Who is Woden / Odin / Wotanaz?

Where did Odin come from? Was he a shamanic figure influenced by the Saami or was he based on the Roman god Mercury? Why did Anglo-Saxon kings claim his as a divine progenitor? Was he Indo-European or even older? I explain the historical origin of the Norse god, Allfather, and I explain the metaphysical significance of his threefold manifestation as depicted in the Gylfaginning.

This was an unscripted video covering a lot of ground.

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[sleepywoodelf]

You've made a video on Kershaw's One Eyed God since the time of this video. I'd be curious to see how that book influenced your view. Here's my take on Óðinn, which differs from yours given here.
He was originally the Indo-European god of the koryos. Sometime before or early on in what we can call the Germanic peoples, he transitioned to being a god of the tribe as well as the Männerbund. This probably arose due to Männerbünde conquering new territory and continuing to worship the god that gave it to them even into manhood, and alongside this the phasing out of the Männerbund as a social structure. What we have then is a society whose organizing impulse is the Männerbund spirit, hence the Germanic taste for expansion, conquest, and wolfishness, which we can see in the West even into the modern era.
Some castes preferred Þórr, some regions preferred Freyr, but Óðinn as the god of the Germanic aristocracy is probably not a later innovation as you suggest.
This duality of Männerbund and tribe in one god is the source of Óðinn's paradoxical nature. We can also see this in Shiva as the god of renouncers and householders, the corresponding classical Hindu social structures.
As a god of death and initiation, it should come as no surprise that his cult would absorb Eurasian shamanic practices like the ritual death on a tree.
Metaphysically, Óðinn's nature is tied up with initiation and thus enlightenment, which is also seen to order the cosmos, as shown by the triad Óðinn, Vili, Vé. This is the realization of the absolute in the manifest universe. In later interpretations, like one of Snorri's, he becomes a Hochgött, which corresponds to his paradoxical nature, as well as what we see of theistic initiation practices in other religions, like in some forms of Shaivism in which one sees that Shiva is the absolute and that the initiate is also Shiva. We also see the interplay of opposites such as life and death as the way in which the universe manifests.

[chloroform]

For bedtime stories, I always tell my son about how Odin was revealed the runes. How he gave his eye for knowledge, and how he hung himself on the Yggdrasil. I explain to him that he sacrificed himself to himself. Not to anyone else. He always asked why and I told him that this lesson is valuable to us.

I told him that in order for Odin to become All knowing and the most wise, he had to sacrifice things in order to gain wisdom. I explain how we as humans must also sacrifice things we might want, or not want to let go of, in order to succeed or become better. One of them is time. Where he might want to use his time to play with toys, video games, or play outside, if he willingly sacrifices the time he desires to play, to read, write his ABCs, catalogue shapes on paper etc. He is sacrificing time in exchange for knowledge. I tell him that in order to get things he might want. There will always be something he must sacrifice in order gain.

[historywithhilbert]

"The dankest of Gods" Oh boy this is going to be half an hour well spent!

[wyrdflex]

Who is Odin?
*points at camera*
Let's find out...

[DerFurstDerFinsterni]

Odin is the concept of a god or super-magician who teaches man the secrets of magic. He's very similar to Hermes of the Greeks, Mercury of the Romans, Thoth of the Egyptians, and Hermes Trismegistus of the Hermeticists. Either different religions are talking about some far off legendary superhuman that was at one time a real person, or this archetype continues to repeat itself throughout history, and the works of people following the archetype would later become attributed to the god their actions represent. Either way, it's an important myth to have, as it inspires one to search for divine wisdom and the secrets of nature, while also recognizing self-sacrifice and the hard road of self-improvement is necessary to reach that end goal...

[gweiloxiu]

I have studied this for twenty seven years, leaving no stone unturned. This video is the most on point expression of this subject that I have seen yet on YouTube. Great work, and have a beautiful and mighty Midsummer !

[turicaederynmab]

Your videos are some of the most unique educational and enlightening stuff I've seen on Youtube.

[josefperez]

Why you don't get more attention is mind boggling. You are obviously the youtubermensch. Great work m8.

[Brillsama]

Odin is the pagan-European ideal balance of the four masculine archetypes.

Read Gillette and Moore's Four Masculine Archetypes books, even the ones that go into each one.

Warrior.
King.
Magician.
Lover.

[henkverhaeren]

Thanks for returning in human form to explain it to us, rejuvenated spirit of Odin. The world today can use your wisdom more than ever.

[Peter-dkov]

You blew my mind with that conception of deities as expressions of truth

[AA]

This is the best explanation I've heard on who Odin is and how mythology is a very fluid thing and is never static for very long.

[kennywedlake]

Hail Allfather Odin/Woden, the chief God of both my Saxon/Norse ancestors.kind regards from South Africa

[your_belief_vs_everything]

I'm in aww. Thank you so much for being a reference AND and outlet for the Americans who have become so detached from our cultural identity. My family came from Scotland, Wales, and Northern England and I've always been fascinated by history. My grandparents migrated to the US after WWII from Wales. I just wish I had talked to them more about our homeland. In America you're encouraged and indoctrinated from an early age to disassociate yourself from your cultural heritage. To become another clump in the homogenized mess we're told is a "melting pot". We lose our grounding and become one big uninspired amalgamation, void of any real culture of it's own. Aside from that we attempt to co-op from Indigenous tribes.
Children are not encouraged to find their homeland, because if America is in fact a land of immigrants we must surely all have homelands right? No. In short our children are told it's racist to be proud of our heritage, but only if that heritage is seated across the Atlantic.
Mexican children are fed stories if their forebearers and told to be proud. Black children are told of their rich African cultural heritage and told to be proud.
I will never deprive my children of their heroic pasts, because we should be proud. We mapped the globe. We built cities and civilizations, created art and brought those things across the oceans.

[christheconquerer]

As a young adult of German, Norwegian, and English decent who is currently nonreligious and attempting to learn more about the beliefs of my ancestors this is fascinating, I know this is an older vid but if you see this could you recommend some books to help me better understand this religion and how much we really know about this. Thank you! :)

[lrichard]

kinda reminds me of Buddha, he meditated on his religion and on seeking a fundamental truth and was through his attained wisdom and dedication has been pretty much deified and is held as the example of wisdom and is worshipped by many now

[vulpesinculta]

A 30-minute video from Jive. Makes my day.

[adamtaylor]

I would just like to say that this information is just what I needed. To the presenter just a little thing, it's truly marvelous to hear a person speak these days without hearing ' ummmm or in between sentences. Well done.

[scythecomics]

This is the third long form Youtube episode about Odin I've had served to me in as many days. Odin keeps appearing. Thanks for your contribution!

[jessebaughman]

Such a nuanced and thoughtful way to dissect Wodanaz. Thanks for this