Wuotan

By:SteveAnthonijsz

ON:inn
AS:WdanVdan
OHG:WuotanGudan
MHG:Wotan
Goth:GeatGaut
Fris:Wda
OS:Irmin[1]

Saxo:Othinus
Arm:Fuotan

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
generallyconsideredtobemercurialbymen.
Although our gods do not exactly correspond with the gods of other ethnic groups,
comparisonsmaybemade.LikehiscounterpartsinotherculturalmythosLegba&Eshuin
AfroCaribbeanreligionsHermesorMercuryinClassicaltraditionThothtotheEgyptians
Wuotan is known by a wide variety of bynames and titles, ranging from the endearing to
terrifying.

It ought to be mentioned that IrminWuotan is not an overarching god within

Irminenschaftinthatalltheothergodsarejustasimportanttous.Theothergodsarenotseen
aseitheraspectsoforunderlingsofWuotan.
Ontheotherhand,Wuotandoesmanifestauniqueandimportantpositionamongour
gods.HeisnotonlythekingoftheraceofgodsknownastheEnsi(justasNirdurulesover
the Wanen, and Fr over the Alp)but all the members of this clanexcept his own
progenycame to be Ensi from other races because of their loyalty to him. Furthermore,
Wuotan is the godalong with his brothers, Willo & Whwho gave conscious life to our
people[2].ItisinthissensethatwemaysometimescallhimbythenicknameofAllerFater
(AllFather).

Wuotan appears in some tales as the definitive shaman. Interestingly enough, it was
throughoneofhismostwellknownshamanicordealsthathewasabletodiscovertherunen.
Thisisremarkableinthatthetypeofmagicassociatedwiththese18mysteriesismuchmore
liketheworkofasorcerer,andisquiteunlikethemagicofashaman.Knowingbothmagics,
heisverymuchthesuprememagician.

Wuotanisnotonlyknownforhismagicalskillsorinhisroleasaking,however.Heis
alsoassociatedwithskilfulnessinareassuchasCommerce,SocialOrder,Shipping,Initiation,
Death and Warfare. He is the giver of Inspiration. He is a skygod who is seen as riding the
windandmovingacrossthesurfaceofthesurgingsea.HeismarriedtotheEarthMotherof
our folk, Frija. Wuotan is the father of Ensigarts protector, Donar, as well as of beautiful
Paltar,andoftwoothersons,WidarandWallo.Wuotanalsohasaregrettablebloodbrother
inLocho [3],thestoriesofwhomteachusaboutmakingrecklessoaths.

There are many interesting tales of Wuotan that have survived. One of the most
interesting,however,maybethatofthewarbetweenthegtter[4].
The rsi (forces of chaos [5]) made it their purpose to destroy Order within the 9
worlds.MaraandLochoweretheirundercoveralliesinEnsigart.Maratakesonhumanform
asHeid [6],teachingmenwitchcraft[7]asanantithesistoHeimosteachingoftherunes.She
alsolabouredtoenticeFr,whosehandmaidenshewas,topracticewitchery.ButMarawas
discovered and sentenced to burn. On various occasions in the myths Maraalso called
Aurbodaisburnt.EachtimeLochoeatstheremnantsofherheart,eachtimecausinghimto
givebirthtoamonster,andlatersheisreborn.FrmarriesGarta,thedaughterofMara.After
oneofhertransgressions,theEnsisentenceMaratobeburntagain.Thistime,however,the
Wanen demand revenge for the killing of Frs motherinlaw. War breaks our between the
WanenandtheEnsi.TheWanenwinthewarandWuotan,asthekingoftheEnsi,isexiled.
Wuldar,thechampionoftheWanen,ischosenasthenewkingofEnsigart.UnderWuldars
period in office the system of sacrifices demanded from mankind is altered. Wuotan is
returnedtohisthrone10yearslaterinrecognitionforsavingEnsigartfromanotherrsiattack.
WuldarisadoptedbyDonarand,thus,becomesWuotansgrandson.Therevisedsystemof
sacrificesremainsineffect.

ThemostimportantthingtounderstandaboutWuotanwhenreadingthemythsishis
function described in Vlusp. 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].Nearlyeveryoneofhisactionsisinsomewayconnectedtoeitherthestaving
off of this inevitability or in the building of his army of Einheri[9] to help fight the rsi when
Godotuom does finally come. These events must always be considered when pondering the
wordsandactionsofWuotan.

Thereareavarietyofmisunderstandingsandincorrectnotionsthathavebeenspread
aboutWuotanovertheyears:

Wuotanistrickyanduntrustworthy.
Infact,Wuotanworksonhisownlevelandforhisowngoals.Thisisnotamatterofbeing
dishonest,butofhavingadifferentsetofprioritiesthantherestofus.Hisprimarygoalisto
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,itwillseemthatWuotanhasbetrayedarequest.Infact,hehasprobablyignoredit.
Butwedoreceiveagiftfromhiminthisregard.Wuotanhasgivenusthegiftofmaganthe
breathoflife.Thisgodforceisonewecanallcallon,asitisinnatetoourverylives.Soifwe

failtoutilizethisgiftitisnotthefaultofWuotan,butofourselves.

Odindoesnotrejectatjourneysend.
~~AlexanderRudMills
(asTasmanForth)

DevotiontoWuotanassumesthatoneoughttobeaVikingwarrior.
ManyoftheScandinavianVikingsweregiventoinn(Wuotan).Thisisnotsurprising,ashe
isagodofbothWarfareandofVictory.However,heisalsomuchmorethanthis.Wuotanis
also the favourite god of the minnasinger[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
demonstratesthatonedoesnotknowWuotanatall.

Wuotanisamasculinegodwholacksappealtowomen.
Any limitations in this regard have to do with the prejudices of the individual, and have
absolutelynothingtodowiththedeityinquestion.IampersonallyveryclosetoFr,Wuldar,
andFrija.TherelationshipIsharewithFrijaisdifferentfromtherelationshipsIimparttoFr
orWuldarbecauseofherpersonalitynotbecauseofhergender.

Wuotanisajealousgod.
Quitetheoppositeistrue.WuotansgreatestgoalistheprotectionandescapeoftheAllfrom
Godotuomeveninhisowndeath.Furthermore,hechosetosupportthechangesinsacrifice
policy(asenactedunderWuldar)thatmandateofferingsoughttobegiventoallthegodsasa
community,nottoeachindividually.

Wuotanisawarriorofwhitesupremacyand/orracialintolerance.
ManyracialistnotionsofWuotanhavebeenproliferated,noneofwhicharesupportedbyour
surviving mythic lore. As a matteroffact, the myths depict just the opposite. He is shown
dealingwithAlp,Wanen,andRsiindiscriminately,withoutasecondthoughtastotheirrace.
Hisonlyconcernistheirloyaltyorlackthereof.
Having said this, though, it ought to be made clear that Wuotan is no universalist god,
disinterestedinonesancestry.HeisagodspecificallyoftheGermanicfolk.Ourbondwith
himcomesfromourbloodandourculture,andwedonotexpectanyoneelsetoaccepthim
astheirgodoreventocomparehimtoagodintheirowntribalpantheon.Ourpeoplehave
honouredhimforthousandsofyears.Thisdoesnotneedtochangejustbecauseabunchof
religiousupstartsdecidedtointerruptournaturalfaithandloyalty.

Wuotanisdangerous.
WuotanwasthevictimofanextremecharacterreversalintheSnorraEdda[11].Thereinheis
depicted as untrustworthy, an oath breaker, a trickster, and a mischiefmaker. One is led to
believe that his personality might be very much like that of Locho. This is simply untrue.
WuotanisourAllerFater.Hiseveryactandbreathisdevotedtoourprotectionfromultimate
destruction.HesupportsErda,ourmother.HeoffersusInspirationandPoetry.Hegivesus
theverybreathofLifeitself.

DespiteWuotansgenerallybeneficialnature,oneshouldnotthinkthathelackshisdark
side.Likepeople,godsarenotallofonething.Andjustasagodsgraciousnesscanbemuch

greaterthananythingapersoncouldoffer,soagodsfurymayalsobemoreterriblethanone
createdbyaman.
While local myths vary, Wuotan is usually depicted as the leader of theFuriousHost.
AlsoknownastheWildHunt,legendsoftheFuriousHostsurviveinEngland,Germany,and
Scandinavia.Alwaysthereisthereportofaghostlysometimesheadlessfigure(Wuotan?)
riding a horse sometime between the Wintarnaht feast and Zweliftonaht (the last night of the
Iulzt). This rider leads a pack of mangled horses and dogs and sometimes even human
corpses,takingthelivesofanyoneintheirpath.

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[1]Reconstructed
[2]Vlusp1718
[3]Lokasenna9
[4]TheoutlineofthisstoryisdescribedinVlusp,butSaxoGrammaticusoffersmanymoredetailsinGestaDanorum.An
outstandingstudyofthistalemaybefoundinViktorRydbergsInvestigationsinTeutonicMythology.
[5]KalicKaOs
[6]ThisnamehasonlybeenpreservedintheOldNorse<Heir
[7]ONseirwitchcraftevilrunes
[8]MoHGGtterdmmerung
[9]Singlecombatantsbraveheroes,dyingonthebattlefield,whoarechosenbyOdinfortheirmartialabilityandzeal.
[10]ONskald,OEscop
[11]Inthisheisnotunique.Icelandicskald,SnorriSturlusonmadeahabitofdepictingourgodsinthemostridiculousfashion.

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