Baldr

[Melahin]

As far as I understand he was seen as the most loved among the Aesir, yet I rarely come upon any who worship him. How does those of you who follow a Norse path see him?

[Lilyth Von Gore]

I think it may be because he resides in Helheim, and when people of Norse belief die without having lived an particularly exceptional life, they go to his Hall within Helheim.
It may be my inner Lokean talking here, but Baldr never really appealed to me.

[Melahin]

Still the whole world besides Loke cried of his death, that is a sign of significance, that the Norse believed the world had lost something dear to it. Is it not?

[Tobi]

To me, Baldr was always an aspect of the Sun God somehow. The shining golden lad. Sorrowful to lose touch with but never enough in himself in the great tapestry of things. Loki would not be sad. Of course not. Baldr and what he signified was what Loki came to counterbalance and challenge with his ways and wiles and shadow-knowings.
However...blessings to Baldr and what he signifies.

[DavidMcCann]

That's an interesting point: you don't hear much about Balder.

One of my favourite books is Walking with the Gods, based on interviews with various pagans conducted by a pagan anthropologist, Wendi Wilkerson. She only has one person who mentions Balder, an eclectic rather than a heathen, who said

Balder is like a Jesus that makes sense to me ... I don't normally interact with him until ... [the solstices] when the birth and dying of the Sun become especially meaningful.
I don't consider him to be the same sort of person as Apollo ... but I do share a similar sort of reverence...

[Clear Blue Sky]

Quite a long while ago I was fascinated with Norse myths and read a lot of things about it. My memory is fuzzy, but I seem to recall:

1. they noted that while a lot of locations had the name of Thor in it, there were virtually no locations that referred to the name of Baldar. of him there are not a lot of legends or stories, save the one that casts him in a photo-negative of lost hope and favor.

My own belief (which may be based on my ignorance) is that he was a rather late development in the Norse pantheon, one that appeared as they began to interact with Romans and perhaps even Christians. The soft aspects of men who need to suck it up and learn to harden their hearts and be tough like Thor to survive in the real world. The dove of peace and trust who was a very beautiful idea, well worth mourning its loss, but sadly doomed because for it to work EVERYONE would need to cooperate and there would need to be no scoundrels or traitors. Let a single sly eye into the picture, the house of cards collapses. There is perhaps bitterness here too, similar to the story of Pandora, or the fall of Adam and Eve. the one little fly that soured the milk.

"the one who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken"

[DavidMcCann]

The usual story is the one given by Snorri in Iceland, but there is a different myth given by Saxo Grammaticus in Denmark. In that Balder was a warrior, apparently associated with the Valkyries. He had a rival, Hoder, for the love of Nanna. Hoder robbed Miningus of his magic sword, the only weapon which could harm Balder, and killed him. That story is also found in Voluspa and Baldrs Draumar. The only constants are the prophetic dream and the magic weapon.

Hilda Ellis Davidson thought that both writers were trying to make some sense of obscure poems whose meaning was largely forgotten. She suggested that Baldr was a hero rather than a god and that Snorri attributed his death to Loki because he assimilated Loki to Satan. As she wrote "Snorri was a great story-teller and Saxo was not, and consequently Snorri has come out by far the best in the contest."

[Melahin]

I remember one day on the can back in 2012 images flushed in. I was shown a story almost similar to the on Saxo wrote. In it Balderus (Baldr) was a Norse son of Zeus, a demigod who was born in the last days of the long winter. He was fair like new fallen snow, and Hoder was his Twin.

[Clear Blue Sky]

once I was researching my ancient ancestors and came upon a cluster of names that sounded like characters of a norse saga. their history involved some sort of treachery to become king. In the saga the hero is slain by a person who owns a sword which (the sword) bears the name of the traitor in the historical account. I wonder if some of these legends were ways of saying something without saying it.... to communicate without the usurper cutting your head off.

[Howla Dark]

People of the Heathen faith don't "worship" particular gods that Christians worship Jesus and Mary. During rites, we always mention the gods, including Baldr when we give honour and thanks.