The Vikings believed that the world would end on a day they called Ragnarok .... just before lunch time which is a tad inconvenient. Last November Heimdall blew his own horn making the 100 day countdoon for Ragnarok, of course only some heard it, and on the Jorvik festival in York this weekend the end will begin. The earth will sink, seas will rise and there will be nothing on the telly except soaps, sports and reality shows.
A little background on one of Old Knudsen's favourite topics. The Aesir (The Norse Pantheon) and the Jotuns ( giants) had been at war for ages. probably over oil drilling rights on Jotunheim.
While the Marvel movies have made Asgard and Loki popular, they have really fucked up search engine results.
The key figure in Ragnarok isn't Odin, or the mighty and buff Thor but rather it is Loki of Jotunheim.
How or why Loki, a small giant became a part of the Odin family is unsure, there are accounts of him being Odin's blood brother but how this came about we don't know.
Loki was accepted into the Aesir, maybe as a type of peace offering? He didn't fit in with the blood thirsty, ale drinking, battle loving boring as fucking Norse pantheon. He got bored easily and the other gods not being much fun were just a target for his sarcastic amusement.
The Norse gods were all accepting of Loki but to a point, like a wealthy cuntry club putting up with a common person who has lots of money. They always thought they were better than him which was all Loki needed to justify poking at them..... very unsatisfying as they aren't deep enough to get his humour, it's annoying when you have to explain yer jokes, trust me on that.
Yes I am talking about Loki, not Old Knudsen, however there are many similarities.
Loki was destined to destroy the gods at Ragnarok and so it was in Odin's best interest to keep him close by and controllable.
Why destroy the gods? it was his destiny, Loki or Logi or Loge was a god of fire, some men just want to watch the world burn.
The Greek god Prometheus is thought to be another form of Loki. A trickster and hero who created mankind, he also brought the gift of fire to humans.
Fire is not just really fire, it is the gift of inspiration, the fire of insight and creation.
There is a reason you are better than the rest.
Old Knudsen believes that those who are blessed by Prometheus and Loki are those with creativity and passion of thought who stand apart from the rest of the rabble. You know who you are.
Fire is elemental and all consuming in nature, much like the soul of an artist or writer. Thinking and making those leaps that others just don't see is a part of nature. Change is also a part of nature.
Odin had two Ravens Hugin and Munin (thought and memory) which kept him informed and upated, like an Asgard form of twitter.
The gods of Agard didn't want to change. They wanted to stay young and strong, drinking and fighting forever. Like dangerous frat boys who went against nature.
Going against nature much offended Loki, I bet fracking would offend Loki as would the lack of natural resources being used. Loki goes stir crazy without the odd challenge in life and his frustration is seen as he confronts the system. Loki picked at the gods once too many and paid for it.
Baldr was a shiny god that everyone loved. A favourite game was throwing weapons at him and seeing how unharmed he was by them .... Norse gods/bikers very similar.
Long story short Loki tricked Baldur's blind brother Hod to throw a spear made out of mistletoe at Baldur which killed him .... lol and Loki got the blame.
The uninvited 13th guest at the party, Loki got drunk and told everyone who was shagging who and the gods (led
by thick necked Thor) chased him doon and chained him to a rock with a
serpent over his head dripping venom into his eyes.
Not a very nice way of treating one of your own .... unless of course he wasn't really one of you.
Prometheus can also be compared to Wolverine and Captain Jack of Torchwood.
Gods can be very cruel at times ..... we were made in their image
which explains a lot. Prometheus was chained to a rocked and had his
liver eaten out by an eagle everyday. That taught him for making humans
and giving them souls rather than just keeping them as the subservient
sheeple Zeus preferred.
Loki not only being more in tune with nature than the
others he took his obligation of Ragnarok seriously, the fella knew he
was to die battling Heimdall and Heimdall taking him doon with him but
still, he did not hide from this fate. It was what he was born to do otherwise what was he?
Imagine knowing yer faith but knowing that it was so important he had to do it no matter what.
Loki does command loyalty as his wife Sigyn catches much of the venom in a bowl before it drips onto him but when she has to empty it or go for a shite or a smoke, venom falls into his eyes and his writhing causes earthquakes. He has an army of giants at his commend and Loki also has a ton of fangurls gushing from their va jas for him.... more than Thor does.
Three harsh winters, families fighting each other and many broken promises all came before Ragnarok.
The wolf Skoll will swallow the sun, the cock Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden cock Gullinkambi will crow to the gods, some other cock (mine) will raise the dead .... zombies! or will rise from the dead, we just aren't sure.
The gods trying to minimize the damage turned one of Loki's sons into a wolf and had him rip his brother apart, those entrails were used to bind the wolf Fenrir who will swallow Odin whole and who will then be killed by Vidar. The world serpent Jormungand will be killed by Thor but it's venom kills him later ... lol.
So much death and destruction, no wonder they wanted to avoid it.
One reason that Loki did not become popular before the Marvel movies may be doon to being a gender bender. Any good god doesn't sick to being one gender and alienating the other. Loki took turns at being male and female. He hid disguised as a milk maid for 8 years and even had children. He also turned into a mare and was shagged by a stallion, he gave birth to an 8 legged horse which Odin used as his stead.
The earliest gods were female as no one knew the part that men played in reproduction, this points to Loki being one of the more earliest of deities. When men found out they turned all female gods into men or demons and changed the rules. Now you have midwives having a smaller role delivering children and Catholic priests wearing dresses.
And you stepped on a Lego ... ouch!
He wasn't all that bad, if it wasn't for him the Norse gods wouldn't have half of their cool shit like Thor's hammer. He also solved many of the god's problems ..... of course he created many of them too.
If tomorrow does turn out to be Ragnarok, don't worry. You may be dead but the children of Thor survive, Baldr and his brother Hod are reborn and the world goes on.
Baldr went to Hel, unlike the Christian Hell, Hel is the name of a goddess (Loki's daughter) and the name of her underworld for the dead.
It was as if Baldr was stored in Hel and kept safe for Ragnarok, maybe Loki had a hand in that considering his daughter is the head honcho doon there.
Hel is not a place of torment, it's the place where normal folk who do not die as not heroes go to. They hang around there living as spirits with their loved ones until they are reborn.
It suited Christians to make Hel into a place that you feared to go. Turning her name into a curse just as they did with Hecate. Old Knudsen will be on nature's side tomorrow, see you in Hel.