sól

Sól, also known as Sunna in some sources, is a figure in Norse mythology who represents the Sun. The name derives from the Old Norse word sól, meaning sun. In myth she is the daughter of Mundilfari and the sister of Máni, the personification of the Moon.

Sól is described as driving the Sun across the heavens in a chariot drawn by two horses, Árvakr (Early Riser) and Alsviðr (All-Swift). Her daily journey across the sky brings daylight and shapes the passage of days and seasons in the Norse cosmos.

A central element of Sól’s myth is her pursuer, the wolf Sköll, who seeks to devour the Sun. This pursuit is said to culminate at Ragnarök, when Sköll swallows the Sun and plunges the world into darkness. In some traditions, a new Sun appears in the reborn world after Ragnarök.

Sól is mentioned in both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, where she is cited in discussions of celestial phenomena and mythic kennings for the Sun. The sources name her alongside Máni to personify the Sun and Moon as sibling celestial bodies.

Today, Sól appears in scholarly discussions of Norse cosmology and in modern literature and neopagan contexts as a solar deity. Her imagery emphasizes daylight, cosmic order, and the cyclical nature of day and time in Norse myth.