Hárgodhi Agnarsson

Within each individual is contained a soul. This is not a "soul" in the Judeo-Christian sense of the word, but a soul that contains nine parts that together make a collective whole. They are the lík, hamr, fylgja, önd, ódhr, hugr, minni, hamingja, sálfr, and sál; each of which will be described briefly.

		The lík is the physical human body (physical shell), modern Icelandic preserved this term to mean simply "corpse, or dead body". Without the other parts of the sould, the lík would simply be as a "corpse", an empty body containing no life.
		The hamr is the part of the soul that gives shape to the lík (spiritual shell or body). The hamr is similar to the lík in appearance, it is said that children grow "into" the hamr, thus the hamr is originally the shape of an adult. Although it is not a physical substance, its appearance directly effects the appearance of the lík; the hamr may also be "molded" by force of will, and in correlation with the fylgja, separate itself from the lík.
		The fylgja is seemingly independent from the rest of the soul, in modern Icelandic this term has been well preserved to mean "support, help, a ghost that accompanies a certain person, follow, guide, accompany somebody". The fylgja is not necessarily essential, depending on the individual a fylgja may be strong or weak. Generally the fylgja may contact their host just before death, even if the person has never had contact with it. The fylgja may even be the "imaginary friend" that so many children have to guide them during the "discovery years".
		The önd is essentially ones "breath". The önd is centered in the lower-middle of one´s chest and may be temporarily displaced from the rest of the soul by simply striking one in the chest, thereby "knocking the wind out" of someone. The önd is the bringer of vitality to the soul, oxygenating the lík, and the power behind the ódhr; without the önd the lík may degenerate and the ódhr would be disabled.
		The ódhr is the part of the soul that is vital for verbal skills, communication and the senses; the force behind the ódhr is the önd, for example---if one gets their önd (breath) "knocked out" they cannot speak---thus crippling the ódhr. An enlarged ódhr is said to be responsible for poetic elegance as well as verbal skills; one´s loss of hearing as one ages is known as "ódhr-aging". The ódhr is located between one´s head and chest.
		The hugr is the part of the soul that gives one the ability to think, in modern Icelandic hugr means simply "mind, or imagination". The hugr is the conscious part of the soul, the thought process. The hugr may be temporarily displaced from the rest of the soul be a sharp blow to the head, however, should the hugr be permanently dislodged from the rest of the soul the result is brain death. The hugr works in correlation with the minni, and is centered in the left side of the brain more than the right.
		The minni is the part of the soul that internalizes information as memories, in modern Icelandic minni means "memory" and is associated with remembering things. The minni, like the hugr, can be termporarily or even permanently displaced from the rest of the soul by a sharp blow to the head; temporary loss of the minni is responsible for amnesia, whereas permanent displacement causes permanent loss of previous memories. Should this occur the hugr may form a new minni to begin collecting fresh memories. The minni works in correlation with the hugr, and is centered in the right side of the brain more than the left.
		The hamingja is a part of the soul that is stronger in some individuals more than others, in modern Icelandic hamingja means "luck, or fortune". It is said that hamingja is passed from generation to generation, otherwise it may remain within the lík after death thus making it "unrestful". Generally the hamingja is passed on to grandchildren who are named after the deceased, thus making it common practice to name children after an ancestor. The hamingja has no special area of concentration, although it has been described in the Sagas as a blue or purple outline around the lík (may be the equivelent of an "Aura").
		The sálfr is the vital part of the soul that encompasses other parts to make one´s "self". The sálfr is also known as the "higher self" or the other/afterworldly self. The sálfr cannot be displaced from the soul because it is the vital part that cannot be replaced. After death the sálfr retains the hugr, minni, and possibly the ódhr; and in correlation with a strong fylgja the sálfr is then escorted into the next world. During ones "life" on the next world. During ones "life" on Midgard the sálfr is contained within the lík, when one "fares forth" or after the sál "shatters"---releasing its contents upon death---the sálfr then is contained within the hamr (spiritual shell or body).
		The sál is the entire soul complex, in modern Icelandic sál means "soul, or a bag"; the sál may be thought of as the container tha holds the contents of the soul in place, thus when one refers to one´s sál they are referring to their entire soul complex.
hamingja   growing into Hamr   Hamr and impaired Lik   The Soul of the living.   The Salfr, or eternal soul.   The complete evolution of the soul from childhood to afterlife.   The makeup of animal souls.   Animal souls after death.

(note I do not know Icelandic or Old Norse)  
17. Uns þrír kómu   úr því liði
öflgir og ástkir   æsir að húsi,
fundu á landi   lítt megandi
Ask og Emblu   örlöglausa.   17. Until three came,  a crowd* watching them,
strong and kind   Aesir to a house,
the single collective crowd,
trees and ivies, örlög lacking.   *skaldskapamal states that 13 is a crowd.
notice I translated æsir as Aesir instead of gods, because it was the Aesir, with the exception of Hoenir being neither Aesir nor Vanir (that is based on my lineage theories being that Ashamr is an inherited part of the Aesir from Odin -the primary Ase). I excluded the beach reference in the translation, simply because I did not see the inference; to me it makes sense that they came to a crowd of "primitives" rather than trees. Also the inference of a "crowd" and "collective crowd" is theorized in Aesic and Vanic theory which states that man was "vanic" in nature before they become "aesirized" by the gods visit, they became individualistic and began to fued with one another... see next verse ---

18. Önd þau né áttu,   óð þau né höfðu,
lá né læti   né litu góða;
önd gaf Óðinn,   óð gaf Hænir,
lá gaf Lóður   og litu góða.

18. Vitality they had not,   nor speach,
blame nor argueing  nor light color;
Vitality gave Odin,   speach gave Hoenir,
blame gave Loki   and light color.

this is "the big verse", this is the part that their Souls are aesirized, and they become different from the Souls of the animals. This is also the verse that lends itself to white supremists, which is unfortunate. I have taken Ond to mean "vitality" because it is the Ond that vitalizes the lik, oxygenation it. I must take this reference of vitality as "purpose in life" and not simply breath, because i must assume that they were breathing beforehand, further perhaps this could even imply that Odin gave them "a purpose". As for Odhr, I must assume that they were capable of hearing and such; I must theorize that since they then became different from the others animals... aesic... that they took on aesic traits, i.e. communication. For example, galdr... galdr is an aesic art requiring words and symbols (to put it crudely), and galdr is directly influenced by the odhr (among other things). So thus I must translate odhr as speech. Now the last line is truly unique. Loki gives them blame, the word "la'" is not a part of the soul I am familiar with, so I must assume that either it is new, or that it is simply a part of another; I would guess a tainting of the other two, odhr and ond. The tainted odhr would lend itself to miscommunication, hallucination, and other things; and the tainted ond could drive one to be vengeful, and driven... I have yet to meet a vengefully driven animal, for example... then again an animal has no ond, or at least on the aesic level. As for the "light color"... i proposed many different words to use instead... so we don't look like a bunch of "the gods made us white" types... then again the religion is a heritage based one of the northern people. Also the reference of "light color" could be hamingja, and I must assume that since animals do not have hamingja then it must have been one of the things given to man at that moment.

I also assume animals must therefore have: sal, lik, hamr (a lower form), hugr, minni, ond, odhr, and salfr. After death: salfr, hamr, hugr, minni, and odhr... though all lower forms compared to man.