Hel / Hela - Friend or Foe? | Page 1 | Deity Discussion - Gods and Goddesses | Guild Forums

Rabbit the Renegade

Wheezing Gawker

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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 6:56 pm

I've been doing a lot of reading and exploring lately, and have been reading a bit (a lot...) into the germanic pantheons. I've been trying to open myself to heathenism, and I feel that it's actually been going rather well. I'm trying to devour all of the reading that I can.

The odd thing is that I've felt oddly drawn to Hela. I can't even explain why, it's just an odd feeling. I like to think of myself as someone who enjoys life and being... alive. Hela, on her face, just seems very dark.

But is she? The feelings haven't been negative, they've been... I don't know, a weird version of comfortable. I feel very watched when I think and/or read about her, but not in a way that disturbed me. And I'm a very paranoid, jumpy person. I'm unnerved pretty easily.

What do you all think? Is Hela a twisted goddess of the dead, death and whatnot? Or is she just a gloomy person that was given a job to do? Is she more or less benevolent, or a dark ruler of the underworld?

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 6:01 am

I myself am very drawn to the Norse Gods. At the moment I only worship Norse Gods actually but I am an Eclectic Neo-Pagan so my views and beliefs and such may not match up.

In my research, limited that it is pertaining to Hel, I have not found Hel to be exactly twisted or...anything. My feeling is She is more cold, driven and harsh. She is the keeper of the Dead but that's not really bad or good from what I have seen. Obviously you want to end up in Valhalla or one of the God's Halls but nothing has shown that just being in Hel is awful either that I have seen.

So perhaps your connection as it were with Hel is because She wants something with you or sees something in you She likes. Maybe you have a laten capacity with spirits. i always ask.

ForMineistheRage

Manly Hunter

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Rabbit the Renegade

Wheezing Gawker

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Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 8:27 pm

UrsaBling

I myself am very drawn to the Norse Gods. At the moment I only worship Norse Gods actually but I am an Eclectic Neo-Pagan so my views and beliefs and such may not match up.

In my research, limited that it is pertaining to Hel, I have not found Hel to be exactly twisted or...anything. My feeling is She is more cold, driven and harsh. She is the keeper of the Dead but that's not really bad or good from what I have seen. Obviously you want to end up in Valhalla or one of the God's Halls but nothing has shown that just being in Hel is awful either that I have seen.

So perhaps your connection as it were with Hel is because She wants something with you or sees something in you She likes. Maybe you have a laten capacity with spirits. i always ask.

Yep, blunt and harsh is probably how I would describe the way she's felt to me, but it's almost as though I feel an underlying warmth... Very subtle and maybe it's me picking up on things that aren't there. I dunno, it's an odd feeling.

I'll have to do more research. I guess the best place to start is to look for sources for her and compare different accounts. I know that Hel is a place for murderers, oath breakers and the like to be punished quite severely, but I've also read about sources stating that it also has areas that are pleasant (probably where Baldr spends most of his time).

Do you know of any sources that may be a good starting point?

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 7:07 am

Toxic Citrus

UrsaBling

I myself am very drawn to the Norse Gods. At the moment I only worship Norse Gods actually but I am an Eclectic Neo-Pagan so my views and beliefs and such may not match up.

In my research, limited that it is pertaining to Hel, I have not found Hel to be exactly twisted or...anything. My feeling is She is more cold, driven and harsh. She is the keeper of the Dead but that's not really bad or good from what I have seen. Obviously you want to end up in Valhalla or one of the God's Halls but nothing has shown that just being in Hel is awful either that I have seen.

So perhaps your connection as it were with Hel is because She wants something with you or sees something in you She likes. Maybe you have a laten capacity with spirits. i always ask.

Yep, blunt and harsh is probably how I would describe the way she's felt to me, but it's almost as though I feel an underlying warmth... Very subtle and maybe it's me picking up on things that aren't there. I dunno, it's an odd feeling.

I'll have to do more research. I guess the best place to start is to look for sources for her and compare different accounts. I know that Hel is a place for murderers, oath breakers and the like to be punished quite severely, but I've also read about sources stating that it also has areas that are pleasant (probably where Baldr spends most of his time).

Do you know of any sources that may be a good starting point?

Any of the Epics. I personally like the Havamal but thats not really about Hel. I honestly dont know much about Hel or Her domain as my personal beliefs focus on Life and living a good one so that I wont have to worry about Death. I would also take a look at Fafnir. He's the dragon that eats the oathbreakers in Hel.

ForMineistheRage

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