#*odin

[coldalbion]

"Everything that involves Óðinn is marked in this way...he has often been seen as a a sort of shaman-god to who whom sacrifices are made by hanging - and nothing, absolutely nothing in his affairs has the clarity of rational phenomena." - Boyer, "Elements of the Sacred among the Germanic and Norse peoples" p. 287 (emphasis mine)

[coldalbion]

On tricksters

The trickster may not be the only god in the pantheon, but they may be the one who asks "Pantheon? What pantheon?"

[laufeyiarson]

if a few weeks ago odin was rattling at my door he is now hiring a professional locksmith to gain entrance to my home and the locksmith is loki loki, who could’ve just opened the door as he lives in the house WITH ME but that’s not fun

[the-northern-herbalist]

I’ve been playing with the idea of using Nordic-inspired patterns (you know, those knit ones that you find on cozy sweaters) for my tea labels, and this is the pattern I’ve designed for Wanderer’s Blend. It’s got Huginn and Muninn, as well as Odin’s hat and spear, Gungnir.

[coldalbion]

"The queerest of the queer Hide inside your head The blindest of the blind The deadest of the dead."

[coldalbion]

Troll Tuesday

"The implication here is that in the beginning Ögmundr was human, but under-went some kind of ritual or at least procedure, referred to as trolling (“trylla”) but never more clearly explained, that seems to have shifted him from one state of being to another.

There is no mention of him dying in the process, but some such transformation seems nevertheless to have taken place since the saga indicates that he cannot be consid-ered a human any longer, and also that he cannot die. Ög-mundr himself later admits that he has become inhuman,“nú em ek eigi síðr andi en maðr” (now I am no less a spirit than a man), and also states “ek væra dauðr ef ek hefði øðlitil þess” (I would be dead if it were in my nature). Ögmundr is said to be “svartr ok blár” (black and blue), a description used of many Icelandic ghosts, but he is never directly described using the words scholars commonly associate with ghosts in the sagas, although there is mention of “jǫtnar,” “fjandr,” and “troll” (giants, devils, and trolls) inthe different versions of this saga. Even though Ögmundris referred to as a spirit (“andi”) but not a ghost, there is strong evidence which suggests he should be counted amongst the undead. Something of a medieval Frankenstein creature, having been re-animated like a revenant,it is stated that Ögmundr can no longer die — perhaps precisely because he can no longer be counted among the living. It is left up to the audience of Örvar-Odds saga to choose how they would like to refer to Ögmundr: as a devil,demon, troll, spirit, or ghost or perhaps all of the above in chorus. Providing evidence of the common indeterminacy of medieval terminology, this example also demonstrates that, when it comes to the paranormal, the more difficult it becomes to classify or name a monster, the greater is the power that it might wield." - The Troll Inside You: Paranormal Activity in the Medieval North, by Ármann Jakobsson.

Compare:

The Old Man

What difference is there ’twixt trolls and men?

Peer

No difference at all, as it seems to me. Big trolls would roast you and small trolls would claw you; — with us it were likewise, if only they dared.

The Old Man

True enough; in that and in more we’re alike. Yet morning is morning, and even is even, and there is a difference all the same. — Now let me tell you wherein it lies: Out yonder, under the shining vault, among men the saying goes: “Man, be thyself!” At home here with us, ’mid the tribe of the trolls, the saying goes: “Troll, to thyself be — enough!”

The Troll-courtier[to PEER GYNT]

Can you fathom the depth?

Peer

It strikes me as misty.

The Old Man

My son, that “Enough,” that most potent and sundering word, must be graven upon your escutcheon.

[...]

The Old Man

This same human nature’s a singular thing; it sticks to people so strangely long. If it gets a gash in the fight with us, it heals up at once, though a scar may remain. My son-in-law, now, is as pliant as any; he’s willingly thrown off his Christian-man’s garb, he’s willingly drunk from our chalice of mead, he’s willingly tied on the tail to his back — so willing, in short, did we find him in all things, I thought to myself the old Adam, for certain, had for good and all been kicked out of doors; but lo! in two shakes he’s atop again! Ay ay, my son, we must treat you, I see, to cure this pestilent human nature.

Peer

What will you do?

The Old Man

In your left eye, first, I’ll scratch you a bit, till you see awry; but all that you see will seem fine and brave. And then I’ll just cut your right window-pane out —

Peer

Are you drunk?

The Old Man[lays a number of sharp instruments on the table]

See, here are the glazier’s tools. Blinkers you’ll wear, like a raging bull. Then you’ll recognise that your bride is lovely — and ne’er will your vision be troubled, as now, with bell-cows harping and sows that dance.

Peer

This is madman’s talk!

The Oldest Courtier

It’s the Dovre–King speaking; it’s he that is wise, and it’s you that are crazy!

The Old Man

Just think how much worry and mortification you’ll thus escape from, year out, year in. You must remember, your eyes are the fountain of the bitter and searing lye of tears.

Peer

That’s true; and it says in our sermon-book: If thine eye offend thee, then pluck it out. But tell me, when will my sight heal up into human sight?

The Old Man

Nevermore, my friend.” - PEER GYNT, Henrik Ibsen

[coldalbion]

Seid was necessary for the survival of the tribe; hence breaking taboos was necessary. Odin had to be a queer god, because only by his doing seid and being queer could the world continue to exist. That androgyny was considered as a divine trait is known from several cultures and religions. Eliade has put it this way: “This idea of universal bisexuality, a necessary consequence of the idea of the bisexual divinity as a model and principle of all existence. [. . .] For basically, what is implied in such a conception is the idea that perfection, and therefore Being, ultimately consists of a unity-totality. Everything that exists must therefore be a totality, carrying the coincidentia oppositorum to all levels and applying it to all contexts” (Eliade, 1965, 108). I conclude with Jennifer Terry that “[i]n an ironic way, ‘deviance’ is central to the narrative history of normal” (Terry, 1991, 70–71)

Queering the Cosmology of the Vikings: A Queer Analysis of the Cult of Odin and " Holy White Stones " Queering the Gods Queering Norway, Brit Solli  

[coldalbion]

More than just a description of his physical body, Óðinn’s singular eye signifies his personality and thereby his unquenchable search for more wisdom. His sacrifice of an eye for his wisdom is second-place to his reputation of possessing the keenest sight of the gods. By willingly giving up a critical earthly faculty he has gained a divine ability to see all. Óðinn is never criticized because of his impairment. In fact, the stories related to him emphasize that he has traded a mundane faculty for an ability of far greater social importance. His ability to use poetic language allows him to employ his wisdom as a bridge to both the liminal memories of the past and the present age. It also aligns those individuals who possessed a keen mind for poetry, particularly the Icelandic poets known as skalds, closely with the preternatural abilities of Óðinn. Such abilities overshadowed impairment due to their social importance and they likewise solidified Óðinn’s station as the All-Father, the chief of the Æsir gods.

Children of a One-Eyed God: Impairment in the Myth and Memory of Medieval Scandinavia, Michael David Lawson