Paragraph 1

Many of us Westerners are used to dividing the individual into three parts: body, mind, and spirit. However, throughout history, people have divided the individual into different parts. Norse mythology offers an interesting example of how the individual can be divided into eight parts, which many modern heathens refer to as the multi-part soul.

Paragraph 2

The first part of the Norse soul is the Lík, which translates to “corpse” or “dead body”. This is the physical body of the individual, and it is believed that Odin and two other gods crafted the first humans from two logs.

Paragraph 3

The second part of the Norse soul is the ǫnd, which translates to “breath” or “spirit”. This is believed to be Odin’s gift to the first humans, as he gave them breath and life.

Paragraph 4

The third part of the Norse soul is the Óð, which translates to “mind” or “poetry”. This is associated with two other parts, hugr and minni, and is believed to be Hoenir or Vili’s gift to the first humans.

Paragraph 5

The fourth part of the Norse soul is the Hugr, which translates to “thought”. This is believed to be associated with Odin’s raven Huginn, and it represents our thoughts, emotions, conscience, courage, and will. The fifth part of the Norse soul is Minni, which translates to “memory”. This is believed to be associated with Odin’s other raven Muninn, and it represents our memory as well as our ancestor’s memories.

Paragraph 6

The sixth part of the Norse soul is Hamr, which translates to “skin” or “shape”. This is believed to be Lóðurr or Vé’s gift to the first humans, and it represents our shape, speech, hearing, and sight. The seventh part of the Norse soul is the Fylgja, which translates to “to accompany” or “follow”. This is a spirit that reflects the character of the person it accompanies and often appears in dreams to show events to come. Lastly, the eighth part of the Norse soul is Hammingja, which translates to “happiness”, “luck”, or “fortune”. This spirit follows us and gives us luck and happiness as well as our natural strengths and skills.