Learnings: Destiny and Ancestry
An individual inherited certain rules and values from their kin. According to legend, ancestors would visit the young in dreams to pass on the family's wisdom. These values could also be shared with descendants by the family's hamingja, or guardian spirit.
In these dreamland family reunions, children would learn about their forefathers greatness—and their failures. They would learn about authenticity, how a member of their family could and should behave to stay true to their values and to themselves. Through these experiences, the young would eentually learn about their own strengths and weakenesses and be able to pintpooint their true nature. By acting according to that nature, they would therefore be able to properly fulfill their destiny.
Belonging to a lineage also involved a duty to remember the destinies of ancestors past; Scandinavians would raise runestones to honour the memories of their loved ones, as seen in the picture.