In the Skaði post, I talked about a dream that I had years ago with two Polar Bears. Years later, Skaði revealed that the bears were Her and her ex, Njörðr. I learned that He's the Norse Vanir God of the Sea, father of Freyr and Freyja.
Other than the dream, I didn't meet Njörðr again until 2020-21, when I was a member of the Wyrd Sanctuary. I think it was after one of our rituals. I tranced to a twilight desert that was empty, yet had weird shadows that stretched across the barren landscape. The time passed from twilight and slowly dimmed.
I found myself standing next to a massive vegvisir, half submerged in the ground, yet ticking like a clock. Although not an ancient symbol--definitely not viking--vegvisir is like a compass that represents wayfinding and protection. Although I've read that it's also not a compass, which is fine, but that's what it is to me. I didn't even know what the symbol was when I first saw it. Giant and strange, the whole scene was.
In the trance, I was aware of a tall God standing next to me, draped in nets and blues, facing away from vegvisir. At first I thought it was Poseidon, but when I saw His face, I immediately saw "Njord" in my mind. Still didn't know who He was.
After a moment, He said something and I answered, "Loki said to not talk to strangers."
Njörðr answered, "You know me. You just need to remember. Vegvisir can help you find the way."
I looked to the giant ticking symbol, and immediately felt a strong connection to it. I took in each branch--different from each other--certainly didn't look like any compass I've seen, but then I was also fairly new to Norse mythology and Norse paganism at this time.
Then I came out of the trance.
Since then, I've met Njörðr a few times on various journeys and dreams, channelings and possessions, too. He's calm, compassionate, and quite. Patient. Waaay different than my experiences with Poseidon--who's a hurricane, overwhelming power and emotion. Njörðr's a calm sea. He definitely didn't have that need to show me some of His power, unlike His Hellenic counterpart. Basically like, 'you know I'm a God. I don't need to show off.' Or perhaps, 'not all of us sea and ocean gods are the same.'
Because of my intense relationship with Poseidon, I was very cautious of Njörðr. Unlike Poseidon, He didn't, like, stalk me. He wasn't in my face. With Poseidon, I actually had to seek protection from Hekate at one point because He wanted me so bad as a devotee, but I didn't want to, which made Him angry. He was so aggressive, which sometimes deities can certainly be. Many have a reputation for it when They want people, such as Zeus and Óðinn. Once Poseidon backed off, THEN I considered His proposal. Then I took time and consulted my most trusted deities, such as Hestia-Vesta, Medusa, and Mama Hekate, before accepting. I don't regret it--I learned a lot from Poseidon...
..Then shit went down--a jealous devotee of His tried to kill me and stalked me for the last three-ish years. He stopped coming around. I officially ended it a year or so ago, unintentionally on the Titanic Memorial.
I was pissed, hurt, and felt betrayed--that bitch tried to kill me and Poseidon ghosted me. Like, WTF? It made me very cautious, especially of Sea/Ocean deities--not a generalizing way, I wasn't painting them all with the same brush. I just needed space and time to heal. Which I did seek through water--I didn't shy away from it. I love swimming and have a strong connection to water. In the life before this one, I was a Fin Whale--yes, I still feel those phantom fins from time to time. I'd go to the lake and just float in the deeper parts, communing with the water spirits.
Then comes this calm and patient Vanir. This entire journey with Njörðr, I've felt safe with Him. This relationship has definitely been slower and more grounded so far. (Yes, I can see aalllllll of the psychology connections--I've explored them in my own shadow work, therapy, and healing. Traditionally water represents emotions. Poseidon and I were more like water and fire--I was also going through crisis after crisis with my mom, an old spiritual group, and stalkers. Now my life is calmer, safer, and I'm also more emotionally mature.)
Vegvisir still puzzles me. It still ticks like a clock, not working like any compasses I've seen. Time and directions work differently between the realms and worlds, though. I keep it near, when I see it "in the wild" I know Njörðr's near, too. It's really become His symbol for me.
Poseidon represented chaos and furious power and Njörðr represents order and calm power. Feels more disciplined, I think--mature, secure. Then again, perhaps I'm a little biased? I experienced a tempermental Poseidon, unlike others who may experience a calmer one.
Can't wait to see how my relationship with Njörðr grows, as well as those psychological connections with my own healing and security.
I just read that He is a peaceful and calm sea. I haven't actually done a lot of research on this God, so it's nice to see that a lot of what I've experienced with Njörðr is USG.
Other than the dream, I didn't meet Njörðr again until 2020-21, when I was a member of the Wyrd Sanctuary. I think it was after one of our rituals. I tranced to a twilight desert that was empty, yet had weird shadows that stretched across the barren landscape. The time passed from twilight and slowly dimmed.
I found myself standing next to a massive vegvisir, half submerged in the ground, yet ticking like a clock. Although not an ancient symbol--definitely not viking--vegvisir is like a compass that represents wayfinding and protection. Although I've read that it's also not a compass, which is fine, but that's what it is to me. I didn't even know what the symbol was when I first saw it. Giant and strange, the whole scene was.
In the trance, I was aware of a tall God standing next to me, draped in nets and blues, facing away from vegvisir. At first I thought it was Poseidon, but when I saw His face, I immediately saw "Njord" in my mind. Still didn't know who He was.
After a moment, He said something and I answered, "Loki said to not talk to strangers."
Njörðr answered, "You know me. You just need to remember. Vegvisir can help you find the way."
I looked to the giant ticking symbol, and immediately felt a strong connection to it. I took in each branch--different from each other--certainly didn't look like any compass I've seen, but then I was also fairly new to Norse mythology and Norse paganism at this time.
Then I came out of the trance.
Since then, I've met Njörðr a few times on various journeys and dreams, channelings and possessions, too. He's calm, compassionate, and quite. Patient. Waaay different than my experiences with Poseidon--who's a hurricane, overwhelming power and emotion. Njörðr's a calm sea. He definitely didn't have that need to show me some of His power, unlike His Hellenic counterpart. Basically like, 'you know I'm a God. I don't need to show off.' Or perhaps, 'not all of us sea and ocean gods are the same.'
Because of my intense relationship with Poseidon, I was very cautious of Njörðr. Unlike Poseidon, He didn't, like, stalk me. He wasn't in my face. With Poseidon, I actually had to seek protection from Hekate at one point because He wanted me so bad as a devotee, but I didn't want to, which made Him angry. He was so aggressive, which sometimes deities can certainly be. Many have a reputation for it when They want people, such as Zeus and Óðinn. Once Poseidon backed off, THEN I considered His proposal. Then I took time and consulted my most trusted deities, such as Hestia-Vesta, Medusa, and Mama Hekate, before accepting. I don't regret it--I learned a lot from Poseidon...
..Then shit went down--a jealous devotee of His tried to kill me and stalked me for the last three-ish years. He stopped coming around. I officially ended it a year or so ago, unintentionally on the Titanic Memorial.
I was pissed, hurt, and felt betrayed--that bitch tried to kill me and Poseidon ghosted me. Like, WTF? It made me very cautious, especially of Sea/Ocean deities--not a generalizing way, I wasn't painting them all with the same brush. I just needed space and time to heal. Which I did seek through water--I didn't shy away from it. I love swimming and have a strong connection to water. In the life before this one, I was a Fin Whale--yes, I still feel those phantom fins from time to time. I'd go to the lake and just float in the deeper parts, communing with the water spirits.
Then comes this calm and patient Vanir. This entire journey with Njörðr, I've felt safe with Him. This relationship has definitely been slower and more grounded so far. (Yes, I can see aalllllll of the psychology connections--I've explored them in my own shadow work, therapy, and healing. Traditionally water represents emotions. Poseidon and I were more like water and fire--I was also going through crisis after crisis with my mom, an old spiritual group, and stalkers. Now my life is calmer, safer, and I'm also more emotionally mature.)
Vegvisir still puzzles me. It still ticks like a clock, not working like any compasses I've seen. Time and directions work differently between the realms and worlds, though. I keep it near, when I see it "in the wild" I know Njörðr's near, too. It's really become His symbol for me.
Poseidon represented chaos and furious power and Njörðr represents order and calm power. Feels more disciplined, I think--mature, secure. Then again, perhaps I'm a little biased? I experienced a tempermental Poseidon, unlike others who may experience a calmer one.
Can't wait to see how my relationship with Njörðr grows, as well as those psychological connections with my own healing and security.
I just read that He is a peaceful and calm sea. I haven't actually done a lot of research on this God, so it's nice to see that a lot of what I've experienced with Njörðr is USG.
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Njörðr Correspondances (traditional and UPG):
- Family: Unnamed Sister. Ex of Skaði; father of Freyr and Freyja.
- Linked to: Nerthus (Germanic), Saturn (Roman)...
- Domain: Seafaring, Fertility, Fishing, Wealth, Calm, Frith...
- Home: Noatun
- Colors: Blues, Gold, Silver...
- Fauna: Fish, Sea Life, Sea Birds...
- Flora: Sea Plants, Ferns, Cedar...
- Gems/Stones: Aquamarine, Amethyst, Turquoise...
- Symbols: Nets, Ships, Wagon, Commerce/Money, Axe, Vegvisir...
- Personality: "Njord can change the wind and calm the sea, but he does not actively fight the tide. His “go-with-the-flow” nature does not mean he is passive; it just means he demands right-action and justification for that action." (2)
- Similar Deities: Poseidon (Hellenic), Posidaeja (Minoan), Lord Varuna (Hindu), Mazu (China)...
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Resources:
- Llewellyn Weschcke, Carl. Llewellyn: Norse Gods & Goddesses. 10 May 2017. https://www.llewellyn.com/encyclopedia/article/26366?srsltid=AfmBOorJrM65I4_70x2LGYpglZeAHlEdD9FXoDNof2owoxPyco84SaAv
- The Troth: Njord. https://thetroth.org/resource/njord/
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Thank you for all of the support!
Face to the Sun.
Trust in Joy.
Follow the Foxes and the Bees...
- Priestess Foxlyn