Search Results for fenris
Fenris
Fenrir, bound by the gods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In Norse mythology the Fenris is a giant, evil wolf born of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. All the Norse gods fear him, and with good reason.
The Fenris wreaks cosmic ruin, devouring the sun and killing Odin at the great battle at the end of the world, Ragnarok.
The Fenris is finally destroyed by Odin’s giant son Vidar.
Related Posts » Reincarnation
Related articles
- Hottest religion blog is on Norse mythology (blogs.vancouversun.com)
- G is for Gullveig (jackwren.wordpress.com)
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.
—
¹ See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_That_Be_Your_Last_Battlefield
Related Posts
Related Articles
- New Thor images show off Loki’s mighty headpiece [Loki] (io9.com)
- Social Construct of Star Trek (socyberty.com)
- Journey Into Mystery #622 – Loki (manodogs.blogspot.com)
- Science fiction round-up – reviews (guardian.co.uk)
- History of Mistletoe (brighthub.com)
- Myth (earthpages.wordpress.com)
- Big Spoilery THOR Story Details Revealed (geektyrant.com)
- ‘Thor’ Trailer: From Destroyer To Loki, Here Are Our Five Favorite Moments (splashpage.mtv.com)
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.
—
» Aesir, Bible , Fenris, Loki, Thor, Vanir
Reincarnation
Second hand reincarnation: shaggy359
Also known as metempsychosis and transmigration, reincarnation is a manmade theory based on beliefs found in different philosophical systems and religions, including ancient Greek, Egyptian, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Jain, African and New Age perspectives.
Reincarnation usually involves ideas of karma and grace. It’s believed that after the death of the physical body, the soul (or in some schools, temporary personality attributes) returns for another birth.
In most traditions the self is on an evolutionary path from unconsciousness to consciousness–that is, from lower to higher, or gross to subtle forms of consciousness.
In some branches of contemplative Hinduism, the soul is said to begin in the mineral world and then move upward to the vegetable and animal kingdoms. Eventually it takes birth as a human being. After learning about and practicing good ethics from innumerable human incarnations, the soul may reincarnate in astral and heavenly realms before reaching ultimate liberation, awareness and bliss.
But bad ethical choices send the evolutionary process into reverse. If a human being abuses their freedom, they may reincarnate backwards into the animal kingdom or possibly further down into one of various temporary hells.
According to popular wisdom it’s often said that God provides perfect punishments and rewards for one’s deeds. So generally speaking, if one makes good ethical choices in an embodied life, one gains merit and reincarnates into a more auspicious life the next time around.
However, if one makes bad ethical choices, one returns to a less auspicious life. Again, the alleged purpose of reincarnation is to instruct the soul, preparing it for an ultimately perfect, eternal existence. The exact nature of this perfection is described differently among various schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Taoism.
Once complete liberation is achieved, the soul (or temporary personality attributes) no longer returns to a body, gross or subtle. This idea is expressed in an old Taoist tale, paraphrased as follows:
A man had led a dissolute life and reincarnates as a horse. After a few years the horse grows weary of being whipped by his masters, refuses to eat and dies. He then returns as a dog. Despising this incarnation the dog bites his master’s leg who has him destroyed. He returns as a snake. By now he’s finally learned his lesson. One must play out the hand one is dealt, patiently seeing it through to learn how to be virtuous. As a reformed soul, the snake avoids doing harm to other animals by eating berries and tries to keep itself out of danger. But one day the snake mistakenly dies under the wheel of a cart. Pleading his case before the King of Purgatory, he finds himself reborn a man—a reward for his good intentions (Raymond Van Over, ed. Taoist Tales, New York: Meridian Classic, 1973, pp. 52-53).
According to this view, suicide is like ‘skipping school’ (in the cosmic sense) and causes regression to a less desirable birth.
But not all believers in reincarnation would take this attitude. Some believe that the very same kind of life situation would arise again, as if the suicide is forced to repeat the same cosmic classroom he or she didn’t pass the first time around.
Meanwhile some New Age thinkers say that every life is consciously chosen prior to birth.
In most Asian religions God’s grace can mitigate or even erase the effects of bad karma, a fact often overlooked in specious critiques of reincarnation.
African pre-colonial tribal beliefs about reincarnation differ from Asian variants. African ancestors are believed to reincarnate into one or several descendents to give a particular family more power. Somewhat similar to the Asian idea, however, the African Ibo believe that one chooses between two bundles before birth – one bundle holds auspicious fortune, the other inauspicious. While the spirit tries its best to choose a favorable incarnation, a formerly evil person undergoes a difficult incarnation as a human or animal.
More variants of reincarnation are found within ancestor cults. And in The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare‘s character Gratiano suggests that Shylock is a reincarnated wolf.
In contrast to the belief in reincarnation, the Old Testament says that evil actions are repaid with evil, but not through reincarnation. Evil begets evil through one’s offspring:
The Lord…a God merciful and gracious…forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 34:7).
In Catholicism, St. Thomas Aquinas refutes reincarnation on the basis of Romans 9: 11-12:
For when they were not yet born, nor had done any good or evil…not of works, but of Him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger.
The Christian New Testament view of the body and its relation to the afterlife is expressed in I Corinthians 15; 51-52; 2 Corinthians 5:1; I Thessalonians 4:14; John 3: 4-7.
Some suggest that the Catholic notion of purgatory was created as a Christian counterpart to the temporary process of punishment and purification as found in non-Christian theories of reincarnation.
At Earthpages.org:
- Articles about reincarnation and karma.
» Anatman, Anthroposophy, Avatar, Cayce (Edgar), Chinmoy (Sri), Deva, Fenris, Free-John (Da), Gawain (Shakti), Hell, Hermes Trismegistus, Karma, Meno, Origen, Ram Dass, Parvati, Plato, Ramacharaka (Swami), Republic, Roberts (Jane), Samsara, Skandhas, Theosophy, Transmigration, Werewolf, Pythagoras
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
Add to this, report errors, suggest edits or voice your opinion by posting a comment
Odin
Odin The supreme Norse God who anticipates the German Wotan. As head of the Nordic pantheon called the Aesir, Odin has many faces. He is the giver of laws, the mystic author of poetry, a fierce war god and the protector of heroes. He is also a shaman, magician and shapeshifter. Like the Greek Zeus, Odin is an unfaithful husband. His wife Frigga tolerates his numerous affairs with goddesses and human women. Odin is popularized in the Tarot deck as the god who hangs himself from the World Tree (Ydgrassil) for nine days and nights to gain for humanity the esoteric wisdom of the runes-i.e. the secret of immortality. Ambient music artist Giles Reaves released a track called “Odin (The Unknowable)” on his 1986 album Wunjo. » Balder, Fenris, Freya, Hero, Thor
Add to this, report errors, make suggestions or voice your opinion by posting a comment
