Odin, the All-Father of the Norse pantheon, is a god of wisdom, war, death, poetry, and ecstatic trance. His name derives from Old Norse Óðinn, cognate with óðr—meaning 'fury,' 'inspiration,' or 'ecstasy'—and related to the Germanic Wōdanaz, linking him to the concept of divine madness and shamanic journey. He is the one-eyed wanderer, the raven-god, the hanged god, and the master of runes.

Position on the Tree of Life

On the Qabalistic Tree of Life, Odin corresponds to Chokmah (Wisdom), the second sephirah, which represents the primal, dynamic, and masculine outpouring of creative force. This placement aligns with his role as the source of cosmic order, the giver of laws, and the initiator of kingship—a force that is both wise and terrifying, fatherly and wild.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

Odin’s planetary correspondence is Saturn (Shabbathai), the slow, severe, and boundary-breaking planet. This reflects his attributes of time, fate, hidden knowledge, and the wisdom gained through sacrifice and suffering—particularly the myth of his self-hanging on Yggdrasil to win the runes. Saturn’s influence also ties him to the liminal, the ancestral, and the magisterial.

Historical context

Odin appears as the chief god in the Norse and Germanic traditions recorded in the Poetic Edda, Prose Edda (by Snorri Sturluson, c. 1220 CE), and in the works of Tacitus (1st century CE), who identifies him with Mercury (interpretatio romana). He is the leader of the Æsir, husband of Frigg, and father of many gods including Thor and Baldr. Odin’s cult was widespread across Scandinavia and Germanic Europe, with major centers at Uppsala (Sweden) and possibly at the ancient site of Lejre (Denmark). He is associated with the Wild Hunt, the Einherjar (slain warriors chosen for Valhalla), and the Valkyries. Sacrifices to Odin often involved hanging or spearing, reflecting his own ordeal on Yggdrasil. In the Ynglinga Saga, Snorri euhemerizes Odin as a historical king from Asia who brought wisdom and magic to the North. His attributes include the spear Gungnir, the ring Draupnir, the eight-legged horse Sleipnir, and the ravens Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory).

In the context of Liber 777, Odin appears at step 2 (Chokmah) in the table row for Scandinavian Gods. He is the active, fathering principle of the Norse pantheon, the source of inspiration and the god of the gallows—a figure whose wisdom is bought with pain and whose power is inseparable from the runes he discovered.