Working with the gods: Odin

In shamanism people didn't just work with the spirits of animals, trees or the ancestors, they used to work with all kinds of spirits, including the ones we called gods.

Shamanism in the Norse trandition isn't something we are used to hear about, but it existed and nowadays like all the spiritual work in all the other religions, is being brought to us once again and only to a few people these deities show themselves and actually have anykind of contact with us mortals. Through altered states of consciousness we can have similar experiences that shamans had and still have, but being a shaman isn't something you choose to be, it is something that is chosen for you, however, you can choose to do spiritual work, but that doesn't make you a shaman, being a shaman is more complex. Finding a real shaman is a great challenge, nowadays there are too many spiritual workers, too many that call themselves shamans, but in truth, shamans are fewer nowadays then before, a great clue to know if a person is a real shaman, is that the person will never ever tell you that he/she is a shaman, shamans hide that from all, only the communitie calls them shamans, they don't give to themselves any kind of title.

I'm not here to talk about my personal experiences, I'm here to tell you about a mixture of experiences of various people with whom I have contact, including my own experiences, debating these same spiritual experiences reaching a more concrete conclusion, though not entirely correct.

Lets start with Odin. For those of you already familiar with this deity, there is no need to talk about him in the myths, or who he is, what he does or what kind of god is he, this is entirely in a spiritual prespective.

Odin

For the spiritual work with Odin, it is a good thing to have at hand some kind of alcoholic beverage, it can be either mead or wine, not for you and maybe not for Odin, he will only accept it if he is in the mood for it, this is just like offering a drink to welcome a guest, politeness

 He likes red meat and vegetables. You might want to be dressed with clothings with blue, grey, and black colors, those are his favorites.

Odin is a god to be called upon if you need counsel, advice, he likes ver much to talk, and solve disputes, so if you are in need of these things, he is the right god to do spiritual work with. Whenever you speak with Odin, never mention delicate matters in which he or someone or some deity close to him might have been involved, keep the conversation in what you really need, because Odin isn't a god that likes to talk about his problems, his affairs, he is a god that likes to communicate with the objective to help others.

Odin isn't a god to be taken lightly, he can be very ruthless, but he is extremely wise, treat him with the utmost respect.

Those who work with Odin can be either male or female, and should ideally be people sworn to him. 

Usually the greatest experience one might have when working with Odin, or just by meeting him somehow, is to be turned into a wolf or a raven and experience the natural world in that way, even if for a few seconds. It is a different point of view that will give you both freedom of spirit and cleverness, you will learn to respect, to behave while in a group, you can either lead or be led. Working in group is very important to Odin, the old Norse who worshiped Odin and made a cult around this deity, always worked in group and behaved like wolves in a pack.

Odin is a god that will constantly test you, before you call upon him or he decides to show himself to you he already knows a lot about you, he knows your fears, and every test is so you might know yourself better. You might think that you are very courageous, he will test that to see how far you can go with all your bravery, or you might think otherwise, the complete oposite, and you might find out that you are stronger than you thought.

Note:  If you have any questions for me or if you want to see my artistic works, check out my Facebook page and make a Like if you can by following this link --> http://www.facebook.com/ArithHarger