Written by Dyami Millarson

The lines between Gods and humans, spiritual and physical entities, are blured in Germanic religion, as Gods tend to be more physical entities, whilst humans tend to be more spiritual entities. This is borne out by the facts, such as that brave and strong noblemen or lords can be regarded as Gods, Gods can be men who have risen to the rank of Gods, Gods are equated with ancestors, Goddesses are equated with ladies, Goddesses are equated with Diviners (Völur), Gods are equated with men, Gods and Goddesses are equated with wizards and witches, Gods require blood sacrifices whilst They drink blood, Gods wander in Mithgarth and mingle with humans, Gods are physically present during battles and offer aid to one side or another, Gods assume the shape of humans and animals, Gods manifest as physical bodies of nature such as trees or lakes, Gods performed physical acts to create realms and beings, Gods have names like humans, the grammatical gender of theonyms (names of Gods) corresponds to biological sex, Gods increase their numbers through biological reproduction in order to increase the security of Asgarth and Mithgarth in response to the prophecy of the end of times, Gods exhibit biological sex differences, Gods reproduce with humans as seen in terms which alude to descent from the Gods, and Gods are progenitors of royal clans or dynasties.

Written by Dyami Millarson

Under the lemma almáttigr on page 17 of An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Cleasby and Vigfusson equate hinn Atmáttki Áss the Almighty Asa-God with Thor, stating: “[T]he phrase ‘hinn almáttki áss’ in the heathen oath (used of Thor) implies […] [the] use [of the adjective almáttigr] in very early times [i.e., predominantly pagan times].”

Under the lemma HJÁLPA on page 267 of the same dictionary, they quote the expression svá hjálpi mér Freyr ok Njörðr ok hinn Almáttki Áss, which means so help me Frey and Njörth and the Almighty Asa-God. Hjálpi is a conjunctive form of hjálpa. As indicated in the same place, the expression svá hjálpi mér so help me is not only used in conjunction with the aforementioned Heathen Deities when swearing oaths, but also with other Divine Beings. Cleasby and Vigfusson state it thus: “in the oath, svá hjálpi mér Freyr ok Njörðr ok hinn Almáttki Áss, Landn. 335, whence the Christian ‘so help me God;’ svá hjálpi þer hollar vættir, Og. 10.”

The equivalent of svá hjálpi mér so help me in Dutch oaths is: “Zo helpe mij [insert Divinity in the singular]”. Helpe is a singular conjunctive form, the plural conjunctive form is helpen. This Dutch expression, that is used in legal contexts, is translated into Shire Frisian as sa helpe my so help me. German also has an equivalent of the Old Norse, English, Dutch and Shirw Frisian expressions, but its syntax is different due to the insertion of an additional word: So wahr mir [insert Deity] helfe so truly help me [insert Deity]. Just as with the Dutch version, helfe is the singular conjunctive form, helfen is the plural.

Hinn Almáttki Áss the Almighty Asa-God is not an Old Nordic hapax legomenon (i.e., a term which occurs just once in the extant corpus), because the equivalent term Áss hinn Almáttki the Almighty Asa-God is found in the corpus, the only difference between the two variants being word order. The equivalent terms occur in Landbámabók on pages 258 and 335 of Íslendínga sögur authored by the Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift-Selskab (Royal Nordic Manuscript Society) and published in 1843, which is the work used by Cleasby and Vigfusson, as they refer to the pagan use of almáttigr as “heathen use, Landn. 258, cp. p. 335.” Brief explanation: Landn. is the abbreviation they use for Landnáma(bók), and the abbreviations cp. and p., which are commonly used in academic literature, mean ‘compare’ and ‘page.’ The fact they say ‘compare page 335’ right after saying ‘Landnámabók 258’ demonstrates that they do not mean the 258th chapter of said work, but page 258, which can only refer to a specific edition, namely that of Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift-Selskab (Royal Nordic Manuscript Society) as mentioned earlier.

Written by Dyami Millarson

According to the principle of correspondence between the sex of a Deity and the grammatical gender of the name, Ægir, Máni, and Logi, for instance, must be male, because ægir, máni, and logi are masculine nouns in Old Nordic. According to the same logic, Sól must be female, because sól is a feminine noun in Old Nordic. This alignment between the genders of Deities and the grammatical gender of Their names in Old Nordic may be referred to in Germanic theology as the law of gender correspondence — a theological principle that deserves our attention. It is essential for those studying or interested in Germanic theology to be familiar with this law, or rule, as it provides valuable insights into the linguistic aspects of Germanic folk beliefs.

Written by Dyami Millarson

Ætt-Theism, a concept rooted in Germanic religion, delves into the ancestral idea of viewing divinity as a vast kinship clan or family. In this ancestral perspective, the Divine is not a solitary entity but part of a larger species-like group. The term Ætt encompasses a range of meanings, such as “family, lineage, dynasty, clan related by blood, kinship clan, tribe, and race.” In the context of Ætt-Theism, it becomes a crucial element in understanding the nature of the Gods. Unlike other religious belief systems that depict Gods as singular beings, ætt-theism asserts that divinity is a collective concept. Just as species require multiple individuals to thrive and endure, Gods are believed to multiply and increase their numbers akin to humankind (originally also found in nature), animals, and plants. So this notion of divine multiplicity stems from the biological or natural observation that species, races, and families consist of multiple members. Moreover, being an integral part of nature entails existing under the pervasive influence of fate or destiny; the reproduction or multiplication of members within a species is inherently governed by the forces of fate. In the realm of nature, the perpetuation of life or the proliferation of species is guided by the moving wheel of destiny; it is evolution. Germanic religion is a nature religion in the sense that it accepts the biological multiplicity of categories of beings that occur in nature; whilst the Divine occurs in nature, its multiplicity is no different from that of plants, animals, and humans. Nature religion encompasses fate religion in the Germanic context; for fate, destiny or evolution is an inherent aspect of nature in the Germanic tradition. Observing multiplicity to be essential in nature or determined by the destiny or evolution of species, the natural belief follows that the multiplicity of the divine clan or dynasty is essential for the stability and continuity of Asgarth, Mithgarth, and Alfheim.

Written by Dyami Millarson

The concept of læknishendr, derived from the genitive of læknir and the plural of hönd, holds a significant place in Germanic belief. This compound noun encapsulates the belief that certain individuals possess magical hands capable of alleviating pain and sickness. The topics under discussion in this article therefore belong to the category of healing magic. Læknir, referring to a healer, medicineman, physician, or leech (an old word for physician), is the first element of læknishendr. Its genitive form is læknis. It highlights the association with healing, medicine, and the medical profession. Hönd, meaning hand, combines with læknir to emphasise the central role of the hands in the practice of healing. Other formations of nouns compounded with læknis- are læknisgras healing herb, læknisdómr medicine, læknislyf medicine, læknisbragð medicine. Also compare these words formed from the root lækn-: læknan cure, lækning medicine; art of healing, medical profession; cure, lækningaríþrótt art of healing, medical profession, etc.

Among the souls of the Germanic forebears, it is firmly believed that the touch of a person gifted with læknishendr can bring relief from pain and sickness. These gifted individuals are traditionally revered for their ability to channel a mysterious and magical power through their hands, whose touch can restore balance and harmony within the body, encouraging the body’s natural healing processes to activate. The notion of læknishendr provides a window into magic in Germanic culture. Whilst the concept of læknishendr traditionally holds profound cultural significance within Germanic communities, it is deeply intertwined with traditional spiritual beliefs and hence associated with ancient traditions and folk religion. Healing rituals might include the use of specific herbs, incantations, or gestures performed by Germanic healers. The presence of læknishendr in the Germanic traditional belief system highlights the interconnectedness of spiritual and supernatural elements and the Germanic traditional understanding of health and well-being. Whilst the belief in læknishęndr has historical roots, I have known folk religious or spiritual Dutch people in the 21st century who were/are believed to have læknishendr or who believed/believe in læknishendr.

Written by Dyami Millarson

Germanic personal names may be compounded with theonyms and children may thus be dedicated to Gods (as explained here under the section Ceremonies Involved in Name-Giving).

Under the lemma Goð- on page 208 of An Icelandic-English Dictionary published in 1874, Cleasby and Vigfusson state: “men of the olden time used to call their sons and daughters after the [G]ods (Goð-, Þór-, Frey-, Ás-); and it was thought that a double (i.e. a compound) name gave luck [i.e., Hamingja] and long life [i.e., langlíf], esp. those compounded with the names of [G]ods.”

As demonstrated by the quote in my previous article on apotropaic names, a Germanic name is associated with the sacred concept of Hamingja (Luck or Spirit of Luck).

Written by Dyami Millarson

The are the possible connections we may consider:

• The name of an Ásynja, Valkyrja, amd personal name Þrúðr and the noun þrúðr, the French name Gertrude, Gertraud, Osþryþ, Ásþrúðr
• The Old English verb þreotan
• The German adjective traut
• The verbs tread and trod, Gothic trudan, Old English noun trodu, Old Norse noun átroð

The Germanic d- often changes to t- in German: treiben, Tracht, Tag, Tür, trinken, etc. However, there are exceptions: denken, dunkel, dumm, Draht, durch, deutsch, drehen, etc. The Germanic þ- may therefore correspond to German t or d.

The Germanic long u changes to au in German, but it remains ū in Swiss German.

Written by Dyami Millarson

I recently came across quotes from one of Vilhelm Grønbech’s works on GoodReads.

Vilhelm Grønbech is a 19th-century Dane whom I know as the author of The Culture of the Teutons.

He was born on the island Bornholm, which possesses its own indigenous language that has retained the 3-gender distinction of Old Norse.

Written by Dyami Millarson

In Southern German folk religion, a Drude is a female incubus or mare. So when a Drude lies on a person, that person will experience nightmares and shortness of breath. The plural is Druden. Other forms of Drude include Drud and Trud(e).

On page 1453 of the second volume of Grimm’s Deutsches wörterbuch, the Drude is described as a witch, an old witch-like woman, a bad spirit, or mare who presses a sleeping human victim.

On page 182 of the second volume of Bailey-Fahrenkrüger’s Wörterbuch der englischen Sprache published in 1822, Drud(e) is glossed as fairy. It ought to be understood that a fairy may not necessarily be an innocent, harmless being.

On page 621 of volume I of Johann Ebers’ The New and Complete Dictionary of the German and English Languages published in 1796, Drud(e) is rendered as “a Magician, a Wizard, a Conjurer, Sorcerer, Enchanter; a Hobgoblin, a Spectre, Spirit, Phantom, the Nightmare or the Hag.”

On page 265 of the second volume of Christian Joseph Jagemann’s Dizionario italiano-tedesco e tedesco-italiano published in 1803, Drud is rendered into Italian as “stregone; strega — spirito” and Drude as “folletto — incubo.” The former signifies “sorcerer; witch — spirit” and the latter signifies “fairy — incubus.” The Italian dictionary interprets Drud as a masculine substantive and Drude as a feminine substantive.

In pages 180-181 of volume II of Karl Pearson’s work The Chances of Death, and Other Studies in Evolution published in 1897, it is said: “Later M.H.G. trut, trute, Bavarian and Tyrolese trud, drud, trûte, trütl, Modern German drude, denotes a witch, magic-working woman, or spirit, who comes as an incubus at night. That the trud who came and pressed the sleeper at night was […] often very human, is evidenced by Bucher’s tale of the Caluzine father, who found out that his trut was the kerzlerin, i.e. the woman who sold votive candles in the church.”

Written by Dyami Millarson

Words are associated with magic in Germanic religion; consequently, prayers, charms and poems are associated with magic as well. Names, being special words, possess a distinct significance as they are intricately linked to the souls inhabiting humans, objects, or Gods. They serve as identifiers that reference the essences embodied within individuals, deities, or items. Germanic names are magical; for Germanic names are inherently apotropaic, which means that it is in the nature of Germanic names to ward off evil and safeguard against misfortune.

On page 70, line 9, of Hugo Gering’s version of Finnboga saga hins ramma published in 1879, we read the following clauses from chapter 36 of the saga: “bađ þau hion gera þat tillæti viđ sik at lata heita eptir honum. kuaz þess venta at nockur hamingia mundi fylgia.” On page 69 of Jón Þorkelsson’s Sex sögu-þættir published in 1855, we find the same clauses as follows: “bað þau hjón gjöra þat tillæti við sik at láta heita eptir honum, kvaðst þess vænta, at nokkur hamingja mundi fylgja.” The translation is: “begged the married couple to do him the favour to have/let be called after him, said that it is expected that luck would follow.” A man desires a child to be named after him to pass on his hamingja.