Odin's thirst for wisdom and power

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jufa
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Odin's thirst for wisdom and power

Post by jufa »

The greatest of the Norse Gods was Odin, Father of All. Together with his brothers, Ve and Vili, he killed the first giant and created the world out of the giant's body. Odin made the first man out of an Ash Tree and the first woman out of an Elm. As a god of the wind, Odin gave the human beings soul, life and the breath.
Odin-with-ravens
Odin was the god of battle and death, and of poetry. His name means "fury, ecstasy, and inspiration." His great hall in Asgard, land of the Gods, was Valhalla. Here the souls of the great warriors gathered, born there on the winged horses of the Valkyries, whose job it was to select the deserving heros. Henceforth these warriors rode with Odin, in the company of the gods.
Mighty Odin had only one eye. For at the base of the second root of the great world tree, the root that went to Midgard and the world of the humans, there was a well of knowledge. This well was carefully guarded by Mirmir, who drank from the well every day and was reputed to be the wisest man in the world. When Odin heard of Mirmir and the well, he resolved to go and drink his fill.
"Greetings Mirmir the wise," Odin said to the man. "You know who I am and why I am here. Let me drink and become wise." "I know you Odin," Mirmir replied, "But the knowledge provided by this water surpasses anything you can imagine. Whoever drinks of it gains a second sight, the ability to see the depths of all things, to see what is otherwise invisible. You must pay for this power of insight." Without hesitation Odin tore out one of his eyes and dropped it beside the well. He plunged his face into the water and drank until he would burst. Thus one-eyed Odin was also known as the "All- Seeing."
Odin's desire for wisdom and power was so great that he also pursued knowledge of the most powerful magic known to gods and men, the runes. To acquire this power he wounded himself with his own spear and hung on the World Tree for nine days and nights. "I made myself an offering to myself," he later said, "Bound to the tree with roots so deep that no one knows where they go or where they end. No one gave me food or drink and I was weak. Yet I peered intently down into the depths until I saw the runes, the sacred alphabet. With a mighty cry I reached down and seized them up. Then I fell. But I have won the power of the Word, and learned the Nine Songs of Inspiration."
Odin was a shapeshifter. He would look as if he was dead or asleep then suddenly take the shape of a fish, or bird, or beast, and be off in a twinkling to distant lands according to his need or desire.
Odin had two big black ravens, named Thought and Memory, whom he taught to speak. They traveled throughout the realms and kept Odin apprised of all that happened, especially in Midgard among the human beings.

The image is Odin with his ravens, Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory).
Story & image also found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OpenUp_Yo ... ssage/1393
Never give power to anything a person believe is their source of strength - jufa
http://theillusionofgod.yuku.com

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