Odin

Mythology

Odin is the supreme god of the Aesir, son of Bor and the giantess Bestla. His complexity is immense: simultaneously god of war and god of poetry, god of warrior royalty and god of secret magic, god of sustained battle and god of ecstatic wisdom. His self-sacrifice for wisdom: hung himself nine days and nine nights from the cosmic tree Yggdrasil, pierced by his own spear, fasting and watching, in supreme self-sacrifice "from himself to himself" — at the end he received the wisdom of the runes and gave it to humanity. This story positions him as the sacrificed wise initiate par excellence.

Sacrifice of the eye: gave his right eye in exchange for drinking from the well of Mimir (well of wisdom) — that is why he is the one-eyed god, the seer who sees more with one eye than other gods with two. His multiple wives and lovers: Frigg (his official wife and queen of Asgard), Jörd (mother of Thor), Rind (mother of Vali), Gunnlöð (with whom he stole the mead of poetry), Skadi briefly, and many others. He has multiple sons, several with central role in mythology: Thor (with Jörd), Baldr (with Frigg), Vidar, Vali, etc.

Symbolism and faces

Symbols: Sleipnir (his eight-legged horse, the fastest horse of mythology), two ravens Huginn and Muninn ("thought" and "memory" — fly through the world every day reporting), two wolves Geri and Freki (his hunting companions), Gungnir (his unfailing magical spear), Draupnir (his magical ring that drops eight more rings every nine days). His associated colour: dark blue, black. Sacred animal: raven, wolf, eagle. His sacred day: Wednesday (Wednesday in English — "Woden's Day", from Anglo-Saxon Woden = Odin; onsdag in Swedish, etc.).

Odin has more than 200 epithets in Norse texts, indicating his extreme complexity: Allfather, Wanderer, Wise One, the One-Eyed, Father of Slain, Lord of Hosts, Dark Wanderer, Inflicter of Wounds, Ecstatic, Master of Magic, etc. Especially relevant for esoteric work: Odin as practitioner of seiðr (Norse divinatory-shamanic magic — practice technically associated with the feminine; that Odin practised it speaks of his complete integrated nature, beyond rigid gender norms). His ecstatic frenzy in battle is also "óðr" — the same root that gives "Oden" his name; the "fury of Odin" is condition both martial and creatively-ecstatic-poetic.

Working with Odin today

In modern Wicca and Asatru (reconstructive Norse paganism), Odin is invoked for: 1) Wisdom that requires sacrifice (study, sustained academic work, deep spiritual discipline). 2) Connection with runes and divination — Odin is patron par excellence of the runes. 3) Conscious creative-poetic-literary work. 4) Spiritual leadership in difficult times. 5) Personal sacrifice for a higher cause. Recommended offerings: mead, dark beer, dark wine, fresh meat. Odin is a serious deity that responds to those who relate to him with discipline and respect, not to those who only seek favourable favours without commitment.