Hunting God/norse bow

Odin - God of Ancient Hunters

Odin – Norse Hunting God

Long ago in ancient Scandinavia, lived Hunters who lived by Bow and Spear.  Their survival depended upon those ancient skills to hunt bear, stag and boar.   They had no horses and so carried little.

By examining the gods that these people worshipped and prayed to, it gives us insight to the core values they revered in hunting.  Their ancient gods are lost to us,  but the heirs lived on, and I believe that the more recent gods would be alike to the ancient ones from that area.  So let us look at Odin, the Norse God, more closely.

Odin was the hunting god of the Norse,  appearing through out Germanic cultures as Otan, Odan, and Odin, and yes, Santa too.  Odin was the one eyed ruler of the Aesir, the Gods of Asgard.  He resided as the ruler of  Thor, Tyre and other Hero Gods. He had many children among mortals who became heroes and was the ruler of wisdom, justice, hunting, wanderings  solitude, and runes .

 His wisdom was such that he knew all that had been and all there ever would be. He knew the fate of all the Gods and Giants, for in that old world, even the gods would die.  Odin could throw his spear, Gungar into the center of any Target regardless no matter how it was thrown. Odin was a wanderer of the worlds.

Often Odin was associated with Wolves and Raven’s. Among Native Americans, it has been said that the raven possesses the gift of having a secret language,  as they are seemingly erratic,  but Odin understood them well.

Odin would sit and talk with the ravens every night to learn what had happened that day,  much like the ancient trackers who knew bird language to locate prey and predators.  The wolf is the ancient friend of the raven,  and the raven will lead wolf to prey.  We are a wild animal as well when we become a part of nature.  Perhaps the wolf represents our ancient spirit of the hunter.

Odin reminds me of the ancient clan leader, the sage wandering the hills, the oracle, the scout, and the hunter all in one.

Archery helps to embody the strengths of Odin and other ancient gods of hunting by making us focus on the center, perfect our form, clear our mind and connect with the world around us. I hope that you are inspired in your own archery practice by the ancient heroes of legend as well.

Till Next time,
Greg
 

An Ancient Norse Bow

The Holmegaard bow was in use in Denmark from 10,000 BC and the design was prevalent for thousands of years.   It is likely that the people who used this bow for hunting in those ancient times also preyed to an ancient hunting god like Odin
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