NorsePlay.

Branding is like 80% of sales in the cigar industry. Every year new lines launch at cigar industry shows dressed up with fancy labels in classy boxes to compete for shelf space at tobacconists everywhere. Naming products after titans or gods to add appeal and have positive associations is nothing new, but I was delighted to run across these Norse God cigars : Odin totally strikes one as a cigar smoker. Any cigar lounge could possibly be considered a Sessrúmnir, or "a hall of many seats". And of course some Thor named offerings: Given feasting culture , and Viking halls as both centers of religious & secular power, the idea of lighting up Nordic-themed cigars after these grand meals isn't out of the question. And in the what-if world where the Vikings retained beachheads in Vinland, perhaps they would have found a tribe with proto-cigar smoking customs from whom to import tobacco back home to Scandinavia , and then labels such as these would've be more prolific,...

This modern Asgard meme has the implication of invisible walls in its architecture graced with stairs of ascension. There's something of Rivendell in the setting, which is idyllic, and with the vines, perhaps it's specifically an approach to Freya's Sessrúmnir. [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 .

For a long time, I've admired this series of Norse Goddess memes (though not all of them are goddess figures, nor on the Aesir side of the Innagard fence), and here's the first: Freyja . The choice of high-resolution modern photography and makes these feel contemporary and thus more connective to the here & now. The golden eyeshadow & glitter applique for the golden tears over her missing husband is a rather clever touch. [Found on a VK Wall. If anyone knows who originally designed these, do let me know. (And if it's from a known meme generator, do let me know which as I'd love to make some in the same style.)] #    #    # 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 pr...