From the back cover: “Odinn is perhaps one of the best-known gods of our most recent history. And yet, hidden away, embedded in the mythology and folklore his legend is steeped in, there are remarkable facets to his genius hitherto unexplored. This text acknowledges and reveals for the first time , the origins and true purpose of corpse-magic in northern tradition. Odinn’s ability to craft magical speech through Galdr, Valgaldr, and the taboo HelRunar brought him ‘the power to beget offspring’ as a mantic gift of the dead. Odinn’s encounters with the (un)dead within their mounds lead us on an intense and fantastic journey into metempsychosis, criminal procedure, Kin-slaying, Orlog, and Fate. Skaldic tradition immortalised Odinn’s prophetic eye, his Jotnar heritage gained through a highly ritualised method of dispatching both Ymir and Mimir. Through enchantments won from them, he commanded the dead, made them walk and talk, unbound their fetters, and awarded them the forbidden gifts in turn. These things and more Odinn reveals in Havamal. These things and more are revealed in this work: The Hanged God: Odinn Grimnir.”

I finished reading this a couple of months ago. To be absolutely fair, I should probably read this again before reviewing it, but re-reads are a luxury I cannot afford these days. My years grow short and my unread pile grows ever taller, so I will write this from memory and an occasional skimming of various parts as needed.

My shelves have more than a few titles concerning Odin and even more that he figures in. No matter that The Old Man is absolutely a transgressive figure, there are people out there that want to view him as a quintessential SkyDaddy, smiling down at his beloved children. I’m in no way a scholar, but I consider myself fairly well-read on the topic. When I first saw the announcement of this book, and later, the abstract, I could damn near picture some of the stodgier reconstructionist heathen’s heads exploding from apoplectic fury while SkyDaddy believers clutched their pearls in horror. Honestly, that alone was reason enough to buy and read this. This is a book that leads readers to the stockade where the sacred cows are kept and then expects you to watch as they are dispatched.

In chapter 1, Oates tries to differentiate Odinn’s self-sacrifice from a shamanistic sacrifice. Or maybe she doesn’t. Her thoughts on the matter never really seem to concretize, which is a small issue, but one that stuck out to me. She goes on to discuss the axis mundi, dismemberment and suspension of sacrifices, and ritual suspension as possible initiatory experience, all as it relates to a suspected “Havamal Cultus.” This is all written and discussed in the span of 29 pages. Not completely, obviously as the book progresses the author draws on these pages, and draws in further examples to discuss them, but I really would like to see each of these topics get a far more in-depth treatment here than they do.

And honestly, that might be my main criticism of the whole book. There are so many interesting topics discussed in order to reinforce the book’s central thesis that there’s no way they can be adequately discussed and supported in 184 pages. Because of this, sometimes that core idea of the book gets lost or connections between the topics discussed can be nebulous. Be prepared to dive into the deep bibliography that Oates pulls from if these topics interest you.

We have discussions of sacral kingship, the most interesting and heterodox discussion of Idunna I’ve ever read, possible gnostic influences in Old Norse poetry, why poetry might have originally been reserved for the Jotnar, and the mead of poetry in Chapter 2.

Chapter 3 discusses burial mounds, nature spirits, the Alfar, and the dead, hamjinga and the sacral king’s responsibility to the people, combat with draughur and the cult of the severed head, and necromancy within the skaldic traditions. This is one of the strongest portions of the book. Or at least, it is one of my favorite portions. Every one of those topics is something I would, or have, read entire books about.

Chapter 4 is a discussion about Yggdrassil and how badly the modern world has mis-interpreted both the word and the deeper concepts behind it.

Chapter 5 is “Riding the Gallows: Sorcerous Covenants”, and it is another storm of topics. Almost as an aside, there is a discussion and conclusion that Sleipnir should be viewed not as a magical horse, but as a wolf. I can’t say that the chain of thought and evidence leading to the conclusion is the strongest I’ve ever read, but I like the idea regardless.

At one point in the book the author describes the correlation between thieves and Odin, and more broadly the hanged dead. This led me to my wonder whether Hugin and Munin being His information gatherers is not because they fly high over the world, but because the very act of eating the dead, especially the eyes of the dead, allows them to learn the secrets of the corpse.

So that’s the books topics briefly discussed. I also want to talk about both the art, and the book as object here. There are several pieces of B&W art here, one of which is a monochrome version of a full color plate near the beginning of the book. The art is credited to Chris Undirheimar of Blood & Fire Ritual Art, and Anathema Publishing. Each of the pieces relates in some way to the chapter that follows it, and they serve to nicely get you into the proper head-space. The book itself is well bound, with a cover texture that I can’t find the name for. The copper metallic color is lustrous and hasn’t flaked or scratched on my copy, despite me carrying it between work, home, and on deliveries for a couple of weeks. Absolutely top-notch production values here.

Ultimately, this is a book I’m glad to own and have on my shelf. I don’t doubt I would benefit from re-reading it. It sits in a weird niche though. I don’t feel academics would take it seriously enough, and many heathens I know are so hidebound by their ideas that I don’t feel the wider Heathen world is the target audience. I think the perfect reader for this is a magical/sorcerous/mystical practitioner that is interested in a possible Odinnic cult, but isn’t looking for another how-to instruction manual.