Vienna, Virginia (2013)

From FB:

“This is how we do it old school. Just burned this playlist on CD for an afternoon of minivan fun solo parenting with the kids…”

Vienna, Virginia (2014)

View of the Washington & Old Dominion trail upon which I ran many, many a mile.

Mechanicsville, Virginia (2014)

From FB:

“Hadn’t seen many of the Lee-Davis H.S. / VT crew in 12 years, ever since we moved to Northern Virginia. I realized on the drive back I’ve known them all 23+ years.”

August 17, 2021

From FB:

“The period of time from July until the middle of August is known as the “Dog Days” of Summer when the Sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of the Earth and part of the constellation Canis Major (The Great Dog). During these days, ancient Romans believed extra heat radiated towards Earth from Sirius, which rises and sets with the Sun. For many people of the Northern Hemisphere, these are the hottest days of summer, and the humid and sultry weather seems to carry with it a sense of stagnation and inactivity. However, August is also believed to a month of power, where the first harvest occurs.

Ancient Pagans believed it to be a time of beginnings and endings, of thinning veils, as well as time to gather wisdom. Associated with these ideas, the ancient Norsemen began the nine day commemoration of Odin’s Ordeal on August 17.

In Norse mythology, Odin was the All Father and chief god. He was known by over 230 names, including Woten, Othinn, and Wodan, and was the god of many roles, including guardian of souls, bringer of death, and bestower of wisdom. (In fact, the name of “Wednesday” is derived from the Old English “Wodnesdaeg,” or “Day of Woden.”)

And despite Odin’s more powerful roles as chief god of the Norse, he is often portrayed as an old man with a long beard wearing a blue hat and cloak, carrying a staff and missing one eye. He deliberately chose to be seen as a harmless wanderer in order to accumulate and impart wisdom, and was capable of shifting his shape to become anyone or anything he wanted. (This characteristic can be seen in the HBO miniseries “American Gods,” based on the highly entertaining novel by Neil Gaiman, where his character (“Mr. Wednesday”) is portrayed by the inimitable Ian McShane.)

Even Odin’s staff was not what it seemed. It was actually a spear, Gungir, made by dwarves and discovered by Loki. In Richard Wagner’s opera cycle, “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” it is made from the wood of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, and engraved with the Runes from which his power derives.

And unlike many chief gods, Odin was amoral by human standards. He had an agenda – the gathering of knowledge in a doomed attempt to thwart the outcome of Ragnarok, the final battle of the gods. To gain knowledge, he sat on Hildskjaf, the high seat of Asgard where he could see everything that happened in the cosmos. Odin also wandered the Earth questioning all sorts of people and creatures and would send his ravens, Hugin (Thought) and Munin (Memory) out into the world to bring news back to him. At one point, Odin desired to drink from Mimisbrunnar (the Well of Mimir), which sat at the roots of Yggdrasil and brought anyone who drank from it the benefit of great knowledge, including the future. Unfortunately, the well was guarded by the Frost Giant Mimir, so Odin gave up one of his eyes to Mimir for a drink from the well. (Recall that Anthony Hopkins’ Odin in the Marvel Thor movies had only one eye, and Hela carved out Thor’s eye during “Ragnarok” after Odin had died – thus setting Thor on the path to becoming the next All Father.)

Despite this, all the knowledge Odin obtained did not satisfy him and so he embarked upon his greatest trial, which took him deep into his own psyche – The Ordeal of Odin:

“I know that I hung upon a windy tree
For nine whole nights wounded by a spear
And given to Odin
Myself to myself for me
On that treeI knew nothing
Of what kind of roots it came from.”

Desirous of more knowledge, Odin stabbed himself with Gungir, hung himself upon the World Tree for nine days, and drowned himself by peering downward into the roots where lay the wells that fed Yggrasil. (This event is also enacted in “American Gods” with Shadow Moon now standing in for the Odin / Christ role.)

As with the brutal Native American Sun Dance initiation ceremony portrayed in the 1970 movie “A Man Called Horse,” Odin was suspended from the tree and achieved a triple death, which allowed him to enter into a deep shamanic trance. The world ceased to have meaning. Fasting, enduring physical tribulation, he meditated for nine days. And then he returned, triumphant in his quest, holding the knowledge of the meaning of The Runes, which could be used to control the world and which Odin shared with humanity.

In fact, the first part of Yggdrasil’s name, “Yggr” means “Terrible” and is one of the countless names used to represent Odin, demonstrating how powerful and fearsome the ancient Vikings perceived him to be. The second part of the name of the World Tree, “drasill,” means “horse.” Thus, “Yggrasil” means “Horse of Odin,” a reference to the time The Terrible One sacrificed himself to discover The Runes, with the tree being the gallows that bore his body.

Modern interpretations of Odin’s Ordeal point out that Odin found the knowledge he sought within himself by going on an internal journey fueled by hardship and tribulation. Scholars also point out that Odin’s Ordeal is representative of the fact that the quest for knowledge and understanding is a lifelong process of discovery that never ends.”