Only two problems with that way of going about things.
First, it's possible to believe both the floor cleaner and the dessert topping theories, to paraphrase an old SNL skit alluded to here frequently some time ago. That is, it's possible to believe both that Yelmalio is Yelm's son (that is, that Yelm had sexual intercourse with Ernalda, who gestated and brought forth a baby god) and that Yelmalio is an aspect of Sun. Try it, you might like it.
Second, Simon's approach doesn't explain all the facts, and thus fails the Occam Test. The theogony of earth goddesses, as far back as WF 9 (16 years ago!) explicitly says "A common use of the myths, too, is to make the youth of the elder generations the same as the myths of the younger generations. That is, when Asrelia was a young goddess she was called Spring's Handmaiden, and then when she grew older became Ernalda, and in the Darkness, Asrelia. Although this seemingly contradicts the myths wherein all three of these goddesses appear together, it is certainly within the realm of mythology and its non-temporal reality." Here and in other passages, it's clear that the six earth goddesses are persons but also aspects of larger principles.
So no, it's not St. Greg trying to annoy and confuse you. Some people might say that it is a deliberate attempt to annoy and confuse, but only as a technique for encouraging insight. I'm not going to get that heavy about it. Like literature, Glorantha can be read on many different levels. Some people think that "Huck Finn" is a boys' adventure story, frex.
Great story about the mistress race troll characters' plans. Definitely appropriate to the digest, but it reminds me of the trap in one of the solo books which only falls on and crushes mistress race trolls, as they're too gross for anyone to be allowed to play one as a PC.
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