Wuotan

By: Steve Anthonijsz

 

ON:           Óðinn

A-S:           Wódan; Vódan

OHG:         Wuotan; Guôdan

MHG:           Wotan

Goth:         Geat; Gaut

Fris:          Wêda

OS:           Irmin[1]

 

 

 

The stories of Wuotan superficially appear to be a complex assortment of events that make his character quite difficult to pigeonhole. Although understanding Wuotan can be somewhat involved, his nature is not as intricate as we often like to think. What makes his temperament so difficult to define is that Wuotan is associated with endeavours that are generally considered to be mercurial by men.

Although our gods do not exactly correspond with the gods of other ethnic groups, comparisons may be made. Like his counterparts in other cultural mythos—Legba & Eshu in Afro-Caribbean religions; Hermes or Mercury in Classical tradition; Thoth to the Egyptians—Wuotan is known by a wide variety of by-names and titles, ranging from the endearing to terrifying.

 

It ought to be mentioned that Irmin-Wuotan is not an overarching god within Irminenschaft in that all the other gods are just as important to us. The other gods are not seen as either aspects of- or underlings of Wuotan.

On the other hand, Wuotan does manifest a unique and important position among our gods. He is not only the king of the race of gods known as the Ensi (just as Nirdu rules over the Wanen, and Frô over the Alpâ)—but all the members of this clan--except his own progeny--came to be Ensi from other races because of their loyalty to him. Furthermore, Wuotan is the god—along with his brothers, Willo & Wîh—who gave conscious life to our people[2]. It is in this sense that we may sometimes call him by the nickname of Aller-Fater (“All-Father”).

 

          Wuotan appears in some tales as the definitive shaman. Interestingly enough, it was through one of his most well known shamanic ordeals that he was able to discover the runen. This is remarkable in that the type of magic associated with these 18 mysteries is much more like the work of a sorcerer, and is quite unlike the magic of a shaman. Knowing both magics, he is very much the supreme magician.

 

          Wuotan is not only known for his magical skills or in his role as a king, however. He is also associated with skilfulness in areas such as Commerce, Social Order, Shipping, Initiation, Death and Warfare. He is the giver of Inspiration. He is a sky-god who is seen as riding the wind and moving across the surface of the surging sea. He is married to the Earth Mother of our folk, Frija. Wuotan is the father of Ensigart’s protector, Donar, as well as of beautiful Paltar, and of two other sons, Widar and Wallo. Wuotan also has a regrettable blood brother in Locho[3], the stories of whom teach us about making reckless oaths.

 

          There are many interesting tales of Wuotan that have survived. One of the most interesting, however, may be that of the war between the götter[4].

          The rîsi (forces of chaos[5]) made it their purpose to destroy Order within the 9 worlds. Mara and Locho were their undercover allies in Ensigart. Mara takes on human form as Heid[6], teaching men witchcraft[7] as an antithesis to Heimo’s teaching of the runes. She also laboured to entice Frûâ, whose handmaiden she was, to practice witchery. But Mara was discovered and sentenced to burn. On various occasions in the myths Mara—also called Aurboda—is burnt. Each time Locho eats the remnants of her heart, each time causing him to give birth to a monster, and later she is reborn. Frô marries Garta, the daughter of Mara. After one of her transgressions, the Ensi sentence Mara to be burnt again. This time, however, the Wanen demand revenge for the killing of Frô’s mother-in-law. War breaks our between the Wanen and the Ensi. The Wanen win the war and Wuotan, as the king of the Ensi, is exiled. Wuldar, the champion of the Wanen, is chosen as the new king of Ensigart. Under Wuldar’s period in office the system of sacrifices demanded from mankind is altered. Wuotan is returned to his throne 10 years later in recognition for saving Ensigart from another rîsi attack. Wuldar is adopted by Donar and, thus, becomes Wuotan’s grandson. The revised system of sacrifices remains in effect.

 

          The most important thing to understand about Wuotan when reading the myths is his function described in Völuspá. Wuotan is not only one of the gods most significant in the establishment of Order among the worlds, but he is also foremost in the deterrence of Godotuom[8]. Nearly every one of his actions is in some way connected to either the staving off of this inevitability or in the building of his army of Einheri[9] to help fight the rîsi when Godotuom does finally come. These events must always be considered when pondering the words and actions of Wuotan.

 

          There are a variety of misunderstandings and incorrect notions that have been spread about Wuotan over the years:

 

Wuotan is tricky and untrustworthy.

In fact, Wuotan works on his own level and for his own goals. This is not a matter of being dishonest, but of having a different set of priorities than the rest of us. His primary goal is to fend of Godotuom at all costs. This goal may or may not have anything to do with the requests or ideas of a particular individual or community. Most likely the goals are unrelated and, thus, it will seem that Wuotan has betrayed a request. In fact, he has probably ignored it. But we do receive a gift from him in this regard. Wuotan has given us the gift of magan—the breath of life. This god-force is one we can all call on, as it is innate to our very lives. So if we fail to utilize this gift it is not the fault of Wuotan, but of ourselves.

 

“Odin does not reject at journey’s end.”

   ~~Alexander Rud Mills

(as Tasman Forth)

 

Devotion to Wuotan assumes that one ought to be a Viking warrior.

Many of the Scandinavian Vikings were given to Óðinn (Wuotan). This is not surprising, as he is a god of both Warfare and of Victory. However, he is also much more than this. Wuotan is also the favourite god of the minna-singer[10], the shaman, and the scholar. He is a god of kingship. He is many things, and to focus on only one single aspect of his personality demonstrates that one does not know Wuotan at all.

 

Wuotan is a masculine god who lacks appeal to women.

Any limitations in this regard have to do with the prejudices of the individual, and have absolutely nothing to do with the deity in question. I am personally very close to Frô, Wuldar, and Frija. The relationship I share with Frija is different from the relationships I impart to Frô or Wuldar because of her personality—not because of her gender.

 

Wuotan is a jealous god.

Quite the opposite is true. Wuotan’s greatest goal is the protection and escape of the All from Godotuom—even in his own death. Furthermore, he chose to support the changes in sacrifice policy (as enacted under Wuldar) that mandate offerings ought to be given to all the gods as a community, not to each individually.

 

Wuotan is a warrior of white supremacy and/or racial intolerance.

Many racialist notions of Wuotan have been proliferated, none of which are supported by our surviving mythic lore. As a matter-of-fact, the myths depict just the opposite. He is shown dealing with Alpâ, Wanen, and Rîsi indiscriminately, without a second thought as to their race. His only concern is their loyalty or lack thereof.

Having said this, though, it ought to be made clear that Wuotan is no universalist god, disinterested in one’s ancestry. He is a god specifically of the Germanic folk. Our bond with him comes from our blood and our culture, and we do not expect anyone else to accept him as their god or even to compare him to a god in their own tribal pantheon. Our people have honoured him for thousands of years. This does not need to change just because a bunch of religious upstarts decided to interrupt our natural faith and loyalty.

 

Wuotan is dangerous.

Wuotan was the victim of an extreme character-reversal in the Snorra Edda[11]. Therein he is depicted as untrustworthy, an oath breaker, a trickster, and a mischief-maker. One is led to believe that his personality might be very much like that of Locho. This is simply untrue. Wuotan is our Aller-Fater. His every act and breath is devoted to our protection from ultimate destruction. He supports Erda, our mother. He offers us Inspiration and Poetry. He gives us the very breath of Life itself.

 

          Despite Wuotan’s generally beneficial nature, one should not think that he lacks his dark side. Like people, gods are not all of one thing. And just as a god’s graciousness can be much greater than anything a person could offer, so a god’s fury may also be more terrible than one created by a man.

While local myths vary, Wuotan is usually depicted as the leader of the Furious Host. Also known as the Wild Hunt, legends of the Furious Host survive in England, Germany, and Scandinavia. Always there is the report of a ghostly—sometimes-headless—figure (Wuotan?) riding a horse sometime between the Wintarnaht feast and Zweliftonaht (the last night of the Iulzît). This rider leads a pack of mangled horses and dogs and sometimes even human corpses, taking the lives of anyone in their path.

 

 

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