This month's altar honours Idunn, Norse Goddess of Youth and Rejuvenation. Idunn (pronounced ee-doon and meaning "Ever Young" or "She Who Renews") grows and tends the Apples of Eternal Youth which all the Norse gods and goddesses must eat to maintain their youth and vitality in perpetuity.
I bought my little statuette of Idunn about 12 years ago at a Scandinavian Christmas Market here in Edmonton. The beeswax apple candles came from a local Ukrainian crafts store.
There is a theory which speculates that extensive Viking settlement and influence in Scotland resulted in the River Doon being named after this popular goddess. The River Doon featured in some of Robbie Burns' poetry (Tam O' Shanter and Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon). Its bridge ("Brig o' Doon") became the name of the fictional magical Scottish town in the Broadway musical Brigadoon.
[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, 2024]
Your Idunn statue is heartwarming.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like her!
DeleteLove this idea of the apples of youth.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I want some beeswax candles!!!
XOXO
I could use a few of those apples myself.
DeleteLove this, Debbie! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you got her 12 years ago. Very, very cool. Thanks for saying how to pronounce her. Have a groovy week, Debra. Off to the day job in a few.
ReplyDeleteYes, Idunn was an unexpected surprise at that Christmas Market! But a very welcome one.
ReplyDelete❤️
Delete...this is a bit out of my knowledge sphere.
ReplyDeleteI wish my knowledge sphere included where to find those Apples of Youth!
DeleteThanks for the education this morning.
ReplyDeleteI am pedantic by nature, alas.
DeleteI would have never guessed apples 🍎 of all things! Supposedly part of our so-called downfall!
ReplyDeleteIdunn ... Blond, blue-eyed, tall and beautiful ... the apples 🍏🍎 have worked their majik!
Thanks, Debra!
Yes, apples got a bad rap in "that other myth."
DeleteYou're so knowledgeable about goddess stories. As usual we have rain and overcast, no moon sightings!
ReplyDeleteEveryone needs a hobby, and goddess mythology is one of mine!
DeleteOdin could probably have done well to eat a few more apples. Isn't he usually portrayed as a greybeard?
ReplyDeleteIn addition to "that other myth" there is the other other myth that started the Trojan war. Apples are pretty mythological, it seems.
Your new comments are weird. If you click the link to the full post comments are not nested, but if you click on the "leave a comment" page they are. Thanks, Blogger!
@ Old Lurker -- Oh crap! I know this new comment function was too good to be true! If the reply comments are not nesting right under the original comment in both formats, then what's the point? I'm going to go back to my old way of doing things then, only commenting in reply occasionally and specifically repeating who it is addressed to. Thanks for letting me know about this glitch. Damn you, Blogger!
ReplyDeleteI love being a pagan/heathen/alternative spiritual old lady, but I admit I don't really know much about how to be that. Thanks for being such a good guru (or whatever the correct word is)!
ReplyDelete@ Cleora -- I am always happy to a companion on someone's path!
ReplyDeleteOh those raping and pillaging vikings. They left their red hair all over the north or Europe:)
ReplyDelete@ Pixie -- Yeah, they certainly got around, didn't they.
DeleteNoooo! Don't stop replying! Everybody basks in your attention.
ReplyDelete@ Old Lurker -- If only that were true, LOL
DeleteI love it when you post about lesser known Goddesses. Idunn isn't new to me (had a big Norse mythology phase at one point) but I am delighted and surprised to see her. She is perfect for the harvest season.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are back!
@ e -- I love finding statues and representations of lesser known goddesses, but they are much harder to locate. I was so delighted to find Idunn!
DeleteYou polished those apples!
ReplyDelete@ Liz Hinds -- Yes, yes I did. They had to be worthy of gracing a full moon altar.
Deletei always love seeing your altars. this one is special!
ReplyDelete@ jaz@octoberfarm -- Thanks, Joyce, glad it resonates with you!
ReplyDeleteVery cool. I don't know if you know this, but we also celebrate the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana, our upcoming Fall holiday), with apples. The apples and honey combo, that is.
ReplyDelete@ Rawknrobyn -- Great! Then this apple altar can have an even broader resonance!
DeleteI am watching Valhalla tv show on Netflix. So interesting to know the Nordic religion
ReplyDelete@ roentare -- I've heard good things about that Valhalla series. Glad you're enjoying it!
DeleteIf I remember right, Brigadoon was a town where nobody aged so perhaps your goddess was the inspiration.
ReplyDelete@ Lady M -- Good point!
ReplyDeleteAs I remember it, Brigadoon came alive just one day every one hundred years. No wonder this goddess comes around just once in a blue moon!
ReplyDelete@ Kirk -- Good one, LOL!
DeleteVery interesting information, Debra. I have to say that I both have never seen and absolutely dig those apple-shaped beeswax candles.
ReplyDelete@ Bea -- Thanks, they are pretty cool for candles!
ReplyDeleteShe is lovely and I like the symbolism of the apples; like the old adage: an apple a day, keeps the doctor away, which is similar to keeping your vitality.
ReplyDelete@ Busy Bee Suz -- Yes, that's very true -- good point!
DeleteThis moon was several different moons at all at once.
ReplyDelete@ Mike -- Yes, this particular moon is multi-talented!
DeleteAnother lovely altar ... I like the Apple symbolism..
ReplyDelete@ This N That -- Thanks! And those apples were good eatin' too.
DeleteI could use some youth and rejuvenation. That's a lovely altar, Debra.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Thanks, Janie!
DeleteI keep coming back to her face. She does look rather like I feel most of the time: a bit tentative, a little bit unsure that what I'm doing is right.
ReplyDelete@ Liz Hinds -- Perhaps that's a characteristic of youthfulness?
DeleteIt appears that I have Viking ancestry.
ReplyDeleteYou need to become a Shield Maiden now.
DeleteOh she is Divine looking lady for sure 😍
ReplyDeleteLovely alter dear Debra
Her personality reflects the meaning of her name no doubt
@ baili -- Glad you like her and her apples!
ReplyDeleteWhat cool information about Idunn, Debra. Are those Macs? I haven't been able to find MacIntosh apples here in years. I'd be eating the altar decorations ~ lol. I'd especially like to eat a few of the Apples of Eternal Youth. I'm losing the battle, although some days I can manage a little vitality. My Scottish-Irish ancestors lived fairly close to the River Doon. Those Vikings probably contributed to my deep Norwegian genes. Have a great week!
ReplyDelete@ Fundy Blue -- No, those are Gala apples on the altar (and I did eat them all, LOL). McIntosh apples are apparently not popular anymore compared to all the other apples on the market now. I haven't seen McIntoshes in the store for years either. And when we were young, they were pretty much the only apples we could get, at least in Canada, eh? Times and tastes change.
DeleteI am not aware of Idunn. Hey! I learned something again !
ReplyDelete@ Ur-spo -- Then my work here is done.
Delete