We’re starting off the week with a new format in our diary. Tales of Old Gods & Goddesses, myths and stories of our ancestors… in this series I want to dive into all the old knowledge that is out there and entertain you, my fellow witches, with some interesting trivia about your favourite cultures and belief system.

For our premiere, I’ve chosen two figures from the Norse Mythology:

the Ravens Huginn and Muninn

Legend has it, that these two majestic birds were the trusted companions and advisors of Odin, the wise Chief of the Gods. They would fly off in the morning throughout all of the world’s realms (Midgard) and return to Odin’s by dinner time to tell him about everything they’ve seen. 

It is believed, that Huginn (meaning “thought”) and Muninn (meaning “mind” or “memory”) represent Odin’s insatiable hunger for wisdom and knowledge. In some folklore they are depicted as his spirit animals, in some they are even a projection of Odin himself. The first mentions of Huginn and Muninn go as far back as the Poetic Edda, the compilation of Norse folklore from the 13th century.

While they look just like regular ravens, glistening black feathers and sharp and shiny beaks, they have been bestowed with great gifts from Odin. They can speak and understand the human language, cover great distances when in flight and are extremely clever and cunning – so much so they accompanied Odin into battles to warn him of the enemies next move.

Fun Facts:

The Vikings used ravens much in the same way that their God of War did. They would take caged birds with them on their ships and release them while out on sea. If the raven returned to the ship, there was no land in sight, but if it continued flying, the Vikings now had a direction to follow in search for new lands to conquer.

The cunning ravens nowadays feature on the coat of arms of the Norwegian Intelligence Service – and really what would be better suited to represent a Secret Service than the all-knowing and all-seeing ravens.

If you are interested in more Norse mythology I can really recommend the book by Helen A. Gruber “Tales of Norse Mythology”. Not only is it absolutely gorgeous from the outside but the illustrations really bring the book to live.