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Manny Olds, Head Lunatic
Note: This is all just the ranting of a Lunatic. Unless otherwise noted, there is no support for any of this, either in the lore or from any other Lunatics. Caveat Emptor!
Recently, I have been meditating a lot about Thor and why my life-long connection to Thor keeps drawing me into a close relationship with Mani (and the whole Mundilfari clan).
I kept getting an image of Thor kicking that dwarf into Balder's funeral pyre. So I thought about that for a while. In the lore, Thor is often shown to be hot under the collar. We get the impression of a violent temper held in check. For example, in the story of Utgard-Loki a peasant's family is responsible for laming one of Thor's goats. He is furious, but controls himself when he sees their fear. At Balder's funeral, Thor was so overcome by grief that he was not able to maintain control.
It seems that Thor has a lot of inner anger that he usually manages to channel into constructive jotun-cracking. The storm naturally destroys whatever is there. How did he learn to control himself, and when?
So I meditated on this question for a while.
Wonder of wonders, I think I was given more or less a straight answer. I was shown that Frigga arranged for Thor to be fostered by Mani, after some unpleasant incident which showed a lack of empathy for common people. His Wyrd is to stand for the thralls and small farmers, so she sent him to travel with Mani among us for a while when he was younger. Thor regards Mani as his foster father and still travels with him from time to time.
It has such a strong flavor of Frigga, quietly setting things up for the End Days.
Frigga and Mani have a good working relationship and an affectionate family bond. When Mani rescues a child, he takes her to Frigga for fostering. Bil and Hjuki were just the first of a long series. Frigga and Mani also discuss what he sees and hears in his travels.
Although one assumes from the lore than Mani had one or two animals to pull the cart with the moon, we are never given any specifics. Since the outward lore search failed, I decided to try an inward search. It took me a while to figure out that the images of a pair of dogs were the answer to my question.
In NW Europe, ordinary people (such as farmers) commonly used large dogs as draft animals. Dogs certainly make more sense for draft animals than cats or goats. And dogs suit Mani's personality a lot better than horses.
When I searched an encyclopedia of dogs to find out which breed most closely match the image I had, I easily selected the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, which is an extremely old breed that was specialized for draft work and for guarding. (I'm not saying they are GMSDs, just that pictures of them will give you a good idea of what I saw). Here is a picture of a pair of GMSDs harnessed side-by-side. Here is a picture of a pair harnessed in tandem. If you are seized with the need to know more, you can look at this site.
Apparently, Mani calls this pair Big Mouth and Wiggler. I suppose that a proper skald would make up more dignified names, but these are fine for me. If I ever get a good Old Norse translation, I'll put that in. Despite their excellent hauling credentials, I most often picture them as travelling companions and as guards. And also licking people, but I suppose that anyone who has ever had a dog of this class would generally picture them licking people (or sleeping).
Mani walks and is associated with sandals and trails through the woods. His associated animals are frogs and jays. His trees are basswood and aspen. He has a pair of white mittens, an end-blown flute, and a walking stick. His chosen weapon is a sling.
Mani has appeared to me as a young man with very pale skin and black hair. His features are somewhere between the singers Bjork and the guy from the band a-ha, Morten Harket. (No, I am not a fan of either, but their pictures are readily available and will give you some idea.) He usually wearing a maroon tunic or skirted coat over rust colored leggings or a maroon t-shirt and jeans. And sandals, of course.
He is known for singing with more gusto than skill. He doesn't drink as much as the other gods, so Thor calls him "Water-Drinker". He is also called "Footsore". For some reason, he and Freya don't get along well.
The best way to get in touch with Mani is to walk down a trail through the woods, at night, with a full moon in transit. It's not that he is particularly fussy, but it helps get you in the right frame of mind.
Mani is associated with the usual sky emblems such as whirling disks, spirals, swastikas, and fylfots. The Cult of Mani has decided that we will also use triskelions, because they are sound symbolically and the market has responded to the swarms of Celts with some nice triskelion jewelry.
Here are some moonesque emblems that I have
collected.
If any this makes you want to enlist, the Cult of Mani is currently accepting applications for Field Agents. Apply to the Head Lunatic.
Last Modified 27 Auguts 1999
Manny Olds, oldsma@pobox.com
To the House of Mundilfari
