Slow Havamal: 138

[kylec]

In verse 138, Odin hangs himself from a wind-battered tree for nine nights, sacrificing himself to himself. The roots of the tree are said to grow from a place no one has ever seen,

In one of the most famous and peculiar verses of Havamal, we at last encounter Odin’s sacrifice. There is no advice here for Loddfafnir or anyone else—at least not directly. Most people assume the tree is Yggdrasil, the world-tree. Odin is no stranger to giving up something of himself for wisdom, as when he gives an eye for a drink from Mimir’s well, located at the base of one of the three roots of the tree. In this verse, it’s likely that he hopes to gain something similar during his nine long nights.

To hang from the world-tree can be read as to subject one’s self to all of the experiences of the world. The number nine is the most sacred in Norse myth, and we might think of it as hanging for one complete cycle. The spear that pierces him is likely his own, Gungnir. There are parallels to the crucifixion of Jesus, in which he’s pierced by a spear, but I hesitate to read too much into that. The story very well could have borrowed from the actual crucifixion story, or piercing a hanging man might not be so novel an idea. Either way, Odin wounds himself, and seems to undergo his ordeal quite on his own initiative, while Jesus seems willing but resigned to his role in a larger plan.

I don’t know if there would have been any Cabalistic penetration into Norse myth, or if their conception of the world-tree is similar for other reasons. It does strike me that the Tree of Life has ten spheres, one of which is the hidden one, the root of all creation. In most traditions, the highest three can’t be experienced by mortal men. These could be related to the three roots of Yggdrasil, and because Odin is a god, he would have at least potential access to parts of two of those roots, leaving nine spheres to experience, and one to remain hidden. Could this verse suggest that he put himself through a cycle of life in which he experienced all that he could upon the world-tree to gain wisdom? Anything I say is speculation, and there’s likely more than one answer even if there’s truth to it. It’s certainly an interesting coincidence, and makes me wonder if the Norse ever had some version of a Cabalistic tradition which could have reached them from Greece or Rome.

If there is advice here, I would say it’s to lead by example. Odin doesn’t remain in his lofty place. He subjects himself to something that’s probably worse than any of us will experience, and does so willingly in order to learn. He’s wise and complex because he’s walked the walk. Even for a god, there are no short circuits. Perhaps, especially.

Comments

Hmmmm

[degringolade]

I think that I am going to ponder this for a bit. I wonder sometimes about the similarities that you have noted and I agree that they are similarities that need to be addressed somehow. But how much of this is convergent evolution is definitely something to think about.

Thanks for this

Re: Hmmmm

[kylec]

Yep, I think they are interesting similarities, but that the tale also needs to be taken on its own terms without comparison. Doing both gives me what feels like a more complete view.