Odin – Occult World

Odin - Occult World

Odin (also Othin)
Leader of the Possessed; God of Frenzy, Wisdom, and War

In Norse mythology, Odin is the one-eyed chief of the Æsir gods and is revered as a god of wisdom, war, death, poetry, and ecstatic frenzy. He is the son of Bor and the giantess Bestla, brother of Vili and Ve (or Hoenir and Lodur), husband of Frigga, and father of Thor (Tyr) and Baldur. In Germanic and Anglo-Saxon traditions, Odin is known by many names, including Voden, Woden, Wotan, Wuotan, and Votan.

The Prose Edda describes Odin as the god who “governs all things.” He is regarded as the wisest of the gods, and all other deities seek his counsel. Odin derives his wisdom from the sacred well of the giant Mimir. To gain access to this knowledge, Odin sacrificed one of his eyes, offering it as a pawn. As a result, he is often depicted as a one-eyed old wanderer, though at times he appears as a heroic warrior bearing spear and shield.

In Valhalla and Vingolf, Odin presides over magnificent banquets. He drinks only wine, which alone sustains him, while the meat served is given to his wolves, Freki and Geri, known as “the greedy ones.” Odin is accompanied by two ravens, Hugin (Thought) and Munin (Mind), who perch upon his shoulders. Each day they fly throughout the worlds, returning with news of all that has transpired. For this reason, Odin is often called the God of Ravens.

From his throne Hlithskjalf, located in Valaskjalf, Odin can see everything that passes before him throughout the cosmos. His steed is Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse capable of traveling between worlds. His spear, Gungnir, never misses its mark. Upon his arm he wears the magical ring Draupnir, from which eight identical rings drop every ninth night, symbolizing abundance and regeneration.

It is widely believed that Odin’s worship included human sacrifice. Myth recounts that Odin once hung himself upon a gallows, wounded by a spear, sacrificing himself to himself in order to gain profound wisdom. This act established his association with death by hanging, and some of his worshippers were sacrificed in the same manner. Because of this, Odin was known as the God of Hanged Men and Lord of the Gallows. He was said either to send one of his ravens to speak with the hanged or to visit them himself.

An eleventh-century account by Adam of Bremen describes a sacrificial grove near the temple at Uppsala, where human bodies were said to hang from the branches of sacred trees, dedicated to Odin and the other gods.

Odin is known by numerous kennings and epithets, reflecting his many aspects. These include Ygg (the Awful One), Gagnrad (He Who Determines Victories), Herjan (God of Battles), Veratyr (Lord of Men), Har (the High One), Jafnhar (Even as High), Thridi (the Third), Bileyg (One with Evasive Eyes), Baleyg (One with Flaming Eyes), Bolverk (Worker of Misfortune, referring to his power over victory and defeat), Sigfather (Father of Battle or Victory), Gaut (the Creator), and Tveggi (the Twofold).

In later cultural tradition, Odin appears as Wotan in Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen and is famously portrayed in Arthur Rackham’s illustrations for Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow
Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante

Odin : The All-Father; Glory Bearer; The Raven Lord; Master of the Gallows

Odin is the leader of the Aesir spirits, the Lord of Asgard. Devotion to Odin once spread across the entire Germanic and Norse world. Spirit of war, wisdom, and death, Odin is lord of ecstasy, shamanism, and esoteric wisdom. He is a patron of poetry, magic, and the heroic dead.

The word god (in German, Gott) may derive from one of Odin’s epithets.

He may be a deified hero and ancestor. Myths—for instance the Volsung Saga, source material for Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle—describe Odin as the ancestor of heroes. He is the progenitor of royal families. England’s Saxon kings claimed descent from him.

Odin loves women, knowledge, and hospitality. He is a spiritual seeker himself. His thirst for occult wisdom is endless. He willingly traded one of his eyes for a mouthful of water from the Well of Wisdom and Knowledge.

Freya is described as his first teacher. She taught him charms and spell-casting, but ultimately his quest for occult wisdom is solitary. Freya whispered to him of the runes, lost in the misty realm of the Vanir. Determined to apprehend, comprehend, and master them, Odin pierced himself and then hung for nine days and nights in shamanic ritual on the World Tree. He died a shamanic death in order to be reborn as the rune-master. The Tarot card The Hanged Man may depict this ritual, not a literal hanging.

Odin’s curiosity has no bounds and he refuses to be constrained by boundaries of any kind. Following Balder’s death, Odin went to live among the Saami. He refuses to be bound by gender restrictions. Odin is curious and respectful toward what was traditionally considered women’s magic. He is not ashamed to learn from women.

• Freya taught seior to Odin, although men historically did not practice this style of prophesy, considered a woman’s art.

• When Odin gathers herbs and roots for healing, he dresses as a woman.

Odin seems to genuinely enjoy Loki’s company. He is a trickster, too. Although acknowledged as the All-Father and head of the pantheon, Odin was never the most beloved spirit, not by a long shot. Freyr, Freya, Frigg, and especially Thor were the spirits adored by the masses. Odin was favoured by a specialized crowd: he is the patron of occultists, shamans, and poets (skalds).

Odin had too many associations with death to be truly beloved. He was once offered large-scale animal and human sacrifices. As Master of the Gallows, his sacrificial victims were hung from tree branches. Odin as war lord sponsors elite shamanic warriors: berserkers and wolf shirts, not rank-and-file soldiers.

Half the battlefield’s dead spend eternity in his hall, Valhalla. (The other half live with Freya.) Odin’s dead warriors will fight under his command at the apocalyptic battle of Ragnarok. He may choose which soldiers die on the battlefield specifically in order to induct them into his private ghost army.

Odin is the Divine Rider. He rides where he will, all over Earth but also over the Milky Way and through the sky, often leading a procession of spirits, ghosts, heroes, and heroines. His passing is signaled by storms and powerful winds. This parade of spirits is known as the Wild Hunt. Odin is the primary Wild Hunter. Sometimes he leads the Wild Hunt alone; sometimes with a female co-leader. In the guise of Chief Hunter, Odin was sometimes identified with the devil in Christian medieval Europe.

Odin bestows wealth and success, when he chooses. He will help find missing treasure. He can heal virtually any disorder or illness—again, if he chooses. Odin is extremely generous to those he loves and considers his friends, but terrible, merciless and vindictive toward his enemies.

Odin adores poets and writers and so, appropriately, he inspires many novelists:

• Mr. Odwin is pivotal in Douglas Adams’ 1988, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

• A mastermind called Wednesday stars in Neil Gaiman’s 2001 novel, American Gods.

• Old One-Eye tutors the heroine of Joanne Harris’ 2008 novel, Runemarks.

ALSO KNOWN AS:

Odhinn; Wotan; Woden; Old One Eye

FAVOURED PEOPLE:

Travelers, traders, warriors, occultists, shamans, poets, writers, those who capture his fancy

MANIFESTATION:

Master of disguise and infiltration, Odin wanders Earth incognito dressed as a shabby, dusty traveler. Those who are gracious to him are rewarded. He answers to many names: allegedly over one hundred seventy for his many paths and identities. Odin is a one-eyed bearded, white-haired man, dressed in a wide-brimmed traveler’s hat that hides his missing eye. Alternatively, he wears dusty traveler’s clothes and a black hooded cloak. The clue to his identity tends to be that missing eye, although it is not always immediately apparent. He may travel in the form of a bird.

ICONOGRAPHY:

Tarot images of the Magi cian and Hanged Man are used to represent Odin.

ATTRIBUTES:

Magic wand, traveler’s staff, a noose, Gungnir is the name of the dwarf-crafted Spear of Odin, which never misses its mark and always returns to him.

Consort:

Frigg is his official wife, but Odin is a sensualist who loves women. He is associated with many female spirits, even Saint Lucy.

DAY:

Wednesday (Woden’s Day)

Numbers:

3, 9

BIRDS:

Ravens—Odin’s own ravens, Hugin and Munin, “Thought” and “Memory,” fly all over Earth each morning, returning with news, gossip, and secrets to whisper in his ear. Ravens are resolutely diurnal birds: a raven’s cry at night signals the approach of the Wild Hunt.

ANIMALS:

Wolves, snakes, bear, horses

Mount:

Sleipnir, his magical eight-legged stallion has teeth engraved with runes.

Hall:

Odin has three residences. The most famous is his hall Valhalla.

Runes:

Ansuz and Gar are among the runes associated with Odin.

Plant:

Many plants associated with Odin have psychoactive and/or potentially dangerous properties. These are but a few:

• Amanita muscaria, which allegedly appears wherever his horse’s froth touches Earth

• Elecampane (Inula helenium), also known as Elfwort

• Juniper (German folk name: Wotan’s Rod)

• Monkshood (Aconitum napellus), also known as: Odin’s hat

• Wotan’s Herb (Heliotropium europaeum)

Time:

In Iceland, the twelve days of Christmas are called Odin’s Yule Host.

OFFERINGS:

Odin eats only sacred meat: there’s little that’s material that you can give him, perhaps unique and powerful occult tools or something that you’ve handcrafted. He adores poetry and a good story. He has a tendency to set people on quests but he’ll tell you. What Odin really craves is knowledge: tell him something he doesn’t know.

SOURCE:

ALSO KNOWN AS:

FAVOURED PEOPLE:

MANIFESTATION:

ICONOGRAPHY:

ATTRIBUTES:

Consort:

DAY:

Numbers:

BIRDS:

ANIMALS:

Mount:

Hall:

Runes:

Plant:

Time:

OFFERINGS:

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