According to Norse legend, as described in the Eddas, which were recorded roughly 1000 years ago (though it is believed by many scholars that they may indeed date from far older stories that go back much further in the past), the deities began their existence in the mystical void known as Ginnungagap, which was extant prior to the creation of the universe. It was bounded on the north by the world of ice, Niflheim, and on the south by the land of fire, Muspelheim. The meeting of these two opposite polarizations of energy spawned the forces that were the eventual genesis of all life in the universe, including the deities.
According to legend, two beings were created in this realm between the two realms, including the huge primordial cow Audhumla and the enormous primal frost giant known as Ymir, the latter of whom rose from the ice in Nifleheim. The nurturing, benevolent Audhumla, who possessed the seed of creating life in the multiverse’s youth, gradually licked the giant being called Buri from the salt-encrusted ice that was melted by the heat of Muspelheim. The malevolent Ymir was an asexual being capable of mass reproduction without a female mate, and he sired the entire race of giants from his own perspiration. Buri subsequently “gave birth” to the male god called Bor, who mated with Bestla, one of the giant daughters of Ymir, and this resulted in the creation of the race of gods known as the Aesir.
The three prime gods of this time were the brothers Vili, Vey, and Odin. These three early members of the Aesir eventually slew Ymir due to the frost giant’s incessant evil and cruelty towards the nascent life in the multiverse. The descendants of this primal giant became the Jotuns, or the race of giants, who were often at war with the Gods of Asgard. Legend has it that Odin and his brothers molded the Earth (or as the Norse called it, Midgard) out of the remains of Ymir’s body.
Ultimately, Vili and Vey sacrificed their lives to save the new celestial realm of Asgard from the fire demon Surtur, who somehow came into existence from the flames of Muspelheim, and later gave birth to the entire race of beings known as the fire demons. At the moment of their sacrifice, Vili and Vey transferred their essence to Odin, thereby granting the god their combined might, and making him one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, perfectly suited for ruling a race of deities.
After gaining rulership of the ethereal realm of Asgard, Odin took the goddess Frigga as his wife, and he led the warlike Aesir against the giants, the trolls, and many other foes. Eventually, the Aesir discovered the nearby mystic realm of Vanaheim, home to a race of powerful but peaceful fertility deities known as the Vanir. The Aesir and the Vanir eventually went to war as a result of a fight picked by the former, which lasted for many years and ultimately ended in a stalemate (some sources indicated the Vanir as the victors, but this is contradicted by several other sources that imply a deadlock between the two forces). Following this stalemate, the two groups of deities came together in peace, and the Aesir and the Vanir united their ways and attributes as the Gods of Asgard. The deities are now made up of gods and goddesses from both groups, the Aesir, or Asa-Gods, and the Vanir, or Vana-Gods (along with certain members of the race of giants, such as Loki, Skadi, and Saga, who intermarried with the gods). Two of the Vana-Gods, the fertility deities Freya and Frey, would eventually become the Lady and Lord of Norse Wicca.
The Norsemen told of a great cosmic disaster they called Ragnarok, which would be the final battle between the deities and their various enemies, and would result in the total transformation of all the Nine Worlds,which were the nine realms of reality considered relevant to the Norse. The end result would be a rebirth of the gods and a new golden era for humankind.
