Norse Goddess Magic (22 page)

In her role as confidante, loyal family member, and skilled strategist, Fulla
is a good source of advice and help on various enterprises, particularly where
cunning and subtlety are involved. As messenger and advisor to Frigg, she would
be good to enlist as an emissary to the queen of the Aesir when one is seeking
that goddess's aid. As a repository of various secrets and cosmological gossip,
Fulla is a valuable source of wisdom and enlightenment, although her light and
whimsical manner of imparting knowledge makes it a challenge to find the kernel
of truth within. She might also be of help in improving or enhancing one's
physical appearance and in giving parties, dinners, or other gatherings, as well
as in injecting some fun and pleasure into one's life in general.

Ritual

An altar to Fulla might be decorated with bright colors, such as
rose, bright blue, leaf green, or gold. Flowers, fruits and grains, or jewels
and baubles could also be used. One might wear one's hair loose with a golden
circlet, ribbon, or band like Fulla's, or put a circlet on the altar as a symbol
of her. Fulla can be invoked as a means of obtaining Frigg's help and favor, to
aid in mischievous and fun-loving endeavors, to promote a prosperous harvest,
and to initiate or deepen friendships, particularly with women and most
especially between women. For harvest rituals or celebrations, offerings of
fruits, breads, and other food and drink might be exhibited on the altar or
consumed during the course of the rite. Music, songs, dancing, games, and other
diversions are pleasing to Fulla and in keeping with her character; these may be
included during or following the ritual. You might want to put pictures of close
women relatives or friends on the altar or wear gifts of jewelry or clothing
from beloved women in your life. After the ritual, try calling or writing a
close female relative or friend for a chat.

Fulla is a complex and unpredictable figure. My experience of her was that
she was very easy to contact but difficult to fully grasp or keep up with. In
one sense she is the archetypal companion, best friend, younger sister, or
cunning servant—helpful, clever, a little cheeky, and lots of fun. Underneath
this supportive and frivolous layer there is an undercurrent of something
mysterious and unpredictable, and a little unsettling. Fulla is easier to reach
than Frigg, and yet, at another level, she is less comprehensible and less
comfortable to work with. She is truly Frigg's sister, the flip side of the
wife, mother, and queen—the wild, irresponsible, unfettered maiden, ripe with
promise and yet to be harvested.

Call to Fulla

Fulla, Volla, Fylla, Abundia—
Sister of Frigg, maid of honor—Hail!

Lady of the chamber,
Mistress of wealth,
Guardian of treasures—
    Bring us abundance.

Wearer of the ribbon,
Lady of the ash,
Keeper of the casket,
    Adorn our lives.

Keeper of jewels,
Keeper of shoes,
Keeper of secrets,
    Ward well our dreams.

Come with gift and greeting,
Come with fun and folly,
Come with lore and laughter—
Sweet sister of the gods—Come!

18

Hlin

The Protector

Lore

Hlin (ON Hlín) is probably the most accessible of the Asynjur.
Snorri names her twelfth on his list of Aesir goddesses, and she also appears as
one of Frigg's attendants; in fact, Hlin is often thought to be identical to
Frigg herself. Her name comes from the ON word
hlína
(“to hide or
protect”), and she has the special task of protecting those people Frigg wants
to save from danger; thus there was a saying that one who escapes peril “leans”
or finds refuge (
hleinir
). Hlin is also a sort of intermediary between
Frigg and humankind, listening to the desires and problems of mortals and aiding
Frigg in deciding how best to respond to their needs. In addition, Hlin is
sometimes presented as a goddess of consolation, one who comforts the grieving.
¹

Hlin's close identification with Frigg comes from several lines in the
Völuspá of the
Elder Edda
(st. 53), when the spirit of the dead wisewoman
predicts the events of Ragnarok, the end of the world, and tells

V
ÖLUSPÁ, ST
. 53

The first hurt implied here is generally assumed to be the murder
of Balder, Frigg's dearest son. Because Hlin is supposed to experience sorrow
from the deaths of Balder and Odin, some have speculated that Hlin and Frigg are
the same goddess. This may be true, and like all twelve Asynjur who are the
attendants of Frigg, Hlin shares many of Frigg's characteristics and functions.

Another interpretation is that since it is Hlin's main duty to protect those
in whom Frigg takes particular interest, and because the queen of the Aesir
would naturally want her own son and husband kept safe, Hlin's ultimate failure
to keep these loved ones from harm would certainly be a source of great sorrow
to her. For all her might, Hlin cannot withstand the power of the Norns and of
fate; she cannot fulfill what she has promised to her queen, cannot preserve her
kin from destruction. Perhaps that is why she is so sympathetic to those weighed
down by grief and despair.

Traditionally, the protective abilities of mothers were considered to be
particularly powerful, and Hlin embodies this function of the mother goddess
Frigg, the fierceness of the mother guarding her young. The skills of weaving
and sewing, which are other important aspects of Frigg's might, are also related
to protective magic. Items made by a mother or sister for a family member could
be magically empowered to preserve that individual from harm. In several of the
Grimms' tales a young girl must make shirts to save her brothers from
enchantment. The
Orkneyinga saga
(ch. 11) tells how the mother of Jarl
Sigurd made him a magical raven banner to bring him victory in battle.

Women of the early Germanic tribes typically accompanied their men to the
battlefield, where they encouraged and incited them during the fighting and used
their prophetic powers to aid them in their military strategy. It is also likely
that some of these women worked spells of warding and protection. Certain women
are shown as magically faring forth into battle to protect and aid their
favorites, such as Sigrun, described as a “Valkyrie,” in Helgakviða Hundingsbana
I (sts. 31 and 56).

The image of Hlin following Frigg's favorites and keeping them from danger is
reminiscent of the
fylgja,
or fetch, an attendant spirit protecting an
individual or a clan. This being often appeared in the form of a woman or an
animal and was said to show herself in times of stress or danger, especially
before the death of the individual she was attached to. The fylgja often
accompanied not just one person but a whole family, passing from one member to
another through many generations. Similar to the
fylgjur
were the dísir,
tutelary goddesses who were attached to a neighborhood, family, or individual
and were responsible for fertility and protection. Hlin functions almost like a
dís or fylgja of Frigg's family, lending her aid and protection to the favored
ones throughout the generations. Frigg's activities in the realm of Midgard here
mirror those of Odin, who also often lends his favor and protection to various
kings and warriors throughout the myths and sagas. Like Odin, Frigg takes a keen
interest in politics and the affairs of kings and nobles, and through the
offices of Hlin, her delegate, she lends power to those she supports.

Despite these weighty activities, however, Hlin's strongest image is as a
very personal, very approachable, very comforting mother figure. The first time
I contacted this goddess, I wasn't even trying to reach her; I was merely doing
an ecumenical pathworking on the “Dark Mother” at a large festival. The presence
I felt was nonetheless very striking and strong; it wasn't until much later,
when I chose to embark on these journeys to meet Frigg and her twelve
companions, that I saw Hlin once more and recognized that I knew her.

Trance

I sit in a dark egg, covered with heavy, black, soft
material, perhaps velvet, but coarser, like felt or soft wool. A gaunt, regal
woman somewhere between thirty and two thousand sits rigidly, her dark garments
blending with part of the tapestry. She stares into the distance. Her
face is made of sharp bones and sharp features, with piercing, deep-set,
gray-blue eyes. She is playing a stringed instrument, like a lute or a dulcimer,
and I am sitting at her feet, leaning my head on her right knee. I think of the
qualities of rest and comfort. I remember sitting and leaning on my own mother,
my head on her breast, in my old rocking chair in my room at home, of the times
she comforted me when I was unhappy or frightened. I remember how my mother was
then and I begin to cry now, feeling the tears course down my cheeks—only two
tears, one from each eye—slow, dignified tears. The dark lady picks me up and
lets me rest my head on her breast while she rocks, as my mother did back in my
childhood. She puts her lute to one side, where it continues to play by itself.
She rocks me, but her eyes still look off into the distance. When I finally feel
free of emotion, I pull away from her and look into her face. She now looks at
me, and her eyes meet mine for the first time—they are piercing and bottomless.
I smile gravely at her and she smiles back. . . .

Later I see Hlin sitting in a chair in dark robes, her
head hooded. Her hair looks gray at first, but I soon see it is dark brown. Her
eyes are light, and kind. She lets me rest my head on her knees. She puts her
hand on my back and wraps her cloak around my shoulder. . . .

I climb on Sleipnir, Odin's horse, but he fidgets until I
fall off and have to remount; he is very impatient. We bypass Valhalla entirely,
and I go to Fensalir directly through the garden. On my way through it I see
Fulla in a nook, giggling; she is in the bushes with the god of mischief, Loki,
of all people. She giggles and waves at me; he leers from the shadows.

Frigg meets me at the door to her hall. Most of her ladies
are in the main hall, relaxing; no one is working today. Hlin, in dark robes, is
sitting on a high, thronelike chair. She has straight, dark-brown hair, parted
in the center, and very light, china-blue eyes. Her face is squarish and strong;
she wears a hood over her head. Sitting on her chair, she hears the wishes of
everyone throughout the worlds, especially those who are sad or in trouble.
People come to her at their lowest ebb, their worst point; they are like
children when they seek her. Because she sees people like this, she is best able
to advise Frigg how to help them. People try to be respectable, proper, and
strong when they approach Frigg, but when they approach Hlin, nothing is hidden.
Each one rests her head on Hlin's knees, and she pats their shoulders.
She sits in her chair most of the time, except when one of her charges is in
danger. Then she whirls down from Heaven, her billowing cloak acting like a
protective shield, repelling evil forces. She plays her lutelike instrument,
which soothes people. While she lets people talk themselves out to her, she
remains silent—she lets, and makes, people solve their own problems, leads them
to their own discovery of a solution, rather than giving them the answer
herself. “You need to go beyond feelings, to be yourself in spite of them,” she
says. She talks little; her hands are cool; her eyes are very beautiful.

Hlin appears as a goddess both comforting and remote. The
image of her using her cloak to protect people reminds me of the story of
Hadding's visit to the underworld in Saxo's
Gesta Danorum
(book 1). In
this tale the hero Hadding meets a woman bearing fresh herbs in the middle of
winter. When he agrees to go with her to see the land from which they came, she
wraps her cloak around him and draws him under the earth. Notice how the cloak
here is used not only as protection but also as a means of traveling between the
worlds.

The picture of Hlin as a goddess of comfort and consolation may seem a little
out of keeping with a people noted for their stoicism and cheerful optimism in
the face of difficulty. But the outward show of strength does not mean the Norse
people did not feel, and feel deeply. The old literature has many examples of
real and terrible grief. There is the
Sonatorrek,
a poem written by the
famous Icelandic skald Egil Skallagrimsson to mourn the loss of his son at sea.
An even better example is a scene from the Guðrúnarkviða I from the
Elder
Edda
(sts. 1–14) in which Gudrun sits inconsolably beside the body of her
murdered husband, Sigurd, killed by her own brother Gunnar. Gudrun has been
unable to weep for Sigurd, and one by one all her father's warriors and then
their wives try to offer her some comfort that will allow her to express her
grief. Finally, a woman named Gullrond simply uncovers the dead man's face and
bids Gudrun to look, after which the tears run down Gudrun's cheeks like rain.
So even the fierce Vikings realized the need to express deep emotions at
appropriate times.

However, they also recognized that grief should have its limits, and
prolonged sorrow and depression were looked upon as both unhealthy for the
grief-stricken one and harmful to the loved ones being mourned. One legend tells
of a young mother who lost her only child. She would not be comforted but wept
at his grave every night. On the night before Twelfth Day (during Yule) she saw
Berchte's train of children pass by. At the end of the procession came a little
boy carrying a jug of water that was so heavy he couldn't keep up with the
others; the shirt he was wearing was soaking wet. The woman recognized him as
her son and ran to help him over a fence. He asked her not to cry so much,
because he had to carry all her tears in his jug and it was already full. After
that, the mother stopped weeping.
²
This folktale is similar to a
scene in Halgakviða Hundingsbana II in the
Elder Edda
(sts. 43–44), where
the dead Helgi tells his wife Sigrun that the reason he is damp with hoarfrost
is because each tear she sheds falls like icy blood on his breast.

Certainly people who grieve too much or too long can harm their own physical
and emotional health, as well as hurting all the other people in their lives,
but these stories indicate that the souls of the dead themselves are also
affected by excessive mourning among survivors. This may even suggest that
mourners can somehow hold their loved ones back with their grief, preventing the
dead from continuing their progress in the afterlife. The dead want to be
remembered and honored by their families and friends and to have their deeds
recalled and their fame sung, but they don't want life to come to a screeching
halt just because they've left it. Hlin is a goddess who helps people to
recognize and experience their feelings of grief and loss but who also
encourages them to stop after an appropriate interval to work through their
emotions and get on with their lives.