Baldr's Death / Animism

Then spoke Gangleri: ‘Have any greater events taken place
among the Æsir? It was a very great exploit that Thor achieved on
this expedition.’

High replied: ‘There are events to be related that would have
been thought more significant by the Æsir. And the beginning of
this story is that Baldr the Good dreamed great dreams boding
peril to his life. And when he told the Æsir the dreams they took
counsel together and it was decided to request immunity for Baldr
from all kinds of danger, and Frigg received solemn promises so
that Baldr should not be harmed by fire and water, iron and all
kinds of metal, stones, the earth, trees, diseases, the animals, the
birds, poison, snakes. And when this was done and confirmed,
then it became an entertainment for Baldr and the Æsir that he
should stand up at assemblies and all the others should either
shoot at him or strike at him or throw stones at him. But whatever
they did he was unharmed, and they all thought this a great glory.
But when Loki Laufeyiarson saw this he was not pleased that
Baldr was unharmed. He went to Fensalir to Frigg and changed
his appearance to that of a woman. Then Frigg asked this woman
if she knew what the Æsir were doing at the assembly. She said
that everyone was shooting at Baldr, and moreover that he was
unharmed. Then said Frigg:

‘“Weapons and wood will not hurt Baldr. I have received oaths
from them all.”

‘Then the woman asked: “ Have all things sworn oaths not to
harm Baldr?”

‘Then Frigg replied: “There grows a shoot of a tree to the west
of Val-hall. It is called mistletoe. It seemed young to me to demand
the oath from.”

‘Straight away the woman disappeared. And Loki took mistletoe
and plucked it and went to the assembly. Hod was standing at
the edge of the circle of people, for he was blind. Then Loki said to
him:

‘“Why are you not shooting at Baldr?”

‘He replied: “Because I cannot see where Baldr is, and secondly
because I have no weapon.”

‘Then said Loki: “ Follow other people’s example and do Baldr
honour like other people. I will direct you to where he is standing.
Shoot at him this stick.”

‘Hod took the mistletoe and shot at Baldr at Loki’s direction.
The missile flew through him and he fell dead to the ground, and
this was the unluckiest deed ever done among gods and men.
When Baldr had fallen, then all the Æsir’s tongues failed them, as
did their hands for lifting him up, and they all looked at each other
and were all of one mind towards the one who had done the deed.
But no one could take vengeance, it was a place of such sanctuary.
When the Æsir tried to speak then what happened first was that
weeping came out, so that none could tell another in words of his
grief. But it was Odin who took this injury the hardest in that he
had the best idea what great deprivation and loss the death of
Baldr would cause the Æsir.


- Prose Edda, Gylfaginning