oh, you think the eclipse is cool? Let's re-think that. 🐺☀

When I was six, I really wanted to be an astronomer and track an as yet undiscovered tenth planet like Percival Lowell hunting Pluto. So, yeah, sure, astronomy and its spectacles are neato. Yet when we lens things through the Norse Lore, we have to pull back into our Heathen mindset and ask ourselves for the potential metaphysical answers.

To be clear, I'm not ever saying throw out the brilliant illuminations of science (and unless a specific theorem or a particular thesis proves wrong, always hang on to the rest of that), but in a quantum universe where many infinite possibilities & positions can be true yet contradict each other, this allows for differing viewpoints and explanations to be equally valid at the same time (which if we were to apply and realize that this holds with arguments, maybe we could all CTFD and mostly be cool with each other again).

In Gylfaginning §12, High, Just-As-High, & Third are answering Gylfi's daisychain of cosmological questions, here asking why Sunna, the charioteer of the Sun, moves "almost as if she were afraid, and she would not be able to go any faster if she was in terror of her death." High responds "the one that is going after her is called Sköl. She is afraid of him and he will catch her".

In this context, was this month's solar eclipse Mani's chariot's shadow landing just-so betwixt Sunna & Midgard, or is there a slackening of Árvakr & Alsviðr's full-out gallop because their nigh-eternal sky run has to be over-exerting at times, or is Sköll putting on extra fast & furious rage steam to catch up to the point where he can possibly get them?

If this first, well, no bigs, but if it's the last two, then what's actually going on during the eclipse here? The horses slow and/or wolf catches up but instead Sköll's deep-throating Sunna down the maw until he gags and she pulls out, right? Which is this weird mixture of cosmic horror-porn spectacle.

[Sköll Caught The Sun by Finnish illustrator Marko Laine (digital media, 2020 CE)]

And yet what if Sköll doesn't cough up? Then we're dealing with a three-year final Fimbulvetr! Not so cool now, is it? Or it'll be a far more literal cool than figurative cool than anyone who isn't a hrímþursar would ever want it to be. Plus you better have stocked up on those torches and lighters 'cause that darkness is here to stay ... .

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Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires' Norse Gods and Giants at age seven. Since then he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay. If you have employment/opportunities in investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer, do contact him.