For a number of months now I have contemplated writing an article on the 'Grim Reaper', a figure which has preoccupied my thoughts in recent years as I get older. Indeed I have struggled to get an article under way in the last couple of weeks until to my amazement I encountered this rather interesting post on the Inglinga blog: Wr.Alda & The Black Sun Wulf Ingessunu makes a connection between the Grim Reaper and Woden. For a long time now I have come to the belief that the Grim Reaper is a post-heathen manifestation of Woden in the Collective Unconscious of the Germanic peoples, especially in the Middle Ages when plagues were rife in Europe which owe their origins in part to the perpetuation of ignorance by the Christian Church. Wulf also makes the connection with the relatively unknown Saxon God, Krodo whose cult was centred in the Harz Mountains of north-central Germany, shared between the German lands of Lower Saxony and Thuringia. I have written about Krodo many times on my blogs. He provides new information about Krodo which supplements that which may be found on my blogs. I would encourage people to read his article in full.
What are the connections between the Grim Reaper and Woden? First of all both Woden and the Grim Reaper act as psychopomps for the dead. A psychopomp is an entity who acts as a spiritual guide for those who have recently died. In some cultures a psychopomp may take the form of an animal but in mediaeval Christianised Europe the most common form is that of the Grim Reaper. He takes the form of a man appearing in dark robes or a shroud with a skull face and carrying a scythe. Clearly the skull represents death. Th scythe is symbolic of the cutting down of the living in the form of crops to be reaped. The scythe also cuts the invisible chord that joins the physical body to its ethereal counterpart. When this cord is cut death ensues. In the same way when a baby is delivered its umbilical chord is cut and it begins a life independent from its mother's body. When the Grim Reaper comes for you there is no escaping that meeting and it would benefit us all that we prepare ourselves individually for that meeting which we can only do alone.
In the Eddas Odin and His messengers, the Valkyries have the function of being psychopomps. One example of Odin dealing out death to one of His followers and descendants is that of Sigmund, the father of Sigurd:
Woden reminds me of the ferryman in Greek mythology who ferries the souls of the newly deceased to Hades, the equivalent of the Norse Hel (not to be confused with the Christian concept of Hell). In the Eddas Odin on one occasion appears as a ferryman in the Harbardsljod in the Poetic Edda where He takes the name Harbard and engages in a flyting contest with Thor and naturally He wins the contest! Harbard has the meaning of 'grey beard' and Odin is always pictured in this way in the Eddas and Norse poetry. Whilst some scholars in the past have conjectured that Harbard may in fact be Loki (a view that occurred to me as well) Harbard is listed as one of the by-names of Odin in Grimnismal 47. Whilst Loki may be viewed in Jungian terms as the Shadow of Odin this article is not the place to explore that theory. Whilst Harbardsljod does not portray Odin as a psychopomp it is nevertheless important to point out that He occupied this role and it does have an association with death in Greek mythology."But now whenas the battle had dured a while, there came a man into the fight clad in a blue cloak, and with a slouched hat on his head, one-eyed he was, [1] and bare a bill in his hand; and he came against Sigmund the King, and have up his bill against him, and as Sigmund smote fiercely with the sword it fell upon the bill and burst asunder in the midst: thenceforth the slaughter and dismay turned to his side, for the good-hap of King Sigmund had departed from him, and his men fell fast about him; naught did the king spare himself, but the rather cheered on his men; but even as the saw says, "No might 'gainst many", so was it now proven; and in this fight fell Sigmund the King, and King Eylimi, his father-in-law, in the fore-front of their battle, and therewith the more part of their folk." (Chapter 11, Volsunga Saga, translated by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson)
Like Woden the Grim Reaper is often portrayed as wearing dark clothing whether this be a robe or a cloak. He is certainly a veiled figure, his face almost inscrutable until close up a skull is revealed, just as one of Odin's eyes cannot be seen as it has been placed in Mimir's well. One of the most compelling arguments for a comparison is that of the name itself: Grim. Grimr or Grimnir are by-names for Odin. Grimnismal 46 and 47 record this by-name and it has the meaning of 'the masked one' as does Grimnir (see Northern Mythology, Rudolf Simek). Odin is masked or hooded, His face not clearly visible. Often a floppy hat takes the place of a hood, all with the intention of masking Him.
It is believed that the earliest accounts of the Grim Reaper are from 14th century Europe when plagues started to decimate the population. By then Christianity had obtained an iron grip on most of northern Europe (apart from the Baltic lands) but Gods can never be truly repressed and will often manifest as Archetypes in the racial Collective Unconscious. I believe that this is what happened in the 14th century. Odin may have been largely forgotten by name but his image, His Archetype persisted. Indeed when certain aspects of the Self are repressed they reappear at times in the Shadow. Woden/Wodan/Odin was repressed in the Consciousness of the Germanic peoples so in my opinion His Shadow form reappeared a few hundred years later as the Grim Reaper in the Collective Unconscious. There are accounts in many cultures of the dying being visited by the non-living prior to death. Sometimes this is in the form of dead relatives as was the case with my maternal grandfather Hermann August Wilhelm Bock who died between 1932-1933. In that case his dead relatives took the place of the Grim Reaper psychopomp. However for those of us who do not fear death He will come I believe in His true form. Instead of fearing Him we should welcome Him as an old friend about to take us home.
The image at the head of this article is that of the 13th card of the Major Arcana of The Tarot, depicting death as a personality.
