"Hela"

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In Norse mythology, Hel, also known as Hela, Holle, or Hulda, is the Teutonic Goddess and the ruler of Helheim,  the lowest world at the roots of the sacred World Tree. In the cosmology of the nine worlds, She is considered the goddess of Death and the Underworld. Her name quite literally means "one that hides", and it is the source of the English word "hell," because of her connection to the underworld. 

 

She is often a misunderstood Goddess as many Goddesses of the Underworld are, as people tend to lump them under the label "evil" without consideration. In the Northern Tradition, Death is not seen as evil as it is simply a part of the cycle of Nature. Some descriptions of her from the Edda propose that Hel is half black and half white, while other stories portray her as having one side that is beautiful and the other is rotting or skeletal. Half alive and half dead, symbolizing not only the light and dark aspects within all of us, but to express the beauty of the cycle of life. 

 

She is not interested in hiding or euphemizing the true nature of Death, as decay is just as sacred as any other part of Creation. Hela represents endings and beginnings, and also the darker aspects of life and of ourselves. She teaches us that death is the opportunity for rebirth, in anything in our lives. The ending of one thing becomes the beginning of another. She is the impetus and the reason for transformation. She is life-changing and never-ending.

 

She opens Her arms to us at the most crucial time in our lives. She is the force behind the life alterations that shift our worldview. Herald of change, harbinger of death, protector of the old and sick and innocent. She is a Goddess of great compassion, and it is said by Her followers that She never speaks a lie.

 

As the judge of souls,  She determines where in Helheim they will go. Those who were evil in life go to a realm of icy cold death, where souls would be damned for eternity, and this part of Helheim is where the Christian "Hell" comes from. The others entering her realm who died of natural causes, disease, etc., were watched over by Hel and given a chance for rebirth.  Her realm is a transitional holding place for those waiting to be reincarnated and She helps them through that transformational process.

 

She is the youngest child of God Loki and Goddess Angrboda, and therefore the sister of the wolf Fenrir and the world serpent, Jormungand. She was sent by Odin to Helheim/Niflheim to preside over the spirits of the dead, except for those who were killed in battle that went to Valhalla. It was her job to determine the fate of the souls who entered her realm. Hel is the Goddess often seen as one who thins the veil between realms, and for that reason many occult practitioners would call on Hel for astral travel, to travel to the world of the spirits and communicate with them.

She is usually honored at Samhain and Yule, and on the dark/waning moon.

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Paola Luciani Fulbright