NorsePlay.

The four Aces from a set of Icelandic Mythological Playing Cards designed by Sigurlinna Pétursson (1899-1976), manufactured by Handa, 1958. [image courtesy of Rex Pitts.] #    #    # 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 Valhalla Range in British Columbia testifies to the cultural migration of the Norse Lore, our need to localize mythic locales, and to name majestic things after the divine. #    #    # 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 .

Predominantly used for beer, a kjenge is a drinking bowl used in the old Norwegian farming society – usually with two handles – carved and hollowed out from a single piece of wood. This would make wonderful choice of Blót bowl, the ritual offering vessel used in Ásatrú or  Heathenry . #    #    # 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 .

Graphic artist Siggi Oddsson 's runic re-design of the Icelandic licorice candy lozenge package for Opal. In Odds' runification of popular logos, he shows examples of an alternate reality where the conversion never happened, and the use of the Fuþark had endured to the present. We feel the clever idea of this exploration could be impetus for cultural & religious reclaiming. [photo by Eygló Gísladóttir.] #    #    # 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 con...

Author Boff Konkerz NorsePlays the Galdrastafur into pretend patterns for more social media plusses, faster WiFi, and Tinder right swipes! Meant as a subversively humorous modern critique of society's political & social foibles, this book's take seems quite Icelandic, though the idea of expanding the vocabulary of sigils in Icelandic magical staves to achieve modern goals is worth considering. Any of you read this? [thanks to Arith Härger for featuring this on his YT channel and his cautionary words about checking sources for your tattoos.] #    #    # 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 ...

Viking party decoration hanging from the ceiling at Mona's Danish Bakery in Tucson. [spotting credit to pastry raiding shieldmaiden Kara Lynn.]  #    #    # 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 theory goes that eruptions bring up positively charged particles that react with already present atmospheric negative charges, and then lightning manifests . In a Heathen Worldview quantum universe this could also simultaneously be seen as an ever-present failsafe to ensure  the Fire Giants s tay put. #    #    # 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 Sons of Muspell try to get an early jump on the Bifröst ... . Note their tactic of evoking the Rainbow Bridge using the steam from their lava. [by volcano chasing photographers Nick Selway & CJ Kale in 2012.] #    #    # 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 .

Rheda rules Herot as Jarl in Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands .   At left of Rheda sits the shield  where axes are thrown  into the black or red sides to vote on decisions.  The famed hall's interiors featured gilded carvings and Klimt -esque golden curtains. This 2016 CE show only ran for one season, yet it set up enough material for at least two more, which it should've gotten. [Actress Joanne Whalley ( Willow & Scarlett ), Herot's exterior, obligatory composite cast shot with, yes, William Hurt second from left.  Give it a watch  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...

When you take concepts outside the box to impress the Heathen Worldview over other things, sometimes you gain new insights ... yet there's point where attempts at correspondences run themselves completely off the tracks: Sure, one could speculate that palmistry could've migrated with the Indo-Europeans and evolved into some Nordic form, maybe cite the importance of the hand in Tyr's story, and run with it from there. But if Loki's not the middle finger , this whole idea's totally suspect. (Yes, that was us being funny.) #    #    # 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...

Baby Driver. Clyde Barrow. Allfather Odin? No wait, stop and think about this for a second: Odin essentially runs a long con to heist the Mead of Poetry . Like some Icelandic outlaw sagas, Americans enjoy stories where one goes outside the system to boldly and bravely come out on top via skills & wits , which is why 1967's Clyde & 2017's Baby also show the throughline of this tradition from ancient Norse Lore all the way to today.  And we know Odin would rock the one-eyed sunglasses and beat both of these wheelmen in a street race , 8-hooves or cylinders down. #    #    # 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 No...

That pedestrian's lucky Freyja's cats have to wear tack & mouth bits to draw her chariot, otherwise Bygul & Trjegul would cruelly shake him like a living mouse for days until he dies. We presume the charioteer to be Óðr. [ Freya's Chariot , 2012 Cat Parade, Leper, Belgium. Hosted at the awesome image gallery at germanicmythology.com .] #    #    # 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 .

Album cover art for Yggdrasil (9)'s ‎ Prose Edda (2009). If we run with Gaiman's re-framing of cosmic giant Ymir as being primordially sexless, the androgynous head fits, and the being's skull is then employed to dome the World Tree . [Honestly we find the niche of Shpongle Music pretty goofy, but if you like techno-ish videogame soundtrack psychedelic, then Yggdrasil's your flavour of mead.] #    #    # 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 .

David Warner Mathisen's works include Star Myths of the World and how to interpret them, Volume Four: Norse Mythology (2018), where he draws comparisons between world mythologies by applying Norse overlays to the night sky. Any of you read this? If so, any good? [Excerpt 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 .

NorsePlay admires Drengr 's album cover art & Mjölnir-shaped logoture as well as choice of band name, which means "one who is courageous or daring; a badass" . Those ships going against the jötunn, sea serpent, and dragons overhead have their work cut out for them. #    #    # 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 .

NorsePlay was recently gifted a very well thought out belated birthday present: An authentic Viking Age lead weighted astragalus, or sheep's knucklebone, a predecessor to the modern 6-sided die we all game with today. The convex narrow side was counted as 1, the convex broad side as 3, the concave broad side as 4, and the concave narrow side as 6. Lacking hands, sheep don't actually have knuckles -- this is a pastern bone which sits above the hoof. [Thanks to Kara Lynn for the artifact, the Valknut die bag, and the Norway map wrapping paper.] #    #    # 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...

Kara the Valkyrie gives what-for fisticuffs to some beetle armored adversary in Piccadilly Valkyrie ! Author Cindy Grigg NorsePlays Steampunk in an alt-regency England for her series Peacock Lavine and the Aetherian Fates of Nótt . Apparently "Valkyrie Kára is underdeveloped and unruly." Any of you read 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 .

Serve it Bifröst-y. A Dictionary of Northern Mythology 's Rudolf Simek translates the rainbow bridge to Asgard's name as "the swaying road to heaven". #    #    # 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 .

Arith Härger points out a striking similarity between the symbolic Mjölnir shape we all wear around our necks and the ritualistic hammer that Sami shamans use to thunder on their drums. To NorsePlay this idea into cosmology, is Thor then beating the mallet/hammer against the internal dome of tension in Ymir's skull-drum as he rides his chariot through the sky? [photo by Åge Hojem, frame drum from Nordland or Troms, part of the NTNU University Museum’s collection.] #    #    # 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...

Oakes Design reclaims a saw blade to NorsePlay into a runic ally pyrographed axe! Such post-purposing speaks of a contemporary or/and near future continuity for the Viking Age. #    #    # 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 .