Welcome to Gaia! ::

For me it's a combination of lore and UPG. I'm a synesthete, so things like colour, shape, and smells are deeply embedded cues and triggers for me. I get different signs or messages from how the Gods choose to appear to me, that may not work for anyone else because that appearance doesn't hold the same embedded information for them. In the same vein, I often choose symbols or images for my Gods from the synesthetic information I'm presented. Sometimes that lines up with lore, and sometimes it doesn't.

I tend not to get hung up on a set appearance for my Gods, but they do tend to 'wear' particular faces. Even if they come in a form I'm not familiar with, usually there's something about them that I can use as an identifier. For example, one always sounds like Brian Blessed, and smells like ozone.

Which doesn't mean that it's always obvious or blatant - it might be a situation where they want to be unnoticed or unidentified by others, except for you. It's also an ongoing process, since many deities may have different aspects or identities within them, attached to different epithets, and they can be dramatically different from each other. You sort of build a 'catalog' as you go, over time.

I've made an effort to 'learn' my deities, in the same way I made an effort to be able to do energy work without tools or props. At this point, I have enough experience with the particular 'flavours' of their energies to know whose presence I'm in most of the time.

Well, since I started this thing, I should probably post my views as well. Now some of this stuff is pretty standard but some is heavily UPG based and I'll mention when there's a divergence as well as discuss some of the more common appearances and variations I've heard of.

Starting with Oðinn. Most of this is pretty close to standard and matches up with Sans's image fairly well. He tends to wear shades of grey and dark blue and has a fairly weathered face. He's built strong and tall. Strong in the shoulders but not particularly stocky. Sometimes he has his floppy hat and sometimes not. Usually carries a spear or staff. As for the missing eye, I feel like he wears an eye patch when he's trying to be diplomatic or gentle. It's sort of his make nice with the newbie gear. Because honestly, what I see where his eye should be is downright unsettling. It's not so much an empty socket as deep shadows, even when there's nothing that could possibly be casting those shadows. It's like looking into an impossibly deep hole and something may or may not be looking out at you. It actually puts me in mind of the well where his eye resides. As to the wolf pelt, that would honestly make a lot of sense and I can see him wearing such as a cloak. The eye he does have is a faded, piercing blue.

I don't deal much with Frigga but She seems to have darker auburn hair and green eyes. She wears darker browns and greens and is generally kind of quite.


Then there's Freyja. My view of Freyja is actually very different than the standard description. Let's see, sort of red blond hair, usually tied back in something like the "valkyrie knot" you see in Viking art and kind of blue-green eyes. She's beautiful and full figured but also somewhat athletic. Now we get to unusual stuff. I rarely see her in the blue most associate with her. When I do, it's trimmed in large amounts of copper and gold. I honestly see her in rich reds and browns most of the time. Of course she also tends to wear lots of copper, gold, and amber jewelry. She sometimes shows up in what I think of as her "court garb". This is when she's being the cleaned up Lady of the Hall, with her broach necklaces and linen apron dress. For some reason though I usually see her as some sort of wild woman. She has her feather cloak and a spear (She's always got that frikken spear for some reason) with leaves in her hair and much...um...less by way of clothes. she's actually very sensuous and dangerous in this form. Oh and barefoot. All of the Vanir are barefoot much of the time. In any case, there are three elements that she's rarely without. Brisingamen, enough arm rings to serve as bracers, and that spear. (And I just noticed that San also sees her in warmer colors. Yay! I'm not alone in this!)

For Freyr I can see the many shades of green but not so much the Peter Pan image.. though maybe a little bit of Pan...He's...well he's a lover and a fighter. He's got longish, golden blond hair and bright green eyes with a full mouth. Once again, often barefoot, though not always.


Tyr is mostly about shades of grey. He's got steal grey hair and clear grey eyes. His hair is tied back very neatly. He's very well groomed is Tyr, and very tall and quiet. Likes to sing when he's drunk. Generally found wearing his mail. He's actually very interesting once you get to know him, though somewhat intimidating.

Skadi tends to wear leather and furs. She has dark hair and dark eyes and usually carries her bow with her. She actually also carries some kind of flute when I see her. She's more than a little wild but very put together. She laughs fully and loudly and generally throws herself fully into whatever she's doing.

Thor is a broad fellow. His shoulders are almost ridiculously broad and his arms and legs are thick and strong. Red hair and laughing blue eyes. He laughs a lot by the way and is generally very friendly, though he can have a quick temper as well. Usually dressed for travel and battle.

Loki is...interesting. He doesn't stay put. Sometimes his hair is flaming red and sometimes it's black. Usually shortish though. sometimes he has the mouth scars and sometimes not. He's generally slender though he's sometimes quite tall and sometimes rather slight. He doesn't often sit still but his movements flow and while his features are generally angular, they're not hard or sharp. Sometimes they even seem somewhat feminine. I feel like he's deliberately messing with me.

And San's description of Iðunna is basically perfect.

What did you do, if I might ask?

Also, everyone feel free to discuss others' descriptions and interpretations.

I meant more the feeling of Peter Pan than the image. Sort of... enthusiastic. Green and enthusiastic xd



Yes, I was just going to post about Tyr and say I always see him in steely colours. Tall and quiet and reserved. I think of him like a deep river that moves slowly. I always find him very comforting, actually. I don't know why. I feel like a child around him who is trying to please a parent by Doing Well.

As an aside - I seem to get along with Tyrsmen quite poorly. xd For some reason all the ones I run into have this rod up their butts.



I have never met Skadhi, but this is pretty much how I picture her when I think about her. Except white hair rather than dark.



cool

The idea of Odin covering his eye until you get used to him is very interesting! just because it seems to be in line with my personal experiences with him.

He always seemed a little smug to me, though not irritatingly so.

Me too actually. I know I said intimidating before but I didn't mean it as a negative. He's stern but not unkind. He just has high expectations.

Yeah, I meant the full on beards, but I can see the goatee thing.

lol! Let's see.

Well, Hekate I always saw as youthful, with very dark brown or black hair. Barefoot, sometimes wearing pink or sometimes blue, but often grey... usually in some sort of chiton.

It confused me for the longest time because I thought she was meant to be old, but I couldn't see her that way regardless of how much I tried so eventually I just went with it.

Persephone I see in blossom colours, with brown hair piled up in curls and ringlets.

Hades with long black hair, a short black beard, wearing black armour. Why armour? Don't know. He was always very very tall, and broad across the shoulders.

I always saw Ares with a reddish tinge in his hair. I know that sounds odd. Very long hair with a bit of red to it, and no shirt. I sometimes wonder whether the Ares I met was Loki in disguise, as when I met him he was dressed for cold weather - but then I don't know what winters are like in Greece, and Apollo was said to journey North at particular times of year so perhaps Ares was visiting elsewhere also.

Athena with brown hair folded up on her head like Anne of Green Gables or similar... with a crown of gold or of daisies, for some reason. Wearing white, or pale blue. She has a good shape to her arms. What my father would call a "Hockey sticks" sort of girl - like Honoria Glossop. Actually, very much like Honoria Glossop, come to think of it. Which is interesting because I discovered Honoria Glossop years after meeting Athena.

Aphrodite, usually blonde, likes wearing pink things in her hair and not a great deal else.

Artemis has... precise features, I think you could say. Sort of small, but not pinched. Short Greek tunic, and she was barefoot when I met her though I think in the art she often wears hunting boots. Dark hair coiled up on top of her hair, with bits of green in it, maybe a laurel crown, I can't recall.

Apollo fit the typical mould to a T. Dark curls, perfect Greek figure etc etc.