Mani and Sol?

[Valhalla]

Anybody have any insight as to why the Germanics personified the Moon as male and the Sun as female, when pretty much everyone else did the exact opposite?

-Valhalla

[Lokabrenna]

Re: Mani and Sol?

Anybody have any insight as to why the Germanics personified the Moon as male and the Sun as female, when pretty much everyone else did the exact opposite?

-Valhalla

I've heard the argument that the sun was seen as a more "nurturing" presence in the North, whereas harsher climates were more likely to see the sun as a warrior (typically a male profession), but I don't know if that argument holds much water when you consider that cultures like the Canaanites and the Hittites also had sun goddesses, Egypt had a bunch of deities tied to either luminary, and they all lived pretty close to "harsh" deserts.Sumer had a male sun and a male moon (Utu/Shamash and Nanna/Sin respectively).

And I'd hardly say that "everyone else" did the same thing: Japan, certain Indigenous tribes (both in North America and Australia) Lithuania not to mention the places I already mentioned, all these cultures had female suns and male moons.

[Ula]

Re: Mani and Sol?

The sun make things grow, melts ice and therefore is seen as a fertile energy. Saunas are supposed to give you that same energy.

[westwoden]

Re: Mani and Sol?

moon seems more male to me - hunting and the like.

Wild dogs, wolves, out searching for prey.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: Mani and Sol?

It is more about differing world views, not everyone everywhere had eigther stance on sun and moon. I think part of what makes it seem like the norse gods stick out a bit is that Celtic tribes were spread across Europe earlier, and much from them had become syncretised within rome before the Norse were even very affected by Rome, not too many peoples but they had a few similar ideas which were easier to meld than a culture that was quite different like the Norse. Or they could have just felt very differently, it is hard to say without having been there or having as much scholastic knowledge as I would like about the culture...