Viking Mythology:

What a Man Can Learn From Ragnarok the Norse Apocalypse

Throughout this series on Norse mythology, Ive referenced Ragnarok the Norse
apocalypse. Its where gods and beasts alike meet their demise, and the world
crashes into oblivion.

Calling it an apocalypse was actually a little misleading, though. You see, Ragnarok
wasnt actually the end of all things, but rather the end of a certain era. It was both
the destruction and subsequent recreation of the cosmos.

For the Vikings, time wasnt seen as linear; it didnt have a start and an end. It was
cyclical; seasons came and went and came again, and lifes blessings and trials
ebbed and flowed along with it.

In this final piece of our Norse mythology series, lets explore what a man can learn
from Ragnarok. First, though, we need to know the myth itself.

Throughout the era of the Norse gods, prophecies and oracles foretold of their
doom that they wouldnt be around forever. With the death of Baldur one of
the signs of the coming Ragnarok the gods knew their destiny was inescapable.

As Ragnarok approached, the humans in Midgard disregarded their way of life,

giving up the bonds of brotherhood and engaging in endless wars. Murder and
incest became common, and people sunk into a lifeless nihilism. Three straight years
went by with no hint of summer a season of darkness and coldness which the
prophecies had deemed The Great Winter.

Then, Loki and his wolf-son Fenrir each broke free of their imprisonments and set
about to destroy the gods in Asgard, and along with them, the entire world. They

recruited a vast army of giants and sailed to the gates of the gods fortress in the
ship Naglfar, which was made from the fingernails and toenails of dead men.

Fenrir enclosed the land and sky within his jaws and consumed everything in
between. Jormungand the world-encircling, sea-dwelling serpent emerged
from his home to spit poison upon the earth. Another beast, Surt, swept across the
world with a flaming sword, leaving it a scorching, barren landscape.

Thor battling his archenemy, Jormungand

Amidst the chaos and destruction, the gods fought valiantly to turn back the
apocalypse, and at the least, destroy the beast-enemies of mankind. Eternal foes
Thor and Jormungand killed each other in battle, as did Tyr and the great hound
named Garm. Heimdall, guardian of Asgards gate, fought Loki in another mutually
destructive bout. Odin fell to Fenrir, but revenge was served when Fenrir was then
killed by Odins son Vidar. The battlefield was awash in the blood of the gods and
beasts alike.

After the fighting was complete, with the gods stricken dead and resigned to the
underworld, the land fell back into the sea, and the black void known as
Ginnungagap (which youll remember from the Norse creation story) once again
appeared.

Remember, though, this wasnt the ultimate end.

After a time, the earth returned to form. A new human pair named Lif and Lifthrasir
appeared. Baldur returned from the dead, along with the sons of Odin and of Thor.
A new sun emerged, even stronger than the last. Life and light once again reigned in
the universe rather than darkness and destruction.

The gears of the world once more began to turn, filling creation with new energy
and spirit, and moving the universe towards yet another Ragnarok, and another
creation, ad infinitum.

What can men learn from this story of the Viking apocalypse?

Life has cycles.

The end wasnt really the end for the Norse world. Destruction was wrought, but out
of the ashes arose a new world. Whether this cosmic death and rebirth will truly
occur is a matter of faith (its a belief of not only the Vikings but other religions as
well). The cyclical nature of our earthly lives, however, isnt in doubt. One can
witness it in nature, of course the sun comes up, the sun sets; seeds grow, bloom,
and die. But cycles structure human activities as well. Its true of cultural trends;
things die out and come back into vogue again every day. Its true of economics;
what goes up the stock market must come down again, even if it generally
spirals in an upwards direction. Its even true of our world events; generations of
men and of history go through periods of awakening and unraveling.

So with the knowledge that life is cyclical, what are men to do? How can this
improve our lives?

On a macro level, knowing that everything moves in cycles reminds us not to overly
despair when the world seems to be going to pot; while we may be in a trough right
now, the cycle will come around again and bring a rebirth. The end is not the end.

On a more micro level, the cyclical nature of life teaches us that progress and
success should not be measured on a linear plane; it rarely looks like a line moving
straight up.
While we can surely spiral upwards, there will be dips in life times where you feel
stagnant, like nothing is working, that youve reached the end of your rope. These
times shouldnt be seen as failures, as we often view them, but as challenges and
opportunities and even as times for recovery. In our hyper-productivity-focused
world, any dip is frowned upon. Is it realistic, though, for productivity to continue to
go up and up and up? Isnt there a breaking point where it has to go down a bit
(even if in the form of a vacation or intentional break) for the sake of ones health
and sanity?

Just as the Viking universe went through periods of void and creation, just as trees
and plants blossom, die, and burst forth once more, so do our feelings and creativity
ebb and flow. Sometimes your business is up and sometimes its down. Sometimes
your mind is feeling fertile and your writing pours forth like a spigot, and sometimes
you pass through periods where you feel barren of good ideas. Sometimes you feel
euphorically happy, and sometimes you sink into inexplicable funks.

Cycles are at work not only in your job and your emotions, but in your relationships
as well. In love, do your day-to-day feelings go up and up every single day? Or do

your feelings ebb and flow a little bit, even while youre able to look at the long term
and see that your love for each other has steadily grown and strengthened? This is
perhaps why couples break up or divorce; they no longer have the same feelings for
each other they once did. The relationship is viewed on a linear plane, and if that
line starts to dip, its time to call it quits.

While all kinds of temporary downturns are natural, and not a cause for panic, they
also shouldnt be an excuse for complacency. Rather, they serve as opportunities to
analyze what youve been doing, how you might improve, and to try new things to
get growing again. Got writers block? Maybe you need to institute a new routine or
ritual. Business taking a dip? Examine how you can improve your customers
experience. Marriage feeling rocky? Stop taking each other for granted and start
dating each other again.

It seems to me that Im most encouraged in life when looking at the long game. I
dont necessarily ask myself if Ive improved from yesterday. It can be debilitating to
think about constant improvement on such a small scale like that. A single bad day
could ruin what might have been a good week or a good month.

Because Im aware of these cycles, I prefer to self-reflect over longer chunks of time.
Have I improved from last month? Last quarter? Last year? When looking at those
larger scales, its certainly easy to see things spiraling up, even with wintery periods
here and there.

Now, this isnt to say that when good times are rollin you should live in fear of a
karmic downturn. Rather, simply set your mind that it wont always be smooth
sailing, and do the only thing you can do: focus on becoming antifragile, so when the
cycle starts to dip, you can be ready and emerge from the other side stronger than
ever.

A man fights until the very end, even in the face of defeat.

Odin fights Fenrir

The Norse gods knew their destiny. They had heard the prophecies, and once the
death of Baldur came to pass, it became clear there was no escaping fate. And yet
the gods fought bravely in their battles of Ragnarok. Even in the awareness of their
inevitable defeat, they did not just give up the ship. They gave it their all until they
physically no longer could.

Just as in the previous point, there are lessons here on both the societal and
personal level.

In the cycles of history, you may be sure a rebirth of some kind is coming, but the
reality is that you may not live to see it. This can spur a nihilistic viewpoint that if
the world has to hit rock bottom before things turn around, you might as well not
even try to make things better. You simply withdraw from supporting or adding
anything to the culture content to enjoy the decline.

But that definitely wasnt the mindset of the Norse gods. They had a long view of
the death of their world and their own demise. They knew for a good while what
was coming. It wasnt like they went into battle with an optimistic mindset they
were bound to be ultimately defeated from the get-go. And yet they still fought with
all they had.
We shouldnt go down without a fight either. Not in our individual lives or our
society.

We should steadfastly strive to be creators rather than consumers. We should work

to attain ideal manhood. Well never be perfect; well never get to where we
actually want to be as humans. Well strive and strive, but ultimately continue to
have failings and shortcomings. We will be defeated by the reality of humanity itself.

Perfection, of course, is not possible. And our efforts may not be appreciated by
those around us, or by the culture at large. But contrary to what our brain might say
that lazing about with a purely epicurean view will be the most satisfying its
actually in striving and fighting and taking on challenge that the most fulfillment is to
be found in life. Why else do people talk about things like climbing mountains and
raising children and building companies as some of lifes most rewarding
experiences? Theyre lifes toughest tasks, but offer the greatest rewards at the top.

As Benjamin Franklin said of his own pursuit of excellence, Tho I never arrived at
the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was,
by the endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I
had not attempted it.

Our ultimate defeat is also true in another sense in that we wont beat worldly
death. At some point, we will die, and be no more for the Earth. In the face of this
defeat, should we just give up and say Whats the point? Of course not!
Meditating on death can actually make us better men. Knowing that we wont be
here forever can and should spur you on to live and do greater deeds. Your time
here is finite, so do what you can with the time you have to make a difference in the
world to love more fully, to act more boldly, to work with more hustle, to push
your body and mind more intensely.

While the weak man will take these inevitable defeats and wallow in them like a pig
in the mud, the man of action, who longs for self-progress and virility, will follow the
Norse example and be all the more inspired to carpe each and every diem.

We must do all we can to raise the next generation well.

When I became a father about four weeks ago, it seemed my whole worldview was
flipped on its head overnight. Its become clear to me that one of my greatest tasks
in life is to raise my son and any future progeny well.

The work a man does in his job may or may not live beyond his own lifetime, but
god-willing his children sure will. If you teach them what it means to live well to
love, to work hard, to live with character and honor perhaps the world will
become a little bit better because of it once youve passed on.

When our generation of leaders and builders and innovators ceases to exist, whats
left? Only the generations who come after us, and what weve taught them. Had
Odin and Thor not raised their sons well, the newly created world may not have
gotten off to as good a start. Had the values of the gods not been passed down,
would light still have reigned over darkness?

Every generation creates the world anew. Whether youre a literal dad, or simply a
fatherly mentor to others, do all you can to offer rising youth the tools for renewal
and the power to bring forth a spectacular rebirth.
Sources and Further Reading

Gods and Myths of Northern Europe by H.R. Ellis Davidson. This textbook from 1965
is a surprisingly readable guide to not only Norse myths, but their context and
symbolism within the Viking culture.

The Age of the Vikings by Anders Winroth. This is a history of the Viking people,
rather than a specific look at Norse mythology. It helps set the stage, however, and
does well in giving an honest account of their culture.

The Poetic Edda (Hollander translation). A collection of anonymous mythical poetry

and verse from the 1300s that serves as an origin text for many Norse myths.

The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson. A textbook-like work from the Icelandic
historian which compiles Norse myths. This, along with The Poetic Edda, offer the
majority of source material for Norse mythology.

Nordic Gods and Heroes by Padraic Colum. This is a collection of reimagined and
rewritten Norse myths. Theyre in a language that captures the beauty and
inspirational nature of the tales rather than a rote translation of ancient words.

Norse Mythology for Smart People. An online treasure trove of articles and
information about the mythological Norse universe.

Pillaged from from

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