Woden, a God of Frenzy and Divine Madness

A study of Old English words containing the element wod can prove illuminating when considering the character of our High Lord Woden. For this article I have relied mainly upon J.R. Clarke Hall's excellent A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary.Words indicative of madness and frenzy contain this element:

wodendream-madness.
wod-frec-madly ravenous.
wodheortnes-madness.
wodlic-foolish, mad, furious (as an adverb wodlice it also means madly, furiously, blasphemously).
wodnes-madness, frenzy, folly.
wodscipe-insanity.
wodseoc-mad.
wodthrag-paroxysm, madness, fury.
wed-fury, rage, foolishness, madness.
wedan-to be or become mad, rage.

It is interesting to note that whilst all of the above words are indicative of connotations of madness, frenzy, fury and folly the adverb wodlice can also mean 'blasphemously'. I believe the reason for this unusual meaning is one of distortion by Christian clerics who by demonising Woden associated the adverb woodlice with blasphemy but this I contend was not an original meaning as the concept of blasphemy is both Christian and unGermanic and should really be disregarded for the purpose of this study but it is interesting to note nonetheless.

The God Odin is often associated with the intellect, with the left side of the brain but it is more than clear that our Woden is primarily associated with the right side of the brain which is concerned with the creative elements of the brain and the Unconscious. I believe that it is in the light of this that we must approach Woden, not with the intellect but with the so-called irrational, the Unconscious, with the dream state. It is only when we abandon our 20th and 21st century rationalism can we hope to find and indeed approach this God. This is why it never ceases to surprise me when our enemies try to defame us by labelling us as 'mentally ill'; they demonstrate most clearly that they have not the slightest understanding of Woden or for that matter of us!

By contrast with Woden, Odr although derived from *wodaz has the meaning of mind, wit, soul and sense, more indicative of the left side functions of the brain. The OHG wuoti (madness) derives from the Proto-Germanic *wodin which in turn derives from *wodaz. The Middle Dutch woet has the meaning of madness. The Old Saxon wodian also means to rage as does the OHG wuoten with the added meaning of to be insane.

In order that we may draw closer to our Woden we must consider much more than ever before that we embrace the irrational for that which appears to be irrational to modern man is in fact the true and genuine state of Germanic man which has been suppressed by the Christian churches and repressed by Germanic man himself. Through this mindset we will be able to connect with numinous beings and with the Gods themselves.