Vili is a Norse god, sibling of Odin and Vé, who joined in the creation of the world from Ymir’s body and bestowed reason upon humans. He appears briefly in the Völuspá and Gylfaginning. Vili embodies will and cognition. Poets reference him to explore the divine gifts of thought and purpose, framing human agency as a sacred inheritance from the founding trinity of gods.

Vili is Odin’s brother who, with Odin and Vé, slays Ymir and shapes the world, and gives humans sense and movement (Völuspá, Gylfaginning). His name means "will" or "desire," complementing Odin ("mind") and Vé ("sanctity"). Students should interpret Vili as the active, volitional force in creation—without will, consciousness is inert. Though he fades from later myths, his early role is foundational. In Grímnismál, Vili and Vé temporarily share Odin’s possessions during his absence, suggesting shared sovereignty. Vili exemplifies how Norse myth distributes cosmic functions among siblings, making him key for understanding triadic structures and the philosophical underpinnings of creation in eddic poetry.