The concept of the Fylgja is one of the most mysterious and spiritually rich elements of the Norse religion. As a long-time researcher and practitioner of Norse religion and published author on the subject, I’ve spent years researching the deeper meanings of the Norse Fylgja not just in the surviving myths and sagas, but through modern-day spiritual experiences recorded in our community of believers. This article brings together academic and medieval sources and the voices of a modern, active spiritual community to help you uncover the truth behind the Fylgja Norse tradition, and how it may still guide us today.

This is a shortened article of the chapter in our book for sale here where you can find an even deeper dive into the sources.

Norse and Germanic Religion: A sourcebook

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The Fylgja: Norse Spirit Animal?

While the hamingja often represents one’s luck or fortune, sometimes personified, the fylgja is far more consistently described as a spirit being that accompanies an individual throughout life. The Old Norse word fylgja itself means “follower,” and that is precisely its function: to follow, reflect, and perhaps even guide the person it is bound to. Like the hamingja, the fylgja can sometimes be inherited and may appear in dreams or visions, but it is typically more tangible in the sources, often described as taking on the shape of an animal, woman, or even corpse like figure. Where hamingja often embodies the unseen forces that influence a person’s fortune or reputation, the fylgja seems more closely tied to their soul, destiny, or inner essence. In this section, we’ll explore the many forms, functions, and appearances of the fylgja, and how it was understood within Norse spiritual belief as a vital part of one’s personal and magical life. 

Fylgja pronunciation

The term fylgja is pronounced [ˈfylɡyɑ] and is rooted in the Old Norse verb að fylgja, meaning “to follow,” “to accompany,” or “to attend." The related words fylgisamur (“faithful follower”), fylgð (“a following” or “backing”), and fylginn (“adherent” or “loyal”) all reinforce the idea that a fylgja is not just a passive presence but an active force that walks with, protects, and often even precedes the person it is linked to. This translation is especially significant when we consider the many saga accounts in which a fylgja is seen arriving before the person it represents, sometimes as an omen or sometimes as a blessing. 

Norse Fylgja in Mythology?

Unlike many other spiritual beings in Norse cosmology, fylgjur(plural of fylgja) do not appear frequently in the mythological corpus. They are nearly absent from the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, the main sources of Norse mythology, and are instead attested primarily 
in the sagas. This suggests that the concept of the fylgja was not focused primarily on the divine pantheon, but rather belonged to a more personal, intimate layer of Norse spirituality—one that concerned the life of individuals, families, and human fate. 

What is my Fylgja?

In later Icelandic folklore can be a general term for spirit or ghost. The the word fylgja also refers to the placenta or afterbirth.(Turville-Petre, 1958) According to some traditions, the 
placenta was placed outside on the property as an offering and the first animal to consume the afterbirth of a newborn was believed to take on a spiritual bond with that child, becoming its fylgja. This belief likely gave rise to the common idea that fylgjur often appear in the form of animals. 

Types of Fylgja

To understand the fylgja, it is important to classify it's mentions into animal vs human and pre-Christian saga vs later folk traditions.

Norse Spirit Animal?

In many of the saga sources, the fylgja appears as an animal spirit that reflects the nature, soul, or fate of the individual to whom it is connected. These creatures, ranging from foxes and wolves to birds of prey, are often seen in dreams or visions, and their appearance is 
usually interpreted as a sign or omen. A healthy, active animal fylgja may signify strength and good fortune for its human, while a sick or dying one can predict illness or death. These animal forms appear to act as soul-companions or projections of the person's inner condition.

The human fylgja, by contrast, is a spirit that takes on the form of a woman,  often appearing in dreams, visions, or as a protective presence during critical moments in a person’s life. These female spirits are frequently described in the saga literature using terms such as: fylgjukona (“fylgja woman”), kynfylgja (“kin-follower” or “family-fylgja”), ættarfylgja (“clan-fylgja”) or óvinarfylgja (“enemy-fylgja”). These women are not 
always extensions of the individual’s soul, as with the animal fylgja, but sometimes seem to act as external guardians, much like valkyries, dísir, or even ancestral female spirits. 

The second important distinction is between the fylgjur described in Old Norse saga literature, and those found in later Scandinavian folk traditions, sometimes dating as recently as the 18th or 19th century. In the older texts, fylgjur often appear in moments of prophecy, dreams, or death omens. Later folk traditions, although written long after the Christianization of Scandinavia, preserve more elaborate and detailed accounts of personal guardian spirits. Along with the fylgja, they can also be referred to as vardøger, vardyvle or vardyger. These may include Christian themes such as angels or protective blessings but often retain the older structures and functions of the fylgja from pagan times. In many cases, these later traditions preserved what written sources detailing pagan times never recorded in full such as practical beliefs, rituals, or everyday interactions with these unseen beings. 

Fylgja in the Medieval Norse Sources 

While the fylgja is far more commonly discussed in the saga literature than in the mythological poems or prose, there are a few noteworthy references in mythic sources that strongly point to the concept. Although the term fylgja itself may not always be used directly, the descriptions of spiritual figures who guide, protect, or foreshadow a person’s fate clearly resonate with what we recognize as fylgjur in the broader Norse worldview. In Gylfaginning from Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, we are told that each individual is accompanied throughout life by a personal Norn, who shapes their fate. Significantly, the quality of one’s life depends on whether their Norn is descended from the gods, the elves, or the dwarves. 

"There are yet more norns, namely those who come to every 
man when he is born, to shape his life, and these are known to 
be of the race of gods; others, on the other hand, are of the race 
of elves, and yet others are of the race of dwarfs. As is here said: 
Far asunder, I think, 
The norns are born, 
They are not of the same race. 
Some are of the asas, 
Some are of the elves, 
Some are daughters of Dvalin. 
Then said Ganglere:

If the norns rule the fortunes of men, then 
they deal them out exceedingly unevenly. Some live a good life 
and are rich; some get neither wealth nor praise. Some have a 
long, others a short life.

Har answered:

Good norns and of good descent shape good lives, and when some men are 
weighed down with misfortune, the evil norns are the cause of it."

-Prose Edda, Gylfaginning 

Although this passage used the term Norn instead of fylgja, the concept of an unseen feminine spirit coming to every man at birth that determines the fate of an individual closely aligns with later descriptions of the fylgjukona or prophetic fylgja who appears at 
crucial life moments.

A much clearer example appears in Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, one of the heroic poems of the Poetic Edda. In this story, the hero Helgi is sitting in meditation(útiseta) when he is approached by a group of nine Valkyries who are referred to as Helgi's fylgja later in the poem. 

"Heðinn kvað: 
34. "Sagðir þú, Helgi, at Heðinn væri 
góðs verðr frá þér ok gjafa stórra; 
þér er sæmra sverð at rjóða, 
en frið gefa fjándum þínum." 
Þat kvað Helgi, því at hann grunaði um feigð sína ok þat, at 
fylgjur hans höfðu vitjat Heðins, þá er hann sá konuna ríða 
varginum. Álfr hét konungr, son Hróðmars, er Helga hafði völl 
haslaðan á Sigarsvelli á þriggja nátta fresti." 
"Hethin spake: 
34. "Thou saidst once, Helgi, | that Hethin was 
A friend full good, | and gifts didst give him; 
More seemly it were | thy sword to redden, 
Than friendship thus | to thy foe to-give." 
Helgi spoke thus because he foresaw his death, for his 
following-spirits(fylgjur) had met Hethin when he saw the 
woman riding on the wolf. Alf was the name of a king, the son of 
Hrothmar, who had marked out a battle-place with Helgi at 
Sigarsvoll after a stay of three nights."

-Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, Poetic Edda (Bellows translation) 

This grim appearance reinforces another traditional role of the fylgja, as a harbinger of death. In many later sagas, a dying person’s fylgja is seen walking ahead of them or appearing in dreams as a signal that their end is near. 

Fylgja Norse Saga Literature 

Of all the saga accounts, one of the most fascinating and spiritually charged comes from the Jómsvíkinga saga, particularly in the legendary account of the Battle of Hjórungavágr. This story pits the famed warrior-brotherhood of the Jómsvíkings, who were invading 
Norway with the sons of Erik Bloodaxe, against the defending forces of Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. Leading the defense, Hákon calls upon an ancestral goddess-like figure named Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr, who is attested in multiple sources as a powerful spirit and protectress of the chieftains of Hlaðir(Lade) and Hålogaland in Northern Norway. Hákon 
calls upon her for aid in battle and even sacrifices his own son to secure her intervention. In response, Þorgerðr, accompanied by her sister Irpa, manifests visibly during the battle. The saga describes them standing on Hákon’s ship, unleashing volleys of arrows from their fingertips, commanding storms, and turning the tide of the battle in his favor. Though the word fylgja is not used explicitly in the surviving translations of the saga, Þorgerðr’s role closely mirrors that of a personal or familial fylgja. She protects and empowers Hákon 
specifically during his lifetime, yet she is also understood in other sagas and regional lore as the spiritual guardian of the entire chieftain lineage of Lade and Hålogaland. In this way, she bridges the categories of fylgja, valkyrie, and ancestral dís. 

One of the most vivid and haunting accounts of fylgjur appears in the short tale Þiðranda þáttr ok Þórhalls, preserved within Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta. This tale, set during the Christianization of Iceland, centers on Þiðrandi, a noble youth said to play a spiritual role in the country’s coming conversion. Before Þiðrandi is killed, his foster-father Þórhallr, a pagan seer and spiritual leader, warns him not to go outside, as his fate is being contended by two opposing groups of fylgjur. Disregarding the warning, Þiðrandi ventures out and is ambushed by nine black-clad women, described as spirits sent to destroy him. They tear him to pieces just moments before another group of nine women in white, who intended to protect him, arrive too late. Þórhallr interprets the event as an omen that the old gods and fylgjur are retreating, while new spiritual forces aligned with Christianity are taking their place. This scene is striking in that it reinforces the idea that individuals could be guarded by not just one, but a group of nine fylgjur, all female and clearly personified. This aligns with Nikulás saga leikara, where a similar grouping of nine fylgjur is mentioned, suggesting a broader tradition of such spiritual collectives.

In Hallfreðarsaga, a unique depiction of the fylgja appears in the form of a fylgjukona, a female spiritual attendant. This spirit approaches the skald Hallfreðr and declares that their relationship has ended, effectively severing ties with him and expressing ill will toward his 
future. 

"Þeir þóttust sjá sótt á honum og leiddu hann aftur eftir skipinu 
og bjuggu um hann og spurðu hversu honum segði hugur um 
sig. 
Hann kvað vísu: 
Norse & Germanic Religion: A Sourcebook 
Sprund mun hvítri hendi 
hördúks um brá mjúka, 
fljóð gat fremdar orði, 
fjölerrin mjög þerra 
ef dauðan mig meiðar 
morðveggs skulu leggja, 
áðr var eg ungu fljóði, 
út um borð, að sútum. 
Þá sáu þeir konu ganga eftir skipinu. Hún var mikil og í brynju. 
Hún gekk á bylgjum sem á landi. Hallfreður leit til og sá að þar 
var fylgjukona hans. 
Hallfreður mælti: "Í sundur segi eg öllu við þig." 
Hún mælti: "Viltu Þorvaldur taka við mér?" 
Hann kvaðst eigi vilja. 
Þá mælti Hallfreður ungi: "Eg vil taka við þér." 
Síðan hvarf hún." 
"They thought they saw illness come over him and led him back 
along the ship and made a bed for him, and asked how he felt in 
his heart. 
He spoke a verse: 
The woman with the white hand 
will dry many tears 
with soft linen cloth 
from fair brows, 
if death wounds me. 
Let them lay me 
outside the ship 
before sorrow 
takes me from the young maiden. 
Then they saw a woman walking along the ship. She was tall 
and wore a byrnie (mail-coat). She walked on the waves as if on 
land. Hallfreðr looked and saw that it was his follower-spirit 
(fylgjukona). 
Hallfreðr said: "I now break all ties with you." 
She said: "Will you, Þorvaldr, take me instead?" 
He said he would not. 
Then Hallfreðr the Younger said: "I will take you on." 
After that, she vanished."

-Hallfreðarsaga, ch. 11 (My translation) 

 

Remarkably, she then chooses to transfer her guardianship to Hallfreðr’s son, Hallfreðr the younger. This suggests that a fylgja could choose to abandon one individual and attach itself to another, typically within the same family. This mirrors the behavior of the hamingja as described in other sources, further supporting the theory that these spirits were conceived of as transferable and deeply tied to family lineage.

In Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar, the role of the fylgja appears vividly in a prophetic dream. Thorstein and his brother Thorir are hiding from their enemies on an island in a lake. The night before they are found, Thorstein dreams of an attack by animal-shaped spirits—specifically, a pack of bears and wolves led by two foxes. These animal spirits are  understood to be the fylgjur of their rival family, symbolizing the spiritual forces accompanying the enemy. 

"I dreamt, said Thorstein, that twenty-two wolves were running 
hither, and besides them there were seven bears, and the eighth 
one, a red-cheeked bear, large and grim-looking. And besides 
these there were two she-foxes leading the party; the latter were 
very ugly-looking, and seemed to me the most disgusting of all. 
All the wolves attacked us, and at last they seemed to tear to 
pieces all my brothers excepting you alone, and yet you fell. 
Many of the bears we slew, and all the wolves I killed, and the 
smaller one of the foxes, but then I fell. Asked Thorer: What do 
you think this dream means? Made answer Thorstein: I think 
that the large red-cheeked bear must be the fylgia (follower, 
guardian-spirit) of Jokul, and the other bears the fylgias of his 
brothers; but the wolves undoubtedly were, to my mind, as 
many as the men who came with them; for, certainly they are 
wolfishly-minded toward us. But be-sides them there were two 
she-foxes, and I do not know any men to whom such fylgias 
belong; I therefore suppose that some persons hated by almost 
everybody have lately come to Jokul, and thus these fylgias may 
belong to them. Now, I have told you this my thought about the 
matter, and we will have to act in the manner pointed out to me 
in my sleep, and I would that we might avoid all trouble. Says 
Thorer: I think your dream has been nothing but a scare-crow 
and idle fore-bodings, still it would not be uninteresting to try 
our mutual strength. Quoth Thorstein: I do not think so; it 
seems to me that an unequal meeting is intended, and I should 
like that we might get ready to go away from here. Thorer said 
he would not go away, and it had to be as he would have it."

-Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar, ch 28 

 

In the morning, Thorstein and his brother interpret the dream, offering insight into the symbolic meanings attached to certain animal fylgjur and who they belong to. This is the source going into the most detail about animal fylgja and the nature of the people that they belong to.

In Vápnfirðinga saga, we see the fylgja acting as a clear omen of death. 
Helgi, preparing for a journey to the assembly(þing), is warned by his mother, a woman gifted with prophetic dreams. She wakes weeping, having dreamed of a noble, radiant bull being gored and killed by a violent red bull. The bright bull, she explains, represents Helgi’s fylgja, a powerful and noble spirit animal. The red bull, its attacker, is clearly 
the fylgja of Helgi’s future killer. The dream serves as a spiritual premonition, not unlike many others in the sagas, where animal-shaped fylgjur reveal the hidden forces at work behind everyday events. Fylgjur were not limited to men.

In Gunnlaugs saga Ormstungu, a saga that centers around poetic rivalry and romantic tragedy, we are told that birds can also be fylgjur, especially for women. One striking example features a swan as the fylgja of a woman. 

"Then Thorstein said: This was my dream; for methought I was 
at home at Burg, standing outside the men's-door, and I looked 
up at the house-roof, and on the ridge I saw a swan, goodly and 
fair, and I thought it was mine own, and deemed it good beyond 
all things. Then I saw a great eagle sweep down from the 
mountains, and fly thitherward and alight beside the swan, and 
chuckle over her lovingly; and methought the swan seemed well 
content thereat; but I noted that the eagle was black-eyed, and 
that on him were iron claws: valiant he seemed to me. 
After this I thought I saw another fowl come flying from the 
south quarter, and he, too, came hither to Burg, and sat down 
on the house beside the swan, and would fain be fond with her. 
This also was a mighty eagle." 
[.....................] 

"But a dream of no mark this is, he says, and will in all 
likelihood betoken gales, that they shall meet in the air from 
those quarters whence I deemed the fowl flew. 
The Eastman spake: I deem it nowise such, saith he. 
Thorstein said, Make of the dream, then, what seemeth likest to 
thee, and let me hear. 
Then said the Eastman: These birds are like to be 
fetches(fylgjur) of men: but thy wife sickens now, and she will 
give birth to a woman-child fair and lovely; and dearly thou 
wilt love her; but high born men shall woo thy daughter, 
coming from such quarters as the eagles seemed to fly from, 
and shall lover her with overweening love, and shall fight about 
her, and both lose their lives thereby. And thereafter a third 
man, from the quarter whence came the falcon, shall woo her 
and to that man shall she be wedded. Now, I have unravelled 
thy dream, and I think things will befall as I have said."

-Gunnlaugs saga Ormstungu, ch. 2 

 

This aligns with a broader trend seen in saga literature: male fylgjur are more commonly land-based animals such as bulls, wolves, or foxes, while women are often associated with bird spirits, possibly including swans, doves, and falcons. 

In Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar, the legendary King Hrólfr is said to have a lion as his fylgja. Lions, being non-native to Scandinavia, were rare and likely symbolic of royalty or foreign grandeur. In fact, other sources of skaldic poems use the kenning "konungs fylgja"(king’s 
follower) to refer to lions, suggesting that kings or powerful chieftains could possess exotic fylgjur, while commoners more often had native animals like foxes, bulls, or birds. This saga also includes dream visions that interpret spiritual companions as part of a larger narrative. Queen Ingigerð dreams of Hrólfr's lion fylgja traveling to Sweden, accompanied by six wolves and a polar bear, interpreted as the fylgjur of Hrólfr’s loyal warriors. 

"Konungr mælti: "Frú," segir hann, "fyrir hverju ætlar þú slíkt 
vera?" Hún svaraði: "Þar sem sá varga, þat eru manna fylgjur, 
en þar sem it óarga dýr fór fyrir, þat er konungs fylgja, ok mun 
hann vera formaðr hinna. Rann í hjá honum einn hvítabjörn. 
Þar mun þessum konungi fylgja nokkurr kappi eða konungsson, 
því at björninn er sterkr, ok merkir hann sterka fylgd, ok þykki 
mér mikil ván, at yðr sæki heim nokkurr ágætr konungr. Var 
þetta dýr miklu meira ok sterkara en ek hafi spurn af, at svá 
mætti vera." Konungr mælti: "Hvaðan ætlar þú þenna konung 
at koma eða hversu skaðvænliga þykki þér þetta vera munu 
váru ríki?" Drottning mælti: "Skylda ek nokkut um ætla, þá 
vænti ek, at þessi konungr fari með engri stríðu í þetta sinn, því 
at þessi dýr váru hýr, en ef ek skyldi geta til, þá er þat mín 
ætlan, at þetta it mikla dýr muni vera fylgja Hrólfs konungs 
Gautrekssonar af Gautlandi, með því at þaðan runnu þessi dýr 
at, en hvítabjörninn get ek vera fylgju Ingjalds, fóstbróður 
hans." 
"The king said: "Lady," said he, "why do you think this means 
anything?" 
She answered: **"Where the wolves were—that is the spirit
followers (fylgjur) of men; and where the fierce beast went 
before them—that is the spirit-follower of a king, and he must 
be the leader of the others. 
A white bear ran beside him. That means some warrior or 
king’s son follows this king, for the bear is strong and signifies 
strong protection. And it seems very likely to me that some great 
king is coming to visit you. This beast was much larger and 
stronger than any I have ever heard of, so it could well be."** 
The king said: "Where do you think this king is coming from, or 
how threatening do you think this will be for our realm?" 
The queen said: "If I were to guess anything, I would expect 
that this king will not come with hostility this time, because 
these beasts were friendly. But if I must make a guess, then it is 
my belief that this great beast is the fylgja of King Hrólfr 
Gautreksson from Gautland, since the beasts came running 
from that direction. And the white bear I believe to be the fylgja 
of Ingjaldr, his foster-brother."

-Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar, ch 7 (My translation)

In a later dream, a ferocious boar is added to the entourage, destroying everything in its path. Ingigerð guesses that this savage beast must be the fylgja of Hrólfr’s reckless brother. This shows how the interpretation of dreams involving fylgjur was often complex and subjective, requiring the wisdom of spiritual interpreters. 

In Ljósvetninga saga, animals also serve as powerful indicators of spiritual fate. Eyjólfr dreams that a red bull and a grey bull lead a herd of cattle to attack him, which is an omen that their owners will oppose him. 

"Og einn morgun kom hann í stofu og mælti: "Dreymt hefir mig 
í nótt. Eg þóttist ríða norður Háls og sá eg nautaflokk koma í 
móti mér. Þar var í oxi einn mikill, rauður. Hann vildi illa við 
mig gera. Þar var og griðungur mannýgur og mart smáneyti. 
Þá kom yfir mig þoka mikil og sá eg eigi nautin." 
Fóstri hans svarar: "Það eru manna fylgjur óvina þinna og oxi 
fylgir Þorvarði en griðungur Halli. En það er myrkur kom yfir 
þig sé eg eigi fyrir annan enda um mál yður." 
"And one morning he came into the room and said: "I had a 
dream last night. I thought I was riding north over the Háls, 
and I saw a herd of cattle coming toward me. Among them was 
one large, red ox. He meant to do me harm. There was also a 
fierce bull and many smaller cattle. Then a great fog came over 
me, and I could no longer see the cattle." 
His foster-father answered: "These are the spirit-followers 
(fylgjur) of your enemies. The ox follows Þorvarðr, and the bull 
follows Halli. But that darkness which came over you, I see no 
good outcome in your case."

-Ljósvetninga saga, ch. 26 (My translation) 

 

Similarly later in the saga, Einar dreams of a bull behaving exactly like his brother Guðmundr. When the bull dies in the dream, Einar knows his brother will soon perish. These animal spirits act not just as symbols of individuals, but as spiritual extensions of their presence, intentions, or fate. 

This motif appears yet again in Kormáks saga, where the hero Kormák kills a walrus whose eyes are described as resembling those of a witch named Þórveig. Shortly thereafter, Þórveig dies. Though not explicitly called a fylgja in the text, this episode aligns closely with the belief that a person’s spirit or fylgja could manifest in animal form, especially at 
the time of death. 

"The two brothers had but left the roadstead, when close beside their ship, uprose a walrus. Cormac hurled at it a pole-staff, which struck the beast, so that it sank again: but the men aboard thought that they knew its eyes for the eyes of Thorveig the witch. That walrus came up no more, but of Thorveig it was heard that she lay sick to death; and indeed folk say that this was the end of her."

-Kormáks saga, ch. 18 

 

This is vividly illustrated in even more detail in Njáls saga, where Thórðr sees a goat lying in a pool of blood in the village. He points it out to Njáll, who, notably, does not see it himself. Njáll calmly informs him, that was his fylgja, not a real goat, and warns him that his death is near. Thórðr stoically replies that if that is his fate, there’s no use avoiding it. 

"Once on a time they two were out in the "town," Njal and 
Thord; a he-goat was wont to go up and down in the "town," 
and no one was allowed to drive him away. Then Thord spoke 
and said - 
"Well, this is a wondrous thing!" 
"What is it that thou see'st that seems after a wondrous 
fashion?" says Njal. 
"Methinks the goat lies here in the hollow, and he is all one 
gore of blood." 
Njal said that there was no goat there, nor anything else. 
"What is it then?" says Thord. 
"Thou must be a 'fey' man," says Njal, "and thou must have seen 
the fetch that follows thee, and now be ware of thyself." 
"That will stand me in no stead," says Thord, "if death is 
doomed for me."

-Njáls saga, ch. 41 

Later in the same saga, another man named Gunnar dreams of fighting off a group of wolves, understood to be fylgjur, but one of his companions is ultimately slain. The dream foreshadows a real attack and the death of his friend, confirming the spiritual power and 
predictive role of the fylgja in Norse belief. 

There are many more saga references and allusions to fylgjur that reflect similar themes. While not all can be covered here, these examples offer a solid foundation for understanding how the fylgja functioned in Norse spiritual life and storytelling. The examples also clearly illustrate both the similarities and differences related to the concept of hamingja, while demonstrating how the fylgja is depicted in a more personified manner and is closely linked to the idea of fate. 

Norse Fylgja in Later Folk Tradition 

From around the 15th to the 20th century, fylgjur continued to appear in Scandinavian folklore. Many of these later sources refer to the fylgjur also as vardøger, vardyvle or vardyger. They were most often spirits that manifested as the sound or sight of a person that showed up shortly before or after the person arrived. In many cases, the original complexity of the fylgja and its connection to fate, ancestry, soul, and spiritual power appears to have faded. However, that does not mean these sources are unimportant. Some of these later accounts are incredibly valuable, especially because they preserve details of everyday belief and spiritual practice that the Christian-written sagas tend to omit. And despite their Christianized context, many of these beliefs show no trace of biblical or ecclesiastical invention. In the following section, we’ll look at some of the most compelling examples from post medieval Scandinavian folklore and what they reveal about how the fylgja was understood, invoked, and perhaps even interacted with in people’s daily lives.

 
One of the most important sources for understanding how the concept of the fylgja survived in Icelandic folk tradition is the 19th-century folktale collection by Jón Árnason.  Árnason even included an entire section dedicated to fylgjur, and he explicitly notes their similarity to earlier spirits found in pre-Christian belief. Among the various spiritual entities Árnason associates with the fylgja are: 

"Hamaskipti – Shape-shifters, often humans believed to send 
out their spirit in animal form (reminiscent of both the animal 
fylgja and the practice of sending out the hugr). 
Mannafylgjur and Aðsóknir – Personal followers or attendants, 
invisible beings that attached themselves to individuals, much 
like the classical fylgja or hamingja. 
Ættardraugar, Mórar, and Skottur – Family ghosts or ancestral 
spirits, often haunting a specific lineage or location, possibly 
remnants of the kynfylgja (family fylgja). 
Bæjardraugar – Farmstead ghosts tied to a particular location, 
who may act as protectors or bring misfortune depending on 
how they are treated."

-Árnason, Icelandic Folktales and Legends, 1866 

Another fascinating piece of evidence for the persistence of fylgja-like beliefs into early modern times appears in Nova Descriptio Islandiæ, a late 17th-century work compiled by Peder Hansen Resen. In this text, Resen includes a report originally written by Gísli Vigfússon about 100 years earlier, a now-lost account that nonetheless survives through 
Resen’s preservation. In this report, Vigfússon describes spirits or ghostly figures who attach themselves to a person or family after death. The characteristics of the later attendant spirits differ from those described in medieval accounts. The later sources generally portray the spirit's attachment as harmful to the attendee, with some significant 
exceptions, whereas in medieval literature, the relationship is most often beneficial, again with notable exceptions. 

Another particularly intriguing tale from Icelandic folk tradition is Sels Móri eða Þorgarður. In this narrative, a man named Þorgarður is about to be sentenced to death. At the last moment, another man intervenes and saves him. However, this act of mercy enrages Þorgarður’s wife, who becomes furious that he was spared. In response to this resentment, Þorgarður makes a vow: he will become the fylgja of the man’s family for nine generations. But unlike the benevolent guardian figures seen in most fylgja accounts, Þorgarður’s role is more ambiguous. While he offers support and protection to the men of the family, he haunts the women, as a kind of spiritual revenge for the original wife’s bitterness. There are several aspects of this tale that set it apart. First, it is one of the only known examples in the folk tradition of a male human becoming a fylgja as most fylgjur are female or appear as an animal reflecting the person’s soul. Second, it portrays the fylgja not merely as a guardian spirit, but as a conscious, self-directed presence, with its own sense of justice, vengeance, and commitment to a bloodline. Third, it reinforces the recurring theme that the fylgja can be passed down across generations, remaining bound to a family long after the original connection has faded. Other folktales reinforce this same image including stories like Dalakúturinn, Tvær Sagnir um Fylgjur, Þeir Koma þá Fjórir, Galtardalstófa, and Anna á Bessastöðum. 

How to connect with the Fylgja

While Icelandic folk tradition preserved the name fylgja, in mainland Scandinavia, particularly in Norway and Sweden, a closely related concept evolved under a different name: the vardøger(related to Old Norwegian vǫrðr, meaning “guard” or “watcher”). One of the most fascinating traits of the vardøger was its habit of preceding its person. In Norwegian folktales attested in Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend, the vardøger often appeared in the form of the person it belonged to or even more eerily, made the same sounds that  person was known for: footsteps, coughing, voice, or the clinking of keys for example. These manifestations would typically occur 15 to 30 minutes before the actual person arrived, leading witnesses to believe the person had already come. Another common tradition was to leave the door open for a short moment when entering or exiting a building, allowing time for the vardøger to follow without being left behind. Being separated from one’s vardøger was considered extremely dangerous, as the spirit was believed to offer protection from harm, misfortune, or illness just like the fylgja of the sagas.

 
Like the Icelandic fylgja, the vardøger could also appear in animal form, and traditions existed to help determine what creature it was. One folk method recorded in Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend, involved a ritual with a knife wrapped in a handkerchief. The person would pass it around their body in a circular motion while reciting a litany of animals: "My vardøger is a horse… my vardøger is a bull…” and so on. When the knife was accidentally, or mysteriously, uncovered during the ritual, revealing the blade, the animal last named at that moment was considered to be the person’s vardøger. 

 
Another fascinating tradition connects the vardøger to birth rites. Upon the birth of a child, the placenta(called fylgja in Icelandic tradition) was sometimes placed outside on the land as an offering. The first animal that came and consumed it was believed to become the child's spiritual companion, or its fylgja/vardøger. 

Similarities & Conclusions

Though folk tradition sources may be further removed in time from the pagan period, they offer immensely valuable detail that the mythological and saga texts often omit. These traditions don’t just preserve beliefs, they show how people lived with them: the rituals, the omens, the quiet warnings and protections. And when we compare these folk beliefs with the older pagan traditions of the fylgja, hamingja, and even valkyries, the similarities far outweigh the differences. 
● Both the fylgja and vardøger follow and protect the individual. 
● Both can appear in animal form—and sometimes as women. 
● Both may reflect traits or destiny. 
● Both can be inherited, shared, or even lost. 
● Both act as a kind of soul-double or spiritual extension. 
● Both may appear as omens, especially around death. 
● Both may represent real women—perhaps ancestors—who continue to serve as guardians in the spirit realm. 

In the end, what we are dealing with is not just an abstract idea from some ancient religion. It’s a living, animist tradition—one that sees each human life as accompanied, guided, shadowed by unseen forces. These beliefs lasted for over a thousand years, possibly more, and in many forms they’re still with us today.

 
Germanic Parallels of the Norse Fylgja 

Although the fylgja and hamingja are most commonly attested in Old Norse literature, similar figures and spiritual concepts appear throughout the wider Germanic world.

In Old English sources, the concept of the “fetch” offers a clear analogue to the fylgja. Although it is mainly associated with Irish/Celtic folklore, it is also present in some form in older Anglo Saxon sources. Accounts of the origin of fetch are proposed by a word "faecce," found in two Old English glossaries: the Corpus Glossary and the First Cleopatra Glossary dating to the 8th and 9th centuries. The detailed sources on the fetch however come from later Irish tradition. It was believed to be a spiritual double or apparition that might be seen near someone who was about to die, echoing the Norse idea that seeing one’s own fylgja in waking life foretold death. Like the fylgja, the fetch could also appear in animal form and was thought to reflect or represent the soul’s outward expression. In Celtic-influenced British lore, a similar concept is the wraith which appears in some tales as a visible manifestation of a person’s spirit, often seen just before death. While wraiths are typically more ominous, their core function as a spiritual double aligns closely with the fylgja's appearance as a death omen or soul projection. 

In German folklore, the Doppelgänger(“double-goer”) shares a similar function. The first-known use, in the form Doppeltgänger, occurs in the novel Siebenkäs (1796) by Jean Paul, but it has it's origins in older German folklore and interpretations of foreign tales and mythology. While often treated in modern contexts as a sinister omen, the original concept also included the idea of a person’s spirit appearing elsewhere, mirroring the Old Norse fylgja’s ability to arrive before its owner, sometimes performing actions or being seen by others.

The broader German tradition also includes the Schutzgeist or “guardian spirit,” a more benevolent counterpart believed to protect individuals or families, much like the kynfylgja (kin-fylgja) or ættarfylgja (clan-fylgja). Even older Germanic deities and spirit-beings show signs of having evolved into these later figures. The Idisi, attested in the Second Merseburg Charm, were female spirits called upon to bind or free warriors in battle—a function strikingly similar to that of valkyries and protective fylgjur such as Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa from  Jómsvíkinga saga. Likewise, goddesses such as Sandraudiga, 
Baduhenna, and other local or regional female deities may have served protective or guiding roles over specific tribes, regions, or individuals across Frisian and other Germanic lands. These figures blur the lines between deity, ancestor, and spiritual guardian, just as the fylgja and hamingja do in the Norse tradition. 

These parallels suggest that the belief in personal protective spirits or those embodying good fortune was not unique to the Norse, but rather part of a shared spiritual heritage among early Germanic peoples.