Stormarksgothi,
What is the most important animal in the Asatru religion?
There's the dragon Níðhöggr (Nidhogg) who eats the roots of the world tree Yggdrasill. This way he tries to destroy the world.
Good Morning To You, My Gentle Friends,
A Dragon Who Wants To Destroy The World??? . . .
How Magnificent!!! . . .
I LOVE Dragons!!! . . .
They are SUCH Beautiful Creatures!!! . . .
Have A Most Splendiferous Morning . . . Forthwith . . .
There are many animals important in Norse religion.
Nidhogg is one, as is Jormungandr, the Midgard serpent:
| QUOTE |
| Child of Loki and Angrboda, this great Wyrm circles Midgard, lying in the depths of the ocean. Thor caught him once while fishing and struck him on the head, but Thor's companion, the giant Hymir, became afraid and cut the line. At Ragnarok, the Midgard Serpent and Thor will slay each other. |
Another animal with claim to being the most important in Norse religion is Audhumla:
| QUOTE |
| The primal cow, born at the same time as Ymir, whose licking brought the first god, Odin's grandfather Bor, out of the ice of Niflheim. |
There is also Fenrir:
| QUOTE |
| The great Wolf, son of Loki and his giant-wife Angrboda, who will swallow Odin at Ragnarok. |
Tyr lost his hand to Fenrir:
| QUOTE |
| According to the Edda, at one stage the gods decided to shackle the wolf Fenrisulfr (Fenris), but the beast broke every chain they put upon him. Eventually they had the dwarfs make them a magical ribbon called Gleipnir from such items as a woman's beard and a mountain's roots. But Fenrir sensed the gods' deceit and refused to be bound with it unless one of them put his hand in the wolf's mouth. Tyr, known for his great courage, agreed, and the other gods bound the wolf. Fenrir sensed that he had been tricked and bit off the god's hand. Fenrir will remain bound until the day of Ragnarök. |
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Another important animal is Ratatosk:
| QUOTE |
| The squirrel that runs up and down the World-Tree, bearing nasty messages between the dragon at its roots and the eagle at its crown. |
And another:
Sleipnir:
| QUOTE |
| Odin's gray, eight-legged horse, borne by Loki (in mare-shape) to the giant-stallion Svadilfari. |
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In addition, virtually all of the gods and goddesses are associated with specific animals, for instance:
Odin: Associated with
Sleipnir, the eight-legged steed,
Geri and
Freki, two wolves and
Huginn and
Muginn, two ravens.
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Quotes from:
http://www.thetroth.org/ourfaith/gods.htmlexcept the quote on Tyr vs. Fenrir, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyr Good Afternoon To You, My Gentle Friends,
My Goodness, there certainly are a LOT of important animals in the Asatru Religion!!! . . .
Have A Most Splendiferous Afternoon . . . Forthwith . . .