We are all familiar with the story of Baldur’s grievous demise, but what exactly does this entail in the grand scheme of things? For us in the Norse Pagan tradition, Baldur’s journey is that of the Solar deity Who rises to fullness half of the year, and the other half wanes with far fewer hours of daylight or even no daylight in some parts of the world. This cycle represents His annual journey from the higher realm of the Godanum, Asgard, to the lower realm, Hel, and back again. This journey began at Asgard’s western shore, where His ship Hringhorn was docked in the sea of air. Hringhorn, or Hringhorni, means “curved-prow,” which perhaps gives us some small insight to its construction and visual appearance as likely quite similar to the Viking long ships that are so prevalently circulated in pictures today. Simply try Googling “curved prow” and this type of ship will inevitably be brought up in the search engine.
A pyre was made upon His ship, and there Odin lay His Son’s body to rest. So great was Her grief that when Baldur’s wife, Nanna, saw this She collapsed of a broken heart. Her body was then lain next to Her beloved husband’s upon the same ship’s pyre, to accompany Him away from Asgard. A holy fire was lit and the pyre was blessed with Thor’s hammer, then Odin took the opportunity to have one final exchange with His son before the ship departed, placing the ring Draupnir on Baldur’s breast and whispering something in His ear. We wo not know what Odin whispered, but wouldn’t it be something special if we did? A strong north wind then blew from Jötunheim, which filled Hringhorn’s sails and took it out into the sea of air. The Aesir stood gazing at the burning pyre until it was lost to the horizon.
Baldur and Nanna arrived at the western gate of the underworld, known as Hel, and the Holy Powers of the underworld then guided them to Breidablik castle in the land of the rosy dawn. Far from the Christian use of “hell” in association with torment in death of non-believers, our sacred place Hel is associated in particular with the fields of bliss where good people go upon their exit from life in Midgard (Earth). Breidablik, which means “the Far-Shining”, is Baldur’s castle in the grove of Mimir, guardian of the underworld and keeper of the well of wisdom at the root of Yggdrassil, the World Tree.
In Our Father’s Godsaga Rydberg says the following of Breidablik:
The halls were adorned with tapestries and golden ornaments; on the table before the
high seat stood a drinking bowl, covered with a shield, in which the strength-giving liquids
of the three underworld wells were blended. It is the drink that is extended to the
blessed dead to erase the marks of earthly death and gives them the ability to enjoy
the life of bliss, completely free from care. The shield was removed and when they
arrived, they were welcomed with the drink of “clear strengths.”
While this is an annual cyclic journey of death and rebirth, it is also part of the larger cycle of world ages. Baldur and Nanna were to remain in the Breidablik underworld dwelling until the coming of the new age post-Ragnarok, when Lif and Leifthrasir, would join them in creating a new Midgard. The girl, Lif, and boy, Leifthrasir, are Asmegir, or children of the Aesir - humans who dwell with Baldur and Nanna in Mimir’s grove and will be the parents of mankind in the new age to come, the Green World of the Gods and Goddesses.
Each year, we celebrate Baldur’s Journey at Midsommarstad and Jul by following His descent into the lower realm at Summer Solstice, the longest day, after which the light of the Sun grows incrementally shorter until Jul, the longest night, when the Sun’s moments to shine upon our world begin to increase again. For Midsommarstad, we observe Drinking in the Light, Drykkja í ljósinu, where we can receive the Holy Light of the Shining Ones in observance of the sacred journey of our beloved Baldur, God of Light.
Resources:
Rydberg, Viktor. Our Father’s Godsaga Retold for the Young. Translated by William P.
Reaves, iUniverse, Inc., 2003.
The Norroena Society. The Ásatrú Edda: Sacred Lore of the North. The Norroena Society, 2017.
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