Heathen Soul Lore #7 Winifred Hodge Rose ~ Ond they had not, Odhr they had not, Neither La nor Laeti nor Litr Godas. Ond gave Odin, Odhr gave Hoenir, La gave Lodhurr, and Litr Godas. (Voluspa vs. 18 in the Elder / Poetic Edda) ~ I gave my clothes, along the way, to two tree-people. They thought themselves heroes when they were so clothed: The naked person is ashamed. (Havamal vs. 49, Prose Edda) The word ‘hama’ (rhymes with mama) appears in all of the ancient Germanic languages, and a number of other Indo-European languages as well, tracing back to a proto-Indo-European root meaning “a covering.”  In the Germanic languages, ‘hama’ is used to indicate an item of clothing: a simple dress or shift, a shirt or cloak, depending on the specific language. In Old Norse, the word Hama takes on an additional, occult meaning: it refers to a ‘shape’ with physical qualities that certain individuals can take on as shapeshifters or during soul-journeys.  Hama also means the caul (birth membrane) and the afterbirth in Scandinavian usage, meanings which are important in magic involving the Hama. “Womb” is a related Anglo-Saxon meaning of Hama.  In several of the Germanic languages Hama also means the slough or shed skin of a snake. All of these are clearly in the domain of “a covering.” As I shall show later, there is also a different word in Anglo-Saxon, ‘hiw’ (hue), which is used in a similar way as Hama in the domain of soul-lore.  As with many of our other souls, our Hama soul is a complex one, sometimes consisting of more than one Hama-form per person: a human-shaped Hama, and another shape our Hama can take on, such as an animal form or other non-ordinary-human form.  Often, in Scandinavian lore and folklore, the Hama seems to be interchangeable with our Hugi soul and with the Fylgja guardian spirit that accompanies each of us.  There is also a luck-bringing spirit called the Hamingja, a word related to Hama, which may or may not be the same being as the Fylgja.  The word Fylgja seems actually to be a broad term that is often applied in folklore to any accompanying spirit or externalized soul, such as the Hama, Hugr, Hugham, Hamingja, Dis (female ancestral spirit), Vordhr (warder), Gandr, or spirit animal.  (See de Vries Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte p. 224 ff. and Grimm vol. 3 p. 874 ff.)  The realization that ‘Fylgja’ can refer to a number of kinds of beings can help to reduce our confusion somewhat when reading through the lore!  Often, the context of the word ‘fylgja’ in the text can help us discern more about what kind of being it is.  The concept of Hama is further confused by the possibility that a “hama”, in my understanding, can refer to a covering or a shape taken on by another of our souls, as well as being one of our souls in its own right.  Ancient Hindu lore tells of complex systems of ‘soul sheaths,’ much like Hamas, with souls enclosing and shaping other souls or soul-parts within them, sometimes in multiple layers like onions (see Walker’s entry on the soul).  I think that something similar may be present in the Germanic concept of the Hama, though in a much less complex and systematic form.  In another article about the Ghost and Ahma souls (“Ghost Rider: Athom, Ghost and Wode in Action”) I discuss how the Ghost can be understood as the hama or soul-shape of our formless Ahma soul.  Our Hugi soul is also capable of taking on a visible or tangible shape, called a Hugham (hoog-hahm) in Scandinavian folklore.  Our personal “world,” our perception and experience of our own lifetime, is in my understanding the hama or cocoon spun by our Aldr soul (see my article “Aldr and Orlay: Weaving a World”).  I will try to preserve the distinction by using the capitalized form of Hama for our Hama soul, and the lower-case hama when referring to shapes or coverings that our other souls may take on for themselves, such as our Hugham and Werold. I will make a further distinction, as well, between our primary, human Hama soul which shapes and supports our physical body, and the secondary or alternate Hama which some people have or develop, which is an animal shape or a human-seeming shape with non-human abilities such as flying. Occasionally it might also take on the shape of a non-human being such as a troll, water-wight or some other wight.  An example of a witch faring aloft in her other-hama can be seen in the following verse from the Havamal in the prose Edda: I know a tenth (spell or rune): If I see a tun-rider (witch) playing aloft in the air, I can cause her to fare astray From her home-hama, From her home-hugr. (Vs. 155, my translation) Here we can see that the witch’s Hugr soul also takes part in this astral faring-forth, in the form of a hug-ham or Hugr-shape. It is not clear from folklore whether people who are ‘shape-strong’ or hamrammr in any of these ways possess two different Hamas, or whether their own Hama can shift its shape and roam abroad under the right circumstances. I incline toward the latter perception: that our own Hama can take on a different shape, and sometimes astrally travel in that shape. I discuss this further in the Hama Study Guide on this website. I am calling the non-ordinary, potentially out-faring Hama soul-form the Ellor-Hama.  “Ellor” is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “elsewhere,” with a strong connotation of otherworldliness.  The Ellorsith is the journey into death, into another world.  Ellor was also a prefix used to denote otherworldliness; for example, the monster Grendel in the Beowulf saga was called an “ellorgast,” an alien or otherworldly ghost.  In the same sense, I am proposing the term Ellor-Hama to denote a non-ordinary / non-human shape that our Hama may be able to take on, either naturally, or through esoteric practice. In this article I focus on our primary, human Hama, rather than on any manifestations of the Ellor-Hama.  We must first understand the great gift the Gods gave us, our human Hama, before proceeding to an understanding of the more arcane forms of Hama. The Gifts of Lodhurr When the ancient Trees were first transformed into human beings, in the persons of Ask and Embla, in my understanding the following events happened: Thor released our ancient Earth-given Ferah soul from the Trees, to spring out into human-ness; Odin gave us our Ahma / Ghost soul along with our breath, and Hoenir gave us the power of Wode that can serve as a bridge between humanity and divinity.  (See my articles: Born of Trees and Thunder; Ond Ahma, Ghost and Breath; and Ghost Rider.) Another set of gifts was given at this time by Lodhurr; these gifts are named in the Voluspa (vs. 18, Poetic Edda) as ‘La, Laeti, and Litr Godas’  I believe that these gifts comprise our human-shaped Hama Full-Soul.  (I am indebted to the Swedish scholar Viktor Rydberg for important aspects of the material I cover in my following sections about the La, Laeti, and Litr.  Teutonic Mythology, Vol 3, section 95, “On the Anthropology of the Mythology.”) 1. The Gift of ‘La’ ‘La’ or ‘Lo’ is a mysterious word that occurs only in the verses of the Voluspa quoted above.  Modern scholars variously interpret it as ‘blood,’ ‘warmth,’ ‘hair,’ and occasionally even ‘water,’ related to the Laguz rune.  (See de Vries’ dictionary.)   These seemingly disparate substances have something in common, however: they each carry powerful vital force.  Blood is synonymous with life, warmth and strength, as well as carrying distinctive characteristics from one generation to the next.  Before the discovery of genes, and often even now, blood was / is considered to carry genetic inheritance.  These generational characteristics are seen not only as physical features (she looks just like her grandma), but also as family culture or disposition (they’re all a hot-headed bunch).   By mingling blood in a sibling-ceremony, two people are considered to share the power and characteristics of each others’ ‘blood.’  Blood is also connected with female fertility and hence with the power of life. In Indo-European cultures, and others as well, hair was thought to carry a particular potency within itself.  It carries the strength of a warrior, the charisma of a chieftain, the mysterious power of a magic-user, and the allure of a beautiful person.  The condition of our hair reflects our health and our self-esteem.  Hair is often the first thing we note when we describe a person.  In the past, thralls’ hair was cut very short to emphasize their disgrace and powerlessness, even the fact that in some ways, such as legal rights, they were ‘dead.’   Thus, ‘La’ can be understood as life force, carried in blood and in hair, not only in the individual but also passed down in characteristic ways within families.  Both of these, blood and hair, are also powerful ingredients in magic that is intended to influence other people, usually by imposing illness or death through use of the victim’s hair or blood in charms. 2. The Gift of ‘Laeti’ ‘Laeti’ refers to two different things: one is ‘noise, cries, voice’ the other is ‘disposition, manners, conduct.’  It is related to the Anglo-Saxon word ‘gelaetan’ meaning ‘to conduct oneself, to behave.’  In the disciplines of philosophy and psychology, the quality of volition or will is the necessary precursor to behavior; in other words, one first wills, then acts.  Though I think this can sometimes be an oversimplification, it does illustrate the connection between Laeti and Will, supporting my belief that it was Odin’s brother Vili (will) who gave us these gifts.  His gift gives us the vehicle through which we can enact our will into the world.  Will is also deeply inherent in the life-force, La, expressing itself as the will to live and thrive, the most fundamental of all forms of will.  With the gift of Laeti, Vili / Lodhurr gave us the ability to move and to act, from the most simple to the most complex actions.  On the more complex end, we have human behavior and disposition, manners and personal conduct.  I must emphasize that the gift of Laeti does not mean that specific, time-and-place dependent manners and social customs were given to us: the Gods know well that we must be able to adapt and evolve behaviorally as well as physically.  Rather, Laeti is the inborn capacity to learn and express patterns of behavior that: (a) identify us each as a unique individual; (b) identify us as members of a particular social group (family, culture) that has characteristic behavioral customs; and (c) enable that group to function well and support the well-being of its members, by promoting such things as reduction of strife (through good manners, avoiding insults and rude behavior, etc), cooperative efforts (through coordinated actions with others), and the maintenance of physical and mental health (through cooperative care and social stability).  Along with these behavioral patterns comes the ‘voice, noise, cry’: the power of speech and other vocal expressions. Each of us has a unique voice that others can recognize as ours. Accents, dialects and languages all identify us as members of a particular society and enable us to communicate and interact. As reported in a recent evolutionary science research article, scientists found 407 genetic variants that showed changes in expression between archaic humans and modern humans.  A preponderance of them were concentrated, not on the cognitive parts of the brain like the neocortex, as might be expected, but on the vocal tract and the cerebellum.  The cerebellum is the part of the brain that controls voluntary movement: walking, coordination, balance, speech, etc.  The findings suggest a rapid evolution of these organs on a path specific to modern humans.  (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210426154805.htm)  In other words, the main difference between modern and archaic humans looks to be speech and unique ways of walking and other movement.  Here is Loðurr at work!  Speech and voluntary movement, leading to conduct and behavior: these are his gifts.  And note the ‘voluntary’ nature of the movement here, as opposed to automatic action such as heartbeat and breathing.  ‘Voluntary’ or ‘willed action’ points us toward Odin’s brother Vili, whose name means ‘will’.  Læti is not unique to human beings; all animal species, even insects, have behavioral patterns, and vocalizations or other sound effects, that are essential to their species’ identities, interactions and survival.  But, each species has its own Læti, its own ways of moving, behaving, vocalizing.  In our mythology, it is Loðurr who provides these patterns for humans. 3. The Gift of ‘Litr’ Lodhurr’s final gift was ‘Litr Godas (LEE-ter GO-das).’  This is usually translated as ‘good appearance’ or something similar.  Viktor Rydberg makes a different assumption: this gift is actually the ‘appearance or form of the Gods.’  This interpretation is entirely consistent with the mythology of Indo-Europeans and most other peoples: the idea that in physical form we are modeled after the Gods and Goddesses.  I take this view as well: our appearance was created to be both ‘good’ and ‘godly.’         As Rydberg describes, our Litr is an actual form, made from a very refined or etheric substance which he calls ‘efni’, the Norse term for ‘substance.’ This efni is imprinted with a holy image and serves as a template for our physical form and our behavioral “shape.”   By using the expression “behavioral shape,” I am suggesting an analogy between our physical shape and the way it occupies physical space and time, and the ‘shape’ that our behavior creates in the space-time continuum of social interaction and other individual actions.  This behavioral shape is just as real as our physical one, and holds a place in space and in time.  Consider, for example, that it is not usually a person’s physical shape that gives them a ‘place’ in history, but rather their actions and behavior, along with subtle aspects of their appearance such as their charisma: the subtle glow of their luck and personal power.  Social space is just as real and has just as much impact on us as does physical space, and to act in social space means that we need a suitable body to do it with.  This body is our human Hama, comprising our Litr / appearance, our Laeti / behavior and voice, and the life-force of our Hama-soul: our La, which expresses itself especially in our blood and our hair.   (As you can see, this social persona still depends on physical qualities and our physical senses, which are much engaged when we interact with each other in person.  Our disembodied interactions over the internet, when we are using neither voice nor visual interaction directly, is an interesting phenomenon from the point of view of the Hama, which I discuss in several of the Study Guides, but which needs further exploration.) The concept of Litr is a very rich one, going far beyond a simple physical description of our appearance.  Litr lies behind our physical form, and gives it liveliness, magnetism, attractiveness or repulsiveness.  Litr draws out our emotional reactions toward someone’s appearance, and our social responses to this appearance.  This can be in response to negative or positive ethnic or cultural stereotypes, emotional reactions to the appearance of celebrities, etc.  As an  example, many people respond in an endearingly silly and affectionate way toward babies, even completely unfamiliar babies irrelevant to our lives.  Babies have a powerful Litr, in the form of irresistible “cuteness,” that draws the attention and affection of adults.  In this way, the baby’s Hama soul ensures that the baby receives the care it needs in order to live and thrive, and ensures that the negative behaviors that are part of being a baby, such as crying and dirty pants, are met with affectionate tolerance  rather than hostility.   The baby’s Hama soul knows exactly what it is doing in presenting its appealing Litr to the world, even though the baby’s conscious mind is not capable at this point of conceiving and enacting this survival strategy. Our outer, physical appearance depends on the condition of the inner efni or substance of the Litr.  Joy and health shine from the Litr out through the physical body and create a great attractiveness emanating from our whole person.  A person with charisma, with subtle power and luck that draws other people to him or her, shows forth that charisma through a  magnetically attractive Litr.  The Anglo-Saxon cognate to Litr gives us additional understanding:  Wlite (wlee-teh) means “brightness, appearance, form, aspect, countenance, beauty, splendor, adornment.”   For each of us, whatever our degree of purely physical attractiveness, the Gods have given a Litr which is meant to shine and glow through our physical body, to project into the world our spiritual health, strength and beauty, and a deep and powerful joy-in-life, all as reflections of the same qualities embodied in our Gods and Goddesses.  Think, for example, of the heady power of life and beauty emanating from Freya, ranked with the power of the Sun and Moon, coveted by the giants: this is her Litr shining forth.  Shining Heimdal, with his golden teeth and gold-maned horse, his great horn that echoes through the worlds, surrounded by the shimmering light of Bifrost, also shows forth a stunningly powerful Litr.  Thor’s literally ‘magnetic’ power, expressed through lightning and thunder, through his iron Hammer and his great voice, his might and main, and his hugely exuberant personality, is another example of a mighty Litr.  Each of the Holy Ones can give us such examples of what a Litr can and should be. The Gift-Giver These, then, are the gifts of Lodhurr: our Litr, the appearance of our subtle energy body that both shapes and shines through our physical form; our Laeti that shapes our actions, speech, and behavior as physical and social beings; and the La, the life-force of our Hama-soul, that expresses its power … Continue reading The Shape of Being Human: The Hama Soul