Slow Havamal: 139

Verse 139 says that during Odin’s time hanging, no one gave him food or drink. When the period was over, he looked down and took the runes, screaming, and fell.

Odin’s taking of the runes involves quite an ordeal, like some initiation or rite of passage. We use those terms blandly now, but in other cultures, other places, these were serious rites requiring a significant degree of sacrifice on the part of the partaker. Fasting from food and drink were common, often until some vision appeared. It was not unheard of for a youth passing into adulthood, for example, to be seriously injured or killed during one of these trials. To gain something worthwhile requires an equivalent risk.( Read more... )