The Wolves Who Chase the Sun and Moon
Every day, the sun crosses the sky.
And according to Norse mythology, something is chasing her.
Two wolves, Sköll and Hati, pursue the sun and moon across the heavens. Their endless hunt is one of those wonderfully unsettling pieces of Norse mythology where something ordinary suddenly becomes part of a much larger story.
The sources aren't always perfectly consistent about which wolf pursues which heavenly body, but Sköll is commonly associated with chasing the sun while Hati pursues the moon.
And one day, they're supposed to catch them.
When the Wolves Finally Win
The wolves' pursuit is tied to Ragnarök, the series of events surrounding the death of many of the gods and the destruction and eventual renewal of the world.
When Ragnarök comes, the order holding the world together begins to fail.
The wolves finally overtake their prey. The sun is swallowed. The heavens darken.
It's a grim image, but an appropriately Norse one. Even the sun crossing the sky isn't simply nature doing what nature does. It's a race, and somewhere behind it, teeth are closing in.
Wolves in the Norse World
Sköll and Hati aren't the only wolves lurking in Norse mythology.
Most famously, there is Fenrir, the monstrous wolf bound by the gods because they fear what he will eventually become. At Ragnarök, Fenrir breaks free and kills Odin before being slain by Odin's son Víðarr.
Whether every wolf in these stories fits neatly into one family tree is another matter. Norse mythology comes to us through surviving sources written down centuries ago, and those sources don't always hand us one tidy, consistent version of every story.
That's part of what makes the mythology interesting.
These weren't stories assembled into a modern fictional universe with somebody checking continuity.
They survived through people.
And people are messy storytellers.
Still Chasing
Today, Sköll and Hati have become popular symbols in modern Norse-inspired art and jewelry. Two opposing wolves make for a striking design even before you know the story.
Once you do, though, they become something more.
Two wolves.
Two lights in the sky.
And a chase destined to continue until the end of the world.
Not bad inspiration for a bracelet.
