Rainbows in mythology

The rainbow, a natural phenomenon noted for its beauty and inexplicability, has been a favoritecomponent of mythology throughout history. The Norse saw it asBifrost; Judeo-Christian traditionssigns it as a covenant with God not to destroy the world by means of floodwater. Finding a mythologythat does not include the rainbow somewhere may be the true challenge. Whatever the culture or continent, our species' earliest rainbow is the rainbow of the imagination. Whether as bridge, messenger,archer’s bow, or serpent, the rainbow has been pressed into symbolic service for millennia. The myriadrainbow bridges and myths built by the world’s peoples clearly tell us more about human hopes andfears than they do about nature’s rainbow.In 1866,Constantino Brumidi's oil on canvas Apotheosis of George Washington "America’s foundingfather wears a [calm] expression… as he is propelled heavenward on a rainbow... Surrounded by thirteenmaidens, Washington serenely supervises an armed Lady Liberty beneath him as she tramples out the powers of kings and tyrants." The Victorians of Brumidi’s age were merely "inheritors of a long traditionof exploiting the rainbow’s powerful visual symbolism," perpetuated by thousands of years of humancommunication. Even before humans could communicate enough to teach and learn - we have wanted tounderstand the world around us, and understand the meaning and origin of life. Unable to do this,cultures developed a belief system, a history of their existence to satisfy this innate need for knowledge.It may be no wonder, that the rainbow—bright, elusive, and heavenly—plays a magical, otherworldly part in most ancient and modern belief systems around the world. Again we see the myriad of human belief concerning the rainbow. The complex diversity of rainbow myth is far-reaching; its inherentsimilarities are also. Whether as a bridge to the heavens, a messenger to the gods, divine archer’s bow, or mystic intangible entity, the rainbow persists as a multifaceted lesson. Because while any particular idea(i.e. the rainbow) can be perceived in one way to one person – someone else can picture that idea in avery different way. And while we may not be able to fully explain the workings of the world or the purpose of life—we cannot avoid exposing our deepest hopes and fears in the search for truth.

"Throughout the inhabited world, in all times and under every circumstance, the myths of man haveflourished; and they have been the living inspiration of whatever else may have appeared out of theactivities of the human body and mind...Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustibleenergies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation."

Sumerian mythology

Not all peoples have regarded the rainbow’s power as solely benevolent. A rather ambiguous perceptionof the rainbow strikes a vein in all world culture, through its entire storied past.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

, who was an ancient Sumerian king (ca.3000 BC), is our first detailed writtenevidence of human civilization. In a Victorian translation of a Gilgamesh variant, Leonidas Le CenciHamilton's Epic of Ishtar and Izdubar, King Izdubar sees "a mass of colors like the rainbow’s hues" thatare "linked to divine sanction for war." Later in the epic, Izdubar sees the "glistening colors of therainbow rise" in the fountain of life next to Elam’s Tree of Immortality.The Sumerian farmer god Ninurta defends Sumer with a bow and arrow, and wore a crown described as a rainbow.

Norse mythology

The most celebrated rainbow bridge in Western mythology isBifrost, which connects Earth withAsgard, home of the Norse gods. Bifrost can only be used by gods and those who are killed in battle. Itis eventually shattered under the weight of war - the Ragnarok (German Götterdammerung). The notion that the rainbow bridge to heaven is attainable by only the good or virtuous, such as warriors androyalty, is a theme repeated often in world myth.Another theory, first coined by amateur etymologist Christopher Houmann, is that, in view of thecommon history of Indo-European peoples, the symbolic meaning of Asgård at the end of the rainbowmight be connected to ancient knowledge of chakras and their colors.

Bifröst

Photo:

David Cartier

In Norse mythology, "Bifrost" was the rainbow bridge leading from this mortal realm to Asgard, thehome of Odin, Thor, Loki and company. Despite the beautiful wealth of knowledge we have garneredconcerning the origin of Auroras in the interaction of the solar wind with our home world's magneticfield .... When you're watching this ... It's easy to feel some strong empathy with those cultures whichdeveloped their own host of legends and magical beliefs regarding the Northern Lights.Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, April 1st. ( Just below Sheep Mtn., in Kluane National Park)Praktica LB2, Zenitar 16mm, New Fujifilm Natura 1600 (photo straight from Walmart , no imageenhancement)Thor wades through the riversKörmt and Örmtwhile the æsir ride across the bridge Bifröst (1895) byLorenz Frølich.

Bifröst

(Old Norse

bifr

, literally the "tremulous way", from

bifask

"totremble" and

"a distance") in Norse mythology is the bridge built bythe Æsir that leads from Midgard, the realm of mortals, toAsgard, the realm of the gods, which the gods travel daily to hold their councils and pass judgments at Urdarbrunn(Well of Urd) under the shade of the tree Yggdrasill. The bridge itself is the rainbow and its guardian is the godHeimdallr , whose hall of Himinbjorg is located at the upper end of the bridge. The red color was the flaming fire, which served as a defenseagainst the giants. The bridge is destroyed at the end of the world, Ragnarök . Much of what we know concerning Bifröst comes from Snorri(quoted below), but mention of it is also made in thePoetic Edda. For example, in

Grímnismál

, stanza 29 mentions Thor crossing over rivers(such as theKörmt and Örmtand the "Kerlaugs twain") which boil from the fire of Bifröst each day onhis way to the judgement place at Yggdrasil, and later in stanza 44 it is named as the best of bridges in alist of the foremost of things (including Yggdrasil of trees,Sleipnir of horses, etc). In

Fáfnismál

, stanza