Heimdallr Basics

Heimdallr is the watchman of the Gods who guards the rainbow bridge Bifröst, which connects Midgard and Ásgard. He is fated to announce the coming of Ragnarök, at which point he and Loki will die fighting one another. He is a consummate warrior, possesses the ability to see and hear events all across the Nine Worlds, and is credited with creating the human social classes.

He is attested in the Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Snorri’s Heimskringla, the poem fragment Heimdalargaldr, in skaldic poetry, and on an Old Norse runic inscription found in England. He was known to the Saxons as Hama.

Heimdallr is described as the “whitest of the gods” (not “the most Caucasian” – see below) and also as having gold teeth. His hall is Himinbjörg or “Heaven Mountain” in Ásgard, and he famously touts the Gjallarhorn, a resounding horn which can be heard throughout all the worlds. Though he seems to have no partner in the pantheon, he fathers many children among humankind under the name Rigr.

The references to Heimdallr throughout the lore are often obscure, and translations vary widely in interpretation, resulting in many different theories about the god. Some of the most interesting concern his role at Ragnarök, his input in the creation of mankind, and the possibility that he may be a personification of the world tree Yggdrasil.

Though it is usually agreed that Heimdallr carries the great Gjallarhorn, and will blow it to announce the onset of the end of the world, an alternate interpretation of a key stanza in Grímnismál changes “horn of Heimdallr” into “Heimdallr’s hearing.” Supported by clues in other areas of the Edda, this would mean that rather than a giant horn, the author is describing how Heimdallr left his ear at the Well of Wisdom, similar to how Óðin left his eye. In this way, Heimdallr announces the coming of Ragnarök as a prophecy, rather than as a reaction to its onset.

Other similarities to Óðin (such as references to humankind as “Heimdallr’s sons” and possessing foreknowledge of crucial events) may suggest that Heimdallr was imported from an adjacent culture and absorbed in the same way that Týr, Thor, and Ullr may have been. Although Óðin comes to us as “All-Father” of the entire pantheon, in earlier times each region and tribe had their own “All-Father,” hence the overlap in myths and roles among the patriarchs of the Æsir.

In a rather interesting passage in Rígsþula, not only does the Watchman sleep with various human couples to produce different classes in human society, eventually he fathers a son of especially high regard, and Heimdallr takes him under his wing as his official son. The god gives him a name and educates the boy in the ways of the world, also teaching him the runes.

In Þrymskviða, when Mjölnir ends up in the hands of the Jötnar, it is Heimdallr who suggests that rather than trading Freya for the hammer, Thor should go in her place:

“Then Heimdall spake, whitest [most honest] of the gods, Like the Wanes [Vanir] he knew the future well:

Bind we on Thor the bridal veil, Let him bear the mighty Brisings’ necklace;

Keys around him let there rattle, And down to his knees hang woman’s dress;

With gems full broad upon his breast, And a pretty cap to crown his head.”

Heimdallr is the son of nine mothers. As he is shared by different mothers, so too is he shared by more than one tribe of gods. The Poetic Edda tells us he is both Æsir and Vanir.

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Suggested Signs and Symbols

Gjallerhorn, loud horns, sirens, and alarms. The wind and the waves. Wind blowing over fields. Sound and sound waves. Roosters, rams, sheep, and seals. Wool. Bridges, gates and sentries. The Rainbow. Sight and hearing. The colours gold and white. Yggrassil, family trees. Cliffs, perches and high altitudes. Humanity and “the human condition.” The rune Maðr.

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Associated Names

Heimdall, Heimdalr and Heimdali. Rig/Rigr, Hallinskiði, Hama, Gullintanni, Vindlér, and Vindhlér.