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Chapter 4. The Sky Connection 108
in the morning either by the baring of the head or bowing. 28 There is also the
possibility that the sun and the moon, brother and sister, were originally formed
out of the eyes of Ymir after His death at the hands of Óðíinn, Vili, and Vé. This
argument is supported by the idea that the eyes are the “lights of the head” and
this kenning continues to be used in modern English in the phrase, “knock one’s
daylights out!” Whatever place the sun may have held in the minds of the ancient
folk, it must have been relatively important to command bowing with bared head
by the peasantry. Perhaps, as with the Saamí, She was held in a constant state of
reverence as the “Bringer of Warmth.”
Lastly, the sky seems to have been the window through which the ancient Germans
and Scandinavians could view the effects of the otherworld upon Midgard.
The sky held the Road of the Dead which ran over the apex of the World Tree and
it was the screen against which played omens from both the Gods of the air, the
Æsir, and the Ancestors. It was a physical, visual and constant reminder that the
Otherworld was a reality, and was the link between this world and the next. Omens
(ON heill = “portent or omen”) came in the form of birds’ flight patterns, shooting
stars or comets, aurora borealis, or visions and were regarded as one of the best
forms of prognostication, pieces of which can be gleaned from the sagaic literature
and the heroic poetry.
In spite of the fact that omens were definitely important to the ancients, their
interpretation seems to have been by consensus of the community or, perhaps, individual.
Perusal of the entire body of northern European folklore reveals that what
was considered a “good omen” for one locality was interpreted as an “evil portent” for
another although there did seem to be general consensus that “red lights” in the sky
or “a comet” were held to portend evil times ahead. Because of this inconsistency,
any attempt to “recreate” a system of divination based on sky omens would be
meaningless.
That the sky held a special place in the pre-Christian Germanic worldview is
obvious, but how consistent that role was may never be discovered. In the view of
the World Tree complex, it represented the apex of the Tree and was home to the
Road of the Dead which terminated at the gate to the underworld. Movements of
lights in the sky-world marked the passage of time and presented to the inhabitants
of northern Europe indications for the correct timing of schedules pertaining to
work and leisure, and individual or community activities, but unlike the cultures of
the more southerly countries no indigenous form or system of astrology has been
discovered. The sky itself was a visual link between the Land of the Living and
the otherworld lying above Midgard like a large sheet against which played visual
messages, omens and portents for those who knew how to see them and interpret
28 See Grimm pp. 700-706.