Gunnlöð is the Norse Goddess who guards the mead of wisdom. She is a giantess who watched over the cauldron of mead, until Odin came and tricked some away from her. He had bargained with her for three drops in exchange for sex, but ended up stealing the whole thing.

Louhi is the Finnish Goddess of sorcery. She is Queen of the land of Pohjola. In the Kalevala, a collection of Finnish myths, Louhi desires a magical item known as a sampo, a mill that gives prosperity to its owner in the form of grain, salt, and gold. Her wizards are unable to make one for her, but she learns that the smith Ilmarinen is able to make one. She offers him the hand of her beautiful daughter in marriage in exchange for the sampo. After many failed attempts, Ilmarinen crafts the magical mill. Louhi takes it, but refuses to let her daughter leave. She sends Ilmarinen away, keeping the sampo locked away. Ilmarinen returns to Pohjola with the hero Vainamoinen. They sneak into Louhi's ice palace and steal the sampo. In the battle that follows, the sampo is destroyed and Louhi, who has transformed herself into the winged creature in the picture, is killed.

Sif is the Norse Goddess of beauty and fertility. The wife of Thor, she has beautiful long golden hair. In one myth, the trickster God Loki sneaks into Sif's bedroom and cuts off her hair. Thor is furious, and threatens to kill Loki unless he can replace her hair. Loki finds some dwarves in a cave, the sons of Ivaldi, and has them spin gold into hair for Sif. The dwarves then enchanted the fine strands of gold so that they would grow just as real hair. Sif's name means "wife", and she is the mother of a son named Ullr ("the magnificent"), God of winter and skiing, by her first husband, the giant Orvandil. By her second husband, Thor, she has a daughter, Thrud ("might"), Goddess of storms and clouds.

The White Women are known throughout the world by many names--in Germany they are the Weisse Frauen, in the Netherlands the Witte Wieven, and in France les Dames Blanches. They are the spirits of wise women who have passed to the next world, and they usually reside near hills, bridges and graveyards, appearing to people who pass by. They can be mischievous, asking that travelers stop and dance with them or demanding some form of offering. They are kind to those who are kind to them, and with their gift of prophecy they often give a glimpse into the future. Those who disregard them will find their journey filled with obstacles.

Fulla is the Norse Goddess of abundance. Her names means "she who fills", and she is one of Frigg's handmaids. She carries Frigg's magical box, making her a protectress of the tools used in magical rituals.  She's the one on the left holding the box.

  I'm just so impressed with myself that I managed to figure out how to get the music in! The Valkyries (pronounced VAL-kir-ees) are the Norse Goddesses who choose which warriors will go to Valhalla when they are slain. The name Valkyries means "choosers of the slain", and these beautiful women rode on winged horses to battlefields, where they would choose the bravest of the dead warriors and bring them to join Odin's army in Valhalla. The Valkyries wore armor and carried spears, and their armor gives off a glow that flashes through the northern sky as the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. Various individual Valkyries are listed in mythology, some with translations of their names: Alvitr (all-white) Brynnhildr (mailcoat of battle) Friagabi (giver of freedom) Geirahöð (battle of spears) Geiravör Geirdriful Geirönul Geirskögul Gjöll (battle cry) Göndul (spear thrust) Grimhildr (mask of battle) Guðr (sword stroke) Guðrún (battle-rune) Gunnr (battle) Herfjötur (war-fetter) Herja Hildeberg (battle fortress) Hildegund (battle war) Hildr (battle) Hjalmþrimul Hjörþrimul (battle of swords) Hlökk (din of battle) Hrist (shaker) Hrund Kára Kreimhildr Mist Ölrún (knower of the mysteries of ale) Ráðgríðr (counsel of peace) Randgrí­ðr (shield of peace) Reginleif (heritage of the gods) Róta (she who causes turmoil) Sanngríðr (swift stroke) Sigrdrífa (she who drives victory) Sigrún (knower of mysteries of victory) Skalmöld Skeggjöld (wearing a war axe) Skögul (raging) Skuld (she who is becoming) Sváfa (Suebian) Svanhvít Sveið Svipul (storm) Þögn Þrima Þrúðr (power)

Hey, that sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?  Where do you think they got the word? Hel is the Norse Goddess of the dead. She is the daughter of the trickster god Loki and the giantess Angrboda. When Odin learned of her existence, he flung her down to Niflheim, the realm of cold and darkness. He gave her dominion over the underworld, which came to be called Hel after her. Hel is the final destination for those who die of illness or old age, and those who were wicked in life. Only those who died heroically are taken to Valhalla, the Hall of the Slain. Hel's realm is composed of nine levels, ranging from fairly comfortable to truly horrible, and it was she who decided to which level the dead would go. In the ninth level, Nastrond, the roof is made up of serpents, who drip poison on the dead below. The inhabitants are given only goat's urine to drink. Hel herself is a sight to behold. She is half alive and half dead--in some representations, her face and body are alive, but her legs are decaying; in others, her right side is the color of healthy flesh and her left side is black with death. One of her eyes is made of fire, and with it she can see the true soul of a person, enabling her to judge them well. It is also said that there was no disease in the world until Hel was born, and that she had the power to bring plague to the towns that she passed through. Variations on her name, which means "she who hides", include Hela, Hella, Hell, Holle, Halja, and Haljon.

What I wouldn't give for one of these apples!

Idun (pronounced EE-doon) is the Norse Goddess of eternal youth. She is the custodian of the western garden, in which grow the golden apples of immortality. When the Gods felt themselves aging, they would go to Idun for one of her apples, which restored their youth and vitality. Idun was once kidnapped by the storm God Thiazi who disguised himself as an eagle. The trickster God Loki had lured into her a forest away from her husband Bragi, the God of poetry. Thiazi swooped in and carried her off to his home. Without Idun's apples, the Gods began to age. They threatened Loki with torture until he agreed to rescue her. Thiazi, enraged that Idun had been taken from him, pursued Loki, but the Gods burned his feathers and he fell to the ground dead. With Idun and her apples back where they belonged, the Gods were soon restored to their youthful selves. Other names for Idun include Idunn, Iduna, Idunna, Ithun, Ithunn, and Ydun.

It's stormy here today, so I thought a Goddess of storms might be appropriate.  Ran (pronounced rawn) is the Norse Goddess of storms, wife of Aegir, God of the sea. Her name means "robbery", due to her penchant for sinking ships and collecting the drowned sailors in her nets. The Norse believed that drowning victims were not admitted to Valhalla or Helheim (their versions of heaven and hell), but went instead to Ran's realm of the dead at the bottom of the ocean. Ran and Aegir had nine daughters, who were the waves in the ocean.