O
Odin – Supreme God of the Nordic pantheon, son of Borr and the grandson of Buri. Odin is the God of magic, war, poetry and death, and his throne Hlidskjalf gives him a view of all the worlds. Two ravens, Hugin and Munin, tirelessly fly all over the world and give him news; also a part of his entourage are two wolves – Geri and Freki. Let us first define Odin as a God of magic. His thirst for knowledge about the universe was so strong that he was ready for two great sacrifices: Odin first sacrificed his left eye in order to access great secrets of the Universe, next he sacrificed himself receiving in return the knowledge of the Runes. As a God of war, he throws a spear onto the army that is supposed to lose the battle, thus taking it as a sacrifice for himself. Regardless of the battle’s outcome, Odin receives all the other warriors that fall in the battle as well. One belief tells us about this: before battle, Odin shows himself to all the warriors, and walking among them says “Odin owns you all!” The fallen warriors are brought to Odin by Valkyrie, however half of them go to Freya. This God is also known as the great Nordic bard; he passed on this talent to his son Bragi. As to most of the Nordic Gods, Ragnarok will be the death of Odin. He will be devoured by Fenriz, however, Odin will continue living through Baldur and Vali who will survive this cosmic catastrophe.
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| Odin and Brynhild |
Odur (Od) – Freya’s husband and the father of her
daughter Hnoss. When he abandoned Freya, she went looking for him, crying tears
of red gold. These tears fell into the sea, and according to tradition, this is
how amber was created. It
was believed that behind this name – Od – is Odin himself, who by his functions
(war, magic) is an perfect match for Freya.
Odreri – magical cauldron in which the mead of
inspiration was brewed. After slaying Kvasir, Fjalar and Gjalar mixed his blood
with honey in Odreri and brewed a magic potion.
