Death, the Final Frontier...?
Death—we are obsessed with it. Some of us are worried about dying while others do not care at all. Whether consciously or not, I believe that we all fear death.
Personally, I am interested in what ancient cultures thought of death and the afterlife and the deities associated with it.
The Morrigan (Celtic Goddess of War and Fate)
Photo by Kevin Mueller on Unsplash
The Celtic people believed in life after death. They buried food, weapons and other objects with their dead. I assume that was so that they are not left empty-handed in their next life.
Now, the Irish believed that there was something called the Otherworld. This Otherworld had a few different names: The Delightful Plain, the Land of the Young, and the Land of the Living.
I would have assumed that the world we currently live in is the Land of the Living. However, given their beliefs about life after death, maybe all worlds can be considered the same.
From my research, there is no deity associated with the Otherworld. However, there is a deity who is sometimes associated with death—the Morrigan.
The Morrigan is a goddess of war and fate. Her role involves presenting herself as a symbol of imminent death to those fighting in battle. She is also known for being able to foretell death during battle. She flies overhead as a crow and brings fear and courage to the warriors.
Even though she does not have a direct role with the Otherworld, she is still considered to be a goddess of death and destiny as well as war and fate.
I think she is quite fascinating.
Hel (Norse Goddess of the Underworld)
What about the Norse people?
They had a few different ideas about life after death, so let’s look at a few main concepts.
The idea of “soul” to the Norse did not have the same meaning as it does to many of us today. “Soul” to the Norse had four different components.
Hamr–this was a person’s physical appearance that could change shape and colour.
Hugr–this was one’s personality that remained with them after death.
Fylgja–this was one’s familiar spirit.
Hamingja–this was about someone’s quality of life formed or caused by their Hugr.
Now, these parts of the soul had more than one possible place that they could end up. It is believed that there are five different realms in which a person could end up after death.
“Hel” by Johannes Gehrts (1889)
Valhalla—the hall of heroes where those who died in battle go.
Folkvangr—the Field of People ruled by Freya.
Hel—also called Niflheim ruled by the goddess Hel (we will come back to her later). This is where most souls end up.
The Realm of Ran—the Coral Caves of Ran ruled by the giantess Ran where those who died at sea end up.
The Burial Mound—this is where the soul of the dead could remain alongside their corpse.
I want to focus on Hel because this realm is associated with a deity. Hel is a goddess of death who rules over the realm of Niflheim. This place, also called “The World of Darkness”, later came to be known as “Hel” because of the goddess who rules over it.
Niflheim is where most people end up after they die. They continue to live as they did when they were alive. Personally, I think this sounds quite nice (as far as an afterlife goes).
Hel is the daughter of Loki, the trickster god. This makes her the sister to the wolf Fenrir and the World Serpent, Jormungandr. Her name means “hidden” which may be linked to her role as the goddess of death. As a goddess, she is indifferent towards the living and the dead but there is not a lot of representation in ancient text.
However, unlike The Morrigan, she does seem to have more direct involvement with the dead as ruler of the Underworld.
Maybe Death is Not So Bad
Photo by Leonardo Yip on Unsplash
Considering both views about death and the afterlife, what I find the most interesting is that there is a place for everyone. Neither of them has clear-cut ideas about “good vs. bad” when it comes to a person’s soul. There is simply a place.
Looking at both the Celtic and Norse views of the afterlife, death feels less intimidating than I once thought. Don’t you think?
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Sarah Clarke
Sarah is a 20-something aspiring author who has a passion for writing. She is also an avid fan of movies, TV shows, video games, and of course, books. Her favourite genres include fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, and various others. Why have one favourite when you can have many?