Sampo

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From the Finnish epic the Kalevala comes a story of the creation of the Sampo by Ilmarinen the blacksmith artificer God of Finnish myths. Ilmarinen is encouraged to create the Sampo for an evil witch of the North for different reasons according to multiple versions, but most commonly to get the girl.

The nature of the Sampo is unclear but it makes flour, salt and money, and each iteration of its creation seem to reflect the shape of the Mer Hieroglyph

“On the first day, Ilmarinen
Downward bent and well examined,
On the bottom of his furnace,
Thus to see what might be forming
From the magic fire and metals.
From the fire arose a cross-bow,
“With the brightness of the moonbeams,
Golden bow with tips of silver;
On the shaft was shining copper,
And the bow was strong and wondrous,
But alas! it was ill-natured,
Asking for a hero daily,
Two the heads it asked on feast-days.”

From the Kalevala (Rune 10) http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/

The first attempt results in a cross-bow, involving a bow (or arc) and shaft, but it’s “ill-natured” so Illmarinen breaks it into pieces and throws them back in the furnace

Secondly a boat comes forth with “golden ribs” and copper oars, again the focus is on arc(s) and straight shapes, but it is ” alas! a thing of evil” and is returned to the furnace.

Thirdly a heifer rises, with golden horns and “on her head the Bear of heaven” this is a little more cryptic. The Bear of heaven signifies the centre of the zodiac and therefore the shaft upon which the heavens turn.” But alas! she is ill-tempered” and is again returned to the furnace.

Fourthly a plow or plowshare is created, possibly exactly as depicted in the Mer Hieroglyph, but “it is ill-mannered” so Illmarinen tries again.

The fifth version is successful, Illmarinen “forges skilfully the Sampo; On one side the flour is grinding, On another salt is making, On a third is money forging.” A full description of the Sampo is omitted but it is considered to have something in common with a mill as is grinds flour, hence it might have a shape like Apollo’s Lyra

“Joyfully the dame of Northland,
Louhi, hostess of Pohyola,
Takes away the magic Sampo,
To the hills of Sariola,
To the copper-bearing mountains,
Puts nine locks upon the wonder,
Makes three strong roots creep around it;
In the earth they grow nine fathoms,
One large root beneath the mountain,
One beneath the sandy sea-bed,
One beneath the mountain-dwelling.”

So the Sampo has four evil or at least ill-tempered versions before its fifth version which produces flour, salt and money. Then the evil witch accepts her prize and proceeds to secure it with nine locks and three strong roots. The nine locks could represent the nine angles that form Apollo’s Lyra, and the three roots could reflect the three squares upon which the design rests. (As demonstrated in 12 pentagrams and shiva sheva or zayin)

Are we to assume that the final iteration is not evil, despite its previous natures and its pleased reception from an evil witch?..

Devices which produce abundance such as the Sampo appear in other mythologies, the Cornucopia (wiki) from Greek myth and some versions of the Holy Grail myth. I previously noted a vessel or ‘horn of plenty’ shape while looking at Apollo’s lyra, energy patterns and the Earth

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