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Also, re: mistletoe

Yesterday I learned that not everyone knows mistletoe is a tree parasite. Which is interesting to me as a storyteller. In Norse mythology, the god Baldr is killed with mistletoe (thanks Loki...). His mother, Frigg extracted an oath from everything under the sun to not harm her child. But she skipped mistletoe because she didn't consider it a separate plant.

Taxonomy saves lives, people. :D

#mythology #MythologyMonday #folklore #nature #storytelling
#Nature #folklore #storytelling #mythologymonday #mythology
Si Fuller
I thought it was because mistletoe is soft and bendy, so not a threat, but that makes sense.

Did you know that mistletoe evolved in Australia, and we still have the most species? Also, corvids evolved here, so you're welcome, Norse myths.

Oh, and there's a type of mistletoe that doesn't even have leaves. It grows inside cactus, 100% parasitic, and you only know it's there when a flower pops through the skin like a prettier Alien.
Dr. Zalka Csenge Virág
Didn't know any of that. Fascinating!
Si Fuller
Oh, and also (forgive me, you most likely know this, but I'm feeling depressed and oversharing trivia helps), in Gesta Danorum, Baldr was the bad guy, a horrible warlord immune to normal metal., who made everyone's lives miserable and short. Until Loki told Hotherus about a magic sword ... named Mistletoe.
Dr. Zalka Csenge Virág
Okay I did not know that version, I'll have to look it up :D
Si Fuller
It's odd. Some of it is history involving the southern Baltic states, but once it runs out of reliable sources (in the 12th century that wouldn't have taken long), it turns to pre-Christan mythology. The Norse gods, the Asir, are reimagined as mortal rulers of Asia, but who nevertheless had all the usual godly powers.
Joan 🍁🍂 Mask up
Has anyone ever done a Baldr's mistletoe / Achilles' heel comparison?
Dr. Zalka Csenge Virág
I think both belong to a larger trope of having one vulnerable spot / weakness. See also Sigurd/Siegfried, Isfandiyar, etc.
E. C. Bigribs
Other mistletoe trivia: there are some species that are epiparasitic, which is to say they are parasites of other species of mistletoe (which are parasites of trees).
ekari
Also, in favorable circumstances mistletoe can start the chain reaction where in the end there is a parasite in a completely different species (a human baby). Wild stuff!
Psycodepath
quality toot
vandenberglegs
I learned about mistletoe parasitism from Asterix comics.
Bjørnar 🇧🇻
In the most common version of the myth she skips the Mistletoe because it's too young and she feels she can't ask it for an oath. Which doesn't make much sense, but seems to just be there to allow for it to later be the instrument of death.
JeniParsons
great thread!
Eggler
I remember learning about this from a video game, Devil Survivor. Of course, they called it the devil's fuge in the game, but it was mistletoe attached to a phone charm.

Needed it to fight Beldr, an early boss.
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