Petals of the Norse Self
Stories of Norse culture, fictional or historical, insinuates an air of captivation, alluring us into new realms. Our society really enjoys the mystery and strength of the Vikings, the prowess of the gods, goddesses, and heroes, and the magical otherworldliness of elves, dwarves, dragons, gnomes, etc. We are fascinated with the spiritual and fantasy components and, at least for myself, long to find a sense of belonging in this extraordinary worldview.
At a glance, it can seem very challenging to envision how an ancient society so entangled with community also voiced having a sense of self. At the root of this predicament, community and individuality are one in the same. Two sides to a coin. If the individual falters, the community stumbles— even more so if that individual is a pillar to the community. And, if the community at large, becomes corrupted or dismantled, the individual suffers. The two are inseparable.
There are several different concepts that exist today for how a society should be ran, from economic-focused perspectives to more philosophically driven opinions. But there’s really only a handful of well known theories of defining the self and even less so of classifying a soul.
The Norse just happened to have some terms that survived describing parts of the self. However, there is no set manuscript detailing exactly what their beliefs on the matter were. But from what’s been pieced together through surviving materials and well educated individuals, these four parts of the self are what we have to work with.
The Four-part Self: Hamr, Hugr, Fylgja, and Hamingja.
Hamr
Hamr (pronounced like English’s hammer) translates to “shape” or “skin” and therefore represents our appearance. Through the myths, archeological finds, and life cycles, we see that the hamr is not limited to our flesh and bones nor permanent. Shifting your shape, whether doing something as simple as getting a hair cut or new outfit for gender-affirming purposes, or shifting your personality/body language to be perceived in a certain way all links back to the hamr and how you express your identity in any given situation.
Odin sacrifices his eye to the Well of Mimir in exchange for wisdom and divine cosmic knowledge. Odin is also distinguished as the god of many names, taking on a multitude of disguises to wonder the realms unrecognizable. He often engages in challenges of witty banter to fool the recipient in a bout of who’s more knowledgeable, knowing the recipient can’t win against his cunningness.
Furthermore, there are many accounts of body modifications that occurred, from tattoos to teeth filing, or to a lesser degree, how they styled their hair. This was a way of expressing identity, aligning with certain groups, or flaunting social status. The hamr here was used to non-verbally convey information to society.
More complicated expressions of shapeshifting, such as turning into an animal, are also connected to the hamr and very present within mythology. Freyja is in possession of a cloak that shifts the wearer into a falcon. Loki is known for shifting into animals and insects alike- a mare that birthed Odin’s steed, a fly to spy and manipulate, a salmon to evade capture. Even Thor utilizes the hamr’s pliability to appear as Freyja in a story involving the retrieval of his hammer, Mjolnir, from the giant Thrym.
Hugr
Hugr (pronounced hoo-gur) has multiple interpretations from mind, intellect, and thought, to emotion, desire, personality, and intuition. This is more or less who we are. Not overwhelmingly how we express ourselves, although that can be a factor, but who we truly are on the inside. The hugr evolves as we grow, experience life, and discover ourselves.
Even though the hugr resides as a core part of our being, its adaptability comes into play when we take into account projecting oneself. An easy example of this would be when you randomly think about a specific person only for them to reach out moments later. That person’s and your hugr interacted in an undefinable manner before ever actually engaging in conversation. Hence, the hugr extends to our intuition and 6th sense of perceiving information of the world and can be detachable. Thus, it extends to spiritual practices of journeying within alternate realms, and of spiritual energy on this plane.
The hugr, our logic, emotions, instincts, is our first line of defense. Being strong willed and aware is beneficial to survival, not being taken advantage of, and for pursuing your sense of purpose. The hugr is deeply engrained as a part of our essence and has potential to remain intact even after death. The will of loved ones past can affect decisions we make in life or influence our understandings and tolerance of things.
On the spiritual side, the hugr can appear as a physical spirit apparition, or appeal to mediumship abilities. We can see examples of this in mythology, most notably in Voluspa, when Odin performs útiseta, summoning the spirit of a past renowned witch, or völva, to ask questions of the future.
Fylgja
Fylgja (pronounces FILG-ya) translates roughly to “fetch” and is usually described as an animal guardian type spirit that is associated with a person afterbirth. While being tied to a person, it’s uncommon to see the fylgja, until around their death because of the nature of the fylgja. If you die, they die, and vis versa. The animal is often related to the person’s personality by taking after their dominant traits or can be passed down within a family line.
The fylgja is often described as being semi-autonomous despite being a core component of the self. You can compare this to a spiritual guide with a deep bond forever connecting them to you. The fylgja can wander wherever they choose to and have their own opinions and preferences. However, the actions the fylgja chooses serves some function or relation to the person they’re connected to.
There are plenty of examples in mythology of fylgja venturing out to a place before the person, sometimes resulting in an accidental warning to an enemy. Or appearing to their person in dreams to warn of dangers coming. The fylgja, therefore, becomes an important component of spiritual belief in premonitions, omens, and energetic attacks.
In modern practices, it’s possible to develop a more intimate relationship with your fylgja via spiritual practices like meditation, magic, or energetic perception. In this aspect, the fylgja can become a guide while journeying in the Otherworld, an energetic protector, or a helper to your magical desires.
Hamingja
Hamingja (pronounced hahm-ing-ya) translates roughly to “luck.” But this is not our western societal understanding of luck but rather a complex string of fortune connecting a person to their bloodline, community, and their own individualistic contributions. To understand hamingja, we have to briefly look at some information on the Norse viewpoint of fate: örlog and wyrd.
The Norse had a complex understanding of fate and the interconnection of all beings. Life has fixed and more malleable events. Fixed events are things you have no personal control over- like when you were born or who your parents are. Malleable events are the building blocks of choice that you make throughout every day.
Now, these malleable choices can group together to form a future fixed point- like choosing to steal repeatedly will result in legal troubles. But because of how cause, effect, and entanglement function together, our choices are constantly affecting others. Our fate is constantly being woven and constructed as it unfolds.
This is the web of Wyrd. The threads that create our lives, everything we interact with, and that which binds us to this world. This web of threads, wyrd, contributes to the overall, big picture tapestry of your life, ørlog. Even the gods are not superior to wyrd or ørlog and are bound by it. But this does not imply a predestination perspective, rather a balance between choice and causality.
Hamingja comes into play with the threads and tapestry by contributing “luck.” This could be explained as how easily or difficult the threads of wyrd weave together. For example, the inherited hamingja from being born into a wealthy family. You’d have the “luck” of being born into a networking class already established. But how you use this luck is your personal contribution to hamingja. Do you take advantage of this network or become exiled? The same can be said in an alternative example, by having low ancestral “luck” but learning and acquiring skills to better your life and the lives of your future bloodline.
Further complicating hamingja, the “luck” cultivated for yourself can be lent to another, making this aspect of the self expand to an even grander extent than just one person or family. This could tangibly look like sharing gifts or knowledge, and intangibly look like wishing/willing someone healthy, lending magical assistance in group workings, or affecting another’s life by sheer association.
Hamingja is deeply entangled with the aspects of who we are, where we come from, and the choices we make to create our lives. It’s almost like a currency of energetic exchange between everything that makes up life. From generational traumas or passed down knowledge, relationships built with other people, spirits, or the land, to possessions and objects used throughout life, hamingja seems to be present in all things and is constantly ebbing and flowing.
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Alyssa
Sources and Further Readings
https://www.northernamericannordicsociety.com/post/honoring-the-vaettir-spirits
https://norse-mythology.org/concepts/the-parts-of-the-self/
Spinning Wyrd, Ryan Smith. 2023.
https://heathensoullore.net/who-is-hugr/
https://heathensoullore.net/huntingthewildhugr/
https://www.brutenorse.com/blog/2018/02/spirits-premonitions-and-psychic.html
