The Nordic Sun and Moon

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 "The Sun, sister of the moon, Shone from the south With her hand Over the rim of Valhalla, Unknowing of where her home should be, While the moon did not yet know what power she had" - Voluspa, Stanza 5

Like in many mythologies, the sun (Sol) is seen as feminine and the moon (Mani) as a masculine force. The above is a stanza from a poetic book named the Völuspá which contains information about the sun and moon's relationship at the beginning and end of time.

The moon is mentioned first in the book, and one word used to describe it is 'Mundil'. This may be related to 'mund', a time period, which could be explained by the simple fact that for the Norse, the day began at night, and the year in winter, therefore the Moon takes priority. In the same poem, the sun is said to be swallowed by the wolf Fenrir, which may reference the frequent eclipses and lack of sunrises where such Norse myths arose during winter.

Such personifications also rode individual horses. The Sun, Sol, rode a horse named Skinfaxi (shining-mane) which brought around sunrises and warmth to the world. The Moon, Mani, had a horse named Hrimfaxi (frost-mane) which chased away Skinfaxi and brought the darkness and midnight dew across the land.

Freyja is closely associated with the sun and has sun symbols depicted often on her chariot, which may be due to the close links between vegetation growth and seasonal change of which Freyja was known to help with.

Njord was seen often with lunar symbolism due to the darkness and death which often arose at night time, and he was often prayed to at night to prevent such harmful actions from occurring.

Runic Norse Moon Symbol

Norse Sun Symbol





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