Myths and Dream Logic

Gods and mythical heroes often have to solve their problems with solutions that follow dream logic, not our normal day-to-day thinking.
Dr. Jackson Crawford is Instructor of Nordic Studies and Nordic Program Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder (formerly UC Berkeley and UCLA). He is a historical linguist and an experienced teacher of Old Norse, Modern Icelandic, and Norwegian. Visit JacksonWCrawford.com
Music © I See Hawks in L.A., courtesy of the artist. Visit www.iseehawks.com/
Logo by Elizabeth Porter (snowbringer at gmail).
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Jackson Crawford’s translation of The Poetic Edda: www.amazon.com/gp/product/162...
Jackson Crawford’s translation of The Saga of the Volsungs with The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok: www.amazon.com/gp/product/162...
Jackson Crawford’s Patreon page: / norsebysw

[@JacksonCrawford]

I could add hundreds more examples of this, of course. One that comes to mind as I'm posting this video today is the story of Óðinn getting Óðrerir from Gunnlǫð (kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2Svi56ZYsaCi7c); after a long, complicated process of getting into her cave, he simply flies out of it in the form of a bird. Or consider the way that Freyr is going to be unarmed at Ragnarǫk when he fights Surtr (so says Snorri) because he's given away his sword to his servant Skírnir as a prize for courting his bride Gerðr for him (as told in Fǫr Skírnis). In the meantime, Freyr surely could have had another powerful sword made for him by the dwarves, but in the logic of myth or dream, often someone who has disarmed once is permanently disarmed, and those who lose something can never get it back or replace it.

[@juliaconnell]

or Sleipnir - sure the reasonable, logical, normal, everyday solution to break a contract to build a wall is for Loki to turn himself into a mare and seduce the literal 'work-horse' - (creating Sleipnir in the process) especially when Thor kills the builder anyway - so there was no need break the contract in the first place interesting concept - the 'forced solution' - looking forward to any further development of this aspect of myths.

[@juliaconnell]

Shifu Carega - interesting points. not sure I agree with all of it - especially that it all links back to either drugs or 'astrology' (surely more astronomy? - or cosmology? - observing and interpreting the natural world, especially the night sky). also - not really talking about "illogical" solutions - just different, alternative, non typical solutions

[@juliaconnell]

ahh sneaky Dr Crawford - lol _smile_ - changing the title of this from 'forced solutions' (was that it?) to 'dream logic' - makes more sense - and understand this is a work in progress - just slightly changes the relevance of my original comment, but it's all good :)

[@juliaconnell]

oh and thanks doc - last dream I had was semi lucid (knew I was dreaming but couldn't control it) and there was a big ( _big_ ) brown dog in it - mine didn't chase me though, just 'oh there's a dog, that's new, really massive, wonder what breed that is'. lol. just remembered

[@almakif8332]

The forced solution is definitely a feature of the human mind. Even in waking life people seem to fixate for years or lifetimes on solutions to problems that either solve problems that don't exist or that could never resolve the root of the issue they perceive.

[@mcolville]

I SUSPECT MANY OF YOU ARE!

[@PrimroseFrost]

I mean, he knows how many of us got here in the first place.

[@Gormancraft]

Haha, of course you're here... Good.

[@TheK3vin]

You two are my absolute favorite online content creator bromance.

[@TheRedkast]

I feel personally attacked

[@ygghorse4631]

Wait Matt Colville what!

[@Harrow_the_Ninth]

I never expected to see the day when Dr Crawford sympathized with my woes as a dungeon master...

[@jenniferandrew3373]

Right? He totally gets it!

[@kevinsmith9013]

Stop railroading your players and you'll all be happier

[@richardscott248]

“I haven’t played, since 3.5.” Sounds to me, like he wants to get back into the game! Lol

[@TheIfifi]

I did not expect the sly "I expect many of you are..."

[@LordOz3]

"I want to run a game where the characters do what I want." "That's called writing a book."

[@8mmkyle865]

Jackson Crawford was already one of my favorite professors and people to listen to, but hearing him go on and make references to D&D and showing his experience with roleplaying games just made him a legend in my eyes.

[@kennethself2589]

Dr. Crawford would be a great DM

[@UltimateNinjaSrb]

>you will never play a long RPG session taking place within a Viking setting with Dr. Crawford as the GM using all his knowledge to create a saga-worthy story How to cope?

[@MissKellyBean]

Megaloceros Dude, rub it in why dontcha.... sheesh. Harsh, man.... harsh.

[@valeriy8502]

@@UltimateNinjaSrb 😂

[@gunslinger11bravo]

Many years ago I was the Director of Cultural Resources for a Nez Perce tribal program. Within that program we had a wildlife department and they put together a booklet describing the tribal perspective on wildlife management. They including some traditional folklore which they referred to as myths. They asked me if I has any thoughts or recommendations before the booklet was published. I recommended that they use the term "legend" rather than "myth" because the common interpretation of "myth" as something that isn't true and there are many people in the American Indian community that believe in these stories as fact. The wildlife director and his intern that help put the booklet together were fairly religious Christians and they just didn't get what I was saying, because in their view of course this stuff didn't happen. I told them that I thought the stories in the Bible didn't happen either, but I didn't refer to them as myths because I didn't want to insult those who did believe them. They really didn't like that, so I ended up just dropping it.

[@jkoperski9925]

Is this booklet available online, e. g. as a PDF? Greetings J

[@NuthrMattWright]

8:57 Dr. Crawford's D&D Metaphor start 12:40 D&D Metaphor end

[@8mmkyle865]

why you would timestamp the end of the D&D metaphor is beyond me.

[@justinritchey2967]

Since you brought up the weird dream/ nightmare topic; I once had a odd one about being attacked by a ghost with a sword. I ran to the kitchen, to the tableware drawer, pulled out and began to fence with a butter knife. The end.

[@nilsberg5942]

“Somebody was storing a lot of honey in order to cover a grown man in it” you read my mind Crawford

[@drmahlek9321]

How the hell do you not have more followers? I’ve been binge-watching your videos. Keep up the amazing content!

[@juliaconnell]

I completely agree Dr Mahlek!

[@faramund9865]

Perhaps in time when there will be more people enthusiastic about (Northern) Germanic pagan culture.

[@dontaylor7315]

He doesn't pitch his channel, just shoots the videos and uploads them with no fanfare - here it is, watch if you want to. Honestly he doesn't seem to care about having a lot of subscribers. He's doing what he loves and not trying to make a business of it - he already has a career.

[@daveh3997]

"French kiss with a wolf" There is probably a website for that.

[@M.athematech]

probably a tumblr feed

[@gunslinger11bravo]

Rule 34

[@JohanKylander]

e621

[@mateagleeye]

I loved the D&D metaphor you got lost in 😂

[@adamcross60]

Is it weird I got giddy when I heard specific D&D spells and terminology?

[@EmberLeo]

You should do more of these casual vids. You are hilarious and charming when you're not so serious about sticking to a lecture outline!

[@WontonTV]

I am not surprised to find out you're a D&D nerd. That is so awesome, I feel right at home on this channel now. :D

[@dominomasked]

"I suspect many of you are..." I'm feeling very attacked right now. :)

[@Carl-vu5tm]

I'm reminded of some of the conjectures presented in "the golden bough" where the original meaning of some ritual has possibly been forgotten and then afterwards explained in an unsatisfactory way. The difference between myth and dnd is in the myth you have complete control. Definitely a thought provoking video. Thanks for everything you do Dr. Crawford.

[@mackenziedrake]

Kind of. The myths change over time, sometimes in response to how the audience takes it.

[@WeShallLoveOn]

When are you and Matt Colville going to play DND together? I think I've waited for this crossover long enough....also I want to turn this idea into mechanics for the celestial plane now

[@earlybird6069]

Love that you are a bird nerd! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. It's really appreciated. Love your hats!

[@shawnat6038]

And here I didn't think I could possibly enjoy these videos more! Love the informal ramble. Plus, the DnD reference just made you inordinately cooler in my book.

[@creatureris]

I really enjoyed this video. Dreaming & DMing are both very interesting perspectives through which to look at this.

[@AndrewReinert]

This may be my favorite among your splendid video presentations. It’s a pleasure to hear you riff on a theme, like a great jazz artist. Just wonderful.

[@BrandydocMeriabuck]

I understand what you're getting at, no doubt this may have happened sometimes. On the other hand, could it not have a kind of metaphorical or allegorical meaning which we can't understand due to the change in culture over time? Mythic narrative doesn't tend to display a lot of logical solutions simply because they are meant to represent something, rather than explain something outrightly. Edit: It might be worth pointing out that many psychologists also say the same thing about dreams.

[@FiikusMaximus]

ᛠᛚᛞᛥᚪᚾ totally agree. Many other cultures' myths can be understood in multiple ways, just like the Bible for example. (however as mentioned, that does not necessarily take away their historical value)

[@marcusatiusvirilis7723]

I agree, though there seems to be plenty of dream influence on myth

[@eh1702]

I think that sometimes myths are kind of degraded mnemonics. They degraded as people moved to different landscapes, ecological zones etc.

[@losthor1zon]

"Forced solution"... dare I say it? Baldrdash! (Ducks to avoid rotten fruit projectiles...)

[@Nikelaos_Khristianos]

As a Dungeon Master, I really appreciate the links between myths and storytelling in Dungeons and Dragons. It's like our version of oral storytelling for our modern times. I used to have a player that would apply his own logic to EVERYTHING about the world which is, to a point, fair enough. But when that sort of interrogation starts sapping the magic out of the world for everyone else and that person begins demanding that a novel unfolds around them is, in its own way, ludicrous. Meet myths on their own terms. Another example could be Unferth in Beowulf. His name literally means "Unfriend", you don't really get any prizes for guessing who the slimiest guy in Heorot is.

[@cardreader80]

Fascinating! Thank you! Also it was nice seeing you smile.

[@tommierhodes1719]

from a JUngian perspective, it is interesting that the 'self' is something like the shadow, and it is a dungeon master. it is interesting also in that the subconscious or unconscious self does know what the result should be and trying to get that to the conscious self is only through the dream almost all of the time. the solution is considered forced because the conscious ego doesnt get it and will think that its own ego consciousness knows or should know. the car would actually seem to represent the self and the directed self, a goal of the hero.

[@DasUberCow]

Wow, now i want to play D&D with Jackson.

[@rogercantley1322]

You know, isn't that exactly how our emotional logic works? We come up with a perception of the problem and a plan for solving it, and we are suddenly blind to everything that doesn't apply to our plan, or the flaws in the plan itself.

[@EmberLeo]

"Fill his mouth with honey. Of course. This is the logical solution to this problem." LOL!

[@NorseBoi_]

I've been watching your videos on norse mythology for several months to help me in my Norse campaign where the party has to assist the gods in preventing Ragnarok (or atleast stopping the cyclical nature of time) so I really appreciated the DnD references in this video and thank you for all the information you have helped provide.

[@adamjones6149]

As a DM, I have never felt more called out.

[@tana4056]

I am just binge watching all of your videos, they're so interesting and educational! I can't believe this channel doesn't have more subscribers.

[@shiva1x]

Excellent video, as always! It's funny, today is my birthday, and I was planning on making a video on the creative use of myth to purposefully guide one's life, and you just solidified that idea! Thanks

[@floralkid]

This reminds me of Snakes on a Plane. There are tons of ways for the villain to kill the protag, but someone literally says that the snakes are the only way. My friend group has a running joke about it but now I know what it's actually called. It's such a forced solution, they release the snakes with a bomb. Why not just use a bomb? There are better ways???

[@anthonyhudson3158]

The myths are esoteric kennings. The metaphor the skalds were layering when they composed them are now probably lost to us.

[@careywanabe]

Very interesting and well thought out.... The massive bug on that rock was insanely distracting! Lol

[@mackenziedrake]

Having played a bit of D&D and a lot of LARP, there are definitely time you can see you're playing out someone else's psychodrama -- sometimes more psycho, sometimes more drama -- in game, and the solutions don't always make logical sense except to the storyteller. Thank you so much for bringing this other concept into your lecture! It explains a lot.

[@the_bread_wolf]

This was great, and I'm hoping for more like it.

[@gracelewis6071]

The dream example I think is perfect - in my exploration of my dreams, I believe them to be archetypes of solutions that your mind is seeking. I think mythology is kind of like a waking dream - seeking solutions on a cultural level. For example the tiger could represent your own fierceness, and your truck could represent moving rather than standing and facing it. The buildings would represent something else, perhaps hiding, and since that's not what the brain is grappling with, it won't go there. Each person's dreams are incredibly individual of course, so each symbol can often represent something different. On a cultural level I find it fascinating to compare cultural symbols - how white in some cultures means death for example, while in others black does. And so you will see this reflected in the stories and myth of those cultures. PS; I can't believe there's not a cowboy hat emoji to sign off with! 😉

[@timothydoughty8246]

Wow. It gets better and better.

[@fjordsonmooreman9931]

Fantastic videos! Just wanted to say that Sleipnir design at the end is awesome

[@keithrutherford5164]

Thanks for the video gets the mind thinking

[@wyattsalusguitarist]

Really love this video, I have to keep up with your work more!

[@mindyschaper]

"If this is a problem you have... and I hope it isn't." Literally giggled.

[@JeffersonMills]

Thank you. I was aware of this phenomenon in myths and fairy tales, but not that it had been recognized and named. Your comparison of it to dream logic is quite enlightening. And again, as a D&D player and DM, I was amused by the unexpected similarity to railroading in games. Great work!

[@Nuke_Gunray]

þis has been а very interesting video, thank you very much, Prof. Crawford. I like your "meta-view" of the whole mythology-topic and would be glad to see more videos like this one. :)

[@MrCearl]

It's a common tool in storytelling to play with the audience's expectations to make the tale more memorable in the moment, when they expect something mundane hit them with something from left field, when they expect something fantastical hit them with something surprisingly mundane.

[@sunshinesilverarrow5292]

Thank you! 🌞 N Ps. I so appreciated the picture & info on the bird.

[@TheK3vin]

Fucking legend. This is video couldn't get any better, and then you make a comparison to Dungeons and Dragons.

[@stevemackelprang8472]

great stuff... Doc.. keep on

[@helle5285]

Thank you 😀

[@partysnick]

i don't know if this is really the same, but i kept thinking that people get fixated on stuff too and without help it can be heard to see other solutions. As well as how do we show that we are superior to our enemies, we get to the moon before they do, that'll show them.

[@williameichmann3037]

You have suspected correctly, Dr. Another great video 👍

[@squirrel435]

The connection to dream logic is really interesting and got me thinking about myth in a way I hadn’t before. I’d like to think that the way myths are constructed have something to do with actual religious meaning and teachings though haha. Probably for the best though that this wasn’t discussed as this channel really isn’t the platform for religious debate.

[@doseferatu]

Read some Carl Jung, and do well to avoid new-age interpretations of him.

[@ThiagoOdy]

Hello Dr. Crawford! Your videos are simply amazing, both the topics and the places you record them! About these problematics of logical solutions, I highly recommend you to read Jung's books regarding the unconscious. The interpretation of the myths' motifs become as clear as water! Actually there is a lot of books of his regarding myths' and dreams' interpretations, and how the ancient people related themselves and the gods and goddesses through the so called archetypes. I also recommend the book Shamanism, by professor Mircea Eliade! By the way, about your dream, it seems to me that you had to stop avoiding the problems of yours related to your formation. Of course the beast would run after you and no one else, it was something you were doing with yourself. Does it make sense? Of course, it's just and interpretation. Thank you very much for your job here! Greetings from Curitiba-Brazil!

[@gweiloxiu9862]

Study CG Jung, and apply his method of analysis (psychoanalysis) to either dream or myth and a less obvious but more important narrative will emerge as the "true narrative" of the myth or dream, and it will make absolute sense. Jung wasn't just the founder of analytical psychology; he has had a major formative impact on other related fields as well. Comparative religion, anthropology, so forth. "Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. His work has been influential in not only psychiatry but also anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, and religious studies."

[@XxChaosWitchxX]

ha! when you said you were being chased by a dragon i immediately thought (he probably plays D&D) ha!

[@j3tztbassman123]

3.5 really is, imo, the best format.

[@arnimellner3357]

this cowboy fade out thing is pretty cool!

[@VeracityTrigger]

Your dream probably relates to your fears or problems that come from being on campus. The other campus people have no need to fear the entity but you. It's your minds way of saying that there is something specifically big and worrisome that is chasing you there, that doesn't bother other people of that specific establishment. The only escape from the entity is with your own truck / or your own personal freedom. The truck symbolizes something sentimental to you and / or travel that probably just relates to yourself. It could be your minds way of saying that you need personal or mental detachment from what the campus monster represents. Dreams are usually very personal and the dreamer can usually interpret the understanding after awhile, or through some meditation and reflection. The way you described your dream is what 'to me' it sounds like. Hope that helps.

[@Matt_Volk]

At what age was a Norseman able to swear an oath?

[@MissJuggler]

i guess when he first made an oath to his chieftain/jarl and received an armring or another symbol of being a part of the community - so I'd say around the age 11-14 (im no historian though)

[@HelennaRose]

“Not a recurring dream in case you’re worried about my psyche. Is it a hypothetical ? You said the drream location depends on which campus you’re working on, so then leads to wonder if is a recurring dream. I love paradoxes. Especially in dreams.

[@renemeyer2602]

I always tougth of the story of Baldrs death to be about how no parent no matter their power can ever absolutely protect their children against every possible danger, it is a hopeless endeavor. You will always overlook something.

[@seanboyd2898]

That's how I understood it as well. You cannot prevent Fated events, and that Fate will force itself to become true.

[@widdomonki238]

Jackson Crawford: keepin' it real. :D

[@aribavel2757]

Nice fade!

[@iantaakalla8180]

7:45 Atsushi when he slums around a college and needs to get to a truck before he is recruited to the Armed Detective Agency.

[@desi3427]

Pursuing dreams. I have them too. Mine are usually giant wolves, like werewolves. Cool video 👍

[@jenniferandrew3373]

Role playing nerd checking in!

[@mcolville]

Rifts. Of course fucking of course.

[@jericson1109]

White Wolf and Onyx Path Publishing had a roleplaying game called SCION, where players play the heroic offspring of gods, progressing them from hero to demigod and onwards. A lot of it operates in this strange sort of world of legendary thinking you are describing. There was a reboot of it in the works, not sure when. Lots of suggestions for Norse pantheon elements in the source books and Ragnorok has its own very own source book. I've often wondered whether a Norse specialist such as yourself was involved in it.

[@mythnam]

Weirdly, the solution in the Sigmund story sounds like something they'd come up with on My Brother, My Brother, and Me. Up until the French kiss part, at least.

[@Ratnoseterry]

This was a very interesting episode, you tread into territory covered heavily by Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell which I would be pretty surprised if you hadn't read. I'm sure you've at least read of them, they really expand on some shades you touched on in question, it seemed to me at least. I recommend them highly, Campbell in particular.

[@matsie8975]

This was very interresting indeed, not only from the mythology point of view. We see this a lot in movies when people run upwards in houses or on the street while being chased.... Another thing, not sure you take suggestions from here but how about something about the Viking's discovery of Vinland? There is an interresting boom from Rudolf Simek, where he presents the various sources ( in German though) and I am convinced this would make a nice mini series here too..... Thanks for your work

[@Jumpoable]

DOCTOR JACKSON CRAWFORD SAID FEATHERFALLLLLLLLLLLLL.

[@stefanjasovic2311]

Very cool very nice I like this video :D

[@jennifermcclean1308]

Sometimes the solar system dreams. .. Myths are our explanation of what we see in the sky. ..

[@jessiehermit9503]

Honestly, I think there must be done symbolic reason why _that_ particular solution had to be reached. Like with mistletoe, was it really a symbol of peace south the ancient Norse? Like a truce? Maybe symbolically Loki was breaking a truce to do what he did to Baldur. That would also partially explain why he does it indirectly, using Hödr. And why was Hödr specifically blind? What's the symbolism in that? Did Hödr stand for justice or something?

[@trufflehunter58]

Jackson, thank you. Question: if you could sit down for a beer at the "Bird and Baby" in Oxford with Tolkien, what would you talk about. And can I join you?

[@brandtdavis1469]

how dare you assume correctly about me!!! lol

[@colinp2238]

Isn't the point about keeping Baldr alive to prevent/delay Ragnarok?

[@mistellechambless6824]

Not such a bad solution to want to get to your truck, this coming from a very successful charioteer in the dream realm.

[@MissKellyBean]

I don't question that the male Broad-Tailed Hummingbird is drengr af, but I am VERY interested to know why Dr. Crawford holds him in such esteem. :-) Super curious.

[@antoninaheath3671]

Love your videos. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. If it comes for the random solutions that come up in various myths, I would rather keep looking for a reason, sense and possible explanation to it. It might be that it was merged with another myth and people telling the story simply forgot the meaning behind that event and whole story from which it was taken and what was left is just a action but we can't understand why, where from, why would you use hunny. When I look close, and five hundred times to a story and five hundred other stories you might find it. (and sometimes you won't, and it stays unexplained and seem very weird). Slavic mythology is being resurrected almost entirely from folklore. When reading literally a silly song about girl and a boy dancing by the river, nobody would say that it has a cosmogonic origin. But find the meaning behind a bee, and flowers on her head and it will come that it has. Some meanings are lost forever but the came from other important stories that were incorporated into this story for a reason like forgetting, confusion, or others. That's what I would thing anyway. 📜

[@animex75]

Oh man, Rifts? I've never found someone outside my group that's played that game.

[@kristiewommack2635]

As a beekeeper, I can say it isn't too hard to have enough honey on hand to cover a grown man. To have enough honey among the mead-loving Vikings? Quite another question. 😉

[@nononene3079]

I want to be your student

[@alapikomamalolonui6424]

Silliness is certainly an Indoeuropean thing. Actually, it's a human thing, of course. Silliness blasts us out of our "norm", and being able to do that is more important than receiving pat answers to problems from "the wise" (storytellers). So "the wise" teach us the wisdom of widening our perspective as to our problems. It also teaches us to be stubborn, regardless of ludicrousness, as persistence is a hefty virtue. "If Hero-Guy can take a stand, even if it's wacky beyond belief, so can I, damn it! :) Aloha nui a me nā mahalo īa ʻoe! 🤙

[@citizent6999]

I'm in love

[@Dadutta]

Question: were giantesses imagined as being attractive in any way, or were they entirely monstrous ?

[@42ndLife]

Some men have happy Norns, and they have happy fates. Some men have miserable Norns, and they have miserable fates. Some men have drunk Norns, and they have fates we tell as myth.

[@QHarefield]

15:56 "... and I hope it isn't ..." LOL!

[@MissJuggler]

Do any of you wonderful people know was there any rune/symbol for luck or summoning good fortune? I'm thinking of a tattoo and need some real historically proven background.

[@elfarlaur]

He's got a few videos on Runes and even tattoos. I suggest that you look them up on his channel before you get anything.

[@lionward8634]

Dr. Crawford, I know this is probably really late, but now that you've mentioned DnD, you should probably at the very least check out Critical Role! It's a DnD show, narrative driven. A little off-topic, I know, but just as throwing it out there in case you ever want to reconciliate (or was it "reconcile"? pardon me, I confuse it with the spanish verb "reconciliar") with the side of you that liked playing Dungeons and Dragons! On another note, I'd like you let you know that your series of videos are helping me a lot to better understand certain aspects of old norse culture and stories, which is actually helping me to think of worldbuilding ideas for a personal project of mine. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with everyone else.

[@drifterdriftington9388]

I feel like a lot of these situations are problems with a million conditions, like the wolf and the honey one. You want to rescue your brother. Your husband has set his mom (who is a wolf) to eat him tonight. You can't kill your husband or openly defy him, cause that's rude and bad and whatever. You can't kill his wolf mom either cause that's just bad manners. You can't go free your brother yourself or have a slave do it because your husband will get mad. How do you free your brother without defying your husband? Well you have him or his mom or someone else who is on his side do it on accident. His mom is gonna be in the vicinity given that she's supposed to be doing the killing, so maybe you can lure her somehow. Honey is pretty sweet, I doubt anything could resist some good honey. And yeah, you gotta lick up the honey with your tongue, which is pretty vulnerable. Lets put honey in your brother's mouth so he can bite down on the wolf's tongue! It seems to me like a combination of an overwhelming set of rules and conventions to abide by in tandem with connections made by emotion or supposition (who can resist good honey?)

[@clintcasey5851]

So your saying that you play a lot of D and D doc lol

[@AJSTITAN14]

What do you think of a hypothesis that these forced solutions are idiomatic? For example: "I heard the Jarl is pretty upset with you about that goat situation. I'm sure it's a misunderstanding but you might have to bite a wolf on the tongue to get out of this one...." I'm personally of the opinion that everything that is original to the culture is there for a reason and is important and relevant to the culture otherwise it withers away. Could forced solutions be making a point that is essentially lost because we don't know enough about how the Norse invoked references to their mythology in day to day life? Darmok and Jelad at tanagra....

[@iantaakalla8180]

Temba, his arms wide open

[@ktkatte6791]

You bringing up dreams in this instance is interesting. This is dipping into personal belief, but I tend to believe dreams are capable, not always, but capable of being more than merely weird configurations of firing neurons. I've certainly had dreams, where I had the dream interrupted, suddenly go lucid, and am visited by something otherworldly. I feel foolish for whatever dream logic thing I was doing, I assume memory of the waking world and waking self (sometimes more; a separate dream memory is a thing for me, I can even recall a bit of it waking sometimes), but idk. I've seen Ganesha, I think I've met Loki. I've seen places, and talked to beings, that defy understanding, and kind of reckon that dreams are one way to interface with higher order things. Be that the Gods of various pantheons, or The God behind it all. It's interesting insight, to say the least.

[@joraldthewizard2327]

"Veratýr vera" = "man-god of men" Is that possible? Or it was meant? I didn't really understand that moment