Hlif, whose name means “Help”, is Mengloth’s handmaiden who specializes in women’s problems. She works with the pregnant woman, the woman unable to become pregnant, and all women who are having trouble with their reproductive organs from menarche to menopause. She is the midwife of Lyfjaberg and can be invoked for a safe birthing. She cares for infants and increases the milk of nursing mothers.

Hlif’s color is pink, and the world-energy she works with is that of Helheim. While one might not think of the Land of the Dead being on the same page as death and women’s bodies, we must remember that Death is simply the flip side of Birth, and that the Well of the Ancestors – the gonads – are both repository of the genetic inheritance of the ancestors and also the way through which they are reincarnated back into bodies. To deal with birthing in the Northern Tradition is to deal with ancestral lineage, even if the specific soul being born is a brand-new one. To deal with women’s reproductive systems is to deal with the care of a sacred door between the Land of the Dead and the World of the Living, even if that door remains closed through choice or accident.

Herbs for a magic charm pouch to ask for Hlif’s help include classic “women’s” herbs such as Raspberry Leaf, Lady’s Mantle, Lady’s Bedstraw, Madonna Lily Root (or Easter Lily Root). It can also contain pink stones such as rose quartz or rhodonite, images of stylized (or not so stylized) vulvas, and small images of babies if the issue is fertility.

If you have troubles related to the female cycle in any way, or a woman who is close to you has these troubles, light a candle for Hlif and go to the Offerings page.

Prayer to Hlif by Nornoriel

Help you are called,

and help you give

to those who have a need.

Swiftly you come to the aid

of those who call your name.

You are vitality,

you are life itself.

Hail Hlif!