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Giants: Creation From the Void
Giant Creator a digital painting by Evelyn Rysdyk.
"There were giants in the
earth in those days...."
Genesis 6:4-5
Giants have been an integral part of our stories and myths for many hundreds of generations. These larger-than-life characters may be found in the folk tales of Europe, Asia and the Americas. They also figure centrally in our creation stories. The following Norse creation story is an example.
In the beginning, there was an endless chasm of empty space called Ginnungagap. It was a space of great nothingness and also great potential. This enormous void of Chaos held at one of its far corners the elemental planes of numbing cold and darkness known as Niflheim. At another far corner of this void of Chaos was the elemental plane of blistering heat known as Muspelheim.
In the pulsing waves of Chaos, these two corners of the void grew closer to each other. The cold and heat met creating mists, water and ice. It was from this primordial water that the first living being -- the primeval giant Ymir -- was born. Nothing physical existed before Ymir and all things that exist are either directly or indirectly born from his creation.
As Ymir slept, a son and a daughter were born from his body. These were known as the first of the Frost Giants who were also progenitors of an entire race of giants or jötun.
It was also said that Ymir had a gigantic cow who had been born of the melting frost. Her milk fed Ymir and she licked at the ice for her own nourishment. It is said that as she licked the ice, a form was eventually revealed. This was the giant Buri . As Ymir accomplished before him, Buri had a magical child rise from his body who was his son Bor.
Bor married Bestia who was the daughter of a Frost Giant and therefore, also a descendant of Ymir. This primeval couple had three sons who were the first gods -- Odin, Vili and Ve.
It is said that Ymir's gigantic great-grandsons grew very strong and also jealous of the one they knew would always be more powerful. Together the great-grandson giants of Ymir slew the First Being. The great gush of blood from Ymir's wound flooded First Creation. Ymir's blood drowned all but two of his frost children who were swept to the far eastern corner of creation. There they continued the race of Frost Giants in their realm Jötunheim.
Odin, Vili, and Ve then used Ymir's carcass to create the Middle World or Midgard. They used Ymir's flesh to create the Earth, they shaped his bones into hills and mountain, his teeth were used to make the rocks, and his hair was rooted to create the trees and greenery. From his blood they made the lakes and the sea which encircled it all. The brothers were well pleased with their handiwork but grew concerned that their cousins the Frost Giants would seek revenge and destroy their handiwork. So they took the eyebrows and eyelashes of the great Ymir and fashioned a high fence around their new world.
Next, they polished Ymir's skull and set it as an arching sky above the earth They tossed Ymir's brains aloft to become the heavy clouds.
So the task was done and the new world completed, but still the giant brothers were not content. Some other life was needed in the world beside their own. Perhaps they were not secure in their power and so needed beings to obey them and to do their will. Perhaps they were simply lonely or bored. Whatever the reason, they noticed many worms were burrowing deep in the newly formed Earth. The gods summoned forth these earthly creatures from the darkness and of them the brothers made dwarfs and elves.
The elves were beautiful beings who were as light as air, and to them was given a place of their own called Ljossalheim. It was higher somewhat than Midgard, but lower than the place that the place the brothers planned to make their own home.
The dwarfs were dark and strong. To them they gave Svartalfheim which was slightly below Midgard. The gods chose from among them the strongest four and gave them the work of bearing up Ymir's skull so that it might not press too heavily upon the earth. It is for this reason, Nordi, Sudri, Austri and Vestri stand at the four corners of the earth and hold up the four corners of the sky. Into that great bowl of sky, the brothers tossed the sparks from the fire realm, Muspelheim, which became the sun, the moon and the stars.
Later, the brothers found some trees that had become driftwood on the shore of the sea. They took the weathered ash tree and created the first man, Ask. And from the elm tree they fashioned the first woman, Embla. Odin breathed life into them. Vili gave them intelligence and emotion, and Ve gave them the ability to see and hear and speak.
And so according to the Norse myths, all of the world, we human beings, the between worlds spirits from the Earth and the gods themselves -- all owe our existence to that most ancient of ancestors, Ymir.
While the Bible doesn't credit creation to a giant, it still suggests that giants were present in the world before humans and were likely progenitors to the human race. The Nephilim described in Genesis, were the the descendants of angels in physical form. They were a race of giants. Even the Anakim or Cainites -- who are children of Cain, a son of Adam and Eve -- are described as giants. These giants lived in an underworld kingdom as did the Tuatha de Danaan -- a race of Celtic progenitor deities who dwelled in hollow mountains. These beings aren't usually described as giants but their predecessors the Formorians are often described as such and the great Celtic mythic warrior heroes, Fionn mac Cumhaill and Cúchulainn are also described in this way.
Stories of primordial giants exist across the globe. They are tied to many culture's creation stories and are often attributed with the awesome ability to manifest matter from Chaos and transform one thing into another.
Arthur and The Giant by Walter Crane. Engraving from the Faerie Queen, Book I, Canto VIII by Edmund Spenser. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia.)
It is for this reason that some of our stories depict these great beings as dim witted, barbaric creatures that need to to be tricked and annihilated. We humans have a habit of defaming any thing or being that we fear. One only has to look at how the residents of New York depicted later waves of immigrants to see my point. During the 1880's the Irish people were defamed with descriptions of them being lazy, stupid and barbaric. This stemmed from the earlier residents' fear that the large waves of Irish people would somehow "take over" or take away their resources. Over the centuries, the same fear-driven mentality has fueled the attitudes of persecution, discrimination and hatred heaped upon any peoples who were seen as "different from us." We humans have a nasty history of belittling and sometimes even destroying others in an effort to feel more powerful!
For many cultures, giants and giantesses are considered to be our most ancient spiritual ancestors. When humans spread across the Earth, the giants retreated to worlds below and beyond to wait and watch their human descendants. Wherever they have been, they seem to be making a strong reappearance in the human consciousness. In this time of Great Change, many more people are coming across giant spirits on and in the land. They are showing up for people in their shamanic journeys and also in dreams.
 .
Jack the Giant-Killer by Arthur Rackham. An illustration for English Fairy
Tales by Flora Annie Steel. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia.)
It is clear that we have heroic work to do to remedy the chaos we've created on the planet. Maybe it's time for us to humbly get reacquainted with these spirits who are masters of manifestation. They know how to transform chaos and create from nothing. By mastering our own fears and working together with the giants, as well as those beings from the between worlds, we can make the needed changes inside of ourselves and on the Earth.
© 2009 Evelyn C. Rysdyk
The Cerne Abbas Giant or Rude Man is a figure carved into the hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester, in Dorset, England. The 180 foot high, 167 foot. wide figure was formed by "drawing" a trench 12 inches wide, and about the same depth, through grass and earth into the underlying chalk. It is thought to be over 400 years old. (Image courtesy of www.sacred-destinations.com.)
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Special Note!
Evelyn and Allie will be offering a new shamanic workshop on this material!
Giants: Creating From The Void
January 24 & 25, 2009
Maine Audubon Gilsland Farm Center
In this workshop, we’ll explore connections with the Giants
for the purpose of entering into a powerful and creative relationship.
Our ancestors told stories of these fierce spirits that are able to create matter and manifest the physical world out of Chaos.
For many cultures, the giants are considered to be our most ancient spiritual ancestors.
Joining forces with the Giants, we can start manifesting a
happier, healthier and more abundant life!
Prerequisite: Working knowledge of the Shamanic Journey Process. $200. Send $50 deposit with your contact information to:
Spirit Passages • PO Box 426, Yarmouth, Maine 04096
(207)846-6829 • passages@maine.rr.com • www.spiritpassages.org
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Evelyn C. Rysdyk, author of Modern Shamanic Living is a nationally recognized presenter. Included in the book Traveling Between the Worlds she is among the world’s most influential writers and teachers of shamanism.
Originally trained in core shamanism, she has integrated practices taught to her by elders from North and South America, Central Asia, Nepal and Siberia. She is also a Medicine for the Earth Teacher--teaching ways that transfigured human energy can heal our planet.
With her partner C. Allie Knowlton, MSW, LCSW, DCSW she presents
eco-spiritually focused training programs--which include advanced shamanism and shamanic healing---across the USA and Canada. In addition, as a founding member of True North, a unique, integrated medical center in Falmouth, Maine--she collaborates with physicians, nurses, a psychiatrist, a naturopath and several other complementary healthcare practitioners to provide a new model of health care that includes Spirit.
www.spiritpassages.org
www.spiritliving.org
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