Keele Fishel

Megin is more than physical strength. In Norse thought, it points toward personal might, the force carried through action, character, endurance, and the way a person meets the world. This article looks at what the sources actually tell us about megin, where modern interpretations go too far, and what the concept can still teach us today.

They used to bind sickness with plants and poetry. Not with handfuls of herbs tossed together… but with nine chosen for their power and their names. And words sharp enough to strike.The Old English Nine Herbs Charm comes from the 10th century. It calls on Woden, the same god the Norse knew as Óðinn, to strike a serpent with nine “glory-twigs.”It names each plant in turn, praises its virtue, and commands the poison to flee. Mugwort. Plantain. Lamb’s cress. Chamomile. Nettle. Crab-apple. Chervil.

Part Four of our Soul Parts series Welcome back to the Soul Parts series. We’ve spoken of thought, of breath, of shape and now we come to...