Scandinavian Folklore: The Fylgie

There are a couple of different names for the manifestation of the hug as a visual in Scandinavian Folklore. Your hug can show up to announce your death, or it can show up to tell people you are on your way home.

One of the most interesting manifestations is the fylgie. This is the manifestation of your soul as an accompanying animal. For example, if you are a tricky person, and someone who is sensitive to supernatural detail sees you, they may see you accompanied by a fox. The fox isn't real. It's a fylgie.

Potter fans, does this sound like a patronus to you? Golden Compass people, is this where Pullman found his daemons? Iiiinteresting.

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One other thing today: Finns and Lapps are thought to be more inherently magical than the other Scandinavians. While there are witches and wizards from all the countries in the folklore, these nationalities have the most magical citizens.

See you with the writing meter later on.

Catherine

Originally published at Writer Tamago. You can comment here or there.

Scandinavian Folklore: Issues of the Dead

More folklore! Tonight, facts about the dead.

1. Evil souls are heavier than good souls. If you're really evil, the horses can't pull your funeral hearse.
2. Dead folks will come back to visit lovers and children, so you have to use rituals to keep these dead folks away, because they can hurt you.
3. Revenants will come back for justice and revenge. If you wrong someone in life, you can expect a vengeance visit in death. You can also separate the bones of the dead, and receive a visit from a revenant.
4. Revenants can come back for friendly, helpful reasons as well.
5. Ghosts are impersonal, and usually not people you know. They will attack you and make you sick, but only because that's what they do, and not because of malicious intent.
6. Greed is considered the worst of sins, and the souls of the greedy are doomed to walk the earth.
7. Mothers are often haunted by babies they have killed out of wedlock, secretly.
8. Boundary ghosts make sure that land thefts do not occur, and will haunt boundary stones and borders.

It's interesting to see a culture's priorities in regard to its undead.

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6809 / 90000 words. 8% done!

Tonight, faerie godmothers in tea rooms. Oh, so stubbly and rough! Tomorrow, the antagonists need to show up.

Originally published at Writer Tamago. You can comment here or there.