Pagan Hel ...?

Question

can anyone explain to me about Hel
I have heard that if someone dies in their bed rather than in battle ... they go to Hel rather than Valhalla
please tell me the difference with these two places ... if it is known ?

correct me please if this is wrong

yes I thought it may be Asatru also thanks xx

so Kallan please ... Hel is a place of rest in the afterlife for the common folk ?
so not negative ?

Answer 1

As many others have stated, Hel is the afterlife for all who have not fallen in battle (or at least not without sword or axe in hand, so a woodcutter who's tree accidentally falls on him ends up in Valhalla, humorously enough.)
And it was easy enough in the old days to fall in battle, since the north tended to have poor farming land and breed lots of folks who would have to try raiding just in order to feed themselves enough to survive winter. When the hungry warbands came a'calling, your sword or axe was your best friend, and an axe was easier to carry around on a day-by-day basis.

Hel was cold, dreary, damp, and misty, but it wasn't all that bad a place... except in the stories in the Eddas that placed Hel in Niflheim, which is a huge, eternal glacier (so Hel really IS frozen over!), where the minions of the goddess Hel tore out the nails (fingernails and toenails) to be laminated together to build the giant ship the forces of evil would use to sail on Asgard during Ragnarok, the apocalypse of the Norse legends....

As for beloved Valhalla, warriors there get to battle every single day (to better their battle skills for when Ragnarok comes), rising whole from their wounds each night, where they would feast and wench in either Odin's great hall or in Sessrumnir (Freya, the goddess of Love's hall.)

Me? I'm hoping for Sessrumnir, since Freya's my favorite amongst the Aesir and Vanir!

Answer 2

Oh, oh! I actually know this one! I read it today
Hel is a goddess but the place is named Hel as well. It's not a bad place like Hell in Christian terms, its just not the Hall of Odin were those who die in battle can go to ready for the battle against Chaos. There is technical name for that but I don't remember.
There is another place that bad people go that traslates to Dead Mans shore...that I also can't remember the name of. BUT I do know the other stuff! :D

There is actually a God for the common folk....let me see if I can find it again.

Oh hey, it's Hel LOL
"Hel is the Goddess of the underworld and death. She rules over the place
of shadows, also called Hel, where the souls of common folk go upon death"

Answer 3

Don't know how this one slipped through the cracks.

Hel is not necessarily a place of torment, though it is supposed to be misty and cold (sounds like England... ;) ).
People who are not particularly drawn to a certain God or Goddess may go to Hel when they die, if they don't die in battle.
Some people who die in battle go to Hel.
Not all who die in battle are chosen to be Einherjar.
Freyja gets first pick of half of the battle-slain to go to her hall, Sessrumnir on Folkvangr plain.

Okay... now that the pick and choose stuff is out of my head... :)

Hel is not necessarily a place of torment, and not all who go there are wicked. Baldr and Sigurd both end up in Hel.
There is a place of torment, however, where oath-breakers and the ignoble go... They have their guts chewed out in Nastrond until Ragnarokr by the dragon, Nidhogg.

Some ignoble dead do stand for eternity in the river of knives instead of having their guts chewed out... it's a matter of just how wicked a person was.

Answer 4

Pangel, Hel is NOT a negative thing at all. It's just not the hall of Heroes that those who fal in battle get to enjoy. It's stil a place of R&R and you DO get to spend time with your friends and relatives, reflect on your past life (lives) and plan for the next.

Raji the Green Witch

Answer 5

The Goddess Hel and her abode belong to Asatru and Icelandic religions... not very knowledgeable....
As for the place.... thinking of Greek Hades at the moment... do a search... might look up for web-links for you.

there are some links for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hel_(goddess)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades

cannot find the originall Dark Goddess website... but if you add these words with Hel to a search engine might come up with some interesting ones... if you care to research...

Answer 6

That sounds like it would be associated with Asatru rather than with Paganism in general; certainly I've never run across an equivalant concept in Wicca.

Perhaps Boar's Heart or Loka can shed more light on the subject...

Answer 7

Hel is the name of the Norse Goddess of Death and the Underworld. Hel would also be the name of her realm.

The Greeks have something similar in that the name of the God of the Underworld (Hades) is also used for His realm

Answer 8

According to my mate...
Valhalla is where all valiant warriors go when they die. You don't have to be victorious, or even a believer, to qualify. You just have to go down trying.

Hel is cold, and ruled by the Goddess of the same name. It's not necessarily a bad place, but it certainly lacks the appeal of wine, woman and song to occupy you until Ragnarok.

So...Valhalla was the ideal to strive for. Hel was where you went to wait if you just didn't measure up.

Answer 9

Hel is the Nordic goddess of the underworld. She was Loki's daughter.

However, Valhalla was the place where the warriors went to, not every one amongst the ancient norse were warriors, so those who weren't, or warriors who were not honourable/heroic did not gain entry to valhalla

thats my understanding of it anyhow

Answer 10

Hel/Hella is a Norse goddess of the Underworld. She is the daughter of Loki, The Norse god of mischief and chaos. Hella and her brothers, Fenris the devouring wolf and Jormungand, the world serpent were born to Loki and the giantess Angrboda in the ream of the giants known as Jotunheim. Upon their birth, Odin received a prophecy of doom concerning them, and binds them. Hella is made Queen of the Underworld, caretaker of all humans who die from sickness or old age, including mothers and children who die in childbearing.