Hel: Norse Goddess of the Underworld

    She is one hel of a goddess.  Literally.  Her name is Hel, and, ironically, that is what she rules.  Hel is the Norse goddess of the underworld.  In Norse Mythology, the underworld is located in one of the nine worlds--Helheim.  If the name brings you down, don't feel bad.  Helheim is a pretty gloomy place.  It's cold and damp, and filled up with gloomy spirits.  In Norse myths, Hel receives only a portion of the spirits of those who die.  While the brave, pillaging warriors go to Valhalla or Folkvangr, criminals and those who were not warriors went to Helheim.  So if you were a goody-two-shoes but did not fight, too bad.  You get to spend the rest of eternity in the cold with Hel herself.
    The story of Hel goes back to the all-famous Loki, God of Trickery and Mischief.  You see, Loki is her daddy.  That didn't really help her reputation with the other gods.  It didn't help that half of her face looked dead and rotting.  To get rid of her, Odin sent her to Helheim to take care of the dishonorably dead.
    She's not known to be in very many myths.  One of her main myths is that of Baldr's death.  Baldr is the son of Odin and Frigga, and he is the god of light, peace, and forgiveness.  When he had a prophetic dream of his death, his mom made everything in the nine worlds promise not to harm him.  However, she had forgotten mistletoe.  When Hel's dad, Loki, found out, he tricked Baldr's blind brother Hodr into killing him during a party.  This party included throwing things at Baldr, and Loki gave Hodr an arrow made of mistletoe, which killed baldr instantly.  The messenger of the gods, Hermod, was sent to beg Hel to release Baldr.  She promised to let him go back.  However, every living and dead creature has to cry for Baldr, which almost happened.  The only creature not to cry was a giantess, who was Loki in disguise.
    Just like any other god, Hel is destined to fight on Ragnarok, the doomsday of Norse Mythology.  She, with her dad, will join the giants and monsters to destroy the gods and the world.

Symbols: Plate and knife
Sacred Colors: black and white
Offerings: bones, coffee beans, wine, onyx
Siblings: Fenrir, Jormangandr, Sleipnir