This is Hela, Norse Goddess of Death. She is my Matron Goddess, and so far the only deity I worship. She is the ruler of her realm, Helheim. How did she get this realm? Well first we have to go into her backstory. Sit down by the fire as I tell this story.
Alright, So Hela is one of three children born to Angrboda, and Loki. Her two other siblings are Fenrir, the wolf, and Jormungandr, known as the Midgard Serpent. Now, Hela wasn’t born the most appealing fish in the sea; She is depicted as half of her body skeletal and/or rotten. Some people see this division down the middle, or the top half being beautiful [perhaps from the waist up], and the bottom half being skeletal [below the waist]. She wasn’t liked in Asgard, she was seen as a freak, disfigured, nasty. She asked Odin if she could leave because she was lonely, sad, and felt unwanted. Odin agreed and cast her into the Underworld, giving her Helheim to rule. In return, Hela gave Odin his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, as a gift.
In Helheim, Hela is respected, and sometimes feared. She is a powerful Goddess who is in charge of the people who had died of disease, or natural death. She takes care of the dead. Anyone wanting to associate with a dead relative should always come to Hela.
To honor her, you could set up an altar, or make a dedication jar. I have done both, since she is my main deity. For the dedication jar, you can place your own blood, chocolate, coffee grounds, dried rose petals, dead or dehydrated leaves, lavender, any white flowers, or chocolates inside. Most of these things can be used as offerings as well. Dark teas can also be offered. She like hard work, pain, depression, dark emotions as offerings as well. If you are constructing an altar, make sure you use colors like Black, White, and Red [optional]. Having one side full of dark or black objects, and another side light or white objects. This symbolizes Hela, being that she is divided. Dark and Light, Life and Death, Yin and Yang, Night and Day. She also likes bones, but if you don’t have bones, that is fine as well.
Hela herself, if you have worked with her, tends to feel intense. Heavy. Earthy. Sometimes even numb. I personally believe everyone will experience her differently. There have been occasions where I have felt numb, feeling like weight was pressing on me, cold. One time I even smelled an rich, Earthy scent after praying.
