this is like chocolate & peanut butter & bacon combined: The Trumpet of Terror is a Norse Mythology-based Choose Your Own Adventure book from 1986! We are so ordering this! #    #    # 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 .

Norwegian Thunder Goddess (2017), an oil on canvas by Chie Yoshii , clues into the gender-switching internet Rule 63 and the Marvel Thor mantle being recently worn by character Jane Foster. On top of that, the goddess springing from the foamy waters is a classical trope borrowed from many depictions of Venus' birth, but given a Norse referential twist with the figure's dominance over the aqueous sea serpents upon which she easily treads. The deity's hammer is often thought to be a symbol of male virility, and is instead replaced by a crack of lightning, almost an O'Keeffe-ish feminine slit in reality that's the source of light in the composition. #    #    # 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...

We're using this sweet Lego animated video to point out that the diss (short for disrespecting) in hip-hop is a modern-day parallel of Flyting, the poetic trading of insults , which is present in Norse Mythology's Lokasenna & Hárbarðsljóð , so the idea of Thor successfully rekking Zeus with his mad thunder rhymes is pretty on the mark. Go Thor, go Thor, go, go! And though the word "rap" itself is Scandinavian in origin, the African roots of The Dozens, an insult contest played in the evening that eventually led to rap battles, is not directly related to flyting, but just happens to be an incidental cultural match that also celebrates verbal deftness and one-upsmanship. [From ERB, directed by Forrest Whaley.] #    #    # 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 Mytholog...

Icelandic lore has it that if you get permission to take a man's skin from the waist down, rob a poor widow of a coin, then place the coin in the pants' sack with a magical stave on paper, it will generate an endless supply of money! This item, the Nábrók, roughly translates to "Necropants". [Housed at the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft, and credit to its manager Sigurdur Atlason for this morbidly fascinating share!] #    #    # 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...

We've previously posted a selection from this before, but only now did we notice the cosmic cover on this issue of Loki: Ragnarok and Roll from the 4-issue mini-series, and especially the angry Odin about to break up the band! [From BOOM! Studios Inc., and my acquaintance accomplished comics writer Eric Esquivel, cover art by Alexis Ziritt.] #    #    # 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 .