EIR | Healer of the Gods, Goddess of Health, Valkyrie & Handmaiden
Names: Eir, Iaer, Aer, Eira, Eyra, and Eil.
Meaning: "Protection, help, mercy, clemency, peace".
Elder Futhark: ᛖᛁᚱ
Younger Futhark: ᛅᛁᚱ
Facets: Goddess, Valkyrie, Handmaiden
Eir: The Goddess
As an Æsir Eir is associated with health (especially that of women and children), childbirth, divine healing, protection against illness, and medical skills.
Eir: The Valkyrie
As a valkyrie Eir is tasked with enacting what could be viewed as divine intervention. Unlike the other valkyries who would pick through the slain, Eir would choose who would live and heal.
Essentially as a chooser of life and death, she is sometimes associated with the Norns, the fate weavers, and potentially in charge of shaping the lives of children.
Eir: The Handmaiden
As a handmaiden Eir may have tended to a handful of goddesses/gods, such as the jötunn (giant) Menglöd*, Freyja, Frigg and by proxy possibly Odin.
*Menglöd may have also been an epithet of Freyja, Frigg, or Eir herself).
Ancestry: Æsir, Valkyrie, Jötunn, or Human?
Like much of who Eir was to the Norse, her ancestry is also lost to time. However there are a handful of speculations on her lineage.
As an Æsir her heritage is completely unknown.
However as a valkyrie she may have at one time been human.
As a handmaiden to a giantess, she may have even been Jötunn.
Overall Eir's true purpose as well as her ancestry are unknown due to the loss of information overtime.
Domain: Lyfjaberg
Known as the healing hill or healing mountain, Lyfjaberg is speculated to be Eir's home, possibly within Ásgard. Here it is said that she gathers with many other maidens* for healing ceremonies.
Even though there is no known hill of Lyfjaberg in our physical realm, blóts (ceremonies) were held upon hilltops or mountain sides to ward off pestilence and sickness.
*The names of these maidens are Hlif, Hlifthursa, Thiodvarta, Biort, Blid, Blidr, Frid, and Orboda (Fjölsvinnsmál | Poetic Edda).
Associations
The following are by no means an exhaustive list of correspondences for Eir. They are just the ones I found that were most clearly defined. And like most correspondence lists, these are modern speculations with little to no historical backing.
The Eirflower
It is said that during healing rituals that Eir was invoked with the use of a white flower.
Though it is not known exactly what specific plant the Eirflower was, some have come to theorize that it could be any number of white flowering medicinal plants native (or not) to the Norse peoples. On the other hand however, the Eirflower may have merely been a representation of the concept of healing, and not a tangible plant at all.
Herbs, Plants & Trees
Blood-stanching herbs such as yarrow and bistort, as well as wound healers like comfrey* and chamomile are all examples of medicinal plants one might associate with Eir.
Additionally trees such as birch: a symbol of regeneration and a medicinal pain reliever, pine: associated with protection and cleansing, and juniper: a menstruation stimulant and abortifacient may also be associated with Eir.
*Comfrey can be toxic and like any other herbs or plants you plan to consume or apply topically for their medicinal properties, extensive research should be done first.
Colours
Due to the colour red being strongly tied to the blood shed from wounds, menstruation, childbirth and miscarriage, it is often associated with Eir.
Green may also be associated with her due to both their connections with the natural world, life, growth and renewal.
White not only represents the colour of the fabled Eirflower but is often associated with life, purification, and cleansing.
Metals & Stones
Minerals such as copper: antimicrobial and grounding, garnet: emotional healing and vitality, and quartz: healing and clarity, are also associated with Eir.
Objects
While any medical implements or tools could easily be associated with the goddess of healing, a few more common place items are bandages, mortar and pestles, medications*, vitamins and supplements, pill organizers, medical symbols such as a red cross, and saunas (most popular for their healing benefits in Nordic countries, but not exactly a foreign concept worldwide).
*Though not every pharmaceutical drug has organic components or origins, even the most synthetic medications can thank natural medicines and folk remedies for paving the way to what is now modern medicine.
Runes
(ᛉ) Algiz - "elk": protection, connection to the divine, defense.
(ᚨ) Ansuz - "god": divine communication, knowledge, wisdom.
(ᛒ) Berkano - "birch": growth, fertility, rebirth.
(ᚢ) Dagaz - "day": light, clarity, end/awakening.
(ᚷ) Gebo - "gift": balance, the gift of life, reciprocal exchange.
(ᛊ) Sowilo - "sun": light, energy, clarity.
(ᛞ) Uruz - "aurochs/ox": health, strength, challenges.
Personal Epithets
Healer of the Gods
Healer of Wounds
Giver of Life
Wound Healer
Woman of Wounds
Winged Healer
Divine Healer
Guardian/Protector of Children
Guardian/Protector of Women
Battlefield Healer
Lady of Recovery
Goddess of Health
Updated: October 2025
{list of sources & some additional reading below}
