Jord

Jord

Appeal: Earth, Primeval, Energy

Jord means 'Earth' and she is the daughter of Nott, the Goddess of night.  Jord is the Goddess of the wild, primitive and uncivilized areas on Earth.  She is the mother of Thor who was fathered by Odin.  (although there is some debate on who Thor's mother was)  Identified as a giantess, she is often referred to in poetry as "Odin's bride".  She lives in the area of Jotunheim that is the most fertile and her very touch causes trees to fruit and seeds to sprout.  The traces that have survived of the worship of the personified Earth herself show that she was honored by the Germanic people, though not active in many tales.

Fjorgyn, Erda and Hlodyn are considered to be other names for Jord.  Jord is reckoned a Goddess, like other jotnar (giantess) who coupled with the Gods.  Jord's name appears in skaldic poetry both as a poetic term for the land and in kennings for Thor.

Jord is not actually an official Goddess of the Norse pantheon so much as a personification of the Earth itself, specifically the life force of the planet.  She is known by many other guises outside of the Norse religion and has interacted with, and generally had a major impact upon, all pantheons of deities connected to this planet.  For example, in Greek mythology, she was known as Gaea, the progenitor of the Titans, predecessors of the Greek deities in ruling the other dimensional realm of Olympus; and in contemporary philosophical/metaphorical imagery outside of any actual religion she is known by names such as Mother Earth or Mother Nature.

Jord is the Goddess of all the place there are not under any human control, the Goddess of the mountains, fields, every tree, every rock and moss on it, the verdant meadows and other lands with a pure wild spirit.  She reigns over all the uncivilized places.  She has that physical appearance as a symbol of fertility, to all pregnant women and mothers, or soon-to-be mother and nursing mother, as such, she can be called by those in need of fertility in their own body, in the family, in their livestock, in the garden or land.  Jord can also be called for healing the land and the Earth itself.  She can be called by the environmentalists to help in their hard work, for the safety of the wild nature and to restore order in places that were badly damaged by us humans.  But she can be a fastidious giantess, so call carefully.

Mother Jord, Great Goddess of Earth,
Goddess of seasons, of life, and of birth.
Goddess of planting, of growing, and reaping,
Always evolving, and changing, never sleeping.

Your air is so fresh, it makes us feel strong,
Your winds that are howling are just your wind - song.
Your storms overhead that bring us fresh waters,
Form the playground for Ran, and her daughters.

You rumble and shake all over this land,
Some say You are angry, they don't understand.
Your stirrings are merely Your cycles of life,
Not glimpses of hatred, or malice, or strife.

We seed, and we plant, we sweat, and we toil,
We work very hard to grow in your soil.
Life giving foods sprout forth from Your rains,
Our reward is Your fruits, vegetables, and grains.

You provide us with weapons, and clothes to keep warm,
And materials to build shelters for weathering a storm.
Fire to warm us on the coldest of nights,
The dawn of Your morning is the best of all sights.

Jord, Great Goddess, and mother of Thor,
Passionately written of in our ancestors lore.
Plant in our hearts the right things to do,
So we can be gentle, and caring, in our love for you !

~ Glenn Bergen 2011

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