Volsung Cycle In Norse mythology, Fafnir was a son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and brother of Regin and Otr. In the Volsunga saga, Fafnir was a dwarf gifted with a powerful arm and fearless soul. He wore the Aegis helmet and guarded his father's house of glittering gold and flashing gems. He was the strongest and most aggressive of the three brothers. After Otr was killed by Loki, Hreidmar received the cursed gold of Andvari's as repayment for the loss of his son. Fafnir and Regin then killed t ...

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Fafnir (Scandianvian Norse). The Dragon of Wisdom.

(See also: Fafnir, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Fafnir A mythical dragon in the Norse Edda. In the long and involved saga of the Children of the Mist (Niflungar, best known as the Wagnerian Nibelungen), F�fnir slew his father for his golden treasure, which had been cursed by the dwarf Andvari (from and spirit + vari watcher or guardian)

. F�fnir assumed the form of a dragon and lay guarding the gold on Gnipaheden (high heath). His brother Regin, desiring to share the gold, persuaded his ward, the hero Sigurd, to kill the dragon and cook its heart for him. When Sigurd did so, he burnt his finger. Instinctively putting it in his mouth, he found that, as soon as the dragon's heart-blood touched his tongue, he became able to understand the language and messages of the birds.

This tale, like so many mythic stories, is an allegoric history of the early races of mankind, featuring their successive development of distinctive qualities and intelligence. Many myths feature the slaying of a dragon or serpent of wisdom to obtain a treasure of gold (wisdom), which in many cases carries with it a curse, indicating the need for discrimination in its use.

(See also: Fafnir, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Volsung Cycle In Norse mythology, Gram was the name of the sword that Sigurd (Siegfried) used to kill the dragon Fafnir. It was forged by Weyland The Smith and originally belonged to his father, Sigmund, who received it in the hall of the Volsung after pulling it out of a log into which Odin had stuck it—nobody else could pull it out. The sword was destroyed and reforged at least once. After it was reforged, it clove an anvil in half. See Sigurd for more details on the story of Siegfried and Fafnir. In the Nibelungenlied, Siegfried's sword is called Balmung. ...

Including:

• Gram mythology - Appearances in popular culture

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Volsung Cycle In Norse mythology, Andvarinaut was a magical ring, first owned by Andvari. The ring was acquired deceitfully from Andvari by Loki. In revenge, Andvari cursed the ring to bring destruction on its owner. Loki disposed of it by immediately giving it to King Hreidmar of the dwarves (as a "reparation" since Loki and the other Æsir had killed his son, Otr, inadvertently). Hriedmar's son, Fafnir, then killed him and took the ring. Sigurd then killed Fafnir and gave it to Brünnehilde, who killed herself when he left her. Some scholars have made speculative claims that Andvarina ...

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Volsung Cycle In Norse mythology, Ótr (alternately: Ott, Oter, Otr, Ottar, Ottarr, Otter) is a dwarf. He is the son of the king Hreidmar and the brother of Fafnir and Regin. According to the Prose Edda, he could change into an any form, and used to spend his days in the shape of an otter, greedily eating fish. Otr was slain accidentally by Loki. Hreidmar demanded a large weregild for Otr's death, namely to fill Otr's skin with yellow gold, and to then cover it entirely wi ...

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The most famous dragons in Norse mythology and Germanic mythology, are: Níðhöggr who gnawed at the roots of Yggdrasil; Jörmungandr, also called Miðgarðsormr, a form of serpent so big that the earth-disc can be encircled by it; The dragon encountered by Beowulf; Fafnir, who was killed by Siegfried. Fafnir turned into a dragon because of his greed. Lindworms are monstrous serpents of G ...

See also:

European dragon, European dragon - Dragons in modern times, European dragon - Roman dragons, European dragon - Dragons in Slavic mythology, European dragon - Dragons in Germanic mythology, European dragon - Dragons in Catalan mythology, European dragon - Dragons in Italian mythology, European dragon - Dragons in fantasy fiction

Read more here: » European dragon: Encyclopedia II - European dragon - Dragons in Germanic mythology

For Norse dwarves specifically, see that article. Dwarves are also called little Hill-men (Swiss), Earth-men (Härdmandle, pl. Härdmändlene. - Swiss) and Kröpel (German). Dwarves were described as the height of a 3-year old human child (about 3 feet tall), ugly and big-headed. Nidavellir is the land of the dwarves in Norse mythology. Some dwarves of mythology and fairy tales are: Rumpelstiltskin, the dwarves from Snow White, Snorri, Dvalin, Lit, Fjalar and Galar, Alvis, Eitri, Brokk, Hreidmar, Alfrik, Mimir, Berling, Grer, Fafnir, Otr, Regin, and Alberich (or Andvari). ...

See also:

Dwarf, Dwarf - Mythology and folklore, Dwarf - The creation of dwarfs, Dwarf - Dwarf places, Dwarf - Fairy tales with dwarfs in them, Dwarf - Possible origin, Dwarf - Dwarves in modern fantasy fiction, Dwarf - Tolkien's dwarves, Dwarf - Dwarves in Artemis Fowl, Dwarf - Dwarves in subsequent fantasy fiction, Dwarf - Female dwarves

Read more here: » Dwarf: Encyclopedia II - Dwarf - Mythology and folklore

For Norse dwarves specifically, see that article. Dwarves are also called little Hill-men (Swiss), Earth-men (Härdmandle, pl. Härdmändlene. - Swiss) and Kröpel (German). Dwarves were described as the height of a 3-year old human child (about 3 feet tall), ugly and big-headed. Nidavellir is the land of the dwarves in Norse mythology. Some dwarves of mythology and fairy tales are: Rumpelstiltskin, the dwarves from Snow White, Snorri, Dvalin, Lit, Fjalar and Galar, Alvis, Eitri, Brokk, Hreidmar, Alfrik, Mimir, Berling, Grer, Fafnir, Otr, Regin, and Alberich (or Andvari). ...

See also:

Dwarf, Dwarf - Mythology and folklore, Dwarf - The creation of dwarfs, Dwarf - Dwarf places, Dwarf - Fairy tales with dwarves in them, Dwarf - Possible origin, Dwarf - Dwarves in modern fantasy fiction, Dwarf - Tolkien's dwarves, Dwarf - Dwarves in Artemis Fowl, Dwarf - Dwarves in The Inheritance Trilogy, Dwarf - Dwarves in subsequent fantasy fiction, Dwarf - Female dwarves

Read more here: » Dwarf: Encyclopedia II - Dwarf - Mythology and folklore

The site's updates are each attributed to one of three characters: Fafnir, a friendly, childlike entity of unknown form. He is fond of soup and usually writes "and" as "an." He is the original "contributor" to the site, and is still the most frequent poster. Giblets, a megalomaniac who insists that he is lord of all the earth, or even godlike. In reality, his war elephant is a hamster and nobody ever carries out his "bidding." His form is also unknown, although in one post, he describes being mistaken for a mouse. ...

See also:

Fafblog, Fafblog - Characters, Fafblog - Recurring Topics, Fafblog - Fafblog's satirical style, Fafblog - External link

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Fafnir A mythical dragon in the Norse Edda. In the long and involved saga of the Children of the Mist (Niflungar, best known as the Wagnerian Nibelungen), Fáfnir slew his father for his golden treasure, which had been cursed by the dwarf Andvari (from and spirit + vari watcher or guardian)

. Fáfnir assumed the form of a dragon and lay guarding the gold on Gnipaheden (high heath). His brother Regin, desiring to share the gold, persuaded his ward, the hero Sigurd, to kill the dragon and cook its heart for him. When Sigurd did so, he burnt his finger. Instinctively putting it in his mouth, he found that, as soon as the dragon's heart-blood touched his tongue, he became able to understand the language and messages of the birds.

This tale, like so many mythic stories, is an allegoric history of the early races of mankind, featuring their successive development of distinctive qualities and intelligence. Many myths feature the slaying of a dragon or serpent of wisdom to obtain a treasure of gold (wisdom), which in many cases carries with it a curse, indicating the need for discrimination in its use.

(See also: Fafnir, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Andvari (Icelandic) (from and spirit + vari watcher, guardian)

In Norse mythology, a dwarf, owner of the treasure around which center the complex events related in the Nibelungen cycle. This gold has a twofold meaning and a markedly twofold effect on the various protagonists who covet it.

See also FAFNIR

(See also: Andvari, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Sigurd (Scandianvian Norse). The hero who slew Fafnir, the "Dragon", roasted his heart and ate it, after which he became the wisest of men. An allegory referring to Occult study and initiation.

(See also: Sigurd, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Drakon (Ancient Greek) or Dragon. Now considered a "mythical" monster, perpetuated in the West only on seals,. &c., as a heraldic griffin, and the Devil slain by St. George, &c.

In fact an extinct antediluvian monster In Babylonian antiquities it is referred to as the "scaly one" and connected on many gems with Tiamat the sea. "The Dragon of the Sea" is repeatedly mentioned. In Egypt, it is the star of the Dragon (then the North Pole Star), the origin of the connection of almost all the gods with the Dragon. Bel and the Dragon, Apollo and Python, Osiris and Typhon, Sigur and Fafnir, and finally St. George and the Dragon, are the same.

They were all solar gods, and wherever we find the Sun there also is the Dragon, the symbol of Wisdom - Thoth-Hermes. The Hierophants of Egypt and of Babylon styled themselves "Sons of the Serpent-God" and "Sons of the Dragon". "I am a Serpent, I am a Druid", said the Druid of the Celto-Britannic regions, for the Serpent and the Dragon were both types of Wisdom, Immortality and Rebirth. As the serpent casts its old skin only to reappear in a new one, so does the immortal Ego cast off one personality but to assume another.

(See also: Drakon, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Dragon (from Greek drakon, serpent, the watchful)

Known to scholarship as a mythical monster, a huge lizard, winged, scaly, fire-breathing, doubtless originating in the memory of an actual prehistoric animal. Dragon is often synonymous with serpent.

The dragon and serpent, whether high or low, are types of various events in cosmic or world history, or of various terrestrial or human qualities, for either one can at different times signify spiritual immortality, wisdom, reimbodiment, or regeneration. In the triad of sun, moon, and serpent or cross, it denotes the manifested Logos, and hence is often said to be seven-headed. As such it is in conflict with the sun, and sometimes with the moon; but this conflict is merely the duality of contrary forces essential to cosmic stability.

The dragon itself is often dual, and it may be paired with the serpent, as with Agathodaimon and Kakodaimon, the good and evil serpents, seen in the caduceus. Again the dragon is two-poled as having a head and a tail, Rahu and Ketu in India, commonly described as being the moon's north and south nodes, the moon thus being a triple symbol in which a unity conflicts with a duality.

A universal myth is that of the sun god fighting the dragon and eventually worsting it, which represents the descent of spirit into matter and the eventual sublimation of matter by spirit in the ascending arc of evolution. There are Bel (and later Merodach) and the dragon Tiamat in Babylonia and with the Hebrews; Fafnir in Scandinavia; Chozzar with the Peratae Gnostics; among the Greeks Python conquered by Apollo and the two serpents killed by Hercules at his birth; the fight between Ahti and the evil serpent in the Kalevala; and many other such stories.

In the Christian Apocalypse the dragon plays a great part, but it has been often misinterpreted as evil just as Satan or the Devil has been imagined as the foe of divinity and humanity. Cosmologically, all dragons and serpents slain by their adversaries are the unregulated or chaotic cosmic principles bought to order by the spiritual sun gods or formative cosmic powers. The dragon is the demiurge, the establisher or former of our planet and of all that pertains to it -- neither good nor bad, but its differentiated aspects in nature make it assume one or the other character.

The dragon symbol, then, is both cosmic and human in its applications: it may stand for powers of nature, which first overcome man, but which he must eventually overcome, as well as the monad atma-buddhi, which through the manasic principle seeks imbodiment, but needs the help of the still lower principles in order to effect a union with the principles of earth.

Cosmologically analogies are drawn between the north polar constellation Draco and one or the other of the great floods, and the word dragon is sometimes used to denote such a flood; for the position of this constellation relative to that of the earth's axis of rotation is intimately connected with cataclysms.

The dragon in its higher or superior sense means among other things divine wisdom, especially where the serpent is used for terrestrial wisdom; and adepts or initiates were frequently called dragons. The dragon may be the symbol of a cycle; and the sevenfold dragon may mean the seven minor cycles in a great cycle.

(See also: Dragon, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

In European mythology, a dragon is a serpent-like legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in the constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek δράκων, drákōn. The word for dragon in Germanic mythology and its descendants is worm (Old English: wyrm, Old High German: wurm, Old Norse: ormr), meaning snake or serpent. In Old English wyrm means "serpent", draca means "dragon". Though a winged creature, the dragon is generally to be found in its underground lair, a cave t ...

Including:

• European dragon - Dragons in modern times
• European dragon - Roman dragons
• European dragon - Dragons in Slavic mythology
• European dragon - Dragons in Germanic mythology
• European dragon - Dragons in Catalan mythology
• European dragon - Dragons in Italian mythology
• European dragon - Dragons in fantasy fiction

Read more here: » European dragon: Encyclopedia - European dragon

A dwarf (plural dwarfs or, more recently, dwarves --see under Tolkien below) is a short humanoid creature in Norse mythology, fairy tales, fantasy fiction and role-playing games. Dwarves are much like humans, but generally living underground or in mountainous areas. Here they have heaped up countless treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones, and pass their time in fabricating costly armor. They are famed miners and smiths although, like humans, they specialize in any number of trades. Generally shorter than humans, ...

Including:

• Dwarf - Mythology and folklore
• Dwarf - The creation of dwarfs
• Dwarf - Dwarf places
• Dwarf - Fairy tales with dwarfs in them
• Dwarf - Possible origin
• Dwarf - Dwarves in modern fantasy fiction
• Dwarf - Tolkien's dwarves
• Dwarf - Dwarves in Artemis Fowl
• Dwarf - Dwarves in subsequent fantasy fiction
• Dwarf - Female dwarves

Read more here: » Dwarf: Encyclopedia - Dwarf

Volsung Cycle In Norse mythology, Brynhildr was a shieldmaiden and a valkyrie. She is a main character in the Völsunga saga and some Eddic poems treating the same events. Under the name Brünnhilde she appears in the Nibelungenlied and therefore also in Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Brynhildr is probably inspired by the Visigothic princess Brunhilda of Austrasia, married with the Merovingian king Sigebert I in 567. The history of Brunhilda includes ...

Including:

• Brynhildr - Other names

Read more here: » Brynhildr: Encyclopedia - Brynhildr

Volsung Cycle Sigurd (Old Norse Sigurðr, German Siegfried) was a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Volsunga saga, Nibelungenlied and Richard Wagner's opera, Siegfried, which see for more details. Sigurd - In the Volsunga Saga. In the Volsungsaga, Sigurd is the posthumous son of Sigmund and his second wife, Hjordis. Sigmund dies in battle when he attacks Odin, and Odin shatters Sigmund's sword. Dying, Sigmund tells Hjordis o ...

Including:

• Sigurd - In the Volsunga Saga
• Sigurd - Adaptations and parallels of the Sigurd legend

Read more here: » Sigurd: Encyclopedia - Sigurd

Aslaug, Aslög, Kraka or Kráka, was a queen of Scandinavian mythology who appears in Snorri's Edda, the Völsunga saga and the saga of Ragnar Lodbrok. Aslaug was the daughter of Sigurd and the shieldmaiden Brynhild, but was raised by Brynhild's fosterfather Heimer. At the death of Sigurd and Brynhild, Heimer was concerned about Aslaug's security, so he made a harp large enough to hide the girl. He then travelled as a poor harp ...

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