Odin

Culture: Norse   Also called: Allfather, Woden (Anglo-Saxon), Wodan (continental Germanic)

Odin is the chief of the Æsir, a relentless seeker of wisdom who gave up an eye at Mimir's well for a drink of knowledge and hanged himself from the World Tree Yggdrasil for nine nights to learn the runes. Accompanied by his ravens Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory) and his wolves, he is a god of war, poetry, prophecy and, especially, seidr magic, a practice more associated with women in his culture, which he learned anyway.

Associations

Wisdom sought at real cost, ravens, runes, poetry, war strategy, prophecy.

Ways people honor him (modern)

• Pursue difficult knowledge or a hard-won skill deliberately
• Study the runes as a genuine practice, not decoration
• Keep raven imagery or a raven feather on the altar
• Read the Hávamál, a poem of his own sayings and wisdom, in the Poetic Edda

Approach any deity with respect and do your own research. Practices vary widely between traditions, and modern devotional practice often goes beyond what survives in ancient sources.