Haminjga: Heathen Basics

Weaving of Wyrd

There has been some interesting discussion in the Norse Women group lately about the concept of fylgia, a Norse word which denotes several seperate concepts depending on it's usage. I decided to write this post, since the concept of haminjga is very similar to that of the fylgia, and also has several meanings.

Like the fylgia, hamingja is often used to denote a guardian spirit, most often one who is particularly connected to the family line. It is also used to denote a person's "luck." One may wonder at first what a person's family line could have to do with their luck. Well I will try to describe why briefly.

It starts with the concept of wyrd. Wyrd itself is a way of viewing time and events in a nonlinear way. It is often interesting to me how similar the ancient concept of wyrd has in common with many of the new ideas of modern physics and quantum theory. Especially striking to me is the obvious similarities between the Norse concept of wyrd and string theory, but we will save that for another day. Anyway, wyrd can be viewed as time, fate, the course of events, etc.

The Three Norns of Norse mythos weave wyrd to create the fabric of events, what has become, what is becoming, and what may come. Important to note here is that there is no set destiny or fate, time and events must be weaved together to form the fabric of reality. The events of the past influence the weave of today, and choices we make now may nfluence the design of the future.

Because the past events play such an important role in the lives we experience now, a person's family line could be viewed as the thread upon which our particular fate will be determined. In essence, we are dependent upon BOTH the actions of our ancestors as well as our own to determine what our lives will be, and what we will experience.

HAMINJGA is the spiritual entity that encompasses our "luck," which to the Norse contained both personal and family luck. A portion of our luck is determined by those actions of the past. If our thread of wyrd is determined by both past and present, HAMINJGA can be seen as the quality of the thread itself. In other words, is the thread strong and fine, or is it weak, knotted, or damaged? Our place in the weave of wyrd is determined both by its current place, and reliant on the past weave itself.

This is the reason why lineage was so important to the Norse. This is why Ottar required Freyja to seek his lineage from Hyndla. The contribution of past ancestors was their name, and a person's status was determined many times upon the quality of one's ancestors. Why? Because famed deeds and brave actions added hamingja not just to oneself, but the entire family, past, present, and future. It stood to reason that if one is descended from good stock, they themselves would possess similar qualities, and similar hamingja.

Similarly, the concept of hamingja solidified the family and kin as the priority. When our actions have repercussions not just for ourselves, but our ancestors, and our children and grandchildren, of course the moral individual would feel a duty to the family. This in turn determined action and behavior outside of pure selfishness. It also gives the community itself a sort of structured morality, those who behaved in an utterly selfish and unthinking way obviously did not serve the community. Therefore, they could be termed outcasts, or nidings. All this was neccessary to the survival of the folk in a harsh and often dangerous environment.

One of the hardest things to grasp about concepts such as hamingja or fylgia is there connection to the individual. These concepts were both a part of a person's soul, yet in Norse idealism not neccessarily relegated exclusively to that person. In other words, they were a part of a person yet independent in consciousness. The fylgia was a part of the self yet a seperate entity at the same time. The same is true of the fylgia and its guises.

The independent nature of hamingja as a spirit entity in later times was viewed as something that could be manipulated by outside forces, such as magicians. The instances of this deserve their own examination, as they may reflect the imposition of Christian influence, rather than truly original Norse concepts. The movement of these concepts from benevolent to often negative, troublesome concepts in my belief reflects later ideas of a time when Christianity was beginning to clash with Heathendom.

I think as an introduction, I have covered this topic well enough for the time. I hope you all enjoy this post.

In Frith,
Cena