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Ragnarok: The Rainbow Bridge that Connects Heaven and Earth at the Caribbean Basin – Part II

Ragnarok: The Rainbow Bridge that Connects Heaven and Earth at the Caribbean Basin – Part II

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According to the Old Norse philologist Rudolf Simek and religious historian Mircea Eliade, Ragnarök marks the end of a cosmic cycle that will repeat ad infinitum. I argue that the Norsemen also preserve the account of a strange and wonderful land doomed to destruction, a land that upon closer inspection bears a striking resemblance to precisely this dry and habitable Caribbean Basin, were it to have existed.

In the long run, the entire boundary of the Caribbean plate will rise above sea level, thus closing the gaps that now exist between the islands of the West Indies and resulting in the isolation of the Caribbean Basin from the Atlantic Ocean and its eventual evaporation.

[Read Part I]

Geological Forces Causing Cycles of Drying and Flooding

Let us divide the entire length of the Caribbean Plate’s rim into some number of equally spaced intervals such that the length of each interval is large enough that each section contains at least one volcano. Within each interval, a volcanic eruption occurs at some frequency, and some eruptions increase the volcano’s height, whereas others decrease it. This scenario is analogous to the following hypothetical scenario.

Consider an automobile race in which there are 100 different cars and drivers. Initially, some of the racecars are placed in front of the starting line, whereas others are placed at varying lengths behind it - just as some intervals along the rim of the Caribbean plate lie above sea level whereas others lie below it, at varying altitudes above and below. Now, imagine that each of the cars is randomly selected to be in either the reverse or forward gear, and that the driver, at the end of a random interval of time, presses the gas pedal with a certain force and duration - just as each of the eruptions of the volcanoes in each of the intervals along the rim of the Caribbean plate can either increase the volcano’s height or decrease it by varying amounts.

A hypothetical car race – will the Caribbean plate lie above or below sea level?

A hypothetical car race – will the Caribbean plate lie above or below sea level? (CC BY 2.0)

It can be mathematically proven, and is intuitively clear, that all of the racecars will either be ahead or behind the starting line after the passage of a finite and reasonably small interval of time, as this problem is just a special case of the multi-agent, one-dimensional random walk problem, which always has a solution. Therefore, one may analogously prove that all of the intervals along the rim of the Caribbean Plate will either be entirely above or entirely below sea level at some time in the future; the case in which all intervals are above sea level is the case we wish to prove. But this implies that the Caribbean Sea, which is situated on the Caribbean Plate, will become isolated from the Atlantic Ocean, and hence will almost certainly dry up in the future since the rate of evaporation over the Caribbean Sea can be expected to exceed the rate of runoff and precipitation into it indefinitely.

Map of the Caribbean Sea and Basin.

Map of the Caribbean Sea and Basin. (Public Domain)

Now, imagine the scenario in which the above has come to pass, namely in which the Caribbean Sea has evaporated away because it has become isolated from the Atlantic Ocean due to the formation of this continuous landmass encircling it. As has been demonstrated earlier, some volcanic eruptions cause an increase in a volcano’s height, whereas others decrease it.

Further, imagine that a volcanic eruption occurs that fulfills all of the following conditions: first, the volcano’s height is reduced in the eruption, secondly, the magnitude of this height reduction exceeds the original elevation of the volcano above sea level, and thirdly, the volcano is large enough in breadth that it extends across the entire width of the contiguous landmass. In such a scenario, the volcano will form a gap in this previously contiguous landmass, and the Atlantic Ocean will begin to pour through this gap in a massive flood impossible to stop by any force, either human or divine, thus causing the dry basin to once again become a sea. This flood must occur, as given a sufficient interval of time, such a volcano fulfilling these conditions must also occur.

Water pours down over a rocky ledge and into basin below.

Water pours down over a rocky ledge and into basin below. (Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0)

At this point, the same arguments that have just been used to demonstrate that the Caribbean will undergo a single cycle of flooding and desiccation can be used to prove that these cycles will continue indefinitely, for the volcanism occurring at the rim of the Caribbean Plate is a product of long-acting and large-scale geological forces and is therefore expected to continue for millions of years. Therefore, since the same premises of extensive volcanic activity throughout the entire length of the Caribbean Plate apply, the probabilistic argument used previously to establish that a single cycle of flooding and desiccation will occur in the future can be applied once more to establish that yet another such cycle will take place in the more distant future, and yet again in the even more distant future, and so on - for as long as volcanism continues to occur at the Caribbean Plate boundary. The same argument, for the same reason, can be used to demonstrate that these cycles occurred in the past.

Although it has been shown that it is highly likely that the Caribbean Basin has undergone and will go through multiple cycles of desiccation and reflooding, only circumstantial evidence has been provided that links the Caribbean Basin to Midgard in particular, and these cycles of flooding and desiccation of the Caribbean with the Norse myth of Ragnarök, the cycle of successive destructions and creations of Yggdrasil. As stated previously, to claim that there is even the slightest connection between the Caribbean region and Norse mythology, which are worlds part, is an extraordinary claim in every sense, and requires more than the mere resemblances and circumstantial evidence I have cited. 

Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge

To this end, I cite the myth of Bifröst, the rainbow bridge connecting Midgard and Asgard. In one of my previous articles, I mentioned a precipitous, nearly mile-high cliff located on the western boundary of the St. Croix Basin, and argued that it was an artificial structure, an example of mega-engineering in which the structure was not made of quarried stones, but was carved from the very earth itself. I described this unnamed cliff as follows:

“But the cliff is more than just awe-inspiring. To me, at least, it is strikingly beautiful. Aligned almost perfectly north-south, and the face of the cliff facing east, the rays of the rising sun would have impinged upon the almost perfectly smooth face and showered its reflected rays onto the onlooker, with the variations in colors in the rock being revealed in their full majesty. On nights where the moon was full, the face of the cliff would have shimmered with the ghostly glow of the reflected moonlight. All in all, the cliff was a work of art meant to inspire beauty and awe. But it must have been more than that, for no civilization would have undertaken such a massive effort to create something that had only aesthetic value. It must have had a practical function that was essential to that civilization's most basic needs.”

St. Croix Basin cliff.

St. Croix Basin cliff. (Google Earth, 2016)

I also mentioned how this cliff is not a standalone structure, but forms the eastern boundary of a specific segment of a long and curving feature extending all the way from the Muertos Trough through the cliff, and beyond up to the Virgin Islands, curving at 90 degree angles three times.

Bifrost, high altitude view.

Bifrost, high altitude view. (Google Earth, 2017)

Bifrost, skew view – Red arrow points to example of arc.

Bifrost, skew view – Red arrow points to example of arc. (Google Earth, 2017)

Carved into the surface of this feature throughout its entire length are long arcs, with varying degrees of curvatures, that extend across the entire five-mile (eight-km) width of the feature. Some of these arcs are almost linear and spaced at a distance from other arcs, but others are closely spaced together, and appear, at least from space, almost exactly like the arcs that form a rainbow!

Bifrost, arcs - lower.

Bifrost, arcs - lower. (Google Earth, 2017)

Bifrost, arcs – middle.

Bifrost, arcs – middle. (Google Earth, 2017)

Bifrost, arcs – upper.

Bifrost, arcs – upper. (Google Earth, 2017)

Moreover, the bridge rises from the depths of the northeastern corner of the Venezuela plain, lying over two miles (three km) below sea level, all the way up to the Virgin Islands, which of course lie above sea level. Although Bifröst is described, as said above, as a rainbow bridge connecting Midgard and Asgard, it is also described as a bridge connecting “earth and heaven” in the Gyalfaginning 13 of the Eddas:

“Then said Gangleri: “What is the way to heaven from earth?” Then Hárr answered, and laughed aloud: “Now, that is not wisely asked; has it not been told thee, that the gods made a bridge from earth, to heaven, called Bifröst? Thou must have seen it; it may be that ye call it rainbow.’ It is of three colors, and very strong, and made with cunning and with more magic art than other works of craftsmanship.”

The god Heimdallr stands before the rainbow bridge while blowing a horn.

The god Heimdallr stands before the rainbow bridge while blowing a horn. (Public Domain)

Heaven on Earth: Higher and Lower Realms

If we translate “heaven” and “earth” to “higher realm” and “lower realm,” not in a mystical or spiritual sense, but purely in the geographical context, this feature extending from the Caribbean Basin to the Virgin Islands certainly fits the description of Bifröst, for indeed, the former lies far below the latter to such a conspicuous degree. However, if this structure really is a bridge, what is it that is being bridged? A bridge, at least in its traditional sense, is built specifically to span and provide a passage across some obstacle or impassable area, such as a river, canyon, or some low-lying land in between the bridge. This structure does indeed bridge lower-lying land, not merely on one side, but both.

To the west of the upper-middle segment of this structure lies the Virgin Islands Trough, which is a valley lying almost three miles (five km) deep between the Virgin Islands to the north and the island of St. Croix to the south. To the east of this segment lies the St. Croix Basin, also a low-lying land as has been described earlier. Therefore, this structure really does cross lower-lying land on both sides, thus meriting its designation as a “bridge,” at least in this respect.

Crossing Virgin Islands Trough and St Croix Basin.

Crossing Virgin Islands Trough and St Croix Basin. (Google Earth, 2017)

Finally, an underwater cliff in the vicinity of the feature being discussed is streaked with a rainbow-colored band.

A rainbow bridge.

A rainbow bridge. (Google Earth, 2017)

The description of Bifröst and the description of this structure match in the following respects: 1) the structure can be fairly described as a bridge in terms of the definition of a bridge, 2) the structure is streaked with closely spaced arcs that resemble the arcs of a rainbow, thus it is fitting to describe the structure as a rainbow bridge, and 3) the structure indeed extends from a lower realm to a higher realm, so it can be symbolically said to extend from earth to heaven.

Therefore, one may conclude that this structure is Bifröst. But since the lower end of Bifröst was described by the Eddas as lying in Midgard, Midgard must be the Caribbean Basin, and Asgard must be the once continuous chain of land that encircled the Caribbean Basin, since this structure’s other end extends all the way to the Virgin Islands, which would have been a part of this chain of land.

Finally, it has been demonstrated that the Norse myth of Ragnarök must be referring to the cycles of flooding and desiccation that occur in the Caribbean Basin, as opposed to another basin closer to the homeland of the Norse people, for this is where Bifröst is. Bifröst, the rainbow bridge connecting heaven with earth, is the extraordinary piece of evidence required to establish the extraordinary claim that the Norse myths were speaking of a land not nearby, but thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

Brad Yoon is a software engineer and writer. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics and a minor in anthropology at UCLA. He researches and writes about lost civilizations and other ancient mysteries.

Brad has presented his theories with Ancient Origins Premium in a series of talks on ancient legends, science and geology:

are some of the fascinating talks he’s given - only at AO Premium!

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Top Image: Valkyries in the water, Bifröst above, the rainbow bridge between Midgard and Asgard (Public Domain) and depictions of snakes and dragons that represent Ragnarök (CC BY-SA 2.5), Deriv.

By Brad Yoon

References

McCoy, D. ‘Norse Mythology for Smart People’. [Online] Available at: http://norse-mythology.org/

Pararas-Carayannis, G. ‘Volcanic Tsunami Generating Source Mechanisms In The Eastern Caribbean Region - Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis’. [Online] Available at: http://www.drgeorgepc.com/TsunamiVolcanicCaribbean.html

Bellows, H. A. (1936). ‘The Poetic Edda.’ [Online] Available at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/

Brodeur, A. G. (1916). ‘The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturlson’. Retrieved January 08, 2017, from http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/index.htm

 

Comments

andyoclover's picture

Agree.But then this worldview as a plant being say backbone of the univerese suporting worlds/galaxies is not only in north mythology but throughout the ancient world and in Vedas too.Considering Vedas are the oldest source, i tend to think that north mythology talks about planets maybe even galaxies .Therefore Asgard and other worlds are planets somewhere in space.After all that’s how i see it, not saying you’re wrong

In my opinion, Yggrasil is a metaphor for the American continent. If you imagine the continent of America as it would have appeared with a dry Caribbean (and Gulf of Mexico), it looks a lot like a tree, with South America and Central America being the trunk, and North America being the branches and leaves.

Niflheim, one of the Nine Worlds, which was described as a primordial land of ice and snow, could be a reference to the parts of the North American continent that were covered in ice during the last Ice Age.

andyoclover's picture

Interesting point of view but as you placed Midgard and Asgard on earth then the rest of the nine worlds are on earth too?As you say these are places on earth but not the worlds as a even different galactics.Should we not look at this subject from broader point of view?

Thanks for the article!

Brad Yoon's picture

Brad Yoon

Brad Yoon is a software engineer and writer. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics and a minor in anthropology at UCLA. His jobs include developing software for an electronic medical records startup, a dating app, and... Read More

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