Thulean Archives

<h1>The Balrog & Ragnarök.</h1> About Tolkien's inspiration for the Balrog (& some Ragnarök riddles). First the meaning of the name itself: Norse bál, neutral noun; 1. Fire, bonfire, big bonfire, stack of firewood. Norse rök, neutral noun; 1. development, origin, cause, reason, sign, fate, destiny, end. Balrog should thus roughly translate as: "Fire Origin". Did Tolkien make this creature up all by himself? Lokasenna, stanza 42: 42. "The daughter of Gymir with gold did you buy, And sold your sword to boot; But when Muspell's sons over Myrkwood fly, you shall weaponless wait, poor wretch." "Muspell's sons" are the dwellers in the fire-world, Muspellsheim, led by Surtr ("black") agains the gods in Ragnarök. They are also known as eldjotnar ("fire ettins"). So the Balrog, the black, flying fire-ettins is directly inspired by Lokasenna. The name "Myrkwood" (Norse Myrkvið) is of course also known from Middle-earth, and means "Dark wood". In our mythology, Surtr, the leader of the fire ettins, kills Freyr during Ragnarök. Surtr with his flaming sword. Freyr only has some deer antlers to defend himself with, and is the first god to be killed in Ranarök. Norse regin, neutral noun, pl.; 1. Powers, æsir ("spirits"), gods. (Ragna is the genetive form of regin) Norse rök, neutral noun; 1. development, origin, cause, reason, sign, fate, destiny, end. Oðinn is swallowed whole and alive fighting the wolf Fenrir. Oðinn's son Viðarr avenges his father by rending Fenrir's jaws apart and stabbing it in the heart with his spear, thus killing the wolf. The serpent Jörmungandr opens its gaping maw, yawning widely in the air, and is met in combat by Þórr. Þórr, also a son of Oðinn, protector of the earth, furiously fights the serpent, defeating it, but Þórr is only able to take nine steps afterward before collapsing, The god Freyr fights Surtr and loses. Ragnarök: "The End of the Gods" & "The Origin of the Gods" You see, Ragnarök is not an Armageddon. It's a description of BIRTH. Or rather RE-birth. A description of a RENEWAL of the gods, through DEATH and RE-BIRTH. "Oðinn is swallowed whole and alive fighting the wolf Fenrir". The wolf is the vulva, that Oðinn needs to (re-) enter to be re-born. "Oðinn's son Viðarr avenges his father by rending Fenrir's jaws apart and stabbing it in the heart with his spear, thus killing the wolf". Viðarr is the new-born Oðinn, forcing his way through the cervix (the jaw of the wolf), tearing it open, and cutting the link to the mother. "The serpent Jörmungandr opens its gaping maw, yawning widely in the air, and is met in combat by Þórr". The life force in the placenta, the blood, Þórr, meets the serpent, the umbilical cord attached to the placenta. "Þorr, also a son of Oðinn, protector of the earth, furiously fights the serpent, defeating it, but Þorr is only able to take nine steps afterward before collapsing". Þorr fights it for 9 months, before he 'collapses'. By then the life force in the placenta is no longer needed. The child is born, Oðinn is re-born, and has his own life force. "The god Freyr fights Surtr and loses." The child digs his way into the blackness of the burial mound, using the shovel of the Stone Age: antlers. He loses. He ENTERS the burial mound, the realm of death. The CHILD dies as he enters the burial mound to be reincarnated. Surtr then burns all nine worlds.... The blood (fire) nourishes the child in the burial mound (womb) for nine months, and he is re-born as a MAN. The ancestor has returned from the burial mound. 3 Deaths. 9 months in to womb. 3 Rebirths. 'Freyr', from Norse 'frjór', masculine noun; 1. Seed 2. Sperm of living creature (!) 3. Offspring Proto-Nordic *FraujaR Freyr, with his phallus - from whence the sperm comes. May be this is the 'antlers' he uses, to open up the 'burial mound'? Freyr (the sperm) marries and have children, the light elves, with his sister, Freyja (the egg). In the womb. Where else? Yes, little hobbits, i too met my Ragnarök, in Moria... I entered the realm of death, the black chasm under the mountain, as Gandalf the Grey. I died. I fought the monster (placenta) of fire (blood), wielding his flaming sword and whip (umbilical cord) for a long time. For 9 months, I would believe... Finally I defeated it. I was re-born as Gandalf the White. The mountain collapsed under me. I have returned to Middle-earth. Again.