Bicycle Aesir Playing Cards - 2 Deck Set Viking Gods

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mkporcelain/the-aesir-deck-viking-gods-on-playing-cards

In case you're not keeping up with the latest foretellings of doom, check out the video to see how the Norse have predicted the world may perish and sprout anew (without us) beginning February 22nd. Assuming we're still here, though...

Norse mythology has long had a place in Western popular culture. From comic books to major motion pictures featuring gods such as Thor, Odin, Frigga, Sif and of course Loki from this deck. A quick search for "Norse mythology in popular culture" gets you to the Wikipedia entry for a big list of Viking characters in movies, manga and literature.

The star of the deck, Odin, is the main god of the Æsir, the pantheon of Norse gods. He exchanged an eye to be able to drink from the Well of Wisdom and was the god of battle, poetry, magic, and perhaps not surprisingly, wisdom. Two of his sons, Thor and Balder, are the King of Clubs and Hearts, respectively. The King of Diamonds is Njord, a member of the Vanir race, with whom the Æsir were at war. When they were negotiating a peace treaty, Njord was selected to join the Æsir in what amounted to a hostage exchange. The Queens of each suit are wives of that suit's King and all but one of the Jacks are sons of that suit's King. Since two of Odin's sons are Kings themselves, the Jack of Spades is represented by Odin's trusted ravens Hugin and Munin (Thought and Memory).

Deciding which gods to include in the deck involved studying works on Viking mythology and giving concepts and original research to my design partner to use in producing what I hope are interesting and desirable cards for the Kickstarter and collector communities!