SÒL- The female sun God of the North

In most polytheistic cultures the sun is identified as a male God and the moon as a female God. But in Northern mythology the reverse is true. Sól (same name used for the sun in the Scandinavian languages) is a female charioteer, while Mani (The moon - called måne in the Scandinavian languages), her brother, is a male. The name is not often used, but I know a beautiful little blond girl named Sol that bears this monumental name with grace.

Here is my rendition of Sol on her Chariot with the two horses Árvakr and Alsviðr, that will be published as CC-by on my Diaspora page some time later :)

illustration
The origin of the Goddess lies very much in the shadows of history, and the only real written evidence is from the early middle-age (the period we call the viking-age) with all the fantastic stories from the Eddas, the Vǫluspá etc. But an archeological artifact shows us that the Álfröðull have more ancient predecessors.

Below is the sun-wagon one of the most beautiful pieces from the prehistoric Danish bronze-age. The image is lend from the National Museum in Copenhagen.

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