Days of the Week

Here we see Sunna and Mani, the Norse goddess of the sun and god of the moon. Pagan traditions typically view the moon as female, presumably because the moon's waxing and waning coincides with the female menstrual cycle. Why the Norse viewed it the other way around is not known (to me; please enlighten me if you have any insight), but I'll speculate that it has something to do with the life-giving power of the sun in a land so often cold and dark.

So the Sun and the Moon are the first two days of the calendar, and rightly so. These two celestial objects are the most visible and important to us; the sun that gives us life, and the ever-changing moon that helps us mark the seasons.

I think it's common knowledge that nearly all the English days of the week are named after Norse deities.


Tyr's day (Tuesday)
Woden's day (Wednesday)
Thor's day (Thursday)
Freyja/Frigg's day (Friday - it's debatable which goddess this day is named for)

Saturday is the outlier, named after the Roman god Saturn.

I've been making an effort in my daily practice to wear some symbol of that day's deity, and have a mind to what qualities they exemplify as I go through my day. Woden (Odin), for example, calls to mind wisdom and discipline. Thor suggests strength and courage. Frigg's domain is the home, wisdom, prophecy; Freyja's is sexuality and magic. I have seen a theory that Saturday could come from Saeter, a Germanic term for the god Loki, and while this is dubious at best I have a special fondness for Loki, and what better day to celebrate mischief and fun than Saturday?

It's probably not accurate, though. The old Norse name for Saturday translates to "washing day." Most weeks, that's what I'm doing.