Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   For this week’s Mermaid Monday blog post, I am discussing the Norse Sea Goddess Ran and her Nine Daughters, or the Nine Wave Maidens from Norse myth!

Ran is the wife of Aegir, Lord of the Sea, and together they have Nine Daughters, who are the Nine Wave Maidens.   Ran is a primordial Sea Goddess, known as the Goddess of the Drowned.   There was a time when human sacrifices were believed to be offered to Ran, in order to protect Sailors from being taken by this Goddess of the Drowned.   Ran even has a Hall on the Ocean Floor that is known as one of the Norse Realms of the Dead.   This makes sense, given that she is tied to those who have drowned, which means that those who die in the Sea are kept in that realm.   It is said that Ran casts a magick Net to catch souls to be permanent guests for her Hall.   When Ran used her Net, she was sometimes referred to as a Volva, which is the word for a Norse Witch, showing a connection to magick as well as being a primordial Sea Goddess!   So, yes, Ran is more than a simple Sea Goddess, for she is also a Death Goddess who rules over the drowned and a Volva.   Her complexity certainly makes this Dark Goddess fascinating.

Ran and Aegir, her husband and also her brother (a common event in mythology), are much older than the whole Norse Pantheon.   Ran is known as an Oracular spirit, which is quite common among Sea Goddesses and Mermaid Goddesses.   Ran’s Road is another name used to describe the Seas, which shows just how deeply tied to the heart of the Ocean in Norse myth she truly is.   She is a Goddess who is often depicted as incredibly beautiful, despite often being viewed as fearsome, which again makes a great deal of sense for a Sea Goddess!

The Nine Daughters of Ran and Aegir are named Blóðughadda (meaning bloody hair), Bylgja (meaning wave), Dröfn (meaning wave), Dúfa (meaning wave), Hefring (meaning rising wave), Himinglæva (meaning sky gleaming), Hrönn (meaning wave), Kólga (meaning cold wave), and Uðr (meaning wave).   These names and the meanings come from a poem called the Skáldskaparmál.   Of course, as with many figures that appear in groups, their individual names change a bit depending on the source.   

As I stated above, they are known to represent the waves, and the number nine is significant in Norse myth, just as it is in Celtic myth.   The Nine Daughters of Ran and Aegir are another group of Nine Maidens, just like the Nine Morgens of Avalon, the Nine Maidens of Annwn, and the Nine Witches of Caer Loyw.   It is a very important occurrence to see groups of Nine Magickal Women!   Besides being called the Nine Wave Maidens, they are also sometimes called the Nine Daughters of the Sea and the Billow Maidens; all of their names make it very clear that they are embodiments of the Ocean herself.   

Now, let’s look a little bit at how the Norse people viewed them.   As for how they are described and thought of, just like their mother, they are very fierce and feared.   It is said that Sailors would not wish to encounter them on the Sea.   I think that it is no surprise that the Norse people, who so often traveled on the Sea, would have a family of powerful Sea Deities in their mythos.   It is also very understandable that this family is feared, given it serves as a reminder of just how dangerous the waters can be!

I hope that you have enjoyed this look at Ran and her Nine Daughters.   What is the most interesting thing about these Sea Goddesses in your opinion?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely artwork of Ran.   I found the art on https://vikings.fandom.com/wiki/Ran.              

LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries 

Further Reading

• Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes
• https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Nine_Daughters_of_Ægir_and_Rán
• https://www.pagankids.org/post/nine-daughters-of-the-sea