Just like Heimdallr the quick-witted Loki has bewildered the so-called experts on Norse mythology for centuries. He has been identified as a Scandinavian Hephaistos, the limp smith of the Olympian gods, but his name has not yet to be successfully translated by any of them. Strangely enough.
Loki translates as "lock", "lid" and "end", from the Indo-European root *LUK (="to close something"). Although this makes sense, because Loki is the reason the world ends in a yearly Ragnarok, this is not a complete translation. The Indo-European *LUK can also mean "lightning" and "to light", and this makes even more sense considering the fact that Loki is always chased by Þórr ("thunder"). Loki is further a god of wind and fire, and he is the smith of the gods.
In relation to Heimdallr he is the exact opposite; Heimdallr is a mediator between Heaven and Earth, while Loki causes the war between Heaven and Earth. Heimdallr is the blessing, while Loki is the corruption. Heimdallr opens up the worlds, while Loki ends and closes them. Heimdallr's rainbow proclaims the mercy of the gods, while Loki's flame sneaks around quietly, cunningly and full of betrayal, until it finally breaks out in an all-consuming fire, as lightning strikes the Earth. Heimdallr brings the gifts from the dead (=light elves), while Loki brings the gifts from the dwarves (=dark elves). Heimdallr is the white, pure and calm peace in the chest of mankind, the alert guardian of Heaven, while Loki is the wild affections that gather and break out in the consuming flame of passion. Heimdallr is a simple-minded god, while Loki is probably the brightest of them all. Heimdallr is loyal and reliable, while Loki is disloyal and completely untrustworthy. Loki steals the necklace of Freyja, while Heimdallr gets it back to her.
From the mythology we learn that Heimdallr sank down to the guardian of the Hel-bridge, when he was sent to rescue Iðunn, but it is actually Loki who rescues her. Heimdallr, as Hermóðr, on the other hand is sent to rescue Baldr (a.k.a. Bragi), the husband of Nanna (a.k.a. Iðunn). This might confuse some, but the fact is that Heimdallr and Loki are one god. They simply represent the opposite forces in the same god!
Loki is a god, but still he rescues Iðunn, a task that we know (from the Greek mythology) should be reserved for Iris (=Freyja), the female counterpart of Hermes (=Óðinn), or for a goddess (or priestess) impersonating Iris. Hermes follows the dead men to Hades (=Hel), but the dead women are Iris' responsibility.
Loki does this in the Scandinavian mythology. He also gives birth to Sleipnir, the horse needed as transport to Hel, and at least on one occasion he dresses up as a woman. Being the opposite of the bearded Heimdallr it is not unlikely that Loki originally was a goddess, and it seems the Heimdallr-Loki deity might be the Scandinavian Hermaphrodite (the androgynous child of Hermes and Aphrodite), and Loki represents the feminine part.
In Ragnarok Heimdallr and Loki kill each other: the white god (Belobog) kills the black god (Czernybog) and vice versa, as the opposite forces reconcile at the end of each Solar year, in order to begin a new year from scratch.
Heimdallr created man, but he is also our Loki (here: "end"), because he is Cronos ("time"), and man cannot outlive time.Varg
Håndværker - colic-help - skateboard - big bang - islam
tirsdag den 28. august 2007
onsdag den 22. august 2007
coke zero
Coke zero
Nu Har jeg aldrig været tilhænger af sukkerfrie produkter - jeg undgår dem nærmest bevidst, fordi de enten smager af tis, eller er proppet med andre kemikalier, for at udligne smagen. Men Real Taste, det har den da. Zero sugar - er godt mod den stigende overvægt. Så har vi pludselig Life as it should be?
Nu Har jeg aldrig været tilhænger af sukkerfrie produkter - jeg undgår dem nærmest bevidst, fordi de enten smager af tis, eller er proppet med andre kemikalier, for at udligne smagen. Men Real Taste, det har den da. Zero sugar - er godt mod den stigende overvægt. Så har vi pludselig Life as it should be?
fredag den 17. august 2007
A Bard's Tale: Part IV - Heimdallr
Heimdallr is one of the most enigmatic of all the Scandinavian deities. He is so mysterious the so-called experts at the different universities still know close to nothing about him. They cannot even figure out what his name means, and I cannot blame them; his secrets have for a long time eluded me too.
The common perception is that the name Heimdallr translates as "home-valley" or "world-valley" (Norwegian Heimdal), but this makes no sense in any context. In 1998 I came up with a different translation; Heimdallr from Germanic Haimaþellar, meaning "home-counter" or "world-counter". The logic was that at least this is what he does, when he watches over his children from his throne on the North Pole. However, this too is a rather poor theory.
Unlike the so-called experts at the universities I have realized that Heimdallr is the same as Hermöðr ("Óðinn impersonator"), and in the Edda we can read that Heimdallr once "sunk down to the guardian of the Hel-bridge to rescue Iðunn" when she was kidnapped by a giant and held prisoner in the underworld. In order to rescue Iðunn (a.k.a. Nanna) and her husband, Bragi (a.k.a. Baldr), he needs to visit Hel, the realm of the dead, and like we know from the Greek myths Hermes1 (=Óðinn) is the only one who can freely enter and leave Hades (=Hel). So Heimdallr dresses up and impersonates Óðinn, to convince the guardians of Hel to let him enter and leave unscathed, even though Heimdallr really has no right to do this, from their point of view.
So Heimdallr sank down to Earth, from Heaven, and created mankind, and every year he sinks down to Hel to collect the gifts from the elves, the eternal spirits of the dead, and from Baldr and Nanna (who spend every winter in Hel). He then sinks down from Heaven, or rather from his throne between Heaven and Earth, to hand over these gifts to those of his children who have been good, on the Yule-Eve. He visits us all, still in the shape of Óðinn, to settle the score, as the leader of the Oskorei ("army of thunder").
With this in mind it becomes rather obvious that his name translates as "home-sinker" or "world-sinker" meaning "he who sinks down to visit the different homes/worlds" (Norwegian Heimdalar).
In ancient Greece they called him Cronos ("time"), possibly because they used his yearly visits to count the years and measure time. In the Western Slavonic areas they called him Belobog ("white-god"), because he is a shining god of light and mercy, and because after his visits to Hel he still has the colour of the pale dead. In Eastern Slavonic areas they called him Kolada ("wheel" or perhaps "wheel's rotation") because at the Winter Solstice, the Yule-Eve, the Sun-wheel has completed a full rotation: spring (birth), summer (life), autumn (death) and winter (reincarnation).
It took me some time and effort to figure this out, but finally we now know who Heimdallr was and what his name really means. Others have failed where I succeeded probably because they have a life. I don't.Varg
Footnotes:
And his female counterpart Iris (="the rainbow").
Håndværker - colic-help - skateboard - short story - faceplant
The common perception is that the name Heimdallr translates as "home-valley" or "world-valley" (Norwegian Heimdal), but this makes no sense in any context. In 1998 I came up with a different translation; Heimdallr from Germanic Haimaþellar, meaning "home-counter" or "world-counter". The logic was that at least this is what he does, when he watches over his children from his throne on the North Pole. However, this too is a rather poor theory.
Unlike the so-called experts at the universities I have realized that Heimdallr is the same as Hermöðr ("Óðinn impersonator"), and in the Edda we can read that Heimdallr once "sunk down to the guardian of the Hel-bridge to rescue Iðunn" when she was kidnapped by a giant and held prisoner in the underworld. In order to rescue Iðunn (a.k.a. Nanna) and her husband, Bragi (a.k.a. Baldr), he needs to visit Hel, the realm of the dead, and like we know from the Greek myths Hermes1 (=Óðinn) is the only one who can freely enter and leave Hades (=Hel). So Heimdallr dresses up and impersonates Óðinn, to convince the guardians of Hel to let him enter and leave unscathed, even though Heimdallr really has no right to do this, from their point of view.
So Heimdallr sank down to Earth, from Heaven, and created mankind, and every year he sinks down to Hel to collect the gifts from the elves, the eternal spirits of the dead, and from Baldr and Nanna (who spend every winter in Hel). He then sinks down from Heaven, or rather from his throne between Heaven and Earth, to hand over these gifts to those of his children who have been good, on the Yule-Eve. He visits us all, still in the shape of Óðinn, to settle the score, as the leader of the Oskorei ("army of thunder").
With this in mind it becomes rather obvious that his name translates as "home-sinker" or "world-sinker" meaning "he who sinks down to visit the different homes/worlds" (Norwegian Heimdalar).
In ancient Greece they called him Cronos ("time"), possibly because they used his yearly visits to count the years and measure time. In the Western Slavonic areas they called him Belobog ("white-god"), because he is a shining god of light and mercy, and because after his visits to Hel he still has the colour of the pale dead. In Eastern Slavonic areas they called him Kolada ("wheel" or perhaps "wheel's rotation") because at the Winter Solstice, the Yule-Eve, the Sun-wheel has completed a full rotation: spring (birth), summer (life), autumn (death) and winter (reincarnation).
It took me some time and effort to figure this out, but finally we now know who Heimdallr was and what his name really means. Others have failed where I succeeded probably because they have a life. I don't.Varg
Footnotes:
And his female counterpart Iris (="the rainbow").
Håndværker - colic-help - skateboard - short story - faceplant
tirsdag den 7. august 2007
Sony Ericsson - w580i
En walkman mobiltelefon har ramt markedet. Nu tænker du måske på, om ikke alle nyere mobiltelefoner kan spille musik. Det kan de, men denne her har indbygget mega bass, så du slipper for den spinkle papkasse lyd. Du kan også flytte musik direkte fra CD til mobilen. w580i, som modellen fra Sony Ericsson hedder, har indbygget shake control, hvilket betyder at du ved at give den et ryst, for skiftet til et tilfældigt nummer.
Sony Ericsson w580i
Sony Ericsson w580i
mandag den 6. august 2007
A Bard's Tale: Part III - The White God
Once upon a time Svarog (Óðinn), the heavenly father, ordered his son Belobog/Kolada (Heimdallr) to create a worthy race of men. Humanoid creatures already existed, worm-like dwarves and grotesque giants, but they were of little or no use to Svarog. He needed a better breed of men, to help him protect the cosmos (=order, beauty) in the ongoing war against chaos (=emptiness).
Belobog/Kolada left Heaven and on Earth he created a human race known as Thrall's kin. The thralls had black and wrinkled skin, ugly faces, bent backs, crooked noses and long heels. Not satisfied with the result he continued with his mission, and soon he had created another human race, known as Free Men's kin. The free men had red faces, red-brown hair and watchful eyes. Still not satisfied he continued with his mission and created a third human race, known as Noble's kin. The nobles had blonde hair, fair skin and fair eyes as sharp as those of a dragon.
Finally Svarog was happy and he ordered Belobog/Kolada to return to Earth and teach the runes (=secrets, whispering lore) to the nobles, and he did. Belobog/Kolada then placed his throne over the North Pole, between Heaven and Earth, to be able to watch over his most noble children. From there he could see and hear everything that happened on Earth, and every year he visited his children, on the Winter Solstice, to reward the good ones with gifts, and to warn the others.
Thus ends the story about how the White God created man, and why only mankind's nobility, the Nordic [European] race, is allowed to sit by Svarog's side in the most holy of the halls in Heaven.
Håndværker - colic-help - skateboard - taliban - terror
Belobog/Kolada left Heaven and on Earth he created a human race known as Thrall's kin. The thralls had black and wrinkled skin, ugly faces, bent backs, crooked noses and long heels. Not satisfied with the result he continued with his mission, and soon he had created another human race, known as Free Men's kin. The free men had red faces, red-brown hair and watchful eyes. Still not satisfied he continued with his mission and created a third human race, known as Noble's kin. The nobles had blonde hair, fair skin and fair eyes as sharp as those of a dragon.
Finally Svarog was happy and he ordered Belobog/Kolada to return to Earth and teach the runes (=secrets, whispering lore) to the nobles, and he did. Belobog/Kolada then placed his throne over the North Pole, between Heaven and Earth, to be able to watch over his most noble children. From there he could see and hear everything that happened on Earth, and every year he visited his children, on the Winter Solstice, to reward the good ones with gifts, and to warn the others.
Thus ends the story about how the White God created man, and why only mankind's nobility, the Nordic [European] race, is allowed to sit by Svarog's side in the most holy of the halls in Heaven.
Håndværker - colic-help - skateboard - taliban - terror
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