Jormungand Symbolism & Meaning

Want others to take notice? Need help handling growing pains? Jormungand, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! Jormungand shows you how to increase your visibility, all while helping you understand the underlying changes accompanying rites of passage! Delve deeply into Jormungand symbolism and meaning to find out how this Animal Spirit Guide can support, inform, and illuminate you!

Jormungand Table of Contents

Jormungand Symbolism & Meaning

Jormungand (YOUR-mun-gand) is a larger-than-life, Serpent or Dragon-like beast in Norse Mythology. The creature has myriad titles, including “The Great Serpent,” “The Midgard Serpent,” and “Jormungandr,” meaning “Great Beast.” The beast lives in the oceanic waters surrounding the legendary world of Midgard. According to the legend, the creature wraps itself around Midgard while biting its tail – Jormungand is the Great Ouroboros or Cosmic Serpent. Jormungand’s gargantuan size symbolizes something larger than life, power, strength, prominence, and visibility.

Jormungand’s father is Loki, a Trickster who has a good time stirring up trouble for both humans and the Gods. The creature’s mother is Angrboda: a grotesque jotunn (Giant) whose name means “She who offers sorrow” or “The one who brings grief.” Among the Great Beast’s siblings are Hel, the Queen of Helheim (The Norse Underworld), and the massive and powerful wolf, Fenrir. Some stories describe Jormungand with large, sharp fangs that give the creature symbolic ties to aggression, backbiting, or other malicious actions, physical or emotional toxins, and poisonous words. It’s venomous bite also represents defensiveness, “sinking one’s teeth” into a task, or the ability to “take a bite out of life” by accepting challenges without fear.

As the Ouroboros, the creature corresponds to life cycles, creation, reincarnation, past life regression, limitlessness, eternity, the Universe, and the Divine Feminine. In the tarot, The World card symbolizes the destructive and creative powers of the Jormungand. It is a larger-than-life being representing ancient wisdom and the unknown. The Jormungand, as a sea-dwelling creature, corresponds with the Water Element which links it to the psychic senses, the deep subconscious, the imagination, dreams, and the World of Spirit. The transient nature of water, which is ever-changing and in movement, makes the beast the embodiment of continual and ongoing change.

Jormungand Spirit Animal

If you’re experiencing a lack of emotional warmth or depth in a relationship, Jormungand may show up as your Spirit Animal Guide. Remember, stories of the Jormungand describe the creature as a Snake or Dragon. Like a real-world or fantastical reptilian, Jormungand is a cold-blooded creature. The mythical beast arrives to tell you it’s time to warm up to another on an emotional level or to behave in more compassionate, affectionate, and expressive ways.

You can expect significant life changes or rites of passage when the Jormungand arrives as your Spirit Animal. As a Serpent, this creature sheds its skin, which indicates its ongoing renewal. The beast itself is a symbol of rebirth, changes, and new beginnings, so when it appears in your life, it’s an omen of transformation or transitions underway.

Sometimes Jormungand appears to those who need to pay more attention to their environment, cycles, or patterns. When this creature slithers its way into your world, you may benefit from developing greater psychic awareness: Doing so will help you detect people’s intentions and the subtle changes in the energy vibrations around you. The Jormungand is a Water creature, living in the deep waters surrounding Midgard. Its emergence may also indicate a time where you should be more attentive to dreams and the messages you receive.

Jormungand Totem Animal

With Jormungand as your Totem Animal, others find you reclusive, eccentric, and intriguing. You have an interest in the ancient mysteries, secrets, holistic healing modalities, and the preternatural. Deep down, you feel certain you were a Shaman or magical practitioner in a past life if you aren’t one in your current incarnation. You enjoy living on the fringe of society and take pride in just how different you are from everyone else.

You are adamant when it comes to morals, ethics, and convictions, but it doesn’t mean you are always a stickler for tradition. With Jormungand as a Birth Totem, you know all things change and evolve, eventually. You have little trouble adapting to change and, more often than not, welcome it. Others appreciate your happy-go-lucky attitude, which you develop based on your intuitive understanding that everything works out in time.

Sometimes you may appear heavy-handed or aggressive when someone cannot respect you or doesn’t meet your expectations. You’ll want to consider avoiding communication with people when you’re angry. Some “biting” remarks are so poisonous you can never take them back.

Jormungand Power Animal

Invoke Jormungand as a Power Animal when you want to emerge from a catastrophic condition stronger than before. If you’re experiencing a relationship breakup, financial devastation, or another personal crisis, Jormungand teaches you how to renew and resurrect yourself. After its battle with Thor, the Jormungand rises from the ocean waters, so the mythic beast shows you how to cleanse away toxic emotions that might hold you back or hinder your growth as you enter into a new cycle of your life. As your Power Animal, Jormungand also helps you see the dramatic changes you are experiencing for what they are: A blessing in disguise. Jormungand says, “It’s not the end of the world!”

Call on Jormungand as a Power Animal when you want to expand your mind or if you’re looking to explore past lives. The creature helps you tap into ancient wisdom, so it supports you in esoteric and holistic studies. The Jormungand, as an Animal Ally, also helps you understand patterns and cycles while reminding you that life is not linear-a new birth follows every death.

Petition the Jormungand when you want help keeping confidentialities or hiding important secrets. The Jormungand has a mysterious air, is a Guardian of ancient mysteries, and bites its tail. So, as a Power Animal, the creature supports you in “biting your tongue!”

Norse Jormungand Symbolic Meanings

The Jormungand shares similarities with the Fiery Phoenix since after death, both creatures experience a rebirth. But, unlike the Phoenix of Greek myth, the Cosmic Serpent of Norse myth is not responsible for its own destruction. The Jormungand wraps its body around the realm of Midgard. In doing so, the creature holds all things together.

When the Jormungand releases its tail, lore suggests it is the beginning of Ragnarök-Thor, the son of Odin, is the sworn enemy of the Jormungand; the demigod and the creature battle where they kill one another. A series of catastrophic events follows, where even the Gods Loki, Heimdall, Freya, Tyr, and Odin die, and Midgard sinks into the dark waters of the ocean. All is not lost, however. After the devastation, Midgard rises out of the same waters newly formed. Two surviving people repopulate the new world which is akin to the biblical tale of Eden and the creation of Adam and Eve.

Jormungand Dreams

If Jormungand appears wrapped around the world in your dream, it suggests a need to embrace your family, friends, or loved ones during your waking hours. It can also indicate while conditions seem erratic, there is no real threat of emotional or physical harm ahead. The situation remains under “tight” control.

When you see the Jormungand biting its tail in a dream narrative, it suggests you don’t have to worry about anyone revealing your secrets. It may also indicate someone will request that you keep confidential the information they share with you. Your dream is telling you to remain attentive to any repeating patterns in your life; it can help you break free from old behaviors or conditions which are no longer to your benefit.

If the creature is rising out of ocean waters, anticipate a new beginning. The dream foretells of a fresh start in a relationship and the reestablishment of harmony or peace. It also foretells of a period where old emotions emerge from your subconscious so you can deal with injury and prevent such feelings from casting a shadow over your future.

In a dream where a Jormungand appears to be in a battle for its life, it forewarns of catastrophic events. It can also serve as an omen that a relationship is ending. Whatever change lies ahead, it’s profound. It’s more important to note that this dream tells of the temporary nature of adversarial conditions.

Jormungand Symbolic Meanings Key

  • Ancient Wisdom
  • Cosmic Forces
  • Cycles
  • Eternity
  • Ouroboros
  • Perfection
  • Power
  • Rites of Passage
  • Transformation
  • Visibility

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