There are a lot of strange and wonderful creatures in mythology and it is not surprising that the fylgja stands out the most among all them. Legends and tales about this guardian spirit are found in Norse mythology, where they discuss its origins, role, and appearances in dreams in a combination of fascinating but sometimes bewildering concepts. Here are most amazing facts about Fylgja of Norse mythology that you can’t ignore being a mythology geek.
1 Fylgja Is A Kind Of Guardian Spirit Which Is Connected With A Person’s Life
The Old Norse word fylgja means “to accompany,” “to follow,” and “to lead or to show someone the way” all of which provide easy definitions of this mythical creature’s role in the lives of mortals. There is also a namesake for fylga that means “afterbirth.” See what we mean by confusing? In general they are the supernatural beings or a kind of wraith ghost that takes care of a human being (possessor of Fylgja).
2According To Some Legends, A Female Fylgja Represented as Beautiful Woman & The Protector Of The Family
Historically, the fylgja “plural form- fylgiur” was a female attendant spirit or guardian in Norse mythology. According to legends, they sometimes appear as beautiful women. As a guardian to the family, A fylgja, in the form of a woman, connects itself to a mortal when they are born and follows the family genealogy for generations to come.
3A Fylgiur Can Metamorphose Into Animals That Might Reflect Its Owner’s Character
According to other legends, the fylgja can also take the form of animals, such as bears and wolves. The fylgja can also take the form of oxen, eagles, falcons, boars, and hawks, as well. According to some versions of the legend, a fylgja’s form and character represent its owner – for instance, a powerful bear or a cunning fox.
A second version of the story is based on Norse or Scandinavian beliefs, according to which a person has more than a single soul, one of which can renounce the body and become the form of an animal or a duplicate of his appearance. Dreams were said to give rise to these appearances, but they could also happen when they were in the wakefulness; in the other words, there was also a possibility that these appearances were thought to occur when they were awake as well as in dreams. Eventually, As a fylgja, the soul shared a huge relationship with its possessor and became its own existence.
4Fylgja Often Appear In Dreams As Guardians, Warning People Of Danger Or Upcoming Events
People often experience that the fylgja is often seen in dreams as guardians and warning people concerning emerging dangers or upcoming events. Legend has it that these spirits are closely tied to their owners, so that if a fylgja dies, its owner will also die. In the event the mortal dies, however, the fylgja might move on to care for another family member.
In addition to its role as a guardian, the the form of an animal of the fylgja is said to appear to its owner in dreams with warnings of events to come or upcoming occurrences. It can also be seen during the time of wakefulness, but believed that it is not a good happening and a bad omen such as death.
In legends, if the fylgja appears as a woman, she’s considered a guardian spirit. But be aware, if she’s riding on a gray horse or tempting or calling (Invite) you to her home, she may be considered a bad prognostic such as death.
5Fylgja Can Be Good For Some While Evil For Others
In general, the fylgja is regarded as a good, vindicatory spirit that appears to warn of danger or imminent death in the dreams. According to legends, A fylgja is said to share a close bond with the mortal they choose, although some legends believe that a fylgja could leave them such a mortal if it felt they were morally wrong or vicious.
Despite this, the prelude of patronage could create some problems. Since the fylgja becomes so connected to its mortal they were chosen, some stories suggest they could act destructively or even murderously on behalf of the chosen mortal. As parental matriarchs, the female variant of the fylgja are capable of being both generous and malicious. It is another instance of the ordinary complication nearby this distinctive mythological creature.
6 There Are Lack Of Modern Portrayals For The Fylgja
The fylgja is usually found in Norwegian and Swedish folk tradition, with an absence of contemporary (modern) representations in music or movies (cinema). However, there are various online quizzes to help you discover your own fylgja.
There are written accounts of these guardian spirits dating back to the twelfth century, but they disappeared from written records about 200 years later and didn’t surface again; it means resurface until the middle of the seventeenth century. In Norse literary tradition, the fylgja was depicted differently, with a darker aspect, which is why some experts believe they are not the identical things or in the other words they are unrelated.
7 It is Fatal To Have A Fylgja If You Are Dreaming Frequently
There are a number of references and conditions that contribute to the stories about the fylgja in folklore and all of which conduct their own significance to the stories. It’s not surprising that the concept of the fylgja is filled with mystery! Nevertheless, these spiritual attendants were generally viewed as isolated institutions and deeply committed to serving the individual they served.
As well as the fylgja appearing in the dreams of the chosen mortal to warn him/her of impending demise or disaster, Norse mythology shares another similarity. In other words, To put it simply, while it may be pleasant to consider that you have a spirit animal protector nearby, it is too much better not to see these protectors, so long as you are dreaming.
8The Ljosvetninga Saga Depicts Fylgjur In Spiritual Warfare
It is believed that the Story of Burnt Njál, from the Icelandic Njál’s Saga, dates from between 1270 – 1290, is a tale of enmity and vengeance and it is said that these spirits appear in this story. Sir George Webbe Dasent describes “The Superstitions of the Race” in his acquaintance to the 1900 edition of this saga, describing the prelude of the Fylgja in the community in which it takes place. Fylgjur are not only mentioned in the saga, in addition to being mentioned in this saga, Fylgjur appear as “fetches” when they are depicted as visitors to the characters in their dreams, in this tale.
The Ljosvetninga Saga also mentions these beings, which are used in the form of spiritual warfare. If a character had a powerful Fylgja than the individual traversing them, that individual would suffer from hard luck. This seems to be due to their own Fylgja not being as powerful or not being able to protect them from their enemy’s attack.
9Fetches And Witches Version Of Fylgja Can Be Seen In Different Cultures
The animal Fylgja went on to become known as a fetch by Anglo-Saxon and in the later English blind faiths. It is unclear whether this is the identical creature that became visible in Icelandic literature or if it’s an identical idea, there is no way to tell. As part of the British witchcraft tradition, a fetch is an animal spirit or existing animal that enables its “owner” to travel with them, or send it on daily routine works for magical workings.
The fetch of the witch is usually depicted as a familiar, or a physical animal that assists the practitioner. In many folktales, these animals were also transformed into witches, and their injuries were similar to those of the witch once she was reborn as a human. This concept of shape-shifting also appeared in Norse mythology.
As described in modern resurfaced Heathen spirituality, a Fylgja is an pursuivant female spirit, which may become visible when you dream, trance-work, or embark on a spirit journey as an accompanying female spirit. When traveling physically, people many times sensate as though their Fylgja has gone on ahead of them.
For those curious about discovering these fascinating creatures, a warning is recommended. It is well put on record that hamingja or luck can be bestowed upon those who attend them by the Icelandic Sagas, even shaping a person’s destiny if they are not happy with them. It is possible for them to leave you if you don’t please them, or their benefits could be head over heels.
10Some Legends Tells Them As Parts Of The Great Collective Of Dísir – “Goddesses”
There is a tendency for some to connect fylgjur with alter egos and the soul because the dissimilarity between hamingjur and fylgjur is fluid and overlaps. There are parts of a person’s soul called hamingjur (singular: hamingja) that can change shape and walk outside of their bodies. They are always in the form of females.
Many other people conceive of Fylgjur as a member of the human collective of godesses, the female forces. They believe this because the separation between fylgjur and dìsir is overlapping and fluid: a fylgja may also be known as a dìs. She is also often referred to as a “prophetic goddess,” she shows visions about future and the belief.
Furthermore, Snorri, theological interpretation, attached the fylgja to the nòrnir (another kind of dìs), the goddesses of fate. According to Snorri, everyone was born with one who ensued him or her throughout his or her entire life and spinning our destiny. Snorri’s description of the personal attendant norns is based on explanations in the Poetic Edda, where the belief of an individual is determined by whether it is divine, elfin or dwarfish. In comparison to the countless stories of heroes who attempt to wake up a sleeping maiden connected with death and fate, the dwarf norns spin Irregular destiny as they are the “daughters of hibernation” – Somnambulism.
A few people see the fylgjur solely as a cult centered around the “ancestral mothers”. However, we do know that worshiping the ancestors, including kings, was common, just as worshiping the dísir is remembrance of ancestral homage.
11 The Húgr Version Of Fylgja Always Take FOrm Of Wolf
A part of the human soul that was able to move outside of the body in animal form seems to have been symbolized by the animal Húgr Intent it means sometimes fylgja is connected to the Húgr Intent [Húgr means ‘intent’, ‘wish’, ‘thinking’, ‘soul’ and ‘heart’, and may have been an extension of the human soul that could step outs outside of the body as an animal]. The term manna hugir [“the intents of men”] is sometimes used instead of manna fylgjor [the followers of men] and usually takes the form of wolves. Wolves, being connected with hideous enthusiasm and desire or sometimes with hunger or greed, are closely related to the Húgr.
The animal fylgja intentions in the sagas mainly outshine the configuration of admonition dreams. Sometimes, however, the fylgja is a bird. A swan becomes visible as the fylgja of a pretty woman in Gunnlaug’s saga Ormstungi, in which birds are called fylgjor. However, birds do not present in the tradition of fylgja as true animal intents, but rather as false motifs of continental impact just as when the fylgja became visible as a dragon, leopard or lion, in the fylgja tradition.
There seems to be a correlation between an animal’s fylgja and a person’s character or rank in literature. Noble men and superiors might have oxen fylgjur, but little men may have little animals. peace-minded men might have a goat, while cunning men might have a fox. King Hrolf Gautreksson owned a lion, which is called a “konungs fylgja” for lions. While kings often had exotic and rare species, commoners had to cope with native creatures. A person’s fylgja always remains the same type of animal throughout his life. In addition if a person has a black bull for his fylgja, the black bull will follow him through the entire life from death to birth.
The fylgja animal that appears in Norse literature is completely free of its own specification and will, it means does not possess any desire, an Indecomposable portion of the person it belongs to. Their mutual effects on each other is nothing more than a mirror image of the other. A fylgja animal’s actions are only a reflection of any activity the person is doing. As such, a man does not need a strong and powerful fylgja animal; if he does, it is only because he himself is energetic and powerful. Fylgjor, who were perhaps referred to as helping spirits in the Norse era, do not take the form of animals, but rather are females.