Jew World Order

By Elsie Christiansen (1980)

If we take the Aesir as the variant expression of the one power pervading the universe – and therefore also us – Wotanists must admit that Wotan is a somewhat controversial figure. To the question: “Who is the oldest of the gods?” Snorri answers in the Edda: “He is called All-Father, and in ancient Asgard he had twelve names: first Allfather, second Lord of Hosts, third Lord of the Spear, forth Smiter, then All-Knowing, Fulfiller of wishes, Farspoken, Shaker, Burner, Destroyer, Protector and twelfth Gelding.”

Already here is confusion, for Wotan was not the oldest of the gods. At some time in the beginning of the Christian centuries – we do not know exactly when – Wotan replaced Tyr, who was the original Sky-father, and became the chief god from then on. Tyr was relegated to being a son of Wotan but he kept his attribute of being a courageous war god. All through the Edda, Wotan and All-Father are spoken of as being one and the same god, and we have accepted that view, but we know that originally they were two different personalities.

Both Tyr and Wotan were called ‘Valfather’; ‘Val’ means a larger field or plain, (it also means death – RM) and since all wars were fought in open terrain, the war god, of course, was ‘Father of the Val’; however, a battle might be considered both as physical and spiritual, so this may be how the separation of the two came about, Tyr retaining his attribute as a god of war.

If Thor represents the fighting spirit in a pure and simple joy of life, and Frey is the god of Nature and her bounty, Wotan emerges as the chief god during a breakdown of the ‘hale world’, introducing an era when good men may serve evil and vice versa, a time when what is good no longer is perceived with unswerving certainty. But be gained by hard work and bitter struggle – the era of intellect.

Let’s consider Wotan’s attributes: (1) He rides a black horse; (2) He wears a blue cloak which flutters all the time, even when the air is completely calm; (3) His companions are two tame wolves and two ravens; (4) He sacrifices his left eye for knowledge; (5) He hung for nine nights on the ‘windy tree’ (head down, we might add, not like Christ on the cross).

And what do these attributes mean? Let’s take them one by one:

(1) A white horse signifies strength emanating from an ideal, enabling the fighter to perform superhuman tasks. It is ridden without bridle and spur, since it is the better self in man, rallying to his assistance in time of dire need. The black horse must be broken in mercilessly with spur and whip, for it signifies the intellect, being forced to serve higher ends than individual well-being. The rider of the white horse is blissfully unaware of what might happen to him, should he fail. The rider on the black horse knows very well, what’s in store for him and still does not waver. There’s a curious aside: it is said that one should never dismount from a black horse while it is heading east or it will disappear and leave its rider afoot to carry the saddle on his own back.

(2) Blue is the color of unfolding. Like petals of a flower, man may open up to the sun, to recognize the meaning behind visible and touchable things. What’s more important, Wotan’s cloak is always billowing, which signifies non-voluntary thinking, as is going on ceaselessly, which may be directed, but can never be stopped except by strong will-power and long training.

(3) The two wolves, Geri and Freki, desire and insolence, have been tamed. Hugin and Munin, the ravens, thought and memory, complete each other.

(4) No explanation has so far been offered as to why it was the left eye, Wotan had to give for a draught from Mimir’s Well, leaving him with only one eye. To take this eye as an expression of the sun is not convincing. The sun is the centre of our system of planets: to represent the sun, Wotan would have to have his eye on the forehead as the well-known ‘third eye’ , and no such description of him has ever been found. One thing, however, is certain: after long and painful consideration and hesitation, confirming and then rejecting. Wotan acquired one point of view from which to observe the world; he does no longer waste his time with again and again comparing ideologies; he sees everything with his right eye.

(5) Most significant, however, are those tortuous nights on the windy tree. These nine nights were Wotan’s first accomplishment. They happened long, long ago, so only Wotan himself remembers and nothing is told about what he might have done or experienced before. At the end of the nine nights he snatched up the runes and in the Edda it is told; ‘Well-being I won, and wisdom too, I grew and enjoyed in my growth; from a word to a word, I was led to a word, from a deed to another deed.’ There is no doubt these nine nights are of utmost importance.

Let Thor represent the ‘hale world’, and Loki the awakening intellect but unbridled, bi-valent like fire, but Wotan represents character having mastered intellect, and during these nine nights this great struggle was won. They mean the break-through to freedom from egotistic wishes and anxieties, freedom from rumination and doubt. The ninth rune is ‘I’, the self, the personality, and Wotan’s self-sacrifice on the windy tree is the beginning, not the end of this course.

Thus Wotan may be the only Aesir of relevance today. We do not live among kindred folk, proudly and bravely defying the enemy without. With race-mixing Thor has been suppressed. We do not act as ‘helpmates to the sun’, cultivating the earth, taming the animals and breeding wheat from grass. We are obliged to contributor to a mad exploitation of Nature and a cynical pollution of our government, since we have no chance to live otherwise. With industrialization, Frey is pushed aside.

The god of change, the god of our era is Wotan. He does not grant peace and does not promise salvation. He only gives this to his followers: that they suffer, get wise, fight and become like him. Hail Wotan!

From Elsie Christiansen’s periodical The Odinist” issue #54 1980 (via Ron McVan)