I am going to take another look at the subject of the Mead of Inspiration and in particular the Myth of Knit Mountain where Woden lays with Gunnlod for three nights and thus wins for the Gods the Mead of Inspiration. A re-reading of Viktor Rydberg's 'Teutonic Mythology' gave up some of the ideas which I have expanded with my own ideas.
Firstly, we need to understand something that is quite simple but not often understood. We have various 'pairings' of the Gods with 'Giants' (Joten-Thurs) such as Hama and Loki (Fire) for example. It is usual to see the Forces of Nature as 'natural forces' behind which are the Gods. This is not quite right, because there are two sides to this, for the Gods are the good and benevolent forces that aid mankind and the Earth, whilst the 'Giants' are the destructive forces that harm and hinder the work of the Gods. But, they both use the same forces, for example, lightning (Thunor) can be beneficial in that it releases nitrates into the soil, but it can also blast an oak or a grove, or a human being at time. It can be creative or it can be destructive - the first is the work of the Gods the latter the work of the Joten. This explains something since at Ragnarok it is these same-opposing forces that clash and bring ruin upon the worlds. From this we can see that these forces negate each other in the end, and are both responsible for Ragnarok. With this in mind we go on.
To gain the Mead of Inspiration Woden has to get into Knit Mountain and to do so he uses an auger named Rati. The word 'Rati' actually came to mean 'traveller', from rata meaning 'to travel' or 'to move about', and Hama is referred to as Stigandi which also means 'traveller'. However, it seems that the original word was vrata which meant something like 'to twist' or 'to 'turn', and which sheds a different light on this Aryan Myth. The idea of 'twisting' obviously refers to the auger used by Woden, but since he shape-shifts into a Serpent then the idea of 'to twist', 'to turn' or 'to coil' refers also to the Coiled Serpent or Kundalini. But we can go further than that.
Since we can see in this a link between Rati and Hama we can extend this to Scef-Ing since these are related to fire and the fire-borer through the links to Agni of the Vedas. Thus, Agni-Inga is the Fire-Serpent that bores into the Sacred Mountain, rises through the spinal column of the mountain, and is transformed into the Eagle - the bird of the skies and the Divine Realms. As Rydberg suggests, we do seem to have Hama-Ingui as aiding Woden in this process of gaining the Mead of Inspiration. We seem to have further proof in that the Vedas tell us that the Sacred Mead was hidden in the womb of the mountain with the Dasyus (hostile forces like the Joten) but Agni split the mountain open with his tongue, his Ray of Light penetrating into the darkness and through this act the Sacred Mead was gained by the Gods. This was not before Trita ('Third') slew a Serpent-Monster and found the stolen cattle (as in the Aryan Cattle-Raid).
Rati and Ratatosk are much the same symbolism; Rati is the 'borer' and the name 'Rata-tosk' can mean 'rata-tusk' or 'rata-tooth', the 'tusk' being a 'tooth'. It is thus 'Rati's Tooth' that bores into the mountain. The Ratatosk that runs upwards and downwards along the trunk of Yggdrasil is in fact symbolic of the 'twisting' and 'turning' movement of the Coiled Serpent, that becomes an Eagle when it reaches the top, or alternatively becomes a Winged, Coiled Serpent. This is the Fire-Serpent or Kundalini.
'Rati's Mouth' (Havamal) and Rati (Bragaraedur) are thus one and the same, both related to Hama-Heimdall in a subtle way. When we consider this, and that Scef-Ing and Hama are also part of the same Archetypal Myth we can see the link between the Inga-Fire and the Fire-Serpent. This also suggests that the Kundalini-Force moves upwards and downwards, as some Indian Sages have suggested. Hama, we should point out, is the son of Mundilfori or Waendal, and thus connected to the World Mill (the Nine Giant Maidens turn the World-Mill), and thus to the Precession of the Equinoxes. Hama is the son of the fire-producer (Fire-Twirl) Mundilfori as Agni is the son of Mataricvan (also the Fire-Producer). Rydberg gives a very strong argument that Mundilfore is also named Lodhur.
This is just a short post which clarifies certain points about the myths concerning the Mead of Inspiration. But it also gives a pointer to some of the ideas around the Three Cauldrons and the use of this in the ALU-ULA Formula. These exercises lead to the 'Alu' or 'Divine Inspiration' which is the Mead of Inspiration or Odroerir (Wod-Roarer). This involves the awakening of the Fire-Serpent and its arising along the spinal column until it reaches the Third Eye which is awoken.
We should not confuse the 'Mead of Inspiration' gained through the Tantric Rite in the Sacred Mountain with the draft that Woden receives from Mimir in exchange for one of his eyes. The latter is gained from the Well of Memory (Mimir = Memory) and is thus the Blood Memory at one level. The Mead of Inspiration is in fact the 'Amber Nectar' or 'Nectar of the Gods' which is the end-product of the union of Woden and Gunnlod produced by this Tantric Love-Magic.
One last point here and that is the link between Hama-Heimdall and Scef-Ing which also concerns the Nyd-Fire or 'Fire-by-Friction'. The root *nidh means 'the lower world' or 'subterranean world' and thus Nidhogg refers to a being from the subterranean world, as does Nidhad whose name means 'being of the lower world'; this is the figure who bound Wayland the Smith. Remembering that the word nyd used of the Need-Rune refers to 'death' originally, but which (as we see here) is more likely to have originated in words used of the subterranean world where the Land of Death was. We get our word 'nether' from this root, and hence why Holland is called by the name 'Netherlands' because it is below sea level.
The Tantric act, according to the doctrines of the Left-Hand Path, are thus related to the sexual act and 'Fire-by-Friction' (*), which is the essence of this act. This is where the link between the Fire-Serpent and Tantra lies; it also links Agni-Inga with the 'Fire-by-Friction' and also the Fire-Serpent with its coiling motion. We may even have a confirmation of the change in role of Woden, who first appears a the Lord of the Dead or God of the Hanged (subterranean links) but who then becomes a 'heavenly' power as the All-Father or 'High One' - a transformation from the Serpent to the Eagle. Through his Occult Knowledge which he puts to good use, he becomes the all-powerful Leader of the Gods. This he gains through the knowledge of the Fire-Serpent and the transformation that occurs through the Tantric Rites. This he passes to us as the knowledge needed to regain our immortality and our divinity which we lost with the fall into matter.
