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    Question about Odin

    Is it considered that Odin is a 'version' of Mercury? (Or rather, maybe Mercury is a version of Odin) I have read this several places, that Odin/Wotan is an archetype of Mercury which would be then the earlier than this versions- Hermes, Thoth. [Odin's day is Wednesday, ect.] Any opinions on this? I had ideas about this before finding it in readings and was very interested in hearing more on this.
    Time and again, I have thought everything ends up going in one way or another to 'Thoth' (and so His equivalents) and so this would make complete sense.

    examples-

    Matthew of Westminster (Flores ed., 1601, p. 82) transmits a speech by Saxon envoys to Britain ca. 450 A.D.: “Deos patrios, scilicet Saturnum, Jovem atque ceteros, qui mundum gubernant, colimus, maxime autem Mercurium, quem lingua nostra Voden apellamus."—"We worship the gods of our fathers, that is, Jupiter, Saturn, and the rest of those that rule the world, but most of all [we worship] Mercury, whom in our language we call Voden.”
    Last edited by shebani; 04 Jun 2014, 17:58.

    #2
    Re: Question about Odin

    Ah, comparative mythology. It's less one god is an archetype of another more than the two are interpreted as each other. For example, Odin = Mercury through the intelligence (and possibly trickster) angles. Depending on your brand of polytheism, Odin and Mercury are separate gods who can be understood as having shared domains and who may present Themselves as the same god if benefits Them OR They're the same god who present different faces to different cultures, devotees, etc.

    I have dealt a lot with Odin's various "counterparts" from different mythologies: Narada, Hermes, Djehuty, Zeus (as an "All Father"), and Shiva. (You might argue bumping elbows with An Dagda counts, too, but that connection feels too tenuous.) Over the course of three years, I've been directed from Odin to Djehuty, to Zeus, to Narada, to Hermes, to Shiva, and I might be rounding back to Odin or Djehuty again.
    Blog: http://thestarsafire.tumblr.com

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      #3
      Re: Question about Odin

      Originally posted by shebani View Post
      Is it considered that Odin is a 'version' of Mercury? (Or rather, maybe Mercury is a version of Odin) I have read this several places, that Odin/Wotan is an archetype of Mercury which would be then the earlier than this versions- Hermes, Thoth. [Odin's day is Wednesday, ect.] Any opinions on this? I had ideas about this before finding it in readings and was very interested in hearing more on this.
      Time and again, I have thought everything ends up going in one way or another to 'Thoth' (and so His equivalents) and so this would make complete sense.

      examples-

      Matthew of Westminster (Flores ed., 1601, p. 82) transmits a speech by Saxon envoys to Britain ca. 450 A.D.: “Deos patrios, scilicet Saturnum, Jovem atque ceteros, qui mundum gubernant, colimus, maxime autem Mercurium, quem lingua nostra Voden apellamus."—"We worship the gods of our fathers, that is, Jupiter, Saturn, and the rest of those that rule the world, but most of all [we worship] Mercury, whom in our language we call Voden.”
      Whether or not Odin is "considered" to be a "version of Mercury"' depends upon whom you ask. It comes down to whether one is a Syncretist, Hard or Soft Polytheist, etc.

      For myself personally, I don't feel that it's really fair to equate one deity with another due to underlying similarities alone. IMHO, it's the equivalent of saying that because I have a great deal in common with Charlemagne, that I am Charlemagne.

      In my opinion, Odin is Odin and Thoth is Thoth, etc., etc.

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        #4
        Re: Question about Odin

        Originally posted by Torey View Post
        Whether or not Odin is "considered" to be a "version of Mercury"' depends upon whom you ask. It comes down to whether one is a Syncretist, Hard or Soft Polytheist, etc.

        For myself personally, I don't feel that it's really fair to equate one deity with another due to underlying similarities alone. IMHO, it's the equivalent of saying that because I have a great deal in common with Charlemagne, that I am Charlemagne.

        In my opinion, Odin is Odin and Thoth is Thoth, etc., etc.
        I normally find this the most practical approach. If nothing else it limits the odds of me insulting a Power by accident. If I'm gonna piss off a Power then it should be deliberate and for a purpose (or because I'm just that malevolent ).
        life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.

        Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

        "But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."

        John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper

        "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

        Aslan, Prince Caspian by CS Lewis


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          #5
          Re: Question about Odin

          I'm a hard polytheist so the answer from me is a resounding 'no'.

          But you can consider Odhinn and Mercury to embody the same archetypal role within their respective pantheons. They do a similar job... in a loose sense.

          The complicating factor is that Odhinn is one of the more complex deities that humans communicate with. Technically, he fits into multiple archetypal roles and therefore tends to get equated with a wide range of other deities. He wears many hats and has many faces, which also makes him relatively unsuitable for a syncretic approach. Pidgeon-holing deities is not something I tend to recommend.

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            #6
            Re: Question about Odin

            Bloody Tacitus...
            Conflating Odinn with Mercury basically goes back to the Romans who syncretised provincial deities.

            It's just the way they liked to do things - possibly they felt it somehow justified their imperial/colonial ambitions. B ut just because that was the way they did things, doesn't make it true.

            If it doesn't feel right to you (and it really, really doesn't feel right to me to go pushing Mercury and Woden together like that) then don't do it.
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              #7
              Re: Question about Odin

              Thanks all, I was interested in hearing perspectives. The more I read, the more I tend to believe that it all stems from one original story and each pantheon is a 'flavor' or that culture's view or explanation, I appreciate that not everyone feels this way or thinks this.
              I really started looking at this after reading the longer version of the Emerald Tablets, and realizing that the story being told of Thoth contained within it the stories of Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel, elements of the garden story, like elaborated versions separating out the story. (Thoth is stated to be piloting the ship up and out of mighty Atlantis as the God Hea 'shuts the gate' to prevent a 'great woe' from coming to the Earth, ect. and the He and his shipmates were some of the only survivors, and so on).

              Then I went looking into 'HEA' which looked so much like EA of course and went into that, and I was pleased where it took me, EA, Earth, Hea von which goes back to Saxon Hea f on, ON of course being a much older name of Heliopolis (along with ANNU). And then of course 'HEA THEN' .
              .
              Absolutely on bloody Tacitus, Tylluan, sorry if sounded offensive, it was a handy example to provide.

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                #8
                Re: Question about Odin

                I'm a hard polytheist so the answer from me is a resounding 'no'.

                But you can consider Odhinn and Mercury to embody the same archetypal role within their respective pantheons. They do a similar job... in a loose sense.

                The complicating factor is that Odhinn is one of the more complex deities that humans communicate with. Technically, he fits into multiple archetypal roles and therefore tends to get equated with a wide range of other deities. He wears many hats and has many faces, which also makes him relatively unsuitable for a syncretic approach. Pidgeon-holing deities is not something I tend to recommend.
                I fully agree. The Norse gods in particular are difficult to pidegonhole as they have very varied roles and rich backgrounds. You certainly cannot say that Odin = Mercury, they have similar aspects but are in no way the same deity just with different names.
                Last edited by MaskedOne; 12 Jun 2014, 08:28.
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