Dedication to Hel
Happy Winter Solstice/Yule/Christmas or anything else you celebrate. Although we have made it through the darkest night—which I spent writing this dedication in honor of Hel this season—my family will be doing the majority of our solstice celebrations throughout the day, today. So! Before the festivities begin, let me share with you why I honor Hel during the Winter Solstice and provide my own thoughts on her that I have discovered through working with her for a decade.
Back when I first began venturing away from Christianity, there were a few places I looked first. There were the usual suspects: Daoism, Judaism, Islam, Satanism, and Buddhism. None of which particularly peaked my interest. Paganism felt like the last ditch effort to find some semblance of belief in anything, since at those earliest times I was blissfully unaware that anyone still practiced it, at least not seriously. In fact, Nordic paganism was the sect that eluded me the longest, eventually arriving here after I had poked my nose into Egyptian, Greek, and Celtic and found them difficult to connect with.
The main reason I avoided Nordic paganism for so long was because my sister had been studying it, more as a personal interest and less of a religion, and I didn’t want to step on her toes. But, after a while of me wandering aimlessly through the fields of spiritual consciousness and finding nothing I could get a grip on, my sister eventually made the solitary comment that she was surprised I didn’t look into the Norse myths because she thought I would enjoy working with Hel.
Of course, her reasoning was that Hel is a Death Goddess who cares for lost souls, striking a resemblance to my sympathies for ghosts and dead things as a child. Regardless, that began my journey into Nordic paganism and my adoration for the Lady in Grey.
In my mind, it’s only fitting that I offer some sort of tribute to her character in the brimming returning light of the Solstice and the pleasure of having worked with her as long as I have. There is only one issue that I would like to address before continuing, that I believe Hel would appreciate:
Take anything you read about Hel—personality, morals, virtues, etc.—with a grain of salt. That includes this post.
Historically, we have very little information about her. The only documentation of her existence in the myths is the story of Baldur’s death, aka the myth of the Winter Solstice as described briefly in the Poetic Edda and with little more detail in the Prose Edda. Since most of us know this story, I’ll provide a short summary but feel free to skip it if you’d like to move on.
Baldur (the Light) is killed by a mistletoe arrow, a trick played by Loki (chaos; aka, the force which brings about change). Because he does not die a warrior’s death, he is sent to Helheim instead of Valhalla. The gods travel there to beg Hel to release Baldur back to them, but she loves him as all other creatures do and doesn’t want to let him go. She tells the gods that she will only allow him to return to the living if every person in the realms mourns his death. They search everywhere, speak to everyone, but one woman refuses to mourn and instead praises his loss to the world (many believe this was Loki in disguise, which I can talk about my personal thoughts on that another day). As a result, Hel refuses to release him.
I am skeptical of the accuracy of any other information on her other than what I have gathered from her, myself. With that said, I will share what I have learned of her in the spirit of the season of giving, but it is only my truth and do not claim it to be traditional in any context.
Hel is dark and foreboding. Strict in her values and expects those who follow her to adhere to the same on their own paths. She is a tough teacher—one that prides herself in the effectiveness of hard-earned lessons. Although she is thoughtful and caring, she is adamant on saying and doing what is difficult simply because it is right to do so and will be brutally honest. In this way, she comes across as cold and domineering—a chill that I am familiar with in my own life and have understood long enough to see through it to her true intentions. You must be steadfast in your beliefs, and willing to stand up to anyone and anything to protect them to work with her long-term.
She values honesty and loyalty above all else—something I immediately connected with when first working with her. Her honesty is not the type that completely rules out lying, though people will tell you otherwise. Hel knows the value of a lie, told in the right way at the right time can encourage a person to seek the truth, and also compel them to trust themselves and remain healthily skeptical. Another difficult lesson, at times, but a necessary one to build upon your personal power instead of placing it in the hands of others, especially Hel, herself.
Her loyalty is not so simple, as well. Yes, if you are going to follow her then she expects complete loyalty and a willingness to do as she says when she says to. But it is a choice, and one that only you can make. With her loyalty she teaches a lesson in expectations of others. The only person you can demand loyalty of is yourself. You choose where your loyalties lie and defend them at any cost, but never demand others to be loyal to you. Allow them to choose that path for themselves. If it is demanded, it is not sincere.
I’ve heard stories of those who wish to harm themselves seeing Hel lovingly pulling them from the depths of their despair so they may continue on their journey toward the light. I have not had such an experience with her. In my darkest moments, she’s usually sitting close by, putting out this energy of “Really? We’re doing this, now?” A sort of slap in the face to shake it off and come to the conclusion that you’re better than this. In her cold, apathetic way, she says “Get it out of your head that you’re not strong enough for this. Don’t be stupid. You can handle more than you think.” Luckily, I’m the type of person who responds well to those harsher pep-talks. It’s hard to argue with someone who admits your faults while trying to tell you it’s still worth it to press on.
That’s what I admire about her. Her insistence on telling it like it is. She can always be trusted to never sugar-coat her criticism, but it will be fair and thorough to help you learn and grow. As a Death Goddess, she symbolizes the decimation of the old to make space for something new. Like tearing down a condemned building to create a new space to build upon, she does so with our souls. She is the energy of spiritual growth, the “ego death” as Neo-pagans call it. An opportunity to be reborn and continue evolving into the best version of yourself. A necessary pain; beautiful, intriguing, and mysterious.
A very spooky maiden, indeed.