Search Results for aesir
Aesir
Aesir The earliest race of Teutonic gods, chief of whom was Odin.
The pantheon included Thor, Tiu, Balder, Bragi (inspirer of poetry), Vidar (lord of silence), Hoder (a blind deity who killed Balder), Hermod (sacred messenger), Hoenir, Odnir, Loki (a trickster god) and Vali (Odin’s last son).
The group held daily councils under the world tree, Yggdrassil, and collectively dwelled in Asgard.
Each deity, however, occupied their own particular region, Odin’s being Valhalla.
Another early race of Scandanavian gods, the Vanir, were in perpetual conflict with the Aesir but the two groups eventually merged. Although the Aesir and the Vanir became an extended family, as it were, the latter assumed the appellation of the former. » Ragnarok
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Balder
An illustration of the blind Höðr killing Baldr, from an Icelandic 18th century manuscript. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Also known as Baldur or Baldr in Norse mythology, Balder was a noble, gentle and yet powerful god. Much loved by all, he was son of Odin and Frigg.
Reminiscent of Achilles, Balder was invulnerable to harm, except by the mistletoe. He was mistakenly killed by the blind god Hodur, who’d been duped by the trickster Loki into piercing him with a dart crafted from mistletoe.
The ensuing weeping among the Aesir immortals over the death of Balder lead some to liken him to the Norse version of Christ.
The roots of the his name are somewhat unclear. Wikipedia has a good discussion here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldr#Name.
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Loki
Star Trek: The Original Series episode Let That Be Your Last Battlefield © 1969 Paramount Pictures, produced by Gene Roddenberry. Click on photo for fair use rationale via Wikipedia
In Norse myth Loki is the son of two giants and confounded the gods with various tricks until, after bringing about the death of Balder, was fastened to a rock. On the day of Ragnarok Loki will break free and lead the giants into a terrible war against the gods.
The American scholar Bergen Evans sees Loki as an evil god in Norse myth with parallels to the Old Testament Satan as depicted in the Book of Job. Others see Loki more as a trickster and as a reversibly transsexual shapeshifter.
Loki (or Lokai) is also a TV character in the original 1969 Star Trek episode, “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” a classic episode dealing with the inanity of racism. Loki is a non-human who’s half white and half black. Meanwhile, another non-human character, Bele, is also half white and half black but in the reverse symmetry to Loki,
Like Lokai, Bele is half black and half white, with the color divided by a line through the exact center of his face. However, the sides of Bele’s black and white skin are reversed from those of Lokai, a difference which seems inconsequential to the Enterprise crew but of great importance to Bele, Lokai, and, apparently, their civilization. The difference is pointed out by Bele to a perplexed Captain Kirk who asks what is the difference between them, to which he replies, “Isn’t it obvious? Lokai is white on the right side. All his people are white on the right side.”¹
As mentioned in other Think Free entires, part of Star Trek’s popularity arguably rests on its liberal use, reinterpretation and reimagining of mythological characters and their names. Possibly this elicits a kind of numinous resonance within viewers, perhaps even if they don’t consciously know about the mythology in question. As C. G. Jung and Joseph Campbell suggest, mythic ideas and sounds may resonate within the viewer’s subconscious or unconscious mind.
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¹ See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_That_Be_Your_Last_Battlefield
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Mistletoe
Captioned as "The little spring of mistletoe pierced the heart of Balder". Illustrating the death of Baldr. Published in 1908, via Wikipedia
The Mistletoe is a shrub that’s traditionally been charged with symbolic import, and it still has cultural significance today.
Robert Graves says that in European pagan times Mistletoe was taken to be the oak tree’s genitals. The Druids ritually chopped it with a gold-colored sickle, which was a kind of “symbolic emasculation.”†
In addition, the juice of the berries was understood as the tree’s sperm, having “great regenerative virtue.” So in pre-Christian Europe mistletoe was associated with the spark and spice of life.
In cultures across pre-Christian Europe, mistletoe was seen as a representation of divine male essence (and thus romance, fertility and vitality), possibly due to a resemblance between the berries and semen.‡
In ancient Roman mythology, Aeneas is prompted by Sibyl to journey to the underworld. On his journey he carries mistletoe, which enables his safe return to the everyday world. And Graves believes that a “‘certain herb’ that raised Claucus from the tomb” was probably mistletoe.†
The Mistletoe is also important to pagan Norse myth. Provoked by the conniving Loki, Hodur kills the beloved Aesir god, Baldur, with a spear made of mistletoe.
Today, Christmas revelers continue to feel obliged kiss under the mistletoe, this curious custom possibly having its roots in Scandanavia (others associate the practice further back to the ancient Roman Saturnalia festival).
Search Think Free » Balder, Diana
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† Robert Graves, The Greek Myths, Combined edition, London: Penguin, 1992, p. 176.
‡ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe
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Ragnarok
Day 729-Ragnarok: "As I gaze into eternity...I see nothing If only I had a star to guide me Or a bird to show me a sign... For the moment, I will rest I'll lie still and silent Strip my mind of thoughts I shall close my eyes and breathe deep the slumber of gods... For awhile, at least..." ------------------------------------------------------------- Text and image idea from the last page of The Mighty Thor #85 (2004) The writer was Michael Avon Oeming | Citation (abridged) and image originally uploaded by Mikey Da Photographer / Michael Dunn
In Scandinavian myth, Ragnarok is a terrible final battle in which gods, mankind and all creation perish.
According to the story, Ragnarok will be preceded by a period of lawless anarchy and followed by the descendents of Lif and Lifthrasir, the only two survivors of the catastrophic war.
The tale is found in two main sources. The Poetic Edda was written in the 13th century, being a compilation of existing poetry. Also in the 13th century the noted historian, writer and statesman Snorri Sturluson wrote a Prose Edda, which makes frequent reference to the Poetic Edda.
The mythographer and writer Stuart Gordon notes similarities among the idea of Ragnorok, the Book of Revelation by St. John, the Hindu notion of yugas, and Plato‘s account of Atlantis.
The story is by no means a dead one, locked in the past. It’s been influential to contemporary video games, film and Marvel comics has repeatedly adapted the Ragnarok cycle in The Mighty Thor¹ and subsequent Thor comics.
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» Aesir, Bible , Fenris, Loki, Thor, Vanir
Trickster
the desert trickster by darren logan
Trickster
In Native American mythology the trickster is a spirit responsible for, as the name suggests, trickery.
In Amerindian myth and legend, the trickster is usually symbolized by the coyote or fox.
Often comic, deceptive or crude, the trickster motif has been the object of scholarly study due to similar but certainly not identical appearances in most world mythologies and religions.
Carl Jung designated it as an archetype and suggested that its quirky energy may erupt from the unconscious in interpersonal affairs.
When this happens the trickster’s various hoax’s and capers serve the important psychological function of balancing the sunny side of human nature with an equal and opposite edge of mischief and darkness.
If, for instance, someone at a cocktail party makes a faux pas and unwittingly insults another through a slip of the tongue or naivete, the insult may serve the positive function of compelling the other to take stock of a problematic aspect of his or her personality, actions or life situation, which otherwise would remain unconscious or ignored.
This view presupposes a meaningful connection among of all living beings.
To make this essentially spiritual perspective on life more accessible, Jung formulated the concept of the collective unconscious.
The trickster is also regarded as a necessary catalyst in human history.
» Aesir, Archetype, Balder, Culture Hero, Evil, Hero, Loki, Parapraxis, “Parapraxes, Accidents and Necessary Mistakes,” Q (in Star Trek), Shadow, Shapeshifter, Siva, Unconscious
On the Web:
- Excellent entry at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickster#Tricksters_in_various_cultures
- A Cree story about the trickster, Wesakecak…
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Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is the son of Odin and Frigga. His famed hammer, the Molinar, contains more mystical power than any other wielded by the Norse gods.
Thor’s destiny is to destroy the world serpent, an evil creature which coils itself around the Earth in the final battle at Ragnarok. At this time, he is destined to die. » Aesir, Fenris
On the Web:
- Excellent entry at Wikipedia » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor
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Vanir
Vanir
At the earlier stages of their mythic development, these Scandinavian gods were constantly at war with the Aesir, who in turn were lead by Odin.
Despite this fact, the Vanir were regarded as the peace-loving branch of the Scandinavian pantheon, just as in contemporary politics many see Canada, America and the United Kingdom as “peace-loving” countries which nonetheless engage in war when deemed necessary for the greater good.
The Vanir originally were fertility gods connected with the earth and waters.
Later they became more specialized gods of the weather, crops and business.
This is similar to the Hindu pantheon, where deities also demonstrate increased specialization over centuries of social, historical and mythic development.
Further to Hindu myth, David L. Miller says that the noted mythographer Georges Dumézil believed that the Vanir corresponded to the Indian “Asvin or Nasatya” (Review: Light from the North, Journal of Bible and Religion, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Jan., 1966: 25-28), p. 26).
The best known Vanir are Frey and his sister Freya, both children of the sea-god Njord and stepchildren of the she-giant Skadi, who prevailed over the mountains and became Njord’s wife.
Ember notes that Skadi’s status us Frey and Freya’s stepmother
is made fairly clear in the Lore by the fact that the three of them, Njordh, Freyr, and Freya come to the Vanir as hostages, such that Njordh was available in Asgard when the time came for Skadhi to choose a husband. » See in context
The Vanir inhabited an underground lair called Vanaheim.
Eventually the Vanir began to intermarry with the Aesir, this culminating in their integration as a unified but not entirely homogenous pantheon.
After merging with the Aesir, the Vanir for the most part dwelled in the sky region of Asgard but, according to David Leeming, still spent time in their former home of Vanaheim.†
» Ragnarok
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† David Leeming, Oxford Companion to World Mythology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 392).
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World Tree
World Tree
Although tree symbolism is exceedingly diverse in meaning and form among world mythologies and religions, one of the most common motifs is the World Tree.
With important variants found in South American mythic art, the World Tree in Indo-European lore is said to be located at the center of the cosmos.
The tree’s roots dig deep into the earth while its branches point to the heavens.
David Leeming notes that the idea of the world tree is often linked to that of the world navel.
For the Tartars, a giant pine tree grows out of the navel of the earth and reaches to the home of the supreme ruler in heaven (David Leeming, The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 404).
As such, depth psychologists like C. G. Jung say the World Tree is a mythic symbol connecting mankind to the psycho-spiritual powers of the underworld, the earth and heaven.
But this tidy presentation of the notion of the holistic World Tree should not overlook the fact that the process of psychological transformation is not always easy nor without challenges.
Peter Butcher notes that new paradigms, i.e. larger ways of seeing the world, are often born of intense personal crises. While the holistic vision of the World Tree is an admirable ideal and perhaps worthwhile goal for some, others are not so fortunate and seem to be ruined by their inner adventures.
People who have experienced expanded states of consciousness often encounter a period of inner chaos or disorientation. This has been described as a Death, the Dark Night, a Fall into Formlessness, Being Swallowed by a Monster, Entering Hell or the Void, and so on.¹
Butcher says it’s essential for the seeker to “integrate a new way of seeing with old interpretations or constructs.”² In Jungian terms, the psyche must achieve a new balance between unusual inner experiences (as described above) and the demands of the outside world. And after a period of possibly alarming disorganization the self must successfully reorganize into a greater whole.
The notion of the world tree also has links to occult, Runic and Tarot lore because the most important world tree, Yggdrasill, is where the Norse god Odin hung himself upside down for nine days and nights in search of the secret of immortality.
Odin’s self-imposed ordeal is reflected in the Tarot mystery card of “The Hanged Man.” And it has also found its way into commentaries on Kabbalic mysticism.
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¹ Peter Butcher, “Art Images Associated with States of Expanded Consciousness: A Study of the Individual Case,” Leonardo, Vol. 16, No. 3, Special Issue: Psychology and the Arts (Summer, 1983: 222-224), p. 222.
² Ibid., p. 223.
On the World Wide Web:
- “History of Ideas – the Hanged Man” » http://www.tarotforum.net/printthread.php?t=94131
» Aesir
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Asgard
Asgard Home of the Scandanavian gods located in the upper air.
The Asgard are also a fictional alien race in the American and Canadian science fiction TV series Stargate SG-1 who, according to the story, visited Earth and gave rise to the Scandanavian legends.
» Aesir, Vanir
Image Source:
- Resized from original, “Thor Goes to Asgard” by raveller at http://www.flickr.com/photos/raveller/59387187/sizes/o/, Creative Commons License
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