Othin Galdr

Othin is the great ancestral god of the Germanic peoples, most known for his authority over warfare, wisdom, and divine inspiration. He has hundreds of names and faces, only some of which are well remembered in the modern mind such as Odin, Wotan, and Woden. In the Norse poem Grímnismál, Othin (in the form of Grimnir) states:

“Never was I known by one name alone, since I went among the people…”

Othin holds the titles of All-Father (Alfǫðr) and High One (Hávi), representing his reign over the pantheon of the Northern gods (Aesir) who are said to look up to him as children do their father.

Of all the myths he is well known for, the most famous is his shamanic World Tree ritual where he receives the runes in an initiatory process of self-sacrifice, as it is said in verses 137-138 of the Hávamál:

“I trow I hung on that windy Tree
nine whole days and nights,
stabbed with a spear, offered to Odin,
myself to mine own self given,
high on that Tree of which none hath heard
from what roots it rises to heaven.

None refreshed me ever with food or drink,
I peered right down in the deep;
crying aloud I lifted the Runes
then back I fell from thence.“

With this runic knowledge, Othin was able to give names to forms and could thus shape the world around him. This is also explained in the Norse creation myth, where Othin and his brothers slay the giant Ymir, whose name can be translated as “Screamer.” Through this sacrificial act they shape the world from Ymir’s remains, which are representations of the chaos or raw sound which Othin gains dominion over via his mastery of the runes. Also, through the metaphor of the world being organized from the parts of an anthropomorphic being, we can see the Norse knowledge of the “as above, so below” concept.

Through Ymir’s death, Othin organizes the external and material world, including the cosmos. By sacrificing himself, he then structures his internal world by using the runes (language). This is also theorized by Henning Kure in his essay “In the beginning was the Scream. Conceptual thought in the Old Norse myth of creation,” where he writes:

“They [the gods] created the world by naming it, by putting it into words, and thus defining it in a comprehensible way. The gods announced the world by transforming Ymir -the scream- into words.”

This concept is echoed in many ancient traditions, where the sound/word is what manifests the world as we know it. This is explicitly stated in the Gylfaginning:

“…this is why he can be called All-father, that he is father of all the gods and of men and of everything that has been brought into being by him and his power.”

Othin is an endless well of energy and wisdom, a state beyond chaos and order, the true Self who is meant to take the reins of the ego, control the mind, and invigorate the will. Without this force, man would have no source of inspiration, animation, or wisdom. We would be nothing more than empty material subject to endless change.

Othin the god, in his myriads of incarnations, is a manifestation of this eternal consciousness; taking the necessary forms to achieve the goals that are required to sustain the cycles of creation, destruction, and rebirth. Like the Buddha, Othin returns time and time again to gift the secrets of nature and existence to receptive individuals, entrusted to carry the torch of wisdom forth and pass the teachings on to others who are seeking his guidance. This process ensures Othin has a physical presence on Earth through the emulation of his followers, whose true work is to maneuver mankind towards spiritual awakening.

Othin is the source of breath, the source of our soul (the entire soul of humanity and all living beings), and the source of true wisdom. In the core of Othin’s mind is Ginnungagap, the primordial void of empty awareness, the bubbling cauldron of potential, from which sprang forth the chain of events leading to the creation of the world. All these tales and their esoteric interpretations are meant to place the individual into a mythical context, whereby through experience, emulation and true understanding of the various layers of meaning inherent in each myth, one can discover within themselves the divinity of life and develop a real understanding of the natural world.

With these thoughts in mind, this track should help connect the listener (or participant) to the primal Odinic essence, the void-mind that our consciousness spawns from, frothing with the endless potential of creation. One’s devotion must be paired with a vigorous will to engage in self-sacrifice, which quickly drives one closer to the force beyond time (Othin) that has never (and can never) be altered. This is clarified in the Gylfaginning, where it is said:

“Most important, he created man and gave him a living spirit that will never die, even if the body rots to dust or burns to ashes.”

The source of this soul rests in the ancient void without duality, the singular pure awareness of Othin, the well of inspiration from where all creation pours. May this offering attract devoted individuals and bring listeners into union with the All-Father.

Hailaz