Also called Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, Miðgarðsormr, the World Serpent.
Their story
Jörmungandr is a child of Loki and Angrboða. Odin threw him into the sea, where he grew until he encircles all of Midgard and bites his own tail. Thor lifted him in the form of a cat at Útgarða-Loki's hall, and once hooked him with an ox head while fishing with the giant Hymir, until Hymir cut the line. At Ragnarök Thor kills him, walks nine steps, and dies of his venom.
Best times to give to them
- by the sea
- when reflecting on cycles
What they like being given
- care for the sea: collecting litter from a beach
- a shell returned to the shore
How to honour them
- Clean a stretch of shoreline and think on the serpent that the tales place under every sea.
- Reflect on the circle of beginnings and endings.
How they can help you
- understanding cycles
- respect for the sea
- facing great challenges
Symbols
- a serpent biting its own tail
- the deep sea
- an ox head as bait
Sources
- Prose Edda, Gylfaginning 34, 46–48 and 51
- Poetic Edda, Hymiskviða
- Poetic Edda, Völuspá
- Úlfr Uggason, Húsdrápa