The Legend
The mistletoe is the most fateful plant in all of Norse mythology, though it seems the least of things. Its story begins when the god Baldr, beloved son of Odin and Frigg, was troubled by dreams that foretold his death.
To protect him, Frigg travelled the worlds and drew an oath from every creature and every object never to harm her son. Fire and water, iron and stone, beast and serpent all swore. Only the mistletoe was passed over, for it seemed too young and too small to be any danger at all.
Loki learned of this single gap in Baldr's protection. He fashioned a dart from the mistletoe and placed it in the hand of the blind god Hodr, guiding his aim. The dart struck true, and Baldr fell dead, slain by the one thing the oath had left unguarded.
Why It Mattered
The Overlooked Plant
Judged too harmless to swear the oath, and so the one thing that could still do harm
The Death of Baldr
Fashioned into a dart, it kills the shining god and helps set Ragnarök in motion
Quick Facts
The Fatal Chain
The Oath
Frigg binds all things but the mistletoe to spare Baldr
The Dart
Loki shapes the plant into a dart and guides the blind Hodr's hand