Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

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seidkonacat
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Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by seidkonacat »

Hey everyone!

Just thought I'd start a post about a goddess to whom I have a special devotion to--Saga. She's a Norse/Germanic Goddess and a mysterious figure. According to some sources, She ranks just below Frigg, the female ruler of Asgard and Odin's consort. Others say she is just an aspect of Frigg, but that's not the impression I get when I work with Her. (Then again, the gods manifest to different people in different ways, and I'm not here to say what's right or wrong.)

She's strongly associated with water--her Hall in Asgard is called Sökkvabekkr, which has several meanings but usually is translated as "sunken bank" (I'm a history student with a smattering of Old Norse, a difficult language at the best of times, and it'll probably take years for me to approach anything like fluency). She's something of a story-teller, and the old Icelandic epic stories bear Her name (the Sagas). Odin comes to Her hall often and they sit, drink from gold goblets, and share stories. I view her as a goddess of history (my field--I aspire one day to be a university-level history professor) and something of a patron to those who tell or write stories. She inspires creativity, like a muse, but She also takes pleasure in laughter and high spirits (she and Odin are drinking buddies, after all!). I often dedicate my study sessions to Saga, as She values learning and insight--but I also keep Her in mind when I regulate my life--I make sure I have time for fun as well as study, and I often feel that She helps me balance the two.

In my own experience working with her, I often have a strong impression of seals or sea-lions, waterfowl, and otters--animals that live their life on shores, between earth and water. This is upg, as far as I know, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

I'm just interested to see if anyone else works with or worships her. Perhaps we can share insights?
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Re: Saga--

Post by loona wynd »

I had never even heard of Saga before now. What myths and lore about her have you found?
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Re: Saga--

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loona wynd wrote:I had never even heard of Saga before now. What myths and lore about her have you found?
Sadly, not many. She is a lesser-known Norse goddess. In the poetic Edda (Henry Bellows translation) a stanza says, when the halls in Asgard are being listed,

Sökkvabekk is the fourth, where cool waves flow,
And amid their murmur it stands;
There daily do Othin and Saga drink
In gladness from cups of gold


In the Prose Edda she is mentioned as being "Second next to Frigg," which would put her at a relatively high status among the Norse Gods. In my view, that suggests she was not just a minor goddess, aspect of Frigg, or Frigg's handmaiden. It seems more likely to me that she was a companion or consort to Odin.

There are some theories that the drink she has with Odin is a kind of wisdom-drink like that in Mimir's Well, that provides clarity or the gift of foresight, since her name is associated with the Old Norse verb "to see".

I theorize that she was probably similar to the Greek muses in that she was a Goddess of inspiration and creativity from whom even Odin took counsel. Sadly, there aren't many primary sources that deal with her apart from the Eddas, so much of my worship is UPG and theorizing. A lot of modern heathens/Asatruar view her as the goddess of stories and history.
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by loona wynd »

That counts as finding her in the lore. Its not much but we don't have much information on Goddesses like Eir as well which serve as Friggas hand maidens.

How have you come to develop a relationship with her?
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by Isis3Anubis »

Thank you Seidkonacat for sharing. I am learning the runes now and have been reading about the Sagas but have yet to read them. Do you know of the best online source for the Eddas? I have been meditating with Odin and he is a great guide. I know you were meant to post about Saga and share her wisdom.
She's just pieces of me you've never seen ~ Tori Amos
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by loona wynd »

Isis3Anubis wrote:Thank you Seidkonacat for sharing. I am learning the runes now and have been reading about the Sagas but have yet to read them. Do you know of the best online source for the Eddas? I have been meditating with Odin and he is a great guide. I know you were meant to post about Saga and share her wisdom.
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by Obsidian »

Thanks for this. I just finished reading The Disappeared by Kristina Ohlsson (Scandinavian crime novel) and one of the characters in the book has a daughter named Saga. The character mentions that she loves the name and its implications so I've been wondering about the name for a little while. What a nice coincidence that you made this post. :)
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by Isis3Anubis »

loona wynd wrote:
Isis3Anubis wrote:Thank you Seidkonacat for sharing. I am learning the runes now and have been reading about the Sagas but have yet to read them. Do you know of the best online source for the Eddas? I have been meditating with Odin and he is a great guide. I know you were meant to post about Saga and share her wisdom.
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Thank You Loona. This is a great site.
She's just pieces of me you've never seen ~ Tori Amos
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

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Obsidian wrote:Thanks for this. I just finished reading The Disappeared by Kristina Ohlsson (Scandinavian crime novel) and one of the characters in the book has a daughter named Saga. The character mentions that she loves the name and its implications so I've been wondering about the name for a little while. What a nice coincidence that you made this post. :)
Oh, that book sounds interesting! I love mystery novels. If you're ever in search of some to read, try the Marcus Didius Falco novels by Lindsey Davis--they're set in Ancient Rome, the main character is awesome and hilarious, and someone who is researching ancient Rome could do worse than to give them a look. The setting is actually very historically accurate.
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by seidkonacat »

Isis3Anubis wrote:
loona wynd wrote:
Isis3Anubis wrote:Thank you Seidkonacat for sharing. I am learning the runes now and have been reading about the Sagas but have yet to read them. Do you know of the best online source for the Eddas? I have been meditating with Odin and he is a great guide. I know you were meant to post about Saga and share her wisdom.
Sacred-Texts.com
Thank You Loona. This is a great site.
Sacred-Texts is literally a gods-send. I believe you can also find most of the the sagas available for download on librivox.org.
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seidkonacat
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by seidkonacat »

Obsidian wrote:Thanks for this. I just finished reading The Disappeared by Kristina Ohlsson (Scandinavian crime novel) and one of the characters in the book has a daughter named Saga. The character mentions that she loves the name and its implications so I've been wondering about the name for a little while. What a nice coincidence that you made this post. :)
I also want to mention that I have a small framed print of the painting you are using as your image on my wall--I've had it since I was a little girl! y dad gave it to me as a birthday gift when I was little (I was hugely into fairies at the time--not much has changed there!)It's strange to see it floating around on the internet, but also kind of cool! ^_^
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by loona wynd »

If Odin is a God who drinks with her and listens to her stories than she is a Goddess I would definitely want to get to know. I bet there is a reason the sagas have her name. She probably taught or was the inspiration for the tradition of oral story telling as a way of not only entertainment but also of passing on knowledge and experiences.
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by loona wynd »

seidkonacat wrote: Sacred-Texts is literally a gods-send. I believe you can also find most of the the sagas available for download on librivox.org.
Its one of the best places in the world. You can download many of the texts there for your own use in your computer or e-reader. It also has some really obscure books so its an interesting place to go for materials on basically all sacred texts,
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by seidkonacat »

loona wynd wrote:
seidkonacat wrote: Sacred-Texts is literally a gods-send. I believe you can also find most of the the sagas available for download on librivox.org.
Its one of the best places in the world. You can download many of the texts there for your own use in your computer or e-reader. It also has some really obscure books so its an interesting place to go for materials on basically all sacred texts,
I think the best part about it is that they make a very broad, scholarly approach to the whole thing. ANY text that has ever been considered sacred by anyone at any time, not just texts from Abrahamaic religions. There is SO MUCH academic focus on Abrahamaic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) and occasionally, Hinduism and Buddhism as being "real religions." Their texts are often labelled "sacred," while everything else from any other religion is "mythology" or "folklore." Certainly not "sacred." It's such a bigoted attitude and I see it ALL the time in academic and religious literature. I mean no offense to any of the above religions, it's just frustrating when people assume your religion is dead when it isn't. Sacred-Texts is very much the opposite of that--they have all the sacred texts they can get their hands on from anyone and anywhere, with no partiality.

But I'm going way-off topic, sorry. I have so much energy today, and when I get energized I babble...or whatever the writing equivalent of that is. ANYWAY, my point is; Sacred-Texts is awesome and you're awesome for using it.
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Re: Saga--Goddess of History and Stories (and also drinking)

Post by Obsidian »

seidkonacat wrote:
Obsidian wrote:Thanks for this. I just finished reading The Disappeared by Kristina Ohlsson (Scandinavian crime novel) and one of the characters in the book has a daughter named Saga. The character mentions that she loves the name and its implications so I've been wondering about the name for a little while. What a nice coincidence that you made this post. :)
I also want to mention that I have a small framed print of the painting you are using as your image on my wall--I've had it since I was a little girl! y dad gave it to me as a birthday gift when I was little (I was hugely into fairies at the time--not much has changed there!)It's strange to see it floating around on the internet, but also kind of cool! ^_^
Small world. It's one of the images in the 'archives' of this board. I'm quite a fan of forests and the contrast of night time and the lighting in it really appealed to me.
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