The Vikings Aslaug Introductory Scene Decoded

For several months, I've been mulling over the scenes in the TV show Vikings where Ragnar's second wife Aslaug is introduced. Aslaug is met by two men who spy her emerging from the water. This obviously parallels the mythology of Aphrodite emerging from the foam in the Greek mythology.

From the "water" has a specific meaning in the parlance of celestial mythology. (See this post for more info.) The water, I believe, means the emergence of a constellation above the horizon, that is, the rising of the constellation before sunrise.

Additional clues are provided by Aslaug's accouterments when she meets Ragnar for the first time wearing a costume that answers his riddle. She wears a net, carries an apple, and has a dog companion.

The apple represents the sun, which, around the autumn equinox, rises in the hand of the constellation Virgo. The dog is the dog star Sirius, which heralds the arrival of Virgo in the morning darkness on the eastern horizon. Virgo is often frequently depicted in her various representations as being led by or riding a lion, that is, the constellation Leo. However, in this case, since the dog is on a lead, I think the allusion is to Sirius.

Stellarium Screenshot of Virgo Led by Sirius in October

The net is the Pleiades. and refers to the conjunction of Mars and Venus (the planetary doppelganger of Virgo characters) in the cluster of stars. (Nice write up: here)

Additionally, Aslaug is Ragnar's second wife, that is, his Autumn Equinox wife where Lagertha is his first, that is, his Spring Equinox wife, which of course means Ragnar is the Sun. This pairing of the two women follows an ancient celestial metaphor of Isis and Nephthys. In fact, when Ragnar meets Aslaug for the first time, there are numerous jokes about eating salted fish, which is probably a reference to the constellation Pisces.