R
Ragnarok – Twilight of the Gods, end of the world
described in Voluspa. It is the final battle between the Gods and their enemies
– the giants. Surt, the guardian of Muspelheim will set the whole world ablaze
and many of the Gods will perish, including Odin, Thor and Frey. After
Ragnarok, a new, better world will rise, a better world inhabited by people and
Gods who lived. What’s interesting is that the Gods did not try to prevent
Ragnarok, but yielded to something greater than themselves. This force that
even the Gods respected is ørlog,
that is – Fate. Even though they
could have killed Fenriz, the Gods only tied him with magical shackles, very
well knowing that he will bring misfortune on them (as we well know, Fenriz is
responsible for Odin’s demise). Loki wasn’t killed either, just cruelly
punished, while Surt’s coming is expected as well. Ragnarok is actually the
process of purification of the world by which all evil will be destroyed and
life continued in a better, untainted world. Even though it was consumed by
fire, Yggdrasil becomes the source of life once again, holding in its branches
Liv and Livtrasir (Life and Life’s Spite).
Ran – Egir’s wife, Goddess of the sea. Drowning
victims resided in her palace.
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| Ran |
Raven –
sacred animal in the Nordic tradition. This animal is chthonic, because it’s
always been believed that it announces death, and the Nordics believed that it
always follows an army thus foretelling bloodshed. Valkyries sometimes appeared
in the form of ravens, and Odin himself as a God of war had two ravens – Higin
and Munin. His epithet Hrafnass gives
him the title of Master of Ravens.
Regin – Fafnir’s brother, he was cursed by the powers
of the Andvarinaut ring.
Ratatoskr – a squirrel whose name means Drill- or Bore-tooth. It runs up and down Iggdrasil carrying gossip between
the eagle who dwells on the tree-top and the dragon Nidhog under its roots.
Ríg (Rígr) – the other name for Heimdal, given to him
in the Eddic poem Rígsthula. It’s
believed that this names means king.
Rind – Odin’s lover and the mother of Vali, the God who
will avenge Baldur.
Runes – an
alphabet used by Germanic peoples before Christianization. It was also used in
magical practices, most of all divination. It consisted of 24 signs (old
Futhark), while the Anglo-Saxon version of this alphabet had 33 signs.
Runes are formed exclusively by straight lines, therefore this alphabet was
well suited for engraving. Besides wood, Runes were also engraved in stone, and
a large number of these Rune-stones has been found all over Scandinavia. The
purpose of Rune-stones differed – they were used to mark an event, a
bridge-builder, as a tomb-stone or a memorial stone for a deceased loved one.
Nowadays, Runes are no longer used as an alphabet and have a strictly magical
use. They are most often
used for divination, and aside from Asatruans, they’re used by members of other
occult traditions.
