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The Masks of Odin: Wisdom of the Ancient Norse Elsa-Brita Titchenell

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The Masks of Odin: Wisdom of the Ancient Norse Elsa-Brita Titchenell Theosophical University Press Online Edition The Masks of Odin: Wisdom of the Ancient Norse Elsa-Brita Titchenell Copyright © 1985 by Theosophical University Press (print version also available). Electronic version ISBN 1-55700-137-5. All rights reserved. This edition may be downloaded for off-line viewing without charge. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial or other use in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Theosophical University Press. For ease of searching, no diacritical marks appear in the electronic version of the text. Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Pronunciation Guide Bibliography Glossary Plates: Codex Regius PART I: COMMENTARY 1 Myths — A Time Capsule 2 The Tree of Life — Yggdrasil 3 Gods and Giants 4 Cosmic Creation 5 Terrestrial Creation 6 Nature's Kingdoms 7 Rig, Loki, and the Mind 8 Human Death and Rebirth 9 Initiation PART II: NOTES, TRANSLATED LAYS, AND STORIES 10 Voluspa (The Sibyl's Prophecy) 11 Gylfaginning (The Apotheosis of Gylfe) 12 Havamal (The High One's Words) 13 Vaftrudnismal (The Lay of Illusion) 14 Thor and Loki in Jotunheim (Gianthome) 15 Hymiskvadet (Hymer's Lay) 16 Grimnismal (Grimner's Lay) 17 Trymskvadet (The Theft of Thor's Hammer) 18 Kvadet om Rig (The Lay of Rig) 19 Loki Steals the Brisinga-Gem 20 Grottasongr (The Song of the Mill) 21 Volundskvadet (The Lay of Volund) 22 Lokasenna (Loki's Flyting) 23 Allvismal (The Lay of Allwise) 24 Grogaldern and Fjolsvinn's Ordskifte (The Spells of Groa and Verywise's Exchange) 25 Skirnismal (The Lay of Skirner) 26 Vagtamskvadet (The Lay of Waywont) 27 Odens Korpgalder (The Lay of Odin's Corpse or The Lay of Odin's Ravens) 28 A Summing Up Foreword A good many people hearing of the Edda or of the Norse myths think mainly of Balder, the sun-god, who was slain by a twig of mistletoe; or they may conjure up mighty Thor, hurler of thunderbolts and lightning, whose footsteps make the earth quake. Or perhaps they remember Loki, trickster, mischief-maker without malice, who seems constantly to stir up trouble, yet as often by imaginative wit and intelligence resolves the difficulties he has caused. The Masks of Odin is a provocative study of "the wisdom of the ancient Norse." While it portrays the various aspects and forms that Odin assumes in order to gain knowledge of the nine worlds inhabited by gods and giants, humans, elves, and dwarfs, Elsa- Brita Titchenell has a larger purpose in view. As a serious student of both Edda and Theosophy her loom is cosmic in reach, its warp representing the theosophia perennis or enduring god-wisdom and its woof the Edda, whose many-colored threads she weaves into colorful and often inspiring patterns of interpretation. The world's oldest traditions hold that long ago all peoples, however widely separated, were the common inheritors of a body of sacred truths initially imparted to the earliest humanities by divine beings from higher regions; and, further, that myth- makers of every land were in greater or less degree transmitters of this archaic wisdom/science. Against this backdrop the author undertakes to interpret some of the more important sagas of the Norse Edda, retranslating them from the Swedish text and comparing it with the original Icelandic. Her aim is not to hammer out just another version of the Edda when already several in English are available both in prose and verse, but rather "to penetrate to the core of inspired meaning" hidden within the world's mythic lore. To attempt this would have been out of the question, she believes, but for two radical changes in the general thought life: first, the disclosure about a century ago of a significant portion of the universal theosophic philosophy by H. P. Blavatsky and its emancipating effect on the human spirit, and second, the new developments in Western science. In Part I Elsa Titchenell outlines the broad features of the principal characters involved in the drama of cosmic and terrestrial creation as recorded in the Edda, including the gifts to early mankind of spirit, mind, and vitality by three Aesir (gods) so that we humans in time might become "godmakers." Relating theosophic teachings and current findings of astrophysics and physics to traditional mythic symbols she depicts the ancient mythographers as philosophers and scientists of stature. To the Norse bards or skalds, the interplay between gods and giants represented the continuous interaction of spirit and matter on a series of "shelves" or planes as "rivers of lives" moved, each after its own manner, through mansion after mansion of planetary and solar spheres within Allfather-Odin's domain. In Part II, the author's Notes preceding the translated lays provide the reader with an invaluable guide through the often bewildering maze of metaphor and symbolic allusion. The opening saga is the well-known Voluspa or Sibyl's Prophecy, that tells of the formation of worlds, of Odin's search for wisdom in the spheres of matter, and of the "toppling of the world tree" when the gods withdraw and earth is no more — until the Vala (Sibyl) sees another earth rising from the sea as old ills are resolved and the Aesir return. In the High One's Song, we read of Odin's consummate experience when for nine whole nights he "hung in the windtorn tree," the Tree of Life, so that he might "raise the runes" and drink the mead of omniscience. There is much to delight and instruct in the retelling of lay after lay, each with its own story and truth to impart. Admittedly only a portion of the available material is treated, and this is drawn chiefly from the Poetic or Elder Edda of Saemund the Wise. Cognizant, moreover, of the challenge posed by the mystery- language of symbolism in use by the poet-philosophers of old, the author is hopeful that others will find in this "fragment of runic wisdom" the stimulus to pursue further and more complete studies of the ancient Norse records. Whether writing as Eddist or theosophist, amateur scientist, mythographer, or translator, Elsa-Brita Titchenell by lucid and perceptive scholarship has earned for The Masks of Odin an honored place among Edda literature. GRACE F. KNOCHE Preface It was in the early 1950s when the writer picked up a book at random in the Theosophical University Library in Altadena — a beautifully bound volume of the Edda in Swedish. Though familiar since childhood with at least some portions of the Norse "god-stories" this was the first time I had read the poetic lays of the Elder Edda. Browsing through the verses and delighting in their picturesque "kennings," I was enjoying the quaint turns of phrase when suddenly, as by a lightning bolt, I was struck by a dazzling flash of meaning, a hint of basic truth. Skeptical at first, I began to read with greater attention and soon became convinced that the Edda ranks among the world's sacred traditions as a genuine scripture, a goldmine of natural history and spiritual treasure. This is connoted also by its Swedish name: gudasaga — a divine story or god-spell — the archaic form of the word "gospel." Many years later, after much scrutiny and comparison with other myths, enough evidence of the Edda's scriptural content had accumulated to warrant collating at least a few fragments that seem to have secreted in them a discernible esoteric meaning. Among the great wealth of material in the Norse myths it has been necessary to be selective, partly because there are several versions of many of the tales, partly because the purpose of this book is to bring out and suggest interpretations of those myths which are of particular relevance in our time. Most of the lays and stories herein are translated from the Codex Regius — the "royal codex" — which was written down by Saemund the Wise a thousand years ago, though their content has doubtless been known much longer than that. Today they are luminous with meaning due to two seemingly independent circumstances: first, the disclosure of a generous portion of the universal theosophic philosophy in the late nineteenth century and the broadening influence this has exerted; and second, following closely thereafter, the development of a more enlightened science in the West. The story of Codex Regius is itself a fascinating one. King Frederik III of Denmark sent Thormod Torfaeus to Iceland with an open letter dated 27 May 1662 which empowered him to purchase ancient manuscripts and other material containing information on Icelandic history. He delivered it to Bishop Brynjolv Sveinsson, an ardent collector of memorabilia since his accession to the bishopric of Skalholt in 1639. Soon afterward the bishop sent the king a gift of several manuscripts; Torfaeus made a catalogue of these which Gudbrand Vigfusson lists in his Prolegomena to the Sturlunga Saga. In this collection the manuscript cited as No. 6 is titled "Edda Saemundi; quarto." It was a treasure of the Royal Library at Copenhagen until a few years ago when it was returned to Iceland, where it is now housed in the Arna Magnussonar collection. No one knows how Bishop Brynjolv came in possession of it, but he must have acquired it some twenty years before Torfaeus' arrival as he had inscribed the first page with his own name in Latin, Lupus Loricatus (contracted to [[symbol]] — cf. plate 1 of the photographic reproduction of Voluspa from the Codex Regius manuscript), with the date 1643; he also had a copy made on white parchment. Several versions of the Edda are extant in part.
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