Nordic Wiccan: Alfheim

Alfheim is one of the Nine Worlds and home of the Light Elves in Norse mythology, sometimes modernized as Elfland or Fairyland. It is located on the highest level of the Norse universe along with the worlds of Asgard and Vanaheim. The elves of darkness live in Svartalfheim and in many myths they are sometimes mixed together with elves of light or dwarves.

After the Gods killed the giant Ymir, they began to create the universe from his body. During this time maggots began to feed off the flesh of the dead giant. These maggots were turned into the races of the light and dark elves.

Alfheim is ruled by the God Freyr. It was said that the Gods gave Alfheim to Freyr, as payment for losing his tooth. The elves are described as being luminous and “more beautiful than the sun,” so we may suppose that their homeland was a gracious realm of light and beauty. The light elves were minor deities of nature and fertility; they could help or hinder humans with their knowledge of magical powers. They also often delivered an inspiration to art or music.

The elves of Norse mythology have survived into folklore mainly as female likeness, living in hills and mounds of stones. The elves could be seen dancing over meadows, particularly at night and on misty mornings. They left a kind of circle were they had danced. Typically, it consisted of a ring of small mushrooms. If a human watched the dance of the elves, he would discover that even though only a few hours seemed to have passed, many years had passed in the real world.

The 20th-century fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien anglicized Alfheim as Elvenhome in the speech of the Elves.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

J.R.R. Tolkien, Three Rings for the Elven Kings