the _lower regions_. It enters the sign Capricornus, or the Goat, and
the astronomical winter begins. The days have reached their shortest
span, and the _Sun_ has reached his extreme southern limit. The winter
solstice reigns, and the Sun seems to stand still in his southern
course. For three days and three nights he remains in hell--the lower
regions.[495:1] In this respect _Christ_ Jesus is like other
Sun-gods.[495:2]
In the ancient sagas of Iceland, the hero who is the Sun personified,
descends into a tomb, where he fights a vampire. After a desperate
struggle, the hero overcomes, and rises to the surface of the earth.
"This, too, represents the Sun in the northern realms, descending into
the tomb of winter, and there overcoming the power of darkness."[495:3]