Hel vs Izanami

Goddess and ruler of the underworld realm of the dead (also called Hel or Helheim). Daughter of Loki. Her realm receives those who die of sickness or old age.

Hel was born to Loki and the giantess Angrboda in the iron forests of Jotunheim, alongside her brothers Fenrir and Jormungandr. From birth, she was marked as different - half of her body was that of a beautiful woman, while the other half was black and decaying like a corpse. When the gods brought Loki's monstrous children to Asgard, Odin cast Hel down into the primordial realm of Niflheim and gave her authority over all those who die of sickness or old age. There she built her hall Eljudnir and awaits the dead with her plate Hunger and her knife Famine. Her realm, also called Hel, became the final destination for the inglorious dead.

Hel is the ruler of **Helheim**, the realm of the dead (for those who did not die a warrior's death). She is half living flesh and half rotting corpse.

Female primordial deity who created the Japanese islands and kami with Izanagi. After dying in childbirth, she became goddess of death and ruler of Yomi.

Izanami died giving birth to the fire god Kagutsuchi. Grief-stricken, Izanagi followed her to Yomi but fled when he saw her decaying form. She swore to kill 1,000 people each day.

Izanami-no-Mikoto is the female half of the creating pair. With Izanagi she births the islands and a long catalogue of kami. The birth of **Kagutsuchi**, the fire kami, burns her and she dies. Death does not remove her from the story. It changes her office. She becomes a ruler of **Yomi**, the land of the dead, and a goddess who can no longer be looked at in the light.