The Nordic pantheon of Gods is quite extensive. About a thousand years ago, the author Snorri Sturluson attempted to create a comprehensive genealogy entitled "The Younger Edda". The monumental task of recording the oral tradition resulted in a book of over a thousand pages.

Fortunately, it is not essential to be familiar with the whole family in order to divine with precision. What is confusing at first, is to notice the continually changing personalities of the gods, as they become modified over time. This merely reflects the morality of the day and age, since the personalities of the gods were essentially an embodiment of traits and characteristics which Nordic society wished to express in role model form.

ODIN, Guardian of the Runes

Originally the god of storms: WODEN (c.f. German "Woede"- anger), from which Wednesday is derived: ( i.e. WODEN'S DAY). His personal rune is Os/Ansuz/Ansur = ODIN is the All Father whose mastery of poetry, shape changing, incantatory magic, necromancy and spirit flight makes him the supreme role model of the Northern shaman. Compare other cross-cultural archetypes: Varuna (Vedic); Hermes (Egyptian); Ouranos (Greek); Mercury (Roman). Odin is the source of consciousness among the gods and mankind, and is beyond all human notions of good and evil. His mystic auto-sacrifice by hanging upside down on the world (ash) tree (Yggdrasill) for nine days and nights, wounded by his own spear, enabled him to win the secret of the roots of being. He embodies the supra-rational consciousness of the expanded psyche and the frenzy of inspiration. Odin also represents our inner or divine spark, which is an expression of the Godhead. (We are made in the image of God).

The shamanistic initiation describes a process in which the initiate passes through the nine worlds of the Yggdrasill (world tree), to the realm of Hel (Death), momentarily entering her sphere. At that precise moment, the initiate receives the entire body of rune wisdom and it is etched into his being. In the next instant, the initiate returns to Midgard (Earth plane) with the rune wisdom permanently encoded and ready for use and communication.

The process may be summed up as "Initiation through synthesis according to self-will leading to transformation." (c.f. Christ descending into Hell for three days).

TIR, god of justice, order and cosmic law.

Originally the archetype of the heavenly king, (compare the gods: Dyaus -Vedic; Zeus -Greek), known as TIW, hence TIW'S DAY (Tuesday). German "Diens-tag" from "Dings Daeg" i.e. the day of the Thing (Legal assembly, for the discussion of community matters). Tir therefore presides over all contests, trials and ordeals, giving victory to the just. His personal rune is Tyr/Tir =

THOR, vanquisher of evil.

Thor, or as he was earlier known: Thunor (Latin: tono/are = to thunder), was seen to be responsible for thunder and storms. He wields a heavenly thunderbolt weapon known as Mjöllnir. This hammer of lightening with boomerang powers, was used to destroy chaotic giants, break clouds and release rain for the regeneration of earth. The rune representing Mjöllnir, and hence Thor, is Thorn. It is also a symbol of phallic regeneration and fertility =

FREYJA, goddess of love.

Freyja (c.f. Aphrodite), is the mistress of Odin, and governs sexual attraction and emotional interaction. Her sacred day is Friday (Freya's Tag). Where Tir represents Martian energy, Freyja personifies Venusian energy. She is a shamaness who is adept at shape-shifting. Her feather-skin cape transforms her into a hawk at will. Freyja is mistress of the Seith Fire (inner fire/of sacred heat). This is the warmth of love which unites all opposites in the world. Her rune is Fehu/Feoh =