Observations placeholder
Garm
Identifier
028824
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
In Norse mythology, Garmr or Garm (Old Norse "rag") is a wolf or dog associated with both Hel and Ragnarök, and described as a 'blood-stained' guardian of Hel's gate.This guardian occurs in both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda.
Wikipedia
Bruce Lincoln brings together Garmr and the Greek mythological dog Cerberus, relating both names to a Proto-Indo-European root *ger- "to growl" (perhaps with the suffixes -*m/*b and -*r). However, as Ogden (2013) notes, this analysis actually requires Cerberus and Garmr to be derived from two different Indo-European roots (*ger- and *gher- respectively), and in this opinion does not establish a relationship between the two names.
A description of the experience
The Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál :
The best of trees | must Yggdrasil be,
Skíðblaðnir best of boats;
Of all the gods | is Óðinn the greatest,
And Sleipnir the best of steeds;
Bifröst of bridges, | Bragi of skalds,
Hábrók of hawks, | and Garm of hounds.
One of the refrains of Völuspá uses Garmr's howling to herald the coming of Ragnarök:
The Poetic Edda from the Seeress's Prophecy
Now Garm howls loud | before Gnipahellir,
The fetters will burst, | and the wolf run free;
Much do I know, | and more can see
Of the fate of the gods, | the mighty in fight.
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The Prose Edda book Gylfaginning assigns him a role in Ragnarök:
Then shall the dog Garmr be loosed, which is bound before Gnipahellir: he shall do battle with Týr, and each become the other's slayer