Tolkien and Norse Mythology

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Lilly

Happy Wednesday and Odin’s Day!

It has once again been quite a moment since I updated this page. And once again it is because my life has gone through some major upheavals as well as an ordeal or two. To tldr it (because it’s not the focus of this post) I again lost my job in mid August of last year, I moved in with my partner, and then our apartment flooded due to a pipe bursting in the apartment above us. (Read more updates about this at the gofundme I started to help offset some of the costs of needing to replace several damaged/ruined items.)

The point of this post is actually to talk about the Hall of Fire – my Tolkien focused Substack (there’s also a dash of writing related posts there) – as well as how Tolkien and the mythologies of Middle Earth are helping me reconnect to my spirituality.

It’s no secret that when I last went through a major life crisis it was Tolkien’s works that kept me reading and grounded. Now I’m writing about Middle Earth on a regular basis (new posts every Wednesday! Bonus posts on the Full Moon!) and in exploring the mytholigies that Tolkien created for his own world, I’m rediscovering bits I’d forgotten or strayed from in Norse mythology. Because Tolkien drew so heavily from Norse mythology for inspiration.

This week’s post is about Arien and Tilion – the Sun and Moon (respectively) in Middle Earth. And in researching them I found myself reading about Sunna and Mani – the Norse personifications of the Sun and Moon. I’d forgotten about them, and how Sunna was forever pursued by Skoll while Mani was destined to be devoured by Hati. I feel like one major theme of 2026 for me is going to be reconnecting with my spirituality. Especially since one of my goals for the year is literally to infuse my life with a bit more whimsy and magic – things I’d long put aside due to trauma and crisis after crisis.

I did not look for this rediscovery to come from Middle Earth though. I shouldn’t be surprised. Everything is connected, and it’s really time I internalized that lesson. It’s one I’ve told my partner several times, so why doesn’t it stick in my own brain? I especially shouldn’t be surprised because I’ve long seen a lot of Pagan influence in Middle Earth, even before I read the books (I discovered Lord of the Rings via the Peter Jackson movies.) I know Tolkien was a devout Catholic, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t Pagan themes in his books and writings as well. Not intentionally I’m sure, but I can still see them at least.

When I started the Substack I hadn’t intended to talk about the connections of Middle Earth and her lore with Norse mythology, but given the fact that I’m a follower of both Freya and Odin I might start doing so. If you’re interested in reading about these musings, consider subscribing over there! All posts right now are free, but I plan to start posting some of my original queer fiction for my paid subscribers soon. Looking to put the first one up on the Spring Equinox!

~*~

Also, a small psa: All of my social medias and blogs are AI FREE. I do not touch generative AI and wish it would go die in the fires of Mount Doom. All pictures used in the Hall of Fire I have taken myself (save for one of the Big Dipper that was taken by NASA), and all writing is done by me not a machine.

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Different Perspective

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Lilly
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Image found on Pinterest. But I wonder if Huginn and Muninn ever do silly stuff like this. I wonder if they get distracted by Shiny Objects or fruit and nuts that humans might try to feed them. I’m sure most of us think of Odin and both his ravens as rather serious beings, but I can’t help but wonder if he sits in his hall laughing at whatever antics the birds (or his wolves) get up to. Because let’s be honest, no one (human or otherwise) can be serious all the time.

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Both

Posted on April 16, 2025 by Lilly
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Just casually scrolling Pinterest the other day and this greets me. I think this is the first picture I’ve come across Odin and Freyja together in the wild, and the way it was just THERE on my feed, when I don’t think I’ve ever searched for Odin images on that Pinterest account is…well it’s definitely something I took note of.

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Winter Warden

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Lilly
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A Small Update

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Lilly
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My relationship with Odin has been tumultuous over the years.

At the end of 2017 I went through a massive life upheaval and I blamed a lot of that on him. Of course, he never forced me to do anything. I made my own actions and I had to deal with consequences of them. Whether Odin had been in my life or not I don’t think anything would have played out any differently. I can’t say for sure, but in the end blaming someone else (deity or otherwise) for your own actions is not the way you grow and learn.

Still, it’s taken me a long time to come to that realization. For the past 7ish years I’ve distanced myself from him, ignoring him and even shunning him in some ways. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He had brought ordeals into my life and I wanted to avoid them because I didn’t want to go through more pain. But here’s a secret you might already know. Just because you ignore him doesn’t mean he ignores you.

Odin is nothing if he isn’t persistent as fuck. So here I am in 2025 once again wearing a Valknut and updating this blog I created years ago to honor him. I’ve started drawing runes again, in large part thanks to my partner (she asked me to start reading for her), but I don’t have any doubt that Odin has some part not only in that but in our (my partner and I’s) relationship as a whole.

In truth, I don’t know how much I’ll update this space. I used to do so once a week every Wednesday, just as I’m posting this now. In some respects I would like to do so again. But I have many, many things that I tend to these days and I’m not sure I can handle adding another to my plate. I’ll see how things go. In some regards it would be nice to resurrect this space and have it as a way to document my journey of stepping back into practice, but I just don’t feel comfortable making any promises right now. Who knows what the future holds though? Only the Norns can tell.

PS This site is very outdated. Half the links do not work and/or link to artists/spaces I no longer support. Please give me a short bit of time to update everything before passing judgement. To make my position on things strikingly clear: I do NOT support the current US political administration in any capacity, and hatred of any kind will not be tolerated. This is an inclusive space run by a queer nonbinary person. Free Palestine, Black Lives Matter, support small businesses, save our planet, gay and trans rights are human rights, and abortion is healthcare. Full stop.

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Watching

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Lilly

odin

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Ancestors: Buddy

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Lilly

In Heathenry, ancestor work is important. Or at least this is what I’m told. I have researched my ancestors, I can trace my maternal relatives back several generations, I’ve looked into genealogy and can tell you that I’m a mix of several places across the pond. In years past I’ve even set up ancestor altars complete with pictures of people I could actually name, and might even be able to tell you a little about. But, aside from that, I haven’t done a lot of ancestor “work”. I don’t communicate with them regularly. I don’t have an altar erected year round for them.

I can’t say that I have major plans to change that going forward. It’s something I would like to do, in theory. But I also recognize that I feel very…awkward trying to communicate with them.

All of this is on my mind today because this would have been my grandfather’s 89th birthday. Last year I wrote a thing on Facebook about it, and thought I’d reshare it here (with a few edits) for several reasons. Enjoy~

~*~

Today was my late grandfather’s birthday. He would have been 89 today, but he passed on unexpectedly when I was 13. I’ll never forget that night, how my mom asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital in the middle of the night (I barely registered what she said, answered no, and turned over and went back to sleep), the call the next day (I was home alone and so upset it took everything in me not to grab the plate beside me and throw it as hard as I could at the wall before I crumbled into a sobbing ball on the floor), or the ride with a family friend to the hospital that soon followed. I’ll never forget the utter pain and heartbreak that came over me. He was my special Buddy, and more of a dad to me than my biological dad ever was.

I can’t even articulate how much I miss him or wish I could talk to him. He had a deep baritone voice when he sang. His favorite fish was salmon. His favorite color was red. He loved to play tennis, and when he needed a moment to himself he’d go down by the airport and watch the planes take off and land. He was an excellent business man, forever patient with my grandmother, a wonderful father to his kids, and the best grandpa a girl could ever wish for. He used to draw me pictures whenever I asked him to. I distinctly remember asking him to draw me a rabbit several times. He made amazing wood carvings that I hope my mom still has somewhere back in Indiana. I wanted to bring them to New Jersey with me when I moved here, but was so afraid they’d break, and I’d be absolutely crushed if something happened to them. They are some of the last remaining pieces of him that I have aside from memories. Whatever artistic talent I have I know came from him (unfortunately I also inherited his migraines).

The first birthday after he passed was my Freshman year of High school. My mom drove me to school that morning as she always did, but I couldn’t go in. I couldn’t face people. I couldn’t stop crying. All day long I just cried and cried. I can’t say I haven’t shed a few tears today as I do every year on this day.

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Please pardon the photo quality. It’s a picture taken on a cell phone camera of a picture~

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Consulting

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Lilly

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On Neo-Nazis Stealing Heathen Symbols

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Lilly

So, this is a thing that has been on my mind recently, and I wanted to speak on it. Because it affects me and the rest of the Heathen community a lot.

Neo Nazis have been using the symbols of our faith to denote White Supremacy. They’ll take a picture of Odin or the Valknut symbol, attach it to a flag, and march down the street yelling Blue Lives Matter.

I hate this. It’s bastardizing what my faith is and what my symbols mean. Odin is/was not a White Supremacist. There is nothing in the Eddas that says ” only White people are good or can follow these gods”. Furthermore, a lot of these people don’t even understand what these symbols actually mean. They’ve given them their own meaning, but don’t bother to find out where they originated from or what they mean to the people they originally belonged to.

I’ve always been outspoken about my belief in Equality, that Black Lives Matter, and that we don’t need a god damn wall. I’ve also always been ‘that Pagan in the room’ (as Ceallaigh calls it) who is willing to explain what Paganism is, and especially who Odin and the other deities I follow are. I’ve never shied away from this. Being that Pagan in the room that has to explain why Blue Lives Matter is wrong and offensive doesn’t bother me. It’s the fact that I have to be, that White Supremacists have put me in that position.

Everyday I wear a Valknut and a Thor’s Hammer. Sometimes I draw my daily Rune on my wrist as a reminder of it’s message (today I have Nauthiz drawn there). The very fact that I wear this stuff, that Neo Nazis have taken it and used it for their own purposes, means that now I run the risk of being label a White Supremacist for wearing a religious symbol that has nothing to do with race. I honestly can’t even articulate how angry that makes me.

This post has been percolating in my head for a few weeks now. Ever since I read Ceallaigh’s blog post “I Forbid Neo-Nazis From Using the Symbols of My Faith”. I agree with everything she says in her post so much that I had to share a link here and hope that you will all give it a read. Especially if you are a Neo-Nazi. Educate yourself on the symbols you’re misusing and stop using them.

(Cross-posted to Life of a Raven~)

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Watching

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Lilly

odinfeat11

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