In Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

, Rati is the name of a drill or auger

Auger

An auger is a drilling device, or drill bit, that usually includes a rotating helical screw blade called a "flighting" to act as a screw conveyor to remove the drilled out material...

 that was used by Odin

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

 during his quest to obtain the mead of poetry

Mead of poetry

In Norse mythology, the Poetic Mead or Mead of Poetry , also known as Mead of Suttungr , is a mythical beverage that whoever "drinks becomes a skald or scholar" to recite any information and solve any question. This myth was reported by Snorri Sturluson...

 from the giant Suttung

Suttung

In Norse mythology, Suttungr was a Jötunn, a son of Gilling, who had been murdered by Fjalar and Galar.- Mythology :...

 with the help of Suttung's brother Baugi

Baugi

- Myth :Baugi is a son of Gilling and his wife, who were killed by two dwarves, Fjalar and Galar. His brother is Suttungr, and his niece is Gunnlöð. Suttungr had hidden the mead of poetry after obtaining it from Fjalar and Galar....

. According to the Skáldskaparmál

Skáldskaparmál

The second part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea, Ægir and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined...

section of the Prose Edda

Prose Edda

The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...

, Odin instructed Baugi to bore a hole with the auger through the mountain Hnitbjorg

Hnitbjorg

In Norse mythology, Hnitbjorg is the mountain abode of the giant Suttung where he placed the mead of poetry for safekeeping under the guardianship of his daughter Gunnlod. Odin, with the help of Suttung's brother Baugi, drilled a hole into the mountain and thereby gained access to the...

 where the mead was kept. When Baugi told him that the hole had been drilled, Odin blew into the hole and the stone bits blew back at him. In this way he realized that Baugi had not drilled all the way through and was trying to trick him. Odin told him to drill a second time, and this time when he blew into the hole the bits flew inward. Odin then transformed himself into a snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

, and when he slithered into the hole Baugi tried to stab him with the auger but missed him. In this manner Odin gained access to the mead.