Helhest: The Three-legged Horse of Hel Queen of the Dead

It seems like everyone in Norse mythology had for themselves a type of animal that could carry them everywhere in Nine Worlds. 

The Queen of the Dead, Hel, who was also the daughter of Loki, had for herself a three-legged horse.

The horse was named as Helhest. While the horse Sleipnir of Odin had eight legs, Helhest of Hel had only three legs. “Helhest” simply means “Horse of Hel”.

One cool thing is that the horse of Hel appeared in many of the 19th Danish phrases. For example, “han går som en helhest” means “He walks like the horse of Hel” depicting abnormal footsteps of the man.

In the folklore, Helhest carries Hel along anywhere in Midgard to fetch the dead.

Many people might question why Helhest had only three legs. This is usually explained that he was the ghost of sacrifice from the burial grave. It was a bad luck to be the first to be buried under the grave. So people would cut off a leg of the horse so that it could not escape.

Also read: Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld

Ereshkigal the Mesopotamian Goddess of the Underworld

In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal was the goddess of the underworld or Irkalla (the land of the dead). Her name translates as 'Queen of the Great Below' or 'Lady of the Great Place.’ Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler.

Ereshkigal is a granddaughter of Enlil, and the older sister of the goddess, Inanna (the Queen of Heaven, and later known as Ishtar) and best known for the part she plays in the famous Sumerian poem The Descent of Inanna (c.1900-1600 BCE). Inanna and Ereshkigal represent polar opposites.

She is wife of Nergal, the king of death who brings disease, plague, and all misfortunes caused by heat.

In Sumerian myths, Ereshkigal was the only one who could pass judgment and give laws in her kingdom. The main temple dedicated to her was located in Kutha. 

By the time of the Old Babylonian Period (c. 2000-1600 BCE) Ereshkigal was widely recognized as the Queen of the Dead. 

Although goddesses lost their status later in Mesopotamian history, early evidence clearly shows the most powerful deities were once female.

In later times, the Greeks and Romans appear to have syncretized Ereshkigal with their own goddess Hecate. In the heading of a spell in the Michigan Magical Papyrus, which has been dated to the late third or early fourth century A.D., Hecate is referred to as "Hecate Ereschkigal" and is invoked using magical words and gestures to alleviate the caster's fear of punishment in the afterlife.

It’s interesting to see that the story of Ereshkigal and her husband Nergal is a “gender-swapped” version of the more famous Persephone/Hades story, even though Ereshkigal is much older than the Greek story.

Her husband Nergal actually seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with Shamash, but only a representative of a certain phase of the sun. Portrayed in hymns and myths as a god of war and pestilence, Nergal seems to represent the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle.

Read: 

• A Mesopotamian Underworld Love Story
• Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld 
• Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld
• Hecate, Greek Goddess of the Underworld 
• The Morrigan, the Irish Dark Goddess 

Hecate, Greek Goddess of the Underworld

HEKATE (Hecate), Greek goddess of the crossroads, magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts, and necromancy, guardian of the household, and protector of everything newly born -- once a widely revered and influential goddess, the reputation of Hecate has been tarnished over the centuries. In current times, she is usually depicted as a "hag" or old witch stirring the cauldron.

But nothing could be further from the image of Hecate's original glory.

A beautiful and powerful goddess in her own right, Hecate was the only one of the ancient Titans who Zeus allowed to retain their authority once the Olympians seized control. Zeus shared with Hecate, and only her, the awesome power of giving humanity anything she wished (or withholding it if she pleased).

A lover of solitude, Hecate was, like her cousin Artemis, a "virgin" goddess, unwilling to sacrifice her independent nature for the sake of marriage.

Usually classified as a "moon goddess", her kingdoms were actually three-fold . . . the earth, sea, and sky. Having the power to create or withhold storms undoubtedly played a role in making her the goddess who was the protector of shepherds and sailors.

In her role as 'Queen of the Night' she was both honored and feared as the protectress of the oppressed and of those who lived "on the edge". 

It is hardly surprising that a woman who needed to make a trip alone at night would say a brief prayer to Hecate to seek her protection.


Also read:

• Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld 
• Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld
• The Morrigan, the Irish Dark Goddess 

The Morrigan, the Irish Dark Goddess

The Morrigan: Irish-Celtic Goddess of War

A popular dark goddess is the Irish Celtic Goddess of War and Shapeshifting—The Morrigan. She is often depicted as a goddess accompanied by crows, and she is very often depicted on a battlefield.

The Morrigan was a Goddess of War, Destruction, Death, and Transformation. She is called The Phantom Queen. She was known to have the ability to shift into the form of various animals at will—the crow, the bull, the eel, the wolf, and more. She uses her shifting powers and magic in order to win battles.

The Morrigan is thought to have been a Triple Goddess... or perhaps three goddesses in one, similar to the Trinity. Her three aspects are Macha, Badb, and Nemain. She is the daughter of one of the Tuatha de Dannan (the first divine gods of Ireland). She foresees warriors' death before they happen, and is also considered a goddess that protects the king. She is a goddess of sovereignty and many believe she is an ancient earth goddess because of her association with the cow, crow, and wolf. Her war aspect is somewhat dark, in that we can see The Morrigan as the crow that eats the remaining dead off of the battlefield. But out of destruction and chaos comes new life. And let us not forget her other associations with the earth and protection of her people!


Also read:

• Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld 
• Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld

Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld

Hel (Old Norse Hel, “Hidden”) is a goddess who rules over the identically named Hel, or Helheim, the underworld where many of the dead dwell.

Hel is one of three children born to Loki and Angrboda, the giantess. Her body and face were described as half in light and half in darkness. She was half dead and half alive.

Hel gifted to Odin his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn. Ravens are messengers between this realm and the next, opening pathways to death’s realm.

Her kingdom was said to lie downward and northward, and appears to have been divided into several sections. It was said that those who fell in battle did not go to Hel but to the god Odin, in Valhalla, the hall of the slain.

It was her job to determine the fate of the souls who entered her realm. Hel stands at the crossroads in judgment of souls who pass into her realm. In that, she is linked to Osiris and Isis as well as Hecate. 

The evil ones are banished to a realm of icy cold death and torture. This particular aspect of Hel’s realm was the basis for the Judeo-Christian “hell” to which sinners are banished and tortured for eternity. Unlike the Judeo-Christian concept, Helheim also served as the shelter and gathering place of souls to be reincarnated. Hel watches over those who died peacefully of old age or illness. 

She cares for children and women who die in childbirth. She guides those souls who do not choose the path of war and violence through the circle of death to rebirth. 

Because of Hel’s special role in the deaths of mothers in childbirth and children of all ages who die, she has become, according to some sources, the special guardian of children.

The Vikings viewed her with considerable trepidation. The Dutch, Gallic, and German barbarians viewed her with some beneficence, more of a gentler form of death and transformation. She is seen by them as Mother Holle; a being of pure Nature, being helpful in times of need, but vengeful upon those who cross her or transgress natural law.

Hel has fallen from her privileged position as guardian and ruler through years of being represented as an evil, ugly entity waiting to devour and torture lost souls. Ignorance has used her as a means of scaring children and adults into a supposedly righteous path (instead of allowing free will to guide their actions to do what is right). May we learn and dispel the slander of years by seeing her for the protector, judge, and guide that she originally represented.


Also read:

• Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld

Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec Goddess of the Underworld

In Aztec mythology, Mictēcacihuātl (literally "Lady of the Dead") is the Queen of Mictlan, the underworld, ruling over the afterlife with her husband, Mictlantecuhtli.

Mictecacihuatl's role is to guard the bones of the dead and preside over the ancient festivals of the dead. These festivals evolved from Aztec traditions into the modern Day of the Dead which is also heavily influenced by Catholic Spanish traditions.

According to myth she was once alive countless ages ago—a member of an ancient pre-human race of beings who lived when the world was new. But her time in the living world was short since she was sacrificed to the underworld as an infant. After her death, she grew to adulthood as queen of the underworld. A deity of immense power. 

One of her foremost duties as the ruler of the dark realm is to guard the skeletal remains of extinct earlier races. In the past Mictecacihuatl failed in her duties. According to Aztec legend, the twin gods Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl were sent by the other gods to steal the sacred corpses of those who lived long before–which the gods of the sky then fashioned into living modern human beings. Now Mictecacihuatl must also guard the bones of dead humans, for she believes that our remains could be used by capricious sky gods to build an even more ruthless group of alien new beings.

• Also read:
• Hel, Norse Goddess of the Underworld