30 Days of Devotion: Day 4

A favorite myth or myths of this deity.


 While I can't find the specific stories that I wanted, my favorite myths about Odin is his sacrificing his eye to Mimir to gain knowledge as well as hanging himself from Yggdrasil to gain the runes.  :I  I will do some searches and see if I can find these stories any where but I at least wanted to get this post out here.

Another is the story about the wild hunt!  Taken from Timeless Myths:

The Wild Hunt was a popular folklore found in Scandinavian and Germanic myth, as well in later folklore in Britain and northern European countries, which had changed over the centuries.

The group of hunters were variously known as the Furious Host or Raging Host. The hunt usually takes part during winter, where a spectral host of horsemen riding through the stormy sky, with their ghostlike hounds. The chillingly sound of the hunting horn can be heard reverberating through the woods and meadows.

In the Norse myths, the original leader of the hunt was the god Odin, known in Germanic myth as Wodan. Odin rode his eight-legged horse, called Sleipnir. His company of hunters were the Valkyries and the dead warriors who resided with him in Valhalla.

The hunt begins on Winter Nights (October 31) and doesn't end May Eve (April 30) of the following year. These two nights were special, because lights go out on all Nine Worlds and the spirits and goblins are free to roam on the earth's surface. However the height of the Wild Ride falls on the night of midwinter festival, known as Yule (December 21), traditionally the shortest day of the year in Scandinavia and Germany.


~~EDIT~~

I found part of Odin's Rune Song, which is the poem retelling how he gained the runes. I won't post all 27 stanzas, so no fear.  Here are the first few:

Wounded I hung on a wind-swept gallows 

For nine long nights, 

Pierced by a spear, pledged to Odin, 

Offered, myself to myself 

The wisest know not from whence spring 

The roots of that ancient rood. 

They gave me no bread,

They gave me no mead,  

I looked down;

With a loud cry

I took up runes;  

From that tree I fell.

Nine lays of power

I learned from the famous Bolthor, Bestla' s father:

He poured me a draught of precious mead,

Mixed with magic Odrerir.

Waxed and throve well;

Word from word gave words to me,

Deed from deed gave deeds to me.

Runes you will find, and readable staves,

Very strong staves,

Very stout staves,

Staves that Bolthor stained,  

Made by mighty powers,

Graven by the prophetic God.

For the Gods by Odin, for the Elves by Dain,

By Dvalin, too, for the Dwarves,

By Asvid for the hateful Giants,

And some I carved myself:

Thund, before man was made, scratched them,

Who rose first, fell thereafter.

30 Days of Devotion: Day 3

Symbols and icons of this deity.


 Symbols and icons, huh?  I suppose the most forefront symbol would be the Valknut, or Knot of the Slain:

The meaning of the symbol has been debated but many modern day followers have said that this is a symbol of Odin, they wear it to show their dedication to Odin and the gods of the Norse. Some claim that you shouldn't tattoo this on your body because those who do will die a warrior's death.  People think it represents the Nine Worlds, the tree Yggdrasil.  Personally, I don't know.  It's an interesting symbol none the less.


Another symbol is obviously in the form of a Raven.  There is little doubt as to why this is one of Odin's symbols.  This pairs with Sleipnir and the spear, Gungnir.  All items or creatures that are at Odin's side.

For me the last symbol is that of an eye or, perhaps, the lack of said eye.  Over the winter holidays Grendal and I made ornaments.  He made one and held it up asking, "Do you know what this is?"  I took one look at it and recognized the shape.  "Odin's eye?"  All I got was a smile of confirmation.  There was no detail to the eye; it was just the basic shape of one, without the pupil or the iris.  We placed it on the altar as a reminder of the sacrifice Odin had made to gain knowledge.

Out of all my searching I couldn't find other symbols/icons that people said belonged to Odin or ones that jumped out at me saying as much.  People have pointed at certain runes as belonging to Odin but that could just be a modern take on it.  While Odin brought us the rune and they can be a symbol of his all together, I'm not sure about one particular rune being his and his alone.

30 Days of Devotion- Day 2

How did you become first aware of this deity?


 I'm not sure if this question is referring to how I became aware of Odin in general or as a deity that I was going to follow.  I suppose I could cover both.

Growing up I was always interested in mythology. It was mainly the Greek/Roman stories and some Hawai'ian tales but I had a healthy appetite for it.  At some point I did come across Norse myths but I can't remember exactly when. Thinking back on it, it seems like the Norse deities have always been in my mind but I know that isn't necessarily true.  I guess I just can't think of a time when they weren't there.  Even through college the Norse myths weren't much of a big thing to anyone.  I took a religions of the world course and they were just barely mentioned.  Though I do take pride in being the only one to pick up on the instructor's vague description of Loki.  He was rather shocked as well.

Odin did approach me early in high school but I don't think I was ready for it.  I believe I mentioned this in a previous post but I'll give a quick summary here.  While sitting on the back porch chatting on the phone, two LARGE black birds settled into the yard.  They were two big to crows and I knew just enough about hawks and the like to know that these two weren't that.  They walked together, not bothering to peck at the ground, and came towards me.  Halfway through the yard I freaked out and went back inside.  At that point in my life I hadn't thought about deities choosing a person or anything other than the basic Triple Goddess and Hunter God in Wicca.

It's been within in the last two years that I've embraced the Norse deities.  I had, I believe, confused Thor with another deity that dealt with lightning and thunder but things were soon set straight.  When searching for a deity to connect with I honestly didn't bother with Odin.  I wanted someone else.  Maybe Thor, Heimdalr, or Sif.  I even wore Mjolnir for some time, but Thor wasn't the fit for me it seemed.  Odin, though, began to send more and more signs my way.  Crows constantly being seen and heard on my walks to work was the biggest thing.

I suppose what really solidified EVERYTHING was finding two crow feathers.  Not at the same time but in the same spot days apart.  Out of the many weeks of walking the same path over the course of a year I had never seen any bird feathers laying across the sidewalk.  On these occasions I found a single black feather.  It was just sitting there.  Honestly I continued to walk past it, both times, but something made me stop and retrieve it.  They were placed on my altar and I think that was the beginning of my wandering with Odin.

The altar is for all but he has images of himself and Huginn and Muninn.  He is the one that brought me home.

30 Days of Deity Devotion

I've always kinda eyeballed these '30 Days of -'  ideas and posts, wondering if there was something out there that would pop up for me. Wandering through tumblr I found one such thing: 30 Days of Deity Devotion. I liked the idea and it will do two things: help my focus on the Deity and have me post here more often. It'll start some good habits!  :D    So, here goes nothing!


Day 1: A brief introduction of the deity

Well, Odin is one of the major deities in Norse mythology, some going as far to say he is the chief deity.  He is the ruler of the Aesir.  Odin is a god of war, knowledge, death, poetry, divination, magic, and wisdom.  He brought us the runes, after he hung himself as sacrifice for this knowledge.  Odin also sacrificed an eye to Mimir so he may drink from Mimir's well, the water bestowing upon him much of his wisdom.

He is known by many names, many common and others listed in Grimnismol, Skaldskaparmal, and the Gylfiginning, among others.  The following are but a few of what He has been called:

All-father
Val-father-  Father of the Slain
Omi-  The Shouter
Oski-  God of Wishes
Fjolnir/Fiolni-  The Many-Shaped
Gangleri/Ganglari-  The Traveler or Wanderer
Harbarth/Harbard-  Greybeard
Vofuth/Vafud-  The Wanderer

Odin has two ravens, Huginn(thought) and Muninn(memory) which sit on his shoulder.  These two are set out each day and after going over the world they return and relay to him their findings.  He rides the eight legged horse Sleipnir, one of the children of Loki.  Two wolves, Geri and Freki, sit beside Odin, taking food that is offered to the god because Mead is both food and drink to him.

He weilds the spear Gungnir.

He is a traveler and he wanders the worlds, usually dressed in a wide brimmed hat, a grey cloak, and a walking staff.

I Always Wanted to be a Teacher!

Though, not in this way. I always pictured myself in a nice classroom and rambling on about history.

A friend of mine approached me on Facebook this past week and wanted some information on Wicca and NeoPaganism in general. Turns out she's making the change from some form of Christian to the Pagan world. Looking back at my own adventures into the Pagan life I think I seriously needed a guiding hand from someone with some sort of experience, rather than the ragtag team of tweens that I was part of. So I had to pull out my old books and flip through 'em.  Man, have I grown.

I told my friend that I wasn't Wiccan anymore but a follower of Asatru. While she didn't fully understand what I was meaning, she went with it. She's eager to learn and floundering in a way. I'm trying my best to lay things out and point her in the right directions while not imposing my personal beliefs. I think the last thing she needs is for me to place her in a spot without going through any trial and error moments herself. Besides, what went 'wrong' for me might be what she is looking for.

I honestly don't remember getting into this religious/spiritual area being so difficult, then again that was well over 12 years ago. She has a lot of questions and wonders on what to do and when and how to do it. She's looking at sites and getting answers from me when I can provide them. My head is spinning and I'm running through my books like a mad woman. I think this would be easier if she was right next to me and I can be like "Here, read this bit. Lets talk about it."

Ye Gods, this will be interesting.

Pardon Me for Being Blue

NOTE: This post is a little more personal than the few others and covers depression. And it's a wee rant. If you don't want to read it, don't. Happier things are on the way, I promise! :)

So, I was diagnosed with depression years back. I'm thinking 12 some odd years. I was in high school, blah blah blah. I took medication that didn't seem to help but I kept trudging through life a little less then chipper. I was never one of the people who sunk into depression so far that I thought about taking my life. Part me believes that I would never let myself EVER think about it. Sure, I've thought about disappearing but I have a strong urge to be here.

Grendal helped me through my depression and did convince me that I didn't need the medication. I weaned myself off early in our relationship and haven't looked back. He's suggested it was more of a situational depression rather than the clinical depression that was diagnosed. In all honesty, it was being around a mother that idolized my older sister and had a strong relationship with my younger. I was the bookworm, gamer, writer....the one more artistically inclined and very much a person that keeps to myself. I wasn't happy at home but no one, not even myself, could see it. That is, until Grendal showed up and helped me out!

I've been fine for YEARS. My father has seasonal depression(winter blues) and my mother has fought depression as well, but I've been good. Until this winter. It's a little strange because winter always seems to breathe new life into me. Grendal has suggested that it's due to the lack of a good snow. I think I can agree. But having SAD for the first time, along with job issues, and our wedding creeping up on us, it's been taking it's toll.

I'm happy to be with Grendal and just be around him in a way to heal myself, but my online gaming friends don't seem to grasp it. We had tried to set up a weekly get together to play Halo 4 with each other. It worked for a while but then holidays hit, Grendal and I had our week off, and then I started getting depressed. Two of the group are seeming to get upset about not having gatherings anymore. I understand. For a few years Grendal and I would get together with two of our friends on a Friday afternoon and hang out for hours. It was great! Then again, I wasn't having these problems and if I had been those two friends would have understood and even try to lighten my spirits. Two of my current gaming friends seem more upset about things not going through. No regard for if I feel up to it or the fact that jobs/classes/life is first in line.

That and one of them suggested that if saving up for the wedding is so hard, then just push it back. Really? Just push it back? No thougths about the people that know the date, or that we've set things up for that date. Perhaps the fact that it has a personal and spiritual significance. Then again he's a person that believe things happen for a reason, and I'm not.

Honestly there isn't much I can do about it. They'll have their own opinions and all I can do is focus on myself and making myself better.  And I shall do that.

Screw 'em!

That Didn't Take Long

It's been a bit since my last post. I suppose it was bound to happen with the holidays and what not. Grendal and I have had this week off as a mini vacation. Spending most of the time at home, going out to eat, and what not. I really needed this time to recoup and not feel like I wanted to run someone through at work. Harsh, I know, but after a year and half without any sort of time off except the two days a week they gave me, I think I deserved this. Getting short with co-workers and generally feeling unappreciated really wears a person down. While I should be feeling the itch to get back to work, I'm not. I gotta, though; I need money to put food on the table. :I

Holidays were nice. My younger sister was in Hawai'i with her boyfriend and my mother's side of the family, so it was a shame she wasn't here. Time with my family was actually really nice. Felt like I had some time to bond with parents, which doesn't seem to happen much. We spent the time with Grendal's family, which, in it's own way, was nice as well. We managed to stand being around the nieces for a while and it was nice to chat with his brother. All in all, Christmas was pretty nice this time around.

In another two weeks Grendal starts his last semester at a local college. He only has one class left and then he's done with just a basic degree. Once that's done, though, he plans to apply at Canadian Pacific, doing what my brother-in-law does. While it sucks that he'll be gone often, he says the pay will be worth it. Grendal, being the math whiz that he is, figures we should be able to save up for a house within a year's time. Well, at least the property. There is a house on the neighboring property that he wants to tear down and then have a house built to his design. Somewhat like a Tumbleweed Home but with alterations so someone his height can feel comfortable. While it's not in the county where we can have chickens and goats like we dream, it's better than nothing! I'll be able to have an altar outside, which is what I promised would happen once we got a house for ourselves.

That seems it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to get in another update before this week is out!

-Djarfskald