Bifrost, Bilrost, Bafrast (Icelandic, Scandinavian) (from bifast to tremble)

Via tremula (the trembling way), the rainbow; the rainbow bridge in Norse mythology, also called the asbru (bridge of the aesir), separating the realm of the gods (Asgard) from that of men (Midgard), while giving access to it.

Guarding the bridge is Heimdal, the whitest aesir, who will blow the gjallarhorn when the world comes to an end and the gods withdraw to their sacred ground (Ragnarok). Then Bifrost falls when the sons of Muspel storm over it. It is said that each day the gods cross Bifrost to meet in council at the fount of Urd (the norn that represents the past or causation), but Thor must ford the river, as his lightnings would set the bridge on fire.

(See also: Bifrost, Bilrost, Bafrast, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Volundr (Icelandic) In Norse mythology, the hero of "Volundarkvida" or "Volundskvadet"; in German tales he is named Wieland, in English Wayland. In all versions he is a smith, a legendary artisan who was captured and imprisoned by King Nidud (an evil age) and forced to forge treasures of gold and silver for the king.

The symbology suggests that the smith represents a race of humanity which had fallen prey to influences of a totally material age when human genius and craftsmanship were prostituted to unworthy ends. The tale ends with the artisan escaping in a flying device of his own making, leaving the evil king bereft of his sons, his daughter, and his smith.

(See also: Volundr, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Vali, Vale (Icelandic, Scandinavian) In Norse mythology, a son of Odin who avenges the death of the sun god Balder; also a son of Loki. This paradox may be resolved in that the son of Loki (mind), being also the offspring of Allfather Odin as all beings are, is the future human race in its character as a redeemer and consummation of human evolution. He also may be a personification of karma-nemesis.

Of all the gods, only Vali and Vidar survive the destruction of the world, Ragnarok, when the gods return to their ground, thus preparing the seed for the future world, the child and successor of the present one.

(See also: Vali, Vale, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Ve (Scandinavian), Vei, Vi (Icelandic) [cognate with vigan to carry high, venerate]

Sacred, holy; in Norse mythology, the brother of Odin (spirit) and Vile (will), the creative deities who bring a universe into existence. They are born of the primeval pair Bore and Bestla, karmic residue from the previous life cycle, and correspond to the Greek Logos, the Word or intelligence from which emanate the divine forces which organize kosmos out of chaos. Odin and his two brothers "slay" the frostgiant Ymer -- the latent matter of worlds -- transforming him into an orderly universe, into which they infuse consciousness and life from their own essence.

(See also: Ve, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Verdandi (Icelandic) [from verda to become]

In Norse mythology, the second of the three norns who determine the fate of heroes. All beings are subject to these three Fates, who correspond to the Greek Moirai. They have been described as Past, Present, and Future, though their names imply much more. Verdandi, the present, literally means "becoming," the ever-renewed present moment wherein all things are possible and the future is determined.

Her sisters are Urd (origin), irrevocable causes set in motion in the past; and Skuld (debt), who is created by her two sisters, the past and present. She is the debt of karma owed to the future, the inevitable result of past and present causes.

(See also: Verdandi, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Vigridsslatten (Icelandic, Scandinavian) [from vigr battle or vigan to bear high, consecrate + slett (Swedish slatt) battlefield]

Plain of consecration; in Norse mythology, the plain where the battle of life is fought daily. Corresponding to the Hindu dharmakshetra (Bhagavad-Gita), it is where the Valkyries search for Allfather Odin's fallen heroes who have earned entrance to Valhalla (the hall of the chosen), where they are regaled at the end of each day's struggle. They are those who have died to their lower nature and entered on a larger life as champions of the gods.

Odin's two ravens, Hugin and Munin (mind and memory), fly over the battlefield and report back to Odin on the events taking place there.

(See also: Vigridsslatten, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Vili, Vile (Icelandic, Scandinavian) Will, wish, desire; in Norse mythology, one of Odin's two brother-creators. Together these three bring worlds into being at the beginning of a life cycle. The idea is reminiscent of that in the Rig-Veda: "Desire first arose in It," when worlds were to emanate from the divine source of life.

In the Eddas, Odin (spirit), Vili (will), and Vi (sanctity or awe) are born from Bore and Bestla, the karmic residue carried over from the preceding world cycle. The present universe is thus the direct result of its predecessor. The triune creative deity slays the frostgiant Ymir and from his latent (frozen) body form the matter of worlds-to-be.

(See also: Vili, Vile, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Valfader, Valfodr, Valfadir (Swedish, Icelandic) [from val choice, death + fader father]

Odin in Norse mythology is often addressed as father of the Chosen or father of the Slain, i.e., Odin's warriors are those who have "died" to the demands of the personal self. These elect are also called Odin's One-harriers for they are those who "harry" or are in total command of one, their own nature. These warriors are said to feast with Odin in Valhalla by night and to re-emerge each day to do battle against the forces of darkness.

(See also: Valfader, Valfodr, Valfadir, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Tyr, Tivi (Icelandic) [Used mainly in plural, tivar gods; cf Latin divus, Sanskrit deva, Greek dios, Zeus]

In Norse mythology, often used in combinations like valtiva (god of the slain, or god of the chosen, god of choice). Tyr is the generic name for a lofty divinity. As a planetary deity, Tyr represents the valiant Mars, god of war, of fresh undertakings, and of beginnings. He is associated with the zodiacal constellation Aries, which has similar connotations. Tyr's day is Tysdagr (Tuesday).

In the Edda, Tyr is represented as having had one hand torn off by the wolf Fenris, a sacrifice he willingly made for the perpetuation of life.

(See also: Tyr, Tivi, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Svipdag (Icelandic, Scandinavian) [from svip, svep appearance + dag day]

Appearing as day; in Norse mythology, the hero Svipdag seeks the hall of Menglad (Freya) hoping to win her hand. After receiving from his dead mother (his own past) all needful virtues and qualities, he succeeds in reaching the abode of his beloved, only to be stopped at the magic gate by Odin in the guise of Verywise. Here he must satisfactorily answer a number of testing questions before he is finally admitted to the hall of Menglad, who has been eagerly awaiting his arrival. She represents his own divine hamingja (higher self).

(See also: Svipdag, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

GIANTS

(See NEPHELIM.) in Norse mythology, we read how the giants plotted to bring down the Gods and sent three evil giantesses to Asgard. Gulveig-Hoder became Loki's wife and counseled him in evil. Thus we see that it is not Judaism alone that attributes evil to woman -- but this is no more than a seeming, for the Yin is only the negative, the absence that must stand apart from anything in order to give it substance. The Greeks called the giants "Titans" and amongst the jews they were the nephelim. So we must distinguish between the giants and the gods. The giants are the demiurgic forces, while the Gods are the higher aspects of man, his higher consciousness. The giants are also the "demons" of the Unconscious.

(See also: GIANTS, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

Saga, Sogn [cf Icelandic sogn from segja to tell, proclaim; Anglo-Saxon secgan, English say, Swedish saga]

In the Scandinavian languages, something spoken, a saw, tale, or report which, like the Greek logos, refers both to an oral tradition and to the written history which ensued.

In Norse mythology, the name of an asynja (goddess) who occupies a world named Sokvaback (deep river) where she shares with Odin the draft of wisdom in golden goblets. Symbolically she represents the wisdom gained from experience of all the past, whether of humans or worlds. The sagor (plural of saga, stories) were the purveyors of wisdom.

(See also: Saga, Sogn, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Ropt (Icelandic) [from hroptr crier, prophet (cf hroptatyr crier of the gods), slandered, maligned]

In Norse mythology, the name by which Odin is known in Valhalla where his heroes, the One-harriers, are brought by the Valkyries when they have been "slain" on the field of battle. As the initiator or higher self of any human aspirant, Odin is said to be maligned for he not only instructs and inspires, he also subjects the soul to the severe testing it must undergo before it can be admitted to the Hall of the Elect (Valhalla). Hence only the successful initiate recognizes Odin as Ropt.

(See also: Ropt, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Niflheim (Icelandic), Nebelheim (German) [from nifl mist, nebula + heim home]

In Norse mythology, the home of mists in which nebulae form. When the heat from Muspellsheim (home of fire) meets the mist-cold vapors of Niflheim in Ginnungagap (the gaping void), Ymer, the frost giant, comes into being. He is used by the gods to create "victory worlds" wherein souls can evolve. Niflheim has also been regarded as a Hades where the dead are sent, but this appears to refer to the disposition of the forms (bodies) of departed souls.

(See also: Niflheim, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

NEPHELIM

The so-called "giants" mentioned in the Old Testament, who supposedly preceded Adam. In Hebrew, however, nefelim also means "the fallen ones" (or "those who have descended"), leading some contemporary writers, such as Zecharia Sitchin, to assume that they may have been visitants from another world. Even the Norse mythology places the giants before the Gods and the one version of their Underworld is Nifelheim, coldest and darkest of the 9 hells. It means "Home of mists." From nifel, cognate of Latin nebula, "cloud" and Sanskrit nabhas, "sky." The Judaic mythology states that it was the "Watchers of the Throne of God" who were attracted by the earth women, fell, mated with them, and produced the giants. The giants, in turn, taught man everything it has taken until the 20th Century to sort out. (See OZ.)

(See also: NEPHELIM, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

Jotunn, Jotun (Icelandic) Giant; in the Norse Edda the giants represent the material spheres in which gods embody, thus enlightening those dark worlds while gaining there the "mead" of experience. There are giants of varying types and degrees.

The ultimate source of matter (Sanskrit mulaprakriti) is named Mimir in the Edda. Other giants represent periods during which the gods animate a world, race, or other living being. Each named giant is a life period or material embodiment of a god; it exists for as long as the energizing deity is embodied, and dies, slain by the hammer of Thor, at the end of that period. Within the long span of a giant's life a number of giantesses, "daughters" of the giant, represent smaller cycles, races or subraces of the giant, their father. A giant is thus both a manifest entity and the lifetime of such an entity, thus paralleling the aeons of Greek mythology.

Distinct from the living giants are the thurses or frost giants, symbolizing periods of nonlife when the gods are absent in their supernal heavens.

(See also: Jotunn, Jotun, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Alfheim, Alfhem (Icelandic, Swedish) (alf elf (cf Icelandic elfrom river, channel) + heim, hem home)

The home of elves in Norse mythology; the meaning commonly ascribed to the word elf as a fairy or sprite needs reexamination, as the myths bear out the assumption that an elf denotes a channel between the divine source of an entity and its vehicle or body; in other words, that the elf is the intermediate nature or soul of any being.

In the Edda, Alfhem is the "teething gift" bestowed in the morning of time on the god Frey, the planetary deity, indwelling consciousness, or lord of our earth-system with all its components, so that Elf-home is the abode of souls on this sphere. The warriors of Odin on earth use the sword of Frey (the spiritual will) to do battle in the "giant world" of matter. Alfhem is to Frey as the human soul (elf) is to a human being.

(See also: Alfheim, Alfhem, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Audhumla (Icelandic) (from audr void + hum dusk)

Dusky void; in Norse mythology, the cow (symbol of fertility) formed of the frozen vapors of elivagar (glaciers, ice waves). From her udder flowed the four streams that nourished the frost giant Ymir. She is the female principle and Ymir the male principle; the four streams of milk "which diffused themselves throughout space (the astral light in its purest emanation)" (IU 1:147). Audhumla licked the salt ice blocks and uncovered the head of Buri, the parentless progenitor of all living beings. "The meaning of the allegory is evident. It is the precosmic union of the elements, of Spirit, or the creative Force, with Matter, cooled and still seething, which it forms in accordance with universal Will. Then the Ases, 'the pillars and supports of the World' (Cosmocratores), step in and create as All-father wills them" (TG 43).

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

Elivagar (Icelandic) (from eli ice + vagar waves)

In Norse mythology the "waves of ice" (glaciers) which flow from the fountain Hvergelmir into all the worlds and which provide the life forms for the embodiment of all beings. In the cosmogony of the Eddas, it was from elivagar, the glacier or unmoving waters of nonbeing, that the frost giant Ymir was formed: the void of non-existence in which there was "no soil, no sea, no waves" (cf Voluspa in the elder Edda).

Into the elivagar massed in Ginnungagap (formless or sacred void) fell showers of sparks from Muspellsheim (home of fire), the energic counterpart of Niflheim (home of clouds, nebulae), creating a vapor -- Ymir, the frost giant from which the gods created worlds. Ymir is then said to have given rise to the race of rime-thurses -- matter giants, for "all their kin is ever evil."

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

Valkyries [from Icelandic, Swedish Valkyrja from val choice, death + kyrja to crown, possibly akin to kyrra calm]

Among some of the most intriguing mysteries of Norse mythology are these "crowners of the slain" who select the heroes "slain" in battle when they aid the gods in their eternal struggle against the forces of darkness. There is a vast and complex symbology attached to the tales of Odin's warrior-maidens who daily revive those slain on Vigridsslatten (the field of consecration), and bear them to Valhalla to feast with the gods on the mead of their life experience.

The valkyries represent the higher self of the human "warrior," his inner spiritual mentor and teacher, as we learn in the tale of Sigurd Fafnesbane who seeks his sleeping valkyrie and is taught by her.

(See also: Valkyries, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Odr (Icelandic) Mind, wit, soul, sense; in Norse mythology, cosmic mind, corresponding to the Sanskrit mahat. The name Odin is derived from it when Odin represents the Allfather. In one legend reminiscent of the Egyptian tale of Isis, Odr is the husband of Frigga, who weeps golden tears as she searches the worlds for him.

Here he may stand for one of the divine ancestors of the human race, and his long journeys are the peregrinations made by the monad, Odr's spiritual aspect, through the worlds of form and matter. Odr is used for song or poetry in many compound words such as odar-smidr (song smith), odar-ar (speech oar, the tongue), odraerir (inspirer of wisdom, the vessel containing the blood of Kvasir: inspiration brought to the gods from higher gods).

(See also: Odr, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Valhalla (Scandinavian) Valholl (Icelandic) [from val choice, death + hall, holl hall]

In Norse mythology, the hall of the chosen or of the slain where Odin's heroes, the One-harriers, are brought by the Valkyries at the end of each day's battles to feast with Ropt, the maligned or misunderstood god (Odin). "The hall of the chosen glows golden in Gladhome," one of the superior "shelves" or ethereal planes which are closely related to our planet earth.

The walls of Valhalla are built of the spears of the warriors, it is roofed with their shields, while inside the hall "the benches are strewn with byrnies." Over the entrance door are transfixed the wolf (bestiality) and the eagle (pride). All of these are symbolic of the sacrifice of properties that have been relinquished by Odin's chosen warriors, for these represent, in the Norse tales, the initiated adepts who have elected to serve the cause of universality and aid the progress of human evolution. Abandoning progressively all weapons of offense, then of defense, and finally all personal protection, exemplifies the universal service of the chosen.

The One-harriers of Odin emerge daily to do battle on the plain of consecration (Vigridsslatten, life on earth) and by night return to feast with Allfather Ropt in the sacred hall on the mead brewed from their experience of life.

At the feast of the warriors in Valhalla they are served three boars, representing three elements as well as three principles of cosmic life: Andrimner (air, spirit), Sarimner (water, mind), and Eldrimner (fire, desire). A suggestive verse in Grimnismal may then be read as: "Spirit lets mind be steeped in desire. Few know what nourishes the One-harriers."

The tales concerning Valhalla have been sadly misunderstood in popular mythologies. Far from being an account of gross debauchery, there is mystical meaning hidden in every detail of the description of Odin's domain and of the feasting of his warriors. For example, Valhalla is said to have 540 doors, through each of which 800 warriors issue abreast. This makes the number of One-harriers total 432,000, an oft-recurring number in Hindu and Babylonian time tables dealing with mystic and mythic history. Their message is in fact one of the noblest and most inspiring of mythic tales, when read between the lines of allegory, for here the warriors of emerge willingly to be "slain" daily in the cause of humanity's evolutionary progress.

(See also: Valhalla, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)