Norse Watcher Spirit Vörðr Followed A Person From Birth To Death

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Like many other ancient civilizations, Norse people believed in the concept of the soul. However, in addition to this, it was also thought that all human beings had a special invisible protector that followed them through life.

Its name is vörðr, and the 'force' can be best described as a personal warden or caretaker spirit. On some occasions, vörðr could become visible, and when it happened, it revealed itself as a small light or as the person's shape. People with strong senses could become aware of other' watcher spirits.

Encountering another person's vörðr was unpleasant. The perception of the watcher's spirit could cause physical sensations such as an itching hand or nose.

In Old Swedish, the word is varþer, and in modern Swedish, it is vård. The English word '" wraith" derived from the Norse word vǫrðr, while "ward" and "warden" are cognates.

Until the last centuries, belief in this creature or invisible force was widespread throughout Scandinavia.

When a person died, his or her vörðr could turn into a revenant, a visible ghost or animated corpse that is believed to have revived from death to haunt the living.

It isn't easy to make a proper definition of a vörðr, but it was a sort of combination between the soul (hugr) and mind (munr).

When Christianity spread across Scandinavia, the belief in wardens or vörðr changed. Wardens became more akin to the Christian concept of a good and a bad angel or spirit.

In modern days, one could say that a vörðr was a guardian angel.

It should be added that Norse people believed a person could have more than one Soul
Another intriguing Norse guardian spirit connected to an individual is the Fylgja, which signifies a soul while simultaneously acting as a guardian spirit and an individual's psychic counterpart.

Yggdrasil by Oluf Bagge - From Northern Antiquities. Credit: Public Domain

In countries like Scandinavia, where nature plays an important role in folklore, myths, and legends, spirits were greatly important to people. Showing respect for nature was important in Norse society, and it was believed that spirits could live in stones, trees, and water.

When a tree on a farm became very old, it was often considered a warden tree. A warden tree was sacred and must be treated as such. Breaking branches of a warden tree was an offense. Warden trees could protect a family from bad luck.

As previously mentioned in our article on Norse mythology Seidr is the practice of magic and shamanism.

A Völva was a very powerful female shaman. Her prophecies were feared, and she had the power to alter a person's destiny. She could also communicate with the world of the spirits and could contact a person's watcher spirit.

Updated on March 31, 2024

Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

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