Creation of Man and What Happens When We Die According to the Eddas and Norse/ Germanic Myth

Terrestrial Creation as stated in the Voluspa states that this is the 10th cycle of creation (voluspa 2) The Lay of Rig is the first attempt to produce a humanity which gave rise to a race of thralls',a brutish , primitive type of human. Each following effort was more promising until the intervention of the Gods which gave mankind divine seeding and brought to birth a noble race whose descendants became regal in their own right. Each race of semi divine humans refers , according to theosophic keys apply to a immense periods of time. We are all one humanity and we vary but a little except by coloration. The bible refers to the sons of god saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that,when the sons of god came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same being mighty men which were of old; men of renown Gen 6:2,4. The story of man's awaking is recorder in all ancient texts, the bible, the Greek myths and the Eddas. The Eddas state that the Sons of Bor gave mankind 4 elements and that mankind is made up of 6 elements. ( Voluspa 17- 18 ) The Eddas state that mankind had no Orlog. Spirit the Gift of Odin ( voluspa 18) Soul the Gift of Hoenir ( voluspa 18) Litr the Gift of Lodur ( voluspa 18) Blood the Gift of Lodur ( transformed from the sap of the tree) Power of growth found in Ash and Elm ( voluspa 17) Earth Matter found in the Ash and Elm, born by Hoenir's winged servants to those who be mothers. There is a question as to which three Gods bestowed gifts upon mankind. In the Gylfaginning the are called Odin( voluspa) Vili and Vi ( Edda II ). In the Voluspa 17-18 they are refered to as Odin, Hoenir and Lodur. The Gylfaginning is a variant of Voluspa we can assume the Voluspa is correct and the names are interchangeable. Odin, Vili and Ve appear in the Lokasenna which is written later than the Poetic Edda. One can assume that the original names of the three gods were Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur.

Here is the explanation: The Litr is the inner body formed in the image and likeness of the gods. The appearance of the body ( earth matter) is dependent on the Litr. If the Litr is beautiful then the body reflects that. If the Litr changes then the body changes as well.

When a person dies a few things happen. Three of the six elements that make up a a person are separated. They are Blood, Power of growth and Earth Matter. The other three Soul, Spirit and Litr compose what goes to the underworld or Hel's domain. The person is provided with foot gear depending on their actions while living. The person travels to the Well of Urd (Urth's Well Voluspa 19-20 ) For a time , then, there is a Doppelganger. This is what we call a ghost. The ghost has to do with the strength of the soul and its ties to the earthly realm. When we help someone cross over from this life , it is putting the soul to rest. This completes the separation of the three. Crossing someone over does not involve making intercession before the gods for him or her; to insure a peaceful after life. When the soul travels Hel it goes to the well of Urd where its future will be decided. Urd is Origin which causes created in the past. She waters the soul's individual tree of life as well as the cosmic Yggdrasil: the past determines all one's future condition, in death as well as future lives. The intercession at the well is done by the person's Hamingja sort of a guardian angel who speaks for the departed at their judgment and prepares their place in Hel ( this is not to be confused with the christian concept of hell).

At the spring of Urd the soul is judged by Odin, its most inmost Self, father of the gods as well as its own 'father in heaven . But , although Odin pronounces judgment, he does so according to the prompting of Urd----the soul's past determines the judgment of its inner god and its placement in the many layered realm of Hel. The Edda does not specify the amount of time of these after-life states. It is safe to say that the person remains in this dreamlike state of their own making until the attraction is exhausted. ( The Lay of Lokis flying is a description of this state). The soul can be fed in various ways, which is why some ghostly manifestations can be experienced for years or even centuries. This ghost ( from German ,Geist, which means spirit) should not be confused with the spiritual legacy of the person. Many times we can feel a presence, but it is not the person's soul we feel, it is the legacy within a particular object or place that has meaning to the soul while alive. In due course, the Asa-maker is ready to resume its journey through life on earth. Once again it visits the well of Urd, who now has the task of selecting a mother for its new birth. Again the past determines the future which is part of the endless cycle of cause and effect. In the universe Bargalmer is the end result of a cosmos or world, being ground up and saved for result in a subsequent manifestation as Orgalmer. This law applies to all things in the universe. The only true hell is the second death. The Eddas teach that it is Niflhel, the sphere of absolute matter where the material for new worlds if formed out of the old. Only a soul so utterly depraved that it has no mead to contribute to its inner god can know the dread fate of total extinction, having allied its entire being with the giant-side

of its nature it has lost all trace of spirituality and its hamingja can no longer nurture and inspire its return to the divine spheres that are it home. Their hamingja has been taken from them their soul is separated from their Litr. The soul then receives a second litr and it is sent to Niflhel of absolute extinction. Just because someone kills another person does not condemn a person to second death. That decision is made by Hel and not by mortal men or the gods. It is interesting to note that death is not a judgment reserved for man by the gods. The Norn's decision on lifespan is above the authority of the gods. The judgment of gods is only what to do with that person after the Norns have made their decision. One has to remember that the gods do not have authority over the Norns they are subject to the same process as mankind. One has to remember that death is just removal from active participation in tangible form, from Midgard( earth)