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July 1st, 2016 
Awake Goy From the book “Sagas of the Norsemen” by
Perhaps the most complex of all the Norse Gods was Odin. Presented in the sources as foremost of the Norse Pantheon and known as “Allfather”, he was not, however, a benevoent father-god he was as fickle as he was powerful, as treacherous as he was generous, and although respected and worshipped, he was never entirely to be trusted.
Wotan cut a terrifying figure: one-eyed and wearing a dark wide-brimmed hat that cast a shadow over his face, he travelled as a mortal wanderer. As a god of magic, war and wisdom, he visited Midgard to distribute knowledge and victory in battle. He had many names which hint at his various roles, and the diversity and fickleness of his character. He was known as AllFather (Alfodr), but also as Father of the Slain (Valfodr), God of the Hanged (Hangagud), God of Prisoners (Haptagud) and God of Cargoes (Farmagud). Snorri lists another forty-nine names that Wotan was reputed to have called himself, which also reflected aspects of his character. Among these were Harr (“the high one”), Grimr (“the masked one”), Svipall (“the capricious one”), Hnikarr (“the inflamer”), Gladsvidir (“swift tricker”), Sigfodr (“father of victory”), Blindi (“the blind one”), Baleygr (“shifty eyed”), Gondlir (“one with a magic staff”), Vidurr (“destroyer”), and Yggr (“terror”).
Wotan was invoked by his followers for victory in battle, and to give or deny victory was within his power. But he could be faithless, suddenly turning against his favorites and causing their rapid downfall, and he was sometimes accused of awarding triumph unjustly. It was in his interest, as a god of war, to promote strife, and it was said that he sometimes boasted of being able to incite nobles against each other so they would never be reconciled again.
Wotan was a master of magic and went to great lengths to further his supernatural powers. He was said to have only one eye because he had pledged the other in payment for a drink from the well of Mimir, situated beneath a root of the World Tree. The water in this well promised inspiration and knowledge of the future to whoever drank it. Another version, however, claims that Wotan gained wisdom and information from the severed head of one of the gods, Mimir, the oldest and wisest of the Aesir, which he kept for himself after it had been cut off by the Vanir. He was able to consult the head whenever he desired knowledge.
Wotan could also change his shape at will, often flying through the air in the form of an eagle, and his spirit could be instantly transported to distant lands as any other bird or creature, while his body lay as if asleep. His magical abilities made him a formidable opponent – with mere words he had the power to both calm or stir the sea, extinguish fires or change the course of the winds.
It was also said of Wotan that he only spoke in verse, and that poetic ability and inspiration were gifts that he alone bestowed. For example, he blessed one of his favored subjects, Starkad, with the ability to compose poetry as fast as he could physically speak the words.
The source of poetic inspiration was the mead of poetry, which Wotan stole, to the benefit of humankind as well as himself. This magical liquid initially belonged to two dwarves. It came into being after the war between the Aesir and the Vanir, when the two sides agreed to seal their truce by simultaneously spitting into a vat. The Aesir then took this spittle, which was a symbol of peace, and, not wishing to waste any amount, formed it into a man called Kvasir who was so wise that there was no question that he could not answer.
Kvasir travelled far and wide throughout the world imparting his knowledge to others until he eventually arrived at the home of the two malicious dwarves, Fjalar and Galar. They cunningly lured him into a private conversation so that they could kill him unwitnessed. Then they poured their victim’s blood into two vats called Son and Bodn and a pot called Odroerir, before adding honey to create a rich mead. The resulting liquid conferred the ability to compose poetry or pronounce words of wisdom. To placate the gods who bemoaned the loss of their companion, the dwarves exclaimed that Kvasir had suffocated in his own intelligence. However, they were not to keep the mead for very long as Wotan took it from them for his own safeguarding.
WOTAN, THE WORLD TREE AND SACRIFICE:
Although it would appear to be an important part of his story, the myth of Wotan hanging on the World Tree survives only in one enigmatic passage from Havamal (“Words of the High One”). This tells how he underwent great suffering to win the runes, the source of wisdom and magical lore.
In the poem Wotan himself narrates how he hung on a windswept tree identified as the World Tree, Yggdrasill, for nine full nights without food or water, slashed with a spear and sacrificed – “given to Wotan, myself to myself” – until, screaming, he was able by virtue of his suffering to reach down and seize the magical runes. By this heroic deed Wotan also learned nine magical songs from the son of the giant Bolthor and his wisdom became so great that he was able to master eighteen magical spells previously unknown to any man or woman.
There are obvious similarities between Wotan’s hanging on the World Tree and Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross: Christ hung on the Rood Tree, without food or water, and he was also pierced with a spear as was Wotan. Christ cried out before dying as Wotan cried out when he seized the runes during his self-sacrifice. Christian influence on Havamal cannot be entirely discounted, but crying out, hanging and stabbing are also ancient elements of Norse myth that are particular to the cult of Wotan.
Wotan did not need food and lived on mead alone. He threw his portion of meat to the two wolves, Geri and Freki, who sat at his feet. Wotan also had two ravens, Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory), whom he sent out every day over the world to bring him reports of happenings. In the evening they would sit on his shoulders and tell him about all that they had seen. Ravens are traditionally linked with battle and death, both poetically and in reality, as they were commonly found on the battlefield in the aftermath of war, scavenging among the corpses.
Wotan’s other animal was the extraordinary offspring of Loki and the stallion Svadilfari. This creature, Sleipnir, had eight legs and was the fastest of all horses; he bore Wotan through the sky at the head of the Einherjar. Sleipnir could leap the walls of Niflheim, and Wotan used him for all his errands. The stallion was once lent to Hermod, who rode him to Hel in an attempt to save his brother Baldur.
VALHALLA:
In Valhalla each day the slain warriors put on their armor and ventured to the courtyard to fight one another. At dinnertime, all those who had fallen in the fighting rose again to sit together through the evening, carousing, feasting and drinking, at peace with the whole company.
The Einherjar were sustained by a never-ending supply of mead from the udder of Heidrun, a goat that stood on top of Valhalla, plucking and chewing leaves from a tree named Laerad. Every day she was milked to fill a vat so big that all the Einherjar could drink from it to repletion. Their food was the meat of the boar Saehrimnir, which was cooked daily in a special pot called Eldhrimnir and magically became whole again in the evening. The flesh of Saehrimnir was always sufficient to feed all the Einherjar, regardless of their number.
Those who were to join the ranks of the Einherjar were brought to Valhalla by special envoys, the Valkyries. These seem originally to have been ferocious female spirits who revelled in bloodshed and devoured victims on the battlefield. In some versions of myth there were only three Valkyries, all thought to live for ever, while in the others there were twenty-seven, or thrice nine as the sagas put it, only a few of whom were thought to be immortal. Later in the Viking era they became more dignified and were portrayed as beautiful golden-haired female spirits who waited on the Einherjar in Valhalla, and went down to the battlefields both to grant victory according to Wotan’s decree and to lead the slain to Asgard.
Valkyries are of primary importance in the stories and poems about the legendary heroes. Occasionally they are portrayed as supernatural beings of huge stature who snatched heroes from mortal danger. In other versions they were said to be protective spirits who blessed kings and princes who paid due respect to Wotan, and received them as their husbands after the warriors’ heroic deaths.
THE CAPRICIOUS GOD OF KINGS:
There are many stories in Saxo’s sixteen-volume history of the Danes and in the heroic sagas which illustrate the volatile nature of Wotan’s support for his favorite kings, princes and nobles. He would give them weapons, yet it was thought that he could deliberately cause any of them to die unnecessarily so that the slain warrior would be forced to join the god’s army in Valhalla and be available to support him at the final destruction of the world. Sigmund the Volsung, for example, received a magnificent sword which Wotan himself had brought to the hall of King Volsung and thrust into the trunk of a tree that stood in the center of the building. Yet during Sigmund’s last battle Wotan came onto the battlefield and fought against him, shattering the sword with his spear. This marked the end of Sigmund’s run of good fortune; the battle turned against him and he was killed.
Wotan also gave his followers valuable advice. He taught Sigmund battle spells, and he showed Hadding, another of his favored followers, how to array his troops to give himself full advantage on the battlefield. And it was said that Wotan himself stood behind Hadding’s troops and shot ten arrows as one.
Wotan appeared throughout Haddings life, to rescue him, and to give him strength and spells to break his bonds when he was captured by enemies. He prophesied that he would never die at the hands of a foe but only by his own hand. Eventually the hero did hang himself – an appropriate death for a warrior who worshiped Wotan.
It is told that Wotan also taught the secret of arranging troops in a special formation to Harald Wartooth, King of the Danes, and pledged that he too would never be harmed by wounding. In return Harald promised Wotan the souls of all those that he killed in battle. Wotan granted the king victory for most of his life, but turned against him in his old age. In disguise, Wotan bred enmity between Harald and his nephew, King Hring, and eventually caused a war. During this he betrayed the secret of Harald’s battle formation to his enemy. When Harald realized that his opponent had anticipated the formation, he knew that only Wotan could have imparted it, and that the god had deserted him. Finally, as he drove across the battlefield, he became aware that Wotan had taken the place of his charioteer. He begged him for one more victory, but Wotan paid no heed to his pleas, threw him from the chariot and slew him.
It was not only technical skill and resourcefulness in warfare that protected Wotan’s favored armies from defeat – the god’s magic also played a part. No human to whom he was opposed had the capacity to combat his cunning. Wotan was able to blind, deafen, paralyze or strike panic into entire enemy armies and to blunt their weapons so that they were redundant. On the other hand, he was able to increase the strength of favored armies and make them impervious to wounding.
Inspired by Wotan a group of warriors known as Berserks would fight naked in a maddened state, unaffected by fire or weapons. Familiar historical figures in Norse literature, they served famous kings (such as King Harald Fairhair of Norway and King Hrolf of Denmark) as elite bodyguards, or roamed freely, seeking trouble either alone or in groups. In Heimskringla Snorri describes how these men went into battle as wild as dogs or wolves. They bit their shields and were as strong as the most ferocious bears or bulls.
Source Article from http://www.renegadetribune.com/wotan-god-war-magic/
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