The name Erce is used only once in Anglo-Saxon sources, as either an unknown lament or keening to the Earth Mother.  Most Anglo-Saxon Heathens (myself among them) conflate Erce with the deity the Roman historian Tacitus titled “Nerthus”.

Nerthus herself is little known in the lore of northern Europe, the very meaning of her name itself, mysterious.  Jan De Vries posited that it may be related to “strength”, “the underworld”, “the North”, or perhaps derivative of a verb meaning “to dance”.  Other’s believe that her worship may have been Celtic in its origin, and her name related to the concept of nerto (strength).

Tacitus writes of her worship by the allied tribes of Northern Germany and Southern Jutland in his Germania, providing a description that is, in sum, eerily similar to the Gunnars þáttr helmings description of the cult of Ingui Frey 1200 years later.

Tacitus writes,

“After the Langobardi come the Reudigni, Auiones, Angli, Varni, Eudoses, Suarines and Nuithones, all well guarded by rivers and forests.  There is nothing remarkable about any of these tribes unless it be the common worship of Nerthus, that is Earth Mother. They believe she is interested in men's affairs and drives among them.

On an island in the ocean sea there is a sacred grove wherein waits a holy wagon covered by a drape. One priest only is allowed to touch it. He can feel the presence of the goddess when she is there in her sanctuary and accompanies her with great reverence as she is pulled along by kine.

It is a time of festive holiday making in whatever place she decides to honour with her advent and stay. No one goes to war, no one takes up arms, in fact every weapon is put away, only at that time are peace and quiet known and prized until the goddess, having had enough of peoples company, is at last restored by the same priest to her temple. After which the wagon and the drape, and if you like to believe me, the deity herself is bathed in a mysterious pool.

The rite is performed by slaves who, as soon as it is done, are drowned in the lake. In this way mystery begets dread and a pious ignorance concerning what that sight may be which only those who are about to die are allowed to see.”
—Tacitus, Germania, chapter 40 translation from The Lost Gods of England, by Brian Branston (Thames and Hudson, London, 1957).

There are several theories regarding the figure of Nerthus and her role among the Germanic tribes.  Lotte Motz asserted that Power described by Tacitus may not have been called Nerthus or even been feminine at all but merely a corrolary of the Germanic god Njord (the confusion in name simply a result of the linguistic shift from Proto-Germanic Nerthuz to Old Norse Njordr). Yet Edgar Polomé argued that Njörðr and Nerthus come from different roots, definitvely coming to state that "Nerthus and Njörðr are two separate divine entities, whatever similarity their names show."  On this point, I most heartily agree with Polomé

In his fascinating Beowulf and Grendel, John Grigsby puts forward the theory that that the overthrowing of the Vanir religion by that of the Æsir is remembered in the Old English poem Beowulf and that, in fact, Grendel's mother is but a reflection of the Power of Nerthus and Beowulf's victory symbolic of the erradication of the Vanir cult in Denmark by the Aesir honoring Danes.

Personal Gnosis

I have come to know Erce/Nerthus as very much a distinct and sovereign Power who deeply embodies the might of the Earth.  My direct experience of her is that, unlike so many of the Wenan/Vanir, she is a Power much less invested in humanity (though not entirely uninterested), and more focused on the Land itself (and all that dwells within and upon it).  Interesting how Tacitus' description of her celebration spoke of her appearing among the people of the North infrequently (and yet was met with great joy when her wain did fare forth).

Though rooted in Earth, I understand Erce to be deeply connected to bog and water, and it is in this liminal space that she is easily contacted and offered to.  This does not eclipse her ability to manifest her Might elsewhere, but rather, her power is more readily accessible in these “thin” areas where Earth and Water meet.

Erce is pure sovereignty, in the purest sense of the word (absolute, independent authority).  Speaking little, Erce guides more through vision and gesture.  Yet when she does speak it is with utter authority.  She seems to derive great pleasure in moving throughout deep-forested land, though in dream-vision I have never seen her walk.  She actually seems to drift (or float slightly off the ground) in my gnosis, always dressed in a filmy, cobwebby gown of white that seems to be made more out of mist and light than any discernable fabric.  In these visions her face is generally either masked in a covering of green vegetation, or veiled, with very intense light spilling forth from her eyes.  She always generates a sense of awe in me which can be frightening at times, though the more I experience her, the less so it has become (though the sense of majesty remains). 

Much of her focus seems to be on perpetuating the fecundity and health of the Land and correcting places of imbalance.  In this, I have found her to place human beings in a position of importance.  As each species has it own unique niche to fill, and wyrd to forward, throughout the community of life, Erce seems to view humans as tasked with carrying out proper ritual, that the Lands of Middle Earth may flourish.  This ties back into her focus on the Land and her use of human tools to help restore balance to areas that have become violated. 

Less you begin to weave of picture of some sort of “Earth Mother of Love and Light”, let me quickly state that this view of humankind and the role she sees us holding in the world is very much rooted in wyrd and not in smiling platitudes or “feel good” gestures. 

In my experience, Erce/Nerthus makes herself manifest in at least four guises.  I cannot emphasis enough that the core of the goddess remains distinct, and that though these four facets or “faces” (which may or may not have been historically worshipped by men and women as distinct unto themselves) add a degree of complexity to her that can be challenging to tease apart, they are all ultimately but a part of the greater mystery that is Nerthus.

These manifestations of her might can most easily be comprehended as “elemental” in scope.  Here I hesitate, as I envision a certain amount of conflation between either the popular neo-pagan concept of the four elements or the classical Greek model and what I am attempting to detail is ultimately, neither. 

Erce commonly appears as a Land Goddess, the “Mother of the Earth” to whom prayers and sacrifices made for the fruitfulness of the Earth and the prosperity of the tribe.  Her fertile womb, cauldron of life-giving power, is seen as being inside the earth itself, ultimately overflowing or “birthing” (i.e. giving rise to) the myriad manifestations of life itself: plants, animals, and the folk of the tribe.  Offerings placed into mounds or beneath the fecund ground itself to her are sent.

Yet her Power may manifest through Water.  Through rivers, streams and lakes she can be honored for the sustaining force of water that allows the life made manifest upon the Land to flourish and sustain itself.  Into water sacrifices (be they animal, vegetable or mineral) are cast in her honor, as these liminal zones (neither Earth nor Sky) may be seen as gateways into her realms of Power (and the very Otherworlds themselves).  Witness the Iron Age sacrifices made in bogs and swamps across the face of Northern Europe. 

In her third aspect, she manifests as a Power of Wind, not merely the domain of the winged and flying ones, but a Goddess of Athem, the animating wind of life itself—breath.  Upon our breath we offer intention, words of praise and sacred oaths that, carried upon the wind may be transferred to the Otherworlds.  Likewise sacred smoke, whether offered as recels or through a pipe interact with Nerthus in her more “airy” form.

Finally, she takes form as the Flaming One, an initiatrix into the myseries and magic of fire.  Through the hearth, she dwells amidst all the folk of the tribe.  As in her other forms, Fire too may serve to create liminal space.  Offerings cast into flame transition into the Otherworlds.  Again, all of this is my own unique gnosis.

Many Heathens honor Erce/Nerthus infrequently, calling upon her on or around April 22 (“Earthday”) while ignoring her and her domain the rest of the year.  Such gestures likely serve only to add insult to the grievous injuries humanity has inflicted upon the Land while doing little to placate or impress Erce who is the unyielding power of the Natural World in all its facets, both comforting and terrifying.  Just as she infuses the mist filled morning light, so too does she embody the blackest of thunderstorms tearing through the night.  The verdant, lush, flourishing of new life and the violent dance between predator and prey are hers as well for all these things are sacred.  All these things are needed for the whole to be complete and healthy.

Nerthus is utterly uncompromising in what she demands of those who would give her worth, as the needs of the land are not negotiable.  For those who sincerely hold troth with her, “environmentalism” doesn’t even begin to cover it.  She is the unyielding call of the truly “Old Ways”, wild and unpredictable.  I often think of Nerthus when I recall a teacher of primitive living skills I once studied with who, after a frigid night in a hastily constructed primitive shelter high in the Rocky Mountains commented that indeed “Mother Nature” loves her children, but also has no compunctions about sucking the warmth from their bodies when they fail to act skillfully. 

Nerthus does not suffer fools gladly and as human actions and arrogance continue to violate her domain and push countless species into the void of annihilation, she becomes less so.     


© 2009 Brun Russellson.