Scandinavian mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

, the hug refers to an individual's mental life, in some contrast to the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, a term which carries more spiritual connotations. "''Hug''" is the Norwegian term; the Danish term is ''hu'', the Swedish ''håg''; Scandinavian languages have a word for soul that is cognate with the English. The ''hug'' is no simple concept and shows great variation, with different accounts and characteristics given in the literature from medieval literature to more recent folklore. It is central to the conception of magic, and can influence animate and inanimate objects. The ''hug'' manifests itself externally in a variety of possible forms; that of witches, for instance, sometimes took the shape of a cat.Alver 120.

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* *{{cite book, last1=Kvideland, first1=Reimund, last2=Sehmsdorf, first2=Henning K., title=Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend, url=https://archive.org/details/scandinavianfolk00kvid, url-access=registration, year=1988, publisher=U of Minnesota P, location=Minneapolis, isbn=0816619670 Scandinavian folklore Norwegian folklore Danish folklore Swedish folklore European mythology

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