Bil- Norse GodDeity
Also known as: Bíl
Symbols
Description
Carrying water from the well Byrgir with her brother Hjúki, Bil was seized by Máni the moon and carried skyward. Snorri counts her among the ásynjur, and the pair can still be seen from earth, following the moon across the heavens.
Mythology & Lore
The Children on the Moon
Snorri tells the story in Gylfaginning 11. Two children, Bil and her brother Hjúki, walked to the well Byrgir at night to draw water. They carried a pole called Simul between them and a bucket called Sœgr. Máni, the moon, reached down and snatched them both from the earth, pole, bucket, and all. They follow the moon still. Snorri says they can be seen from the ground, two small figures trailing across the face of the moon as it crosses the sky.
In Gylfaginning 35, Snorri lists Bil among the ásynjur, the goddesses of the Æsir. No story explains how a mortal child drawn up by the moon became a goddess. The sources name her, place her in the sky, and count her among the divine. That is where she remains.