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balder, balor, lugh, loki & louhi
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"Pol was the Saxon name of Balder, the Norse dieing / resurrecting light god"

"the possible ruins of a Diana and Apollo temple"

Interesting. One of the major differences between Odin of the Eddas and Lugh is that Lugh has certain solar connotations - I'd argue that his name is behind words like "light", "luminescent" and "lustre". The Eddas, however, state that Odin and Loki are "blood brothers", and they sometimes seem so closely related as to almost be one figure. It's my view that Odin and Loki are descended from the same earlier deity (Ur-Odin, let's call him). Balder, on the other hand I'd argue to be descended from a more ancient solar deity called Baal (try not to think Phoenican Baal, but more Balor of the Evil Eye in Irish myth). In the Eddas Balder is killed because of Loki's machinations. Parallels can be found in Irish myth, I understand, where Lugh supplants Balor (need to look into that one a bit more mind you). I read this as essentially a myth remembering an early Sun cult (the Baal cult) being supplanted by a later one (the Lugh cult). Lugh has a lot in common with Apollo. Whilst we're on the subject, the Odin-Loki relationship is best understood within the context of the Wainamoinen-Louhi relationship in Sami Finland's Kalevala, which I believe to be truer to the Ur-Odinist root than the Eddas. The tale of Louhi's theft of the Sun (she - and yes, that's she - hides it in "a copper coloured mountain" for several months) is essentially a solar myth, explaining the utter absence of the Sun during the winter months (it remains dark 24 hours a day during winter, that far north).


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TomBo
Posted by TomBo
31st July 2004ce
07:26

In reply to:

Re: saint paul's (Wyrd Brother)

3 replies:

Re: balder, balor, lugh, loki & louhi (TomBo)
Re: balder, balor, lugh, loki & louhi (Wyrd Brother)
Re: balder, balor, lugh, loki & louhi (sam)

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