Heimdall is the shining god, guardian of the rainbow bridge which leads up to Asgard and, as a watchman, possessor of the Gjallarhorn which he blows at the onset of ragnarok. His hearing is so acute that he can hear the grass grow and even hear wool growing on a sheeps back. Heimdall and Loki are the most enigmatic characters in the Germanic myths, and many suggestions have been given as to their origin. For example, Heimdall has been suggested to be the personification of Yggdrasil, a son of the ram, the woodpecker god, and so on. But the central image of Heimdall is a god of the cliffs that face the sea and hence the watcher of the gods. It is as watcher that Heimdall is most notable. As one of the Vanir, Heimdall is a fertility god, but his main uses in invocation are for silencing troubled minds, learning the true nature of things, and gaining wisdom. He can provide plenty, and can also define the order of things. In this it is significant that Heimdall gives birth to the different classes of Germanic society, according to myth, the Song of Rig. He should be visualised as a tall man with broad shoulders. He has swarthy skin and hair which is naturally black but which has been bleached by the sun. His hair and beard are both unkempt and his skin is quite leathery. His face, however. is kindly and smiling. He wears a linen shirt and breeches and a sealskin vest or waistcoat. He has a heavy are-ring on each arm; silver on the right and gold on the left. He has a ram's horn in the right hand and a sword in his left. His shoes are sealskin. One of the significant aspects of Heimdall is his opposition to Loki and the two can't entirely be considered separately. One of the clues of their nature, for example, is the fact that they face each other on the final day of Ragnarok, while supposedly much more important gods deal with Loki's children. Indeed, Heimdall was said to have fought Loki in the shape of a seal. Other clues also exist, of course. The very name Heimdall shows a connection of the land, since heim means land. However, Heimdall was said to be born of nine maidens, which is taken to represent nine waves, and some clues indicate Heimdall was born of the sea itself like Aphrodite. The horn he will sound, Gjallarborn, that will warn the gods of ragnarok's coming is said to be heard in all nine worlds ... the sound that would be heard in all nine worlds would be the sound of the sea crashing against the rocks. Moreover, mountain goats would be found on cliffs near the sea and the use of the ram's horn compounds the symbol. Again, those in myths who give birth to social classes are often sea-deities.