Angrboda, Wolf Mother

The giantess old       in Ironwood sat,
In the east, and bore       the brood of Fenrir;
Among these one       in monster's guise
Was soon to steal       the sun from the sky.

There feeds he full       on the flesh of the dead,
And the home of the gods       he reddens with gore;
Dark grows the sun,       and in summer soon
Come mighty storms:       would you know yet more?

Voluspa, v. 40-41


Hárr answered: "A witch dwells to the east of Midgard, in the forest called Ironwood: in that wood dwell the troll-women, who are known as Ironwood-Women. The old witch bears many giants for sons, and all in the shape of wolves; and from this source are these wolves sprung. The saying runs thus: from this race shall come one that shall be mightiest of all, he that is named Moon-Hound; he shall be filled with the flesh of all those men that die, and he shall swallow the moon, and sprinkle with blood the heavens and all the air; thereof shall the sun lose her shining, and the winds in that day shall be unquiet and roar on every side. So it says in Völuspá:

Eastward dwells the Old One       in Ironwood,
And there gives birth       to Fenrir's brethren;
There shall spring of them all       a certain one,
The moon's taker       in troll's likeness.
He is filled with flesh       of fey men.
Reddens the gods' seats       with ruddy blood-gouts;
Swart becomes sunshine       in summers after,
The weather all shifty.       Wit ye yet, or what?"

Gylfaginning v. 12 (Brodeur)



Yet more children had Loki. Angrboda was the name of a certain giantess in Jötunheim, with whom Loki gat three children: one was Fenris-Woif, the second Jörmungandr-that is the Midgard Serpent,-the third is Hel. But when the gods learned that this kindred was nourished in Jötunheim, and when the gods perceived by prophecy that from this kindred great misfortune should befall them; and since it seemed to all that there was great prospect of ill-(first from the mother's blood, and yet worse from the father's)-then Allfather sent gods thither to take the children and bring them to him. When they came to him, straightway he cast the serpent into the deep sea, where he lies about all the land; and this serpent grew so greatly that he lies in the midst of the ocean encompassing all the land, and bites upon his own tail. Hel he cast into Niflheim, and gave to her power over nine worlds, to apportion all abodes among those that were sent to her: that is, men dead of sickness or of old age.

Gylfaginning, v. 35 (Brodeur)



Few names raise the ire of mainstream Heathens more than the name of Angrboda.

This article is not an apologetic for Angrboda.  I don't think I need to sugarcoat the nature of Deities or other powerful wights, as They are more complex than being neatly divided into good and evil.  That being said, the worship and reverence of Angrboda may probably not be for everyone.  She is a fierce and frightening Goddess, the mighty witch who bore Fenris, Jormundgand, and Hela.  She is the Mother of Monsters, for Her own nature is wild and monstrous.

Abby Helasdottir has already given an interesting argument for an older cult of Angrboda, which can be found here.  I may not agree with 100% of what is stated in the article but I do feel much of it is correct or I would not be linking to it.

The Jotnar as a whole are very primal, used to sacrifices involving the violent rending of blood and flesh, that would ensure the survival of the tribe against the elements.  They taught the people how to use fire, how to hunt, how to gather food, how to protect themselves against hostiles.  The world the Paleolithic Northerners lived in was a very different world than what we experience now, even a post-9/11 world.  Most of us do not have to kill our food, most of us do not worry about freezing to death in the winter.  Ergo, many Heathens cannot comprehend why anyone would want to worship the etins, and possibly see them as "evil".  Be that as it may, They are part of us, and to ignore and revile Angrboda is to ignore the predatory and violent nature within each human.

I am not at all condoning random violence, or things like murder.  However to deny that human nature is violent, and to speak of humanity being inherently good, is naive if not dangerous.  It is far more dangerous to live in a fantasy land than to admit to an unpleasant truth and try to deal with it accordingly.

I live with post-traumatic stress disorder borne in some events such as rape, past domestic violence, and having trust violated by professionals.  While I daresay I am coping better than I used to, this does not mean it does not factor into my existence.  Most people who have phobias are afraid of random things like snakes, spiders, rodents, insects, etc.  When I leave the safety of my home I am acutely aware of the possibility of assault, rape, murder, and so on.  Because of things that have happened to me, I am aware that a perfectly nice and sane person can snap for various reasons, whether through stress, desperation of poverty, religious conditioning, or otherwise -- and do the unspeakable.  I am also aware of my own fight-or-flight reactions, which make me feel very much like an animal.  I am already hypersensitive due to being on the autistic spectrum, PTSD has made this much worse and needless to say I have had to figure out a way to survive.  Self-destruction is not an option, neither is harming others even if they have pissed me off over the edge.

Angrboda seems part of the package deal with Loki, being His other wife (as in, Sigyn is more presentable to the Aesir, and Angrboda is more of "the secret wife"), and having borne His monstrous children.  Loki's union with Angrboda is partly about the power She holds, and some of Her wisdom has been shared with Him -- but not all.  Angrboda first came to me in summer 2007, as I began having dreams of encountering Her in the Iron Wood.  She took notice of me through my relationship with Loki, and insisted that I needed to own that darkness within me, that had been activated by traumatic events, and figure out a way to "use it".  Though I am a devotee of Frey, and am one of His light-bringers, you cannot have light without darkness -- even the brightest flame casts a shadow, and to notice light at all there must be some kind of darkness to be lit.  Frey has a fondness for etinous women, He likes their wild and primal nature, finds it sexy.  And so Angrboda has worked with me in acknowledging the darker parts of myself that I'd rather sweep under the rug and not let anyone see.  Though it may seem from looking at my writings that I am a "shiny happy Pagan", I am actually a dark, twisted, fucked-up individual.  I like listening to industrial and metal, it calms me down.  I like meat and would be a carnivore if my body didn't also need the nutrition of fruit and vegetables.  I have gotten angry enough to break objects and punch things.

I have found, through working with Angrboda, that anger is a great motivator.  My best writing is fueled by rants.  I get things done often because I want to prove that I can do it.  Though I may have been abused, and hurt, and held back, I'll be damned if I let them win by shutting me down completely, and so I keep on just to be that bitch.

This is not to say I never experience joy, or moments of peace.  I take pleasure in making others smile and laugh.  But it seems a lot of Pagans would like to only acknowledge the lighter side of existence, and even Heathens who claim to be part of a "warrior religion" flinch at the reality of human nature.  We are glorified apes, and though all life has the spark of Divinity within it, we are better off not pretending that our Deities are all good or all bad.  Angrboda may be a frightening Goddess, who bore even more frightening children.  But the reaction the Aesir had to those children, and what They did to those children, was not particularly compassionate.  They didn't ask Jormundgand if xe meant any harm -- just tossed the snake into the ocean.  Tyr was trying to raise Fenris, and They made Tyr betray the wolf.  Hela was separated from Her parents as a small child.  Do any of these actions sound compassionate?  They are all based on "well these children are freaks and are *probably* dangerous".  They didn't know that for a fact.  Just as I still deal with loathing towards people who misused their authority when I was receiving mental health services, I am sure that the children of Loki and Angrboda don't look favorably on the Aesir.

This is also not meant to smear the Aesir in any way, but to say, "Look, They are all complex and nobody here is innocent."  I respect Odin a lot, I'm fond of Him.  Part of that respect is being honest about what He actually is.

Honoring Angrboda will put you in direct contact with whatever plate of hot, steaming issues you haven't been dealing with.  She will force you to own your shit, and stop being weak.  I may have been victimized by others, but I cannot be a victim.  I cannot do that to myself, and I sure as Hel cannot do that to the Gods, especially Frey.  If it takes getting angry to motivate needed change, it's not any less noble than people who want to talk about "being positive" while they let others walk all over them.  What happened was in the past, and it may have permanently scarred me, but I am here now and I have to figure out a way to live with myself, disfigured internally as I am.

Heathens should rightly be scared of Angrboda, most of them are complacent with the status quo and see no need to own their shit and be broken out of unhealthy mindsets that deny the reality of things.

I call Angrboda "Mother", as She asked me to.  I don't feel Angrboda is mothering in the same way Frigga is, but Angrboda teaches survival skills, which includes altered states of consciousness and associated magick.  I would say I love Angrboda, except that She doesn't need my love -- She does, however, demand my respect, even when She is in my dreams letting Her wolves jump on me and lick my blood.  She wants me to be strong, because to be weak is letting them win, and is defying the will of the various Gods who have taken an interest in my life, and the lives of others.

So, that is my relationship with Angrboda.  I might add that She is one of the patrons of the Kindred I belong to, Iron Wood Kindred, and though this group is seen as a "threat" and "possibly bringing on the Ragnarok", I know where the real threat is, and it's not from Her.

(C) 2008 Sigrun Freyskona.