Hel

Hel
In Norse mythology, the goddess and ruler of Helheim, the realm of the dead. Hel is the youngest child of the evil god Loki and the giantess Angrboda. She is usually described as a horrible hag, half-alive and half-dead (half-blue-black and half-flesh-colored), with a gloomy and grim expression. Her face and body are those of a living woman, but her thighs and legs are those of a corpse, mottled and moldering. Hel was cast into the underworld after being abducted by the gods. Her hall in Helheim is called Eljudnir (Sleet-Cold), the home of the dead, and has high walls. Her manservant is Ganglati and her maidservant is Ganglot (tardy).

The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology – Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley – Copyright © 2009 by Visionary Living, Inc.

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Once upon a time, being sent to Hel may have been inevitable, but it wasn’t perceived as punishment: Hel, daughter of Angerboda and Loki, rules the Norse realm of the dead. She is the keeper of the souls of the departed. Those who die at sea or in battle have other destinations; everyone else goes to Hel, who welcomes them into her home, Helhaim, regardless of whether they were good, bad, sinful, or saintly while alive.

Hel’s realm is not a sulphurous, fiery torture chamber. Rather it is a kind of inn or way station for the dead, although once checked in, one can never check out. Helhaim is a bleak, gray, damp, misty realm: the concept of heat as punishment was imported from hotter, southern climes alongside Christianity. Lack of warmth with no hope of Spring was the Norse equivalent of desolation. That said, some regions of Helhaim are more comfortable than others: Hel judges and decides exactly where each individual soul is directed.

Hel’s name may derive from the Old German halja, meaning “covering.” She may or may not be the same spirit as Hulda (Holle). Hel and her brothers, a wolf and a snake, were raised by their mother, the witch Angerboda, in the Iron Wood. Prophecy suggested that the siblings would someday lead a Host of Destruction against the Aesir, and so Odin had them “brought” to Asgard, where each was ultimately entrapped. Odin personally seized Hel and flung her as far as he could: she landed in the Realm of Death and became its Queen. She lives in a great hall, Eliudnir, within Helhaim. She remains destined to lead an uprising of rebellious spirits and ghosts.

Hel manifests in dreams, most famously to Balder, Odin’s son. She appeared to him three days before his death, advising him (accurately) that in three days she would clasp him in her arms. Because her father was instrumental in killing Balder, it’s unclear how much inside information Hel possessed.

ALSO KNOWN AS:

Hella; Hela

ORIGIN:

Norse

Manifestations:

Hel is simultaneously half-dead and half-alive. Half of her body (cut vertically) is that of a fair, beautiful woman; the other half is necrotized flesh. She is half living woman, half corpse.

ATTRIBUTES:

Rake and broom: the Black Plague was especially devastating in Scandinavia. Allegedly Hel roamed the land armed with her rake and broom. Villages totally wiped out by the Plague were said to have been swept away; where there were survivors, Hel had raked instead.

Spirit allies:

Hel’s staff includes servants named “Delay” (male) and “Slowness” (female).

COLOURS:

Black and white

Rune:

Hagalaz

Mount:

Hel rides a black mare.

ANIMALS:

She has a pack of dogs, the original Hell Hounds, as well as horses and wolves.

Places:

Mount Hekla, an active volcano in southern Iceland, was allegedly among the entrances to Hel’s realm. A nearby town is named Hella. Some have suggested that the mountain shares its name with the goddess, although others protest that Hekla means “slab” or “covering,” which would still make it cognate with Hel as that is what her name means, too. It’s also theorized that the Belgian city of Hal may be named in her honor.

SEE ALSO:

• Angerboda
• Balder
• Black Madonna of Hal
• Hulda
• Loki
• Modgud
• Odin
• Norse Mythology

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses – Written by : Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.

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