Fylgja
Fetch / animal-double
Fylgja — the fetch, an accompanying spirit often appearing in animal form (a wolf for a fierce-tempered person, a swan for a serene one, etc.) or as a tutelary female. Visible in dreams and to those with second sight; the fylgja's appearance often portends the fate of the person it accompanies. Placed here at the shoulder rather than within the body proper, since the fylgja is external-yet-attached.
Point 7 of 9 in Old Norse Nine-Part Soul (reconstructed)
Cross-tradition overlaps
No overlapping points are registered for this point.
Sources
Snorri, Prose Edda (primary_canonical)
Snorri's Gylfaginning (especially chs. 16–18) supplies a mythographic catalogue of gods, beings, and attendant powers, but it does not define fylgja as a discrete human soul-part. The citation therefore supports the surrounding companion-spirit framework only; saga evidence is needed for the personal fetch phenomenon.
Lecouteux, Return of the Dead (secondary)