The Valkyries

In the swirling mists of myth and battle-gleam of the ancient North, there ride the Valkyries, those fierce and radiant maidens of Odin who shape fate on the battlefield and beyond. To many, they are war-spirits or shieldmaidens. To others, they are priestesses of death and destiny. But to those of us walking the Tru Path, the Valkyries are sacred agents of wyrd, keepers of honor, soul-guides, and initiators into transformation.

The word Valkyrja means “chooser of the slain.” Their task is to ride forth during battle, guided by Odin’s will, and select those warriors worthy of entering Valhalla or, in some sagas, Fólkvangr, the hall of Freyja. But the Valkyries do much more than only this. The Valkyries are weavers of fate who spin and cut the threads of warriors' lives. They are shieldmaidens, who bear weapons and ride wolves or horses into the thick of war. They are bearers of mead, who serve the Einherjar (the chosen slain) in Odin’s hall. They are spiritual initiators who often appear in dreams or visions to guide, warn, or awaken.

Some Valkyries are divine figures in their own right, named and honored as goddesses. Others seem more like elevated spirits of powerful women, or even priestesses transformed into myth. Their names often carry layers of meaning, connected to weapons, natural forces, or the power to bind and loosen the threads of destiny. You may encounter them in your dreams or trance journeys, especially during times of transition or courage. Moments of deep fate or sacrifice, where a choice must be made with honor, or in times of grief, as they are soul-guides to the halls beyond. They teach the price of courage, the sacredness of death, and the clarity of purpose.

The Valkyries remind us that our path is one of choice, of strength, and of weaving our fate with both hands. Whether you are warrior, seer, healer, or hearth-keeper, may the Valkyries walk beside you, and may your thread be woven with honor.

Working with the Valkyries:

A Series for Practice and Connection

By Harvala Heathor Clinkenbeard

The 38 Valkyries:

Their Names, Meanings, Lore, and Living Memory

By Desiree Alwine

Across the Old Norse and wider Germanic world, the Valkyries stand as the battle-maidens of Óðinn: choosers of the slain, weavers of fate, wardens of warriors, and powers who watch over the tides of war. Their names are preserved in the Poetic Edda, sagas, and the skaldic Nafnaþulur. Some appear as powerful individuals with narrative depth (Sigrún, Brynhildr, Sváva); others are known only by name in mythic catalogues.

But each name is an inheritance; a fossilized flash of a very old belief.

Assembled here are all 38 Valkyries attested in surviving lore, including Eir, whose dual identity (goddess and valkyrie) is validated directly in the Nafnaþulur traditions.

In recording, honoring, and remembering these names, we reenact the ancient function of the skalds who kept the shield maidens alive through speech.

  • • Völundarkviða I

    "Runes bloom beneath her fingers."

  • • Gylfaginning

    "Protection descends wherever she stands."

  • • Grímnismál

    • Gylfaginning

    "Her counsel turns the tide."

  • • Völuspá 31

    • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "The spear shakes to her voice."

  • • Grímnismál

    • Helgakviða Hundingsbana II

    • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "Wild wind-maiden reborn from Sigrún's sorrow."

  • • Darraðarljóð

    "Merciless as winter."

  • • Völundarkviða I

    "Wisdom cloaked in swan's feathers."

  • • Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

    • Völundarkviða I

    "White as frost, fierce as fire."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "Her spears fly like meteors."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "Thunder of battle, roar of men."

  • • Gylfaginning

    • Gesta Danorum Book II

    "Storm-bringer among shield-maidens."

  • • Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and II

    "Victory whispers her name."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "She pierces armor and fate alike."

  • • Völsunga saga

    • Sigrdífumál 2-4, 20-21

    • Helreið Brynhildr

    • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "The bright helm burns with defiance."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "Silence before slaughter."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "Spear-goddess of grim resolve."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "Helms sing upon her arrival."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "Devastation follows in her wake."

  • • Skáldskaparmal/Nafnaþulur

    • Gylfaginning

    • Fjölsvinnsmál

    "Mercy and battle meet in her hands."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    • Völuspá 31

    • Darraðarljóð

    • Gesta Danorum Book I

    "Battle itself rises when she lifts her hand."

  • • Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

    • Grímnsmál

    • Darraðarljóð

    "The din of shields is her laughter."

  • • Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

    • Gylfaginning

    • Darraðarljoð

    "She binds whole armies with invisible chains."

  • • Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

    • Gyflaginning

    • Darraðarljóð

    "Her cry breaks the courage of kings."

  • • Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

    • Darraðarljóð

    • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "Fate bends like a branch in her grasp."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    • Völuspá 31

    • Darraðarljóð

    "War follows her like a loyal hound."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    • Völuspá 31

    • Darraðarljóð

    "Her spear chooses the worthy."

  • •Grímnsmál

    • Gylfaginning

    • Völuspá 31

    • Darraðarljóð

    • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "She shakes the sky when battle begins."

  • • Gyflaginning

    • Darraðarljóð

    • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "The shield-wall opens or closes at her will."

  • • Gylfaginning

    • Grímnsmál

    • Darraðarljóð

    "Strength made flesh, lightning in maiden-form."

  • • Gylfaginning

    • Darraðarljóð

    "Daughter of the gods, cupbearer of courage."

  • • Gylfaginning

    • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    • Grímnsmál 36

    • Darraðarljóð

    "Shaking spears, she summons destiny."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "When the sword-age comes, she walks foremost."

  • •Völuspá 31

    • Gylfaginnimg

    • Darraðarljóð

    • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    • Hrólfs saga kraka

    "Debt-keeper of the future; the unchosen have no voice with her."

  • • Gylfaginning

    • Grímnsmál

    "Battle hides in her veil."

  • •Grímnsmál

    • Helgakviða Hundingsbana I

    • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    • Völuspá 31

    • Gesta Danorum Book II

    "Her wand writes the runes of the slain."

  • • Skáldskaparmál/Nafnaþulur

    "Swift as sudden death."

  • • Helgakviða Hjörvardssonar

    "She guards the noble heart like a dream."

  • • Gylfaginning

    "When axe-age dawns, she awakens."