Odin screamed as the knowledge entered his mind and fell from the tree. Each symbol carried with it magic and when used in the correct way the runes could be used to weave powerful spells. The lost alphabet was more than just a system of writing. Just before the moment of death, his sacrifice was accepted and the well showed him the runes. He learned nine words of great power but continued his sacrifice.Īt the end of the ninth day he was barely clinging to life. The image of an ancient god taught him nine magical songs, but he remained in the tree knowing that there was more to see. The Well of Urd slowly began to reveal things to him. The eagle in the tree’s bows and the squirrel Ratatoskr watched his suffering but he forbade them from bringing him any food or water. Some of the creatures that lived in the World Tree’s branches approached him during his ordeal. From his position in the branches he looked down into the Well of Urd by which the Norns wove fate and waited for its mysteries to be revealed. He made it a blood sacrifice by piercing himself with a spear.įor nine days and nights the god hung on the tree. Odin hanged himself from the branches of Yggdrasil as a human sacrifice. He decided to make the greatest sacrifice he could to get a glimpse of the Norns’ wisdom. He knew that another great sacrifice would be required to learn more. The three goddesses wove the strands of fate among Yggdrasil’s roots, but rarely shared their knowledge with others. Odin watched the Norns, knowing that they knew more than anyone else about the world. When Mímir had said that something must be given up to drink from his well and acquire its knowledge, Odin had plucked out his own right eye and thrown it into the water to get just a sip. He had also made a great sacrifice to learn more. He was constantly getting news from his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, who flew throughout the Nine Worlds to bring back every bit of information they could find. He had stolen the Poetry of Mead in the form of an eagle and visited the realm of Hel to learn about Ragnarök from a dead seer. Odin was on a constant hunt for knowledge and had already done many things in his quest for now information. The story of how Odin discovered the runes provides a vivid image not only of the god, but of ritual practices that were actually performed in the Norse world. To learn the magic of the runes, Odin gave himself as a human sacrifice. In his most dramatic act, Odin made the ultimate sacrifice to learn a secret that was hidden deep in the well of fate. He was never satisfied, however, and was always pushing himself further to become the wisest sage alive. He travelled the Nine Worlds to learn all that he could and often went to great lengths to find secret knowledge. He was constantly seeking more wisdom and new information. Odin was the god of war and kingship, but he was also a god of knowledge and magic.
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