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Sunna and Mani - by Dirk Schmitt

An investigation into the Sun and Moon in the Germanic Folkway

There is much consternation amongst some, for whom the very notion that the Sun and Moon can be Female and Male respectively, seems totally at loggerheads with the common belief system of modern culture. However, to be true to our ancestral traditions, we need to investigate the character of both the Sun and the Moon, and the entities there-with associated. We gain our first insight from the writings of the Middle Ages, where-in the traditional beliefs of our ancestors were first recorded in a medium which had the possibility of surviving within the realm of hostile forces.

If truth be told, we have very little literary evidence for our ancestors beliefs with regards cosmology. There are some passages in different texts which have survived the centuries and have come to us, but we don't really know just how much is one persons ideas or whether they are indeed separate and hence isolated examples of the same ideas. That being said, it is all we have to go on, and by careful study and use of linguistic principles, we can be fairly certain that there is, at minimum, a great deal of pre-Christian character to the works, and as such, they are without a doubt, of value.

In the Völuspá, we find in the 5th Stanza, the following passage:

Sól varp sunnan,	sinni mána,
hendi inni hægri	um himinjöður;
sól það né vissi	hvar hún sali átti,
stjörnur það né vissu	hvar þær staði áttu,
máni það né vissi	hvað hann megins átti.

 

The sun, the sister	of the moon, from the south
Her right hand cast	over heaven's rim;
No knowledge she had	where her home should be,
The moon knew not	what might was his,
The stars knew not	where their stations were.

This passage is quoted in the Snorra Edda (sometimes termed the Prose Edda).

Stanzas 38 and 39 of the Grímnismál provide:

Svalinn heitir,	hann stendr sólo fyrir,
skiöldr, skínanda goði;
biörg ok brim	ek veit at brenna skolo
ef hann fellr í frá.

In front of the sun	does Svalin stand,
The shield for the shining god;
Mountains and sea	would be set in flames
If it fell from before the sun.

 

Sköll heitir úlfr,	er fylgir eno skirleita goði
til varna viðar;
en annarr Hati,	hann er Hróðvitnis sonr,
sá skal fyr heiða brúði himins.

Skoll is the wolf	that to Ironwood
Follows the glittering god,
And the son of Hrothvitnir,	Hati, awaits
The burning bride of heaven.

The Vafþrúðnismál provides:

Mundilfæri heitir,	hann er mána faðir
ok svá Sólar it sama;
himin hverfa	þau skolo hverian dag
öldom at ártali.

 

Mundilferi is he	who begat the moon,
And fathered the flaming sun;
The round of heaven	each day they run,
To tell the time for men.

The Edda of Snorri Sturlusson, termed the Snorra-Edda, or Prose Edda, is a manual in regards how to write poetry, written by Sturlusson in the 1200's. It refers back to stanzas in Voluspa, as well as elaborating on points, as given below (Borduer Translation used for English Version):

Þá tóku þeir síur ok gneista þá er lausir fóru ok kastat hafði ór Muspellsheimi, ok settu á miðjan Ginnungahimin, bæði ofan ok neðantil at lýsa himin ok jörð. Þeir gáfu staðaröllum eldin<g>um, sumum á himni, sumar fóru lausar undir himni, ok settu þó þeim stað ok sköpuð<u> göngu þeim. Svá er sagt í fornum vísindum at þaðan af váru dœgr greind ok áratal, svá sem segir í Völuspá:

Sól þat ne vissi	hvar hon sali átti.
Máni þat ne vissi	hvat hann megins átti.
Stjörnur þat ne vissu	hvar þær staði áttu.

Then they took the glowing embers and sparks that burst forth and had been cast out of Múspellheim, and set them in the midst of the Yawning Void, in the heaven, both above and below, to illumine heaven and earth. They assigned places to all fires: to some in heaven, some wandered free under the heavens; nevertheless, to these also they gave a place, and shaped them courses. It is said in old songs, that from these the days were reckoned, and the tale of years told, as is said in Völuspá:

The sun, the sister	of the moon, from the south
Her right hand cast	over heaven's rim;
No knowledge she had	where her home should be,
The moon knew not	what might was his,
The stars knew not	where their stations were.

Nörfi eða Narfi hét jötunn er bygði í Jötunheimum. Hann átti dóttur er Nótt hét. Hon var svört ok døkk sem hon átti ætt til. Hon var gipt þeim manni er Naglfari hét. Þeira sonr6 hét Uðr. Því næst var hon gipt þeim er Annarr hét. Jörð hét þeira dóttir. Síðarst átti hana Dellingr, var hann Ása ættar. Var þeira sonr Dagr. Var hann ljóss ok fagr eptir faðerni sínu.

Þá tók Allföðr Nótt ok Dag, son hennar, ok gaf þeim tvá hesta ok tvær kerrur ok setti þau upp á himin, at þau skulu ríða á hverjum tveim dœgrum umhverfis jörðina. Ríðr Nótt fyrri þeim hesti er kallaðr er Hrímfaxi, ok at morni hverjum døggvir hann jörðina af méldropum sínum. Sá hestr er Dagr á heitir Skinfaxi, ok lýsir allt lopt ok jörðina af faxi hans.

Nörfi or Narfi is the name of a giant that dwelt in Jötunheim: he had a daughter called Night; she was swarthy and dark, as befitted her race. She was given to the man named Naglfari; their son was Audr. Afterward she was wedded to him that was called Annarr; Jörd was their daughter. Last of all Dayspring had her, and he was of the race of the Æsir; their son was Day: he was radiant and fair after his father. Then Allfather took Night, and Day her son, and gave to them two horses and two chariots, and sent them up into the heavens, to ride round about the earth every two half-days. Night rides before with the horse named Frosty-Mane, and on each morning he bedews the earth with the foam from his bit. The horse that Day has is called Sheen-Mane, and he illumines all the air and the earth from his mane.

Þá mælti Gangleri: "Hversu stýrir hann gang sólar ok tungls?"

Hár segir: "Sá maðr er nefndr Mundilfœri er [át]ti tvau börn. Þau váru svá fögr ok fríð at hann kallaði annat Mána en dóttur sína Sól, ok gipti hana þeim manni er Glenr hét. En guðin reiddusk þessu ofdrambi ok tóku þau systkin ok settu upp á himin, létu Sól keyra þá hesta er drógu kerru sólarinnar, þeirar er guðin höfðu skapat til at lýsa heimana af þeiri síu er flaug ór Muspellsheimi. Þeir hestar heita svá: Árvakr ok Alsviðr. En undir bógum hestanna settu guðin tvá vin<d>belgi at kœla þá, en í sumum frœðum er þat kallat ísarnkol.

Máni stýrir göngu tungls ok ræðr nýjum ok niðum. Hann tók tvau börn af jörðunni er svá heita: Bil ok Hjúki, er þau gengu frá brunni þeim er Byrgir heitir ok báru á öxlum sér sá er heitir Sœgr, en stöngin Símul. Viðfinnr er nefndr faðir þeira. Þessi börn fylgja Mána, svá sem sjá má af jörðu."

Then said Gangleri: "How does he govern the course of the sun or of the moon?" Hárr answered: "A certain man was named Mundilfari, who had two children; they were so fair and comely that he called his son Moon, and his daughter Sun, and wedded her to the man called Glenr. But the gods were incensed at that insolence, and took the brother and sister, and set them up in the heavens; they caused Sun to drive those horses that drew the chariot of the sun, which the gods had fashioned, for the world's illumination, from that glowing stuff which flew out of Múspellheim. Those horses are called thus: Early-Wake and All-Strong; and under the shoulders of the horses the gods set two wind-bags to cool them, but in some records that is called 'iron-coolness.' Moon steers the course of the moon, and determines its waxing and waning. He took from the earth-two children, called Bil and Hjúki, they that went from the well called Byrgir, bearing on their shoulders the cask called Sægr, and the pole Simul. Their father is named Vidfinnr. These children follow Moon, as may be seen from the earth.

It is interesting to notice that Snorri paraphrases, and indeed, embellishes the poetic reference. We can look upon this from a couple of perspectives. Firstly, we can consider that Snorri had access to more information than that which he quotes, which means that he can elaborate on the text that is quoted based on additional information at hand, or we can consider that he expanded and made up an elaboration to enable him to have his continuous narrative, which ends up being a continous tale.

Ignoring the additional information which is found in the Gylfaginning by Snorri, we have the following information:

Mundilfæri is the Father of the Sun and the Moon (Völuspá)
Sól is the Sister of Máni, Daughter of Mundilfæri (Völuspá)
Máni is the Brother of Sól, Son of Mundilfæri (Völuspá)

Svalinn is the name of the entity whom shields the Earth from Sól (Grímnismál)
Skirleita Goði, "Glittering God", poetic name for Mani (Grímnismál)
Heiða Brúði Himins, "Burning Bride of Heaven", poetic name for Sól (Grímnismál)

Mundilfæri is the Father of the Sun and the Moon (Vafþrúðnismál)
Sólar, sister of Máni, Daugter of Mundilfæri (Vafþrúðnismál)
Mána is the Brother of Sól, Son of Mundilfæri (Vafþrúðnismál)

So we have direct evidence of a Father to Sól and Máni named Mundilfæri. Mundilfæri translates as "Axis Mover", and is given in Cleasby Vigfusson as:

Mundil-föri, adjective, the name of a giant, the father of the Sun and the Moon; akin to möndull, referring to the veering round or revolution of the heavens, Vafþrúðnismál., Edda 7.

Snorri adds the information that the sun, and stars are made of the sparks of Muspellheim, something which is not alluded to in the original writings. There is a presupposition that the entities listed above are giants, given the relating of the nature of the entities known as night and day, etc. To make such a presupposition is tenuous in character, as whilst the concept of alluding to both Muspellheim, with its' fire giants, and these other Jotunar whom are also noted, it is by no means conclusive evidence one way or the other. That being said, I am of the opinion that they are indeed related to the Jotunar, rather than being of the Aesir/Vanir lines.

If we look at the linguistic evidence, a first point of contact we can work with is the Dictionary of Old Norse, by Cleasby-Vigfusson which provides the following (note, abbreviations have been expanded for clarity).

u, feminine, [Ulfilas - sunna (masculine); Anglo Saxon - sunne; English - sun; Old High German - sunna; but in the Scandinavian languages the proper word is sól, sunna being only used in poets] : - the sun; sól heitir með mönnum, en sunna með goðum, it is called 'sól' among men, 'sun' among the gods, Alvísmál.; sunna heitir sól, ok er við hana kenndr Dróttins-dagr, Rimbegla 112; réttlætis-sunna, Geisli: kaf-sunna, mars sunna., the sun of the deep, i. e. gold; sunnu skeið, 'sun- space, ' i. e. the heavens, Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860; sunna is also found in the compouds, Sunnu-dagr, masculine Sunday, which word the Northmen probably borrowed from the Saxon (see the remarks sub voce, fimt and dagr), passive masculine: in local names, in Sunnu-dalr in southern Iceland, (Landnama); but that name may stand for Sunndalr = Southdale, compare Sundal in Sweden. Sunnu-nótt, feminine, Sunday night, Norges Gamle Love

In Grimms Teutonic Mythology we find all the evidence points to the same information which is found in the Scandinavian sources. Furthermore, Grimm points to other cultures which have the same system of classification of the Sun and Moon as Female and Male, these being the Mexicans, Greenlanders (Eskimo), Italians, Slavs, Lithuanians, Arabs. And there are probably more besides. Hence the evidence for the gender form which the Sun and Moon take in the Germanic tradition is far from being unique. What is interesting however, is the Grimm himself, refers to the Sun as masculine and moon as feminine, showing how much of a product of the time he actually was. In other areas of the work, there is a clear indication that Grimm, whilst collecting the history, considers it at best Mythology, and at worst, ancient and primative superstition, after all, the Christian Mythology was definately ascendant at the time. I recommend a reading of Grimm, for his interesting insights, some of which are tenuous, but it is all still of value.

The nature of the Sun and Moon and their movement through the sky, relative motion as it is, has obviously captured the imagination of all humans, as evidenced by the metaphors used to describe the nature and character of them. We know that the sun is at the centre of our Galaxy and it is in fact the Earth which travels around it, and the rotation of the Earth provides our day and night. This is indeed common knowledge today, and yet we continue to speak of sunrise and sunset. The relative movement of the Sun still holds a very strong influence on us, for as much as we know that it is fixed and it is our movement which causes the perception of the sun travelling through the sky, we never-the-less, still consider it to travel through the sky and to dissapear from our skies in the night time, even though it's only hidden by our own planet.

From my own personal perspective, I work with the celestial bodies in the same manner which our ancestors did, even though I am aware of, and understand, the scientific principles behind the movement and the scientific explanations of the characteristics of these bodies, I consider that I understand the reasoning behind the metaphors used. That Sunna is probably a Fire Giantess whom has been conferred the status of Goddess makes eminent sense, and correlates with what Snorri either had access to, or made up, with regards the sparks of Muspellheim, for this is the realm of the Fire Giants. As a Fire Giantess, Sunna still acts in the same manner as her kinfolk, in so far as she is unlimited in her capactity to cause destruction due to her fiery nature. It is by virtue of the Earths specific location, between the Fire of Sunna and the cold (Ice) of deep space, that we enjoy the life that we have here. What is interesting, from a cosmological perspective is that Svalinn holds a shield in front of Sunna, and whilst in the Mythos, this is designed to protect the horses, perhaps it is more correctly designed to protect the Earth from the solar radiation of Sunna, for without the Van Allen belts, the Earth would be unable to support life due to the level of radiation. Depictions of the Van Allen Belts show it flowing around the Earth, and many depictions have at the forefront of the system, a disc shaped round section, shaped much like a shield.

So, then, what of Mani, after all, he, if brother to Sunna, is also of Muspellheim, why doesn't he blaze with light, and radiate too? Well, looking at it from a scientific perspective, the Moon is thought to be actually made from an asteroid impact or globulisation of the Earth which happened very close to the formation of the planets. This theory is based on the fact that the elements found on the moon are in rank mostly directly proportionally listed with those found on earth, however, the results for certain elements, most notibly Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Titanium and Chromium, are at variance, which may be explained by asteroid impact upon the moon, but this cannot be the whole story. There is another theory, that the Moon is in fact a large body which was captured very early upon the Earths formation and became a permanent satellite of the Earth. A fortuitous occurrence either way as the moon regulates tides and certainly assists in the processes to be found upon the Earth itself. My own theory is that Mani is the brother of Sunna indeed, but where-as Sunna is still a product of Muspellheim in that she is continuing to be active, Mani was once active, but his 'fire' was of a different type, which cooled in the cold of space and so his heat dissipated, he has the very different character we sense now, that being of an entity of calm, patience and a very regulated existence, given it is his influence of the world that generates the tides, and that this influence even extends to we human beings (being 70% water).

So, why then do some feel Masculine energy from the Sun and Feminine from the Moon? The answer, is, in my personal opinion, simple. The active characteristics of Sunna tend to be more often associated with males in our modern world, and even in some of the cultures which have existed in the past, and likewise, the passive characteristics of Mani tend to be looked upon as feminine. After all, no woman can be strong, active and powerful, and no man can be calm, patient and regular... or can they? There-in lies the answer. To operate from a realm of generality, with specific gender roles, diminished the characteristics, thus ensuring that the sun would be male, and the moon female. We know however, in life, that such generalisations are in most cases, far too easily made. In fact, the Germanic Woman has been known for her fire and determination, and often had tempers just as vibrant as some of the menfolk.

Drawing down the moon tends to be looked upon as tapping into the 'goddess' energy, in-as-mcuh as the recna be a singular 'goddess', something that simply doesn't exist in traditional Folkways, and the 'evidence' for a pan-european 'goddess' is cobbled together from sources which ignore any other possible outcome and even ignore evidence to the contrary. However, to my own perspective I can understand it. After all, if Mani has more a feminine character, then one will sense feminine energy, even though he's male. Another factor I consider important in the very characteristic of the moon, being that as a celesital body, it reflects the suns light, which is how we get the moon being 'lit' at night. Hence, at the full moon, the feminine energy radiating from the moon is very strong, and allied to that the energy from Natt (Night - being Female), well, one can understand how such a powerful level of feminine energy would be what most would sense.

Ultimately, it's up to the individual to decide how they view things, but I still consider it very important that people take the time and make consideration for what our ancestors thought. After all, you never know, they many have learned a few things in the past 40,000 years which we, in the past 40 may not have all the answers on.

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