Tonight he celebrate and honor Odin, the god of kings, the sky clad wanderer, the Allfather. It is his relentless pursuit of knowledge that has always drawn me to him. On this night we give offerings of mead to Odin, seeking his blessings in the year to come.
Odin is the chief of the Aesir gods. He is married to Frigga and the father of Thor, Baldur, Hodur, and Vidar. Odin was born from the Jotuns Bur and Bestla along with his brothers Villi and Ve. Odin is described usually as wearing a blue cloak, tall, with a long white beard. He has one eye and is accompanied by two ravens, Hugin and Munin, (Thought and Memory) and two wolves, Geri and Freki. Gugnir is the name of his spear and Draupnir is his golden ring that drops eight rings of equal value every nine days. There are numerous kennings for Odin, including Allfather, Valfather, Wotan, Ganglare, and Bolverk. Odin is the leader of the Wild Hunt and uses his eight-legged steed Sleipnir to travel across the realms. Odin does not eat, but instead consumes mead as his nutriment. The meat set before him goes to Geri and Freki.
Odin, Villi, and Ve defeated the giant Ymir in battle and created the world out of his body. The brothers also created the first humans, Ask (Ash) and Embla (Elm), out of driftwood that they found on the beach (some translations say it was Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur). In his guise as Bolverk, Odin stole the Mead of Poetry from the Jotun, Suttung, after laying with his daughter, Gunnlod. He has the ability to change his shape at will and spends much of his time wandering the realms in order to gain knowledge.
After the Aesir/Vanir war, when hostages were exchanged, Mimir’s head was returned to the Aesir as retribution for sending the supposed slow witted Hoenir to the Vanir. Odin placed Mimir’s head in a well and preserved it with herbs. In exchange for a drink from this well of knowledge, Odin sacrificed his eye to gain insight into Ragnarok. He later sacrificed himself to himself by hanging himself from Yggdrasil. Pierced with his own sword and having no food or drink he hung there for nine days. At the end of this ordeal, screaming, he took up the runes and gained their power and wisdom. During the battle of Ragnarok he will be devoured by the great wolf Fenrir and avenged by his son Vidar.
Odin has gained knowledge of seidr from Freya, a form of magic that was usually only practiced by women. In those ancient times it was seen as a perversion for a man to practice seidr. In today’s changing times, men and woman are both known to practice this ancient art.
Odin is considered to be the god of rulers and kings. He is a hard god to follow as he tests his people, sometimes to their great peril. To be a man or woman of Odin is to accept death and to be ready, if called upon, to become part of his army at Ragnarok.
The noble virtue of industriousness is the focus of this night. Industriousness is the quality of having a persevering determination to complete a task. It is the strength of fortitude to finish what you start. Being firm of purpose. It is also the quality of being attentive and constantly diligent. Odin exemplified this virtue when he plucked out his own eye to gain knowledge. We must be prepared to do what ever it takes with determination.
Merry Yule and Happy Feast of Odin!
