What the individual names of the gods, jotuns, and even rocks are important to know to truly understand what one is reading. I will highlight the main points in this blog on the blur prints of soul retrieval. Once again it comes down to what the names mean. The difficult thing to remember is that one name my mean different things based on the context of the story. I was recently reminded that everyone already new these things so the stories where deeper and much richer when told by the fire late at night.
Idunn – Immortal soul of the gods
a. Idunn loss has an immediate effect on the Aesir gods. They start to age quickly and approach death. b. Idunn’s return has an instant rejuvenation and healing effect on them as well.
In many ancient shamanic cultures, it was believed that a terminally ill person had lost all or part of their soul. A shaman would perform a soul retrieval to heal the person. (So based on one a and b we have the makings of a shamanic soul retrieval.)
Loki – has many names but I will work with the ones alluded to in this story.
a. Loki is known as a friend to Hoenir.
b. Hoenir gave thought and intelligence to humans. (This represents conscious intelligence.)
c. Loki is also known as the “friend to of the Raven god.
1. The Raven god is Odin.
2. Ravens represent thought/intent (Huginn) and memory (Muninn).
3. Loki is a friend of Intent and Memory.
4. Keeping all of this in mind we can see that Loki is associated with intent, thought, and memory. This corresponds with the original Norse trinity discussed on an earlier blog. (Intent/will, thought/intelligence, and memory/spirit) This represents the three gods together.
Here is where it gets interesting. Loki is the “Child of the Hawk.” (Gylfaginning)
a. The only hawk in the Eddas is Verfolnir.
b. Verfolnir – means the one who diminishes wind.
c. Wind is a metaphor for death. So to diminish wind is to diminish or put off death.
d. Verfolnir is seated between the eyes of the giant eagle on the top of the World Tree.
e. According to Snorri Sturluson hawk and falcon represent the same thing.
Loki fling in the shape of a falcon in front of the eagle of death equals conquering of death. One version also has Loki hiding between the giant eagle’s eyes as he flies back to Asgard.
What does all this mean? We must start with the Norse Trinity. This goes back to a strong mind tempered through meditation, trials, and understanding the Norse myths. There was a level of mental training and mental tempering in the Old Norse culture that was only rivaled by the Taoist and Buddhist traditions. I will breach this in a later blog. So, a shaman who is well trained and mentally prepared enters a shamanic journey. The shaman must shape shift and travel to a world that is difficult to reach. He finds the soul and transforms it into something he can bring back to the physical body. The shaman must defend himself against the dark force that took and trapped the soul. In the end the dark force must be destroyed so the soul can be returned to where it belongs.
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