Eir
Gylfaginning 35 names Eir third among the asynjur and says only that she is an extremely good physician; Skaldskaparmal 75 lists her among the valkyries instead. In Fjolsvinnsmal she is one of the nine maidens who sit with Menglod on Lyfjaberg, the healing hill.
It is disputed whether the physician of Gylfaginning, the valkyrie of Skaldskaparmal and the maiden of Fjolsvinnsmal are one figure: Lindow doubts that a goddess Eir was believed in, Simek takes her for a valkyrie, Davidson treats all three as one. The corpus records the question rather than choosing. No native Norse planetary rulership exists: the planetary correspondence is a modern / Hermetic overlay (the Sun for vitality and the physician's art), not an ancient Norse attribution.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Sun
Offerings
- Offerings
- WaterMilkHoneyHealing herbs
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Eir the PhysicianThe Merciful One
- Gender Expression
- Feminine
- Titles
- Best of PhysiciansThe HealerMaiden of LyfjabergThe Merciful
- Symbols
- HerbBowlHillCandle
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneGentle steadyAddressEirBest of PhysiciansMaiden of LyfjabergRelationshipThe hand on the forehead and the hand on the woundWarningShe is called for the care and not for the cureResonanceThe sick those who nurse those who keep a sickroom
- Modern Practice
Eir is the Norse healer to call in a sickroom: modern practice asks her over herbs, water and a clean cloth, and the offering is the care actually given. Hers is one of the few cults with a stated offering formula in the Eddic poems - the maidens of Lyfjaberg accept blot and return protection from pestilence.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- HealingMedicineHerbsMercyProtectionChildbirthThe sickroom
- Mythology Summary
Gylfaginning 35 names Eir third among the asynjur and says only that she is an extremely good physician; Skaldskaparmal 75 lists her among the valkyries instead. In Fjolsvinnsmal she is one of the nine maidens who sit with Menglod on Lyfjaberg, the healing hill, and the poem says that those who make offerings to them are guarded from sickness and peril.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsWhiteGreenPale blueScentsLavenderChamomileRosemaryMetalsSilverCopperAnimalsDoveDeerSwan
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