by G M Burkart

Created on: November 09, 2008   Last Updated: November 11, 2008

FIRES OF NORSELANDS - THROUGH DESTRUCTION COMES CREATION

Powerful imagery, deep creation meanings, and mundane uses but no less important to survival: the primordial element of fire is inextricably interwoven into the context of Norse mythology. Untangling the masses of Norse tales and mythology is never the easiest task. Few bodies of mythological lore have remained intact, either by neglect due to an oral folk culture or directed intent by encroaching cultures and religions. Much of what we do know today is contained in the Poetic (Elder) Eddas and the Prose (Younger) Eddas based heavily out of the Icelandic context.

Yet despite these challenged, the cultural mindset seen throughout Norse mythology bonds the primal element of fire with both the creation and destruction myths. In the destructive acts of fire come forth the greatest acts of creation. In the more epic of these, fire is the unforgiving but necessary key for ushering in new and better ages in mythological history. In the more mundane, perhaps easier to identify contexts, fire is tied to everyday life and the life cycle.

GINNUNGAGAP - THE CREATIVE

In the Norse creation myth, the cosmic event known as Ginnungagap existed before any worlds or even celestial life, before Odin and the rest of the better-known Norse pantheon comprising the Aesir and the Vanir. In general terms, Ginnungagap, a 'well of possibilities' was dominated by Rind Ice, ultimately cold and unforgiving even as Adhumla, the cow, nourished Ymir, the proto-being that would later lead to the lineage of Odin, Vili and Ve. From the North came the primordial cold, but from the South came embers and primordial heat, the combination of which and the actions of the three brothers - Odin, Vili and Ve - lead to the creation of the mythological world the Norse believed they inhabited.

Specific references can be found in the Poetic Edda (Voluspa) and the Prose Edda (Gylfaginning).

MUSPELL - THE CREATIVE, THE DESTRUCTIVE

Muspell was the first of the nine worlds to exist on the Tree of Life, Yggdrasil. In its creation, alongside the world of Ice, later to become an extension of Hel's domain, Niflheim, their interactions in the Ginnungagap lead to the greater creation of the mythological cosmos.

"Just as cold and all bad things came from Niflheim, all that which came from Muspell was hot and bright, but Ginnungagap was as calm as a windless sky, and when the warm breeze met the frost, it melted and dripped. And from those drop of poison life emerged..."

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