Odin
I decided to write a post about the gods i'm working with and my relationship with them, starting with Odin
Why did I start working with Odin?
This first post is about Odin since he's the first god i seriously worked with and gave offerings to. When i first started my practice, i felt that he was the one who tried to guide me towards germanic paganism again and again until i finally pursued it. I started with regularly reading aloud to him as offerings (mostly Scandinavian fairy tales, which he seemed to enjoy), since i didn't have an altar nor the means to give regular physical offerings to him.
I feel that Odin actively called to me and tried to introduce me to germanic paganism (or rather, he seemed to nudge me in the right direction and tried to show me that actually starting to seriously practice germanic paganism was the right path for me, since i've been fascinated by it for a long time).
I also had a strange dream about him at the beginning of my journey that was kind of intimidating, but also reassuring that i was on the right path.
Things I associate with him:
his dozens of names, epithets, and kenningar
ravens (Hugin & Munin)
wolves (Geri & Freki)
his eight-legged horse Sleipnir
his spear Gungnir
the tree Yggdrasil
gallows
a lost eye
runes
long journeys
wisdom & knowledge
Valhalla & the fallen warriors
My UPGs:
Odin is not at all a "war god" or someone who enjoys fighting, he's just desperately trying to change the fate of the world and to prevent Ragnarok
he values knowledge and wisdom above everything else
he's a wanderer and always searching for new wisdom, new stories, and new things to learn
he'd do everything to protect his family and the ones he loves
due to his knowledge of the future, he might come off as a bit conceited sometimes
he's also not quite as old as most people like to depict him; i see him more as an older, middle-aged man
he's also not as somber and broody as most people like to portray him, though he is one of the more serious gods
in my mind he doesn't wear an eye patch but shows his missing eye
In my dream, his face was drawn and serious, with furrowed brows, and he looked very similar to this artwork:
(Art by Vladimir Arkov)
What I put on my altar for him:
I have a little bronze cast statue of him based on a real finding. I also have a pendant of Gungnir's spear head in my travel altar as well as a ceramic bead i bought as an offering for him at a medieval market.
I really want to have more things to honour him and thank him for pushing me towards practising germanic paganism. I'd like to have a real raven feather or a raven skull replica, and maybe a bigger spear tip or something that looks like an eye (maybe made of crystal)
