Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
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Worlds

18 of 79 entries in Realms. Click any to see everything it connects to.

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Worlds is the catch-all for realms described as entire cosmic domains rather than a heaven, underworld or abstract plane. It absorbs cosmologies, such as the Norse nine worlds, that are structured around parallel worlds rather than a vertical stack of tiers above and below.

Facts
Overview
What Defines This Grouping
Otherworlds that are neither heavens for the blessed nor underworlds for the dead. In practice the group is dominated by the nine worlds of Norse cosmology, joined by the Celtic otherworlds; it is a residual heading rather than a comparative category with a subject of its own. 2
Peoples and Traditions Covered
Norse and Celtic cosmology. The two are unrelated and the Norse material is the great majority of the group. 3
Directory
Category
Realms 1
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The Worlds

This group gathers the worlds, the realms that make up the layered cosmos of the various mythologies, such as the nine worlds of Norse tradition strung upon the world-tree, or the multiple worlds and planes of other cosmologies. These are the ordered divisions of the whole of existence.

The browser will find the worlds the atlas gathers from across the traditions. The entries describe each realm's inhabitants and place in its cosmology, reporting each tradition's own scheme.

Sources
2. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
John Lindow, Oxford University Press, 2001s.v. cosmogony and cosmologyView the Source
3. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. CosmologyView the Source
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