Ragnarok, the "Twilight of the Gods" of the Northern Tradition, is yet another retelling of the cyclic fate of not only this Earth (Midgard) and mankind, but also of the Gods themselves. What seems to set these things in motion, or is at least a harbringer of things to come, is the untimely demise of Baldur. His death upsets the natural order of the universe, and even the gods were incredulous at the events that transpired there. Loki, often both the gods boon and bane, is cited as the prime instigator of Baldur's death. Loki is also the progenitor of the primary monsters which feature heavily during the time of Ragnarok (Fenris, Jormungand, and Hel). Loki's purpose in these events remains mysterious, but we suppose he is just playing his part in this destiny, and even he falls in battle with Heimdall.
During this cataclysmic event, most of the elder gods die, including Odin (swallowed by the Fenris-wolf), Thor (poisoned by the Midgarth serpent), Freyr by Surt, Tyr, and so on. After the conflagration, when the world is burned by the fires of Surt, Baldur eventually returns with Vidar (Odin's son who killed Fenris), Thor's sons, and various other surviving gods. There are also two humans who survived the fire, who live on to forge a new race of people under the rule of Baldur. And thus a new world begins, one that is described as without evil and misery, where all live in peace and harmony. On a courser level, this seems like a world whose balance has shifted much closer to Order than Chaos, with most of the "chaotic" gods not surviving Ragnarok.
As these cycles turn on the lower levels of creation, a shift in spirituality also occurs. The duality of light and dark, and Order and Chaos must be ever fought to retain the balance of the Universe. There must always be some form of dynamism, lest the worlds stagnate in stifling Order, and there must always be creation and permanence, or else all would dissipate into endless Chaos. Therein lies the secret of the two paths, for when the end of a cycle comes, destinies must be chosen and fates must be spun (if is has not been chosen for you already!)
One path is the path of union, where union with the universe is the typical goal of most of the world's religions, whether they be Christianity, Buddhism, and even most New Age-type people (You can trade your crosses for crystals and beads, but you are still on the same path!)
The other path is that of separation, where union with the universe is not desired. By following the path of separation, you must continue to isolate the psyche, the soul, the "core self" against reintegration into the cosmic order.
Whatever created this universe, whether it was a supreme being creating outside of itself in order to see its handiwork and evolve, or if it was some type of natural event such as matter/anti-matter, or fire and ice collision to form the core Logos (if I may use the gnostic term) of the universe. It was a collision of opposites that created this universe. In the gnostic sense, this is the falling of the spirit into denser parts of matter. This is the biblical "fall from heaven". The goal is to spiritually evolve from courser levels of being to reintegrate and reunite with the core singularity with no residue of duality.
There are many of us out there who see this "fall" as our "rise". We are Lucifer cast out of heaven. We are Odin hanging nights all nine, separated from the creator, winning the knowledge that we too can be a creator. We are the whisperer on the winds, and the shadow in the darkness. We are the dark side that most fear in their tortured dreams.
Valvater's warriors in Valhalla, the Einherjer, were hand picked by Odin to take part in the final battle. To die a good death meant that you were taking action against the natural forces of the universe, and not to simply fade away on the sick bed into the depths of Hel at the end of a long and dull life. The wanderers of Valholl continue their life, even in death, to fight on in Odin's armies.
I have mentioned before in the commentary on _The Stranger_ about the ecstasy of Odin and its advantages and its dangers. Even Odin himself falls in the heat of battle, as was his destiny, but not before his progeny (Vidar) avenged him to continue the path of Odin in the new world. For in many ways, the way of Odin is that of the way of Chaos. In its fight with the forces of Order, (and maybe even the balance itself), it acts like a spinning wheel to catalyze all around it into action against the natural orderings of the universe. It seeks to extend this ecstacy, the joy of the fully lived life, of the striving for something greater, of the quest of becoming. Of course, too much chaos would lead to complete entropy in which nothing could exist. Therefore, the balance tips and sways causing the worlds to evolve, but never too far in one direction.
Those of the dark side are masters of creation and destruction, while those who claim to be masters of the light merely seek to retain the natural balance. Those of the left hand path are considered a danger to the balance. But do not these fools see that we are here to create and destroy, to be like the original creator, not to act merely as a pawn in someone else's game? And in the time when cycles close, and new cycles arise, it is the destroyers and creators time to father the next world, for they are always the victors, they who carve themselves a new destiny. The rest merely ride the flotsam and jetsam to their doom. They will simply be reintegrated in this time or another, unchanged from the being they once were, forced to repeat another set of lessons they will never learn nor understand.
For this is the secret of Hel and those who go there, for it is simply a place of stasis until you are brought back into Midgard to prove your worth. As one can see, Baldur himself left his fate in other's hands, and ended up in Hel because of it. But once he returned, (and maybe this was the secret that evil Odin breathed into his ear), he was ruler of the new world. For now he bears the secret of dynamism, of life, of the stuff of chaos that causes beings to evolve above all others. For you see that when time stands still at the end of creation, only those that have Become will join and rule the new world. They are the ones that will exist beyond the dying sun.
— Daemonskald, 35th Summer
