NorsePlay.

Skade from The Last Kingdom 's Season 3!  Actress Thea Sofie Loch Næss opens the show as a merciless magical threat, gouging eyes, and stilling tongues on the edge of her seax. Appropriately named after the Goddess Skaði whose etymology comes from damage/harm/injury/wound, she addresses the powers and remote people as though they haven't any distance from her, which is both frighting, impressive, and grimly alluring. #    #    # 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...

Sideshow Collectibles has a Court of the Dead property of which we're not quite sure whether its focus is supposed to be high-end statuary, boardgames, or comic books. Somewhere in this commercial construct's a stunning dark fantasy NorsePlay: Kier,  Valkyrie of the Dead . The idea of a more deathly chooser of the slain jibes with the  Darraðarljoð 's grim imagery of the Valkyries weaving the unfolding of an upcoming battle with the entrails of men on a loom. This style choice also agrees with the compromised Valkyries in the recent God of War 's side missions, and the sexy death experienced referred to in The Odin Brotherhood . #    #    # 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...

A clue to the one ring of Norse Lore's current whereabouts could be this NorsePlay sign once available on Amazon, but now's a broken link. [Perhaps Jeff Bezos wears 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 .

Grimfrost provides a modern-day Megingjord so you can heft the workout hammer! #    #    # 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:  Creative explorations, variants, and additions to Norse Lore & Myth. The Lore's been a sandbox since hearthfires and skalds in the hall, and once Tolkien got ahold of it with the intention of making an open-source world, it's also been fair game in modern days. Our Lore's stories attract creativity because they are the ur-stories, our Gods are bad arses, the adversaries are felt as a real/metaphorical yet inevitable threat, and all that carries a useable weight that narratively, artistically, musically, and cinematically cannot be ignored. To acknowledge the historicity of this concept, Norse Language expert Jackson Crawford states that NorsePlay in terms of variation & fanon started pretty much from the get-go. As we desire & request more Norse-inspired narratives, so did the arch-Heathens & subsequent generations ask the fireside skalds for sequels & team-ups, and they delivered audience-satisfying new stories, very much like comics giving ...

NorsePlay donates books to a nearby Little Free Library. Because we're supercool with our Deeds like that, and we hope that the Norse Lore with whichever creative pollination it may be in, will find its wondrously truthful way to others. #    #    # 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.

Cloth map exclusive to the God of War Stone Mason Edition with annotations deciphering the runic script. In game, dwarven mastercrafters Sindri & Brokk create this very map for Faye. #    #    # 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 .

Gaïa Weiss kitted out as shieldmaiden Þorunn from Vikings Season 3's an obvious NorsePlay choice, and we're taking a moment to admire the detail in her costume. #    #    # 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 Norse-inspired world map from Brock "Zzilla" Brown's Life On Water project, which shows a more aqueous fishbowl version of things. For a seafaring culture, perhaps this idea holds some water. #    #    # 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 .

Odin crafts the dome of night from Ymir's skull ! We like the barely visible line drawing of the Allfather 's thoughts of the skull as building material being executed into the overlaying reality of the scene. [illustration by Troy Howell from Favorite Norse Myths .] #    #    # 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 .

Vala's Enchanted  perfumery ritually creates scents based on the Lore " to make concepts, deities, gods and human personalities manifest. " Perfumer  Moi Yggdottir's thematic constructions seem to have much spiritual forethought and are crafted to fit the names of her products well. [more info here , photo by Luna Torr. {Thanks to Kara Lynn for bringing this to our attention.}] #    #    # 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 .

"Öhaygrrl!" [picture (actually Woman at the Roundhouse ) from the Viking Farm at Avaldsnes, Norway.] #    #    # 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 online Mexican Ásatrú magazine El Skalðr ! As a Hispanic Heathen, we love that this exists. Get your Español on and read it 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.

Balder leads the next generation of Æsir from the ashes of Ragnarök in Marvel Entertainment's The Mighty Thor #294. This surviving line-up's made of Hoder, Hoenir, Magni, Modi, Vali, Ve, Vidar , and Vili. Note the hole in Balder's white tunic where the mistletoe arrow's been removed. [pencils by Keith Pollard, April 1980.] #    #    # 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 .

Manhole cover featuring Huginn & Muninn in Odense, Funen, Denmark. The city gets its name from Odin's Vé which means Odin's Sanctuary. Ynglinga Saga states Odin dwelt here before moving up into Sweden. [photo by Kirsten Kaae.] #    #    # 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 .

Sigyn by H. G. Theaker (1873-1954), dutifully bearing a bowl of serpent's venom away from her husband's cavern of imprisonment. While it can be argued that her dedication to the trickster's undeserved, there's also the cosmological scale compassion where if she didn't do it, we would all suffer a possibly unending & devastating earthquake from Loki's pained writhings. #    #    # 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 Lore-based cartographic achievement by archaeologist Arith Härger, this map adapts the Nine Worlds' locations in terms of continents, set up by directions and descriptions in the sources. We love the detail & dedication of this NorsePlay. [get a print 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 .

Sometimes the best bit in those Silver Age Thor comics was the short Tales Of Asgard stories in the back which were "Based upon the immortal legends of the Norse Gods!"  Well, with some seriously fast & loose  Marvel-style NorsePlay anyhow, but so fun to read. #    #    # 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 Hyborian Age of Conan , Asgard & Vanaheim are NorsePlay'd as neighbors in Nordheim at the Northwest of this ancient Pangaean megacontinent. [from Marvel Entertainment, cartographed by Tony Edwards.] #    #    # 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 .

Female Berserker Tyri by Bob Kehl. Note the bound muzzle and tied around forelegs which mirror the bound bear motif on Viking hogback grave markers and one of the Torslunda helmet plates. Perhaps this garment design's simple leather strap answer to wrapping the pelt on the wearer may have something to do with the original motif, along with the ancient bear cult identifying with and physically harnessing the power of the bear. #    #    # 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 ...