Nordic Symbolism and Metaphors

Being that this is Yule, the holiest of pagan holidays, I have taken a break from fighting the forces of evil. I thought I might try and give a bit of a lesson in the Heathen lore and the meanings of it. My family's Yuletide tradition has been that I tell a different story from the lore before we have our evening meal and then we turn off the television and play board games until it is time to retire for the evening. Pagans see their lore as symbolic and filled with metaphors rather than factual as many modern religions do. The lore serves many purposes but it mainly teaches us lessons on how to live our lives.

Last night I told the story of the building of Asgard, the home of the Aesir gods. In this tale a giant disguised as a man makes a wager with the gods that he can build the walls around Asgard within a winter and if he won the Aesir would have to give him the sun and the moon. Loki being confident that noone could ever finish this task within time, convinces the gods to take this wager. What Loki didn't count on is that this giant in disguise had a very powerful horse and was nearing completion of his task with it's help. The gods grew angry with Loki for talking them into making this wager so to distract the giant's horse he transformed himself into a mare and lured the horse away. The giant did not complete his task in time without the help of his horse and lost his wager. Some time later Loki returned with his new son Sleipnir, an 8 legged steed the fastest and strongest horse all through Yggdrasil, which he gave to his adopted blood brother Odin.

This tale is symbolic of course and teaches us a few different lessons for example to not make a promise that we cannot keep. Had the giant finished the wall in time the Aesir would have had to give up the sun and the moon to him, and who knows what he had in plan for them. Also it teaches us to be careful of who we trust, we learn from other stories in the lore that the giants represent chaos and the gods represent order. Loki, the god of mischief talked the Aesir into trusting this giant in disguise and could have cost them greatly.

So remember that laughter is to humans as Indunn's apples are to the gods. Laughter keeps us young at heart and washes away the stress of everyday life. Dont' forget that during Yule there is much magic in the air and if you speak a wish, it just may come true. During Yule the "veil" between Helheim and Midgard is much thinner so if you have something you would like to say to someone who has passed, don't hesitate to speak it out loud... they can hear you.