NorsePlay.

This modern Niflheim meme reminds us of a travel poster with its clean design and up-sell of location. The flowing water could possibly be one of the eleven Élivágar rivers. [From dreamers often lie (Sarah)'s Nine Worlds of Norse Mythology series.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

A map of Hel! We think the Ancestral Plains of Bliss could be promising, and there's room down there for some adventuring, too. [ Helmap created by Carla O'Harris & Siegfried Goodfellow.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Norse Cosmology colour plate by Augustus Knapp from occultist Manly P Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages (1928), a book totally worth owning. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

From BOOM! Studios Inc., and my acquaintance accomplished comics writer Eric Esquivel, came the Loki: Ragnarok and Roll 4-issue mini-series . The god of mischief gets banished to earth, but takes up the axe and makes the best of it. [Cover art by Alexis Ziritt.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Thor depicted by Heavy Metal Magazine veteran artist Simon Bisley on the cover of Thundergod issue 2 (1996) for Crusade Comics. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

October 1959 DC Entertainment weirdness: A combo of a cosmic energy-infused meteorite, a neolithic-looking Mjölnir and a case of possession run the caped crusaders up against a possible Thor in Batman issue 127. [Cover by Curt Swan, Stan Kaye, & Ira Schnapp.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Freyja by PTimm [Andy Timm] for the Rise of Mythos online collectible card game. The artist's choice of a falcon helm matches her famed feathered cloak quite nicely. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Eastern-European woodcarving style meets Lewis Chessmen-esque in this set of Norse Gods made by Triumpho . At 13 cm each, one could imagine that these are the golden gamepieces found in the grass after Ragnarök. [Found on Etsy.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

A most-reflexive NorsePlay from videogame illustrator Sharyl Chow, mashing up Mad Max: Fury Road's Nux post-death with Valkyries welcoming him to Valhalla. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

For those of you who don't play or don't have time for videogames but still appreciate stories & settings, watching a walkthrough is a nifty option to enjoy all the work and world-building involved. With such, NorsePlay points your attention to this walkthrough of Rune: Viking Warrior (now Rune Classic on Steam), the story of newly initiated warrior Ragnar in a tale that takes him across many, many brilliantly designed levels of The Nine Worlds, counseled by a giant floating apparition of Odin's head, finding increasingly awesome weaponry, and thwarting Ragnarök no matter what it takes! #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and sp...

Accomplished fantasy illustrator Alan Lee 's Branstock in the Hall of the Volsungs from his 1984 CE book Castles . #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Odin plunges the magic sword Gram into the tree Barnstokk and says: "He who draws this sword out of the trunk shall receive it from me as a gift, and he himself shall prove that he has never carried a better sword than this one." Sound familiar? And now we know where that came from. [ Sigmunds Schwert ( Sigmund's Sword , 1889) by Johannes Gehrts.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

A relief from Europa-Park 's Wodan Timbur Coaster , a Norse Mythology-themed wooden roller coaster ride in Rust, Baden-Württemberg that features artistic depictions of all the Nine Worlds of Yggdrasil! [Photo by Jérémy Jännick.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Author (or survivor of secret caverns under the earth depending what you believe) Richard Sharpe Shaver wrote Cave City Of Hel  in this Amazing Stories pulp from September 1945, the cover asking "Did the Norse Gods Really Live?" [ Read it here !] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

What happens when you NorsePlay Steampunk into Norse Mythology? You get Stormpunk, a neologism coined by Storm Bunny Studios, LLC, creators of the tabletop roleplaying game Rhune: Dawn of Twilight , which does exactly that. We love this idea. [The Ragnarök Clock was once a Clockwork Gate that allowed the ancients to "walk the Great Tree ... ." Illustration by Terry Maranda.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to  offer,  do contact him .

Hellboy goes NorsePlay , which is natural since he & the BRPD are always called upon to clean up supernatural & mythological house. Apparently Mjölnir gets fused to his red right hand of doom by lightning and things go from there. Many comic-based prose novels tend to be more of a miss than a hit. Any of you read this? [Cover art by creator Mike Mignola.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Ran across an illustration of the middle Bear Cult with "house of the dead" (probably Valhalla ) designed hogback-style V iking tombstone in Prudence Jones & Nigel Pennick 's A History of Pagan Europe (p132), and found this neat line up of three bear-themed gravestones that are kept at St. Thomas' Church, Brompton, Northallerton, Yorkshire, near where they were originally found. It'd be sweet if we could reconstruct these as a burial marker and/or cremains container option. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative m...

Hávamál-style journal crafted by aLexLibris bookart! The Valknut cut-out roundel cover's a brilliant design, and the wood boards are a durable old-school convention we wish would have a publishing industry revival. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Cedar log carved statue of Odin by Paul Borda! Rather ups the game on Godpoles. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

This quiz uses Odin's riddles from  Hervarar Saga !  Scored 11/14. How many can you solve? Post your results below! #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Ran across mention of Runic John 's Up and Down the Tree and wondered if any of us out there have actually read it and found it meritorious (or otherwise)? Some astral, or physical transdimensional, NorsePlay travel sounds intriguing to us. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Ran across this beautiful Norse Lore double-truck text framing illustration while browsing the Arizona Renaissance Festival's Lady Chamberlin's book stall. From My Book Of History: Volume 3 -- New Nations (1931 hardback, p 218-9), drawn by Donn P Crane (1878-1944). Think the set of three was there for $40. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

3D Sleipnir skeleton designed by Mythic Articulations! #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Of course this is my Heathen Worldview at work, yet one can't help but see shades of Skíðblaðnir in this kayak that folds from only 32 inches out to 12 feet! (Perhaps Ivaldi's Sons have forged themselves a corporate front company?) #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .